When I said see you soon to Riki, I didn't think he'd come to me at school two days later. My friends are never going to let me live this down.

I'm bent over some homework I forgot to finish yesterday when I feel a tap on my shoulder. I look up and my eyes widen when I see Nishimura Riki, in his school uniform—and his hair back to black color.

"Riki?" I ask, putting my pen down. My friends freeze and whisper to each other, but I ignore them. "What happened to your hair again?"

"My parents didn't mind, but the teachers gave me a whole lecture on how bleached hair is not allowed on school grounds," he grumbles. "So I had to dye it back to black."

"Somehow, I think you should have thought of that," I say, grinning. "So, what do you want? More flowers?"

"Not quite," he says. "Ri..." he stops when he sees my friends staring, "...her parents do. They heard about you and want to buy flowers from your place for her. I told them yeah, I'd take them, but just thought I'd give you a heads-up."

"Well, thank you, I suppose," I say, my heartbeat already quickening. "How'd they hear about me, though?"

"I told them," he admits. "You know, about how you help me find the flowers and are really nice about it. It's easier to tell them stuff like that these days, since, um, they don't really mind if I love her anymore."

"They didn't like it before?" I ask, aware that my ears are red. My best friend, Harumi, notices this straightaway and bursts into giggles, which both Riki and I ignore.

"More like they didn't know what to do," he says. "Anyway, we'll be there around the time your shift ends."

"Yeah, sure," I say. "See you then. Thanks for the heads-up."

"No problem," he flashes me that smile, the one I have come to like so much, and then he disappears into the crowd of his friends. My own are on me in an instant, demanding to know who Riki is, and if I like him.

I answer them absently, knowing they won't judge me. I don't tell them about Rinne—that's not my business, nor is it my place to tell. I do tell them that he's looking for flowers to give to the girl he loves. Admittedly, the story sounds a little sketchy, but to my relief, they take it and don't question it.

"He's really cute, you know," Harumi wiggles her eyebrows.

"Congratulations, genius, you're the last person to realize," I roll my eyes at her. She sticks her tongue out at me immaturely.

"You do like him," Sayaka notes. "And you're not denying it. At all."

"I'm not, because you all can see right through me," I shrug. "But seriously, guys, you can't expect me to try to get him. He's really, crazy in love. He will be for a long time, and chances are this crush of mine won't last for long."

They don't argue with that. We're all mature enough to know that it's the truth, plain and simple. Crushes are merely infatuations, and infatuations don't usually last longer than a couple of months, maybe a year or two. Chances are very high that I'll get over Riki soon enough.

But a voice inside me is nagging: if you spend so much time with him, in the flower shop, then who's to say your crush won't evolve into something more?

***

"Hello," I say brightly, standing up as the door opens and Riki walks in. "The parents are with you?"

"Yep," he says. "Um, don't be surprised if they, uh, start crying or something."

"It's alright," I reassure him. "I may not be the greatest at comforting but grieving parents aren't new to me around here."

"Right," he takes a deep breath, probably steeling himself for it. I'm not that concerned, since I've already picked out a few flowers they might like to give their late daughter. It's what my grandmother gave to her deceased son, way before I was born.

He steps outside and says something, and comes back inside. With him are a couple, and even I'm startled at how worn out they look. The man's entire posture carries an air of tiredness, of sadness. The woman looks literally hopeless, her eyes hollow with pain and grief. This is what a set of parents look like when they lose their beloved child, I think with a stab of sympathy.

It pains to me to notice their pale skin. To notice the bedraggled state of their chestnut-brown hair, their eyes just a few shades lighter than Riki's lined with dark eyebags.

These poor people. Losing someone is never easy, and for parents, it can tip out their whole world from underneath them. It can destroy their entire lives as they know it.

"Welcome to Matsuki's Blossoms," I say. The mother's eyes focus on me and she smiles back at me. Although it's sad, it doesn't look forced. That's a good sign.

"You must be Matsuki Seiko," she says.

"That's me," I say, glancing at the awkward boy just behind them with a nervous smile. "Riki there tells me he's told you about me?"

"Oh, yes," she unclasps her hand from her husband's and walks to the counter. "I've heard all about how you've been helping him pick beautiful flowers for my little girl. That is so kind of you, dear."

"It's nothing, ma'am," I insist. "I'm just doing my job, after all, and Riki just needed some extra help."

"And we thank you for that," the man says.

