Summer Meeting

Getting to Know You

Shinji pouted a little and furrowed his brows, he could feel that his face was hot, not just from the sun, but from the boy he'd just met.
Reluctantly he responded, "S-sure..."
He wasn't sure where they would even walk to, but it didn't bother him.
Kaworu grinned, "Alright then, let's go."
Kaworu started walking off, Shinji followed behind him.

"Shinji, what do you like to do?" Kaworu asked after they walked in silence for a while.
The sound of the bustling city was a little pressuring to Shinji, but the question distracted him.
He thought a moment, "Nothing in particular... I.. I like to listen to music though..."
Even though he stuttered and stumbled with his words, and didn't really say anything interesting, Kaworu seemed to listen anyways.
"What sort of music?" Kaworu asked and he looked at the shops and buildings they passed.
"Classical mostly..." Shinji felt a little embarrassed, most 14 year olds didn't have much of an interest in classical music.
"Classical huh?" Kaworu thought, "It's a pleasant genre."
"Y-yeah.." Shinji nodded.
"Is that what you were listening to at the park?" Kaworu asked, he was engaged in their conversation.
"Mhm.." Shinji nodded again.
"Nice." Kaworu continued walking for a while. He'd stopped talking.
The awkward silence between them put an upset feeling in Shinji's stomach.
Did I bore him? Has he realised I'm not interesting?
Negative thoughts started drifting into his head.

Kaworu stopped, Shinji almost walked into him.
"Shinji." Kaworu turned to him.
"Y-yes?" Shinji snapped out of his thoughts.
"Why are you walking behind me?" Kaworu stared down at him.
"Huh?" Shinji stammered.
"It's odd. Makes it harder to talk to you if you're behind me." Kaworu said.
"O-oh.. I'm sorry..." Shinji looked down towards the sidewalk.
He was used to trailing behind everyone, he had no reason to ever walk with or next to anyone.
"For what?" Kaworu asked a little confusedly.
"I.. umm..." Shinji didn't exactly know what for, he'd just felt it was right to apologize.
Kaworu continued to stare at Shinji. He sighed and smiled, "Just walked beside me."
Shinji simply nodded.

They continued to walk aimlessly, making small talk.
Dispite not knowing Kaworu or being good at talking to others, Shinji was enjoying chatting with the tall white haired boy.
They talked about normal things like hobbies, which neither of them really had, school, foods they liked and things like that.
At some point, they'd stopped walking and had went inside a small cafe, it had been Kaworu who'd suggested stopping and getting a drink and maybe something to eat.
Shinji had tried to explain that he didn't have any money, but his new friend insisted on it being his treat, like a sign of their new formed friendship.

They had gone back to walking after spending time chilling in the cafe.

Time just flew by, it'd gone from late morning to early evening. It barely felt as though anytime had gone by.
They walked down a non crowded street, they weren't talking about anything at the moment, but simply walking, enjoying each others presence.
Their silence was interrupted by Shinji's phone going off.
Shinji jumped a little and quickly pulled his phone from his back pocket.
He stared at the screen.
Kaworu looked down at it.

It was Shinji's father, Shinji's hands trembled a little, he noticed the time and realised how long he'd been out.
He was sure to get chewed out.
"Are you going to awnser it?" Kaworu asked, he noticed the worry on Shinji's face.
Shinji took a deep breath and awnsered the called, "H-hello.."
He held the phone to his ear.
Kaworu couldn't quite understand what was being spoken on the other end of the phone, but he could vaguely hear Shinji's father's voice, he sounded mad.

"I'm sorry..." Shinji's voice wavered, "Ye-yes... I'll come home right now..."

The call ended and Shinji's mood had tumbled. His pleasant mood had faded away in the 2 minutes he had spent on the phone.
"W-well.." Shinji slipped his phone into his pocket and looked up a Kaworu, "I've got to go... it was nice meeting you.."
Kaworu looked a little worried, but smiled anyways, "Alright, see you. Good meeting you too."
Shinji turned around he began quickly making his way home. If he took to long to get back, his father would be even more angry.

Kaworu stood on the sidewalk watching as Shinji disappeared down the street.