This was going to be another One Shot, but I decided it would work better if I broke it up into two short chapters. Here's the first one; Number two will be up… Eventually. I don't like setting deadlines. But expect it soon, as I've been in the mood for writing lately.

Also, for some reason I saw fit to set up the end of this chapter as a 'surprise.' As if anyone who reads this wouldn't see it coming.

Ah, well. Moving on…

EDIT: Unfortuantely, the flashdrive I stored the progress on chapter two for has gone missing. I'll have to start over, and it'll be delayed. By a lot. Sorry.

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Red Rose

Len was standing in front of the store window, looking in at the colorful bouquets of flowers on the other side. Grouped into lilies and daisies, violets and lilacs, he looked over each one carefully. He took in the slightness of the scents drifting towards him from behind the glass window, savoring each as it reached him. He looked at the beautiful shades of color that each had, mystified by the rainbow myriad of blushes and tints. Then he looked at the price tags. Each time he saw one, he sighed.

'They can't really expect me to be able to afford these things, can they?' he thought. Holding the few dollar bills he had left in his possession, he counted it up in his hand. 'Four dollars…' He folded and put them back in his pocket. 'Not much I can get with that…'

Shuffling inside the double doors, he eyed each of the flowers standing alone in vases on a shelf behind the main counter, mixed in with all of the expensive groupings he saw before he entered. They were cheaper, but he didn't want a cheap flower. The girl he was getting it for was worth more than four dollars of cheap plants. She deserved more.

But he was still here. Getting her one.

He sighed and approached the counter.

"Um… Excuse me, Miss…" The girl dressed in the store's uniform, a blue-and-white vertical-striped shirt with a long white apron, stood up from the boxes she was sorting behind the counter. Her two blue-green pig-tails, almost the same length as she was, fell out from behind her, covering her face. She brushed them away.

"…Len?"

He blinked.

"Miku?"

Hatsune Miku, standing behind the counter, awkwardly met the gaze of Kagamine Len, her fellow student at the local high school.

"I… Didn't know you worked here, Miku." Len said with a bit of surprise.

"Well, I, uh… I didn't know you shopped here, Len."

"I usually don't," Len explained. "But tomorrow's a special occasion."

"What would that be?"

"Well… I, um…" He looked at the ground and blushed. "I'd rather not say, actually…"

"Oh…?" Miku thought for a moment. "…Oh! Could it be that… You're shopping for a girlfriend?"

Embarrassed, Len's head shot up and he said, protesting, "She's not my girlfriend! Well, I mean, not yet, anyway…"

Miku slowly nodded in understanding.

"I see… So you need a flower or two to ask out that special someone?"

Len nodded, again blushing and again looking at the floor.

"Well then, how can I help you?" She said cheerfully. "We've got plenty of things to choose from, as you can see. What do you think she'd like?"

"Uh… Well, I'm not really sure, actually…" Len thought for a moment. "But… I think she likes roses."

Miku smiled. "Well, let me see…" She turned around and searched the shelves. After a few seconds, she said, "Ah-ha! Here we go…" She took down a small vase full of bright red roses and placed it on the counter. "What do you think? Would these work?"

Len looked at the flowers, and then looked at the price tag hanging from its said.

"Er… I…"

"What's wrong?"

"…I… Don't think I'd be able to afford that, actually…" He looked away sadly.

"Hm…" Miku looked at the roses and then at Len. She said, "Alright. I've got an idea." She reached into her back pocket and pulled out her wallet. Digging through it, she took out her credit card and flashed it in front of him. Shining the price gun on the flower's tag, she slid her card in the machine next to the cash register and smiled. Len's mouth was half open as she pushed the flowers towards him.

"Well, Len, thank you for your purchase. We thank you for shopping here and value your business." She winked at him. "Please come again."

Len held the vase, which was thin enough at its middle to fit in one hand, and was rushed out the door by Miku as she came around the counter. Len stuttered as he gripped the situation.

"I-! Uh, thank you!"

Miku nodded. "Don't mention it. I'll see you at school on Monday." Just before the doors closed, she called out, "And good luck!"

Len was stunned but he could still think straight. He had his flowers, and the big day was tomorrow. Tomorrow, after they both went out for their routine morning walk, he'd surprise her with the roses and ask her to be his girlfriend. Tomorrow, he would ask out his sister. Kagamine Rin.