Snowed In {Ryou and Taylor ONLY}

[Sakurai Ryou]

Flakes of crystal-like snow came down in a storm as Ryou forced his way down the sidewalk. Classes had ended early due to heavy snowfall, but he hadn't wanted to leave, for his sister had received detention and was still expected to stay behind. It isn't fair, he thought, I should have stayed with her! But as the brunette trudged through the blustery weather, he couldn't help feeling relieved that he was able to leave before the school was snowed over. I just hope Kairi can get out. The twins had agreed to meet up at the well-known Cafe, a few blocks from the school, when Kairi had finished her prison sentence, so Ryou tried his best to navigate through the empty streets to said cafe. All the while, he gazed around him, trying to find another sign of life. But the snow had engulfed everything within sight, leaving Ryou mostly blind. Suddenly, the snow caved from beneath him and he fell face-first into the powder. This sucks, he thought, stumbling to his feet again. After another ten minutes of trudging through what seemed like an endless snowstorm, a small sign near the sidewalk caught Ryou's attention: 'Bread and Butterfly'. "Th-this must be the place. . ." He muttered, turning to run up the small steps and into the Cafe.

As Ryou opened the door, he could feel an immense atmosphere change. The small building was warm and had a cozy feeling to it, and a bell chimed as he stepped inside. Pushing the door shut, the brunette shook the snow from his clothing and removed his shoes, placing them on a drying mat as he did so. He looked around, trying to find an empty table, and easily spotted one, given that the Cafe was nearly empty. Sitting at the nearest one, Ryou pulled out the homework he had been assigned before the early release announcement was, well, announced. Unfortunately for him, the first sheet he pulled out was his weakest class: Algebra. I wish Kairi was here, he thought, slumping forward, she's a genius at math. . . But the homework wasn't going to complete itself, so Ryou got to work, trying his best to understand the equation to finding the slope. As he did so, a man came up to him, asking if he wanted to buy anything. Looking up, Ryou realized it was the March Hare; the owner of Bread and Butterfly. He was dressed in a butler's getup, complete with a chained pocket watch, and wore glasses with a black rim. Black rabbit ears protruded from his head, one of which was bent slightly. What a fancy guy. . . Ryou then remembered March's question, and ordered a cup of tea and a slice of chocolate cake. The March Hare strode away and behind the counter as he went to work. Sighing with relief, Ryou focused back on his homework, unsure of when his sister would arrive, if ever.

[Deleted]

Taylor looked up from her logic puzzle when the bell chimed. A boy about her age walked in and settled into a chair. Taylor looked back down to her logic puzzle. Taylor marked that Evelynn turned in her paper (English Essay or History Homework?) a day late. That's what clue 3 suggested. As she took a sip of her Chocolate Hazelnut Tea, she saw an expression on the boys face that looked confused. Should I go and help him? She wondered. She eventually convinced herself to get out of her seat.
"Is there something I can help you with?" Taylor asked, trying not to be too obtrusive. She still couldn't resist looking at the paper on the table. It was Algebra homework. Taylor's best subject was algebra, and she was already two years ahead of her age. In her opinion, what this boy was doing, was easy. She looked up from her paper, and found herself looking into his eyes. They were the perfect light brown. You do not want to start having to deal with boys, Taylor! She told herself. She moved her eyes to a different direction, and was glad she didn't start blushing.

[Sakurai Ryou]

At the sound of another person's voice, Ryou glanced up. Standing in front of him was a girl around his age, wondering if she could help him. Confused, he wondered if he had been staring into space in her direction. But after a minute, he recognized her from school, possibly 2nd Period, and smiled nervously. Of all the people he could have seen here, this girl was one he didn't expect. How he hadn't seen her when he walked in was a mystery. But here she was, asking if he needed help with his homework. Had she always been this open to helping others? He unwillingly opened his mouth and began to speak. "Um, I'm having trouble with this. . ." He pointed to the paper with his pencil, leaving a faint gray mark. Realizing what he'd done, he quickly flicked the mechanical pencil over and erased it. "Do you know how to find the answer?" The sound of light foot steps caught Ryou's attention as the march Hare returned with what he had ordered. Placing the items on the table, he asked if there was anything else he needed. "N-No, this is great. Thank you." Ryou felt nervous and nearly unable to speak in the presence of the man, who bowed slightly and walked away at his words. Did I say something wrong? Focusing back on the girl, who he couldn't recall the name of, the brunette hesitantly patted the seat beside him, hoping she would sit down. It's rude to make people stand, he thought, trying to act polite.

