A few more hours of unsupervised fun went by, and you began to feel your social battery quickly drain. The party was still going hard with Nendo and Teruhashi singing a duet to the Disney movie, "Coco" while Toritsuka bawled his eyes out at the sad nature of the movie.
You sat next to Kusuo and Airua who were talking about the upcoming finals.
It was peaceful to have this many friends.
To have people that sort of cared.
But it was also nice to be alone.
And you wanted to be alone right now.
"Hey guys, it's getting late so..." You mumbled the rest of the sentence as you stood up and began to walk backwards to the door.
"M'kay, Y/N, see you in..." Airua paused for a moment to calculate the day, "Like, twenty-four hours?" She smiled and lightly waved.
"Bye Y/N! Be safe!" Nendo and Teruhashi called out to you before returning to their duet while Toritsuka gave you a light wave between his sobs of pure sadness.
As soon as you turned your back to the door, you felt Kusuo standing right behind you.
"Come on, let's go." He said, grabbing your shoulders and trying to usher you out. When you didn't move, he began to get concerned. "What's wrong? Aren't I walking you home like usual?"
"Oh, Kusuo, you don't have to! I actually have to make a... phone call on my way home so I'd rather you just stay here."
"But...why?"
"Well, I mean, it's just it's really late and I think everyone else would rather you stay!" Smiling widely, Kusuo's expression didn't change.
"Can't I just teleport us both and come back? I really want to make sure you get home safe! If you got hurt and I wasn't there to protect you...I would never forgive myself, Y/N." He had a widening frown stretch across your face that was immediately changed into a grin when you slowly nodded.
Carefully, you pressed your hips against his and wrapped your hands around his back as his body warmth pressed into your skin. It was comforting yet alarming when he wrapped his hands around your back and lightly whispered something inaudible in your ear. You forcefully pressed your face into his chest to ignore the speeding background and wait until you were in front of your apartment door again.
"We're here..." He mumbled out loud, still holding tightly on to you.
"...thanks, Kusuo." You slowly unwrapped your arms and waited for him to let go.
Awkwardly, he didn't, and the two of you were standing in front of your apartment door in the middle of the hallway.
"Kusuo. It's late, and I really need to get something done before it's too late." Croaking out, Kusuo sighed and reluctantly unwrapped his arms. "Nighty night, sweetheart~." You purred out, trying to keep your cocky demeanor.
Unlocking the door, you saw Kusuo teleport away out of the corner of your eye, giving you some relief that you could finally be your true self.
You walked into the apartment and quickly called your mom.
Almost the millisecond she picked up, you began to cry.
"Mom!" You quietly sobbed, "I-I need to know! Is he going to prison or not?! I can't wait anymore!" Kusuo acting the way he did early triggered a memory about someone unpleasant from your past.
"Now, now, Y/N, you know your father's lawyers are waiting until he pleads guilty. Things like this can't be rushed." Your mother lightly reassured you. Her voice was also cracking, making you slightly worry.
"O-oh...uhm...I'm sorry, mother. I-It's just...something happened tonight that made me think of him and... I don't know... I just needed to know some good news but..." Your voice trailed off as you listened to your mothers hitched breathing.
"He's being held in the county jail as of now. I feel like the evidence we have is undeniable, Y/N. He won't be a free man anymore and you can come and live with us once more. The perfect family. Just like you always wanted..."
You frowned at her response.
You didn't want to leave your friends but... being a family?
Even after all that's happened...
It was too good to resist.
"R-Really?" Your voice cracked from the sudden change of tone. "Thank you, mom! I love you!"
"...I..." A small silence arose between the two of you before she finished her sentence, "I love you too, Y/N. I'm sorry we didn't see what he was doing sooner. I promise we'll all be happy in the end. Now go get some rest, it's late there..."
Her voice cut off as the phone beeped, signaling that she had already ended the call.
A small smile formed on your face as the thought of being happy with your family sprinted across your mind.
"Is it...Is it really possible to live happily? Even with this curse? Even after what he did because of it. Maybe...maybe it is..." You grinned happily as you settled down on your couch.
Turning on a movie for background noise, you began to check the newspaper articles online from your hometown using your phone.
Most of them were surrounding him.
Luckily, due to your parents giant fortune, they had been able to manipulate the press to avoid any mentions of your curse.
Although, it did seem a little unfair.
It was your curse that led him to do what he had done.
It wasn't his fault at all.
It was yours.