A Flower Named You (My Forged Wedding Fanfic)

2 - Pools of Color

(soundtrack above to accompany your reading)

"Mr. Kougami?" My voice spoke, still raspy in its morning state.

His cedar eyes widened, and the color drained from his face. "Miss Natsume? You live here?"

In the middle of the granite hallway colored with warm amber walls, Mr. Kougami and I happened to meet each other again. It had already been a week since school started, and exactly a week since I had also met him. Never in a million years did I expect to see him at my condo complex, much less at that hour of the morning.

There he stood, in front of his dark wooden door, wearing the same suit and tie combo he had on the first day we met. As he reached to turn the lock with his key, his shoulder sagged a bit from the weight of his seemingly heavy book bag that rested across his body. When he was finished, he straightened himself up and met my gaze.

I chuckled nervously, fascinated by the mere fact that it had been nearly a month since I moved in, and lived beside him unknowingly. I wondered why, and how we had never bumped into each other before. Had it been on purpose? Did he know I was his neighbor? Or had it just been entirely coincidental?

It could've been that I was leaving almost late to school everyday. Not purposely, it had just happened to work out that way with the mess that my condo was. Settling in, paperwork, and preparation of what was to come has been eating at my spare and almost work time. After hearing so much praise about Kougami, it's safe to assume that he was also put together at home as he was at work. The type of person that got there early to get work done, and also late to ensure that work, stayed at work.

Coincidentally, that morning was the first that I had woken up ridiculously early to go to school. I had motivated myself to get up at the crack of dawn by promising myself a latte from the nearby coffee joint.

It worked.

Before I knew it, I found myself grabbing coffee together with Mr.Kougami before work. I hadn't meant to invite him, but before I could stop myself from casually inviting him, the words had already escaped my mouth. He readily agreed to tag along, saying that the coffee there was his favorite in the whole prefecture.

Naturally I couldn't reverse my invitation, so after my brief episode of panic, i accepted my fate and decided to make the most out of it. We sat for a a while in the shop. It was hours before school began.

The cafe interior was warm and inviting. It had an earthy vibe. It's walls brushed in rich beige and adorned with a variety of oil canvases. The stained glass tables reflected dawn's sun rays on the amber tiles, makings pools of color on the floor. Every table proudly wore assortments of flower arrangements at their center, accompanied by small couches draped in thick knitted blankets and accent pillows.

I made small talk, trying to fill the lulls of random silence in with the sound of his now familiar voice. "If you usually leave home at this time every day, it's no wonder I never saw you. That's really amazing of you." I laughed before I took a sip from my latte.

"Well, I like to use that time to get work done. Most days I cant after school, since I supervise a club and all..." he explained with a detached tone.

I had been the one that invited him to grab coffee with me, so it was understanding if he didn't seem too excited to be there. I wondered if he had something on his mind, or If he thought maybe our excursion was taking time away from his work.

With a more hesitant tone, I continued to try and keep up a conversation, even if it was bothersome. Again, I was willing to do anything to avoid an awkward situation.

"I think that I might try going to work this early as well. I mean, I don't plan on supervising a club this year, but it will be beneficial for me to keep my afternoons open."

Kougami looked up from his coffee cup and finally focuses his lingering stare up to me. He rests his head on his hand and asked, "Why's that? Do you have some sort of hobby?".

I was supposedly yearning for him to be more involved in the conversation, but now that he was, I began to feel self conscious under the stare of his piercing hickory eyes. Mr. Kougami was undeniably handsome, and sitting across from him, it was even more noticeable.

"Um...well..." I began, wondering if it was appropriate to tell him about my ongoing business outside of work. It was quite personal, but being neighbors and all meant he was going to meet with him sooner or later. Besides, I needed to tell someone; anyone, of the huge responsibility that had changed the course of my life so drastically.

"Well, it's not exactly that. A-Actually it's quite complicated, and it's my reason for needing to work all the way out here in Japan. Long story short pretty soon I'm going to-"

An unexpected phone call stopped me mid sentence. He reached for his phone, encased in in rich brown leather and apologizes. "Sorry, I have to take this."

I had half expected him to deny the call, and put his attention back on me, but was disappointed as soon as he uttered those words. I smiled kindly and in consideration nodded in understanding. I signaled 'ok' with my hand. He bowed in gratitude, and quickly made his way outside, looking a bit flustered.

The heavy door closes behind him loudly. Nerves that I had been unaware of escaped through my sigh as I glanced down at my white watch. There were still about two hours before school began, but suddenly, with muddled thoughts and arising emotions of panic, I found myself wanting to escape the situation. I wanted to get to school already, lock myself up in my classroom and rehearse yet another greeting.

I couldn't wrap my head around why I was so fidgety. I hadn't felt that way since I was a teenager, shy and sheltered; scared of speaking up and failure.

Was I scared of failure?

The realization that voicing the reason for my departure was shaking me to my core made me uneasy. I didn't want to hesitate, but there I was, doing a double take on a decision I had already made.

The chimes on the heavy door startled me out of my busy thoughts. Behind my seat, Kougami was racing back to his chair looking apologetic as he sat down.

"Sorry about that."

"Don't worry about it. Is everything okay?" I straightened my back out as I spoke. "You seemed a bit shaken up."

He beamed as he rested his elbow on the table. "Everything is more than okay. Everything is wonderful."

My heart began to race the minute he broke out in that sincere, boyish smile of his. I wanted to ask so badly what it was- or who it was that made him so happy. Though as much as I wanted to, I held back. I thought that perhaps it was inappropriate to ask him of his personal matters, when I couldn't even muster up the courage to tell him mine.

"I'm glad everything is okay." I chuckled, not bothering to finish answering the one question he had asked me before.