"Application"

0.6 Concert AU 6.0

This was written for the game-winner, Cheatcode123! It's in an alternate universe where Akio discovered Steps' identity at the concert. Enjoy!

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Day 8 - Friday

"C'mon, you're gonna show me the way! We'll be like adventure pals! Hey, that reminds me of this one time..."

Both you and Akio could hear Tessa's voice fade away as she found herself an unsuspecting bodyguard to guide her.

Akio fidgeted uncomfortably.

You considered pulling out your phone and messaging Candy again but thought better of it. You weren't bored enough to throw aside basic manners just yet.

"So, uh..."

You fixed Akio with a level gaze. "Yeah?"

"You guys are pretty close, right?" He couldn't hold your eyes for too long and ended up dropping them to his feet.

You shrugged. "Sometimes."

Akio blinked in confusion. "Just sometimes?"

"Yeah." You didn't elaborate, and he didn't try to make you.

"So...you have FYF too, then?"

You nodded.

"Do you...like it?" He pressed.

"It's entertaining, I guess."

"What are your chatmates like?"

You thought for a moment.

Your first instinct was to give him a dry answer in hopes that he would stop speaking to you, but...

Why not tell him a bit about your chatmates?

It's not like it would be harming anything, right?

You glanced up, finally meeting Akio's eyes. "My chatmates...they're interesting. Sometimes I wonder how I managed to land in a group with such colorful personalities."

Akio perked up at your response. "Mine too!" His cheeks darkened. "Ah, I mean, well...I really like Find-your-Flock, I'd never known what it felt like to have friends before, and I never thought that an app could make me this...happy."

You frowned at him. "Huh."

"What?" Akio glanced to the side self-consciously.

"Just trying to...well, I feel like you remind me of someone."

Akio's gasped. "Yo--you remind me of someone too!"

You narrowed your eyes in thought.

"Hey, do you...um, could you tell me the usernames of your chatmates? I know it's pretty silly, but I just want to...check...something..." The popstar coughed into his hand awkwardly.

Shrugging, you pulled out your phone and opened the "FYF" app, before handing it to Akio.

Akio was completely silent as he stared at your phone.

"You--"

...

You cocked your head at him. "What?" He finally looked up.

He was staring at you in a completely different way now, with a strange mixture of emotions that you couldn't decipher. "I'm--uh, what I mean is I...I just really like your group! They ar--they seem nice!"

"Okay? I can give you a join code if you like it that much."

Something in Akio's eyes darkened. "Really? That's so--so nice...haha..." It was like a switch had been flipped as an unreadable mask fell over his expression. "But are you sure...your friends would be okay with that?"