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The bookstore was one of your favorite places to go. It was always quiet here, a temporary shelter from the noisy and harsh outside world. You could lose yourself for hours, looking through the books and imagining all the fantastic worlds you might find within them. It was almost as if a peaceful magic surrounded this store. You didn't ever want to leave. In some ways, it felt like anything could happen here.
As your were browsing through the books, a green cover popped out at you. You weren't looking for anything in particular to read at the moment, just picking up whatever book called out to you. Well if this book, high up on the shelf, was calling for you, who were you to deny it? You reached your hand up, but before you placed your hand on the spine of the book, your hand brushed up against something soft and warm.
You looked to your side and saw a boy standing there. He was wearing green, an all too similar shade to that of the book you had been reaching out for. He looked towards you, a dusting of red brushed against his cheeks. His hand hovered next to yours, he had been reaching for the same book! You quickly withdrew you hand, feeling a bit flustered yourself.
“Ah, I'm sorry. Did you want that book?” You suddenly blurted out, after a moment of the two of you standing in silence.
“Oh no, it's fine.” He laughed sheepishly, placing a hand on the back of his neck. His mouth made an adorable triangle shape as he chuckled. “You can take it.”
The boy awkwardly stared at you for a moment before turning away. You wanted to talk to him more, but you couldn't think of anything to say. Instead you pulled down the book from the shelf. It was about various ways to get different job qualifications. You didn't need a book like this, but maybe, “Um, excuse me?”
The boy turned back towards you, his face an even darker shade of red now. He pointed towards himself. “Me?”
“Yes. I don't really need this, so please, you can take it.” You held out the book in his direction. He took a step forward to claim it. As he put his hands upon the book, your fingers briefly met with his again. For a moment it felt like your heart had completely stopped beating. As if to make up for that brief lapse, it started up again at double speed
“Thank you.” He held the book to his chest, not quite meeting eyes with you.
“Are you looking for a job?” You asked. It was a flimsy excuse to continue the conversation, but you really didn't want him to go.
“Oh yeah. I am.” He nervously nodded.
“What kind of job?” You asked back.
“I'm not really sure, something in an office, I guess.”
That was kind of a vague answer. You worried that you were annoying him. Well, you were asking personal questions to a complete stranger, that was probably rude of you. “Oh, okay. Good luck on finding a job.” You bowed slightly towards him, and turned away yourself, hoping to make a hasty retreat before you committed any more social faux pas.
“Oh wait!” He called after you. You turned back. This whole exchange probably looked really awkward to anyone else who might be watching. That didn't bother you, you mostly were concerned about how fast your heart was still pounding. You looked at him expectantly. He said in a high-pitched tone, “Oh, I um, like your, uhh scarf?”
You giggled. So maybe he wanted to talk more with you too! His excuse was even more flimsy than yours had been. You had to admit it was adorable the way he stuttered over his words, holding tightly onto the book like it was some sort of lifeline. “Thank you.” You smiled at him and told him your name.
He seemed a bit surprised at you suddenly offering your name to him, but his features soon changed into a grin. “That's a really nice name.” You felt your face go warm at the surprising compliment. “Oh, I'm Matsuno Choromatsu.”
“Matsuno Choromatsu.” You repeated back, savoring the sound of his name in your mouth. He looked flustered at you saying his name, maybe even a bit lost. You could imagine him being very shy and not speaking with others much.
“I should go…” He said, reaching in his pocket for his wallet and pointing towards the register with his book. “I mean, it was nice meeting you, but my brothers are waiting for me.”
He was so cute even with all his nervousness, you really didn't want him to leave so soon. You had no more excuses to talk to him anymore, and you didn't want to get in the way of him meeting up with his family. You were about to give up and walk away when you noticed his wallet. It had a picture of your favorite cat idol! ”Do you like Nyaa-chan?”
Choromatsu looked his wallet with a bit of uncertainty. “Oh, yes?”
Your smile brightened, it wasn't often you met another fan since she was an underground idol. “Me too! Hey, are you going to her concert this Friday?”
“Yes?” Choromatsu replied, looking more anxious than ever.
“We should go together then!” You exclaimed. It took you a second to realize that you had basically just asked Choromatsu out on date. Your smile dropped and your eyes grew wide. Today was just not your day for normal social interactions! He probably wouldn't react very well to a total stranger asking him out, what were you thinking?
Choromatsu was sweating a bit despite the slight chill in the air. He took a few deep breaths before responding, “Yeah, I would like that.”
You had to stop yourself from shouting “yay,” like an idiot. He had agreed! You could hardly believe it! Only one last step to seal the deal. “Can I have your phone number Matsuno-san? So we can work out the details later? I don't want to delay you anymore than I already have.”
“Oh, um.” Choromatsu was red again. “I don't have a phone, well I have one at home, but not like a smart phone, it's a phone phone. Also, you can call me Choromatsu.”
Eh? He didn't have a phone? And he wanted you to call him by his first name? Wasn't that awfully bold of him? Maybe he wasn't as timid as you thought. “Ok Choromatsu-san. Can I have your house number? And, um, if you want, you can call me by my first name too.” That was only fair, you reasoned.
Choromatsu’s hands shook slightly, the book threatening to fall right out of them, as he told you his phone number, which you punched into your phone. “Okay. I'll call you later Choromatsu-san.”
“Okay.” He was smiling despite his obvious nervousness. “I'll talk to you later.”
You walked towards the exit of the store, glancing back at Choromatsu as he went to the cashier to pay. You had a date with him! With that super cute boy! Excitement ran through your veins. It was going to be a pain having to wait until Friday to see Choromatsu again, but you were sure it was worth the wait. You walked out the door, leaving the quiet and peace behind, entering back into the loudness of the real world.
You didn't get any books today, but you got something much better this time, you figured.