𝐄𝐀𝐓 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐑𝐈𝐂𝐇

The first place you wanted to take Suguru was a local coffee place in the downtown area. Most of the kids in the school go there during the morning or for lunch. His eyes lit up when you passed the drink over to him, waiting for his reaction. He took a small sip and smacked his lips a little bit before grimacing.

"Too bitter." He passed the drink back to you, shaking his head a little bit.

"What about this one?"

You passed the coffee over to him as he took a small sip. He hummed lightly as you thought he finally liked a drink until he shook his head. You took the drink back, replacing a straw with another one before sipping it.

"That green stuff is nasty." He said this, taking a bite out of his apple fritter. You srunched up your face a little at the taste and sat it down.

"It needs vanilla in it." You shrugged, still sipping on the drink. The waitress approached the table and asked if everything was good. Suguru gave her a warm smile before ordering another coffee for his liking before the lady walked away. You bit the tip of the straw and put the cup down.

"She likes you." You told him, causing him to raise his eyebrow, glancing back at the waitress.

"Who? Her? I doubt it." He said that, which made you chuckle a little bit.

"Before she came over here, she unbuttoned the first two buttons on her shirt, applied some makeup, and was twirling her hair whenever you spoke."

You both glanced up when she approached the table with Suguru's coffee. "Enjoy."

She then gave him a smile before walking fast towards her friends to gossip. Suguru picked up his cup to take a sip out of it and sighed. You couldn't help but notice the marking on the side of his cup containing the girl's number.

"It seems like Abby has it out for you." You pointed at the cup. Suguru gave you a lazy smile and leaned back in his chair.

"It seems like someone is jealous."

You turned back behind you and then looked around the cafe before putting your attention on him again. Your acrylic nails point at your chest. "Who are you talking to because I'm not jealous?"

"So you wouldn't care if I asked her out?" He raised his eyebrow at you. You avoided the urge to roll your eyes, and you gave him a nod.

"I don't care at all." You said. You watch him get up from his seat, walking over Abby, who seems like she is about to melt down. You couldn't help but feel a bit lonely as you watched them talk. You didn't want to sulk in your seat or anything, so you went through your notes app on your phone, acting like you were texting someone.

"If my boyfriend went over to the waitress and flirted with her, I would definitely leave him. That poor girl."

You gasped lightly at the table next to you as they spoke, even though they weren't wrong. 'But we're not even dating. We literally just met...' You stood up from the table, placing your amount of cash for your food before exiting the cafe. You glanced up at the sky as you heard thunder from a distance. The sky turned gray over time while you were in the building, hoping it wouldn't storm tonight.

You walked next door to a shop since they were having a sale on shea butter and jewelry. The nice lady gave you some small samples of her products, showing you around the small shop. The basket in your hand was basically full of many items. Unnecessary items, but they were needed. The bell on top of the door rang as someone walked in. You were busy glancing over at music records, grabbing one for Choso and Yuji.

"You left me back there."

You jumped a little as the person behind you spoke. Suguru stood behind you with his hands in his pockets, causing you to roll your eyes. "You left me for white pussy."

You moved away from him, making him suck his teeth. "I know, but I'm not interested in her anymore."

"That hickey on your neck says otherwise, nigga." You said, placing the basket on the counter for the lady to check out. You took the items out of the basket, waiting for your total.

"Your total is $56.25. Would you be paying with cash or a card?"

Before you could speak, Suguru spoke up, saying card before pulling out his wallet. You didn't argue because at least your shit was getting paid and it wasn't coming out of your wallet. The lady smiled and told you both to have a nice day before you walked out of the store. Suguru held your bags, opening the door for you as you passed him.

You both walked to the car in silence. You felt him glance at you every once in a while, hoping you would say something. As you approached the car, you noticed someone leaning against it. It was the guys from the police station earlier. You heard Suguru sigh lowly, glancing at the smiling man.

"Brother, long time no see. How have you been?" The guy spoke, giving Suguru a slap on the back. You noticed the distasteful look on Suguru's face before he pulled a fake smile.

"What do you want, Kenjaku?"

