As far as Ran knew, the new Starbucks that opened beside their university’s library was just the same as the coffee shop three blocks down her dormitory. They were just selling coffee crafted as different type of coffee-based beverages. Still, the amount of people flocking the newly opened coffee shop was too much for her liking and she hated that she needed to get in a long line for a cup of hot caramel latte. There’s not much of a choice though. She needed to study in the library because Kazuha-chan’s friends were in their dorm house for some group project they needed to finish. As much as she loves Kazuha-chan, she can get a bit intense when discussing their project and it’s hard for her to concentrate when her Osakan friend is in that zone since she is a bit loud and enthusiastic. Especially now that she too had to study for her exam on Bioscience.
It was already close to eight in the evening, but people were still coming and going. There’s no rush for college students to get their dose of caffeine because Starbucks is open twenty-four hours. Ran didn’t know if she should get a bite to eat together with her caffeine but recalling the chapters in the book she needed to study, she decided that coffee would just do. She will not have the appetite until the exam would be over.
Finally, after seven minutes of standing in line, it was her turn to give her order.
“Caramel latte, venti.” She said. The lady behind the counter smiled and ask for her name.
“Ran.” She answered with a smile and from her peripherals, she saw the other cashier taking the order of the customer adjacent to her.
“Shinichi.” The customer answered as the other cashier asked for the name of the person she was catering to.
Ran felt her cheek getting warm. It’s not uncommon for her to be drawn to him whenever he was in the room. She didn’t notice him earlier, probably because she was thinking of her exam but by some playful coincidence, they arrived at the two open cashiers at the same time. It’s like fate was pressing her to take notice of him.
Ran had been infatuated with him ever since school year started. He was a known teenage detective back then. Now, he is not only known, but also extremely famous. He has matured over the years and even though she was not present throughout his adolescence, she was there when they were just kids. She knew of him when they were just four years old in Sakura class. She had made him a sakura badge from the paper she cut originally for herself. That paper badge become the key for Shinichi to declare that they were friends when other kids bullied her. In three-years’ time, they became friends and he became someone she always looked forward to seeing. He became as close to her as Sonoko.
However, her mother and father split and she went with her mother to live with Ran’s grandparents in Yokohama. She didn’t even have the chance to say goodbye to him back then. It was something she had always regretted.
Because Shinichi seems to have forgotten her.
There’s nothing she could blame him for if that was the case. It’s been a long time. They separated when they were seven years old and the first time, she saw him in person again was in her Biology class. It was almost twelve years later. On their first day in Biology, she bumped into him because he was in the doorway and she was too busy looking down at her books. Immediately, she recognized him. Even before seeing him in person, Ran knew of what he had become. The news and the nonstop praise for the teenage detective that brought down a big Syndicate made her feel proud of him. He was never erased in her memory. But unlike him, she was not famous. Maybe the only recognition she had that would translate to being famous is becoming Kanto’s Karate Champion back in High School. He probably would not know of it because by the time she went back to Beika in High School, Shinichi was already in America with his parents.
She thought he would probably stay there for good which is why she was so surprised upon bumping into him.
His face had changed. Saying Shinichi was good-looking was an understatement. When they were kids, a lot of their classmates took a liking to him. Despite his indifferent nature; his charisma, intelligence and good looks made him popular in their class. Almost every female in their school had a crush on him. Now twelve years had passed, and despite the familiarity of his face from when he was a kid and from what she saw on the news, Ran was still taken aback with how good he looked up close.
Ashamedly, she wanted to hug him upon recognition. She was seconds away from doing so, but his expression, void of recognition deflated her excitement. She remembered staring at him for a couple more of seconds, waiting for him to recognize her because she very much remembered him.
I would never forget a boy like him. She thought, but her hope was in vain. Instead, he just politely smiled and stepped aside to let her go inside the classroom.
Even though that was not the reunion she was expecting, she still tried to get him to look at her. Ran watched him, hoping for any form of recollection. There was none.
She admitted defeat when class was over, and Shinichi went outside the classroom, not sparing her any glance. But she kept her hopes up for the next days, and every time she had Biology with him, she would try and see if he’d eventually recognize her.
It didn’t happen, and Ran was met with sinking disappointment.
