"Shikamaru, ___, hurry up! You'll be late to training!" a harsh voice called through the door to Shika's room.
I growled and turned over moodily. "God, Mom, the alarm didn't even go off yet," I mumbled, taking in a deep breath.
"You didn't set the alarm last night, idiot," Shikamaru replied from across the room as he struggled to wake himself up.
I glared at him and stood up, shaking off sleep and leaning on the wall. "It's not my alarm to set, genius-boy," I replied calmly. "Just because I'm stuck sleeping in your room for the next week doesn't mean it's my job to set your alarm."
He groaned and threw his pillow at me. "Get out, woman," he said as I caught it. "You told me you'd set it last night. Geez, you women are all the same. You say something, but you don't mean it."
"You can mope all you want at training," I responded, grabbing my clothes from my bag by the guest bed. I would be stuck here because mine was being repainted and redone. The week after, Shika was stuck in my room so his could be done. It was just plain idiotic how Mom had it planned.
Shika sighed and rolled out of bed. Within the next hour, we were walking side by side toward the training grounds. I rolled my eyes and sighed when I noticed that he was still moping. *Whatever, man.*
"Hey, Shikamaru, what's up? You're looking tired," a voice called from somewhere nearby. I looked and immediately turned red.
On the other hand, Shika just turned and sighed. "Can you get her away from me already? She's really starting to be a drag," he complained, pocketing his hands. A giant dog ran up to him and nudged his hands, making him smirk slightly as he scratched its head.
The boy smiled broadly. "No problem," he replied, turning to me. He raised an eyebrow. "What's with you, ____? Did you get sick or something?"
My cheeks darkened as I looked away.
Shikamaru sighed yet again, but didn't look at me. "On second thought, Kiba, I just remembered that Ino needed to see ____ for some kind of volunteering at the flower shop. She'll catch up with you later," he said, gaining two curious stares.
Kiba nodded, glancing at me. He winked. "All right, ____," he smirked. "Don't tell me you have a hot date tonight. That secret guy said anything yet?" His eyes glinted knowingly.
"Nah, he's...oblivious," I replied honestly with a slight smile. "I'll see you later, Kiba."
Shaking his head, he turned. "He's gotta come around eventually, I guess," he mumbled as he walked away.
After a minute, I turned back to Shika. "What are you thinking?" I asked suspiciously.
"Can't you just get it over with already? Stop leading him on and tell him," he groaned, rolling his eyes. "If he likes you, he'll date you. If not, you're wasting your time. It's such a drag to watch you go starry-eyed every time he's anywhere close."
"It's a crush! Nothing comes out of a crush," I hissed. "Besides, he's uninterested! Don't you see it!?"
Shika sighed for the millionth time, calming himself down. "Look. He's a guy. Guys don't like what you're doing. Stop telling him there's another guy and tell him. It's less troublesome!" He paused. "And stop telling me about him. I really don't care."
As I thought about what he said, I wondered whether he was right. *Maybe I'm just being weird.*
He shook his head. "Don't get all depressed, sis," he mumbled, smiling a little. "Every girl messes up with the first guy she likes. Trust me on that one." He rolled his eyes. "Listen. I don't want to be late. I guess I could talk to you about this later. Okay?"
When I didn't reply, he groaned slightly. "What do you want already? I offered everything," he said, annoyed. After a minute, he sighed and gave me a quick hug. I raised an eyebrow and hugged back until he moved away, turning red and rolling his eyes again. "Just...don't get used to it," he mumbled. "You're younger than me. I guess I kind of have to be a big brother sometimes, even if it's a drag."
"Right," I replied, nodding as he turned. "Catch you...at home."
"Don't wreck my room," he called half-jokingly over his shoulder. He knew I would if I had the chance.
I sighed and turned on my heel, walking slowly down the sidewalk. My mind spun. *Okay. Don't lead him on. It's like...just be myself. I can do that. I did it for years before I realized how...cute he was. I can do this. It'll be easy.* My confidence built back up as I walked.
Suddenly, something rammed my back, almost knocking me to the ground. I just barely kept my balance and gasped, letting out a slight shriek in surprise.
There was a hearty laugh. "Took you long enough!" Kiba scoffed. He had practically climbed onto my back, as if I was giving him a piggyback ride. "So? When are you volunteering at the flower shop?"
