Pens,Words,Goofy smiles and unexpected news

It takes me too long to get myself back together again and my heart...
Another vicious traitor.
My feet race up to the mall where I am now at least fifteen minutes late to get to the shop.

"PENS,PAPER,WORDS SHOP"
My most happy place in the whole world where I can escape happily,even now though only just realizing I am empty handed except my book bag."Oh I am an idiot,Arata's mother is going to murder me if she smells any curry in her car."
Why oh why did I leave that in there?
No matter now,I will hear it later.
For now I will walk into this shop and enjoy the smells of books,fragrant coffee,and listen to the blissful sound of pages being turned and not a person calling me feral for miles.Uncle Goji spots me and walks out of the arcade he manages right next to "PPW".
"You have a major group heading your way,looks like the new arcade game that is getting beta tested here is also having a manga adaptation being sent to the store today!You are in for a rush so be ready."
"Gamerz new gen is out today??It was delayed until next spring,that manga was scrapped at last years convention.Oh this is going to make today a ride into a storm...."

Uncle Goji eyes me suspiciously but I paste on a smile and walk past him to change into my work  clothes to be ready for a horde of lolita  and vampire cosplayers to invade the shop I called haven.

THREE HOURS LATER

"Mom is going to stab you through with a chopstick if she ever finds your gross curry lunches in the car again."
I look up at Arata and take my lunch box back from him,returning my eyes promptly to the notebook on the desk.There is two crucial points in my story that I am almost rectifying if I am not disturbed too mu-
"Which story is that one?Is it the one with the White haired pyrokinetic samurai with the cyborg tiger or the one the chick wearing a necktie made of a dagger of diamond to hunt kitsunes?"

I look up at him,he munches on some kind of dango his mother makes which smells like apricot but is green and icky looking to me and I try my hardest not to sigh my annoyance.
"Neither.Something...else I have been working on since you transferred out."
Arata grunts a reply and keeps his head over my shoulder looking at the words not in the slightest bit caring whether I am cool with it or not but it has been this way since we were six years old and hew had to see my painting of a favorite anime character of mine.
"It got really bad after I left huh?With your parents divorcing and all.I am sorry I didn't really help you much during all of that."

I wave it off,what else can I do?
He was my best friend,yes.
In another school and a new life,
What could he have done.

"What could you have done?I have always been the weird one in our group,you grew up into a swim fit hot nerd and I became the long haired horror movie scare girl because I....What?"
The sudden move away,Arata just pulled back and started to finger books looking as if he were fighting a smile off and losing.
"What??"I ask him again.
"Hot nerd?"

Oh what did I say that for.
I get up from my desk and walk through the store to finish the last be of replacing the latest copies of"Lolita Battle Off!Slaying The Beautiful Vampire Queen To Win The Vampire Prince."
Using this excuse to be near the latest late batch of my lost loyal female book shoppers to help me out of this,soon as they catch eyes on Arata they almost quickly drop the books they had to get "Assistance"from him.
I turn to look at him as he listens to there requests for help,the compliments on his glasses,even the white plain button down shirt he wears.
"Told you.Nerd hot,example and proof."

I can't explain it but the look he has now,went from the stupidly grinning but fighting it to this kind of....
Depressed puppy.

"What did you think about seeing him again?Today you saw another familiar face,That one seemed pretty convinced that you noticed."
I hate myself yet again for it but it makes me pause.
"That guy waited around the cafeteria after your last class,I think he even stayed by the bus stop but no one knows why.Do you?"
I look back and shrug."Why would a rich Dojo heir want to be around me?Why even be at our school? He could be at the elite private schools or be home schooled.Believe me I wish I could."

"What happened last year was so bad?Is it really only the divorce?Mine are divorced it isn't that bad Yukihana,they got more people in there life but still call you everyday."

My eyes lock onto his,I see that he notes the bitterness in my eyes and how I want to say something  harsh but I bite it down.
The others at school will tell him about what happened.

"Listen,I am so-"
"It is okay,Just drop it for a while.Also to answer your question about kendo-guy I don't know why he singled me out,I am just glad that no one else noticed he did."
"Wrong.Someone did notice,that tall busty girl who hanged onto the rails when you were told by Makoto-San about your....Wooing attempt."

I smack my head hard onto the desk after hearing that,I had only just gotten back to writing again and now I can't think straight.
"What are you trying to do Kendo-guy.....?"

HOME

Uncle Goji is fast asleep,didn't even eat the miso I made he was sleeping so fast.
I start to look on my phone,needing more research for my character,Higaka,and start to wonder something.
Before I think the wiser of it I head to my computer and do a search.
"ITO KENSHIN"

The page is take out my contacts and just wear my glasses to scroll down.
Most of them are of his practice sessions posted on social media that I am not on,others are of events with his parents or a photo shoot of him and the most elite under twenties ,where he looks like he wants to vomit, in those he seems like a whole other person than what I witnessed today.

It seems like he hasn't changed since the moment I laid eyes on him in some ways but in others very,very obviously.
I don't really like myself for it but I do not deny he is gorgeous,he was even back then to me but even more so now.

Borders on six foot one and he has dark slightly wavy hair that one particular piece will never stay out of his field of vision.Those sparkle eyes make a bold appearance there and well,He is definitely in very,very good shape.

"Stop,stop....."
I am about to turn off my computer when I see it.
A short splash really of an article posted on a swordsmanship blog I look on frequently for advice on accurate depictions and the like for my novels.
It reads.

"Great news to all swordsfansships!The prestigious school of swordsmanship,The very oldest and best of the country has the Heir and prodigy of the sword,Ito Kenshin transferring into a public school sector to find a new tuition program and to test it out to see if it will indeed prove to guide students mentally and physically enough to make it a practice for all our schools to help improve national health and see if we can bring our history to the spotlight out of the way of screens and into the outdoors again or training with friends instead of using cameras to see each other!I like this plan and I hope it will prosper.You have my support Ito-San!"

"So that is why you searched me out!"
"WHAT IS THE MATTER?"

I look up to see Uncle Goji,he looks like he awoke scared of a thief,I hadn't realized I yelled out what I just said.
I shrug and hope he thinks it was only a dream as I wave bye to him with Cookie following me like a dutiful accomplice.