When it comes to chocolates

By psychedelic aya

"Life is like a box of chocolates—you never know what you'll get." -Forrest Gump

He remembered seeing her sitting there—her natural beauty being radiated by the soft descending sunlight, her silk brown locks swaying in perfect motion with the gentle zephyr.

He never knew the reason why he found her there that day; but nevertheless, he knew on that moment that it had changed something between them—...forever.

Tsujiai Hiroki was walking down the usual boardwalk by the coast, holding his bags of groceries. His eyes were indifferent as usual, and he didn't speak nor hum as he passed by the beautiful ocean and sunset.

He was intent on getting home before his favorite show started—he was sure today's episode would be a blast, and so he hurried up when passing by the mart. But what he wasn't sure of was that he would be meeting a certain someone along the way home—and that because of that certain someone, he would be missing his show today.

And so he continued on walking, and walking, and walking… until then—he saw her.

Tsujiai raised an eyebrow, his footsteps decreasing. He stopped quite a distance from her, wondering why she was alone at this time of the day. She sat on the bench with perfect poise and posture, her mouth a thin line and her eyes swollen. She was looking out to the sea, as if staring at it's magnificence.

He decided to approach her, the clicking of his shoes getting louder—but she didn't notice.

As he walked towards her, he noticed that she didn't even budge—her posture was still the same, her facial expressions were unmoving.

He decided to speak.

"Tateishi."

The way he said her name split the silent atmosphere almost immediately. She jolted a bit, and her gentle face graciously turned towards his direction with her eyes wide in surprise.

"Ah, Tsujiai-kun!" Tateishi Ayu exclaimed, almost reprimanding herself for spacing out and not noticing him. For a moment, she just gazed at him, as if trying to comprehend what the heck he was doing here. Then she saw the grocery bags. Not knowing what else to say, "Oh… you just came from the mini-mart?"

He still had that indifferent look to him, but nevertheless, he nodded. His stoic dark eyes suddenly gazed back at her, and only then did he notice that her eyes were puffy and swollen.

He raised an eyebrow again. "Were you crying?"

The straightforwardness of his question startled her, and instinctively she rubbed her eyes. "No, no… I wasn't!" She denied, and gave a small laugh as if to prove her words. "I mean… why would I be crying in the first place? Hahahah!"

Her laugh was a dry, empty one.

Tsujiai's eyebrows were still raised as he watched her. Without replying yet, he placed his grocery bags down on the floor and sat next to her on the empty space of the bench. He gazed at his shoes for a single moment, and then turned back to her again. "You're not a very good liar, Tateishi."

Her heart skipped a bit in nervousness, knowing she was caught. Immediately her fake giggles ceased, and her eyes lay upon him for a special moment, but then they immediately averted to the brick floor. She replied with guilt in her voice. "…I guess I'm not…" Ayu admitted, clasping her hands together and resting them on her lap.

There was a short silence again, but Tsujiai broke it by asking, "Why were you crying?"

By the way her eyes shut tight and how her hands gripped each other tighter—he could see that she didn't actually want to tell. But then, even she knew she had no choice. He would find out sooner or later anyway. And so, "…I had a fight with someone today."

It was a very vague answer, and although Tsujiai Hiroki wasn't really the type to pry into other people's business, he still questioned some more. "Who exactly was that someone?"

Ayu didn't answer. Her eyes avoided his completely as well, staying glued to the floor.

He decided to make his own guesses.

"Was it with your parents?"

She mustered enough strength from her depressed state to meekly shake her head.

"Sakura?"

No reaction this time—not even a single budge. He took that as a no. Besides, even through the worst of circumstances, he didn't think those two best friends would ever fight.

And then, almost hesitantly…

"Kaji?"

She didn't make any verbal response, but her eyes widened just a little before returning to their sad look. Although it only happened for a split-second, he was able to catch it.

Ah, so that was it then. Even though she still didn't answer directly, he somehow knew that he had hit a spot.

