Darling°^°Pie🪼

Every year, it felt like the cold winter crept into the autumn weather. In the blink of an eye, the beautiful, bright orange and yellow leaves on the trees crumbled beneath your every step. The skies grayed before you could bask in the sun in the pleasant breeze of fresh air, and no longer in the dim and stuffy lecture rooms.

You glance at your phone, watching as another minute passes—another minute spent waiting in the cold. You stand awkwardly, your shoulders hunched to keep in your warmth. You wait patiently for the man who's only ever made you wait.

'Meet me at the bus stop at 6!'-1:08 pm

You reread the message for the nth time, hoping you had misread it, especially when the time read 6:27 pm.

'You meant 6 right?'-6:10pm

'Ryu?'- 6:20 pm

Every minute you spend waiting, eyes flicking between the group of friends that walk past you, and glancing down at your phone, your face turns hotter. A warmth that only ever overwhelmed you creeps onto your chest, and your sight turns hazy. The screen on your phone becomes distorted through your tears that pool along your waterline. Your breathing becomes choked, your breath hitching between each sniffle.

The bag on your shoulders feels heavy, and you wish you had stopped by your dorm to drop it off if you had known Ryusui was going to make you wait. But deep down, in the consciousness of your mind that keeps making excuses for him, you knew.

The unexpected sound startles you, causing you to jolt, but a nervous smile creeps on your lips. The special ringtone you saved for Ryusui's number rings in your ears, and you eagerly answer.

"Ryu, where ar—?" Your voice gets cut off by the sound of loud music blaring in the background and Ryusui's obnoxious laughter, which you've come to love. You hear other voices merging in the background, but what matters to you most is his.

"Hey! Hello! Can you hear me?" Ryusui shouts into the line.

"I can hear you," you speak quietly into the mic, awkwardly stepping out of prying ears around you. "Where are you? You said to—"

"I know, I know…" Ryusui sighs into the mic. You can hear the tone of regret in his voice; his words drag as he tries to make up another excuse, which you'll blindly accept, no matter how much it hurts. "It totally slipped my mind that we were meeting up! Just meet me down here, and then we can explore wherever you want!"

"Ryu," you whine to him. "I don't think I want to—"

"Cool, cool, I'll see you down here in a bit," Ryusui says hurriedly, cutting the call off before you can even finish your sentence—before you can even tell him no.

'I’ll do whatever you want, as long as you’re with me.'

'A promise is a promise.'

Glancing down at your ring pensively, you wonder whether Ryusui forgot the meaning of a promise, or maybe you are too naive to hold onto a childish wish.

No matter how often you find yourself in this situation, the nauseating feeling doesn't go away. It builds on itself, and it gets harder to hold back your tears—to stop a single tear from trailing down your face as your body is pushed back and forth like a toy. This sinking feeling of being a passerby in your own life—your voice drowned out by others—builds and builds, and you're afraid to reach a threshold of how much you can take.

You hold onto the silver pole in front of you like a child, hands cupped around the sides, your fingers pressed together to comfort yourself. You keep your gaze down as a group of friends talks among themselves, and all you have is the address Ryusui sent you, staring back at you. It doesn't matter if you're standing by the exit, anxiously waiting for the bus to stop so you can be the first one off. The second the bus stops, you're shoved and pushed around between shoulders until you're the last one off.

You're staring at the backs of the strangers in front of you, watching enviously as they laugh and banter with one another. You walk silently behind them, following the directions on your phone, and by the looks of it, you're all heading to the same place. The sun creeps down behind you, its light dimly illuminating the sidewalk you're walking on. Your shoulders are still hunched together, wallowing in the cold air that rises as the sun hides.

You hold yourself together, your hands nervously fidgeting as you inch closer to the house where Ryusui is. You cringe at the sound of music blaring through the streets, even from the distance you're walking. The group of friends in front of you picks up their pace, walking closer to the party as yours grow heavier. Your mind can't help but wonder if it will just be a repeat of the night before.

Will you be left alone with your own self-deprecating thoughts while Ryusui basks in the attention?

By the time you arrive at the address, dozens of eyes look at you from the entrance. Groups of strangers standing on the balcony with cups of booze, and the sight makes you uneasy. They stare at you like you invaded their space—making you feel like you don't belong. A tall man with snow-like hair squints his eyes at you with a snarl. His friend beside him smiles sleazily at your timid demeanor; he's the first to speak.

