"Whatever you decide, I'm always here. Remember that."
—~—
Third Person POV
"I love you and all, but how long do you plan on staying?" Rindo sent an unamused expression, "You've eaten almost all of the food we have."
"I thought I was welcomed here?" (Y/n) whined and poutingly binged on some chips. She was wrapped up in a loose blanket burrito on the floor whilst the other laid sideways on the couch— watching some Jdrama that (y/n) wanted to watch with him.
"Not if you take all of our food supply, dumbass," the blonde boy stole her bag of honey butter chips for himself, "What do you think we are to you? Vending machines?"
"No, grocery stores."
"How rich do you think we are exactly?"
"I thought you stole money?" The (h/c)-haired female genuinely questioned and glanced up at him.
"There's only so many people I can beat up before they become broke," he sighed in exasperation whilst (Y/n) leaned her head back onto the couch and opened her mouth. Rindo understood the signal as he searched for an unbroken chip and fed her it, "And we can't ask our friends for money. We already owe them so much shit that we're in debt to them for about... until we die?"
"Sounds like a you problem."
An irk mark appeared on Rindo's forehead, "Sounds like our problem. It seems like you're not going home anytime soon so what are we supposed to do about food?"
"I'll pay..." She sheepishly responded as he shook his head in disappointment before standing up and kissing her forehead.
"With what money?" he quirked a brow and pulled his phone out of his pocket, "I'm gonna order takeout cause my void-of-a-girlfriend's only coping mechanism is binge eating and self-destruction. So what do you want, my little void?"
"Cake, please!"
"Real food, (y/n)."
"Then I don't know. Pick whatever you want," she said as he nodded his head and went to the kitchen to make a call. Meanwhile, the (e/c)-eyed girl lifelessly stared at the TV screen— wondering when the main couple of the drama suddenly got together from when she was last paying attention.
(Y/n)'s conscience was in turmoil. It wasn't that long ago when they dropped off her little sister back to the apartment and everything was... relatively okay. She did end up asking Maya if she heard anything and completely reassured that she wasn't upset at her. Her parents, on the other hand, was a different story.
There was an awkward tension as soon as (y/n) stepped through the door; however, it appeared that they moved on and greeted their daughters happily. (Y/n) was glad. She also didn't know how to apologize so, for now, everyone could forget about it. That being said, nothing was resolved and she felt worse the longer she stayed for dinner. That's how she got here— watching dramas and eating the Haitani's food supply for the next month-and-a-half.
"Okay, I ordered pizza," Rindo announced and walked back to the living room, "What did I miss?"
"Uh, the guy told her to cut off her friends and family, and said that she should only have eyes for him," she replied and he scrunched up his face in disgust.
"What a douchebag," the blonde sneered and sat on the floor next to her, "Are girls actually into that kind of stuff?"
"Me? No. Others, probably," the (h/c)-nette leaned her head to the side and onto his shoulder, "If you do something like that to me, I would dump you in a heartbeat."
"Rightfully so," he said and rested his head on top of hers.
Then there was silence. The two contently watching the characters on screen as Rindo made comments every once in awhile, which would put a small smile onto (y/n)'s face with each criticism. Although, she wasn't paying attention— not like she was for the past hour or so. She was still emotionally distraught to the events that occurred just a couple of hours ago that she was zoned out and simply existing.
"What should I do...?" (Y/n) whispered to herself, her voice drowned by the sounds emitted off the TV speakers.
"Do what you always do," Rindo spoke up and she slightly jumped hearing an answer to her question, "Fight your way through hell and back just to accomplish what you want. That's how you've been surviving, or at least, that how you survived from me annoying you to death."
"So what? I should make a deal?" She chuckled.
"Do you want to?" He questioned with a jeering grin, "I'm like a genie who may-or-may-not actually grant you a wish, like a coin flip. But if it gets you out of this slump and motivated again, then I'll entertain the idea. Just give me a lamp and a flying carpet."
"Oh no, I feel like you're my karma," she airily laughed, "If I go through with this, you might make my situation worse somehow."
"You're probably right," he agreed, looked behind him on the couch, and grabbed the forgotten bag of chips, "Even though I said this before, I'm still here for you, (y/n). You don't have to go through this alone."
"You... You're right..." she mumbled, "I need to push myself forward like I've always done. I can't keep moping about this forever or else nothing would happen... I won't achieve my dream."
Rindo glanced at her. He was slightly wary of those particular choice of words but decided to not think too much of it. If things go wrong, he'll be there to catch her fall, he concluded.
"I believe in you," he murmured, "Alright, so what's the first step of action?"
"Mm... I guess the portfolio event," the (y/h) female said, "It's actually tomorrow morning. It was a last minute thing the college decided to do, Prez said, so she only texted me the details recently."
"Do you have everything ready?"
"I do have my sketchbook and I keep one of my jackets in my bag," she replied, "Those will have to do. Not like there was much to prepare anyways."
"Do you want me to drop you off tomorrow?" He asked, "You said it's in Shibuya, right? I'll shop there as I wait for you."
"I thought you said you were broke because of me?" (Y/n) playfully remarked and he scoffed.
"You're damn right. I guess I'll be window shopping," Rindo lifted his head and lightly dropped it back down to hers, to which she yelped aloud in pain, "When you become a rich fashion designer, you better be treating me out to fancy restaurants."
"You'll be a famous DJ by then, you can pay for your own food," she snickered.
