collision → atla, reader insert

chapter two

     "Wow." She accidentally spoke aloud but it wasn't out of amazement.

     They didn't need to travel far from the marketplace. The inn was recognizable by being the only building with two-stories.

     "Here it is." Reo announced though [Y/N] already knew.

     She fought the strong urge to roll her eyes and settled for something more polite—silence. His cheerfulness seemed to have returned and she didn't want to do anything to falter it again.

      A "thanks" began to form in her mouth as they approached the inn. It never did escape as her mouth shut again when Reo opened the door wide for her causing a bell to ring.

     The lobby was small with a short, red couch against the wall to her right. In front of her was a wooden desk with a woman reading a book. Behind her sat a large canvas with vague flora and fauna sprawled against it. Her long, auburn hair was tied back into a lengthy braid and her glasses nearly slid off her face as she bent down, deeply invested in whatever she was reading.

     At the sound of the bell's chime, she was torn away from her reading. She wore a look of shock before pushing her glasses further on the bridge of her nose and smiling warmly. The smile wasn't directed to [Y/N], it was in the direction of Reo who stood at her right. The woman's face quickly morphed into confusion at the sight of the boy.

      "Reo?" She asked, her voice laced with concern. "I thought you were at the shop today."

     This town was so small, of course everyone knew of one another.

    "Um, about that," Reo rubbed the back of his neck. "I took a break to show someone around."

     As he explained, her eyes drifted to [Y/N] and she could see the woman connecting two and two behind her eyes. Her lips thinned back into another smile. It caused an unfamiliar feeling that was somehow also warm and inviting, making [Y/N] want to stay there longer than she originally intended.

     She shoved that into the pile of things that confused her ever since she's woken up.

      "Well," the woman said, her kind eyes boring into [Y/N]'s. "Is there anything I can help you with?"

     If it wasn't for her insane amount of self-control, [Y/N] would've nearly broke down at the thought of answering a question like that. Almost suddenly, she was bombarded with everything that didn't make sense since she woke up and saw leaves. She had no idea where she was and no idea where she was going (because she was not staying on that island).

     She couldn't remember anything—no friends, no family, no places, nor pets. The thought of having no connections put her mind everywhere but at ease. She needed time to sit down and to think. She was lost and confused. She needed help with everything.

     But that wasn't the proper response.

     "A room," she said finally. "Please."

     The woman nodded, sitting back down in her seat to do some things.

     "You'll love it here," Reo said from her right, leaning on the desk with one arm.

     She wondered why he was still there. He showed her where the town was and where the inn was. She thought it was obvious he could leave her alone now.

     "It's the best inn in town," he smiled sheepishly, "also, the only inn in town."

     [Y/N] watched him, slightly amused. "You must come here often."

     The woman laughed from behind the desk. "It's like he never leaves."

     Reo tried to throw a quick glare at the woman but his attempt at subtlety did not go unnoticed. He turned back to [Y/N] with a lighter expression.

     "I can show you around sometime," he offered.

     She was ready to reject the offer, but what left her mouth was, "I'll think about it."

     Even then, that response resulted in a toothy grin from the boy.

     The woman stopped what she was doing for a second. "I hope my son hasn't annoyed you with all of his questions."

     "Son?" [Y/N] turned to Reo. "Your mother owns the inn?"

     The look on his face confirmed her suspicion. Now that she looked at it, the woman and Reo did look very much alike. They both sported the matching deep brown eyes and the fair complexion. Their smiles were nearly identical (in which she did not pay attention to, they just smile a lot—too much for her liking).

     "Let me guess," she said flatly to him. "Family business?"

     "Actually, no, we just got lucky."

     "All set!" The woman chirped, grinning at [Y/N]. "One room for . . ."

     She guessed she'd have to give her name at some point, huh? With a light huff, she gave the woman her name, ignoring the way Reo's eyebrows shot up at this.

     He tried to lean against the desk coolly. "Nice name."

     [Y/N] gave him a quizzical look, knowing exactly what he was doing but choosing the play dumb anyway. "Okay?"

     Reo's mother cleared her throat. "Your room is down that hall, the second door on the right." She pointed to the left which led to the corridor lined with doors.

     [Y/N] nodded gratefully. "Thank you."

     She then reached for her bag so she could fetch her sack of gold coins. Reo's mother let out a sound in protest. "You don't need to pay, it's on the house." [Y/N] was going to ignore her and pay anyway but the woman continued. "Really, [Y/N], I mean it," she said with the same warm smile that there was no way a lie could be behind it.

     [Y/N] turned to Reo, who nodded. She let go of her bag, draping it over her shoulder again and offered another "thanks" much quieter than the last.

     She began to walk away when Reo quickly called out to her.

     "See you, [Y/N]!"

     She watched him for a second, debating whether to respond or not.

     "Yeah," She said before turning into the corridor to find her room. As she was leaving she could hear Reo and his mother speaking.

      "She's pretty." The woman whispered not-so quietly which received a very aggressive hiss as a response.