Red Lilies

Chapter 5

A small update, just want to set a mood and bring the idea of the life characters experience before mayor events take place.

Chapter 5

Getting ready for work was more exciting than she thought, her night was hard since all she could do was watch a new series.

But getting back from a full 8-hour shift was threatening her physically and mentally, the uniform for work was comfortable until she felt like ripping everything off by the time she arrived home. Sadly, life alone meant you did everything... going for groceries was one of them.

As her hand gripped the small metal gate of her apartment, tiredness showing on her face with a heavy sigh and closing her eyes for a moment to think of all the things she had to do before bed. Like checking her phone for another empty imbox, lack of calls and only a texts and emails from any miscellaneous news and notification of her favourite social media sites.

No shame in learning a little about the latest's trends, even if she will forget them by tomorrow.

- "Long day?" -

She froze in her step as she opened the gate, turning to meet those dark eyes looking right at her. The grey brick wall separating the property she lived in from the next house over was tall and covered in vines, but he seemed very comfortable leaning on the side that faced the street.

- "Kurosaki." - she blurted out and could not fight the tug of a smile.

- "It's just Ichigo." - he sighed as he approached her at the gate. - "I called." -

Surprise hit her when she realised her phone was not in her bag or jeans. - "Sorry, I forgot my phone." - her quick apology was followed by guilt. Sakura was not used to keeping up with her phone and lost it often... too often to admit herself.

His eyes studied her before his shoulders shrugged whatever was on his mind. - "May I come in?" - he gestured to her apartment with a nod and lifted his school bag for her view.

Green eyes widened as her tired mind scrambled to answer. Relief washed over her right after, that is one left problem to worry about.

Never has she had a classmate over, much less a friend.

- "Yes!" - she scrambled to open the gate, almost sprint to the front door and work the lock with shaky but excited hands. - "Sorry, for the mess." - the pinket gestured him to enter.

He looked like it was every other day with his white and blue shirt, light jeans and sneakers. The wild orange spiked hair he sported must be a natural occurrence for him and she loved how comfortable he seemed.

Her hand reached for a long lock of pink hair, twisting and brushing the strand back in place. "I must look like a mess" she thought.

- "Nice place." - the orange haired boy took a stance in her small living room, he looked very tall compared to how comfortable she usually feels with the practicality of her apartment.

- "Thanks, please sit. Tea?" - her feet almost sprinted to the kitchen, "What do people offer their guests?" Sakura asked herself.

After she heard him mumble "Sure", her hands went to work. As shaky as they had been at the beginning, now she was more comfortable as the day went by. Ichigo is very patient and doesn't seem to care about anything other than what he is doing at the moment. His focus is what kept her mind at ease.

If he judged, he did not show it.

Whether or not he cared about the tea being not to his liking, he did not mention it.

Even her constant flow of questions as she tried to catch up did not seem to bother him at all.

He spoke of friends she would love to get to know, Orihime and Chad piqued her interest the most. Calm collected and not at all judgemental by the way he mentioned them. Sakura had seen them around, all the classmates he mentioned in fact, she remembered their faces and the way they spoke as if she could picture them right in front of her.