~To The Story~
You were once that quiet kid in class. You were shy, meek, and socially awkward. You used to be afraid to speak in front of the class, fumble your words a lot when you were forced to speak to others, mentally curse your teacher whenever they make you answer a question, despite never raising your hand among the other students.
All and all, you did manage to make one friend at least during your first year in high school. Yuzuriha. When no one wanted to be your partner for a project, Yuzuriha approached you first. You grew comfortable around and considered her to be your closest friend even after all the friends you made over the year after your transformation.
Then, you were given the horrible news. Once you were diagnosed, your whole world fell apart. You were scared. Scared that you didn't even want to believe it and cried. Why did this happen to you? Why you?! Why couldn't this happen to anyone else?!
Well, you just happen to be that 'anyone' unfortunately.
That night, you caught your parents crying. You went downstairs to get some water only to catch your mother crying in the living room. In the dark, you quietly hid. You saw your dad doing his best to comfort your mother, though, you can tell how much this was affecting him as well.
They were truly and utterly heartbroken. The whole time you were with them, they tried to put on a brave face just for you. In fact, no matter the struggles they faced, the two of them would overcome it in the end. So seeing them break down like that hurt you beyond belief.
You were their only child. Will they be okay once you leave?
Seeing your parents like that made you wonder about Yuzuriha.
The next time you saw Yuzuriha, you were struggling to find the right words to tell of your illness. You can see it now. She'll sob right there and then. You don't want to see her cry. You don't want anyone else to cry for you.
You ended up not telling her in the end.
You spend some time thinking, cooling your head, going over your everyday life. Once you die, you'll be remembered as that socially awkward quiet girl.
Being near death's door must have changed your entire worldview because, after a long weekend, your entire personality changed. You said goodbye to the old you and became more outgoing, spunky and upbeat. Everyone took notice which gained you a lot of attraction and new friends.
It felt great.
Yet, it wasn't fulfilling enough. You're 16 and haven't accomplished anything and never will have the chance to achieve anything like everyone else who has a future. Unless you take matters into your own hands. There is still so much you wanted to do and you only have very little time.
It wasn't long until you wanted to come up with a list of achievements you want to succeed.
You did tell your parents, wanting them to know that you're still kicking and won't spend your last days in a pitiful state. It will crush them.
However, no one else knew.
...
Well, that was the plan.
You caught a boy in your grade reading your diary. You wished he read the part where you wrote down the story of you talking about how you vocally voice out on how hot you found the waiter to your friends only to find him standing behind you.
But instead, he read about your illness.
You were ready to have him feel sorry for you, only, that didn't happen. He was completely nonchalant the entire time.
Senku Ishigami was the boy's name. You and the school knows him for his intelligence and vast knowledge of science. Whenever you do see him, he's always wearing a lab coat over his school uniform.
A strange guy, you'll admit.
And maybe that's why you decided to spend your final months with him.
-🌠-
To you, people looked so lively on this bright sunny day. Even you shared that liveliness. It was a new day and you were excited to hang out with Senku. The goals you've set out to do have become more fun now that you've gained a companion. In exchange, you agreed to help him with any of his science projects.
You realize now how impulsive it was to blindly offer to be an assistant when you've not even been that great in science in general. Sure, you're at least passing the subject, but you're nowhere near on par with Senku's grade. But oh well. You'll only be helping him.
And speaking of Senku, he was running a bit late.
You checked the time on your phone. It was only a few minutes past the time the two of you agreed to meet, so it's too early to admit whether or not he stood you up. As a passing time, you were completely fixated on the dessert being displayed through the window. You were so fixated on the treats, you didn't notice a presence coming up from behind you.
From behind, Senku rolled up a magazine to the shape of a megaphone. He raised it perfectly near your ear without alerting you.
He opened his mouth and yelled, "Oi, I'm here!"
"Ah!" You shouted, startling others passing by and giving you odd glances. You spun around, meeting face to face with Senku himself. "What the hell was that for?!" You shouted, your palm pressed up against your poor ear.
"A little revenge," he said, a stupid evil grin resting on his lips, completely unfazed by your shouting. He unrolled the magazine and you caught a glimpse of an atom taking up the front cover. He tucked the magazine into his bag.
Knowing what he meant by 'revenge' you laughed dryly.
"You're so funny."
"Yeah, yeah." He waved you off unforgivingly. "Why did you want to meet here? Is one of your life goals to eat in every single one of these cafes." His chin jerked towards the bustling streets.
"Believe me, if I could, I would," you said, more seriously than Senku expected. "But good guess. You see, this café will close down next month."
One glance at the building next to you, Senku could understand why. It wasn't as modern as the other trendy cafes that are open. If he squinted through the window, he can see that the place was a ghost town despite it being open.
You sighed wistfully but quickly cheered up. No time to be upset about it now.
"I want to eat every single dessert in here before it closes down." You said super casually. "It's my favourite café and I've only tried a handful of treats."
"Huh?" Senku blink, dumbstruck. "Hold on a second you crazy girl, did you just say... eat every single dessert here?" He pointed at the building.
"That's what I said." You affirmed, bobbing your head.
Also, it will fit your budget. This place has always been cheap, to begin with, and now that it was closing up pretty soon, the price has been lowered for all dishes. Because of this, you'll be able to afford anything here with the money you've been saving up for the past year.
"There is no way you can eat all of them on your own!"
"Watch me," you declared, then grinned and grabbed his arm to pull him inside the café with you. He fumbled a bit but caught his footing. He had trouble pulling away and grimaced when once again, there was someone physically stronger than him. Instead of struggling, he just let you drag him to where the two of you will sit.
