Kapittel 23.3

Friso

It's been almost ten minutes since they have been walking through the entire supermarket. Apparently, Vanessa didn't know where the stationery section was and they spent most of the 10 minutes finding it. The girl was too shy to ask the staff when Friso called her out if she actually knew where they were going. She insisted she did but couldn't recall it. Thankfully, Lancelot took the initiative to ask a nearby staff for the aisle.

"Maxim says we need to buy more pink glitter," Vanessa muttered while looking at her phone then looked around, looking for the glitter requested.

"Did he mention a particular type, shade of pink, or brand?" Friso asked while also looking around, knowing that the guy was particular about certain things. Maxim could be unreasonable sometimes, he would say that he wanted a pen for Christmas, but wouldn't mention that he wanted a Caran d'Ache fountain pen.

"Are you sure? Isn't a pink glitter of any type and brand just fine?" she asked. He wasn't looking at her, but he knew that she was raising her brow. "I mean, he would have mentioned the specifics if he wanted a particular glitter."

"Oh, you'll be surprised," he retorted, turning to her while wearing the arrogant smirk that she was so annoyed with. She rolled her eyes in response, typing on her phone while grumbling under her breath. The corner of his lifted into a small smile. Cute.

Her phone rang. "He said he's okay with any brand as long as it's opaque glitter in a shade called glitter rainbow... plum? Wow, that's very particular," she remarked after reading the specifics.

"See? I told you," he replied, hanging his head up high, proud that he was proven right.

"He could have mentioned that you know."

"Beats me." He shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. "All I remember is that he upset a classmate on a field trip because he complained about being given a tuna sandwich when he wanted a chicken burger after saying that he wanted only a sandwich."

"Okay... sounds like an entitled actor who thinks his PAs know what his needs are. But I think I'm gonna take note of that," she commented while looking around, beginning her search for the glitter. "Oh right. You're a bunch of entitled kids, how can I forget about that," she threw in, talking to herself.

For some reason, he felt somewhat offended by her statement. "We're not that entitled," he protested. It was too late for him to realize that he made a mistake by admitting that he was part of the kids she was referring to. Entitlement was one thing that was never in Vanessa's vocabulary. He knew she hated people who practiced that too.

"Sure," she replied with a flat tone, sounding unconvinced. "Where's that dang glitter rainbow whatever? It's all pink here but," she groaned while browsing through a shelf with a stack of pink glitter with several different shades of pink.

Friso looked up and found the top shelf with another batch of pink glitter. He took a step forward and reached out to get at least five of the different shades. "Oof–" he heard a small grunt. He looked down and realized that his chest was leaning on Vanessa, who was rubbing her slightly red forehead.

"Can you watch it?" she asked, glaring at him for the nth time.

"Next time," he replied, bringing down the last container. "Check these out," he diverted her attention from his carelessness to the glitters he brought down.

The girl picked up each of the jars, reading their description. "This one," she said upon reading the third jar, raising it to him. Confirmed, it was indeed glitter rainbow plum.

"Okay, let's get the others," he said and they proceeded to search for the remaining materials.

Time flowed slowly, slipping by as a sweet dream in deep sleep. Walking side-by-side while pushing the same cart and looking for the same things together with a little bickering with the love of his life made Friso think that they were on a little date– minus the butler following behind them. At the back of his mind, he thought it was weird since it was situated in a supermarket. This place was the last on the list as an ideal location for a date. But still, it was a date. It didn't matter to him where or when, as long as Vanessa was there. And who knew, they might go out on a real date if he played his cards right.

He looked to his side and saw the beautiful blonde was gone. Panicking, he looked around to find her. Much to his relief, she was only about six feet away from him, browsing through the different colored papers. He leaned on the wall, marveling at her beauty. He always knew that she was beautiful. But he always saw things differently whenever he laid his eyes on her. The mundane white walls enclosing them became calming, a vibrant light surrounded her and illuminated everything near her as flower petals followed behind her as she strode while carrying a different kind of air that he sometimes found hard to breathe into. She was like a fairy queen who enchanted everything with just her mere presence.

From the corner of his eye, he saw the freezer aisle nearby. The boy had a sharp sight that he could tell with certainty that the first freezer was filled with yogurt. What caught his eye the most was the blueberry-flavored one. A smile lifted on the corner of his lips, the blue packaging reminded him of the eyes of two important people: his dog, Jojo, and Vanessa.

Funny, he thought. Seeing the sight of her tilting her head while looking at the array of materials with her doe-like, electric blue eyes and her innocent expression reminded him of Jojo looking at him the same whenever he'd sit idly. He couldn't help himself and walked to the frozen aisle to get some pieces.

"Here," he immediately offered Vanessa the yogurt the moment he got to her.

She stared at the thing in his hand for a good second before asking with a bewildered expression. "What's this?"

"Blueberry yogurt," he replied, shrugging his shoulders.

"I know. But what for?" she instinctively raised her palms to accept the small packaging, which he gently placed.

"It's my dog's favorite snack."

"Jojo?" her face lit up upon asking. His blood boiled and rushed to his neck at the wondrous sight. She looked like a bunny perking her ears up, her luminous eyes sparkling like diamonds. It took his breath away. "She's still alive?" Dammit. If he knew that his dog would make her happy, he would have brought his pet along.

"Alive and kicking," he replied with a small smile on his face, staring at the yogurt in her hands.

He glanced at her face and saw that a small smile was plastered on it. He felt his nape and ears growing hot. It was the first time she smiled at him since their awful reunion. It was always a big, ugly scowl whenever he was around. Another hoorah for a new milestone, achieved only in one day. "That's great," she said, his breathing hitched when her smile got wider. "So uh... why did you give me this?" her treatment towards her also seemed to change. Another milestone for the day!

"Reminds me of you both," he answered, finding himself suddenly shy with his confession. "I mean, the first time she ate yogurt was when you offered her one. Ever since then, she was always crazy or it," he added, putting a hand on his nape.

"You're right, and it was this flavor and brand too," Vanessa replied. Her smile remained while looking at the yogurt.

"You can come over and visit her for some time," he didn't have any second thoughts and decided to invite her to his abode. That was a mistake.

His heart almost sank when her lips were no longer curved upwards but now pressed in a straight, flat line. The shine in her eyes was gone too. "That depends," she replied as she grabbed a set of construction paper. She strode away, pushing their cart in fast strides.

He got nervous. He followed behind her and asked, "Depends on what?"

"If you keep your personality like this or revert back," she retorted her eyes bored at walls, "But I do hope you retain the former so I do get to see Jojo again," she turned to look at him. For the nth time, Friso impulsively held his breath. Summer was close to coming along with its heat, but to him, spring was still in its fullest bloom.

She turned her head to face forward and proceeded by hastening her pace. Left behind by his slow stride, Friso stared at his spring queen's frame. Her hair made of spun gold swished charmingly as she strode. Well, it seemed he just had one step forward.

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