Unexpected

sighed as boredom started to sink in. She was supposed to meet her Japanese friend at the local coffee shop before heading to The Square. They were supposed to see the play that starred her favorite actor, Suzuki Hiroki.

But her friend was almost half an hour late, and they still had to take the train. The play was going to start in a couple of hours. She was worried. What if they weren’t able to get to the play in time? She would just die if that happened. This was probably going to be the only time she would see her favorite actor.

Mi-chan, you twit. You should already be here.

While telepathically scolding her friend (and sometimes desperately pleading), two tall and noisy guys entered the coffee shop. She was stirring her ice cappuccino almost unconsciously, noting that they were a striking pair. One of them had reddish brown hair, fair skin, and cherry lips formed in a pout. His companion was taller, with short dark brown hair and slightly tanned skin. The two were arguing about which drink to order.

“But we already had coffee just like seconds ago!”

“I don’t care. You don’t want to drink coffee, then order a different drink. I’m getting myself a cappuccino.”

“But I’d feel left out if you drink coffee again.”

“There’s only two of us, in case you haven’t noticed. If Araki was here, then you have every right to feel out of place.”

Their childish bantering caught ’s attention. She was so immersed with the idea that her friend might have ditched her for the day that her annoyance grew with the boys’ bickering.

Great. What a manly sight, this was. said to herself. She got annoyed even more when the two sat across her table. She sighed. She had to be calm instead of getting angrier by the minute. She took a small booklet from her bag and flipped through the pages. She didn’t realize that the fair-skinned boy was also trying to read over her head, nor did he notice that he was that close to her.

“Excuse me, are you going to watch that?” he points to the title of the play written in front of the booklet. looked up and her jaw almost dropped.

“A-anou, H-hai...” was all she managed to say. Her mind froze. She recognized who these guys were.

**********

Suzuki Hiroki had asked his good friend, Adachi Osamu to watch his stage performance and they were on their on their way to The Square. He had the urge to drink coffee beforehand so they decided to stop by at the nearest coffee shop. Adachi was complaining that Suzuki drank too but he went with him nonetheless.

He didn’t expect that someone inside the coffee shop was also planning to watch the play.

Suzuki walked towards his friend who was already standing by the lone girl flipping through a magazine. Hmm… she didn’t look Japanese, Suzuki thought.

“Adachi, maybe we should introduce ourselves,” Suzuki told his friend. “I think it’s a little rude to intrude on someone else’s space without telling the person who we are.”

Adachi stepped back a little and let Suzuki introduce himself.

“Hi. My name is Suzuki Hiroki. I’m part of the play featured in that program. How do you do?” Suzuki bowed his head and then extended his hand, as he was talking to a non-Japanese person.

’s eyes widened. Goodness, she must be dreaming! He couldn’t really be Suzuki Hiroki! But he was standing there, one hand outstretched. Oh, he wanted a handshake. She struggled to come back to her senses and took the proffered hand lightly. Suzuki smiled.

“And I’m Adachi Osamu. I’m not a part of that play but I’m going to watch it since Zukkii asked me to. Nice to meet you.” said the fair-skinned boy, giving a wide grin. couldn’t help but return the grin. Mi-chan may have ditched her but what luck!

The boys asked if they could sit with her, and she agreed. After a few minutes of awkward fumbling and some stiltedly-asked questions, they were comfortably talking like long-lost friends.

Zukkii glanced at his watch and mentioned to Adachi that they should probably leave now. He turned to and asked if she was coming as well.

“Well... I’m supposed to meet a friend today and watch the play but she hasn’t shown up. I’m really not familiar with the place since I just arrived here a couple of weeks ago...” She said. She squelched the unwelcome thought of actually going on her own.

Zukkii let out a warm smile and patted her shoulder. “Don’t worry! We’re going there, remember? Why don’t you come with us? It’s easier to drive down there than take the train.”

thought that was a better idea but she was still reluctant. She had only met them today. Suzuki Hiroki and his friend seemed nice enough but one never knew.

Adachi seemed to sense her misgivings and told her that it was his aunt driving them to The Square, and the car was waiting just outside. was relieved. Well, if they were telling the truth, she would just have to meet his aunt. If they were lying, she could make a quick getaway, anyway.

She said yes.

“Saa, let’s get going!” Zukkii beamed. Adachi went ahead and the two were left inside the coffee shop. Zukkii helped with her things. She saw Adachi’s aunt waving at them. “Get in!” she yelled.

never imagined that today, Suzuki Hiroki himself would smile and open the car door for her.

This day was turning out not to be so bad. Not so bad at all.

##########

This dream novel serves as a birthday gift to my friend and Teniyume editor, Rikapyon. Happy Birthday! Please be reminded that this is a work of fiction and this story's not meant to harm/hurt/offend Suzuki Hiroki (Watanabe's D-Boys, Musical Prince of Tennis and Prince of Tennis Live Action's Oishi Syuichirou).

April 22, 2006
Written by: Megane-ko
Edited by: linchpin