The Undateable (Discontinued) ~ Takeshi x OC [Fujiwara Bittersweet]

Chapter 4: The invitation

It's been two weeks since I visited Aya's house and nothing much has changed since then. I still help out at the flower shop of her mother a lot, since my parents don't know about that when they're not home. The only thing that changed is that Takeshi now stops by the store every now and then, allowing Aya to have a constant reason to see us as a future couple.

"You're coming to the store again this afternoon, right?" Aya asks, looking at me with almost literal sparkles in her eyes.

"Aren't you taking this thing between Hanata and your brother a little far?" Haru asks, crossing her arms while looking at Aya.

"Come on, Haru. It's fun!" Ichigo joins in on Aya's side. "Even though Hanata is a girl, I'll let it slip for once and support Aya!"

"I hadn't expected anything less from you," a sigh escapes Haru's lips.

"Thanks Haru, but it's fine. I was planning to go either way since it's a nice way to pass time," I answer, looking at Aya. "But please stop making everyone uncomfortable the second Taskeshi enters the room.

"Oh... Aw... Alright, I'll try," she finally gives in.

"Don't give up!" Ichigo tries encouraging her, but Haru already pulls her out to make sure they won't be late for club activities.

"Then should we go as well?" I ask Aya, who nods in response. It doesn't take long before we exit the school gates together.

The way to the store and the start of our shift go the same as always. We chit-chat until Aya's mom tells us to hurry and do some work. After about an hour, I hear a -by now familiar- voice. "Good afternoon!"

"Takkun!" Aya says as she looks up, and even though she opens her mouth, she seems to hold herself back and close it again, which even causes Takeshi to raise an eyebrow.

"Takeshi, you came in just at the right moment," Aya's mom chimes. "There are some heavy things at the back which we couldn't seem to move. I'm sure Hanata wouldn't mind showing you."

Am I seeing this right? Did I finally get Aya to stop and now her mom starts doing the same thing, this family is impossible. "Of course," I still answer, my pride getting in the way from refusing or asking her why it should be me.

"So what do you need help with?" Takeshi asks as the two of us make our way to the back.

"We got these bags filled with dirt which need to be moved to the front to work with, but they're indeed quite heavy," I explain as I stop in front of a palette filled with bags of dirt. "I think about two bags should do for now, there isn't much to fill up anyways."

"Alright," Takeshi says as he grabs one of the bags. "Would you mind grabbing the other side?"

"On it." I walk over to the other side and lift up the bag of dirt. It's still fairly heavy but doable with the extra help as we start moving it back to the front.

"You're amazing!" Aya's mom chimes as she sees us walk in. "Though I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to bring one more bag in."

"Hanata already predicted that much," Takeshi says as he walks back to the back.

"It's not a problem," I emphasize, following Takeshi and also moving the second bag to the front.

"You really are a dream team," Aya spouts the second we get back, then realising what she said and looking at me with an apologetic look. She really does say the first thing that comes to mind, guess I should just go with it and laugh it off, she already seems to be feeling bad enough about it as it is.

"Wel, yes obviously. I'm in it after all," I laugh, opening the first bag of dirt and getting to work.

"Well, you needed me to bring them up to the front, right? Then I'd say I'm what makes this team so dreamy," Takeshi brings up, flexing his muscles and chuckling as it doesn't seem to have much effect.

"You put the dream into it 'cause you're dreaming." I hear Aya laugh at this remark, and also her mom lets out a soft wheeze in amusement.

"Oh, come on," Takeshi complains, lowering his arms. "At least give me some credit for dragging these things around."

"Fine, thank you," I give in, flashing him a quick smile before continuing work.

"Mom mentioned that you work here without getting paid. Don't you have anything to do like a normal teenager? Like gaming or something," Takeshi suddenly asks, watching me fill up a few jars with dirt.

"I don't need the money," I answer, avoiding his gaze by overly focussing on the flower in front of me. "On top of that, I like this work."

"A rich family?" he jokes, though the joke being spot-on. "I mean, why else wouldn't you need extra money?"

"Cut it out, Takkun," Aya mentions, giving him a quick dirty look.

"No, he's right," I give in, still focussing on the work. I don't like talking about my parents, neither do I want to lie. On top of that I don't want Takeshi to get into trouble with his mom and Aya for guessing something right. I don't think he meant it nasty, and otherwise he sucks at indicating an insult, which might have been profitable for him.

"He's right?" Aya and her mom respond at the same time, looking up from their work at me. They both seem surprised, and I already know I won't get out of it without explaining.

"Both my parents are successful in business so you could say I have rich parents. They're mostly not at home though and I don't want people bugging me about it at school, so I don't talk about it often. I honestly like working here, I just really don't need the money," I quickly explain, moving onto the next bunch of flowers.

"It must be hard with your parents being away most of the time," Aya's mom responds, still not looking away from me. "You should join us for dinner, isn't it horrible to eat alone?"

I suppress a groan in annoyance. I don't want their pity, I don't want people to look different at me because my parents aren't at home most of the time. I hate it when people only invite me because I'd be alone otherwise. They only invite me because they feel sorry for me.

"Miss Avery is at home, so I won't be alone."

Expecting the usual 'alright then', I go back to my work. But surprise would be an understatement at Aya's mom response.

"You're still welcome. The more, the merrier, and everyone likes having you around."

"Just pass by whenever you feel like it," Aya joins in.

"I don't mind either, and dad never really minds anything. He never gets annoyed," Takeshi chuckles as he walks back to the door. "Then I'll be heading home and telling dad that there's a guest for dinner!"

I don't even get to stop him as he walks out again, leaving me with Aya and her mom, still flabbergasted about what just happened.

"Did you see how enthusiastic Takkun was?" Aya lets out, giggling softly.

Even though it somehow annoys me, it also brings me back to reality and I let out a soft smile. "Yes-yes, you promised to stop it though."

"Stop what?" Aya's mom asks, and so we end up in a discussion for the rest of the shift.

I turned out to be correct earlier, Aya's mom is definitely on her side, and amusing it just as much as her daughter.