For two weeks, the boy hasn't shown up.

I usually take the Saturday night shift only halfway through to go out with my friends, but for those two weeks, I've taken the whole shift, until closing time, and still, he didn't come. I haven't seen him in school, either.

I've been sitting here at the counter, waiting for him to show up today, but so far, no luck. At first, I assume that he's busy with school and Rinne, but now, after nearly three weeks, I'm wondering if something happened to keep him away. After all, he did say he would come by every few days to pick more flowers for her.

And yet...

I bite my lip and look at the watch on my wrist. Nearly 6 PM, the end of the shift. Just half an hour left. If he doesn't show up today, I can't wait any longer than a few minutes over. I have an alarming amount of homework that I just can't push aside anymore. Procrastination really isn't getting me anywhere.

But I want to wait for him. Knowing the situation, I want to be there for him if I can...even if it isn't exactly my place. We're not even friends. Just mere acquaintances. He doesn't know anything about me except my name, that I have two sisters, what I was to inherit, and that I know flowers.

I know nothing about him except his name, that he has two sisters, his interest in photography and painting, and that he was in love with a girl who could breathe her last any day.

I wince at the starkness of the thought. It wasn't that I didn't feel sympathy for them; I did, I really did. But still, the fact remained that few people survived cancer to begin with, and she was in the last stages and I've already deduced from the way he's so careful about his flower choices that she must be in a fragile state.

I remember the conversation I had with Eri all of a sudden, the last time Nishimura Riki had been here. It makes me uncomfortable, thinking about it. He wasn't even a friend, and still, Eri had misread the situation.

"So, Seiko-chan," she had started mischievously, "who's that?"

"A customer."

"You don't look at him like he's a customer. What's between you two?"

"I'm just helping him pick flowers for the girl he loves," I had snapped, unsure why I was feeling so annoyed. "There's nothing going on between us. There never will be."

"Sure, sure," Eri had said, looking skeptical.

I honestly don't care what she says, but somehow her declaration that I don't 'look at him like a customer,' makes me flustered more than I want to admit. I swallow and squirm in my seat, thinking about what she'd said. Alright, so he's handsome and pretty cute. But that doesn't mean that I look at him differently.

He's just one of those customers you have to pay special attention to. Right?

I sigh. It's fifteen minutes to six and it doesn't look he's going to show up anytime soon. Just as I think that, one of the guys my father hired to work the counter job walk in. Naturally, he's got the same knowledge of flowers I do.

"Hi," I greet Kei, the tall twenty-three-year-old whom I've befriended over the last few months. "You're a few minutes early. Fifteen minutes, actually."

"Fourteen," he corrects me, holding up his phone, displaying the time. The display reads 17:46. "Better early than late."

"I'll be off, then," I say, getting to my feet and swinging my backpack onto my back. I'd come here straight after school in hopes of finding Nishimura Riki here.

"Wait, Seiko," he stops. "Your father told me you're taking the morning shift tomorrow like you've done the last two weekends. Are you sure you're not overworking yourself?"

"Of course," I smile. "I just have a lack of things to do, and studying in here, my favorite place, helps better than at home anyway. Bye!"

I wave and leave the shop, exhaling heavily as I took the left turn and walked slowly along the sidewalk. I don't know why I'm making the sacrifice of using my weekend at work (which I didn't hate, to be fair), all for a boy who hasn't shown up for almost three weeks. This Sunday would mark the third, and he hasn't been in school either. I don't think he would show up at the flower shop.

I turn around the corner and nearly gasp, because there he is, walking towards me without realizing I was there. I stop too late but he's already seen me and pauses in surprise. "Matsuki-san?" he asks. "Your shift doesn't end until six."

"I left early," I say, stepping back, decreasing our proximity by a few more inches. "Where have you been? You didn't come back for more flowers and wasn't in school."

"I skipped," he says, and I recognize the husky quality of his voice. He's been crying, and I can tell by his red eyes. "For an unnecessarily long period of time, but...I just couldn't."

"What happened?" I ask. I'm almost afraid to hear the answer, because suddenly, I know what it is. Somehow, I know the answer, and I don't want to hear it, but I have to ask.

"She didn't make it," he says almost flatly. I gasp, eyes wide. Even if I knew the answer, it's still shocking to hear it. "For the last two weeks, I've been at home. The week before that...I spent it at the hospital. I wasn't allowed to be with her until her last moments, and that was because her family allowed me to. I—" he falters, drawing in a deep, shuddering breath, "—I told her that I love her."

"Nishimura-san, I'm so sorry for your loss," I say softly. Is it alright for me to touch his shoulder? I'm not sure, but I do it anyway. He seems surprised, but accepts the small gesture of comfort. "Did you attend the funeral?"

Immediately, I kick myself internally for asking such a question. He doesn't care, though and nods silently. The pain and heartbreak swimming in those chocolate-colored eyes of his hurt me almost physically.

A broken kaleidoscope of emotions, I think. His face remains blank, but I can see he's not okay if I observe his eyes. He's incredibly heartbroken over the death of the girl he loves, and I don't know how I can make it better. I don't know how make it so that he's not feeling so much pain.

"Do you want to get some flowers for her grave?" I ask him. He looks at me, surprised. "I think I know just what to get."

He nods silently again, and I lead him back to flower shop. Actually, we walk together, him right next to me and making me feel small. When we enter, Kei looks up, surprised, but when I shake my head almost imperceptibly at him, he stays quiet.

I lead the boy with the broken heart towards the very back aisles, the flowers people should seem to be looking for most often but don't. I can't reach the top shelves, so I point at the flower. "There. The large pastel pink ones, kinda circular with many petals. The middle one."

He reaches it easily and brings the planter down, holding it in his arms. "It's heavy."

"It's rather big," I respond, deftly picking enough to form a small bouquet, appropriate for the situation. "Alright, you can put it back."

We walk back towards the counter and I hand Kei the flowers. He gives me a quizzical look when I tell him to do the usual, but with less glamor, knowing full well what zinnias could mean.

"They're zinnias," I say as I watch Kei do the usual. "They have a variety of meanings for different colors, but the striped and mixed ones are closely linked to remembrance of friends. For remembering someone no longer with you, it's about the best you can get. It's supposed to remind you of your fond memories with them and pays respect to who they were."

I glance at his tall form standing beside me. "They're pink, but the point stands. And you remember what I said about stretching it a bit."

"Not your exact words, but yes, I remember," he says. Kei gives him the bouquet and he pays the amount I name. I still feel bad, but what can I do?

Thanking Kei, we walk out of the store together. "Just saying, you can come by anytime even now," I tell him, startled to realize we were going in the same directions. "We can talk flowers, maybe pick more to give to Rinne. I don't mind."

"Thank you," he says to me as we stop at the intersection of roads. We go in different directions now. He touches my arm and I freeze, surprised at the sudden contact. "I mean it. You've been a big help and a good friend."

"Friend?" I ask, blinking.

"M-hm," he hums. "I don't see why not. You've helped me three times, and we kind of click, don't we? If we don't feel like friends to you yet, let's try to be friends."

I wonder if this is his way of not thinking about Rinne, or if he really just wants to be friends with me. Either way, I can't find it in me to turn down his offer.

"Of course," I say, holding out my hand. He shakes it, his hand firm and warm in mine.

✧✧✧

WORD COUNT: 1610

A/N: fun fact, the flower knowledge i have here is literally my research for that geonu hanahaki au i deleted 💀

also notice that this is the book i finished writing in the shortest period of time besides beach. that's my motivation actually lasting for once.