Even after sixteen years of growing up with his sister, Ryou hadn't any idea of how to treat girls. Kairi had always been the boyish type, and refused to be treated any other way. They never played dress up, or played with their mother's makeup, or even played Queen and Servant. No matter what they did, it never involved a feminine figure, except for their mother making them food. But now that Ryou was faced with, well, a female, he thought it right to be as nice and agreeable as possible. Glancing back at his homework, he felt a pang of unhappiness sweep through him. Ryou's answers were all wrong and he knew it, especially when they were fractions or decimals that weren't even a part of the problem in the first place. I'm hopeless. . . The only redeeming quality he had was Basketball; somehow managing to win for his team was like a gift sent from the heavens for the lack of intelligence. Although, despite his idiocy, he thought himself very skilled in English, compared to that of his sister. Unbeknownst to Ryou, a heavy silence had fallen over the two, and his tea was getting cold. Reaching over, he grasped the handle of the small porcelain cup and took a sip. He then looked back up at the girl, watching to see what she would do. "So, what's your name?"

[Deleted]

"I'm Taylor. What is your name?" Taylor looked at the seat he patted. "Just a second," She said. She went back to her table and got her things. She came back and scooted into the seat. She took a sip of her tea. She was delighted by the warming feeling it gave her. He was acting really nice, and she liked that. Her dad never acknowledged that Taylor was a girl, and it was nice to be treated like one. Her mom never even acknowledged her, and that was almost always fine with Taylor.
Taylor snatched up her apple fritter. It was her favorite doughnut, and she could eat it very quickly, but she, like him, wanted to act polite, so she ate it slowly. It seemed weird, awkward, and uncomfortable just sitting there.
"Oh, yeah. I know how to find the answer," she said, remembering his first question. She didn't want to be a bragger, so she didn't say anything about being two years ahead. He looks like he could be a basketball player. She thought. He doesn't look especially tall, though. But then again, I'm not that tall. Again, she looked down at his paper.

[Sakurai Ryou]

Ryou watched the girl, Taylor, return to her table for a brief second to collect her belongs, feeling flustered. Wouldn't it just be easy to say his name and be done with it? Waiting patiently for Taylor to return, he practiced the few ways to introduce himself. He settled for a simple my name is and let out a breath to clear his anxiety. "A-ah, my name is Sakurai Ryou, but you can call me Ryou if you like," he stammered, realizing the girl had been seated for quite some time. Turning, slightly flustered, back to his assignment, he focused on the formula written in the top left corner of the paper. Y=mx+b The letters seemed alien to him, even though Ryou had just learned it less than an hour ago. The problem he was having trouble with read: Find the equation of the straight line that has slope m = 4 and passes through the point (–1, –6). Frustrated, Ryou pouted pitifully at the words. How was he expected to do this? This was college math! Or was it. . ? Placing his head in his hands, Ryou muttered, "I'm so bad at this. Why can't I be smart like my sister?"

Realizing he'd spoken the words aloud, the brunette quickly looked over at Taylor. "I-I mean, its not that tough! I can totally do this without my sister's help! I mean, I have you here, right?" As the words left his mouth, Ryou immediately wished he could take them back. Crap! She's gonna think I'm hitting on her! He could feel his face grow hot as he turned his eyes to his lap. "Sorry, I'm still not very good with words. I end up saying the wrong thing and bad stuff happens. I can't even play Basketball without feeling like I'm in the way. . ." He looked back at her. "But you don't really wanna know that, do you? It's not important." Waving his hand and giving a slightly sad smile, Ryou directed his attention to the homework. "So, the points are part of the problem, right? Where do they go again?" He asked, pointed to the coordinates.

[Deleted]

All of what Ryou said made Taylor want to laugh, but also feel bad for him. He seemed kind of silly, and maybe like he liked her. Maybe he was just nervous about being with a girl. At the chiming of the bell, she saw a group of girls from her school enter the cafe. Before she inspected his assignment, she took a quick sip of tea and a bite of her doughnut.
Looking down at the problem, she realized how simple it was. Not wanting to write on his piece of paper, she pulled out a piece of her graph paper. "If you draw a four-quadrant graph, and have the x and y axis both go up by one, you can plot the point," at this part she had to look at his assignment, "(-1,-6). Then you can rise four and run one (rise over run) and create another point. This will tell you where the y-intercept is, which is what b is. Do you get what I'm saying? And, please tell the truth, because homework is to help you get what you are doing," Taylor told him. Taking a breath and a sip of her tea, she was so happy she was helping him with math and not history. Forensic and environmental science would've been okay too, but math was her best subject.

