i met the angels and they told me this;

bonus? inspired by the deadeye edits by mavuyu on TikTok!! also there's this alt version,

I was wondering what they'd look like if I pushed their expressions a bit more so here we are 🫡

“Okay stay in this lane here—”

“Are you sure this is the right way?”

“Yes, I’m sure! Stop questioning my authority, Akito. My car, my rules!”

“Your car and yet you don’t even have a driver’s license…”

An huffed as she exasperatedly folded up the map, patting it down into her lap as Akito’s eyes stayed trained on the road ahead of them. For miles now they’d passed nothing but fields upon fields with the occasional herd of grazing animals. Their careers as musicians hadn’t quite taken off yet so An understood that they had to make sacrifices for the sake of their funds but that didn’t make driving themselves between cities for gigs any more tolerable.

“Whatever, it’s a hand-me-down car anyway,” An grumbled, running her finger along the scratches in the upholstery that surely had been left behind by her dad or any of his bandmates back in the day. She then wrinkled her nose, an apprehensive furrow to her brow. “Actually, this girl’s old as hell, I’m surprised we’ve gotten so far without her breaking down—”

At that moment the car sputtered beneath them, its shudder rattling An’s bones. She and Akito shared a glance, panic in their eyes.

Frantically An tore open the map again, scanning over it with desperation. “No, no, no, there’s still gotta be a billion miles until we get there—”

“Deep breath, An—”

“We can’t get stuck here, Akito, the show is only a few days away—”

“An.” An would always marvel at how Akito could convey such certainty in his voice as if he wasn’t just as hysterical as she was. “We’ll just get off at the next exit and see what we can do.”

An stuffed the map into the glove compartment, wrapping her arms around herself as she shrank back into her seat. She stared out the window at the rolling fields reaching for the horizon.

They rolled into what appeared to be a small town perched at the end of the nearest exit, settled comfortably between rows of crops and acres of farmland. They drove until they stammered to a halt, coasting along the perimeter of a farmhouse until they finally came to a complete stop, ashy clouds of smoke just beginning to billow around the edges of their hood.

Akito promptly unbuckled his seatbelt and dashed out of the car, popping the hood open to peer at the mess that lay within. An listened as he choked against the smoke, spouting curse words in between coughs.

After giving herself a moment to collect herself with her forehead against the dashboard, An opened her door and joined Akito in front of the engine. “Any ideas?”

Akito shook his head, running a hand through his unruly ginger hair. “Nothing that I can fix, that’s for sure.”

Startled by the sound of a door shutting, the duo looked up to find two people exiting the farmhouse that sat nearby. The first was a tall man with two-toned blue hair and a steely gray gaze, wiping his hands with a dishtowel. Following close behind was a woman with the softest brown eyes that An had ever seen, her sunny blonde hair pulled into short little pigtails and one hand planted atop her sunhat to keep the breeze from whisking it away.

An caught her heart skipping a beat and she turned her back to Akito, knowing he would never let her hear the end of his teasing if he noticed the rosy pink tint spreading across her face at the sight of the woman. From the dirt-caked toes of her boots to the flowing frills of her dress to the ribbons tied in her hair, she was a rural angel and An was utterly captivated.

The blue-haired man draped the dishtowel over his shoulder as they approached, his cool eyes jumping from Akito to An to their engine and back again. “Um… need some help?”

Akito slouched under the boy’s gaze, the weight of his embarrassment quickly becoming far too heavy for him to carry. “Not sure what’s up with it,” he grumbled, “but we got a gig in the city in just a few days and gotta get there as soon as possible, so… any help would be greatly appreciated.”

The man tilted his head, curiosity sparkling in the gray of his eyes as he watched Akito’s mannerisms. He tapped a finger thoughtfully against his chin as he considered the state of the engine. “I”m not so good with mechanics,” he said before turning to the woman behind him. “How about you, Kohane?”

With all eyes suddenly on her, the pigtailed woman let out a squeak that reminded An of a startled hamster. “Um… no, neither am I,” she stuttered and An’s heart did a somersault.

The man acknowledged Akito and An once more as he seemed to come to a conclusion. “There are some people in town who are though, how about I take you to meet them?”

The immediate change in Akito’s demeanor as the relief washed over him was palpable. “That would be great, thanks.” He turned to An, dropping the car keys into her hand. “Hey, we’ve had a stressful drive. I’ll go with him so why don’t you stay here and relax till we get back?”

After all that had just unfolded, the notion of simply taking a breather was rather tempting as An gazed out across the vast fields and farmland. She voiced her agreement to Akito and didn’t complain when he ruffled the starry navy waves of her hair before stepping away with the blue-haired man.

But the subtle rustling of timid toe-tapping and awkward fidgeting brought An’s attention back to the cute girl she’d been left with and all of her energy came rushing back. She nearly pounced on her, excitement and curiosity coursing through her veins. “Your name’s Kohane, was it?”

Startled, the woman took a miniscule step backward, her eyes going wide before quickly recomposing herself. “Oh… yeah! Um, what was your name?”

“I’m An! Oh, and my friend over there is Akito!” An could hardly keep the eagerness out of her voice. There was something about this girl that piqued her interest and she hoped the warmth in her demeanor might crack open that shell. “We’re musicians, we’re supposed to be performing in the city in a few days so that’s where we’re heading.”

“Oh, cool!” Though she continued to fidget with the fabric of her dress, Kohane’s eyes lit up in fascination. “I’ve never been to the city before… Toya and I—oh, um, Toya’s his name—we work on the farm here in town. Toya’s good with the crops and I help out with the livestock.” Then her gaze wandered off bashfully, though that shine in it didn’t fade. “Um… if it turns out your car needs a few days to be fixed then I guess you’ll have to stay here for a bit… so… would you like me to show you around…?”

Her excitement bubbling, An nodded earnestly. “Please!”

“Okay! Um, follow me then!”

And as Kohane began to guide her down the road, An slipped her arm through the crook of Kohane’s elbow, the touch sending electricity zipping through her veins and fireworks launching in her heart. She listened intently to the rhythm of Kohane’s voice, entranced by its soft and gentle melody. She was enamored by the dimples on Kohane’s cheeks when she giggled at An’s comments and the sparkles in her eyes that almost hid beneath the brim of her sunhat. She basked in the light of the setting sun and marveled at how Kohane seemed to glow beneath it.