Better Than Words (Karashi)

[Gabriel White]

Sitting patiently in the corner of the coffee-shop with a cappuccino in his hand, Gabriel leaned further back in his seat and tried swallowing a yawn. He had been up too long last night writing his heart out. As much as he loved his writing, he really wished he'd have more time for it between classes and meeting up with friends. But then again, it wasn't like he was going to ditch either just to get a few more hours of sleep. Sleep could wait, school and friends could not.

And surely, it helped having friends he really enjoyed spending time with. Just like Karashi, this beautiful browned hair girl he had met not too long ago. She was smart, she enjoyed reading and she had a backbone. (And it surely helped that she was incredible easy on the eyes. Not that he'd ever admit to that and blow his chances, nope!)

Gabriel put the coffee cup down on the table and rubbed the back of his neck. Okay, maybe he wasn't as patient as he often claimed to be. ''Well, that's what you get for being so early, Gab...'', he muttered to himself with a sigh. Well, at least he couldn't be accused for always being late. At least that was something his new friend had to appreciate, right?

[Karashi Usaki]

Karashi looked at her watch. She had five minutes to get to the coffee shop where her best friend was waiting. He was probably her only friend, seeing as she had been at the Hammel School not too long. She had met him at the local library, and they had clicked like no other. Not only was he into books like she was, but he was also an avid writer, which she admired. Of course, she wasn’t about to admit that that was one of the reasons why she had a crush on him. Oh no. That was never going to happen. Not over Karashi’s dead body.

Karashi breathed hard as she walked towards the shop, which was now visible down the sidewalk. Good, she wasn’t going to be late. She walked into the coffee shop right on the dot and smiled. The man was rubbing the back of his neck, a sign that he was getting impatient. She knew that move more than anyone else, and it always made her smile. She decided to take advantage of it, and surprise him. Karashi wanted to see what his reaction would be.

Karashi walked up silently behind him, and smiled. “You know, instead of being early and getting impatient while you wait for me, you should be working on that novel of yours.” She stood in front of him now, wondering what he was going to do or say. She expected him to hug her at least, maybe a bit more, but she knew that she was being a bit too hopeful. Still, Karashi was hoping that maybe their friendship would be taken to the next level. Again, wishful thinking.

[Gabriel White]

Her voice made him flinch, and almost jump out of his seat. Gabriel wasn't exactly the coolest kid on the street, and he clearly wasn't the bravest either. With a sheepish grin, he stood up to greet his arrived cru--friend. ''Oh, hi! I didn't see you there.'', he said with a chuckle, and like the gentleman he was, he pulled out the chair for her and gave her another one of his sheepish grins. ''On time like usual, I see.'' He was glad he didn't have to wait for hours and hours just to find out she'd stood him up.

Gabriel sat down on his own seat and leaned his chin against the back of his hand. ''You're probably right, but oh, I'm so conflicted!'', he said with an overly dramatic voice. ''If I spent all my time writing, how would you ever survive? I mean, come on, babe. We both know I'm the air you breath, the sun in your day, the waves in your ocean and the beat in your heart!'' He grinned again, unsure whether he was making a fool out of himself or not. He was nervous, and when he was nervous, he rambled and said stupid things like that.

Sigh.

He was such a creep.

[Karashi Usaki]

Karashi frowned, but then recovered with a smile, hoping Gab didn’t see that. She didn’t want to make him worry. To be honest, meeting him was the best thing that had happened to her that week, so she was genuinely happy to see him. She giggled at his reaction. “You really need to relax. You’re so jumpy.” She waited as he pulled out the chair for her, like always. She then sat in it, and flagged a waiter down so that she could order coffee. Karashi couldn’t just go to a coffee shop and not order coffee. That was like a sin.

Karashi listened to what he had to say, and then rolled her eyes went he started on one of his tangents. He always was dramatic and went on these rants about his writing and how he didn’t have time, and blah blah blah. To be honest, it was starting to annoy her, but since she liked him, she wasn’t going to say anything. It would have been rude for her to do so. “You know, you should stop doing that. Someone might think it’s weird. Or annoying.” Karashi smiled at him, hoping that he caught the hint but wouldn’t take it completely to heart.

Karashi frowned, wondering where the waiter was. She hadn’t eaten anything all day, and was starting to get dizzy. She hadn’t told Gab about her ‘condition’; in fact, the only people who knew were her parents (even her resumes for jobs she hadn’t told them because she was always afraid that they wouldn’t give her the job because of it). She didn’t want to worry her crush any more than he already did about her. It would just make her feel guilty. Karashi rubbed her temples, trying to make the dizziness go away long enough till she got her coffee and some food.

[Gabriel White]

If it had been any other person, or maybe even day, maybe he wouldn't have been as jumpy. It was all because of him being nervous, and when he was nervous, he didn't unexpected and usually stupid things. Like for example, jumping up like a scared little girl just by the sound of her voice. ''Yeah, I suppose you're right.'', he agreed with a nod.

Gabriel wasn't really one to get offended over things like people speaking their mind, or even hinting at stuff. In fact, he was quite oblivious to hints, just like most guys were. If she had told him he needed to quit whining, he'd probably agree with her. ''Sorry.'', he simply replied and sighed. He was going to caaalm down and act cool. He could do that. (Yeah, right.) ''So, how are you doing today?''

Noticing her frown, Gabriel tilted his head to the side and once again rubbed the back of his neck, a little more awkwardly this time. ''I'm going to get a refill on my coffee. You want anything?'' Waiting for a waitress was hopeless, he had learned that the hard way from all the times he had been here. Gabriel stood up and offered her a smile as he lifted his cup. And if he had known she was worried over him worrying, he'd tell her it was only his pleasure to help her out and support her the best way he could. They were friends after all, and that was exactly what friends did. Even if he sometimes caught himself wishing there was more to it than just friendship, but then he had to remind himself not to get ahead of himself. He was known for being a hopeless romantic with absolutely no luck in love.

[Karashi Usaki]

Karashi was glad that he had decided to take her advice. How long that would last was a different story, and if she knew him as well as she did, it wouldn’t last very long. It would last about a day, if that. As for his question, she was going to answer it, but he had decided to get up and get more coffee. She smiled and nodded at him. “Chocolate latte, no whip.” She looked at him and smiled again. Karashi hoped that he could remember that.

Karashi drummed her fingers. She was impatient, and her dizziness was getting worse. In fact, she was starting to have vision blackouts, which was the next step before she completely fainted. She wanted to get up and tell him to hurry, but she figured it would be a bad idea. But, she decided to do it anyway. She held her head, moaning softly. She needed to get there fast. Karashi started to walk, but got even dizzier.

‘I need to get there…’ Karashi was determined to get there. She held onto tables as she made her way to the front, despite the looks that people gave her, even if they were looks of sympathy and worry. The girl had almost made it to the front where she figured Gab would be, but she suddenly had another dizzy wave, and this time she was going down for the count. A chorus of gasps echoed from the rest of the customers as Karashi hit the floor with a thud.