DISCLAIMER: I do not own Get Backers or any of its characters, least of all, Ban and Natsumi. I'm only a poor, insignificant fan fiction writer whose only aim in life is to pair up Ban and Nat. I assure you, I make no money doing this or anything else. So please don't sue me. Thank you and hope you enjoy the fan fic.
16th April, 2009
Dear Diary,
So, today was a really happening day. Oooohh….I can't wait to tell you what happened! But I can't simply narrate it to you in a distorted and haphazard manner, now can I, Diary-kun? Let me take a deep breath and adjust my thoughts well first…
Fine, now that I know where to start from, let's begin from how my day started. I woke up as normally as any other day, got dressed and left for work. It was a holiday today so no school for me, just Honky Tonk. I left home, took a bus (I was too lazy to walk, you know) and even on my way, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. But as I alighted from the bus, walked to Honky Tonk and opened that very familiar door, I thought my eyes had gone wrong or something.
At first, I couldn't recognize the place. I thought that there was probably another café by the same name and same door in Shinjuku. IT WAS SO FULL OF PEOPLE! Lol. I know, it's stupid, but I'd never, in my term as a waitress there, seen the place so jam-packed with people. It was almost as if they'd only just noticed that the café existed. Or maybe they thought it had just opened or whatever. So, I opened the door again and sure enough I saw Paul looking as if Christmas had arrived early and Ban and Ginji serving the customers along with Hevn, who looked like a good representation of a slutty waitress. But the cutest part was watching Ban and Ginji take orders and wait on folks. I smiled and got in. Paul looked even happier as he yelled orders at me to start working. I slipped on my black apron and got to work.
The crowd didn't thin up to lunch time. My legs were hurting by now. I'd never worked nonstop this way. I badly wanted to sit down and massage my feet but firstly, there was no place and also, I had a lot of customers waiting. So, I slogged hard until finally the people started to leave one by one, thankfully satisfied by our service. Paul was muttering to himself joyfully. Hevn wiped her forehead with the back of her hand and breathed heavily. We both looked at each other and laughed. Hevn's revealing appearance had sure guaranteed us more permanent customers! After all, what guy wouldn't want to have Hevn waiting on him? Ban grumbled a little about 'insult of the great Get Backers' and walked around the café for a while. Ginji sat down on one of the sofa seats and stretched out his legs on the table. I sat down on one of the stools near the counter. Hevn made herself a cup of coffee and sat down on my other side. Ginji was just about to doze off when he suddenly remembered that he had promised Paul to do some chores for him, which involved running around Shinjuku for quite some time. He groaned, rubbed his head for a bit and ran out after screaming a quick goodbye to all of us.
Ban finally took up the seat that Ginji had just vacated. He picked up a newspaper lying around and started reading it.
"Hey, Miss Waitress," he said to me in a drawling voice, "Do you mind making me a quick cup of coffee?"
"Sure, why not?" I smiled radiantly and got up, "I'm a super waitress who never tires out, that's why!"
"Don't exert yourself or anything," Ban said looking at me directly. I looked at him, entranced, for a moment and replied back, shaking my head, "It's not a problem, really. I was just kidding."
I went to the coffee machine and made him some coffee. Pouring it slowly into his favorite cup, I took it to him (at which he muttered a quick thanks) and settled back onto my seat. Paul was in the upstairs room, counting all the money he'd made today. Hevn blew at her coffee and sipped it leisurely. All was quiet for a long while.
Suddenly, Hevn's phone rang. She squealed when she saw the incoming number and ran out of the café to take the call, leaving the seat next to me empty. It was just me and Ban in the room now. I lowered my head and placed it on the polished counter. In a few minutes, I felt something move beside me. Ban was now sitting in the seat Hevn had occupied earlier.
I blushed profusely. You know that I've always had feelings for Ban. At first, I thought this was just a stupid crush, but it kept growing and growing and at times, I find it so difficult to even face Ban properly. I don't think he notices or cares, yet all the same. I don't think I need to dedicate another page to my feelings for him. You have millions of those already. Let's get back to what happened.
I shifted a little uneasily. We had never before been at such close proximity. I tried not to think that we were alone at that point, just in case steam started issuing from my ears. I struggled to behave as normally as possible. Somehow, I had the feeling that I was being watched. I got up to see Ban staring at me interestedly.
"Are you feeling ok?" he asked sounding more casual than concerned.
"Yeah, of course, I'm ok. I'm just a little tired after all that work." I said, hoping I sounded as casual as he did.
"Hmmm…but you're turning red," he remarked. I must have blushed even more just then, for he laughed and pointed out, "See; you just turned redder!"
"It's nothing," I said, "It's probably just the heat."
Once again, a long silence ensued. I looked around for a bit and took a go at striking up a conversation with him.
"So, Ban," I said, in an overly cheerful tone, "Wasn't it a little strange today? I mean, all those people who crowded in here?"
"Yeah, it was almost as if they noticed it only today while it's been here for ages," he replied calmly with his eyes closed.
"That's exactly what I thought too!" I said, happy to hear that Ban and I thought similarly.