From then on, Ran concluded that just because she had some hang ups from the past didn’t mean he did too. For all she knew, he was a rational and logical guy, and remembering a little girl from his past won’t make sense to him. Still for her, remembering him all these years meant he was special to her. But knowing that he didn’t, meant she didn’t mean a thing to him.
The cashier told Ran to wait for her drink at the side after she handed her the change. She complied and walked towards the corner of the coffee shop. Fishing her phone from her sweater pocket, she tried to distract herself when she saw Shinichi walking towards where she was.
Even though she told herself not to panic and that he was coming to where she was, was because it’s the place where people waited to be called to get their orders; it was still a lost cause. Her hands trembled as she scrolled up her phone, trying to look distracted and oblivious to his presence, but failed miserably. It didn’t help that he stood near her, their shoulders almost bumping. She couldn’t breathe but at the same time, all she was inhaling was the scent of his cologne. He smelled really nice despite the lateness of the night. Come to think of it, what was he doing at this time of the night? Was he going to study in the library too?
The thought excited Ran but she immediately stomped it. What was the point of getting excited at seeing him at the library? It’s not like they could interact. She was basically air to him. Three years of friendship when they were young was nothing to him.
Involuntarily, her heart sank as she was reminded of that disappointment. Why won’t he recognize her? Was she that unimportant a detail in his life that he could just erase in the snap of a finger? Their bond was solid back then. How could he forget her so easily?
As questions ran in her mind, Ran unconsciously turned her head to look at him. Her longing made her body move on its own accord.
Only for her eyes to widen to see that he was already looking at her.
It was stupid really. Her desire was to catch a glimpse of his beautiful face, not his eyes which were already boring into hers. And the stupidest thing? She couldn’t take her eyes off of him. Cliché as it sounds, but he was like a magnet, and she was just a thin piece of metal, weak from his pull.
“Caramel latte venti for Ran-san!”
The spell was effectively broken.
“Y-yes!” she exclaimed and rigidly marched towards the counter. The barista smiled at her amiably, unaware of her flustered state and although she was disappointed that her little, unusual, moment with Shinichi was cut off, she was glad that there’s an opening to escape the situation because she’s not going to lie, she didn’t know how she’d address the fact that he was staring at her.
Once the hot beverage was encased around her palm, Ran immediately walked towards the exit keeping her head low. She didn’t want him to see her face because from the heat she was feeling, she knew she was surely blushing profusely.
It was only when she was outside the Starbucks café that Ran bravely looked back to where Shinichi was. She didn’t know if she should feel relieved or not but he was not looking at her like he was doing moments ago. Instead, his back was on her, straight with the air of nonchalance. Maybe he just happened to stare at something weird on her face and she just caught him in the right moment. Yes, it was probably that.
She took a sip of her hot beverage. The sweet creamy taste caressing her tongue warmed her. Shaking her head and laughing at how much of an idiot she was to get that little moment mess up with her head, Ran started for the library.
Surprisingly, even at eight in the evening, the library had many students doing some late-night studying. It’s a good thing their university library is open twenty-four hours, otherwise how would students with loud and enthusiastic roommates study in peace, right?
Scanning the room while taking a sip of her coffee, Ran opted to sit in an empty three table with six chair space near the Bioscience books. She wanted to sit on a solo table and chair but all of them were occupied and the only space that was empty is the one she chose. Setting her things and her coffee on the table so people would know that at least the farthest chair of the six was taken, Ran went on to the shelves of books to get what she needed. She spent around seven minutes searching and browsing for the books that would help with her research. Once she was satisfied with the three books she chose, she went back to where her seat was, only to be surprised that the chair beside the chair she claimed was occupied. So were the chairs in front of it.
Not only that, even though the person sitting beside her chair had his back on her, Ran knew who he was. Her heart thudded heavily in her chest. The straightness of his back, the rigid tuft of hair on his neck and the cowlick on the middle of his head, just the overall aura, Ran knew who he was.
Air seemed to leave her lungs and her heart started to thud in her chest. Of all the places he could’ve picked, Kudo-kun picked the chair beside her! She didn’t know if she was ready to be with him in such close proximity (like earlier!), even though it would be in a purely civil sense. Internally, she wanted to smack her head. She didn’t need to feel flustered for sitting beside him. She was sure it didn’t mean anything to Kudo-kun, but here she was making a big deal out of it.
