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Singing and songwriting is a medium that Len was quite familiar with and after years of experience, it was as if it was bound to his mind and his body. Whatever he wanted to write about came naturally to him, especially if it was a project for work. He had grown a bit tired though of the usual outlets for his emotion and wanted to explore different methods that would allow him to express himself but was still challenging his brain.
At his desk, was a notebook and a pen that he had been eyeing for a few minutes now with an idea that came to mind. Despite it fundamentally being similar to songwriting, he wanted to try writing something akin to poetry or a love letter. The target of his affection was none other than Miku, to whom he spends most of his time with her when they aren’t busy with their responsibilities. How could he not feel so strongly toward her? Initially he didn’t think much of their encounters, whether it was performing together or small talk in the group house they lived in, but over time he could feel himself start to be more curious about her. What’s her favorite color? What does she like to eat? What’s her type? Is she single- the questions only continued to rack his brain as his infatuation grew deeper. He felt a bit embarrassed at the thought of writing or performing a love song for her, and thus shifted his creativity towards a medium that would allow him to let her understand how he feels without the pressure of him being there. If he had sang her a love song that involves him pouring his heart out, he’d feel bad if it made her feel pressured to reply to him on the spot.
Before beginning to write, he grabbed a small snack and an energy drink in order to keep himself composed and focused as he wanted to knock this out in one go. Len wanted to convey his genuine feelings and what he thought of her, and that’s something that he felt didn’t need days or weeks of time. Just one emotional pour-over into a piece of paper that he’ll slip under her door or something, if he manages to get enough courage to give it to her. His pen touches the first line of the paper and he starts his greeting, To You., and immediately scribbles it out. “That doesn’t sound very direct, actually.” Len felt a bit flustered to write this despite how ready he was to start writing it. Contemplating for a moment, he decided to keep writing on that same page, hoping that his mistakes would add some charm to it. Immediately, he rewrote his greeting right next to his initial one, “Dear Miku.” and shook his head a bit wondering why he just didn’t start like that in the first place. ‘What do I even write about?’ Len wasn’t sure where to start with this letter, and he didn’t want it to be an entire soliloquy about how he feels about her, that might come off as creepy. After thinking for a moment, his hand began to move as he wanted to approach with a more poetic angle first.
My love for you burns brighter than the sun. Len shook his head again and scribbled it out once more, ‘Maybe that’s a bit TOO strong for the first line..’ He clicked his pen a few times while thinking of something else to write, something that wouldn’t scare her off. His decisions at the moment lay between going the emotionally complex route, or the simple honest route, and he wasn’t sure what he wanted to do more. ‘Maybe I go for a simple approach, let’s just write “I want you.” and be done with it.’ A smile crept across his face and he chuckled to himself a bit before discarding that idea. He tried to lock back in and began writing once more, coming in with a more gentle approach.
I can’t pinpoint when it all began, but I have found myself increasingly unable to stop thinking about you. From your long, beautiful teal hair, to your turquoise eyes that sparkle like the gem.
Len nodded to himself and let his expressions continue to flow,
Like someone seeing the starry night sky for the first time, my heart flutters whenever our eyes meet. Just like those stars in the sky, despite being so far away, I want my feelings to reach you just the same and shine just as brightly for you.
He wasn’t sure if it was the caffeine or his motivation that was helping his creativity flow, but regardless he felt that he was making good progress… until a few knocks hit his door.
