http://www.gaiaonline.com/forum/writing-contests/sanoshi-s-contest-is-over-check-1st-post-for-results/t.28366769/
Part of the Package
Jp’s mind was still fogged with sleep when he stuck his arm out from under him, groping around for something on the other side of the bed. He reached around for a few moments, not even brushing against what he was searching for and frowned. He finally stuck his dark head up and groggily turned to look upon the problem.
There was nothing there.
But that was just it -nothing! No one there for him to roll over and hold until he found it fit to fully wake up. No one there to nudge and have a morning struggle with. No one. Nada. Zippo. Zilch.
He dropped his head back down on the pillows with a sigh. He hated waking up alone. As much as he loved his single status time to time it was in these kinds of situations he greatly wished he had a companion to relate to.
Well, not that he didn’t have one. Nikki just wasn’t ready for this kind of commitment and he was not going to push her into something she wasn’t ready for just after two weeks of being a couple. These things took time, and Nikki deserved every second of it.
Didn’t mean he got off that easily, though.
He let out a deep sigh, rolling over and off his bed to plan his bare feet on the ground. Another few steps got him out the door and a front row seat into watching James at the computer, his eyes trained on the mobile Dwarf on the screen. He had a sugar laden drink leaning precariously off the computer table, it’s straw travelling all the way into the younger brunette’s mouth and holding the cup in place.
Jp shook his head. Only James could pull off such a feat without dousing himself of his drink; the few times Jp had tried it ended in mixed results, all of them rather negative. If he looked carefully he could make out the cola stains underneath his chair.
“Hey James, you’re up early,” Jp greeted, heading over to the fridge for some juice.
James made a droning sound of acknowledgment, eyes still trained on the screen like a zombie. Finally he made a comprehensible statement. “Wanted to level up. Met up with Frank a little while ago. Riot’s doing way better, though.”
Jp snorted. He poured himself a glass and took a sip of its tangy flavor before looking back on his roommate. “Whatever Dwarf-boy. No matter what you do you know my Minotaur can kick your a** any day.”
“Funny,” James scowled. He took a long sip of his drink. “Hn, Nikki called. Wanted to meet you at the park for lunch. By the pond, I think.”
Jp looked up. A date with Nikki was just what he needed to lift his spirits. “Really? Did she say to bring anything?”
“Nah, she’ll take care of it. Wanted to surprise you,” James paused to take another sip of his drink. “You might want to take a sandwich or something just in case you get hungry before then. Wouldn’t want you to raid other people’s picnics just because your stomach threatened to eat you alive.”
“Whatever,” Jp sniggered. He headed back into his room with his drink, calling back: “I’m going out. Want anything?”
“Mhh -nachos!” James responded, still clicking away at the screen. “Got to think of a way to eat them and play, though. I love them and their cheesy goodness.”
He could hear Jp laughing from his room. “Idiot. You could just take a quick break and stuff them in your mouth. With all that time you spend staring at the screen you’re going to need glasses like Frank!”
James paused for a moment, taking another sip of his miracle drink. “It’ll be for a just cause, then.”
Jp laughed even louder.
~
‘Bored,” Jp thought, ripping of a small piece of bread to throw into the pond. ‘Bored, bored, bored, bored, bored.’
He had gotten a little ahead of himself after he received the news this morning and had rushed down as soon as he could to the little pond existing in the vibrant park. It was a little too early, though, and all he had for company were the multitude of ducks swimming around the area.
It was either that or feed James his precious nachos.
He shuddered. Nope. No way in hell was he doing that.
He watched as the ducks came over to the stray piece and savagely ripped away at it. He winced. With ducks as mean as these Chris definitely wouldn’t want to be near them. Not that the guy could stand them anyway. Heck, even one of them sent him off running for cover and this one seemed to pass as the most duck-filled pond he’d ever sat by.
Didn’t stop his boredom, though. He ripped off another piece from his disintegrating sandwich and tossed it into the fray, examining the next struggle that ensued. Crazy ducks; he hoped they didn’t come near him and bite his hand off.
He glanced at his watch: Almost twelve. Nikki should be showing up any minute now.
“Jp! How long have you been there? You’re early!”
Wow. He loved his timing. He got off the bench and met her half way, reaching for the basket and taking it off her hands. “Hey Kiki. I’ve just been here a little while,” he admitted sheepishly. At her worried glance he shrugged. “Don’t worry, the ducks kept me company.”