"What's a lamb like you doing in a place like this?" His arm wraps around your shoulder, pulling you to his side. "And alone?"

"I'm meeting a friend here…" you whisper. You feel his breath against your skin, and the smell of alcohol invades your nose. He nuzzles his face against the crevice of your shoulder, his nose pressing against the skin on your neck, inhaling your sweet scent. "Do you know Ryusui?"

"Ryusui?" he repeats the name, bitterness in his voice. He pulls away from you, and his arm uncurls from around you. His body towers over you, scowling. "You're Ryusui's friend?" he asks in disbelief. His eyes run up and down your body. He looks into your eyes, but you struggle to hold the contact he's so desperately trying to make. It's a game to him, watching you shake and quiver from just a look.

You nod shyly at him, and he squints at you as if trying to catch your bluff, but there's nothing to hide. The obnoxious smirk on his lips fades, and it's replaced by a frown. He huffs, annoyed, shoving against your shoulder and telling you to wait before disappearing inside the house. You stand nervously, feeling everyone's eyes on you, especially the tall man with long brunette hair. His eyes are locked on you, and he doesn't say anything when you give him a shy smile and a small, nervous wave. He scoffs at you before turning his attention back to his phone. Moments later, you see the overly friendly stranger from earlier come out, with Ryusui right behind him.

Whenever you find yourself caught in these awkward situations, surrounded by strangers, your heart racing and your mind running wild, the sight of Ryusui and the touch of his hand embracing yours are enough to calm you. But as the stranger moves out of the way, taking his seat again, and you stand face-to-face with Ryusui, the nerve-racking feeling doesn't go away.

You look up at him, bright-eyed, hopeful, and naive, while he stares down at you with drunken eyes—the smell of alcohol on his breath nauseating, but you ignore it. You ignore the ill feeling in your stomach. He reaches for your hand and, without another word, pulls you in. His hand suffocates you, clasped harshly around yours as he drags you deeper into the waves of people inside. Your heart quickens, and your desperate pleas of 'wait' and chants of his name are drowned out by the sea of music. You're tripping over your own feet, trying to catch up to his pace.

"Ryusui!" you cry out, and the fear in your voice reminds you of a haunting memory from when you were kids.

His hand pulls at your smaller one as he drags you further away from the sands of the beach and into the waves of the ocean. Fixated on his own enjoyment, Ryusui couldn't hear your worries over his own laughter. Fascinated by the strong ocean currents, he missed the way you struggled to keep your head above the water until it was too late. The large wave of the water came curling towards you both, and blinded by his greed to conquer whatever is thrown at him, he forgot to account for your weakness.

Everything around you blurs into streaks of color as you're dragged into the current of people. You feel eyes on you as you're forced against the harsh waves, yet every face that turns to look at you is blurred. Ryusui keeps dragging you deeper into the sea of people, never once looking back at you, but you're used to it. You're used to the sight of his back, often holding his hand as you follow behind. He pulls you deeper and deeper, and your pleas get louder and louder. Your feet stumble behind his long strides, and before you know it, your face smashes against his back.

"Ryusui, hurry up!" a voice shouts impatiently. The hand that held you lets go, and you comfort yourself. You rub your nose to soothe the pain, and Ryusui doesn't look back at you, focused only on the red solo cups lined up.

"Ryusui," you call out to him, only for your voice to be drowned out by cheers as he manages to get his shot into one of the cups. He raises his fists in the air, letting out his own cheer; the gold chain holding his matching ring bounces against his bare chest, tangling with the other chains. Taking the red solo cup as his victory, he chugs the drink, letting it spill from his lips and onto his chest.

Ryusui crushes the cup in his palm, throwing it back to the crowd behind him, and only then does he look back at you. He locks eyes with you, and you can see an idea forming in his mind, one you know you're not going to like. He snaps his fingers loudly, followed by his drunken laughter. His hand clasps around your shoulder, tugging you toward the table, pushing you front and center around the crowd. He places the ping-pong ball in your quivering hands. "Take the next shot for me."

