Sensei: "I'm going to buy some liquor for the party coming up, you both get on your walk back to the hotels."
Yukino: "Sensei... What if you get caught?"
Sensei: "I'll bribe them out with alcohol, like any other person would."
Yukino and I sweat dropped, as we stood in front of Hiratsuka-sensei next to a liquor store.
The moonlight was hanging just above our heads, illuminating the sidewalk we stood on. The dim streetlights pitching in and out occasionally, before finally setting on light.
Hiratsuka: "Stay safe on your walk back."
Y/N: "You're really just going to make us walk?"
Sensei: "You'd get in a car with me while I'm drinking and driving?"
Yukino: "That's all I need to hear." She said, quickly turning around to go down the sidewalk.
Y/N: "Y-Yeah, I'm going."
I turned around, walking behind Yukino as we made our way down the sidewalk back to our respective hotels.
I wasn't sure whether to close the distance between ourselves, so I simply stayed behind.
There was only ever a streetlight so far away, so there'd be moments where we were both shrouded in darkness, if not for a nearby building with their lights on.
It was awfully silent, however the only thing that was on my mind at the moment was the feeling of the cold breeze.
It almost felt like it would start snowing at this point, as I cupped my hands together and drew a hot breath in-between them to warm my fingers.
We both made it to a crosswalk, and Yukino stopped herself.
I stopped as well, waiting for her to cross, but she seemed to be lost, as she continued her walk down the sidewalk instead.
Y/N: "You take the crosswalk here."
Yukino: "A-Ah..."
She turned around to start walking onto the crosswalk, but she stopped herself when she realized I was coming closer.
I walked past her, onto the crosswalk, promptly hearing her footsteps following behind.
It was weird. She's never been so fidgety around me.
Slowly but surely, I heard her footsteps draw further and further, and she seemed to be going much slower.
Y/N: "If you keep walking that far behind, you'll take a wrong turn again." I said, turning around.
Yukino: "...You can just go ahead without me."
Y/N: "I don't see the point in that. It's right there, look." I pushed my head in the direction of the hotel Yukino was staying at that lay just down the end of the lengthy street.
Yukino: "Maybe you don't see any point, but it bothers me..."
Y/N: "What does?"
Yukino: "W-Well... It's really late at night..."
(New wallpaper)
Yukino: "If anyone sees us together..."
Y/N: "Oh... A-Alright then..."
I turned back around, her embarrassed expression burned into my mind.
But then my thoughts led to question, why was she embarrassed? We've been close to each other so many other times before, it's weird for her to start getting nervous only now.
We'd even go so far as to lock our arms together in a public mall, and now she's getting embarrassed in an empty, dark street?
It made no sense to me, but the mere fact that she used that expression was enough for me to give in to any of her wishes.
We continued our walk down the sidewalk, Yukino's pace keeping a steady distance behind me instead of being far away.
The light from hotel greatly illuminated the path in front of us, and we made it there with no trouble.
I walked to the front door of the hotel, but only peered inside. The lobby was completely empty, besides for a female worker who nodded off to sleep as she was standing.
Yukino: "W-Well, I guess this is goodbye."
Y/N: "Guess so. 'Night"
Yukino: "Goodnight..."
She spoke goodnight, but she never left to back into the hotel. She stood in place for a little longer, and I wondered if it was because I was so close to the front door.
I moved out of the way for her to pass, but she still didn't continue on.
Yukino: "Umm... Thanks for walking me back."
She glanced up to me for a moment, speaking quickly with a red blush on her cheeks, before she started speed walking away and into the hotel.
I stood there for a moment, watching her go off into a hallway and out of sight.
The female worker that was inside the lobby was leaning against a pillar, her eyes shut. She was probably asleep and didn't notice Yukino come in.
I turned away from the hotel doors, and began the walk to my own hotel a few blocks away.
I pulled out the phone I had in my pocket, and started mindlessly going through all the apps I had to find a way to pass time.
I didn't feel like speed walking down the sidewalk to get to my hotel, so I slowed my pace down significantly and simply scrolled through my phone endlessly.
Before I knew it, I had already made it to the front entrance of the hotel. The lobby lights beamed outside, lighting up the entire sidewalk.
I shivered slightly, as the goosebumps on my skin creeped up my skin. I wasted no time in making my way through the front doors.
The warmth that I was greeted with from the hotel was heavenly, and I rubbed my hands together to produce more heat.
I continued on my way through the hotel, eventually going into an elevator, pressing a button for the third floor.
