Cherries

Chapter 2

Hajime didn't know what to do. How could he? His face blushed a warm red at Chiaki's words as she looked at him with determination. "Alright, what you're going to do is keep striking up conversation. If there is somebody with them, make eye contact with both of them, but keep your eyes towards the guy." She said, her eyes beaming with interest. Hajime stood there, dumbfounded at Chiaki's words. "Now go!" Chiaki said once more, turning Hajime around and pushing him out of the kitchen. He slowly walked back to the table Fuyuhiko and Peko were sitting at. His hands were sweaty and his smile was nervous.

"Hi there, I just came to let you guys know that we are having to make fresh noodles, so it'll be just a few more minutes." He said, his voice slightly shaky. Hajime didn't know what to say to start a conversation.
He stood, staring at the blonde boy, frozen in fear.

"S-so, do you come here often?" Hajime said, creating an awkward silence. Fuyuhiko and Peko looked at each other, both having a not so good look on their face.  Fuyuhiko sighed, looking down at his phone to a text from his boss.

"Look, just bring our food to-go and our receipt and we will talk later." Fuyuhiko said, crossing his arms. Hajime smiled nervously as he walked away without saying a word.

Whenever their food was done, Hajime put them in to-go boxes. Closing them both, he walked out and handed the two their food and Fuyuhiko's receipt. He smirked, writing down his signature and something else that Hajime was curious to see. He stood up, smirking, and handed Hajime a $100 bill and his receipt. Hajime's jaw dropped as he saw the $100 bill now sitting in his hands. He looked at the receipt and his jaw dropped even further at the sight of a phone number. It said "you must not show anybody this number." Excited, he ran into the kitchen and immediately told Chiaki about his accomplishment. She congratulated him, gave him a huge hug, and sent him home for the day.

Hajime was a very nervous guy when it came to men he found attractive, as anyone would. All he could think about is how upfront Fuyuhiko was, how confident he was. He hadn't realized that he was lost in thought, laying on his couch, staring at the ceiling. He held that short, thin receipt to his chest as he smelt something oddly sweet, almost like fruit. Curious, he pulled the receipt up to his face and sure enough, he found the source of the smell. As he was sniffing it got slightly more bittersweet and the only color he could think of is a very bright, deep red. He started thinking, letting his mind piece together an image of a small red ball with a short stem coming out of the center. "It's smells like cherries." He muttered to himself, putting in the digits into his phone, opening up a messaging page.

•ME 6:27pm - Uh.. Hey there. This is Hajime, the waiter who served you at The Yorks earlier today. 

He clicked send, anxiety welling up in his throat. This is the first guy that showed interest in Hajime, and he was at a loss of how to feel. With that, he felt a buzz go off on his chest.

•FUYUHIKO 6:31pm - Hey, I apologize for sounding very strict earlier. Heh, I'm surprised you even messaged me. I don't give my number out often.

With this text, Hajime felt fantastic. He felt ever so slightly more comfortable texting Fuyuhiko now. With his slight boost in confidence, he messaged back as soon as he could.

•ME 6:33pm - It's okay! Might I ask why you gave me your number?

•FUYUHUKO 6:34pm - I would be lying if I didn't say I found you attractive.

With this message, Hajime's heart stopped. He was in pure shock at the words he just read. How was he supposed to respond to that?

He took a deep breath and started to respond, his thumbs tapped the screen in a fast pace.

•ME 6:38pm - Well, if you think I'm attractive, would you want to hang out? .... the feeling is definitely mutual..

•FUYUHIKO 6:39pm - Meet me at The Yorks tomorrow, I'll take you somewhere beautiful.

•ME 6:39pm - Oh of course, I can get there by 3 o'clock, if that's okay.

•FUYUHIKO 6:42pm - Heh, yeah that's fine. I'll be there.

Hajime smiled wide, putting his sweaty hands on his knees and rubbing them dry. He shook his legs in excitement, realizing that he had a date tomorrow at 3pm with someone he never would've thought found an interest in someone like him.

Eventually, after hours of watching TV and grabbing some dinner for himself, his heart rate slowed down and his adrenaline faded, leaving him very drained and tired. The time was 8:53pm and Hajime found himself laying in bed, stripped of all clothing except for his undergarments. He had his ceiling fan turned on, along with a floor fan blowing on its highest setting. All he could think about was Fuyuhiko. His short, wonderfully golden blonde hair paired his mesmerizingly yellow colored eyes had Hajime at ease as his eyes closed ever so slowly, his body entering a state of sleep.