"Ryu, I don't want to…" Your voice is meek, glancing up at Ryusui, but it's as if he hadn't heard you at all. He doesn't budge as you try to move back, his chest keeping you in place. His arm holds onto your waist, while the other holds your hand, helping you aim, but it does nothing. The moment he whispers in your ear to shoot, the ball falls straight down from your hand. It bounces in place, and everyone around you boos in response.

You want nothing more than to curl up and hide. Those blurred faces from earlier begin to manifest features, and you can see them snickering and pointing at you. Still pressed behind you, you can hear the disappointment in his voice. "There goes my streak…"

"Ryu, you said we were going to hang out, not party."

"Oh, come on! You're already here. Why leave?" Ryusui coos in your ear, and the smell of alcohol on his breath makes you scrunch your face in disgust. He wraps his arms around your waist, burrowing his face into your neck, a gesture he's always used when he wants something from you. You whine his name, pulling your face away from his as you try to wriggle free from his grip. "Let me just finish this game, and then we can leave! Promise!"

"Promise?" you whisper to him, searching his eyes for honesty. But what stares back at you is the heartbreaking truth—something you knew would inevitably come true. It was only a matter of time. There's a glint in his eye, something that craved whatever was around him, and what you continuously avoided—attention. The truth that you and Ryusui were walking along different paths became painfully clear. He thrived in environments in which you hide. But even so, you wanted to hold onto him, so you took the empty promise from him.

"Ok, I'll wait."

If it means having him in pieces and not his entirety, you'll have him in any way you can; you'd stare at his back all day.

Squished between strangers on a dingy, worn-out couch, you wait for Ryusui. Your tense shoulders rub against those beside you, rocking with each movement. They lean over you, shouting to each other, not caring that you wince with every shout or that your body tenses as they pass blunts to each other. They laugh every time you scrunch your face at the smell of weed being puffed into your face, making you cough.

You sat between them, putting up with their behavior because in a matter of minutes, Ryusui would be back for you. He'd finish his beer pong game and whisk you away from the party, and you'd enjoy a bit of your old Ryusui, even if only for a moment.

You spent the time waiting for him, scrolling on your phone, trying your best to ignore the loud music and those around you. When Ryusui eventually appeared—pushing through the crowd and standing before you—you excitedly jumped from your seat, eager to hold his hand, happy that he kept his promise, only for your smile to waver.

"One more round!" he pleaded, his words slurring. His hands wrapped around your waist, squeezing you against his chest. You could smell the stench of alcohol on his breath and the drowsy look in his half-open eyes as he swayed you. "Please…"

Before you even have a chance to give your own opinion or speak up for yourself, those around you begin to speak for you.

"Oh cmon! Let the man play!" The voice beside you scolds you, staring you down with judgmental eyes. "Don't be so controlling."

"…ok," you said, defeated. Ryusui's arms loosen around you, whispering a drunken 'thank you' as his lips brush your cheek before running off without hesitation. You sit curled up on that dingy couch, waiting for him once more…one more…one more, until you spend the rest of the night waiting for him. It had become a pattern. Seeing Ryusui push through the crowd to stop at your feet and ask the same question once more, and for you to reply the same as before.

"One more round?"

"…ok."

You don't bother getting up from your seat on the couch anymore, nor do you bother forcing a smile on your face. Feeling Ryusui's presence as he walks toward you again, you don't look up from your phone, only quietly replying 'ok' to his question.

By the tenth time that night, Ryusui stopped asking, and you no longer cared. You had fallen asleep against the shoulder of the stranger beside you, and as the night continued, you were the only one left on the beat-up couch.

You're stirred awake, eyes half-lidded, staring tiredly at your phone in your hand—2:39 AM.

"Don't." Your voice trembles as you feel Ryusui slip behind you. His arms wrap around your waist, while he begs for your forgiveness.

"I'm sorry," he whispers into your ear, the smell of beer on his lips stronger than it was before. "I'll make it up to you, I promise." His fingers creep up from your waist, searching for your hand. He holds your hand in his, wrapping his fingers around yours, feeling the cool metal of your ring beneath his touch—it comforts him.

His touch, once comforting, now feels nauseating. His hand holding yours feels like a bird in a cage. He toys with the ring on your finger, and you feel his ring dangling from the chain on his chest, pressing against your back. The cool touch of his ring makes your body shake with every sob that escapes you.

