Smaradahana || Niklaas - Past

[Nesia Notonegoro]

409 WORDS Niklaas de Vries

A h, why is this place have to be so full of people? It was Saturday, the last in this year's autumn. White small patches here and there indicated the coming of winter. There would be more coming tonight, however, according to today's forecast. Even though it was still considered early, people of all ages already gathered in the Trafalgar Square: elderly folk, families with children, young adults with their dogs. And standing amid them all, confused and lost, was Nesia Notonegoro. There were multiple reasons for her being there in such state. One, she had a date with her boyfriend. Two, this was her first date since she went to London for pursuing higher education, which making her feeling nervous. Three, her phone battery was dead because she forgot to charge it last night, which was caused by her friends in the dorm trying to pick an outfit for her. Four, she believed she was late and her date was nowhere to be seen. The towering figure of Niklaas de Vries was usually easy to spot between the crowds, but so far she hadn't seen him. Which makes her thinking that he went home because Nesia was late. No, no, no, that's impossible. He would wait for her, right? But in their last meeting Nesia was so distracted, so whatever place he mentioned as their meeting place here escaped her mind. Perhaps waiting near that chicken statue was better? Nesia smoothed her brown coat, tugged the rim of her green dress that peeked underneath it, then went to her destination. Halfway through, she encountered a tall, blond man walking past her. His back was facing her, but for a split second Nesia believed that he was her date. So with a full confidence Nesia shouted, "Niklaas!" But when the man turned his head, his face was not even similar to the Dutchman's. Embarrassed, Nesia quickly apologized before he could say anything or react to her calling. "Sorry! Wrong person!" Then the student ran as fast as she could, leaving the confused not-Niklaas behind. Fortunately, she encountered another Niklaas lookalike. He was rather far, so Nesia walked closer until she saw his familiar hairstyle and the scar above his eye. Nesia wasted no time to run to him, waving frantically. "Niklaas, Niklaas! Sorry I'm late... phone is dead and..." she paused, panting, "I forget... where you are..." Oh dang. She shouldn't have running. Now her hair must be looked messy...

LAIKA OF GS!

[Niklaas de Vries]

In typical relationships, it was the guy who picked the girl up for their date, a bouquet of roses in one hand, and an extended arm, waiting for the lady to latch onto it. But since when had Niklaas adhered to that kind of bullshit? His last relationship had literally been “you’re sexy. Let’s fuck”. Suffice to say, he had thrown the typical courting rituals out the window. Nesia hadn’t agreed to go out with one of those charming sweep-you-off-your-feet guys; she had agreed to go out with him. Sharp-tongued, sarcastic him. Moreover, he did not possess the honeyed tongue of a romantic male lead; any attempts to sweet talk would just come out sounding ridiculous.
He checked his watch and blew a puff of smoke out of the corner of his mouth. Nesia was running late, but they still had plenty of daylight. He hadn’t planned anything extravagant for them anyway; just going out to lunch and talking. Who took their girlfriend to fancy, expensive restaurants on the first date? Men who tried way too hard to impress, most likely. He would just let this develop naturally, and if it worked, it worked. If not? Hell, Niklaas wasn’t going to cry about it.
He dropped the cigarette and stamped it out under his shoe. Maybe he had overdressed a little. The beige trench coat might have been a little too expensive for a normal lunch, but dammit it was his favorite coat, and least he stood out from the crowd. Niklaas pulled out a cigarette, and paused before lighting it. Nesia didn’t like his smoking. She only barely tolerated it in the Vortex because he was there. He stuffed the cigarette away, popped a piece of orange candy in his mouth, and shoved his hands in his pockets. Some snow fell past his face, but he barely blinked at it. A few more minutes passed –five or ten-, and Nesia’s voice called out to him.

“…Sorry I'm late... phone is dead and…I forget... where you are..." She explained in between breaths.

“You’re fine. Things happen," Niklaas shrugged, a faint smile on his face. Adorable as ever, this young lady, even if she did seem to overthink this little outing of theirs. It was actually kind of charming. “I was thinking we’d go out to lunch, and talk. Sound good?”

ELECTRIC OF GS AND BTN

[Nesia Notonegoro]

368 WORDS smara is love; dahana is fire/yearning. Smaradahana means a love that burns the lovers' hearts so they yearn for it. From Sanskrit.

N esia had reached for her ponytail before the student stopped her movement. She felt her action would show just how nervous she was. And fixing her hairstyle in public also seemed inappropriate - especially when her date was standing before her. So the woman opted to fiddle with her bag and stared at their shoes until she calmed down. “You’re fine. Things happen." She raised her chin, looking at Niklaas. He didn't look upset; he seemed fine despite having to wait for her. Yet Nesia couldn't help but tasting the bitterness of guilt in the back of her tongue. Swallowing it, Nesia returned his smile. “I was thinking we’d go out to lunch, and talk. Sound good?” "Mhm!" She happily agreed. "I think there are some nice places around here..." she looked around, trying to remember what her friends had told her about best dating spots around Trafalgar Square. Somehow Nesia couldn't recall any, and the more she tried the more their names hidden underneath the clutter of her mind. "Ah, let's just walk for now and enjoy this nice weather!" Right after the sentence flew from her mouth, Nesia regretted it. Why would she say that? It sounded so cliché and boring and-- what people usually talk about during first date? Talking was never difficult to her, but she often found herself speechless around Niklaas' presence. During their conversations in the jazz club, Nesia could always find a topic they could talk to; either about his performance or hot issues in London. But a date was not similar to casual chit-chat; they should talk about things other than mundane matters. She then tried recalling romance movies and novels she had enjoyed in the past. All of them featured a more romantic male lead character, and Nesia knew they were nowhere near Niklaas' nature. Come to think of it, Nesia found it's strange she was drawn to him instead of one of those romantic guys. Though... he was really handsome-- "S-sorry I daydreamed!" Nesia blurted out, feeling her cheeks instantly turn warmer when their gaze met. "I was trying to remember the place a friend recommended to me," she lied. "They have a really nice food with affordable price."

LAIKA OF GS!