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Takumi was at a fast food place with Natsuki. He had recently heard about the rumors about her secretly dating a middle aged man for money from someone who've left a note. That man had been driving a Mercedes-Benz and sure enough, after school, he did see her entering said car. Who knows what she and that man have done and will do. What he does know that if he keeps going out with her, it’d cause heartache for someone. Now he couldn't believe that he was out with her again and if she considers this outing a date. She was currently cleaning up a spill that she accidentally made. “We could go to the beach again sometime, maybe even stay for the night.” she said.
Warning lights went off in Takumi’s mind. “Do you consider this… a date?” he mumbled, feeling the awkwardness settle in. She let out an inquisitive noise and Takumi felt like he messed up big time.
“I mean… do you?” she asked.
‘Quick, now’s your chance! Don’t screw it up!’ he thought, then said. “If I am honest, then no…” Natsuki looked at him, clearly that was not the answer she was waiting for. “I have a crush on another person.”
“And who is she? Do I know her?”
Takumi looked away from her, he needs to come up with something fast. “Well, no you don’t know her. She’s like three years older than us, and a street racer.”
Takumi had recently raced against Keisuke Takahashi, and the race has left a deep impact on him. When Natsuki asked about his so called crush, for some reason, Keisuke was the first person who popped up in his head. Great. Though all he needs to do is change his gender when talking about him, simple, right? Natsuki had her head propped up by her arm, clearly wanting to hear more.
“She has a fiery and a competitive spirit. She has spiky blond hair that matches her personality. I had to race against her when my friends asked me, that was the first time I saw her face. I saw her car the week before that and actually defeated her. So when my friends asked for my help, I was the one she actually wanted to race against. Still, I remember her cold blue eyes tearing through me. That coy smirk when she saw me, her prey.” unbeknownst to him, a blush was creeping on Takumi’s face, which Natsuki noticed. “I defeated her again in an official race. But I feel like she’s opened my eyes… racing is fun… I guess.”
“And what is her name?”
“Uhh, Kei Takahashi.” he was ready to slam his head on the desk, what a genius name there.
Natsuki looked away from Takumi, looking a little sad. “Well, I wish you good luck with her.”
“We can still be friends though.” Takumi tried to cheer her up a bit.
“Sure, we can still be friends!”
Takumi was heading down the pass again, coming back from the daily tofu delivery, his mind still swarming about what he told Natsuki about Keisuke that day. ‘I wish you good luck with her’ rang through his mind. Did he really like him? The pinging of the speedometer warning was the only thing keeping him grounded. Good thing that it did, because he spotted a familiar yellow car parked on the side of the road with its hazards on. He brought his car to a stop, but stayed in it for a little, taking in the form of Keisuke, who stood in front of him. His mind really didn’t exaggerate how pretty he was. ‘Wait what am I saying?’ he shook his head and stepped out.
“Thought I could find you here at this time of night.” Keisuke began. If it was the upcoming race against Takeshi Nakazato, that he had no part in accepting, he’s not interested. But then Keisuke said something that hit Takumi with a strange feeling of deja vu. “A girl kept pestering me, wanting to go on dates with her, which I didn’t really want to do.” the blonde leaned against his car. “So I told her that I was dating someone else already. But she got mad at that, asking to know who she was and what she looked like, but because your racing skills left such an impression on me, I may or may not have used you as a base for my fictional girlfriend…”
“Funny, I had a similar moment, but I based on my fictional crush on you.”
Keisuke laughed at that. “Looks like we really like each other.”
‘Like each other? Where did that come from?’ Takumi’s mind was running in overdrive, while Keisuke reached for a cigarette.
Before lighting one, Keisuke asked. “So, what did you say about me?”
“Oh… I said that you have a fiery and competitive personality, how your blue eyes pierced right through me, your coy smile when you first saw me…” Takumi started blushing again. Before it could get out of hand, he asked the same question back.
He blew some smoke. “I told her that you may look timid, but are hiding a real beast inside. And how you invigorated my racing spirit, oddly. And that you look sleepy and cute…”
“I told her that you’ve gotten me interested in racing too…” Takumi said and Keisuke’s eyes lit up. “As much as I’d like to, my dad is waiting back home for me to finish the deliveries, so I can’t stay any longer here to talk.”
Keisuke was thinking for a moment, flicking the lit cigarette up and down between his fingers. “I can give you my phone number, we can meet up later then?”