"I don't believe you…" Your voice shakes as you squeeze his hand in yours, letting the tears roll freely down your face, no longer holding them back. "You kept me waiting, you lied to me, Ryu."

"I didn't mean to." Ryusui tries to defend himself, squeezing your hand tighter, trying to comfort you, but it only makes it worse. "I promise I'll make it up to you. We can go anywhere you want. We can do—"

"Stop it," you shout at him. You lurch from your seat, pulling away from him, but you don't get too far; his hand on your wrist stops you from leaving him entirely. "Let go!"

"I'll make it up to you, I promise!" Ryusui repeats again, ignoring your own pleas, tears welling up in his eyes, as he stops you from leaving him. He holds up the chain around his neck, bringing his ring to your face, and you cry harder. You try to pull away from him, but he doesn't let you. "Why are you trying to break our promise? Why are you trying to leave me?"

"Don't try to twist this on me!" you cry back at him. You push against his chest, trying to free yourself from his hands, but you're nothing against him. "You're constantly leaving me by myself, Ryusui! You drag me to whatever you want to do! I never wanted to be here!"

"Nobody is forcing you to be here! You could've just left." Ryusui argues angrily back at you. The hold he has on you falters. The hand he has on your wrist weakens, and you fall to the ground. "If you don't want to be by my side anymore, just say so."

"Stop twisting my words!" you shout at him. You look up at him with tear-filled eyes, and his image blurs behind your tears. "I just wanted it to be us today, not stuck between strangers!"

"You don't have to be with me for everything. I didn't force you to come here. I didn't force you to wait for me," Ryusui shouts angrily. He grabs the chain from his neck and unclasps it. Holding the matching ring, he throws it at your feet. "If you don't want to be at each other's sides anymore, say so! Don't try to paint me as the bad guy!"

"But you are! You keep making promises and not keeping them!" You pick up his ring from the ground and throw it back at him, hitting him in his chest. "It's always what you want to do! Never what I want! I'm tired of it!"

"If we only ever do what you want to do, we would be nowhere!" Ryusui kicks the ring away from him, and it rolls somewhere across the room. He doesn't stop arguing with you, even as you cry harder. "You're too scared to do anything on your own! I have to hold your hand for everything!"

"That's not true!"

"It is, and you know it!" His hands run through his hair as he paces in circles, leaving you to cry alone. "Everybody was right. You do hold me back!"

Slap

The sound of your hand colliding with his face echoes loudly. You cry out as your hand quickly turns red with pain, the sting burning in your palm. Neither of you says another word. You both wallow in the silence of your tears and in Ryusui's heavy pants. Ryusui, quickly sobering, realizes his mistake.

"Wait!" Ryusui begs, his own tears welling in his eyes. His hand inches forward, ready to grab your wrist and stop you from leaving, but instead, he's shoved against the wall. The tall, broad brunette from earlier stands between you and Ryusui, holding his hand against Ryusui's chest to keep Ryusui from interfering as you run.

"Tsukasa, move!" Ryusui shouts at him, pushing his body against the hand that's letting you leave. Tsukasa ignores Ryusui's angry shouts, waiting until you've left the frat house before letting Ryusui go. Even then, he doesn't let him run out of the house after you.

The moment you step outside, the cold air hits you hard, yet you run. Your teeth chatter, and the tears rolling down your face feel like they're freezing in the cold night air, but they don't stop you from sobbing—your mind keeps replaying Ryusui's harsh words like a broken record.

You run down the streets you had walked earlier, and like a scene from a movie, the bench is dimly lit by a flickering bulb overhead, and it's an eerie sight. With nowhere to go, you sit under the light. Your body shakes from your sobs and from the freezing air on your skin. You look down at the ring still on your finger, the cruel metal reflecting the overhead light and blinding you. With your head hanging down, you cry to yourself while waiting for the bus in the middle of the night.

"You're not even going to look up?" a voice says suddenly, startling you. Your neck snaps up, and you're face-to-face with someone you keep bumping into—Senku.

"You're lucky I'm not a serial killer," he jokes, taking a seat beside you. You laugh lightly, hurriedly wiping your tears from your face. You both sit in silence for a moment, with nothing but the breeze and the occasional siren and honking accompanying your sniffles.