Still, she was not ready. Her little crush was yet to dissolve and no matter how much she denies it to herself, Ran was still smitten with him.
Deciding that she would at least stall to gather her wits, Ran stepped backwards to disappear once again behind the bookshelves, however, Hattori-kun, Kudo-kun’s best friend – who was currently positioned in front of Kudo-kun and in front of her – saw her and pieced things together.
“Nee-chan! These are your things?” he asked, gesturing to her tumbler of Starbucks and bag on the seat beside Kudo-kun.
Caught surprised, Ran went into panic mode. She didn’t anticipate this at all. Maybe she should lie and just study behind the shelves while waiting for them to leave. However, hearing his friend talk to someone behind him, Kudo-kun turned in his seat to have a look at her.
Ran’s eyes automatically went to him and she cursed herself for blushing profusely as she watched his eyes blink rapidly, as if he was trying to recognize her.
Bitterly, she thought that not only did he forget that she was his childhood friend, he must’ve also forgotten she was his classmate in Biology. Also, the girl who he gets coffee with the same time at Starbucks, didn’t he stare at her face just minutes ago?
Hiding her displeasure from her thoughts, Ran’s gaze returned to Hattori-kun and smiled whilst she nodded.
“Yes, that’s mine.” She confirmed amicably.
“I hope ya don’ mind us sitting here.” He grinned sheepishly. “We’ll be quiet and not disturb ya.”
“It’s fine. I don’t mind.” She said with a kind smile. It’s true. She won’t mind. Even though she was nervous as hell and felt a little bummed that her existence was next to nothing to Kudo-kun, who would not want to sit next to their crush?
Walking towards her seat, she couldn’t help but notice, from her peripherals, he was watching her every move. It made her even more nervous and conscious with herself. It seemed unfair that while she was in her knitted sweater, blue jeans and black boots looking homey, here he was in his white shirt, dark coat, blue jeans and white sneakers, looking immaculate. And it was already nighttime! It would be fair if at least he would look ragged as any other University student, but no… he looked like his day was just about to start.
Once situated on her seat (beside him! She screamed in her mind) Ran decided that she would be polite. She looked at him and was surprised to see him still watching her. Successfully, hiding her nerves, Ran gave him a small smile of acknowledgement before her gaze dropped on her book and opened it, not waiting for any reaction from him. Her reason for being in the library is to study, not to act like a love-sick fool in front of her crush.
Maybe seventeen minutes had passed, and she had successfully kept herself busy reading and taking notes about cell and molecular biology. Even though she would slightly jump at the slightest sound Kudo-kun made, Ran had made herself accustomed to his presence by now. His sigh as he went over a thick book he was reading, or the scratch of his pen over his notebook, and the sound he made when he drank his hot Starbucks, all of it were soothing her, making her racing heart steady its rhythm.
She didn’t know when Hattori-kun and the others disappeared. All she knew was when she decided to have a sip of her coffee, Kudo-kun’s acquaintances were no longer there. It made her nervous, having realized that she was in a space, far from other people and alone with Kudo-kun.
Gulping and not making it obvious, Ran carefully looked at him. Kudo-kun was still reading his book, albeit the bored and disinterested expression on his face as his eyes lazily scanned the pages. He didn’t seem to mind that he was there alone with her.
Silently letting out a breath she was holding, Ran flipped another page of her book and lifted her own tumbler of coffee. She continued reading as she moved the coffee closer to her lips.
She silently repeated the words on the book she was reading, before her mouth encased the small hole on the lid to have a sip of her hopefully still warm coffee.
As the almost lukewarm liquid touched her tongue, Ran realized that the creamy sweet coffee she was expecting was replaced with a strong bitter taste. Blinking, she gulped the coffee and separated it from her mouth, her lip gloss sticking on the lid. Lifting the tumbler to her eye level, Ran perused her coffee wondering why it suddenly tasted different.
Only to find out that her name was not written on the cup.
Instead, the name written was “Shinichi”.