Kenjaku eyes glanced over his brother and smirked, "Nothing. I just wanted to see my little brother, but who is this?"

His eyes moved over to you as you just stood awkwardly behind Suguru. He furrowed his eyebrows and laughed. "I didn't know black girls were your type. I guess it was time to expand your dating horizons."

"It was nice meeting you. Call me if you get tired of him." Kenjaku said this before leaning off the car. He bumped his shoulder into Suguru before whispering in his ear and walking off.

"What the hell was that?" You asked as Geto set the bags in the trunk.

"Honestly, I don't know."

𝐍𝐨𝐰 𝐥𝐨𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠. . .
𝑃𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑤𝑎𝑖𝑡. . .

"But girl, it was so weird. Plus, this random man appeared, calling him brother and shit."

You were currently on FaceTime with your cousin Naomi. In the meantime of talking, you were putting on a sheet face mask. You and Naomi continued to speak during that time as the storm outside got worse. You sat on your bed, pulling on your computer and turning it on.

"Have you watched Masked Girl yet?" Naomi asked. You raised your eyebrow, answering with a no. She started explaining the show a little bit, but not in too many details. As she started dragging out her sentence, your room went completely dark. You cried out loud, grabbing a used battery lamp from your closet that you use for emergencies. You ended up hanging up on Naomi after explaining what happened.

You lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, because your phone died a couple minutes after hanging up and watching videos on Twitter. You felt your eyes getting heavy, but you heard something move from the other side of the room. Your eyes shot open as you heard the noise again, grabbing the taser from underneath your pillow. Your thumb pressed against the button, reaching out to the intruder.

"Don't come into my house thinking I'm not strapped, nigga. I don't play." You said this as the person lay on the ground. You took the lamp off the desk to see who it was and gasped.

"Suguru?!" His body jolted a little, scaring you and causing you to hit him again in reflex. He groaned in pain, rolling onto his side. You apologized before running to your bathroom for a first-aid kit. Suguru sat up in a sitting position slowly, holding onto his chest.

"You just don't break into people's houses, Suguru, especially during a storm." You said, waving a flashlight in his eyes. His hair fell down onto his shoulder, the rain sticking it onto his forehead. He groaned again as he went to move, and you reached out to help him lean against your bed.

"I went to check up on you, but about the time I got here, the power went out." He told you this as he held his stomach. You asked him to hold up his shirt to see if there was any bruising. It was only a few small ones—nothing major for him to be in the hospital. You rubbed ointment against the area.

"I came to apologize about today." He said it suddenly. You glanced up in surprise but acted nonchalant.

"What about?"

"About the cafe and also with my brother. It was rude of me to not handle the situation, plus I put you in an uncomfortable position."

'You can definitely put me in an uncomfortable position...in a different way'

It felt like hours as you both sat on your floor, listening to the rain light up. There were a few words spoken, but the rest was comfortable silence. At one point, you panicked because you thought Suguru had died or passed out on you, but in reality, he was sleeping. Soon after, the lights in your room came back on, causing you to sigh happily. Suguru stood up, almost tipping over as you caught him slightly.

His hand rested on the bottom of your back, while his other hand held on to the arm you were supporting him with. His face was close to yours, and you thank God that you took off your sheet mask before he came.

"You never said anything about my apology, pretty girl." He said it lowly, leaning his head down. His eyes are memorizing everything on your face.

"I'll think about it."

He chuckled. Both of you leaned closer, lips almost pressed, until you heard your door open. There stood Choso and Yuji. Both you and Suguru moved away from each other quickly as your younger brother stood up between Suguru and you.

"Who's this?" Yuji said, moving his eyes up and down at Suguru physique.

"A friend and our neighbor who was about to leave." You said, pushing Suguru towards the window, but Choso stopped you.

"Neighbor huh? How about you join us for dinner tonight? I'm sure mom and dad would love to meet you."

You noticed Choso's playful smirk as he spoke. He just knew how to get in your skin sometimes. As you went out of your way to explain that Suguru doesn't have to join, he stopped you.

"Sure, I'll love to join you for dinner."

'Fucker'