New Customers Are A Pain

6

"Kusuo-kun!"

Akechi waved at Saiki from his seat. He sat in the same seat as last week; the one right next to Saiki's.

Saiki waved and pointed to the counter before ordering his food. Luckily for him, Akechi and Suzuki already had their "morning chat".

Saiki sat down next to Akechi, who was suspiciously fluttering his eyelashes and grinning. He framed his face with his hands, his elbows resting on his knees.

"I'm sorry, I called you by your first name without even considering your comfort. I don't care what people call me, as long as it's not an insult of some sort, but I never asked you your preference. I believe that it's always best to ask somebody what they would prefer to be called; to not come off as rude, of course. Please forgive me."

Saiki rolled his eyes. He was getting tired of Akechi's long-winded speeches.

'It's fine if you call me Kusuo.'

"Okay! I'm glad, because I think 'Kusuo-kun' sounds more friendly than just 'Saiki'."

'Friendly?'

Akechi just kept on staring at Saiki. It was unsettling. There was something about the way he liked to stare into Saiki's eyes that intrigued him and terrified him concurrently.

...

'Is something wrong?'

"Not at all. I'm just surprised you haven't noticed yet. I did it for you, after all. I am a bit sad that we don't match, but of course, there was no way for you to know."

'What are you talking about?'

Akechi stood up from his chair, nearly knocking over the table. He twirled around in circles before looking back at Saiki.

"I'm wearing purple today. Do you like it? I tried to pick out my nicest shirt. I was hoping that you'd wear purple today as well, seeing as you've come here wearing purple twice since I've started coming here. How do I look?"

Well, it was a nice shade of purple.

'It's very nice...' Saiki projected, slightly embarrassed.

Saiki could have sworn Akechi's eyes somehow got brighter; as if that was possible. His joy practically radiated off his smile.

"Thank you! I'm happy that you like it. I wasn't entirely sure of it, because it seemed like a bit of a grand gesture at first, but I decided to go for it. Besides, this is a very comfortable shirt. It's rather flowy, which I appreciate, because it's been getting hotter lately. I like the springtime, what with all the cherry blossom trees. I think they're beautiful. And I would say I prefer spring to winter, because it's too cold to go out, or summer, when it's too hot. It's even worse when it's humid, because then you begin to perspire, which is quite irritating. Of course, autumn is nice too, and I think the foliage makes for a rather romantic setting, don't you? Oh, that reminds me, Kusuo-kun, do you have a favorite season?"

'Winter.'

"How come?"

'Because it's cold and I don't have to go out.'

Akechi giggled before taking a bite of his cake.

"So you're more of a homebody? I can agree with that wholeheartedly. I like to sit at home and read. I'm not very good with people."

What? Saiki would've guessed that Akechi would be out and about on a regular basis.

'That's unexpected.'

"Hm? What is?"

'You strike me as the type of person who has plenty of friends and is always out of the house.'