Red Strings | The Group Chat x Reader

Chapter 7 | Dinner Plans

Saturday came faster than expected, not that I'm exactly complaining. I spent the morning catching up with my mom on FaceTime, still excluding the soulmates part. I've called them friends for now. I just don't know how to feel about it all; how would she react to knowing I have 5 different soulmates? After a bit, I end the call, letting her know I'm going to start getting ready to go out.

As I take my shower, I stress thinking about what to wear. Should I do something with my hair? Should I wear make-up? I scrub my scalp a little harder, becoming more self conscious. Deep breath in. Deep breath out. Relax, Y/n. Just be yourself. I get through the rest of the shower without a little less overthinking.

I decide on a cute, casual outfit that makes me feel good about myself. It's not over the top, I feel like I look good; it's perfect. I finish getting ready and check the time, seeing that I'll be a little late. Better late than never, right? I do send Nick a quick text to tell him that I will be late, just so I don't feel bad.

Nick: no worries

Nick: tbh i probably shouldve warned u that getting these guys together is actually awful, so we'll probably be a little late too

Y/n: alright! ill see u later then :)

Nick reacts to my message with a heart and I smile at the gesture. I guess I'll get going then and just sit in the parking lot for them to get there. I grab all my belongings and make my way out the door after locking it. I use the gps and make my way to the restaurant. After finding a parking spot, I send Nick a text that I'm there. A jam session never hurt, so I turn my radio up a little louder and wait for the rest to arrive. A ping interrupts the chorus and I glare at my phone. Instead of it being Nick though, I get a text from Yumi.

Yumi: we'll be there in like 15

Yumi: nick is driving so he asked me to text u

Y/n: oh ok!! thanks :) see u soon!

Yumi also reacts to my last message with a heart. It's such a simple thing, but it makes me a little tingly inside. I smile going back to singing and dancing in the confined space of my driver seat. After belting my heart out to a few songs, I jump from a knock at the window. Yumi seems to be the closest to the window, laughing his ass off. The others seem a little farther off, bantering about who knows what. Isaac scans over after hearing Yumi laugh, but quickly pays back attention to the conversation happening around him.

I lower the radio volume and roll down my window, "har. Har. Laugh it up."

"Sorry, it was just too easy," Yumi is wiping a tear from his eye.

I roll my eyes as I turn off my car and start to grab my belongings again. I turn back towards the door and give Yumi a weird look when he's reaching into my window to click the unlock button, and then holds my car door open for me. I'm a little stunned, but he extends his hand for me to take. After a few seconds, I swallow and take his hand, feeling him gently pull me out of the car. Tingles. Everywhere. I can feel my ears start to burn. Yumi shuts my door, so I click the lock button on my key fob, while he gently pulls me towards the rest of the group. Once we get closer to the rest of the group, he lets go of my hand and shoves it in his shorts pocket. I try not to miss our hands intertwined.

"Took you guys long enough," I say once we fully reach the group, I roll my eyes but smile.

"Yeah, yeah, well SOMEONE had to take a 40 minute shit," Larry elbows Tanner.

"Let a man shit in peace, bro," Tanner pushes Larry back.

"Whatever, let's just head inside, I'm hungry as shit," Nick starts heading towards the door of the restaurant.

"Of course you are, fatty. When are you not hungry?" Yumi says from beside you.

You cover your mouth with your hand, trying not to laugh at the banter. It would be rude to laugh at that. Unfortunately, Yumi saw you from the corner of his eye and it made him smirk, only fueling him more, but he decides to keep his mouth shut when Nick just waves Yumi off and opens the door for everyone to walk in.

Nick talks to the hostess, who grabs a small stack of menus and cutlery, then gestures for us to follow her deeper into the restaurant. She leads us to a table and Nick takes the first seat. Yumi takes the seat next to him, and I take the remaining seat on this side of the table. Isaac sits in front of Nick, Larry takes the middle seat, and that leaves Tanner on the end, across from me.

"I've never eaten here before," I answer while opening the menu.

I look up when it's silent, only to see only Nick has a menu open as well, while everyone else has their jaws dropped, even Isaac - from what it looks like anyway, it's hard to tell with the mask on.

"Oops...?"

"HOW HAVE YOU NEVER BEEN HERE!" Tanner is the first one to explode.

"I JUST MOVED HERE RECENTLY!" I shout in defense.

Immediately Yumi, Tanner, and Larry are all talking directly at me and I don't even know what they're saying. It sounds like a range from ridiculing me for still never going here, to them also shouting their orders at me and what's good on the menu. Nick smacks Yumi on the back of the head, immediately having Yumi whip is head to Nick.

"WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT FOR?" Yumi shouts.

"LISTEN, YOU FUCKHEADS! You guys need to be quieter, we don't want to get kicked out again," Nick rolls his eyes as he closes the menu. He looks directly at me and smiles, "I usually try and get something new here every time I come. You really can't go wrong with a single thing, so I would say just pick whatever you're in the mood for."

"Thank you, Nick," I smile at the said man.

Yumi is still grumbling when our waitress comes for a drink order. I feel a little tug on my hand with the red string that caused this all. I look down and see my hand trying to guide itself to Yumi's hand that's on his thigh. My hand finally rests on top of his hand, and he looks shocked. I just smile at him, which in turn makes him smile and intertwine our fingers. I feel my heart beat pick up just slightly, and my cheeks burn a tiny bit. I like this.

Though, I start to feel a little guilty when I look around the rest of the table. Nobody is paying attention to us, but Yumi has gotten considerably quiet and he's just smiley, it's cute. However, I feel guilty because all of these men I met just about a week ago are my destined soulmates, and I'm holding hands with one, but not the others. The thought makes my stomach turn with guilt, so I slowly let go of Yumi's hand. He looks at me, a little dejected, but doesn't say anything. I offer him a sad smile, which makes him a little confused. I just shake my head in return and answer the waitress when she gets around to me. The conversation still carries on, so I just observe. I feel a little buzz in my pocket and look down at me phone.

Yumi: are u okay?

I look up at him and he's already looking at me; he's giving me like this sad look, with a little worry. My heart swells a little at his concern, so I reassure him I'm okay through text, but he gives me a look that he's not convinced. I might regret this, but I do grab his hand and give it a little squeeze. I let it go, but he immediately grabs my hand and squeezes it, giving me an intense stare. I swallow and feel my cheeks burning up under his gaze. He lets go, but sends me another text.

Yumi: i will always be here for you if you need someone to talk to

I give him a genuine smile this time, beaming a little more. Gosh, what is he doing to me. I react to his message with a heart, and he finally returns to the conversation, satisfied with my mood now. If anyone noticed our whole interaction, nobody said anything. I decide to also join back into the conversation when our drinks come to the table. I look back from the waitress to the group around the table, seeing Isaac already staring at me. As soon as he realizes I'm staring back at him, he looks away and focuses back on the conversation - which happens to be about Nick talking about shitting stories?