"You're welcome," I say. What else can I do? "Would you like to pick a flower for your daughter, sir? I have something for you, actually."

"That would be wonderful," he says. "Riki's told us you're quite an expert at this."

"Did he?" I shoot a glance at said boy, hovering behind them, feeling a warm happiness wash over me. He shrugs, giving me a sheepish grin. "Well, a florist needs to know her flowers, doesn't she?"

"That's true," the woman agrees. "What do you have for us?"

I reach for the bouquet lying on the chair next to me, showing them the small, four-petaled flowers in white and blue. "These are lilacs," I tell them. "The white blooms represent purity and innocence, while the blue represent tranquility and happiness. I thought it might be appropriate for your daughter."

"They're beautiful," the woman breathes, reaching to take it from me. I let her, watching them admire it with a smile. "My Rinne would have loved them."

"They're yours," I say. "Free for taking."

"You mean, no payment?" her husband looks at me strangely.

"Consider it a gift from me. I've already charged enough on the flowers for her."

"Thank you," Rinne's mother smiles really big now, her eyes filling with tears. "Thank you so much."

"You're welcome," I say shyly. Riki's grinning really wide at me now, and it's filling me with a strange kind of pride and warmth from head to toe. "Come by again one day."

"Oh, we will," Rinne's father says. He and his wife give me another bright smile and go to the door. I watch them with my smile that hasn't vanished yet.

"Riki," the woman stops for a second, "your birthday dinner's at eight, right?"

"Birthday dinner?" he looks confused. "Oh, that. Yes, it is at eight."

"See you then," she says, and then she and her husband are really gone. I cross my arms and give him a stern look.

"It's your birthday?" I ask. "You didn't tell me."

"Hey, to be fair, you didn't tell me about yours!" he protests. "Also, I genuinely forgot it's my birthday. Ever since Rinne left...I don't know, it's harder to keep things like that in my head."

I soften. "That's okay," I tell him. "But I still want to give you something I was actually saving for your birthday, which happens to be today."

He stares at me as I walk around the counter and into the aisles. He decides to follow me, watching as I pick some more lilacs. He knows me well enough by now to not ask what they are and waits for me to finish picking enough to tell him.

"Lilacs, obviously," I say as I go back to the counter and start wrapping it up. I'm still going for the simple design. "But these are light purple, the most popular one, symbolizing a first love."

"I..." he swallows, staring at the bouquet that I push into his hand. "Seiko..."

"What's wrong?" I immediately ask, seeing his eyes fill with tears. "Why do you look like you're going to cry?"

"I'm not!" he denies it, switching the flowers to one hand and rubbing furiously at his eyes with the other. "Okay, fine, I am. It's just that...Rinne told me she loved me right before..." he takes a shaky breath. "She told me I'm her first love and that she's glad I'll be her last, too."

"That's..." I don't know what to say. "Riki, I..."

"You don't have to say anything," he says, fixing his gaze on the flowers. "I don't know what to say, either. The idea that if she had lived, we could have been..."

"Riki," I say, "don't do this. Don't dwell on what could have been when you can think of and cherish what was. Rinne...I don't know much about her, but I doubt she would want you to beat yourself down like this. Think about your good memories with her when you give her the flowers. Never let yourself dwell on it, though; rather, think of it as a sweet memory that can help you in life going forward."

He just stares at me when I say that. I stare back, feeling my heart nearly pound out of my chest. I don't like this. Him staring at me is making me all flustered, and that's so not me at all. Nevertheless, I hold his gaze steadily.

"Wow," he says finally. "That was...wise. But I'll keep it in mind, Seiko. Thank you."

"I had to say it. You were going to start crying."

"Yeah, I was," he sighs. "Well, I have to go. Need to get ready in time for that birthday dinner and all. Not what I was hoping for, but at least it's not a party that I can't handle right now."

"Yeah," I say. "Get going. See you later, Riki."

As he leaves, I realize that I'm really a victim of a hopeless, unrequited love. Those flowers—as much as they were meant for Riki to give to Rinne, they were also a symbol of me accepting that I might like Riki more than I initially thought, believed, or even wanted to accept.

For the first time in my life, I feel jealous of the Rinne girl, jealous that she's the reason Riki would never return my feelings. But as soon as I feel it, I feel bad. I shouldn't even be thinking like this, should I?

Human emotions are like a minefield, and we just keep throwing ourselves back into it every time.

✧✧✧

WORD COUNT: 1876

A/N: i stand by that last sentence. you know it's true, don't you?