"It's got something to do with Paul deciding to clean that ancient door today, I'm sure," replied Ban glancing at the entrance door.
I laughed loudly (a little too loudly to tell you the truth...) and fell quiet abruptly. Ban smiled faintly but I couldn't bring myself to look at him. As a result, I sat there, staring blankly at my knees. I stared at my feet, the floor and everywhere else except at Ban. He too made no attempt to talk further. I kept looking around here and there until my eyes finally settled on Ban's left hand that was resting on the table. I couldn't resist taking a peek even at his hands. They were so manly. His fingers were so nice and long, just like that of an artist. I wished I had the right to hold that hand and entwine my fingers with his. I wished I could put my arm around his…gosh! What was I thinking? I tried to maintain a straight face while trying to clear my mind of such thoughts.
But before I could think about something else to distract me, my eyes strayed over to his shirt. He was wearing his trademark white shirt. The first two buttons were open, revealing a fabulous chest. Thankfully, he had no chest hair. It made guys look so beastly! I just wanted to sit there all day and fantasize about…well, ahem, what I meant was, I wanted to keep looking at his chest like that out of the corner of my eye. My gaze shifted a little higher and I fixed my eyes on his Adam's apple. His voice…oh, it made me go weak in the knees. What I found sexiest in a guy was his Adam's apple. It may sound strange but hey, everyone has their own little traits. So, I found myself looking at him and thinking of him in ways I certainly shouldn't have been thinking. He'd have killed me by now if he could read minds. But he was sitting peacefully with his eyes closed.
Engrossed in thought, I just swayed a little and my hand accidentally brushed against his. His eyes snapped open and turned to face me instantly. I felt my body go numb. I seemed to be glued to the stool. As hard as I tried, I couldn't move an inch. I wanted to get up and run away at that moment. But I was paralyzed. He didn't move his eyes from my face even for a bit. He was watching me, almost as if someone was pulling him away from me. We gazed at each other like there was no tomorrow. Ban slowly reached out to hold my hand. I skipped a heartbeat. He held my hand gently, still not taking his eyes off me. I don't know if it was just my head or what but he seemed to be getting closer. Now, my head started to spin with excitement and I felt giddy. I tried to be as normal as possible but I don't know if anyone can stay calm at such a moment, especially if it's their first time facing something like this. I couldn't believe what was happening. It all seemed like a dream. I'd been hoping for this to happen for months now but now that it was all going the way I'd thought of, I was pretty taken aback. I stared back for quite a long while. But then, I decided to make the most of this opportunity. After all, I wasn't sure how long Ban would tolerate my pettiness. I closed my eyes and bent forward. We moved in nearer and nearer until our noses were just inches away. You can think that nothing could possibly go wrong after this point. But let me tell you, you'd be highly mistaken if you had such beliefs.
Just as I was about to have the most-awaited moment of my life, my first kiss, I had a feeling that strangely enough, we weren't alone in the room anymore. I could feel Hevn's prying eyes on us. And you didn't possibly expect me to carry on with her around, did you? Very reluctantly, I opened my eyes and took a deep breath. Ban opened his eyes immediately. He looked at me questioningly. I lowered my eyes and moved them around uncertainly, as if I didn't know where to place them. He realized what I was trying to say to him.
I looked to my side and saw Hevn wearing an odd expression on her face. She looked as if she were bursting to say a number of things but the words just wouldn't come. After a moment or two, however, she calmed down and smirked at me. Ban got up wordlessly and went outside to have a smoke. Hevn took his seat and looked at me squarely in the face for a whole minute. At the time, I didn't want to discuss what had happened with her or with anyone, for that matter. But, after all, this was some bit of progress I just had to discuss with my best friend. I'd explode if I had to stay closed up about this. I am a girl, after all. Guys are good at this kind of thing. They do all kinds of things and still keep all their feelings bottled up inside. I can't even imagine doing that…
I glanced at Hevn and both of us burst out laughing. We kept giggling even when Paul said it annoyed him. I felt different now. If just a while ago I'd felt all moody and secretive, it was all gone now. I couldn't wait to give Hevn a bit-by-bit explanation of what she'd walked in on.
Ban came back into the café in a little while. Our eyes met. I didn't want to shift my eyes away (yes, again!) but when Ban gave a tiny jerk with his head, I understood right away what he meant. I beamed and looked away, with the ghost of my smile still on my face, knowing that the time would come when it had to. Until then, coffee anyone?
So, it's me, Natsumi, signing off at the end of another long day. I hope you had a good time reading my entry. Keep your eyes and ears open till I get back with more juicy stuff. Good night, good bye and see you later!! Toodles!
Author's Notes: This fan fic is based on an incident right out of my life which took place roughly about 5 years ago. That's why I'd like to dedicate it to my first crush who I know won't be reading this. But it's just to say that I do think of him sometimes. Especially when I read this story…! Anyway, thank you, dear readers for reading this fic. Now, all my hungry soul needs is some reviews. All praise and criticism will be welcomed with open arms. Anonymous reviewers please do leave an e-mail ID, as I'd like to get back to you. Thank you very much. Hope you enjoyed yourself.