Once the elevator made it there, I made my way to my room number, standing in front of the door and using a small key card I had in my pocket to unlock it.
Before I could even put my hand on the doorknob, Totsuka was already there to greet me by pulling me by my hair.
Totsuka: "You left me all alone here!"
Y/N: "S-Sorry! I went out to try and grab something to drink!"
Totsuka: "For two hours?!"
Y/N: "..."
I forgot that I had spent much more time in the car with Hiratsuka-sensei than I thought. Plus, I had to walk all that distance with Yukino to her hotel, and then all the way back to mine.
Y/N: "Look, I'm sorry all right? Can we go to bed? It's almost 2 AM, and I'm trying to at least get some sleep in..."
Totsuka: "It's your fault for being out for so long... But you're right... Let's sleep."
He let go of my hair, and walked back into our room. I closed the door behind me, taking off my shoes and putting them to the side.
I didn't even get dressed in anything else. I simply flopped down onto the bed we shared and pulled the blankets over myself.
I took a deep breath, exhaling it all loudly to relax all my muscles. I could finally rest after all that walking. Not to mention what we did with Hiratsuka-sensei...
Totsuka: "You're not gonna get changed?"
Y/N: "Don't feel like it..."
Totsuka: "You'll be really uncomfortable though..."
Y/N: "As long as I fall asleep I'm fine."
I turned over in my spot, resting on my side and closing my eyes.
Totsuka: "...What'd you do when you left?" He spoke in a whisper, and I opened my eyes to meet his own.
Y/N: "Got caught up in something with Hiratsuka-sensei. That's all it really was."
Totsuka: "Ah, okay... Are you sure?"
Y/N: "Totsuka..."
"Okay, okay! Sorry..."
He stopped questioning me, and I fell asleep soon after.
Dream | (DL/N = Different Last Name)
Kuyo: "Y/N-kun, you must get up for school. You'd be awfully late."
Y/N: "*groan* I don't wanna..."
Kuyo: "This isn't up for debate, sir. On your feet now. We can't argue about this every week..."
I rolled over in my bed, pulling the sheets over my head to block the light that was coming from the curtains that Kuyo, my maid, opened.
The light bounced off the white walls, and the walls reflected the bright light throughout the entire room, forcing me to shut my eyes more.
Kuyo: "It's almost 6:30. If you don't get up now, you won't be able to shower and get dressed on time."
Y/N: "Showering in the morning is dumb though..."
Kuyo: "If you want to smell horrible when you're at school, it sure as hell is."
Y/N: "..."
Before I could even make the decision to pull the sheets off my head, Kuyo had already pulled it off.
She set the sheets off to the side, then promptly grabbed me by my torso, picking me up and placing me on the floor.
Kuyo: "There you are~. Wakey-wakey, it's time for school. You already know the middle school is a long drive away, so we have to get dressed earlier."
She went down to her knees to match my height, patting me on the head with a smile.
I audibly groaned, and she giggled a little before grabbing my school clothes and handing them to me.
She pushed me by shoulders in the direction of the bathroom, and I reluctantly continued moving until I was inside and closed the door behind me.
I tiredly stepped into the shower, turning the water on as I made the hot-water knob as far as it could.
I let the hot water envelope my body, as any muscles that were once tense finally relaxed.
Sometimes I would fall asleep in the shower, or drift off to the point I spend way too much time inside, and Kuyo would have to bang on the door to wake me.
This wasn't one of those days though, because she was already banging on the door before I could even wash my hair completely.
Kuyo: "We're a little behind schedule, Y/N-san. You're going to have to cut the shower short."
Y/N: "'kay!"
Kuyo: "...That means get out of the shower right now."
Y/N: "But I just got in!"
"And now you're getting out!"
I groaned angrily, turning off the hot water and stepping out the shower.
After I dried myself off, I got dressed into my school clothes and left the bathroom.
Kuyo was waiting for me on the other side, and she held out my shoes and socks in front of me.
Kuyo: "Here, put them on and we'll go."
Y/N: "Can't we at least have breakfast first?"
Kuyo: "...*sigh* We'll stop at WacDonald's, how about that?"
Y/N: "Perfect!"
She smiled, and we both walked down the stairs from the top floor, all the way down to the bottom to reach the front door.
I quickly put on my shoes, as I awkwardly tied them with my tiny hands. When I lifted my head, Kuyo already had my bag in her hand waiting for me to grab it.
I took it, wearing it on my back, and we both walked out the front door and to the driveway.