[Sakurai Ryou]

"So, b is the point that is directly on the y-axis?" Ryou asked hesitantly, trying to comprehend what the girl had just explained. Keeping her explanation in mind, he took his pencil in his hand once again and began to slowly solve the problem. After a minute or so, he ended up with an answer of y=4x-2, and the brunette looked over at Taylor once again. "I-Is that right?" Feeling unsure of his answer, Ryou stared down at his paper again, scanning for any possible errors. To his knowledge, he'd done it exactly as the girl had instructed, especially since he'd felt her watching him. He never worked well under pressure. Taking a shaky breath, Ryou reached for his cup of milk tea and took a sip. To his delight, the tea had been sitting idly for some time and had cooled down considerably. Unfortunately, the cup was smaller than what he was used to, so he finished it quicker than he'd wanted to.

With a slight look of disappointment, Ryou set the cup down and began picking at his slice of chocolate cake. Does March Hare make everything himself? He wondered, glancing over at the tall man. As he did so, their eyes met, and Ryou quickly looked away out of embarrassment. He caught me staring! The brunette began taking quicker bites of the cake, hoping to eat out his anxiety. He's gonna think I'm a total creep! He hates me, I know it! Thoughts flooded his mind and his anxiety grew worse and worse. Finally, after finishing his cake, Ryou grasped his head in his hands again with more force than last time. Why am I getting so worked up? He wondered, suddenly feeling tired. Raising his head, he let out another sigh and turned to Taylor. "Sorry about that, my mind runs away sometimes." He confessed, chuckling nervously. Hopefully she doesn't think anything of it.

[Deleted]

"Yes," Taylor replied when Ryou asked his first question. While he was trying to get the equation, she finished her tea and her doughnut. Once he asked her if it was right, she nodded. And, when he explained that his mind runs away sometimes, she tried to remember what he had done. Coming up with him finishing his cake and putting his head in his hands, she thought he was acting normal, and he seemed to be dramatic.
Before she asked March Hare for another cup of tea, Taylor looked at her watch. It exclaimed that it was four twenty three, and she was supposed to be home at four thirty so she could go out with her dad, since it was a Wednesday night. "Sorry, I have to go. See you at school?" Taylor said in a rushed voice, packing up her things. Without waiting for an answer, she left money for her snack on the table, grabbed her bag and stormed out of the cafe.

[Sakurai Ryou]

Ryou felt pride rush over him as Taylor nodded. He'd gotten it right! The brunette opened his mouth to thank the girl, but as he did so she stood up hurriedly and rushed toward the door. It should still be really coming down outside, he thought, suddenly worried. I need to warn her. Scooting across the booth, Ryou raced after the girl and grabbed her by the hand. "S-Sorry, but its really snowy out there. It's not a good idea to be going out now, and I think your mother would understand if you were late. Maybe, you should call her?" As he spoke, the brunette released his grip on the girl's hand and shoved his hands into his pockets. "Sorry, I didn't mean to be forceful," he muttered, "I just don't want you to get hurt." He stared down at the floorboards, not wanting to meet Taylor's eyes for fear they would be angry. "But, you can do whatever you like, its not my place to tell you what to do." Ryou turned on his heel and walked back to his table. Staring down at his homework once again, he found it easier to complete with the advice Taylor had given.

Moving on to the next problem, the brunette looked over the given numbers and inserted them into their places. This is so much easier now, he thought, wait'll Kairi sees how much better I am at this! Making his sister happy never failed to amuse Ryou. She had this certain smile that she only gave to her brother, and Ryou relished every second of it. Smiling to himself, he continued to solve the problem, and, after a minute or so, solved it. Good. Letting out a slight yawn, Ryou glanced out the window at the torrent of snow cascading down like a waterfall. It's a good thing I told her that the weather was bad, he thought, trying to make out any features outside besides the snow, she would've been buried in mere seconds.

[Deleted]

Taylor gaped as soon as he grabbed her. And then when he said that she should call her mom, she became sad and wished her mom was always sober. Once he walked away, she looked out into the snow. He was right; the snow was already two feet deep, and when she got to the cafe it was only two inches deep. But it would just get worse. The one thing she did NOT want to do was have to stay the night in the cafe, even if it meant going home to her mom. Pulling out her phone, she dialed her dad's number.
"Hi, this is Alex Richmond, please leave a message and I'll call you right back," Her dad's voice exclaimed.
"At the tone, please record your message. When you are finished recording, you may hang up or press one for more options. Ding!" The ladies voice told her, but it's not like she didn't know.
After leaving him a message and calling him again, she went back to her seat. Thanks to her, Ryou was getting through his math homework. Since it didn't seem like he needed any more help, Taylor pulled out the logic puzzle she hadn't finished yet. After guessing she was going to have to stay a while, she ordered some decaf Constant Comment tea. While Ryou was looking outside, Taylor marked the last dot on her logic puzzle. Reaching into her bag, she started to look for another, but was very disappointed when she came up empty handed.