"Cheap," he rolled his violet eyes before one corner of his lips rose upwards, "Anyways, I'll let you know when the food arrives but you should get some rest, (y/n). If the event is tomorrow, you need all the sleep you can get. You already look like a trash raccoon as it is."
"Rude," she pouted but her eyelids gladly obliged, her body forcing her to shut down after all the emotional distress she experienced. She knocked out.
Soon, the weight on Rindo's shoulder felt heavier and he quickly had to adjust before she fell to the ground. Swiftly catching her in his arms, the younger Haitani kept one hand behind her head and the other on her back— his chin lying on her shoulder whilst his half-lidded eyes stared at nothing in particular.
'She didn't fully move on from earlier...' he thought and inwardly sighed, 'Hah... what a stubborn girl.'
|—~•~—|
It was the next day and the two arrived to their destination: Shibuya, Japan. (y/n) and Rindo stepped out of the train and onto the platform, looking up at the signs of directions above them.
"Come on, it should be here," Rindo announced and grabbed her hand before the (y/h) girl could disappear in the ocean of people.
"Do you know where you're going?" (Y/n) nervously questioned as she tightly clutched the strap of her school bag with her free hand. The last thing she wanted was for her work to get lost amongst the individuals scrambling by.
"Kinda."
"Huh?!"
"I know my way around Shibuya," he stated and pushed his way through the crowd, "Hurry, or you'll be late."
(Y/n) chuckled and quickened her pace to catch up, "Yes, mom."
Rindo rolled his eyes, "You know what? I think I'll let you figure it out on your own—"
"Wait!" The (h/c)-haired girl exclaimed and tightened her grip on his hand, "I'm sorry. Don't actually leave me to my own devices because I might actually end up in a different city, knowing my luck."
"I won't be surprised," he snickered as they finally got out of the station and onto the main part of the city.
Bustling with people briskly brushing past each other and loud honking cars driving by, (y/n) felt immensely intimidated being in another large city after adjusting to the daily life of Roppongi. After all, Shibuya is known for youth fashion and culture. Vibrant people walked around in the latest trends, pop culture emerged from every turn and corner, and the shopping district lined the streets to no end. This was the center of the creatively inspired. This is the place to freely express individuality at its finest.
Soon, they quickly made it to Bunka Fashion college after Rindo asked around for directions. They got lost a couple of times but, fortunately, the building was in view and they rushed over. See? He knew what he was doing... kind of.
However, (y/n) suddenly felt very conscious and briefly stopped on her tracks. She took a sharp intake of air whilst she took in her surroundings, feeling very out of place in her jeans and hoodie.
"(Y/n)?" Rindo turned around when her hand abruptly tugged on his, causing him to momentarily jerk backwards, "You okay?"
She went to speak but no words came out of her mouth. Instead, a look of anxiety and doubt creeped onto her features and Rindo's gaze softened. His shoulders slacked and he released his hold on her hand.
"Don't tell me you're scared now?" He inquired as she pressed her lips and looked away, "You're telling me the girl who decided to pick a fight with me— after knowing who I am and my reputation— is feeling scared? What are you afraid of? You already dealt with my brother and I, and I think we're pretty scary."
"Rindo..." (y/n) started with worried, doe-like eyes, "I'm not sure about this anymore..."
"Wait, wait, wait are you sure you're (y/n)?" The violet-eyed boy leaned forward, his piercing violet eyes scrutinized her in a mocking manner. He lifted his hand up and lightly flicked her forehead, to which he received a small 'ow!', "Cause she would look at this, smack my arm and go, 'after this, I'm basically a fashion designer already'. So who are you and what did you do to my girlfriend?"
"Rindo I don't think I want to continue—"
He cupped her cheeks to force her to look at him, mushing them together in the process, "I won't stop you if you want to back out. We can just go back to the apartment and hang out but... I don't want you to regret this. This is your dream, (y/n), and I don't see you giving it up so easily."
The (h/c)-haired girl released a breath she didn't know she was holding. Almost instantaneously, her nerves calmed down and the butterflies in her stomach nestled quietly— the violet hues of his eyes were strangely comforting, in a way.
'Huahh... what would I do without him?' She thought.
"Thank you..." she spoke so quietly that her breath nearly faded into the air. Rindo returned a grin in response.
"There you are," he stated as he did his little routine with her— pushing up her hair, kissing her forehead in encouragement, and ruffling her (h/l) (h/c) locks.
"I'm gonna go and by the time I come back—" (y/n) brightly grinned, a genuine one at that, "—I'll already be a fashion designer so be ready, Haitani Rindo."
He jokingly saluted back to her by waving his index and middle finger just below his brow, "Can't wait, (l/n) (y/n). Call me when you're done."
With a quick nod of her head, the (h/c)-nette hurriedly dashed towards the college and entered through the doors. That's right... this was her childhood dream. This was where she wanted to be. She couldn't let it go now. No... not now—
Her breath hitched in her throat and her wide smile instantly dropped. Her (e/c) eyes focused on the one person standing in the middle of the room where a crowd of people surrounded them.
"What... are you doing here?"
—~—
Author's note: I'M SO SORRY 😭 I promise I'll do better about the upload times 🙏🏼
There was also something I wanted to say but I forgot :3 in the meantime, what's your guys' favorite TV show/movie?
Anyways, take care and see you in the next chapter :)