I sighed in relief. "Tomorrow...Saturday," I replied. I always volunteered on Saturdays. It was my thing.
Kiba groaned. "Why Saturday? Don't you remember? You and I were gonna go to the movies because Hinata and Shino bailed on a mission! I even had Naruto and Sakura in on it! You can't ditch me!" he complained in my ear.
"Can you...get...off?" I asked, turning red when I realized how close he was. "You're not heavy, but...you have legs! Walk!" I laughed as he jumped off, rolling his eyes and running a hand through his hair.
Looking away and walking beside me, he crossed his arms. "You can't get out of it though? There's zero percent chance?" he asked hopefully, even though he knew the answer.
Shaking my head, I bit my lip. "I'm not volunteering the whole day, Kiba," I added. "I get out at six."
"That's too late," he grumbled. It was quiet for a while. "Whatever. I guess we'll have to plan it for another time, huh? All because of this...crap." He wrinkled his nose, making the triangles on his cheeks wrinkle as well. I smiled to myself. He looked really cute like that.
==SATURDAY MORNING: NINE A.M. ==
"____, is the funeral order done?" a sweet voice called through the double doors at the back of the flower shop. Ino had always been so helpful and kind since I started volunteering. Not to mention, she could complain to me about Shikamaru and I didn't mind.
Picking up the giant vase, I was shocked at its weight. "Uh...Yeah, but...Ino, can you...help!?" I asked, trying to make my way through the doors without dropping the glass vase.
As I pushed on the door, it flew open. I gasped, almost dropping the flowers, but was pulled to my feet before anything happened. Ino sighed. "Come on. I got this one covered," she said calmly, snatching it out of my hands. "Go help the customers. There's an old lady out there that just can't be satisfied."
Following her out, I helped out the random customers who walked in, looking for anything ranging from roses to small bushes. It was work, all right, but it was completely worth it. When the rush had died down, I turned my back on the door and messed with a flower arrangement behind the desk that looked wilted.
The bell on the door jingled, signaling another guest. I didn't turn. *Ino can get this one.*
"____, where are you?! I need you! Get the hell out here!"
Gasping, I stood up abruptly, smacking the back of my head on a shelf above me. There was a crash as a vase hit the ground right beside me, an inch from hitting my head. I let out a long breath. "Shoot," I muttered, grabbing a nearby broom.
"Whoa! Are you all right, ____?" the voice asked. "Man, did I scare you or something? You've never been this jumpy. Let me help." He grabbed the broom out of my hands and started sweeping.
Blushing, I surrendered it and grabbed the dustpan instead. "Yeah, I was a little surprised," I admitted, kneeling down as he swept the broken pieces into the dustpan. "Thanks for the help, Kiba." I threw out the pieces and wiped my hands on my smock.
Kiba sighed. "So...uh...is that coming out of your salary or something?" he asked a little worriedly.
"Well, I don't work here, but...Yeah, I have to pay for it," I confessed with a shrug. "I've done it before. Don't worry about it."
"Aw man, I owe you big time," he argued. "Let me help you pay for the thing. I should've been a bit less loud when I came in. How much do I owe you?"
"No, no, this is my fault," I fought, refusing to give in. "I can pay for it. It's really no problem." Before he could argue again, I interrupted him. "So what do you need? Birthday arrangement, Valentine's Day, wedding, funeral...Can I get you anything specific?"
He sighed again. "Well, there's this...girl," he explained a little shyly. "I gotta do something to win her over and maybe...you could help out. I gotta impress her in one shot because I think she likes another guy, but I just gotta try it. Maybe I can beat the other dude to the hit."
I felt a pang of jealousy, but smiled and put it behind me. I snatched a notepad. "All right, Kiba. Tell me everything you know about her," I said, grabbing a pencil. "Unless you know what exactly she likes, of course."
He shook his head and leaned on the desk tiredly. "She's really mysterious," he began. "She acts like she's shy one minute, but the next, she's really happy and energetic. She's kinda sarcastic, but funny as hell, you know? And her smile...it's contagious. It always makes me feel better if I'm crappy."
Mysterious
Energetic
Funny
Cute smile
Contagious
I nodded, feeling a little sad about his description. I showed him the list, making him frown. "Can I add to that?" he asked. "It's just not...like her. It's not...specific enough, you know?"
Sighing, I handed it over and waited for him to finish writing. After a long time, he gave it back, eyes glinting.