She gave him a fond look. “Still, I should make it up to you for making you wait. Are you hungry, now?” She gestured to the basket timidly.
“Yeah, we can eat now. Where do you want to sit?”
“Over there by the tree,” she pointed.
Jp nodded. He tossed the rest of his sandwich into the pond, getting an even bigger reaction than from his previous pieces. He grinned awkwardly. “At least they like it.”
They settled down quickly, seated on a large white cloth wrapped up in Nikki’s basket. Jp was more than eager to find out what kinds of goodies were hidden away, evident when he snatched the basket from its resting place and shuffled about inside, taking out everything that came in reach.
Nikki laughed warmly. “Give me that you ten year old. You’re going to ruin the mood!”
Jp looked up from his endeavor, eyebrow raised in amusement. “There’s a mood?” he grinned, shifting forward to embrace the brunette. “What kind of mood would that be, huh?”
He was aware Nikki wasn’t as comfortable voicing her opinions on such matters. It was a feat to watch her try, though. One day soon he would get her to open up completely and their relationship would be full of sweet-talking romance. He felt his heart leap up at the sheer beauty of it.
“Well,” Nikki started, shyly bowing her head as a blush made its way onto her cheeks. “You know. A quiet afternoon, just the two of us.”
Jp smiled. He bent forward to place his lips by her ear. “Is that all?” he whispered coyly. “Could have sworn there was some sort of lunch involved. One that you put so much effort into for us to enjoy. And now we’re going to spend our time appreciating every bite of it.” He paused, reaching over to pick up a stray container projected from his search. “Care for some rice?”
Nikki reached inside the basket and brought out some plastic utensils. “Love some.”
~
They spent the latter half of the afternoon wandering around the park, holding hands and enjoying the peace provided from the large area. They came up to a playground and watched the children play on the swings and run around the jungle gym. He made out a little girl running after a boy but tripping over a rock. He managed to catch her in time and gave her a little smile. She returned it, grabbing his hand to play together by the swings.
He smiled at their youth. “You know, Kiki, I miss having you around. It’s not fun waking up without you there,” Jp sighed.
“Without me?” Nikki wondered. She smiled widely and looked her boyfriend straight in the eyes. “Do you need me to be your teddy bear, Jp?”
“Hey!” Jp cried in mock anger, putting a hand to his chest. “Major blow to masculinity there. I do not want to cuddle with tiny stuffed animals. You, on the other hand,” he reached around her waist, dipping her forward so their noses were barely touching. Nikki gasped at the sudden movement, unable to move away when she stared into his captivating eyes. “I wouldn’t mind having a beautiful woman like you to snuggle in bed with.”
“You’re such a romantic, Jp,” she admonished lightly.
“All part of the package,” he replied smoothly.
Nikki broke out in laughter. “A very nice package, might I add.”
“Naturally.”
Jp smiled fondly. Nikki looked adorable whenever she laughed. He wanted to remember this day forever along with all the other precious moments he had tucked away. But it would be even better if…
“Kiki, got an idea,” Jp began, planting the girl back on her feet and pulling her ahead to a open patch of grass. He sat her down, running a hand through her hair and pushing it back to get a better view of her face. “You just sit there and look pretty. I want a picture of this.”
He took out his digital camera from his pocket and steadied it on his girlfriend. She instantly smiled, a blush streaking her cheeks at the attention. He zoomed in on her face, taking the picture and checking the result after it loaded. Nikki started to get up but he waved her down.
“Not yet, I want more angles,” he explained sheepishly.
A few hours later the two headed to their respective homes. The first thing Jp did once he entered his apartment was gravitate to his computer, completely ignoring James’s zombie greeting as he settled down. He pulled out his camera and hooked it up to the computer, accessing the program necessary to extract the files saved on the memory card. He spent a few moments cycling through the pictures and set one of them as his background. He sat back and observed his handiwork, James looking on from the corner of his eye.
Nikki was seated in the right side of the photo as if she was in some sort of advertisement, leaving the rest of the area wide open to capture the park’s background. Her legs were folded underneath her with her white dress rippling out around them. Tan sandals could be seen peeking out underneath the folds of her dress, altogether blending in with the surrounding colors.
