Rumours ~ Ruikasa

Lies and Understanding

⚠️ a little bit of angst at the beginning of this part ⚠️

"Dude, your eyes're really startin' to creep me out." A muffled yet familiar voice said, its sound resonating endlessly.

"W-What...?" He could barely hear his own voice over the fuzzy sounds filling his ears and the echoes.

"Yeah, you should totally wear eye contacts! I bet brown ones would look good on you." A second, more squeaky voice piped up.

"But... What if I don't want to?"

"Then nobody'll like ya 'cuz you're creepy." The first voice rang, louder than ever.

"Exactly! Then, nobody's gonna want to talk to you!" The second voice chimed. "Plus, you're super skinny. So skinny! And kind of ugly. Frankly, you look disgusting. You're lucky I even wanted to talk to you! You need this! Trust us, Rui."

"Oh... O-Okay," He stuttered softly, his voice almost completely drowned out by the accumulating echoes. "I'll start wearing contacts... If my eyes really do bother you that much. I'm sorry, Akane and Tadashi."

"Hah! Ya better be," 'Akane' boomed again. "All this time I've been talkin' to ya feelin' super uncomfy, all 'cuz those eyes of yours're ultra weird 'n' even more creepy."

The overlapping, incessant ringing of the voices of his former friends swirling around in his mind made his head pound.

His lungs felt like they were being crushed by those words. His breaths were short and rapid and his heart was beating so quickly and powerfully that he could feel its throbbing against his chest.

Rui's eyesight became focused again, and he could clearly see his sketchpad and his rough sketches of future machines and mechanisms he thought might be useful for some upcoming shows.

Right, I'm at school... Why can't the day just end now?

Rui inhaled the fresh, cool air, letting the quiet wind mess up his hair as he gazed at the gray-blue sky. The pace of the beats of his rushing heart slowed down as the crisp outdoor air entered his lungs.

     The sunlight was wan due to the thin white clouds blocking its source and the temperature was perfect—not to hot, not too cold. The wind was just right, too—not too strong, but strong enough to leave you feeling refreshed and satisfied.

Rui let out a hefty sigh before once again pressing his pencil against the paper of his sketchpad and tracing some soft, messy lines onto it.

After some quiet and peaceful moments of sketching, he heard a loud, strong male voice calling out his name.

"Rui!"

The addressee of the call looked up at the boy calling to him, the adrenaline pumping through his veins.

"Tsukasa-kun!" Rui said back, unable to suppress the excited smile forcing its way onto his visage. "I thought being seen with me would 'kill your entire reputation'?"

     "Ah, who cares about what a bunch of people I don't even care about think anyway?" The blonde said dismissively while smiling back widely at Rui. "I'm happy when I'm with you. I like you way better."

     Tsukasa's words went thunk! piercing straight into Rui's heart like Cupid's arrow. The alchemist's heart began to flutter and his cheeks heated up instantaneously.