Len jumped a bit in his chair before responding, “Wh-who is it?” it scared him out of his focus and he tried to quickly regain composure until he heard a voice that he was trying to avoid at the moment, “It’s me! I just wanted to see if you wanted to play games or hang out!” Miku’s cheerful voice pierced his ears and went straight to his brain, distracting him from everything that he was just working on. Despite wanting to accept her offer, he painfully decided to decline because he knew he would never finish his letter if he stopped now. “I would, but I’m a bit busy at the moment with something really important, we can hang out later though! I promise.” He was hoping she wouldn’t ask about it, but before he could finish that thought, “Oh! Sounds really serious. What are you working on? Maybe I can help you.” Despite Miku being on the other side of the closed door, he could imagine her bright smile in his head and could feel a slight blush creep to his cheeks. Len shook his head a bit and focused on trying to come up with a good excuse/lie about what he was working on in order to not entice her to ask further questions, “Mmm. I appreciate the offer but it’s something I can only work on by myself, it’s kind of a secret project.” He was hoping this was enough to dissuade her, but he knew her personality well enough and knew this would only rouse her further. “A secret project, huh. That sounds even more interesting! Is it so secret that you can’t even tell me about it?” What was probably a smile, was now definitely a smirk and he could tell due to the tone of her voice as she asked him another question. “Oh man it’s like, soooo secret that if I tell anyone else about it, bad things could happen or something haha..” Len put his hands in his palms as he knew how stupid that sounded, but he couldn’t think of anything else fast enough. Miku giggled a bit, but resigned to his humorous response. “Okay, I believe you. You’re working on a secret project to save the world or something right? But you HAVE to tell me about it later! If you’re able to, of course. I’ll come by later!” She hesitated for a second between bursting into his room, or walking away, but chose the latter to respect his privacy.
After wiping his forehead from either the metaphorical or actual sweat he could feel going down, he took a deep breath before continuing to write. ‘That was close. If she had come in or kept asking me about this, I don’t know if I would’ve been able to hide it.’ His gaze fixated back to the paper and he brought his pen to begin writing once more, feeling a bit inspired from her short visit. For a second, he thought about her voice and began to feel himself get distracted. The sweet sounds of her voice was enough to make him feel somewhat lightheaded, akin to alcohol or something that would relax him. He shook himself out of his mental spell and tried to focus in again, tapping his pen to the paper for a brief moment before continuing to write whatever came to mind.
When I’m with you, it’s like time begins to slow down, every moment we share becomes an addition to my treasured memories. When we’re apart, the color begins to fade from my world until I can see you again. Despite our time as friends, I want something more. If you don’t feel the same, feel free to ignore.
Signed,
Len.
Taking another deep breath, he felt that it was sufficient enough to consider being finished. If he had gone on any longer than he did(even though it wasn’t very long at all), it would’ve delved into a stronger devotion piece which isn’t the angle he’s going for at the moment. All that was left was to give this to her somehow, without anyone else knowing or asking him about it, or spotting him doing so. After waiting for a few hours until everyone had calmed down for the evening and returned to their rooms to relax, the boy felt his anxiety creep in. What if she doesn’t feel the same? What if she thinks the letter is weird? He felt especially concerned for both of these questions, considering they live in the same place and if things go wrong he would probably have to move out.
Len had put the letter neatly in a yellow-colored envelope, sealed with a banana sticker because he did not like licking the envelope shut due to the weird taste. After leaving his room as quietly as he could, he made his way down the hall towards Miku’s room but felt an eerie presence behind him. He turned around slowly before a glimpse of teal-colored hair entered his peripheral vision, and he could feel sweat start to bead on his forehead from nervousness. ‘This is the one person I DIDN’T want to run into right now…’ Len’s nervous expression met with Miku’s curious eyes and grin, and they both paused for a moment before she looked down and noticed his yellow envelope. “Ooh! Is this the secret project you were working on? Is it some sort of… blueprint? Maybe a secret plan? Can ya tell me about it now?” She began to smile wider out of pure nosiness, hoping to get an answer this time around. Whether it was a mix of the anxiety he had at the moment, or the caffeine he consumed earlier, Len felt his heart start to beat faster in his chest. He took a deep breath before finally deciding to come clean.