Her hair was pulled back on her shoulders as if a breeze had blown them back there. Her posture was comfortable, one hand leaning on the grass and the other resting in her lap. If they looked carefully they could make out a light blush dusting her cheeks above the toothy smile. She looked positively radiant.
James chose to voice his opinion with a slurred, “Cute,” before returning to his dwarf adventures.
Jp shook his head, getting up and heading over to the fridge. “At least there’ll be something to look forward to whenever I head out of my room.”
~
The next morning Jp awoke to the sound of a vibrating cell phone. He raised his head, making an effort to wash away his sleep as he blindly reached for it and placed it against his ear, not bothering to wait for his eyes to refocus and check on the caller.
“Hello,” he rasped into the phone.
“Jp, did I wake you?” Nikki’s voice squeaked into the speaker. “Sorry, I just wanted to say good morning.”
He may not have had Nikki here beside him but the little things counted as a large bonus.
Differences
There were key differences between Jp and Adam.
Sure, they worked in the same store. Being co-workers would normally mean they could get along and work together to keep the business functioning. That was only partly right; if they were on far sides of the area with their backs turned and as obliviously deaf as they could be at those distances.
But when the two men were up close a customer could easily set them apart.
“So Christy,” Adam drawled, leaning over the counter as he spoke. “Feel like going out tonight? I know a great club. If you stick around ‘til after my shift I can take you there.”
Jp looked up from where he was putting up a stack of shirts, frowning at his co-worker’s sudden persuasion after just learning her name. He wouldn’t interfere if the young blond was alright with the situation but the guy was still pushing it.
“What? Oh -No, I don’t think I can go. But thanks for the offer.”
“Hey, hey. It’s alright,” Adam cooed, waving his arm in a dismissive manner. “Maybe you’d like to go tomorrow, then? It’s Friday and that’s when the place really gets going. Nothing like a good start to a weekend, huh?”
“Yeah, that would be nice, but I still wouldn’t be able to make it.”
Jp twitched, discretely glancing in their direction again. The girl was fidgeting uncomfortably, biting her lip and drumming her fingers on the counter impatiently. Adam had cast her shirt to the side, an evidently fake smile plastered on his face as he continued on his objective to woo the poor girl. He had to give her credit for holding out and trying not to bite the guy’s head off; most would have snapped at him long before, much to his amusement.
He threw down the pile he held in his arms, charging over to set things right yet again. Wasn’t this going to be fun.
“Hey there, Adam,” he spoke with an exaggerated tone of friendliness. “Having some trouble running up the till there? Why don’t I give you a hand.”
He was already behind the counter before anyone could do something about it, reaching an arm over Adam’s shoulders to pat him roughly. Adam gave him a murderous look which he pointedly ignored, instead gathering a handful of his shirt and yanking him aside violently.
“Maybe you should go put up the shirts I left. They’re over there.” He pointed over to his previous station, all the while getting settled on the stool he had righteously claimed as his own.
Adam spoke through his teeth. “I think I can figure out how to work a cash register, Jp. You can get off my stool now.”
“Nah, I just got comfy,” he grinned, shrugging. “Besides, I do believe the lady has somewhere to be right now and you’re just holding her up. Isn’t that right?” He turned to Christy, watching her blink before the girl caught on. She nodded.
“Yeah, I’m already running late. Wouldn’t want to make my friend any madder than she probably is now.” The friend comment; now how many times had he heard that one. Christy turned to Jp, tossing her hair over her shoulder. “Think you could speed things up…Jp, was it?”
The brunette grinned. “You got that right.” He turned to Adam, crossing his arms on the counter. “Why don’t you run along now, Adam? We’re good.”
The dark haired clerk looked at them for a moment before growling. He promptly turned on his heel and walked away from the two to where Jp discarded the high quality clothing, gathering them up and putting them away in their proper slots.
Christy let out a relieved sigh, turning back to Jp and leaning over the counter carefully. “Gods, thank you,” she whispered. “The guy just wouldn’t let up. I thought I would have to leave this behind and come back with reinforcements.” She gestured to her abandoned shirt, picking it up and handing it over to Jp. “I’m Christy, by the way.”
“I noticed,” Jp smiled. “He does that with every girl that comes in here, regardless if they’re dating or not.” He proceeded to run the shirt’s tag through the register and bring up a receipt to go with it, stuffing the article into a bag he had produced from underneath the counter.