Senku quickly learned that you have a huge appetite. He thought you would at least start slowing down at your third dish but he underestimated you. You're not even halfway through the menu. Even the waiter was concerned every single time you asked for a brand new dish. The only time he's seen someone eating this much is whenever he eats out with Taiju.
He also learned how much of a talker you are. You would go on and on about the dessert you're eating and often lose track of what you were saying.
"Oh, this looks lovely," you marvelled when your ice cream sundae was placed in front of you.
And apparently, you shut up whenever a new dish came along.
"You could have done this on your own, you know." Senku said, eating his castella. And that was all he was getting. He didn't think he could stomach an extra dessert. Okay, maybe two but that was it.
"I could have. But eating while having some company makes the food taste better, wouldn't you say?" You smiled innocently, then scooped up a full portion of ice cream into your spoon and plopped it into your mouth.
Even with food in his mouth, Senku spoke, giving you a deadpan stare. "You say some cringy shit, huh?"
Something tells you he's not into the sappy stuff.
"I've stopped caring what I do or say lately," you said, with a ghost smile playing on your face.
Senku swallowed.
"Now that you've mentioned it. You've always been the quiet one as far as I know. Basically, I would describe you as that socially awkward chick no one paid attention to."
You winced when he perfectly describe the past to you.
"Yeah, I was..." You admit as a small sheepish smile appears on your face. "But that was the old me," your voice sounds more uplifting.
"Personally, I wouldn't mind hanging out with the old you."
"Eh?" You cocked your head to the side. "Why is that?"
"Because you won't talk as much."
"Oh wow, aren't you the rude one?"
He snickered.
You pouted at him but soon let it go. You took no offence considering there wasn't any malice behind his words.
"So how is that rocket ship project going?" You decided to ask, trying to make conversation.
Senku's face lightens up from your question.
"I started building it today. It'll take me months to launch the finished project, however."
Even if this project is rather time-consuming, it didn't sound like it was enough to discourage Senku. It was as if the project was worth all his time. And something tells you that he'll spend another good chunk of his time trying to perfect it.
"Where are you going to launch it? Right outside your place?"
"Nope, bad idea." He said. "I live in an apartment and the landlord has already bitch to my dad about my failed experiments one too many times. I go to the local park in the area for a project as big as that."
In the area?
You knew what park he was talking about. It's the same park you pass by on your way to the hospital.
"Mind if I see the launch when you're done?"
"Go ahead."
That is if you're still around by then. Of course, Senku did not comment on it.
"Yippy," you cheered. "But you know, It's pretty impressive how you're able to build a rocket ship on your own. I wonder how you did it." You said, not really giving your final sentence any thought.
Senku's ear perked up.
"Do you really want to know?!"
Senku's candy apple eyes widened and sparkled with mirth as his lips broke into a huge grin.
"Uh..." You blinked, startled by his burst of energy.
This was the most enthusiasm you have seen from Senku. To you, it seemed like he was some sarcastic genius boy but at the moment his whole mannerism changed. He looked more like an excited child.
"Uh, I guess." You said, still a bit stunned by his change of demeanour.
Now it was Senku's turn to be the chatterbox. He went on and on, explaining the details of a rocket ship. He was obsessed with his inventions that there was no escaping him until he explained every nook and cranny. And there was a lot.
There was so much information and science material he was explaining that you'd doubt you'll be able to remember everything he spews out of his mouth. An hour in and you were honestly surprised that you didn't accidentally doze off by this point. You would in class. Your teachers would always speak so dully that you wonder if they even want to be there.
Senku, on the other hand, was full of life and passion that drew you into what he was talking about. It was honestly adorable.
He certainly was a nerd through and through.
The explanation took five hours. Five. Hours. There was a lot of material he had to cover. A lot of which you didn't really understand. On the bright side, he did give you some sort of entertainment while you ate. As he spoke, you ate, and before you knew it, you'd finished eating every single dessert from the menu.
"... and that basically wraps everything up," Senku spoke with finality. "Questions?"
"Uh..." You struggled to speak. You feel your brain completely fry after absorbing all of that knowledge.
Clearly, you had many questions and admittedly many of what he said went over your head. Really, no one can blame you. There was a lot of information to take in.
"Not... not at the moment," you manage to say, mentally a bit fatigued.
'This guy is basically a walking encyclopedia.'
"I can explain everything again but dumb it down a bit," he offered.
"I get the feeling I'll still be lost," you sighed.
From behind Senku, you saw how dark it's gotten outside through the window. You were too busy trying to understand and listen to what Senku was telling you that you completely lost track of time.
"What time is it?!" Astonished, you hurriedly picked up your phone and saw that it was 8:14 PM.
"Hm?" Senku furrowed his brows then gazed at the window as well. "Huh, would you look at that?" He turned back to you. "Guess we should get going. I think this place closes in an hour." The science love informed, getting up from his seat.
"Yeah, I have to get home now." You were about to get up as well but a thought occurred to you that made you halt. "Hold on let me get that cheesecake to go. Waiter!"
"Are you serious?!"
When you got home that night, you crossed off one of your goals from your diary.
Eat every dessert at your favourite café.
~End Of Chapter~
(Y/n): Five little monkeys jumping on the bed. One fell off and...
Senku, not looking up from his book: Was diagnosed with mesothelioma.
(Y/n):
(Y/n), uncertainly: Mamma called the doctor and the doctor said...
Senku: You might be entitled to financial compensation if he or a loved one dies.
(Y/n): Dude, what the fuck?