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warning: angst, long chapter(?)
it was the middle of the day. lunch had just ended, and [name] was on the verge of dozing off in class. no, [name], you have to focus... this class might be really important.
but then again, she didn't want to be in this class, her parents did.
they had always had high expectations on her: to get good grades, have good behavior, and not to talk back... if they had found out what she had vented about behind their back, they would call the local adoption center. they just want the best for me, is her excuse every time her friends say that she has bad parents.
but that wasn't true. [name] was just a tool for money for when her parents got too old to go to work. so they wanted her to get good grades and get a good job. maybe then, my parents might actually care for me? if they couldn't care less about me then I might as well let them die after starving.
then again, they probably just want the best for her.
right?
...
"miss [name], are you paying attention?" said the teacher, as the room fell quiet and everyone started staring at her.
"yes, ma'am," she sighed, forcing herself to sit up straight. the night before, her parents asked her to scrub the kitchens and wash the dishes, and also to study for her arithmancy test. cleaning the house was easy enough, but [name] had gotten frustrated over a few practice problems and had to step outside every now and then to calm down. this made her gain only a few hours of sleep, and her parents even scolded her for oversleeping.
even worse, her parents would lighten their scolding and pretend to be good parents during parties or when they're out in public, so no one ever knew.
after class ended, she rubbed her eyes and walked out. she knew nobody in this period, and luckily it was the last class of the day, and it was friday. the bell rung as her eyes lit up, remembering her friend that had made plans with her after school. she caught him in the hallways on his phone and tackled him into a hug. "hi, scara!"
"[name]! don't scare me like that," he grumbled, but let her hug him. "are you ready to go?"
"duh, otherwise I wouldn't be here, idiot," [name] deadpanned.
"well, I'm the one with better grades, aren't I." scaramouche gave her a smug look as [name] started arguing with him that he was just 'too smart'.
people passed by and watched the two bickering with great amusement. everyone had gotten used to the top students being friends. wasn't it only a while ago that they were complete enemies, competing in every single subject? then again, their dynamic was cute—[name] was the talkative one who was pretty nice and decent to everyone and scaramouche was the one trailing behind her while glaring at everyone.
"alright, let's just go now," [name] said at last, giving in to the argument. scaramouche nodded as he started his car and the girl climbed into the seat next to him. "don't drive too fast, okay?" she told him.
"okay? why though?" said scaramouche, who had started speeding off to the new park that had opened recently.
"no reason," [name] sweatdropped. scaramouche narrowed his eyes; she was obviously lying. he could see through the mask. "can you put the music on?"
"sure," he replied, putting on a CAS playlist. the rest of the car ride was quiet. why wasn't she making conversation? she's being unusually silent today, scaramouche thought. just what happened?
they arrived at the park, it was a huge lake with a wooden bridge and cherry blossom trees, the traditional tree in inazuma. there was a swing with an arch over it that was sitting on the grass. it was around 5 pm, but the sky was already a light orange and red.
"it's so pretty here," [name] spoke at last, grinning at the sight. "hey, let's take a photo!"
relieved at the fact that she was finally speaking, scaramouche just agreed. [name] saved it to an album labeled 'memories with scara<3' and smiled to herself. "by the way, there's a beach nearby. it's getting a bit dark, so I thought we could visit it before we go home," said scaramouche. [name] excitedly jumped up and followed her friend to the car as they drove to the beach that he was talking about.
the sun was setting, and the scene was ethereal. the oranges, reds, and yellows mixed in. it was very pretty there, and they went to the end of the boardwalk, where there was a fence with a view that was amazing. [name] took a photo of her and scaramouche, but it only showed two shadowed figures. eh, it's better than nothing. she saved it to the album and planned to post it on Instagram later.
"we should be heading home now," said [name], snapping out of her trance at last.
"yea, it's getting pretty late. see? the sun's almost set," scaramouche pointed out; so they went back to the car as they sped off into the night, heading for their neighborhood.
"my parents might be wondering where I'm at," [name] said worriedly.
"don't worry, try not to think about it," he told her when they pulled into her driveway.
"scara, wanna stay for a bit?"
"sure."
[name] unlocked the door with the house key and looked around only to see the lights turned off. "oh, thank goodness, I'm glad that they go to sleep early now." she switched on the LED lights in the living room that she had bought a few years ago and pressed the remote to make the lights a dark blue.
"your house is comfortable," scaramouche said, giving her an almost unnoticeable smile. unlike the raiden household, this place was somewhere he could stay without a wave of tension hanging in the air.
"thank you," she laughed lightly, as she went into the kitchen. "I'll make us some drinks."
"oh, uh, you didn't have to," he replied awkwardly. [name] shook her head, "no, I insist!"
"well, fine. I'll just have coffee." scaramouche looked around the house a bit more; there was a dark wooden desk with photo stands. he gasped; it was of [name] and her friends, and in one photo, it was the image of him and her washing dishes in the student council kitchens. her computer was sitting comfortably on the desk along with a few scattered notes on their school subjects; there was a pillow as well and an office chair. a notebook sat comfortably on a shelf with some novels and textbooks; a beanbag lay near the shelf. dry cecilias lay in a vase on a coffee table in the living room, along with a TV remote. the room with the desk and notes must be her study area, he thought. for some reason, he felt like this place was home to him.
a black fluffy cat with indigo eyes hopped onto his lap as scaramouche sat down on the sofa. "hey there," he said in an unusually soft voice. the cat meowed as it fell asleep, tail curling around itself as [name] came back with a cup of coffee.