"It's funny. " Not knowing how to comfort someone who's crying, Senku sticks to light jokes. "There's a 50% chance that when I see you, you're crying."

"Maybe it's because the sight of you brings me tears." You joke, offering him a pitiful smile in return.

"I'm that good-looking?" Senku responds snarkily with a smirk tugging at his lips. You burst into laughter, covering your mouth with the back of your hand while you shake your head.

"If that's what you want to believe," you banter back. You peer out of the corner of your eyes and catch Senku staring at you. "What are you doing out here at this time?"

"I should be asking you that, especially since I could've easily kidnapped you."

"I don't think you have the strength to kidnap a cat."

"You have a point." Senku begrudgingly agrees, his smirk not faltering as he stares back at you. "But that doesn't mean somebody else couldn't." You stay silent, looking away from him, and you go back to staring down at the ring on your finger.

"It's that friend of yours, isn't it?" he asks, not glancing at you but staring at the night sky. "The one who seems to never be around?"

"I don't think…we're friends anymore." Your voice quivers, the uncertainty growing as you start to absorb the aftermath of your situation. Senku hums at your response, foot tapping anxiously against the concrete. He stands up from the bench, and only then do you realize the warmth of his presence brought you. He doesn't look at you as he stands in front of you, eyes glancing around nervously, but you're not sure why.

"The gas station nearby was having a good deal on energy drinks—too good to pass up," Senku says indifferently to you. The market bag in his hand rustles in the air loudly. "Especially since I go through them quickly."

"You know those aren't good for your heart."

"A lot of things aren't, but that doesn't stop us from going for seconds." Senku's words resonate with you deeply, whether he knew it or not.

"You sound like a wise old man with your random words of wisdom."

"You could've just said that I'm wise, no need to indirectly call me an old man." Senku pouts playfully, earning your giggling laughter as a reward. "Cmon, let's go. I'll walk you home."

"Oh, I'm waiting for the bus," you say innocently, earning a puzzled look from Senku.

"You do know the buses don't run this late into the night?"

"…oh." Your voice comes out meek and embarrassed, and your cheeks flush with a warmth as your lips quiver in a dopey smile. You look up at Senku, who waits for you, hands in his pockets, and a dopey smile matching yours.

"Let's go," he nudges you with his shoulder, waiting for you to rise from the bench.

"You're not going to charge me, are you?" you ask skeptically, teasing with every word. Senku laughs and hums to himself as if debating whether to.

"I don't charge those who've been crying," Senku says, walking beside you and leading the way back to your dorm. "It's bad karma, and my luck is shitty already."

You walk behind Senku as he leads the way, and you stare at his back with every step. You fidget with the ring on your finger. Something so light and small suddenly feels heavy, and you wonder what's going to happen next.

Will you and Ryusui forget this night ever happened and go back to being friends? Is this the beginning of the end?

You don't dwell on your thoughts for long when Senku's voice snaps you back to reality, pulling you from your muddy thoughts. He turns around, looking at you as if you have two heads, then waves you to his side. "There's enough room for both of us on this sidewalk. You don't have to walk behind me."

You pick up your pace, brushing shoulders with Senku as you do. You look up at him, and Senku shyly looks down at you, a faint blush dusting his cheeks—whether from the cold or from you remains a mystery to him.

"You shouldn't stare at me for too long." Senku teases.

"Why?" you ask bashfully.

"You might burst into tears again," Senku jokes, waiting for your laughter to follow, but you look at him in a way that makes his heart skip a beat. He snaps his gaze away from you, awkwardly staring ahead as he listens to your voice.

"Thank you, Senku," you whisper to him quietly, trying your best to ignore the rush of blood creeping to your face. "Thank you for somehow always being there."

"I'm just trying to level up on good karma." Senku tries to brush off the blush your warm words have brought on, but you laugh at him, deepening the warmth washing over him. Bumping your shoulder against his, you catch his attention again, and he hears your quiet whisper of 'thank you' once more.

Maybe this was the start of a new path…a new friendship…a new you…

A/n: Did it hurt??? PLEASE TELL ME IT HURT!!! I WANT TEARS!! Tell me your thoughts!

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