Reason for Kindness (ANB Neil Fanfic)

Chapter 7: Friends?

A/N: I'm posting another chapter already because I got more activity on the last chapter than I normally do, so I wanted to say thank you with an earlier posted chapter. :D

After I finish my work, I immediately head over to the plaza once again. Glancing down at my watch, I grin when I see the time. The shops are now just closing so Neil and Rod should be starting to put their stuff away for the night.

Rod looks up from a box that he was searching through when I step onto the plaza. He gives me a confused look, so I smile and wave.

"Oh, hi Yuki." Rod says, his head tilted to the side. "Do you need something? We just closed."

Neil freezes with his back turned. I smile and point at him.

"I just need to talk to Neil real quick."

I hear a small groan come from Neil. Rod realizes what I mean and gives me a worried smile.

"Oh okay..." He glances at Neil, who still hasn't turned around. "I'll leave you two to talk then." He walks away, leaving Neil and I standing at the plaza alone. His back still faces me, and he won't turn away from his stand. A silence surrounds us, so I clear my throat and take a few small steps forward.

"Neil." I say, and he twitches.

"What?" He barks.

"Please turn around." I request, but he stands still. I sigh. "I'm not going to talk to your back."

"Good." He states, "Then you can leave, because I'm not turning around."

"Neil," I sound desperate now, "Please tell me what I did wrong."

No reaction.

"All I tried to do was be your friend!" My voice rises, but he stays silent. "Please, what did I do wrong?"

He doesn't say anything.

"Tell me so I can fix it Neil!" I yell.

"Nothing!" He suddenly whips around and glares at me with sharp eyes. "You did absolutely nothing wrong!"

I give him a blank stare, and he groans, covering his face with his hand.

"You did nothing wrong." Even though his voice lowers, he still looks angry. But not in the same way that Neil usually looks angry. Normally he's irritated, but this time he seems angry at himself.

I stay silent until I can't keep in my question any longer; the question that has been itching for an answer ever since the incident several days ago.

"Then why won't you be my friend?" I sound more desperate than I originally planned, but I can't help it. I might finally be getting my answer. If I didn't do anything wrong, than what's the problem?

"I..." He starts, still covering his face. He seems to be having difficulty telling me, which only makes me more interested. "I...I just..." His face gets red, and he seems as if he will explode at any moment. 

"It's because I've never really had a friend before, alright!" He snaps.

"But Rod's your friend." I point out. Sighing, he looks up at me.

"Yes, but only because I've known him for a while. I didn't have much of a choice, since I work with him all day. But you..." He shakes his head. "You wanted to be my friend out of your own free will. I didn't even put any effort into it!" He exclaims.

"Well," I start, "I wanted to get to know you."

He turns to me, exasperated. "Why though? I've been so rude to you. I tried to get you to leave me alone, but you wouldn't!" He huffs. "When I finally told you that I didn't want to be your friend, I thought that you would get the point and move on. But instead, you've made me feel so guilty the past few days."

I feel better knowing that he didn't intend to hurt me. Still, I don't fully understand his explanation.

"So, you don't want to be my friend because...?"

"Didn't I already explain it well enough?" He groans. "Because I...I've never had a true friend. I've always avoided socialization, Rod being the only exception. I..." He turns away, seemingly embarrassed,"I honestly don't think that I'll be a good friend to you, Yuki. You should just give up already."

I stand still, silent. I didn't do anything wrong. The problem is that Neil acknowledges his sharp tongue and is afraid that he'll hurt me...

I laugh softly and walk behind Neil's stand. He looks a bit shocked, and turns away when I stop in front of him.

"You think that I didn't know what I was in for when I decided to be your friend?" I inform him. "I knew that you wouldn't like it at first, but I wanted you to open up." I laugh again. "I was totally prepared for your insults and rude comments." Neil stares at me with wide eyes. The sight is pretty funny, and I have to stifle another laugh.

"I just wanted you to let me in, Neil." I smile softly. He looks away again.

"What kind of person wants to get to know someone who'll just insult them all the time?" His expression is sad, and my heart rends. He seems so lonely, but I know he'll never truly admit it.

"Someone who has thick skin, silly." I grin. "I can take it. Besides," I lay my hand on his shoulder. "It's not healthy to be a hermit."

He grunts and brushes my hand off his shoulder.

"Whatever."

Now for the question of the hour...

"Sooo," I draw out. He turns to me. "Are we friends now?"

He seems to ponder my question, which tortures me. How stubborn does he have to be?!

"Hmm..."

I stand impatiently waiting for his answer.

"Nah."

"WHAT!?" I exclaim. He's seriously asking for a punch to the face! I open my mouth to yell at him when he starts to chuckle.

"Kidding. Sure, I guess we can be friends." My mouth hangs open, but curves into a smile. He gives me a confused expression.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"This is the first time that I've ever seen you smile." He looks down at his feet.

"Oh. Well, congrats I guess." 

I giggle. "Or laugh. Or make a joke."

"I get the point." He glares at me. Chuckling, I sigh, relieved now.

"Well," I start. "I should get back to my farm."

"Yeah, and I should finish up here." I nod and turn to walk away.

"Bye Neil." I smile and wave. To my surprise, he actually smiles in return.

"Yeah, bye."

I practically skip back to my farm. I feel better now that I know I didn't do something to upset him. Still, my heart rends again when I think about the real reason why he tried to avoid me. He was insecure and felt that he wouldn't make a good friend. I feel a bit angry when I think about it. Am I seriously the only person who's put an honest effort into trying to befriend him?

Shaking my head, I start to make my dinner. I need to somehow show him that he's got a true friend other than Rod.

"Maybe I'll make him something..." An idea comes to my mind. "I know!"

I open up my cabinet, and pull out my recipe book.

"Everyone likes cake, right?"

A/N: In the next chapter, we will see how our innocent little Yuki-chan faces a hard reality: never give chocolate cake to Neil o.o The next chapter should be lighter, don't worry. Things are bound to go smoother...for now *evil laugh*