"are you sure that you want coffee? you won't be able to sleep," she said. "oh! kuni, are you bothering scaramouche, you silly goose."
"she's not bothering me," scaramouche chuckled. "and I'm fine, I'm immune to coffee."
"if you say so," [name] smiled. "here, kuni, do you want a treat?"
the cat sprang up instantly as she commanded the cat to do a handshake as she applauded and gave him the treat. scaramouche's mind suddenly seemed to click. "hey, did you say that the cat's name is kuni?"
"hm? oh, yea, I named him after a friend of mine!" she sheepishly told him. scara's eyes narrowed in suspicion. but then again, I'm not the only person named kunikuzushi.
or was I? no, I can't be the only one.
"that's nice," scaramouche replied. they watched a bit of south park on HBO Max, then he had to go home.
"bye, scara, I'll see you tomorrow, maybe," she waved, as scaramouche nodded and headed out.
later that night
"[name], why are you still awake, young lady?!" her mom yelled as the [hair color]-haired girl tried to ignore the loudness.
"I'm sorry, mother, I couldn't sleep, I had a friend come over to hang out for a little bit," [name] apologized.
"A FRIEND COME OVER?! AT THIS TIME?! ARE YOU KIDDING ME, YOU DISAPPOINTMENT?! YOU SHOULD HAVE BEEN STUDYING AFTER SCHOOL, NOT SPENDING TIME WITH SOME LOUSY FRIENDS!" her mother screeched. "AND FOR THEM TO STAY LATE AT NIGHT, TOO!"
"mom, I swear, it was only 9 pm when he went home and I couldn't sleep after that," [name] said nervously. I wish father was here, she sighed. he was the only one who could calm down her mother's tantrums and yet he was currently on a business trip.
"ENOUGH OF THIS, YOU'VE DISOBEYED MY ORDERS, YOU'RE SLEEPING OUTSIDE TONIGHT AGAIN!" she screamed.
"I-I... couldn't I get a beating instead?" [name] tried to say as her mother started yelling again.
"AND NOW YOU'RE TRYING TO DISOBEY MY ORDERS AGAIN! GET OUT! TAKE YOUR BLANKETS AND YOUR STUPID PLUSHIES! DON'T RETURN UNTIL THE NEXT MORNING!" her mother yelled, as [name]'s face resorted to a blank expression, her eyes dulling as she got her blankets and plushies, then running outside. she ran to the park that they went to earlier and decided to sleep on the bench. but it started raining.
her mother slammed the door behind her as she stormed back to her room. why couldn't her daughter just OBEY her?! why did her daughter have to make everything difficult?! she went back to sleep, seething in anger at her disappointment of a daughter.
meanwhile, [name] was sleeping on the park bench. well, at least she tried to. she ran over to the swings and the face that she tried to keep neutralized fell as she broke down into tears. she just wants the best for me.
it was an endless cycle of those words for years. but inside, it wasn't the truth. she plugged her airpods in as she put some music on her phone to calm her down, but she only broke down even more; she hadn't cried in years. her mother had taught her to sit still and that it was ridiculous to shed tears over her misbehavior.
scaramouche couldn't sleep. surprisingly, the coffee had effect on him. he walked to the park with his airpods in, the light rain sprinkling his clothes and hair as he heard faint crying. who the hell was awake at this time? is it a lost kid?
he went in the direction that the crying was heard and his eyes widened.
there was [name], on the swing, crying. he'd never seen her cry. she didn't look like her usual eccentric self. her hair was soaked and she took notice of him and attempted to wipe her tears onto her sleeve. "sorry you have to see me like this," she told him.
"I don't care about that right now, what the hell happened?" scaramouche asked.
"...I..." she paused for a moment.
"...my mother kicked me out for the night."
"what?! [name], what do you mean by that?!"
"I got in trouble for you being over. I was supposed to study," she said, her eyes dulled. "so she got mad and told me to go sleep outside because I disobeyed her orders."
"that's..." he never considered [name]'s relationship with her parents. I guess... we both hate our mothers. "you can sleep at my house. and no excuses, you're staying here whether you like it or not. it's raining and it's freezing out here, you'll catch a cold."
"you're too nice," she said, and the words took him aback. nobody ever told him that before; all his life he'd been told that he was too rude or ignorant or aggressive.
[name] silently followed scaramouche to his house. it was the traditional inazuman house, with a wooden sliding door. "my parents are also asleep," he told her. "you can sleep in... my room, I'll use the couch."
"no way. I'll take the couch, it's your room after all," [name] said sternly, clutching her cinamoroll plush.
"how about we uh, share the bed? but keep our distance," said scaramouche, having turned scarlet.
"that works," [name] replied, also having gone red. she spread out her blankets and toppled onto one side of the bed, clutching her cinamoroll plush. "goodnight, scary mushroom."
"shut up and go to sleep," he said, rolling his eyes playfully. he got onto the other side and huddled up in his blankets. "...goodnight."
[name] felt scaramouche hug her from behind. she went scarlet and tried to ignore it, but he only latched onto her tighter.
[photo not mine]
by the way, [name] has like 3 accounts; nameii_ being her main acc, nameiiflif her alt public acc, and [username]xx for her private acc while texting scaramouche
END OF CHAPTER
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