strawberry boy. - sanzu h. [ completed. ]

06 ―『 it's nothing 』

Chapter Six - It's nothing.

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Haru was blending really well with the siblings.

The next morning that day, he started helping them in the shop. I heard from Emma that he also worked as a waiter. He was working really hard. It's good... that's good.

I never got the chance to talk to him after that night. I was so busy with all my projects and assignments. Stressing out so much and trying to catch up with the deadline.

School felt like hell's subordinate.

After two weeks, we finally got to have two weeks of vacation, like a semestrial break. It's not that long but I'm thankful enough to still receive some rest after that hellish experience.

I was just laying down on my bed staring at nowhere. Tomorrow's Monday, the start of our vacation. And I've already passed all of my homework so I don't have anything to worry about.

"Y/n!" Emma suddenly barged inside our room. "Your birthday's this Friday. Do you have any plans?"

Sitting up, I swayed my legs as I look at her. "You know I'm fine with just eating at home."

She crossed her arms and made a buzzing sound.

"Eengk, wrong answer!" she worded, sitting beside me. "You know what? Let's go to the amusement park! I heard they had some new cool rides there. It's been two years since I've last went there."

Amusement park sounds fun. But...

"What about Haruchiyo?" I asked. "I haven't seen him for a while."

She waved her hand dismissively. "Don't you worry! Haru's doing well!"

My brows furrowed at what she said. "Haru?"

"It's our nickname for him. We call him that since Haruchiyo's kind of long."

"Oh..." I prefer calling him strawberry boy, though...

"Anyways," she stood up, putting her hands in the sides of her waist, "on your birthday, we will go to the amusement park. No more words! Whether you like it or not. Now, I got to go. Ciao." She went near the door, about to go out when she remembered something. "By the way. Tell Haru about our plan this Friday. I forgot to inform him earlier before he went to work," she said before shutting the door.

I layed back on my bed, busy thinking about what to do on my birthday. Not until I suddenly remembered something.

"Emma! I don't know where he works!"

"Not my problem! Go ask Manjiro or Shinichiro, I think they know!" I heard her shout from the bottom floor

"Manjiro's not here! And Shinichiro is busy!" I shouted back. I ain't going to be confused if I'll get some sore throat.

"Not my problem!"

"Is this it?" I whispered to myself, looking up at a not so pleasant sight of an old restaurant.

Shinichiro wrote Haruchiyo's work address on a piece of paper before giving it to me. Fortunately enough, he came home right after Emma went out. Fate loves me today, I guess...

I looked at the paper, before looking back at the building. "Well, I guess this is it..."

The bell just above the door rang as soon as I opened it. There were not so many customers, most of them are even old grown men. Taking a seat near the window, I scanned the whole place as my eyes wandered off looking for that strawberry haired boy.

Honestly speaking, this place stinks. It doesn't look that hygienic either. But maybe this is the only place Haruchiyo got accepted at considering his lack of papers.

A waiter went up to me. "Good day, maam. What would you like to order?" he asked, giving me the menu as he readied the receipt.

"Oh, no thank you." Waving my hand, I stated, "I'm actually here for Haruchiyo. Is he busy?"

"He's washing the dishes right now. Do you want to order something while waiting for him?"

I shook my head. "No, thank you. I'm fine." I don't think I'll be able to handle eating your food just after looking at your place, sorry. Don't judge a book by it's cover, but still... it felt dirty.

The waiter scratched his head and bowed before walking away.

Luckily enough, I brought some bottled water. It's not enough to ease my stomach but still, I'd prefer this. I just thought that it would take me hours before finding this place. Didn't expect it to be this easy.

My head rested on the window pane, observing everyone else walking down the street. The restaurant was located at a countryside, it took me at least an hour and a half to get here.

There was not much cars in this place, motorcycles are the most seen. Though it stood on a countryside, there weren't much trees. More like black dark smoke flying through the air.

"Hey," someone called.

Looking back, Haruchiyo went towards the chair in front of me and took a seat. "Why are you here?"

I ignore his question. "How are you?"

The boy shrugged, "Good, I guess."

That made me smile. "That's good."

He was starting to communicate with us. Though not that much around everyone else, he was pretty talkative when it comes to me. Maybe he's not comfortable talking to someone other than me. It's fine, it takes time.

"I heard it's your birthday this Friday," he said, "do you have any plans?"

I'm glad to see that he's not wearing that mask anymore. Though, I still see them covered once in a while. But I'm happy that he's slowly starting to gain confidence on his scars. Good for him.

That made me chuckle. "You and Emma are the same, asking my plans on a not-so-important day."

His brows furrowed, clearly not pleased at what I said. "What do you mean 'not important'? It's your birthday! Of course it's important!" he whisper-shouted, looking away as he pouts.

He looked like an angry strawberry.

"Oi, Haruchiyo!" the girl behind the counter called. "Finish the dishes or the manager's going to hurt you again."

Me eyes flew to the boy in front of me. "What does she mean hurt you?"

"It's nothing," he whispered before standing up. "You should go, the sun's starting to set. I'll be home in a bit." That was his last words, before walking away.

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rosie.