“You know, I wouldn’t mind if you took me to that club he mentioned earlier,” Christy began, biting her lip again. “Do you know where it is?”
Jp made a negative sound, shaking his head slowly. “Actually, I’ve got a girlfriend.” He gave a slight chuckle, handing the bag over to the girl. “You’re not the first that’s asked, though.”
Christy gave a huffing sound, grabbing the bag with a slight wrinkle of her nose. “Do all the good ones have to be taken?” She smiled good naturedly, giving the brunette a slight wave. “See you around then.”
When the blond had left Jp had broken out into a wide smile. He couldn’t help but feeling like the knight in shinning armor. “Hey Adam, did you hear that? I’m one of the good ones.” He looked down on his nails, giving off an air of feigned indifference. “Must be my charming personality.”
Adam looked up, snorting violently with a sneer. “Like that would matter. We’re all the same on the inside, anyway.” He returned to stacking shirts, his back turned so that he wouldn’t see Jp’s victory dance by his stool.
For Another Day
“Hey Sanoshi, the carnival’s in town tomorrow. Do you want to go?”
He should have known.
“Oh, James,” Sanoshi began, reaching for his hands and clasping them tightly. “I’m sorry. I’m already going with Daniel. Maybe some other time?”
He knew all about Daniel. But that didn’t stop him from trying to take his soon-to-be girlfriend out for a good time. The guy had beat him to the punch, however, and now James was left in his apartment with a carton full of his precious mint chocolate chip ice cream.
Jp decided to walk in at that moment, whistling in a high key tune and stopping when he set his sights on his moping roommate. James barely acknowledged his presence, instead scooping out another spoonful of ice cream and stuffing it into his mouth.
“If you keep eating that you’re going to get fat,” Jp stated.
James pouted around the spoon, pulling it out and helping himself to another mouthful. Jp sighed and sat down beside the brunette, getting an up-close view of the large craters James was making inside the carton.
“You didn’t do the dishes yet, have you?” he continued, turning his head around to the sink and find the mass of stained dishes in all their glory. He hummed disapprovingly, taking a full 360 check of the area in a ten second inspection. “You haven’t done anything at all.”
“So?” James mumbled behind the spoon.
“You do know that Nikki’s coming over, right?” When he didn’t receive a response he tried again: “You’re still hung up on the Sanoshi-Daniel thing, aren’t you?” When he still didn’t reply he grabbed a pair of dice off the table, courtesy of their abandoned game of Dungeons and Dragons, and held them up for the brunette to see. “Let’s see if you’ll give a decent answer if I roll these, huh?”
James snorted but nonetheless replied when the polyhedral dice were rolled. “I don’t have any say in the matter,” James muttered. “She’s with him -and she’s happy with him -and until they ever feel like breaking it off I’ll be here getting fat off my ice cream.”
He sighed dramatically, planting another spoonful of his blessed treat into his mouth. Though as hopelessly in need as James was, Jp’s answer was justified. “As much as I’d love to sit here and listen to you talk about your love triangle,” he paused, creating a more emphatic atmosphere, “Nikki’s coming over. So if you aren’t going to get off your a** and help clean I want you out, now.”
“But -”
Jp was quicker, snatching up the dice and rolling them again. “Oh-look!” he cried, pointing at the game pieces with a flourish. “You are going! Isn’t that great?” He yanked the brunette up, ignoring his cries for his fallen ice cream carton, and shoved him out the door. He searched around in his pockets for some yen and stuffed them into James unprepared hands, letting them fall to the floor in a mess. Jp stepped back into the apartment, shutting the door as he did, and called back, “And don’t come back for a few hours!”
James frowned deeply. He bent down to pick up the stray yen and shoved them into his pockets. “Meanie,” he muttered, heading to the stairs.
~
He decided to go to the carnival after finding nothing else to do away from his precious ice cream and computer. It was loud and overly populated and having a lack of company didn’t help much. He considered turning the other way plenty of times but his subconscious held him off with the belief that it would be a great place to get his mind off of things (considering that he didn’t run into a certain someone to jump start him back into kicked-puppy mode). Besides, with all the yen Jp gave him he had might as well put it to good use.
That being stuffing his face with all the candy he could get his plundering hands on.
