Foreign Ground (Yuzuru Hanyu)

7. Boring Me And You And Me Again. Questions

His phone kept buzzing, Lilis noticed, yet he seemed not to. He probably did, obviously - he did, but he chose to ignore it, letting it softly vibrate through the wood of their round table.

"What... do you do?" He asked softly, resting his chin on the sole of his palm. His posture, unlike just half an hour ago, was relaxed; his colorful eyes looked - almost sleepy, not in a way that Lilis worried she was boring him, but in a way that she felt he would be comfortable to fall asleep. She couldn't begin to imagine how tired he must be.

"I'm a student."

"What studying?"

She mimicked his pose, bringing their faces oddly close to each other, yet his expression stayed unbothered.

"You'll be disappointed."

"Why?"

"It's very boring."

"Hmmmmm... Boring me, or Ri?"

Her belly uncomfortably flipped. At first, his accent was a bit distracting, but as the conversation went on, she grew fond of the little lisps and skipped consonants, the incorrect use of words and the prolonged pauses between words. But with her getting used to it, he also seemed to relax, not disappointed in his mistakes. That being said, the way he sang her name was simply not okay.

Obviously, they were both aware of the fact that her ears went deep red and that her voice raised higher for an octave.

"You, probably."

"If not boring Ri, than not boring me."

"Phycology"

"You thinking that's boring?" He exaggerated in shock.

Lilis sighed, somewhat annoyed, more at herself.

"When someone doesn't know what to major in, they go for phycology. Maybe they think it will help them understand themselves better."

For a while after her simple, yet harsh statement, her interlocutor, studied her face. Maybe he was deciphering her words, maybe he finally got bored? What was it - Lilis couldn't know, there was no way to read his expression. Then, the corner of his lip turned into the smallest of smirks.

"What?" Lilis asked, feeling that awful insecurity eating away once again.

"You know what I'm major?"

She didn't know he was a student at all. She just shook her head no.

"Cognitive science."

She closed her eyes, wishing for the Earth to open up and take her to Atlantis.

"So basically - phycology?" She squinted uncomfortably.

There was silence, so Lilis opened her eyes, fearing the skater was already gone, but he was not. Still, he was seated, his look, however, was somewhere else, away from the conversation - glued to the screen of the ever ringing phone.

"Sorry," He mumbled, distracted. "Have to take thiz."

Lilis tried not to listen in, although it wasn't like she could understand a full on conversation in Japanese, anyways.

The guy spoke rapidly, face crunching uncomfortably in an attempt to concentrate. With his ring finger, he mindlessly tapped at a pair of moles on his left cheek. The conversation seemed frustrating, yet his voice was calm and collected.

Hanging up, he sighed, looked up, and Lilis already knew her time was up.

She wondered, what was she supposed to do now. How to say goodbye, basically forever, to someone she hasn't even met yet. She was distraught, not wanting to part with this stranger at all. And the look of annoyance on his face confirmed that the feeling was mutual.