Our very last book

Chapter 2

I barely listened to the birds chirping at a distance enjoying their evening sun as its weak rays fought in the sky. I hardly paid attention to the crowds of excited students leaving the school grounds to tend to their passions, not even noticing my presence as I sneaked behind the building's concrete wall. I scarcely glanced at the icily hardened soil and the brownish withering leaves covering it which crackled under my light steps. I just almost acknowledged the pleasant weather brushing my skin relentlessly, too good for an autumn after-class. All I noticed was my close to invisible, practically be non-existent Shuichi, who was at the same spot as always, holding a hard-covered book as usual, and being alone as custom. I blocked out everything around me, because again, if I only just as turned away for a second, he could disappear before me like a mirage in a scorching desert.

With my familiar anticipation, wondering if these meetings could become a routine, I hopped down next to him, radiating my largest smile, hoping to attract his precious attention. First, he did not see me, he was probably absorbed in his read like the day before, which gave me the time to look at his cutely concentrated gaze. His golden eyes were brimming with a faint light, almost watery and transparent in his eye-sockets. His skin was pale too, but the whiteness suited him, it reminded me of a bride's fluffy dress as it was blown in a wind, up high into the sky. Despite the unhealthy color of his face and its visible lack of moisturizing I still wanted to caress it, admire it. It looked breakable like a precisely painted porcelain cup, which was too precious to be used on a day-to-day basis. His thinly parted chapped lips unnoticeably moved as he read avidly, portraying no warmness in his mouth, only cold dryness, despite the reader's visible enjoyment.

I discreetly scooted closer to see how many pages he read without me, ready to pout that he did not wait for my arrival, when he suddenly sensed me and flinched in surprise waking up from his mental trip in the world of fiction. As he turned to me and realized my purposely created physical proximity, he gulped down a yelp, while gazing through my amethyst gaze I locked in his determinedly. We were only a few centimeters apart, I could feel his fastened breath on my skin, as I scanned through his hesitation since he had no idea how to react to my bold initiative. I could make out a possible pinkish blush in his adorable cheeks, but it might have only been my wishful thinking.

"Heya my beloved, how are you doing? Great, or great?" I greeted him with a wider snicker.

"Kokichi... hello to you too," he managed to mumble as he relaxed his shoulders and shot me a calm smile, "I'm glad you came today."

His radiant beam illuminated his previously dull expression and enhanced his beautiful features I wanted to stare at forever. His elegant and long lashes flapped lovingly, his hair lightly moved in the gentle breeze, tickling his nose with the repeated movements, bewitching me successfully. He was like a work of art worth to be exposed in a museum if only he did not look so sickly on a regular basis.

"Of course you would be. Your day without Kokichi... is just a night." I blurted out the first thing I could come up with in midst of my admiration and then laughed full-heartedly, hearing my own stupid comeback.

I was glad to be the spontaneous type most of the time — it saved my skin on a lot of occasions. And little do people know, it almost does not matter what you are saying, as long as you make it sound genuine and confident, preventing from raising suspicion in your listener's brains. But this time however my acting was not as convincing as usual because Shuichi tilted his head in an initial confusion, trying to assess and accept my cryptic words. He then reflexively placed his finger on his chin, pondering the matter of an instant, while seemingly getting lost in his mind because of my unordinary formulation. However, that was too slow in order to avoid the calm comment he burst out in the middle of his legitimate and way too rational cogitation compared to my random babble.