He loaded himself up on cotton candy more specifically. How couldn’t he? It was the traditional treat of fairgrounds and the only time he had to fill his belly with its sugary goodness.
He paused where he was standing by said stand of teeth-rotting sweets, not that James had any cavities. Nope. His teeth were fully shielded against enemy infiltration so it was all good. He turned to his side, spotting a little girl looking up at him with wide eyes and a quivering lip. He blinked, surprised, and then looked and the cause of the problem before mentally ‘Ah’ing’. The girl wanted his cotton candy.
He held out the bag for the girl to reach into and watched as her face lit up, her little hand yanking out a good handful and pushing the light substance into her smiling mouth. She giggled, giving a little dip in thanks before running off to a tall woman across from him. She tugged on her pant leg, speaking in her gibberish language and pointing to James with a little jump.
Now as much as James adored children -and adored them he did; he loved giving them pushes on the swings whenever he walked by a park -angry mothers were a different story. He only had about a few seconds to react to the sudden threat of a snarling, purse wielding woman (thank God he played games for a living) and vamoose.
By the time he had stopped he was plenty clear of ‘mad mama’s revenge. He let out a deep breath, bending over to recuperate. He brought his current bag of cotton candy up to eye level, noticing how squished it had become due to his quick escape. Not that it troubled him; candy was candy no matter how mangled it was. Just as long as he didn’t find it on the sidewalk punctured with rocks just after being run over.
That being said, he dislodged a bit from its sticky prison and dangled it over his mouth as if he was being treated to some grapes like the great champion he was. He stuck his tongue out, ready to devour his prize, except that his eyes happened to glance in-between the two objects and he just stopped moving altogether.
The woman standing across form him stunning, dressed in a snow-colored kimono -kimono! -and a white rose planted in her hair, put up in a bun with a pair of chopsticks to keep it in place. She held a large, swirling lollipop in her hand, the other being grasped by a young man in a blue kimono and headband; an identical lollipop was carried in his other hand.
James was dumbstruck, but he had at least the courtesy to express his surprise with a gurgled, “Snushi!” and move behind the nearest stall. If there was anything he had learned from Naruto it was to be quick about reacting and use his surroundings to his advantage.
Sanoshi laughed at something Daniel said, throwing her head back and mock punching him in the arm. He frowned. Sanoshi never did that around him. What made Daniel so special, anyway? The other brunette brought Sanoshi’s hand up to his lips, kissing them with a faint smile. That was it! He was no Shikamaru, but he was going to bring that guy down!
First phase of attack: send a warning message. Well, all he had for projectiles were gumballs, but they were nice and subtle in a place like this (it was better than getting sprayed with vomit from the sky. That was just nasty). He aimed carefully, closing an eye and looking through the circle his hand made with the other one. He licked his lips, took a deep breath, and flung it at his prey.
It hit Daniel dead in the forehead. James cheered silently, glad Frank’s shooting lessons finally paid off. He watched as Daniel staggered, clutching his head and looking for the weapon and the perpetrator simultaneously. James was so caught up in his mental victory dance that he forgot about concealing himself fully, and in a matter of seconds Daniel’s blue eyes shot ocular fire.
‘Uh oh,’ he thought dumbly. Daniel released Sanoshi’s hand, who didn’t seem to understand what was going on at the moment, and charged after the unprepared brunette. James gave a loud squeak, quickly dashing away into the darkened pathway. He could hear the clapping of the other’s wooden sandals hitting the pavement. Certainly he couldn’t run very fast with them. All he had to do was find the exit and he was free! Plenty safe and he didn’t have to confront the unwanted boyfriend at all. Free, free, free -
And then he was struck down by something heavy and sharp. He stumbled and fell, clutching his head and rolling over to his back. All he could see was stars at this point; that, and the warped features of his arch-nemesis standing over him with a grimace. He shut his eyes with a moan. Vaguely, he could make out a sole sandal lying upturned off to his side.
“You,” Daniel grumbled. “What on earth are you doing here?”
James’s subconscious tried to find some sort of hilarity of the situation. ‘Well, you know, just trying to steal my girlfriend back, baka. What the hell does it look like?!’
Instead, he groaned, sitting up and trying to get the world to stop spinning for a moment. He heard the clip-clop of another pair of sandals approaching and immediately dreaded what was coming.
