The Sunflower Tattoo

The Sunflower Tattoo: Part 2

The picnic with your bestfriend was a nice distraction from whatever had happened or had not happened at the café. It still bugged you that you could smell his cologne and had a feeling he was there but couldn't find him. The hope of finding him was dangled in front of you then snatched away in the next instance. 

Your best friend noticed your face grew dark and waved a hand to get your attention. "You okay?" 

You look at them and give a small smile. "Yeah.." you sigh out, "I'm just still thinking about what happened at the café. I swore he was there. I could feel it after I smelled his cologne." 

Your best friends reaches over and grabs your hand. "I know love... but you'll find him someday. My grandma used to tell me 'Everything happens when it's supposed to.' So," They look you dead in the eye, "quit trying to rush it and let it come to you okay?" 

You squeeze their hand and nod, "You're right." 

"Good! Now let's finish this cake!" Your bestfriend flashes you a bright smile and dishes more cake onto your plate. 

You two finally head home when the sun starts to go down and the sky is bathed in rich golds and pinks. As you are packing up the picnic blanket and basket your best friend gets a call.

"What do you mean you need the car? You told me I could take it today! Fine! Fine! I'll bring it to you." Your best friend huffs and shoves their phone into their pocket, clearly pissed off.

"What's wrong?" You ask.

Your best friend runs a hand across their face, irritated. "My brother got called into the late shift and needs the car now. So I have to go drop it off for him. I'm so sorry Y/N, I know I said I was going to drop you off at your house but he sounded urgent..." 

You shrug your shoulders and wave a hand. "It's alright! I'll take the bus home and it's not too late."

"Oh my god Y/N are you sure?" Your best friend wasn't satisfied. 

You nodded, "I promise I'll be okay. You better get the car to your brother before anything happens." 

Your best friend checked their phone and swore under their breath. "You're right. I better leave. I'll take the picnic stuff so you don't have to drag it on the bus!" They ran over and grabbed the stuff from you. 

You gave them a quick hug before they bounded off to meet their brother. 

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Luckily you didn't have to wait too long for a bus to show up. But unfortunately the bus was packed with people heading home so you had to stand. You squished yourself next to one of the pole and pull out your phone to shoot your best friend a quick text before the bus lurches forward, throwing everyone off balance. 

You put your phone away and grip the pole, trying not to fall over on anyone. Settling into the bus ride, you let your mind wander to what you have to do tomorrow. 

The bus rocking begins to lull you and you grow tired. You are so tired you can barely register the old man who has moved up behind you. With every rock and lurching of the bus, his body bumps into yours. Soon a hand snakes up to your butt and squeezes. You instantly are alert and whip your head to look at the old man. 

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" You snarl out, moving as far as you can away from him, which isn't far because the bus is still packed. People begin to notice the commotion but do nothing except stare. 

The old man sneers at you. "I'm standing right here. That's what I'm doing."

You crinkle your nose, even more pissed. "You groped me."

The old man leans in, breath hot near your face. "And who's going to prove that?" He leers at you, giving you a creepy grin. 

You look around at all the other bus patrons ignoring the situation. Your blood boils and you want to cry. Your vision grows watery as you try to keep from crying and showing any weakness to this man. You look down, hoping your sunhat covers your red eyes.

Suddenly you hear a soft, "Excuse me," and a dark shadow covers you. A tall handsome young man with his hair pulled back in a ponytail has put himself between you and the creepy old man. 

One of his hands was on the pole yours was on and the other hand was holding onto the upper bus handles. He essentially was making himself become a human barrier between you and your assailant. The man looked away from you out of respect at something outside the window. You couldn't see his face well between your tears and the flickering of street lights as the bus passed them. 

You were grateful for your sunhat hiding your face so he couldn't see you wiping away the tears. Eventually you look up, wanting to thank him. He had headphones in and you didn't want to bother him so you waited. 

You peeked around him to look for the creepy old man but the old man was gone. You wondered if he had gotten off at the recent bus stop. The bus lurched forward again, pitching you into the young man's solid chest. 

You quickly righted yourself, face red. He glanced down at you to make sure you were okay before respectfully looking away again. Embarrassed you look at your hand on pole to distract yourself. The young man's hand was also on the same pole and his sleeve was rolled up to show off his forearm. 

A sudden flash of light from an outside street lamp illuminated his forearm for a quick second and then the bus was plunged back into darkness. Your heart stopped in those few seconds though. 

On his forearm was that tattoo that has been plaguing you for months. A small watercolor sunflower. You look up at the young man. The boy with the sunflower tattoo. 

Suddenly the bus stops again and there's a rush of bodies as people move in and off the bus. Your sunflower boy is one of the people getting off. 

Desperate to figure out if it's really him or not, you get off, running after him through the mass of bodies. You chase after him until he stops at a cross walk waiting for the light to change. 

You all but crash into him, startling him. He pulls out a headphone and looks down at you as you double over trying to catch your breath. 

"Y-your...your t-tattoo..." You can barely get out, heart racing. 

"My tattoo?" He quirks his head, putting his arm out. You stand up, finally looking him full in the face. The handsome young man takes a sudden step back as if he got shocked. He chokes on a breath, eyes wide not believing. 

"Y/N? Is that you?"