|
|
Store after store after store. One piled
up on top of another. Kiosks
lining the center aisle. Offering more
goods than one could possibly
imagine. Everything under the sun.
Even a birthday gift for a good
friend? Hopefully.
Bright colors. Fake plants. Garbage
cans, benches, railings, stairs,
and escalators. Lots and lots of glass.
Signs screaming to attract
customers. Got to be able to find something
here.
"No. Absolutely not! Geez, I
can't believe they still make those
things. I don't care if they are kinda
cute. Ryo doesn't even have a
rear view mirror to hang fuzzy dice off of.
He rides a bike, remember?
Come on, let's get *out* of this place."
Out of the novelty shop, back into the stream
of people. So many
people. Seems more packed than the number
of cars in the parking lot
warranted. Young, old. A mother pushing
her sleeping babe in a
stroller. Another dragging her screaming,
protesting toddler past the
toy store. Two old men sitting on one of
the center aisle benches
talking and laughing. People hurrying,
people strolling. Two teens,
probably no more than 16, sitting so close on
another bench sharing an
ice cream cone.
"Nope, nope, nope. Keep moving. I
know they're adorable, but a puppy
isn't the answer either. Are you kidding?
White Blaze would probably
have it for lunch."
Move past the pet shop. The puppies in the
display window *are*
adorable. So are the kittens, but White
Blaze would definitely protest
one of those. Guess Ryo doesn't need a
pet, not when he has so much
more in that tiger.
"Whoa, where...? Get back here. Not
the bookstore. You know Ryo isn't a
reader like you are. Some of us have lives.
If you'd get your nose out
of your books more often, we'd probably not be
rushing around the mall
like maniacs at practically the last minute looking
for a birthday
present."
All right, no bookstore. And you call chasing
after the bad guys and
saving the world not having a life? Besides,
it's not the last minute.
There's still a week left before the party.
But what about...
"What would Ryo do with a matched set of luggage?
It's not as if he
travels a lot, and when he does, he just throws
a change of clothing
into a duffle. Come on, I know just the
store. Let's get moving again
before we get stepped on."
Another toy store. A card shop. A
camera store. No, not that place.
Can't imagine Ryo piercing his nose or his belly
button. Figurines,
no. Children's clothes store, no.
CDs? Guess not. A train store?
Neat. Almost hesitate, but no. That
idea would probably be shot down
as well.
"Here we are. We've got to be able to find something in here."
A men's clothing store? An upscale men's
clothing store. All right,
clothes it is. So many racks. Well,
it's August, it's hot. A guy
can't have enough t-shirts and shorts, can he?
"God, you're hopeless. Those have got to
be the most hideous shorts
I've ever seen. Shorts are all right, but
how about something a little
tighter, or maybe black? I mean, can you
really see Ryo in baggy, neon
plaid? The only thing those would be good
for would be as part of a
Halloween costume."
Oookaay, shorts go back on the rack. They're
not *that* bad. Someone
must buy them if the store carries them, right?
Well, guess they are
that bad. More racks. More shelves.
Shoes? They carry shoes? God,
they've already got winter jackets out.
It's the middle of summer and
they've got parkas sitting next to the shorts.
Fashion makes no sense.
Socks? No, nothing more impersonal except
underwear. Well, not all
underwear, but Ryo's not the one I'd give *that*
kind to. More tees.
Jeans? No, he's got millions of pairs of
jeans.
Wait. A. Minute. A beacon of
deep red nearly hidden behind yet
another rack of shorts. Hmmm. A red
the same color as his armor. Long
sleeves, button up, so soft. Where's...
Turn and hold up the latest
offering so he can pass judgment.
"Now, I like that. Hm, silk? Perfect.
That's a shirt worthy of me.
He'll love it. You've just redeemed yourself.
Hey, let's see if we can
find a pair of black jeans to go with it."
Hmmm. They have one in emerald. But
June's gone already. Oh well.
Now, where? Oh, there's the black jeans.
They *will* look good
together. Dodge the racks to get to the
register. Not even as
expensive as one would think. Finally,
present out of the way. What a
relief.
"Got your wallet? Good. You want to
get a soda or something before we
go?"
Out of the store. Turn deeper into the mall,
farther away from the
car. The food court is even more crowded
than the rest of the place.
