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Description

v.

You’re running around in the flower field, where spring is seen in all of its beauty. You childishly throw your hands up in the air and laugh, as if you’re really that happy now that spring has rolled around.

It’s these things you do that remind him of when he used to play with you all the time. In your childhood and his.

He looks on as you lie on the green grass, almost feeling sorry for the flowers that have been crushed under you. You stretch out your arms, and he thinks of you as spring. You come in bright and full of energy and colours, smelling of the balsam fragrance like the trees in the woods and the rich loamy scent of Earth.

He doesn’t like that he likes it, but that’s his secret.

You crane your head to look for him, seeing him standing by the edge of the field.

“What did you even come here for, Kei?”

He doesn’t like flowers and anything of that sort. He tucks his hands in his pockets, entering the field of flowers. He sits beside you without a word, but he wonders.

iv.

He finds you in the flower field again, less than a week after the first time.

Now, he’s watching you as you sit on the green grass before a bloom of colourful flowers and pick up a yellow flower that looks like a dandelion, waving him over. He glances away disinterestedly, and you only huff, turning back to the task at hand.

“Fine, go sulk by yourself then.”

He ends up making his way towards you.

Then, he’s sitting by your side as you slowly string different flowers together to make a flower crown. None of you say anything. He merely watches your fingers as they move. Your nails are trimmed and clean, and your fingers move with a grace that’s hardly seen as you nimbly braid the stalks of the flowers together.

You ask if he wants to learn and make one himself, a teasing lilt in your voice. He only clicks his tongue. He doesn’t have the patience to do so. Watching you always seemed like the better option.

You finish off your flower crown and plop it on his head, your laugh warm and joyful. Like spring.

He resists the urge to roll his eyes, untangling the flowers from his blond hair and taking it off. When he tries to pass it back, you refuse, starting on another one for yourself.

He lies back down even though the grass prickles his skin, placing the flower crown on his stomach.

He can’t help but notice how your positions are reversed from the previous time.

iii.

You’re in the field again, sitting next to him. You don’t know why he follows you here, but you don’t ask after he ignored you the previous time.

You stretch out your legs beside his. His are much longer.

“We’re going to get busy real soon.”

He nods at your statement, eyes trained on the white flower as he rolls its stem back and forth between his thumb and index finger.

Tests, practicals, club activities; he knows how busy it could get. High school seems like a pain in the ass. You sigh, leaning back and resting on your elbows.

He glances at you, catching a glimpse of the smile that seems like second nature for you to wear. He scoffs at himself for finding something soothing in it. He doesn’t know if it’s out of interest, but he asks you a question.

“Why do you come here so often?”

“It’s spring. During the other seasons, it’s different somehow. I like the flowers, the smell of this place, it’s tranquility…”

You trail off, knowing you could continue listing for ages. He almost snickers at your answer, because it’s so predictable. Spying a chance to ask him what you were wondering earlier, you look to him and cock your head, as if to say ‘I could ask you the same question.’ He only shrugs.

“Who knows?”

Thinking that he didn’t want to share the reason, you huff. It doesn’t occur to you that maybe he doesn’t know himself.

He tells himself that even if he did know the reason, he wouldn’t tell you anyways.

ii.

High school snatches away your time. It devours your time.

It comes to him suddenly, and he figures it out, your question.

He’s gone to the flower field a couple of times without you. He doesn’t know why. Maybe to see if it holds the same promise of comfort as it had when you were there.

It doesn’t.

Spring fades, followed by another three seasons. Time passes terrifyingly fast. The next time he sees you go to the field, spring has rolled by again.

But he thinks it’s kind of different. This time, it’s near midnight. He’s flipped his English textbook closed and is about to go to sleep when he spots a flicker of movement through the window.

He takes a closer look, furrowing his eyebrows when he realises that it’s you exiting your house. Having known you for ages, he can say with confidence where you’re about to go.

It’s not a good idea, he knows. But - damn him - he follows.

i.

He clicks his tongue when he sees you lying on the ground again. You’re staring at the moon. The grass under his feet slightly crinkles when he approaches you. You don’t look to check; you probably already guessed it was him.

“Did school stress Miss Student Leader out so much that she’d run away in the middle of the night?”

You sigh, and it’s the first time he has seen you look so worn out. He didn’t think that student leader training would take such a toll.

“I don’t know, Kei. Was it that obvious?”

He says yes, not wanting to admit how much attention he’d been paying to you, but it’s really not. If someone wasn’t looking out for you, they wouldn’t have noticed at all.

He hates it, but he can’t help noticing those little signs. Like how your fingernails were always chipped now, as if someone - you had bitten them while stressing out. Or how the smile that seemed to always dance on your lips appeared less often.

You pat the spot beside you, and he assumes that you’re inviting him to lie beside you. He hesitates, but lies down anyways.

“So, I’m here to de-stress. What are you here for?”

He opens his mouth, then shuts it. You’d never let him live it down if he told you straight up… He sighs, and settles for something else.

“I’m seeking solace.”

“Solace, huh? So, did you find it?”

A teasing smile rises on your lips, and he casts his gaze at you. Did he find it?

He felt it in your smile, in your laugh, in your presence. He felt it in your familiar scent and gaze. He felt it in spring. Maybe you were rubbing off of him.

Did he find it?

“Sometimes, I think I did.”

With you.