“Daniel, what was that?” Sanoshi demanded, finally catching up to the two men. She glanced past her boyfriend and found James slumped on the ground. “James -James is that you?”
James gave a pathetic whimper. “Trying to ruin a perfectly good evening, that’s what,” Daniel replied for him, thrusting out his lollipop in James’s face. The younger brunette had half a mind to reach out and chomp on it, just to spite him.
Sanoshi looked right at him, her face harboring a look of sadness. “James, is this true?”
James squirmed uncomfortably, unable to look Sanoshi in the eye when the guilt was weighing him down; it was his weakness, really. “Yeah,” he mumbled. And then the floodgates opened. “It’s not fair that I can’t have a perfect date. You always mess it up somehow. Just once -once, I’d like to take Sanoshi out somewhere nice and not have to care about any other boyfriends that might be in the picture. Is that so much to ask?”
Daniel glowered at him, holding back his tongue for his own declaration when Sanoshi bent down to help James up. “I know this is hard for you,” she whispered sadly, bringing him off to the side and out of Daniel’s hearing range. “But please, this isn’t a good time. We are going to have our own time together, so just please calm down. Go home, okay? We’ll talk about this tomorrow.”
James opened his mouth to speak but closed it after seeing the pure pleading on Sanoshi’s face. He had no say in the matter. Whoever Sanoshi wanted to be with was her choice and he had no right to influence it. He sighed, dropped his eyes, and nodded. “Alright,” he conceded, staggering backwards and waving his arm dismissingly. “I’ll go. Have fun you two, and don’t stay up too late.”
He chanced a glance backwards, seeing Sanoshi wrapped up in Daniel’s protecting arms. He gave him a forceful stare, hugging her tighter. James sighed, almost turning away until he saw Sanoshi quickly turned her head and mouth a quick ‘I’m sorry.’
~
Jp was surprised when he came home not in the usual bounce you’d expect someone get after they’ve just went to an amusement park. He’d jokingly threw a pillow at his face when he’d entered the door in retaliation for coming back so early.
“Hey, man, why aren’t you still out there having some fun? Me an Nikki are spending quality time together.”
“You do that,” James said quietly. “I’ll just be in my room so go ahead and continue with whatever you were doing.”
After he shut the door he emptied his candy filled pockets. He collapsed into his bed, not bothering to change out of his clothes and curled up onto his side. Through the muffled sound of the door he could make out Jp and Nikki laughing off his quietness with the excuse of coming off a sugar high.
The Things We Do
It was customary for Frank to laze about in bed when he bordered on the line of a light sleep to hazy wakefulness. He was comfortably wrapped up in the sheets to the point where he couldn’t move. His cat Caramel was curled up beside the back of his head, tail lazily swishing back and forth across his nape.
He settled further into the pillows, adjusting his body the slightest bit to the side, and let out a calming sigh at the effort. Nothing was going to disturb him now; he made sure of that. His cell phone was turned off, and the nearest house phone was located in another room. His door was closed so as to further block out any sounds coming from the front door and the doorbell itself. All that was left as a means to the outside world was the window he left open for the breeze entering his quarters.
“Frank! Frank, are you there?! Answer me!”
That, and the annoyingly frequent calls from somewhere below his window that decided to show up out of the blue. Why the girl was here so early in the morning he had no idea but he wasn’t about to get up and ask; or have the effort to roar at her to come back at some other bloody decent hour.
The blond groaned, turning his face toward the pillows in hopes of drowning out the noise, only that resulted in not being able to breath properly. He turned to his other side then, and was suddenly assaulted by a face full of cat fur; Caramel’s tail still sweeping in its original looping path. Said feline gave him a curious look, finding his master’s antics rather strange from his usual persona. If he didn’t feel awkward speaking to an animal that barely understood him, he would have tried to explain the situation better. He let out a series of snorts, turning back to his former position and forcing a pillow over his un-cushioned head.
“Alright, you have to be up there. This is the only open window I could find, so get up and face the light of a new day!”
He grunted at the girl’s futile methods, shaking the bed as his body shook itself in silent laughter. Nothing, absolutely nothing was going to get him out of bed and he planned to stick to his steadfast decision. Unfortunately, the next thing he heard threw all that away.
