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Summertime meant one thing - finally being able to hang out with your friends and eat anything that could pass as a refresher in this weather. And for Sara Chidouin, well, this was yet another opportunity to get out of the house for a while and enjoy the little things about life.
She had a tendency of going off and doing her own thing, only this once she had invited one of her friends to go out with her and spend some time together. The friend in question happened to be Kugie Kizuchi, a girl she had met a few months prior. Despite going to entirely different schools and being complete opposites of each other, they shared a bond like no other; the two, Joe Tazuna and Ryoko Hirose were absolutely inseparable..
..except right now, since Joe had fallen ill and Ryoko was out of the country for the following week. It definitely did feel a little strange not having Ryoko or Joe around but they could make do with their current circumstances. It could be worse.
Today they had decided to get ice cream together and talk about nothing, walk around town, engage in other minimalistic activities and whatnot until the sun went down. Kugie seemed thrilled to finally take Sara to the ice cream store she had been frequenting with her younger sister, Kanna.
“You sure it’s fine to bring me here? Wouldn’t it… ruin the effect it has coming here with Kanna?” Sara quizzically glanced at the store that stood in front of her, worrying. There wasn’t anything notable about it; it seemed pretty run-of-the-mill, but if both Kugie and Kanna take such a massive liking to it, then surely it must be somewhat extraordinary, right?
“Don’t worry about a thing, Sara! I’ve always wanted to bring you here, so..” Kugie cleared her throat, “So let’s go in already!” With a little push, the pair made their way into the store.
Upon entering, their ears were filled with pleasant music ringing out from the speakers hanging in the corners of the building. ‘Very fitting’, Sara thought to herself. Being inside the store itself had a greater impact rather than just staring from the outside; the venue was nicely organized, no incessant noise or smell. Most seats were occupied by high school kids, be it couples, groups of friends and even some little kids with their families. It was at that moment Sara started to understand why the two sisters came here so often.
“You’ll love this place, I’m sure of it. The flavors and the quality are fantastic!” Kugie seemed to rush to the counter to place her order already. Sara, caught off guard, followed quickly behind.
From somewhere behind the counter, a boy their age stood in front of Kugie in what appeared to be a work uniform; his fluffy, white hair stood out under his cap. He seemed a little tired, however upon realizing who the person standing in front of him was, he smiled.
“Hey. Kugie, right?” His voice was… soothing, almost?
“Where’s- where’s your, uh…” The boy pointed in Kugie’s general direction. “..little sister?”
“Ah- Kanna? She’s not feeling too well…” Kugie frowned, her body slumping a little.
..Sara lost all track of reality. What was with this boy? Something about him just… stood out to her. Her heart raced just looking at him, just hearing his voice made her feel as though she was floating. She felt like time had stopped for the sole purpose of admiring him; her eyes had been opened at last. Was this what love at first sight felt like? She needed to learn more about him, get to know him, something… She knew she wouldn’t get him off her mind-
“Oh, you haven’t tried this flavor before, have you? Nice. It’s always good to try out new things.” His voice snapped her back to her senses.
“Yeah, just felt like something new. If not, Sara’ll eat it in my stead, won’t you?” Kugie was quick to turn back and face Sara with a grin on her face.
“Hu- yeah.. I guess I will.” For a moment, Sara wondered if Kugie or even the cashier himself had caught on to what was going on with her.
“Well, are you gonna order something for yourself, or-?”
“Of course I will, Kugie.” Apprehensively, she approached the counter. The thought of locking eyes with the boy…
“..I think I’ll take one scoop of cherry ice cream?”
She finally gained the courage to look up at him properly only to be greeted with him staring somewhat intensely at her. At the realization of being caught red-handed, the boy quickly averted his gaze while writing down what the two girls had ordered.
“Soo.. two scoops of maple ice cream and one scoop of cherry, right?” The two girls nodded.
Sara reached in her pocket to pay for her half of the fee but before she could even pull her hand out, Kugie interrupted her. “Don’t worry, Sara, I’ll pay for you this once. You don’t gotta pay me back.”
“Oh, Kugie, that’s…” The auburn-haired girl smiled and bowed deeply. “Thank you so much!!”
..from the corner of her eye, Sara noticed the boy smiled as he handed back their receipt. Could he be any cuter? Jesus.
The pair retreated to a pillar not far off from the cash register. Naturally, Sara couldn’t help but admire this boy she knew nothing about. What if he already had a girlfriend? Maybe a boyfriend? What if he wasn’t interested in dating? What if he thought she was weird and that’s why he was staring earlier? What if he just wasn’t interested in her? They don’t even know each other’s names… how stupid is that?
Those worries seemed to dissipate just as fast as they came when they locked gazes once more; he was the first to look away, eyes lighting up in contrast to that bored-to-death look in his eyes from earlier. Maybe he thought she was cool after all?
Soon after, Sara noticed the white-haired boy writing something on what appeared to be either a paper or a tissue. From that distance, she couldn’t tell what the writing was or what he was doing, but he… wrapped the tissue around her ice cream cone?
“K-Kugie-” Sara nudged her friend using her elbow. “Did you see that?”
“See what?” The younger girl with raven-black hair tried to locate what Sara was referring to.
“He wrote something on-”
Before she could finish her sentence, the two were called to retrieve their ice cream. Sara trailed behind Kugie, trying to hide her self-consciousness, desperately trying to convince herself this is merely a one-time thing, they’ll never see each other again and she’ll be over it in no time. She wasn’t ever lucky in her love life.
“Cherry for the ginger girl, right?” ..his voice seemed somewhat softer than prior. In response, Sara nodded as the boy handed her her dessert.
…Sara impatiently waited for Kugie to receive hers before walking off, planning to wander around aimlessly. But first, Sara wanted to check the writing inside the tissue wrapped around her frozen delight.
“Whatcha looking at?” Kugie curiously peeked her head in to see the writing as well.
..a phone number, with the words ‘I’m working tomorrow as well if you wanna pay us another visit’ with a minuscule smiling face drawn next to them,a name signed at the bottom.
Ranmaru.
Sara’s cheeks were quick to light up with a faint shade of pink… did he take a liking to her? Or was she just convincing herself that was the case?
“Oooh, Sara! You scored big time!” The younger girl wraps her arm behind Sara’s back.
“Eh? What do you mean?”
“You’ll finally get a boyfriend! A cute one, too!” The words only made Sara blush harder, making her cover the lower half of her face with her free hand.
“D-don’t say that! What if he’s not into me?”
“Stop putting yourself down… why else would he give you his number and tell you he’s working tomorrow as well? He likes you for sure!”
Those last few words echoed in her head endlessly. He likes her? Isn’t love a little more… complex? Not that she’d know a lot, but…
“You gotta meet him at all costs! I’ll take you myself if I have to!”
Sara looked behind them, staring at the shop for a brief moment. Maybe this was meant to be. Maybe she will meet the love of her life this way.
“Man, I’m a little jealous of you, haha.”
“..don’t be. You’ll find a great girl someday too, Kugie.”
“I sure hope so… and I hope it’ll be just as romantic as it is with you and this ‘Ranmaru’ g-” Sara was quick to cover Kugie’s mouth, holding back a few giggles.
“Jesus, keep it down..! What if someone hears us?” She finally peels her hand away from her mouth.
“Hahahaha- sorry, sorry!”
..maybe this could truly be the start of true romance. Sara couldn’t get that gorgeous face out of her head. Kugie was right; Sara absolutely had to meet him again tomorrow. She has to properly make his acquaintance.