Tsujiai looked to the sea, but then he closed his dark orbs even before he caught sight of the waters. He could almost feel Ayu's vibrating emotions—there was sadness radiating all over her. Somehow, although he had nothing to do with this, he felt for her. It was as if he was actually sorry for her.

But that couldn't happen—Tsujiai Hiroki was known to pity no one.

But maybe today would change that.

After all, Tateishi Ayu was always a different case.

If the rustling of bags had come any later, she would've started crying again. But as soon as she suddenly heard the paper bags scratching against each other as he reached into its depths, her tears ceased and her depression was abruptly replaced with curiosity.

"Ano ne…" She tried to peep over his shoulder, trying to see what he was doing. She was able to see slightly that he was rummaging and scrambling with his grocery items, as if trying to find something. "Tsujiai-kun, what are you---"

"Ah. Here it is." Her curious words were cut off by his stoic tone. He looked to the object in his hands seriously, as if it had some deep meaning. Then, "What a relief. I thought I accidentally got a different brand. Now that would be a disaster, since you can't find these in any other grocery store…"

Ayu's pupils averted to the thing he was holding—and if she wasn't feeling so blue, she was sure she would've fallen off the bench. "Chocolates?!" Well, she didn't fall off exactly, but she had enough strength to make a huge sweatdrop appear by her head.

He looked to her indifferently, as if it weren't strange to be holding some chocolates. Well, in truth, it wasn't strange at all. It was just that it seemed so inappropriate for the situation they were having here. "Yeah. Chocolates." He held out the box to her, and though he still looked as cold and impassive as ever, there was this certain shine in his eyes that made Ayu realize that he was acting differently towards her today. He then opened the lid of the box, revealing the delicate pieces of creamy milk chocolate inside. "You want some?"

She looked apprehensive for a moment, as if trying to comprehend what was happening. Then, raising her hand out as if to pick one, she said, "…I guess one wouldn't hurt…" She controlled her hungry fingers to go nearer to the pieces, her eyes probing critically as to which one to get.

Then, as the tip of her tall finger was about to reach a piece—

…Tsujiai suddenly withdrew the box.

With a smug smile that made him almost resemble Yuta, he closed the box and placed it back in his grocery bags. "Nope. I changed my mind." He closed his eyes after, but opened one to gaze at the girl beside him. "You can't have one, Tateishi. They're too precious." Then in a swift motion, he grabbed all his bags and stood up—and as he did so, his look suddenly turned stoic again.

"…Tsujiai-kun…?" Ayu wasn't aware if he did that on purpose to tease her; but nevertheless, she was left really confused and hanging there. Her mind suddenly whirled with thoughts, and her emotions became even more mixed than before.

It was such a simple act, but it sent her flying into her world of confusion. Well, after all, she was very fragile at the moment—since she was depressed and all.

Hiroki suddenly started to walk away, his footsteps patterned on the paved brick floor. Then, as he went farther, he stopped for a moment to bid goodbye to her. "I'll see you again, Tateishi." He titled his head slightly sideways so that he could see her clearly. He grinned secretly at her figure for a moment, making sure he took in all the naïve expressions on her perfect face—the confusion, the mixed feelings.

Then, he started walking away again. "Everything will be okay." His last words were quite surprising, but they comforted her nonetheless. Even though just a little bit.

And before Ayu knew it, he disappeared into the mass of people that were also walking down the boardwalk by the coast.

She sighed, feeling hopeless. The only person she could talk to at the moment had just left her, and she felt even more lost now than before. Her eyes glazed with moist again, hoping the day would end better than it started.

Then, as she averted her eyes to the sea, her fingers suddenly grazed against something—and she was sure it wasn't part of the bench.

It was only then when Ayu realized that a box of chocolates were sitting beside her, precious and delicate. They were untouched.

And from a distance, Tsujiai Hiroki walked away with something uncharacteristically him—

…a smile.

And Kyoy, I've been doing chapter 16 of Twsited Fantasy too! Really! I promised the end of the week, right? It's almost ready!