“Romeo, Romeo. Wherefore art thou, Romeo? Come to the window and let yourself be taken away!”
His eyes widened. His jaw slackened. At once he hurled the pillow down and cast the sheets away. Caramel sprang up with a hiss, irate from being disturbed from his catnap, and fled to the safety of the partially closed walk-in closet. Frank had no time to apologize to the light brown feline, instead charging to the window to fling half of his partly naked self out of it.
“Wherefore means ‘why’! Why! Not ‘where’! Get it right if you’re trying to seduce me!”
And then he was back inside his room, no longer in the mood to sleep and heading to the closet to find something to wear. Caramel grumbled when he appeared, baring his teeth and heading back to the unoccupied bed for another try at resting. Frank ran a hand through his hair, watching his fuming roommate with a sigh. It was useless to do anything about the girl now that she had prompted him into action. Might as well go for a quick coffee before he hightailed it somewhere else.
He took quite some time to get ready. It wasn’t as if he was some ordinary man who grabbed something out of the mess on the floor and ran his fingers through his hair in an effort to be groomed in five minutes flat. He was a model. Certainly more dignified than all the other men in the world.
Sarah, meanwhile, had conceited to waiting by the front door as he agreed that, ‘Yes, he was getting ready,’ and, ‘Yes, they could go out. Coffee maybe?’ When he finally opened the door to his large residence ages later, and stepped out to face the brunette -her hair in a symmetry of two pigtails, this day -the girl inhaled sharply and froze.
She stared. He stared. He looked down on himself to see if everything was in perfect order, and then to his gold-colored mailbox’s reflective surface to check on his facial features. Aside from the yellowed version of himself things seemed to be in good order. He looked back to the brunette.
“What?” he asked simply.
Sarah let in another sharp breath and threw out her hand to point at the other. “You’re wearing black!” she squeaked indignantly.
Frank took another look over himself and his gold counterpart in the mailbox: Black jacket, pants and tinted lenses that were apart of the girl’s assertion. He nodded. “Why yes, I am,” he concluded. “Anything else?”
The brunette shook her head violently. “No-no-no-no-no-no-no-no! No black. It’s so dark and boring and you can’t make any pretty shapes when you spill ice cream or something on it.”
Frank raised his eyebrow at the idea, contemplating how the girl spent her time with the unfortunate whitened fabrics, but said nothing. Sarah, however, nodded once, her determination set, and pointed to the door, seemingly angled to fixate on where his room was. “Get back in there and change, Mr. And no black, this time.”
The prospect of repeating a previous action he’d already contented himself on doing was ill. He frowned, prettily of course, in his distressed state and planned to tell the girl how he felt about it. Sarah, however, upon glancing at the blond’s state, quickly tried to fix it.
“I know, I know,” she began, standing back and letting out a sigh. “I’m sorry for making you do this but it’ll really make me happy. So, please?” She clasped her hands together to her chest, wriggling in place with a sheepish grin.
Frank knew he should be getting points for making it this far. He chanced a look at the pleading girl and finally sighed. “Very well, alright,” he conceded, rolling his eyes and backing up into the doorway. When the brunette started to follow him inside he stuck his hand out and firmly held her back. “No, my house, my rules,” he said slowly, as if speaking to a young child. “And I want you to stay out here until I get back, agreed?”
Sarah stood back and crossed her arms in a huff; she abhorred waiting. But it was all Frank needed to continue on his course of shutting the door and locking it. ‘Besides,’ he added, heading up the staircase. ‘If I let her in here she’ll probably prance around my quarters and run off with a pair of my boxers.’
Plenty of time later, Frank came out in a brighter outfit (if that could be said as an understatement), fit for fashionable tastes and able to blind anyone if they stared at him for too long in any kind of light. Sarah seemed even more ecstatic at having her request responded in great terms, launching herself at the blond-wonder and snatching up his arm into her grip.
“You look great!” she chirped gleefully, leaning into him and swinging up a leg in her delight.
Frank took a moment to calculate the value of her words, glancing back into the mailbox to get a better view of the situation. He nodded. “Fabulous would also have been acceptable,” he decided, feeling a smirk coming on. He glanced down at the brunette, nudging her into attention. “Ready to go?”
“Of course!” she cried, charging into gear immediately. She hurriedly yanked him down the stairs and onward to their destination.
RosesShadow Community Member 
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