The weather outside was hot, but a nice cool breeze would flow in occasionally. My house lined up with the rest of the houses that lay in the neighborhood I lived in. The houses were mostly all white, and the paint was perfectly done, as well as the roads, sidewalks, bushes or blades of grass, everything basically. It was like some sort of utopia.
It unnerved me sometimes. The lack of difference between one house and the other was unsettling.
Y/N: "Kuyo-san, Kuyo-san."
Kuyo: "What is it?" She covered her face from the rising sun in the distance.
Y/N: "Why do all the houses look the same?"
Kuyo: "...Well, I don't know. Maybe it's cheaper."
"Doesn't it look kinda bland though?"
"I suppose you're right... You want to paint our house? Make it look nice?"
"Sure!"
"Then, I'll ask Mr. DL/N to see what we can do." She said, smiling happily to me.
I was happy, but once she mentioned my dad, I got a little worried. He never was the type to do anything fun.
Even doing something as simple as making a tire-swing off of a tree that hung outside in our backyard was considered off limits.
Nonetheless, we continued on our way to a car we had parked in our driveway. The car was completely black, a small statue of an angel spreading its wings on the front.
Kuyo guided me to the back seat of the car, sitting next to me as I moved to the window.
Soon after, a man got into the driver's seat of the car. He turned the car on, waited for it to warm up, and then started his way out of the gated neighborhood I lived in.
Kuyo: "Ah, right. Aries, could you stop by WacDonald's for Y/N-san here? He hadn't gotten to eat breakfast just yet."
Aries: "Certainly, Kuyo-san."
I never spoke to Aries, but he seemed to always treat everyone with respect. I never understood how anyone could be like that.
We didn't know each other on personal terms, but he always addressed me properly, greeted me accordingly, and spoke to me professionally.
It was strange. He was strange. He was also really old, gray hair covering the top of his head and the long mustache he had.
I always felt a little bad for him though. My dad would scream at him for being old and slow. Even then, he would always treat me kindly regardless of the kind of person my dad was.
I guess he isn't all that bad.
Y/N: "Kuyo-san."
Kuyo: "Hm?"
Y/N: "Why are adults so weird...?"
Aries turned around in his seat to meet Kuyo's gaze. They both stared at each other for a while, before bursting out laughing.
They were laughing so much, that Aries had completely forgotten to look at the road ahead of him, so when he turned around, he had to quickly take a right turn to make sure we didn't miss the entrance into WacDonald's.
I sat patiently, a little confused with why they were laughing.
Kuyo: "Y-Y/N-san... Hehehe~" She held her stomach, a wide smile on her face.
Aries was also smiling widely, covering his mouth as he coughed slightly.
Kuyo: "How am I supposed to answer that??" She said, still smiling.
Y/N: "Did I say something wrong...?"
Kuyo: "Well, how would you feel if I said, 'Why are kids so weird'? You wouldn't take that very kindly, would you?"
Y/N: "Well, I'd take it much better than you did."
"Yeah yeah, whatever. Do you want breakfast or not?"
"Mm." I nodded, as Aries parked the car next to the WacDonald's.
We both got out of the car, walking into the building. Kuyo held her purse over her shoulder.
Kuyo waited in the back of the line, and I stood next to her, still confused on my question.
Y/N: "Kuyo-san, Kuyo-san." I tugged on her shirt.
Kuyo: "Hm?"
Y/N: "Why are adults no fun?"
Kuyo looked at me for a moment, before putting on a pitying smile.
Kuyo: "You have a lot more things to take care of when you get older. It's like... having to do schoolwork everyday, even when you're at home or trying to relax."
She kneeled down to meet my height.
Kuyo: "We ain't fun because we don't have any time to have fun, you understand?"
Y/N: "...Couldn't you just make time?"
Kuyo: "God, I wish." She patted me on the head, a sad smile on her face.
"You'll get it one day, little man. For now, let's just have some breakfast. You're only 10 years old, so don't worry about growing old any time soon, alright?"
"Yes'm."
End of Dream | Morning Time | Hotel Room
I opened my eyes, immediately shutting them afterwards to try and go back to sleep.
I squinted them as hard as I could, pulling the blanket that I had covering me over my head to darken the area around me.
I... don't want to wake up.
It was a strange feeling I've only experienced a few times before: the feeling to not want to wake up from my sleep.
Of course, I'd have that feeling when I didn't want to go to school or something that was mostly insignificant, but it was never to this degree.
I've never felt the genuine urge to simply not want to wake up.