Cute
Shy
Wears forest-like perfume
Uses strawberry shampoo
Adorably shy
"You put 'shy' on here twice," I observed.
He shrugged. "No. I put 'shy' then 'adorably shy'. There's a huge difference," he explained. After a few seconds, he ran a hand through his hair. "So...Can you help me? I really want this to be perfect for her."
"You can always go with roses," I said calmly. "There are daisies that are really beautiful at this time of year, too. And we've been selling a lot of lilies lately."
"Show me," he demanded, practically staring me down.
I led him around the shop, explaining which ones matched the personality and which ones were far off. I thought it was almost funny how most of the number one choices were my personal favorites and tried hard to concentrate, wondering if I was just being conceited.
After almost three hours of searching, I leaned on the front desk. It was six o'clock. Ino had walked out, tossing me the keys to lock up when I left. Kiba was still trying to decide between his top three choices: a red rose, three daisies, or a white rose. I was looking at the flowers tiredly. It was a long day.
Kiba shook his head. "You gotta help me, ____," he grumbled. "Out of all the flowers in this whole store, which one is your favorite? Maybe that'll help."
I thought for a minute, then looked at his three choices. "For the girl that you described, I would pick..." I ran my hand along the smooth daisy stems and shook my head. Then, I looked between the roses and sighed. "I would pick the red rose. It's simple, romantic, and she'd probably love you for it."
Smirking, he picked up the single rose. "So this is your number one favorite?"
"Yeah," I responded simply, looking at the wide, bright petals. *If I got a flower like that from any boy, I'd probably fall for them. That girl is really lucky.*
Laughing, Kiba held up the rose. "Then it's final," he said proudly, turning to the dog in the corner of the shop. Akamaru had been there the whole time, just watching silently. He wagged his tail and barked happily, agreeing with Kiba's choice.
Ringing it up at the register, I smiled as I clipped the bottom of the rose and handed it to Kiba with a small vial attached to the bottom to keep it alive until it got to the recipient. "Good luck with that secret girl," I smiled sincerely. "She'll love it. You have her bagged already."
He smirked again. "You have no idea how much I appreciate this," he said honestly.
Silence slunk into the small shop for a while and I messed with the keys to the store, wondering if I should lock up now or wait until he was gone.
As soon as I looked up, my eyes widened as I caught Kiba's grin. He held out the rose calmly. "____, do you think you could be my girl?" he asked, cheeks burning red.
I stared. Was I dreaming?
His smile faded slightly. "Did I beat the other guy to the punch?" he asked nervously. "Or do you wanna say no?"
Shaking my head, I very carefully took the rose out of his hand, brushing my fingers across his. "I...I'll be your girl," I said quietly, still not believing myself.
Overjoyed, Kiba's grin widened even more. "No kidding!" He grabbed my wrist and pulled me toward him into a bear hug, choking me to death. "Aw man, this is awesome! I didn't think you'd say yes!"
I held my breath until he pulled away, keeping his hands on my sides. I blushed, noticing my hands were on either of his shoulders. He caught the position too and smirked, leaning forward slightly. "Is this cool?" he asked in a whisper.
"Y-Yeah, it's...it's cool," I murmured, moving closer slowly.
Chuckling, Kiba gently touched his lips to mine. I froze for a minute, completely unable to process what happened. He moved away before I could do anything. My cheeks heated up insanely.
Kiba grinned and patted the top of my head jokingly. "You're as shy as a little puppy," he laughed. "But it's cute, you know...when I see you like this. You'll get used to it."
I felt my cheeks burn even more. "It's weird to see a guy like you so...close," I admitted.
He frowned. "That won't work for me," he muttered. "I guess that means we need tons of practice, huh?" His eyes glinted as he smiled and patted my cheek gently.
I smiled back. "Yeah, I guess so."
After another minute, Kiba looked down and ran a hand through his hair. "So...about that vase...?"
Heading to the door, I laughed and grabbed the keys. "You owe me, big time, Kiba," I reminded him.
He sighed. "How much did that thing cost anyway?" he asked tiredly as he followed me out.
I rolled my eyes. "You don't owe me any cash," I retorted. "It'll just take a bit of time together to pay me back."
Rolling his eyes, Kiba smirked. "Does that take some practice?" he asked.
I smiled and laced my fingers with his shyly. "Tons."