Get the sodas, find a table. Kind of nice.
Easy to pretend this is
more than just a shopping trip.
"Glad you're done, now we can concentrate on the
party. You going to
take anyone?"
You. Love to take you. Wonder what you'd think of that?
"I don't know who I'm going to ask yet, but...
hel-lo. Would you look at
that. Think that skirt can get any shorter?"
If it did, she might as well not wear anything.
What? He's standing.
Aw, don't call her over.
"Oi, Mika, over here."
"Sage! It's been, like, for-e-ver.
What are you *doing* here? Oh, hi
Rowen."
Flutter, flutter, gush, squeal. Bat your
eyelashes. God, it's
disgusting.
"Oh, we just had to find a birthday present. How've you been?"
"Pretty good, but I'm better now that I've seen you."
Gah, think I'm gonna puke. How can he *like* this simpering little...?
"Listen Sage, I was just going upstairs to meet
Akika and catch that new
horror pic they're playing. Wanna come?
You can keep me safe from all
the monsters."
Not again. Never fails.
"I don't know, Mika."
"Rowen can come too."
*Don't* do me any favors. God, can she whine more pathetically?
"Rowen?"
"Why don't you two just go ahead, Sage.
We're done, and I wanted to get
to the library anyway." No way I can stomach
watching her clutch at him
for an entire movie.
"Are you sure?"
Gee, an actual hesitation? Will wonders
never cease? Hell, that's not
fair and you know it. Try not to sigh,
just show him a smile. "Sure.
Go 'head." Wish he'd turn *that* particular
smile on me for a different
reason.
"Thanks, Rowen."
Ever the gentleman, he's offering her his arm.
Now I *know* I'm gonna
puke. "Thanks for coming with me, Sage."
"What? Oh, anytime, Rowen. See you later."
"Yeah, later. Have fun." Sage was
already turning away, arm in arm
with the girl, and didn't hear Rowen's soft comment.
Rowen watched them go, internally wincing when
the girl slid her hand
down Sage's arm to clasp his hand. It actually
hurt to watch that blond
head bend close to the girl's dark one as Sage
whispered something that
made her giggle.
Why? Why did it seem as if every single
time they went out together,
Sage ended up with a girl? It wasn't as
if they were out on a date
together, but Rowen still felt as if he'd been
dumped. Every single
time. There just seemed to be too many
of them for him to compete.
Sage never noticed him that way.
They had a special relationship, all of them did.
They'd been through
so much together, had forged unbreakable bonds,
but while those bonds
went beyond friendship, Rowen was unsure that
they would stretch in the
direction he wished. Were they truly unbreakable,
or would those bonds
shatter if he ever voiced his desire to be more
than just friends with
Sage?
Rowen watched as the two figures grew small with
distance, finally
disappearing from view into the elevator that
led up to the theater.
Finally, he gathered up his packages, and holding
them tightly to his
side, he headed back the way they'd come.
The brightness of the mall
was no longer friendly, the closeness of the
people, the couples, no
longer happy, but mocking.
Maybe he *would* go to the library. At least
he always knew where he
stood with his books. But he could still
wish... Rowen let loose a soft
snort of disgust. Sometimes he wished he
could just shut off his brain.
Subdued, Rowen walked until he was outside of
the shop where they'd
found Ryo's birthday gift. He stopped in
the middle of the aisle,
letting the other shoppers flow around him like
water flows around a
rock jutting out of a stream. Finally,
he allowed himself to be lured
back inside, making his way through the maze
of clothing racks until he
stood before the particular one where he'd found
Ryo's shirt.
Maybe the manufacturer intended the silk shirts
to be worn for
Christmas, since they were only offered in red
and green. Probably not,
since it was way too early in the season.
Rowen stood staring at the
bright, cheerful colors for a few minutes, then
made his decision. That
green matched Sage's armor just as well as the
red one matched Ryo's,
and Sage had seemed to like the shirts so much.
Rowen shuffled through
the hangers until he found one he thought would
fit. Sage's birthday
might be two months past, but he could always
save it for Christmas.
Smiling a little sadly, but smiling none-the-less,
Rowen turned away and
made his way to the register.
Ladyglen
--
