I Built A Friend (Shigadabi)

Her

Tenko's p.o.v

   I remember the day that Touya came back from college like it was only moments ago. It had been over a year, he was on his second semester of college out of four total. I was at the flower shop, the store boringly slow. No orders were needed to be filled, no new things ready to be stocked so I just sat at the front desk, braiding small flowers into my pale blue hair. I liked the way they looked yet it was a bit difficult to do. I decided it was time to close up shop a little earlier today, clocking out and deciding to clean up shop and lock the doors, but before I could I heard something. The little bell above the door jingled and I looked up to see a tall man standing there, black hair and a few piercings on his nose and ears, one on his lip; a little hoop. But what I noticed first was his blue eyes that shined like the moon and stars at night. I felt like I had seen him before but I couldn't place where. Maybe I saw him go by once on my way to work or something and took small mental note but never came up again. I'm not really sure, and I wasn't sure until he spoke. "What's up Red?" The name surprised me as I hadn't heard it since we were kids. "Touya?" He nodded a bit, holding out his arms for me. I ripped off my apron, running from behind the counter, pushing all my weight onto him. He had grown a lot since I last saw him, a lot taller and muscular making myself seem so small in comparison. "What are you doing here? Why didn't you tell me you were coming?" I asked quickly, walking back behind the counter and leaning against the counter.

   "I'm down here for a few weeks visiting for semester break. It's better to leave it a surprise though, it wouldn't have been the same if I told you I was coming to see you." He looked around the flower shop a bit, staring at the vases full of assorted colors and shapes and sizes. "You've got a lovely working space of I do say so myself." He said, still glancing around. "I like what you've done with the hair." He giggled a little. I blushed deeply, tying my hair up so the braid of flowers would stay intact. "Anyways, mom sent me out to get you and make your way to the house. She wanted to have a little get together with the few of us and have us all be together again. I have someone at home you'll want to meet. She's just the best." His eyes lit up and my stomach dropped. He'd met a girl at college, I could tell. And this wasn't just a high school relationship type thing, this seemed more real. His eyes never lit up like that around anyone. She must be special to him. I smiled and nodded, humming a little "I'm sure she's wonderful." To him as we walked. While on our way over to our parents house, we made small talk, catching up on the months we had missed out on. "So, how often do you think you'll be able to visit?" I asked, smiling while he messed with his jacket pocket. "As much as I can. I miss you guys, it gets pretty lonely down there."

   "I can imagine. I don't know how you do it." I said. "You're alone too aren't you? Living in your apartment, I can imagine it gets a bit lonely there too." He spoke. I quickly changed the subject. "So this girl of yours, tell me more about her." Of course. Of all the topics I could've brought up, I mention the one thing that's going to make me feel worse. I hate myself for doing that but it's better to get over these dumb and weird feelings than to just face them head on. Push them out, make them non existent and things would go back to normal. So he talked, and he continued talking about this perfect girl he had at our house, talking to our parents and getting to know them. He had met this girl in one of his art classes, being paired up with her in a project and they got to know each other well. She was majoring in culinary and minoring in arts, quite a fun way to spend her days. He majored in sports and minored in art. I was jealous when I found out what his minor study was since it was something I had so desperately wanted to do. I wanted to go to collage for art and sadly, that wasn't possible. Life isn't fair, but it's not fair to everyone, so I guess that makes it fair. The girl, I found out her name was Akari, had lilac colored hair and bright yellow eyes. She sounded beautiful and seemed so sweet, like an angel. But another part of me, a darker part, wished she didn't come to our house at all.

   "We're home. Do you miss it?" I asked, changing the subject before I cried without control. "I definitely miss home." He smiled, walking up the steps and opening the door. Mom and dad greeted me while I smelled a nice scent of food. Defiantly savory. I said my hellos to them before walking to the kitchen where Akari stood by the stove, cooking some kind of dinner. "Hello?" I asked, catching her attention. She turned around to look at me, smiling and greeting me with a wave. "Touya told me about you, you seem so sweet. You major in culinary right?" I decided to make small talk with her. She turned the stove down to low and turned to talk. "Yup! Making something we learned doing recently. You're Tenko right? Touya talks about you frequently." She spoke softly, very kind and gentle. I immediately felt welcomed by her, only for the gentle reminder from my mind that she was dating Touya, making my heart hurt again, though I tried to ignore it. "It smells amazing, you must do great in culinary. I study in arts when I can, I work at the flower shop down town." I said. She pointed to my hair and giggled slightly with a sweet grin, so I knew it wasn't in mockery, rather humor. "I could tell. I minor in art, so I'm sure you're more skilled than me. You could teach me some stuff and I could teach you some things if you'd like. I have trouble with charcoal drawing the most. Watercolor is also a difficult task likewise with oil pastels but I try my best."

   We talked like that for a while, laughing and catching up with each other like we were old friends while she cooked. I enjoyed her company and she enjoyed mine until Touya came in. His arms snakes around her waist and he stood behind her, head peeking over her shoulder and looking down at the pan. She was making a noodle type dish, the name too complicated for me to remember. "Food is almost done, get the table ready and I'll bring our the bowls. Tenko, would you like to help me?" I nodded wordlessly, a small frown resting on my lips. She scooped the noodles into bowls and I grabbed them, placing them in front of Rei, Touya, and Enji, setting the last two down for me and Akari. She came in and sat down next to Touya and we all made small talk around dinner; college courses, how good the food was, how they met, etc. 99% of the conversation was about Touya and Akari. Dinner was finished in no time and soon enough, we were all in the den with the tv on for background noise while talking even more. I had enjoyed the night as much as I could but I was ready to go home.  "Well, I should be heading back to my apartment. I have an early work shift tomorrow and I have to fill orders." I said, standing up. Rei and Enji waved goodbye, Akari waving  and smiling, hoping we see each other soon. "Hey, Tenko wait!" Touya called out before I got to the door. "Can I talk to you for a second?" My face paled a bit and I nodded, walking outside. "What's up?" I asked, closing the door behind me. "I wanted to ask you something..." he trailed off, digging in his pocket and holding up a little box. I stared for a second, knowing full well what it was. I was almost shaking, ready to go home and cry. "Go ahead, what's the question?" I managed to say quietly.

"Where's the best place to propose to Akari?"