“..It’s uh, it’s a letter. A l-love.. letter. For you.” He felt blood rush to his cheeks and the tips of his ears, his face probably hotter than the sun at the moment. Miku was taken a bit back, also beginning to feel flustered. She wasn’t expecting him to be so forward and honest about what was going on, but wanted to match his earnestness.“...Oh. I didn’t realize you felt that way towards me.. Well, maybe a little. If you want, I can read it privately in my room unless you’d prefer I read it outloud in the hallway or something.” She chuckled softly as Len shook his head vigorously at that answer. He knew she wouldn’t do something like that but the potential thought of it mortified him. Len handed her the letter, and nodded before trying to scurry away as soon as possible out of embarrassment. “Yes, PLEASE read it in your room! Don’t let anyone else see, I can already imagine the reactions and teasing I’d get from everyone else… and don’t feel pressured to respond. If you don’t feel the same, that’s okay. It means enough to me if you’d give it a serious read and think about what I said. Okay thanks bye-” The last part of his response was rushed as he speedwalked back to his room and softly shut the door. Len sat on the floor and set his head back against it, taking a deep breath, ‘I might’ve spoiled the contents but I can’t believe I already had to tell her..’ He felt it wasn’t worth worrying about, knowing that she was a genuine and kind person was enough to ensure that even if she didn’t feel the same, she would let him down as gently as possible. After crawling into his bed, Len put his headphones on and set his phone to play some relaxing music as he drifted off to sleep.
Len felt the sunshine slowly creep through his window and hit his face, which promptly woke him up. After gaining post-sleep consciousness, he felt his heart sink a little bit from remembering the events of yesterday. The anticipation of whether he’d get a response or not was killing him, until he sat up and noticed a teal envelope on his floor, probably slid under his door at some point either in the morning or overnight. A mix of excitement and fear threw him out of the bed as he grabbed the envelope and stared at it for a moment before carefully opening it, removing the leek sticker that kept it closed. He unfolded the letter and began to read,
Dear Len,
I’m sorry…. For not noticing sooner. The letter was quite cute, just like you. It was very sweet and I am quite touched to read how you feel about me. To reciprocate however, I thought I would try and write my own response in a more poetic fashion, just to be fair.
Roses are red, violets are blue, I want you. (Just kidding, that’s not the real poem.)
Len wasn’t sure if he was excited or nervous about reading the rest of the poem, but he did laugh at that last line. Maybe he should’ve gone that route after all, but he’ll save it if he ever needs to write another letter for Miku.
Your presence is captivating, like a stage performance that I can’t keep my eyes off of. The longer we spend together the more it pains me to be apart from you. To your starry sky, I wish to be your moon. To your colorless world I wish to be your palette. From your charming laugh to your sweet personality, I think I want more.
“Feel free to ignore” huh? Even if I didn’t feel the same, I couldn’t ignore this! Let’s talk more in person.
Forever yours,
Miku
The letter slowly dropped from his hands and he could feel a strong smile rushing to his face without being able to hold back. Despite his lackluster writing skills, he was able to get his feelings across in a way that didn’t turn her off of him. He took a moment to compose himself, the excitement and happiness causing his heart to beat a little faster than he would’ve liked earlier in the morning.
After what felt like an eternity of a morning, he heard another knock at his door after relaxing in his room for the day, and tried keeping himself calm before answering the knock, “...Who is it?” Len could barely contain his excitement but wanted to do so just in case the person at the door wasn’t who he was hoping for. To his expectations, were met with that same alluring voice he had hoped to hear as soon as possible in the day. “O romeo~ My Romeo~ Wherefore art thou Romeo?” Miku giggled a bit before opening the door and letting herself in, knowing he was going to let her in anyway. He felt his cheeks heat up a bit in a mix of embarrassment and flustered emotions, letting out a small sigh, “Still with the poetry theme are we? I don’t think I have much more in me after that exchange..” His sigh only lasted so long before his beaming smile returned to his face, clearly showing he could not contain his happiness to finally be with her in a way that wasn’t just friendly. Miku could clearly tell he was looking forward to seeing her, and wasted no time in meeting his expectations, closing the door behind her. She switched the lock, and rushed over to give him a kiss on the lips, cementing their relationship as official.
Len was taken by surprise but was completely okay with it, “My cinderella, let me take you away from here~” He returned her affection and reciprocated with a kiss, hoping that this would be the start of their happily ever after.