“Sure.” he said and Keisuke opened the car door to fetch a small piece of paper while Takumi stood there bewildered by the sudden turn of events. As he returned, he was quick to slip the paper between Takumi’s fingers.
“We’ll talk later, okay?”
“Yeah.”
“See you later then!” Keisuke stomped flat the cigarette and took off with the same hurry as he had when they raced against each other. ‘That car is fast.’ he thought. ‘I’d love to drive it sometime.’ Then it hit him. They’ve just had complimented each other and now he has his number. He sat on the hood of the 86 and covered his face with his hands as his cheeks threatened to heat up. ‘What the hell did I just get myself into?’ Takumi would’ve preferred to stay there in the slightly chilly summer night air, but he needed to get home. Not to mention that he has school later. He pocketed that note in a safe place and headed down.
That morning when Takumi got home, his dad of course had asked about what took him so long, and was told that someone kept him up, but the tofu was delivered on time, so there wasn't any problems. Takumi placed his hand in the pocket to make sure the note was still there as he went inside to fall asleep.
When he went to work after school, Iketani, Itsuki and Yuichi did notice that Takumi was a little happier than he normally was, and tended to space out more. His mind kept replaying last night’s events. Those eyes… that soft expression...
“Oi, Takumi!” Yuichi yelled, bringing him out of his daydream. “We got customers!”
“Okay!” and he ran towards the car that just had pulled in. “Welcome, how can I help you!”
“It is odd.” Iketani commented. “I’ve seen him space out before, but never to this extent.”
“Neither have I, but I did see him out with a girl yesterday.” Itsuki sounded sage. “She might’ve bewitched Takumi!”
“That sounds stupid.” Iketani fell into a slump. “Besides, boss got him out of that state.”
“And what are you two standing around for?” Yuichi asked from the back, it was their cue to get back to work. If he hadn't called them out, they might've gone on a depressive Lonely Driver rant again.
Takumi still couldn't believe that he was meeting up with Keisuke again, in a café nonetheless. He's got a race with Takeshi Nakazato the next evening, and part of him was saying that he should be focusing on that, but here he is waiting patiently for Keisuke to show up. His face was red when he had called Keisuke, he's sure that Bunta saw him blushing, but didn't say a word. He was fumbling with the hem of his shirt just as Keisuke came in and noticed the nervous boy.
"Hey, Fujiwara!" Keisuke chirped as he got close to his table, Takumi turned his gaze at him the moment he heard his voice.
"Hey..." he muttered back, clearly still a little flustered from. Keisuke started looking through the menu he grabbed from the counter as he walked towards Takumi. Keisuke noted that he doesn’t like too much attention. Even though the café was nearly full, Takumi felt like he was the center of attention when Keisuke called him. Keisuke seemed to enjoy being in the spotlight, though. As if wasn’t obvious from his flashy car and hair.
“So…” Keisuke began. “Is there a special reason why you brought us here?”
“Not really, this is just the place where me and my friends usually go to…”
“Hmm, this place sort of fits you.” a smile crept on Keisuke’s face.
“Fits me?” Takumi parroted, looking a little lost.
“Yeah, from outside it looks calm and unassuming, yet inside it is lively and lovely.”
Takumi’s eyes widened at that. ‘Lovely, me?’ then he recalled what Keisuke had told him that night when he came to meet him on Akina, and his face heated up like his 86’s brakelights. Keisuke seemed to enjoy that, as his smile grew wider.
“You alright there, Fujiwara?”
“Mhm…” he hummed drinking his soda to cool down. Keisuke tilted his head and rested it on one of his hands. That kid is truly a mystery, a mystery that’s his to discover. Compared to Takumi, when he felt his cheeks heat up, he allowed it to happen.
As both boys headed outside, because it was getting pretty late, Keisuke went to his car. “Thanks for an amazing night, Fujiwara!”
Takumi looked at the ground, deep in thought as Keisuke began to enter his car. “Wait, Keisuke-san!” which made the blonde turn around. “Uh… you can just call me, Takumi…” he stammered.
“Okay, Takumi, if you say so!” and he flashed the brightest smile. “You can also just call me Keisuke.”
“Ah…!” he was still a little red from the outing they had.
“See you! Next time I’ll invite you out on a date!” and he sat in his car, turning the ignition key.
‘It was a date?” he was still in a state of disbelief. As Keisuke’s yellow car drove off, Takumi began to think a little and yeah, it was a date. And it was a date that Keisuke thought was worthy of another one. His heart was still beating. He can’t go home in this state, so he’ll just do one run on Akina before falling asleep on back home.