❆雪; ｈｏａｒｆｒｏｓｔ ░░

(♥) Once entering her apartment, the shrill of her phone ringing reverberate the closed-in walls of her minuscule residence. “Riruka, I hope you have a good reason why you didn’t pick up my calls after school today.” A low, yet familiar voice prompts her response, “don’t be such a mom, Jackie. You know I study in the cafe, sometimes.” She outlines the day verbally to her friend, detailing from the food she had during lunch until the end of the night with the declaration of her new tutor. On the other line, Jackie sighs, the sound of worry mixed with discontent fills her voice, “just be careful. He might have an ulterior motive you don’t know about. If he knows who you are…. I just - don’t want you to have anymore problems. We’ll get you out of there soon, just lay low.” 

(♥) The following morning, Riruka felt ambitious - suddenly her presence at Uni would be meaningful to somebody. After two years of being a full-time student, she managed to iron her outfit for the day in hopes to look presentable, ensuring that subconsciously the university’s golden boy would not regret their pact. Gently straightening out her outfit - she took one last glimpse in the mirror before dashing out. Thoughts about last night’s events popped into her mind with an echoing reminder of how next week’s history test would determine if she would fail the course. Instinctively, she rolled her eyes - both agitated at her of lack of motivation and the smartypants valid claims on her grades. 

(♥) For some reason, Jackie’s concerns revisited her conscience but Riruka lived selfishly which meant she let herself experience life in her own regards and desires. For the first time, there was somebody that sincerely liked her - there was no way she was going to throw that away because of somebody else’s suspicions. 

(♥) From the distance, the reflective color of white catches her attention. Immediately suppressing the conflicts in her mind, she hangs back - maintaining the gap between them debating on her next move. Shortly after, she runs after him, “Toshiro! I swear I almost tripped trying to catch up to you! How was your morning?” 

   "Oh, Riruka, sorry I didn’t see you.”. He exhales and lifts his coffee cup in a greeting to the girl before falling into step next to her. He’d gotten here far too early, unsure of what to expect and after failing to find her anywhere he decided to swing by the cafe and fully wake up before circling back around. “It’s been alright, you didn’t wait long?” It would be unfortunate if she waited a long time simply because he couldn’t function for an hour without caffeine. 

   It’s nerve-wracking for him simply being in her presence now, where it had seemed infinitely easier while they’d both buried their noses in schoolwork the night before. This was an entirely different dynamic and he wasn’t at all sure how to function in such a situation. Toshiro’s free hand drops down to tap the top of his school bag and after offering a thin smirk he nods in her direction. “Did you remember to finish all of your assignments? I’m going to head over and turn mine in soon if you want to come.” 

    Now he turns his attention back to her with a nod. “Right.” Reaching for the paper and hastily stuffing it into the pocket of his jeans he nods again, swinging his schoolbag over his shoulder now once more. “Sounds good, I’ll meet up with you tomorrow and brainstorm some suitable locations for studying.” With his free hand he rubs at his chin in consideration before offering a shrug. “I’ll let you know tomorrow when I see you.”

   “Four roommates? That sounds. . . terrible.” The male visibly shudders at the very thought of being stuck with so many people at home -- school was one thing, but he regarded his apartment as a sanctuary, a place where nobody would bother him. “He must be really smart if he left Japan for college, even I didn’t feel like transferring out of the country was a good move. Hm, I don’t see why not. I don’t do well around people, though.” A flush touches his pale cheeks as her tone takes a sudden shift and quickly he gazes down at his school bag, blinking repeatedly and praying that the hair falling in his face is enough to shield him from her piercing gaze.

   Now he laughs, raising one hand and running it through his snow white hair before turning to size up her latest inquiry. “Are you doing that poorly that you need a tutor? I will help if I can.” Friends? What a foreign concept to him, friendship is something he’s aware of only because of others flaunting it in his face for the last 18 years, he’s known nothing but books and brightly lit exam rooms. “Would you ask another one of your friends to tutor you?”

   "I'm not worried about what people think." A roll of the shoulders follows his statement, turquoise eyes flickering over her pointed features. “You realize we’ve been sitting in this cafe together since class ended, anyway -- right?” As if a few more people saying negative things about him would deter him from his endeavors, he wasn’t that soft. Sometimes being a prodigy wasn’t seen as a boon, but a curse and his case was no exception. It was true that he could more than likely outsmart any of his classmates and yet that only brought further alienation to him.

   “I don’t.” Now his face softens, watching her carefully for a moment. “Nobody has anything good to say about me either, aside from the professors.” It wasn’t always easy being short for your age and considered a genius, that only gave the other kids more ammunition to fire into an already socially backward student. He can understand her hesitation, or perhaps shes simply trying to spare his feelings by lying. It wouldn't be the first time someone had been embarrassed to be seen with him in public.

@fokeifu

   “You’re right. While I may be some sort of a genius -- I’m human at the end of the day too, you know.” He exhales heavily, awkward enough in accepting praise for his intellect and now he tilts his head downward to focus once more on something other than her bright eyes. Scrawling a few words before peeking up at her underneath snow white bangs he shakes his head. “They appreciate a student that works hard, not just my IQ.”

   The silence now is almost comfortable as they both delve deep into the heavy workload piled upon them by various classes, he blinks once and watches her devolve into a scatterbrained frenzy at the notice of dusk’s appearance, sliding his chair back and rising to stand next to her he waves one hand in her face. “Wait a minute, I’ll accompany you.” Always the most honest of intentions, Toshiro tidies up the scattered mess of empty coffee cups and soiled plates and takes them over to a nearby trashcan before returning to clean up his belongings -- much more neatly than Riruka did.