Parallel Lines

Three

I watched as the seconds handle worked its way across the clock. The soft ticking somehow soothed my brain's thoughts. I found myself doing this way too often. It was a relaxing afternoon. School must have ended a while ago by now. I rubbed my toes against the soft rug. It was a nice shade of brown. The rug was nothing special; Daichi and I had bought it when we first moved. I hadn't had such a relaxing day in a long time. My day was usually ruined by Daichi.

Then a knock against our wood door ruined the moment. I reluctantly stood up. I walked past the clock and soft rug. I didn't bother to check who it was, for I already knew it was– Daichi. I opened the door and met eyes with him.

"How you doing? Sasuke told me what happened." He spoke as he placed his backpack on the floor. He kicked off his shoes and placed them neat the door.

After my small but troublesome encounter with Sasuke, I came home and took a relaxing hot shower. I washed all my nasty and bloodstained clothing. Then spent the rest of the day doing as I pleased.

"There's a backpack holder for a reason." He deadpanned. I glared at him.

"Fine." He got up from the couch and placed his backpack on the small hook placed near the doorway. That's much better.

"Did you enjoy walking home?" I questioned.

"No! That took a lot of work." He complained. "I'm actually kind of hungry now." He mused. I knew where this was going and I didn't like the sound of it.

"Daichi, I'm really not in the mood." I started to explain, but I was rudely interrupted.

"Let's go to that ramen shop!" I gave him a blank expression. Daichi, on the other hand, kept smiling with amusement. "Come on, we don't have all day."

"That's why we shouldn't go." He chuckled and shook his head. I watched as he tied his shoes and took my car keys in his hand.

"Do you want me to drag you outside?" I scowled and stood up.

"You're going to regret this." He smiled and lead me outside and into my car. How does he even remember where it's at? As I looked out the window I realized what time it was. I looked over at my phone and checked the time. It was nearly five already. Then I met Daichi's eyes as I looked back up.

"It'll only be a while." He said sympathetically. He readjusted his grip on the steering wheel, then looked away.

I've known Daichi for longer than I would have liked, but I can't say I don't like the friendship we share. I looked out the window throughout the whole ride there. Once we arrived, I took in the sight of the ramen shop. I have to admit the smell was alluring. Although it was nothing special, it had a nice feeling to it. I watched as Daichi stepped out of the car and took a deep breath.

"Ah, smells good." I couldn't help the smile that came to my face. It was rare when Daichi made me smile, or when anyone made me smile for that matter.

"Let's just get this over with, loser." He smiled and dragged me inside. A couple tables adorned the inside along with a long bar in the front. Daichi and I took a seat at a small table near the wall. Almost immediately a young lady with beautiful brown hair came up to us.

"Hello, my name is Ayame. Do you guys know what your gonna order?" She spoke in a kind tone and gave us a sweet smile.

"Actually, we've never been here before." Daichi said sheepishly with a small blush on his cheeks. Daichi can be so lame sometimes.

"Really? That's great. This is a small restaurant, so we don't really get new customers." I raised an eyebrow at her enthusiasm.

"So what's good?" Ayame thought about our question then answered.