It scared me a little.
Totsuka: "Y-Y/N...? Are you okay?"
Y/N: "...Huh?"
Totsuka: "Did you have a bad dream? You're crying right now..." He reached his hands up to my face, wiping my cheek.
It wasn't until he wiped off the tears on my face when I realized I had cried.
I didn't know what to say.
The dream I had felt more like a flashback, as the conversation I shared with Kuyo felt so genuine. It made me remember her, so much to the point where the urge to see her arose out of no where.
Kuyo was a bigger influence on my younger life than I remember.
Y/N: "Yeah... Just a bad dream, I guess. Sorry if I worried you."
Totsuka: "If that's all it was, then I guess it's alright... Remember, if you need anything, I'm here. Okay?"
Y/N: "...'kay."
He smiled happily, before hopping out of the bed, and heading straight for the bathroom.
At the time, he was wearing some pajamas that were way too oversized for him. Even so that the collar of his shirt would slip past his shoulders occasionally.
Totsuka: "Remember, we're going out early again today! Lucky we woke up at 5 AM, huh?"
Y/N: "It's 5 AM...?" I peered outside a window that we had in the hotel room.
Outside was still dark, almost like it was midnight. I wondered if Totsuka's time was wrong by any means, and I quickly switched on my phone to find out.
Y/N: "It's really 5 AM, and I could go to sleep for another 3 hours?" I cursed my body for cutting my lucid dream short even though I had so much time to stay in bed.
I sat on the side of the bed, running my hands through my hair, until I eventually spaced out.
There was only one thing that was on my mind.
Why did I dream about Kuyo?
Totsuka: "Like I said, we're leaving early." He left the bathroom, dressed in skinny jeans and a light blue T-shirt. "We're all supposed to meet in the lobby in about an hour. Better to get dressed and have breakfast now before later."
Y/N: "Huh...? Oh, right." I snapped out of my thoughts.
I got up from my spot on the bed, heading to the bathroom. I closed the door behind me, looking at my reflection in the mirror.
I had marks from where the tears ran down, and I quickly washed my face to hide the marks.
Y/N: "Stupid dream..."
Undressing myself, I stepped into the shower, turning the hot water as far as it could go.
I felt the burning water touch my body, and steam came up to cloud up the bathroom.
At this rate, I was half expecting Kuyo to come knocking at the door to get me out, but it never came. I waited, and waited, but there was no knock.
Eventually, I simply settled with the fact she was never coming. Which was stupid, because it wasn't possible in the first place.
I already knew she wasn't going to knock, and yet I still waited.
Y/N: "Stupid..." I pulled the hairs on my head to try and change my train of thought.
I just wanted to move on from it, but the dumb dream kept sneaking into my mind.
Then, after finally turning off the water, I left the shower to dry myself off and get dressed into some casual clothes.
I made sure there were no more marks on my face, and left the bathroom soon after that.
Totsuka was laying flat on his back on our bed, his phone in his hand as his legs were crossed. He peered his head over to me, and I looked back.
Totsuka: "That was an awfully long shower."
Y/N: "Had a lot on my mind, that's all."
Totsuka: "Well, we might as well get some breakfast before we run out of time. We still have 45 minutes before we all have to join in the lobby, so we can go out for a little bit."
Y/N: "That'd be nice."
He got up from the bed, walking over to me. He put his hands behind his back as he made his way over.
Totsuka: "Where should we go?"
Y/N: "I saw a café called Squarebucks™ when I was walking out the other night, but it was closed since it was really late. Might be open now."
Totsuka: "Great! I've... never actually been to a café. What's it like?"
Y/N: "Let's find out."
I was too tired for him to be asking me questions, but I trudged through it in an attempt to get something to drink.
Normally I'd just have a cola and immediately be energized, but I didn't have one on me. And besides, we're going to a café, so there'd be drinks there to help.
Timeskip | Café
We both sat across from each other inside the Squarebucks™, as we waited for someone to come take our order.
We weren't going to get anything to eat, since we wouldn't have enough time to finish it. So we settled with something nice to drink before we made our way back to the hotel.
Waiter: "Hello! My name is Iroha Isshiki, and I'll be serving you today~!"
A female waiter approached us, smiling happily as she stuck out her tongue with a sly smile. She had short orange hair that went right past her shoulders. She also seemed to be younger than myself, probably a first-year if nothing else.
Totsuka: "Good morning!"
Y/N: "'Morning..." I was too tired to keep myself awake, no more than to keep my own manners.