Ran’s eyes widened. Her heart thudded heavily in her chest as she felt her face go aflame.
She had drank Kudo-kun’s coffee.
She had drank Kudo-kun’s almost half consumed coffee.
She drank on the coffee Kudo-kun had drank!
“Oh my God.” She whispered as her hand trembled. Her blood was rushing to her face and she felt faint. Why, of all the people, this kind of thing had happened to her?
The Gods were not in favor of her because Kudo-kun who was less than two feet away noticed her distressed state and turned his full attention to her. He was about to open his mouth, probably to ask her what’s wrong, but Ran watched in horror as he took in her panicked expression, the tumbler in her hand and the tumbler on the table. He was a great detective so she knew everything made sense to him in less than ten seconds.
And she was right. A glint of enlightenment entered his eyes and Ran didn’t want to know how he would react. Given he was a guy, a handsome one with probably too much experience, indirect kisses like this is just a child’s play and won’t mean anything to him. Heck probably kissing and more were probably casual to him. Not to her though! She hasn’t kissed anyone yet, directly or not! She hasn’t had any feelings for anyone and despite her downplaying her own feelings for Kudo-kun, the truth is, her crush ran deeper than she would like to admit.
And this, this is too much for her to handle.
Carefully setting down the coffee on the table, Ran wanted to applaud herself for still having the composure she thought she lost earlier. Summoning all the courage she had, Ran carefully packed up her things and ignored the questioning gaze Kudo-kun was throwing at her.
Once her things were in order and she was ready, Ran held the three books in her arm and stood up. Sucking air, she stood straight and gazed down at Kudo-kun, who in turn shifted his whole body in her direction so he was looking straight at her.
Despite her calm stance, Ran wanted to melt into a puddle of embarrassment at his feet. He was regarding her carefully. It was like he was trying not to intimidate her but was obviously amused of what she did and what she’s doing now.
Trying to win against the somersaults of her heart, Ran bowed to him in apology. To not look desperate, she immediately stood up straight and looked him in the eye disregarding how embarrassed she was feeling.
“I’m sorry for the inconvenience, Kudo-kun. I’ll replace your coffee next time. For now, please excuse me.” She stated and tried to sound as normal as possible, but she knew she sounded like a broken robot.
More like a flustered and embarrassed robot. She thought.
“It’s okay, Ran-san. You don’t need to do that. It’s not a big deal.”
She wanted to say that probably not for him but for her it is kind of a big deal, but she stopped before she made herself look like a fool again.
“I insist.” She said, tried to act nonchalantly. “But not now, I must go. My roommate is probably looking for me.”
There’s a twitch on his brow that convinced Ran that Kudo-kun knew she was lying. He watched her and she tried not to squirm.
Finally, he smiled at her fully and she almost forgot she was embarrassed to death. God, his smiles will be the death of her.
“If you insist.” He spoke.
Pleased with his response, Ran immediately bowed to excuse herself and her hand reached for her coffee, stopping when she almost grabbed his coffee, again.
She dismissed her second mistake and grabbed the correct tumbler of coffee before she walked briskly to the entrance where the librarian was so she could borrow the books she was using to study. Even though there’s a pang of disappointment in her chest that she needed to leave, she was mostly relieved that at least, she got out of an embarrassing situation involving Kudo-kun. After years of having almost non- existing encounters with him, now that an opportunity presented itself, she made a fool out of herself because she didn’t bother to look at who the coffee belonged to before she picked it up and drank it.
Back on the table, Hattori and the others came back and noticed that the Mouri-girl was nowhere to be seen. Hattori asked Kudo where she was.
“She said she needed to go home because her roommate was looking for her.” He answered as he grabbed his coffee.
Hattori looked at him. A frown painted his face.
“Then why do you seem happy? Smiling creepily like that.”
Kudo’s eyes flew to him, a beginning of a smile forming his lips. Hattori’s frown deepened.
Kudo Shinichi smirked. “Nothing.” He said as he took a sip of his lukewarm drink. His tongue swiping his bottom lip, tasting any remnants of unique flavors that lingered. “I just like coffee.”
A/N: I’m alive. Just storming through life. I won’t make promises but I’m writing again.
I’m open for small commissions.
Please support me on Kofi.
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