Description

v.

You’re running around in the flower field, where spring is seen in all of its beauty. You childishly throw your hands up in the air and laugh, as if you’re really that happy now that spring has rolled around.

It’s these things you do that remind him of when he used to play with you all the time. In your childhood and his.

He looks on as you lie on the green grass, almost feeling sorry for the flowers that have been crushed under you. You stretch out your arms, and he thinks of you as spring. You come in bright and full of energy and colours, smelling of the balsam fragrance like the trees in the woods and the rich loamy scent of Earth.

He doesn’t like that he likes it, but that’s his secret.

You crane your head to look for him, seeing him standing by the edge of the field.

“What did you even come here for, Kei?”

He doesn’t like flowers and anything of that sort. He tucks his hands in his pockets, entering the field of flowers. He sits beside you without a word, but he wonders.

iv.

He finds you in the flower field again, less than a week after the first time.

Now, he’s watching you as you sit on the green grass before a bloom of colourful flowers and pick up a yellow flower that looks like a dandelion, waving him over. He glances away disinterestedly, and you only huff, turning back to the task at hand.

“Fine, go sulk by yourself then.”

He ends up making his way towards you.

Then, he’s sitting by your side as you slowly string different flowers together to make a flower crown. None of you say anything. He merely watches your fingers as they move. Your nails are trimmed and clean, and your fingers move with a grace that’s hardly seen as you nimbly braid the stalks of the flowers together.

You ask if he wants to learn and make one himself, a teasing lilt in your voice. He only clicks his tongue. He doesn’t have the patience to do so. Watching you always seemed like the better option.

You finish off your flower crown and plop it on his head, your laugh warm and joyful. Like spring.

He resists the urge to roll his eyes, untangling the flowers from his blond hair and taking it off. When he tries to pass it back, you refuse, starting on another one for yourself.

He lies back down even though the grass prickles his skin, placing the flower crown on his stomach.

He can’t help but notice how your positions are reversed from the previous time.

iii.

You’re in the field again, sitting next to him. You don’t know why he follows you here, but you don’t ask after he ignored you the previous time.

You stretch out your legs beside his. His are much longer.

“We’re going to get busy real soon.”

He nods at your statement, eyes trained on the white flower as he rolls its stem back and forth between his thumb and index finger.

Tests, practicals, club activities; he knows how busy it could get. High school seems like a pain in the ass. You sigh, leaning back and resting on your elbows.

He glances at you, catching a glimpse of the smile that seems like second nature for you to wear. He scoffs at himself for finding something soothing in it. He doesn’t know if it’s out of interest, but he asks you a question.

“Why do you come here so often?”

“It’s spring. During the other seasons, it’s different somehow. I like the flowers, the smell of this place, it’s tranquility…”

You trail off, knowing you could continue listing for ages. He almost snickers at your answer, because it’s so predictable. Spying a chance to ask him what you were wondering earlier, you look to him and cock your head, as if to say ‘I could ask you the same question.’ He only shrugs.

“Who knows?”

Thinking that he didn’t want to share the reason, you huff. It doesn’t occur to you that maybe he doesn’t know himself.

He tells himself that even if he did know the reason, he wouldn’t tell you anyways.

ii.

High school snatches away your time. It devours your time.

It comes to him suddenly, and he figures it out, your question.

He’s gone to the flower field a couple of times without you. He doesn’t know why. Maybe to see if it holds the same promise of comfort as it had when you were there.

It doesn’t.

Spring fades, followed by another three seasons. Time passes terrifyingly fast. The next time he sees you go to the field, spring has rolled by again.

But he thinks it’s kind of different. This time, it’s near midnight. He’s flipped his English textbook closed and is about to go to sleep when he spots a flicker of movement through the window.

He takes a closer look, furrowing his eyebrows when he realises that it’s you exiting your house. Having known you for ages, he can say with confidence where you’re about to go.

It’s not a good idea, he knows. But - damn him - he follows.

i.

He clicks his tongue when he sees you lying on the ground again. You’re staring at the moon. The grass under his feet slightly crinkles when he approaches you. You don’t look to check; you probably already guessed it was him.

“Did school stress Miss Student Leader out so much that she’d run away in the middle of the night?”

You sigh, and it’s the first time he has seen you look so worn out. He didn’t think that student leader training would take such a toll.

“I don’t know, Kei. Was it that obvious?”

He says yes, not wanting to admit how much attention he’d been paying to you, but it’s really not. If someone wasn’t looking out for you, they wouldn’t have noticed at all.

He hates it, but he can’t help noticing those little signs. Like how your fingernails were always chipped now, as if someone - you had bitten them while stressing out. Or how the smile that seemed to always dance on your lips appeared less often.

You pat the spot beside you, and he assumes that you’re inviting him to lie beside you. He hesitates, but lies down anyways.

“So, I’m here to de-stress. What are you here for?”

He opens his mouth, then shuts it. You’d never let him live it down if he told you straight up… He sighs, and settles for something else.

“I’m seeking solace.”

“Solace, huh? So, did you find it?”

A teasing smile rises on your lips, and he casts his gaze at you. Did he find it?

He felt it in your smile, in your laugh, in your presence. He felt it in your familiar scent and gaze. He felt it in spring. Maybe you were rubbing off of him.

Did he find it?

“Sometimes, I think I did.”

With you.