A Firefly's Glow

Chapter Fifteen: Part Two

The boy called Keita felt his eyes narrow as he slid his hand over the small button on the armrest that was attached to the door. As the darkly tinted windows glided smoothly to a close, he nodded to the chauffeur to pull the limousine forward.

“Are we going home, Hanabusa-sama?” the chauffeur asked, glancing in the rearview mirror towards Keita through his dark sunglasses.

“Not quite, Megane,” he instructed, exchanging Megane’s glance through the mirror. “Park nearby, close enough where I still have a view of her. Avoid being seen.”

“Yes, sir.”

Megane lifted his eyes off Keita. He swiftly headed around the corner of the café’s building. Once he knew that the car was fully out of sight, he gently turned the steering wheel, reversing and swerving in a tight turn. Now facing the direction that they had just came, Megane slowly and steadily pulled up on the opposite side of the street.

“Thank you,” Keita murmured as he leaned forward. He eyed the girl called Hotaru as she yanked at the door of the building. She seemed to be struggling.

Her hair gleamed in the sunlight in streaks of red and orange. Her name matched with her hair so closely that he guessed she was named for her hair. He still silently wondered to himself why she was named after a bug, but he’s never asked her before.

“I knew the door was locked,” Keita grumbled, keeping his gaze on the girl.

“You didn’t know. She had told you that the door was probably going to be locked.”

“I stand corrected.” Keita stated in response to Megane’s comment.

Megane calmly exhaled. He appreciated that unlike many young and wealthy masters, Keita admitted to his mistakes. Keita didn’t complain about how Megane had dared to try and correct him. Keita didn’t believe that he was always right.

He was such a peculiar kind of wealthy boy.

“Might I ask why we’re watching Hotaru-sama?”

Keita simply answered, “If she has to wait outside like that for the next five hours, I will wait as well.”

“That was a noble act that you did for Hotaru-sama earlier.” Megane insisted as they watched the girl wander away from the door and lean against one of the wide windows beside it.

“She would have vomited if she got dizzy enough.”

“I don’t think that’s the pure reason why you assisted her, Hanabusa-sama.”

Keita furrowed his eyebrows. “What other reason is there?”

Megane dodged Keita’s question. He began to calmly chuckle.

“She made you smile, Hanabusa-sama.”

Megane found Keita’s following expression as somewhat amusing. Keita felt his eyes twitch as a peculiar sensation filled his cheeks. He scoffed it off, slightly scowling to himself.

“Me smiling means nothing,” Keita dimly protested.

“I haven’t seen you smile for a long time, Hanabusa-sama,” Megane began. “Your smiling means something.”

“She didn’t see it.”

“She sensed it.”

“How do you know that?”