Silently in Love

Chapter 9

"I'm sorry, but can you explain this to me again?" Akari shook her head to clear the fog. "You are here because your mother said to do what?"

"She told me to help you with groceries..." Kuro said, grimly. Akari gave him a questioning sort of expression and he clenched his teeth. "...because you told her you wanted to bake dessert."

Akari nearly slapped her forehead at having forgotten such a promise. She did say she would bake dessert when she had dinner with the family. She gave him a silent nod that she remembered which caused Kuro to quirk a fine eyebrow.

Akari awoke to the sound of her doorbell and sleepily rolled out of bed and trudged over to answer. She hadn't bothered to look presentable since she did not expect to find Kuro standing at her door so early in the day. His out-of-the-blue appearance snapped her awake, but her brain could not seem to make sense of why he was there.

Now Akari rocked back and forth on the heel of her foot, considering what she should say during such an awkward moment. Kuro's mouth twisted with impatience as he waited for her to say something or to at least invite him into her home.

"Are you just going to make me stand here?" He asked, bluntly and Akari quickly allowed him inside.

Her apartment was so small that upon taking just a few steps inside he found himself standing in the kitchen. The kitchen was weighted with the sweet fragrance of baked goods and desserts. It seemed that Akari enjoyed baking. There were cookies on the table.

Kuro turned around and observed her unkempt appearance. Her hair was a tangled and frizzy mess, and she was wearing an old t-shirt and pajama pants that were much too big for her. Although disheveled, her cheeks were rosy from a good night's rest. Kuro sent her a mocking smirk.

"You should probably get dressed." He said. He watched as Akari glanced down at her clothes, blushed, and crossed her arms over her chest. "As if that really hides anything..." Kuro's words dripped with sarcasm and Akari just let her arms fall to her sides. 'Oh, what was the use?' Akari thought to herself in exasperation.

She pointed to a chair in the kitchen and told him to sit. Then she made a gesture of drinking something.

"I'm fine." He responded and he followed her to another room. Akari suddenly stopped and blocked his way into the family room. A curious expression of panic was on her face and he lifted an eyebrow in response.

'You can't come in here!' She thought, shaking her head. Despite her efforts, there was no possible way Akari could block his view from the room. He stood more than two heads taller than she and he could clearly see everything. There didn't seem to be anything wrong. In fact, the living room looked quite neat and tidy with furniture and photographs...

Kuro looked down at her with a knowing smirk. Akari blushed hotly knowing fully well why he was mocking her with that smile.

"I can still see the pictures from here." He said and Akari tried blocking his view with her hands, which was just pointless.

Akari grew slightly dizzy from her fervent attempts to cover his eyes that she found herself slightly tripping into him. Akari grabbed his forearm to balance herself and she felt his arm flex under her touch.

"Are you alright?" He asked. Akari stepped away from his touch and waved her hand, dismissively. Akari went off to get ready.

Kuro slightly smiled to himself when Akari left the room and he proceeded to observe the embarrassing photos that she was so desperate to hide from him. Each photograph told a story of her life and how she grew. She remained very much the same; an untidy girl with mussed hair and tanned, freckled skin. However, she grew considerably prettier with each photo. Kuro picked up what looked like the last photograph Akari took with her parents. He noticed that after that photo, her smiles didn't seem to reach her eyes in the rest.