Ruki's Guide to Love and Fear (A JO1/Shiroiwa Ruki Fanfic)

Chapter 1

The biggest locust Shiroiwa Ruki had ever seen was currently sitting in the middle of his bedroom. Upon seeing the locust, he had literally jumped backwards into the wall and hit his elbow. 

"Ouch," he hissed.

Of course, the locust couldn't have picked a worse day to be perched in his bedroom. This was the first day in a long time that Ruki was actually alone in the apartment without the other JO1 members. He had wanted to relax in his room, but this locust was literally giving him the creeps.

Ruki was scared of insects, ghosts, and, he had discovered recently, live fish. 

It's not my fault insects look so creepy, Ruki thought. Maybe if they had cute faces I would actually like them. 

Just the thought of the locust touching him or crawling on his skin made him want to curl up into fetal position until the rest of the members came home. 

No, I have to calm down, he argued with himself, I'm the prince, and the prince is me.

Ruki was not sure exactly what happened, but, sometime during the course of filming Produce 101 Japan, he had stopped being just Shiroiwa Ruki and turned into the prince. Obviously, he wasn't a real prince, but he had acquired a prince-like image. Not that he was complaining (he had been called way worse things for trying to get into the entertainment industry), but sometimes he really wished he didn't have such a high standard to live up to. It was fun to act poised and charming, but sometimes he just wanted to act like a normal person who could go out without their face or hair done. He wished he could go out and be one-hundred percent himself.

The doorbell rang, waking him from his reverie. 

That must be my food, he thought. 

Without hesitation, he ran down the hall to answer the door. He swung the door open, only to be greeted by a girl with long black hair covering her face like the girl Sadako from The Ring.

A high-pitched scream escaped his lips, and he flew back from the girl, bumping into the door and hitting his elbow again. 

"Who are you?" he practically yelled.

"Oh, I'm sorry," the girl said softly behind the curtain of her hair, "didn't someone order burgers from Nice Burger at this address?"

Oh my god, it's just the delivery person. He instantly regretted his dramatic reaction. I mean, who did I think she was? A ghost? Honestly...

"Yes, that was me," he said quickly, restoring his usual, endearing smile to his face. He hoped she hadn't noticed his ridiculous reaction too much.

She politely handed him his bag of food, and he, in turn, gave her the tip. Just as she turned to go, an idea planted itself in Ruki's brain: The only thing standing between me and some blissful alone time is that damned locust. All he needed was someone to rid him of the locust and his problem would be solved, and here was someone who potentially could do exactly that.

"Wait, I have a question!" Ruki called after the girl. She stopped mid-stride, and turned back around, her hair still obscuring her face. Goodness, why did this person have to be so scary?

He shivered slightly before continuing, "You don't know who I am, right?"

She shook her head slowly. "Am I supposed to know you?"

"Of course not," he said, laughing off the suggestion awkwardly. "I was just wondering if you could do me a favor—"

The girl's posture suddenly turned rigid. "Look, mister," she said firmly, "I know people think I look unusual, but that doesn't mean I'm one of those girls who does 'favors' for sketchy guys."