My greeting felt half-hearted, and this was especially noticed by the waiter, as a visible tick mark appeared on her. Probably because I failed to make eye-contact whatsoever, and I also sounded disrespectful.
Iroha: "W-Well, good morning to you too! What would you both like to order?"
Totsuka: "Ah, we'll just be having something to drink!"
He playfully kicked his feet under the table, as his legs were too short to reach the floor. He made direct eye contact with the waiter, however I kept my eyes on the menu that she had placed in front of me.
I was too tired to understand anything I was reading, as I would occasionally space out halfway through reading a basic menu item.
Maybe I should've taken a cold shower this morning. That would've woken me up.
Totsuka: "I'll have a hot chocolate, please!"
Iroha wrote it down onto a small slip of paper she had in her hand. She glanced back over to me afterwards.
Iroha: "And you?"
Y/N: "Uh..."
I stared at the small menu in my hands, but there were too many "something-ccinos" that it was a bit overwhelming. Like there'd be a frappuccino, but then there'd be a cappuccino as well, then a latte which seemed like the same thing. I couldn't tell the difference between them all.
Y/N: "Guess I'll be having-"
Iroha: "Need some help choosing? It's simple, really. The frappuccino doesn't have any coffee in it, unless you want it, of course. It's also a blend of cold beverages mixed together, so it isn't hot unlike most coffees. Now, as for cappuccinos, they are the more coffee-like of the two. It's made with espresso, steamed milk, and milk foam. It's actually hot unlike the frappuccino. I should also tell you that frappuccinos do contain more sugar, so if you think of changing your mind there's no worries there!"
Y/N: "...Oh. Well, I'll just have hot chocolate if that's the case."
Iroha: "..."
She stared at me with a smile on her face, but her psychopathic eyes told a different story. Her eyes seemed to mutter every single insult within a moments notice.
The paper that she had in her hand was slowly getting crushed underneath her intense grasp, then she took a deep breath before closing her eyes.
Iroha: "No problem! I'll have it up for you in no time!"
An innocent expression appeared on her face once more, as she happily turned around to go make our drinks.
Totsuka: "Thanks!"
Totsuka continued to kick his feet under the table playfully.
I put the menu I had in my hand down onto the table, and stared outside the window that we were sitting next to.
I also blew hot air in-between my fingers because it was colder inside the Squarebucks™ than it was outside.
Eventually, I pulled out my phone to look at the time, and realized that we'd probably have to walk back to the hotel at the same time we're drinking because there was only around 10 minutes left.
I put my phone down, and instead scanned the surroundings of the Squarebucks™. There were a few other people here, but they were on the opposite side of the building.
It was also extremely quiet, as the other people in the building spoke very quietly to one another.
Totsuka: "You excited for today?" He broke the silence between the both of us.
Y/N: "I don't even remember what we're doing today."
Totsuka: "Me neither. All I know is that there's a haunted house!"
Y/N: "You like haunted houses?"
"Mhm! They're so pretty on the inside, despite all the scares they try and give you!"
"Pretty...?"
Totsuka is kind of strange. I like it.
Iroha: "Here you both are!" She placed two hot chocolates on the table.
The drinks had whipped cream on the top, and it was fitted with a large straw coming out the top of the plastic cup.
I grabbed onto the cup, and got out of my seat soon after.
Y/N: "We're gonna have to walk back now, Totsuka. Not much time left."
Iroha: "Leaving so early?"
Y/N: "Unfortunately, yes. Here you go." I passed her 10 dollars I had stored in my pocket.
Iroha: "Right, let me get you your change-"
"Keep it."
She stood there a little confused, blinking twice to make sure she wasn't hearing things.
I walked out of the Squarebucks™, Totsuka next to me with his drink in hand. He turned around and waved goodbye to the waiter, and she waved back, holding the 10 dollars in her hand.
Eventually, once we made it far enough away, Totsuka spoke.
Totsuka: "She was nice."
Y/N: "Yeah... something like that." I reminisced on her psychopathic eyes.
After a good walk to the hotel, we saw a few vans parked outside the hotel which we were staying at. Just like the ones we took previously.
We made it across the street to meet with our classmates who were all boarding the vans.
Totsuka: "Just in time!"
We had both finished our hot chocolate, and threw it away in a nearby trashcan before boarding the van with the rest of my classmates.
Short one for today, then I'll have another one up before Christmas, THEN ILL HAVE A SPECIAL CHAPTER FOR CHRISTMAS... then that's it for this year :)