𝗢𝗢𝗚𝗢𝗘 𝗗𝗜𝗔𝗠𝗢𝗡𝗗────── k. aren x original character

𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐠𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐬

apparently, kotoe worried herself over nothing as kuboyasu wasn't the only one coming over.

she wants to scold kusuo for not telling her that his groupmates—nendou-kun and kaidou-kun—and not that she was upset or anything. it would just be a lot nicer if he had told her beforehand.

"i didn't want you to be lonely," kusuo sent a telepathic message to, kotoe knew, only her as the group of five were turning on a street towards the saiki household. even without reading her mind, it was as if he was reading her mind.

kotoe chose to not answer. after all, she couldn't send him a telepathic message and she couldn't speak without drawing attention.

she was staring at the ground as she walked, behind three rowdy boys and her twin brother, her heart scorning at the fact that she felt a little lonely.

it's not that she thought nendou and kaidou were bad people, it's just that she found difficulty over joining the conversation.

d-dark reunion? what on earth was that? and why was nendou constantly asking for ramen?

just as she was about to let out her nth sigh for the day, she recognized a lingering

"eh?" kotoe stopped in her steps, taken aback. "kuboyasu-kun."

"was wondering when you would notice me here," the purple haired boy mused, rubbing the back of his neck with a hint of hesitance.

kotoe gasped softly. "you've been walking next to me?"

"for the past five minutes, more or less." kuboyasu grinned and placed both hands inside of his pockets. "you seem to have a lot on your mind?"

her cheeks turned red. caught red-handed.

she glanced up to kusuo and the rest, who were already a few, good metres ahead of them before turning to kuboyasu. when she resumed her steps, he followed her.

"it's nothing," she waved one hand. "it's just—"

kotoe paused.

"it's just?" kuboyasu tried continuing her words for her.

she didn't want to tell him her troubles—other than being embarrassing, it wasn't like kuboyasu and kotoe were good friends. what if he would see her as clingy and whiny? would he be annoyed by her?

"erm. . ." kotoe rubbed her arm together, suddenly feeling very self-conscious. "i don't know; kusuo doesn't bring friends over a lot so it's a little weird, you know?"

"ahh," kuboyasu pulled his glueing gaze away to look at her brother ahead of them. "even nendou and kaidou? they seem to be good friends."

"you fit in perfectly, kuboyasu-kun," kotoe quickly changed the subjects. something flickered in kuboyasu's eyes, telling her that he found something odd, but she was grateful that he didn't bring the sudden change of topics.

he let out a low whistle. "do i?" he chuckled softly.

he's a little enigma, kotoe decided that day. how could someone look so rough and brittle on the outside yet act so tender?

catching herself thinking about him too much, kotoe shook her head. "uhm, yeah!"

"what makes you say so?"

the tone of his voice suddenly shifted, as if he was about teasing. when kotoe looked up, he could see one edge of his mouth tugged into a silent smirk. like he was challenging her. kotoe gulped.

"it's just—" kotoe felt small, holding on to the straps of her bag tight. "—you know?"

kuboyasu laughed, "but. . . i don't?"

she groabed slightly, nudging him his side. "you're doing that on purpose!" she whined, lips forming a pout.

"oh?" curiously, he raised an eyebrow. he bent his back, just slightly, to take a closer look at kotoe before returning. "doing what?"

kotoe paused, neck crooked to the side, still feeling kuboyasu's close face. her face was burning red, warm like the orange sky that kept their walk home company.

"mhm!" she said after awhile, "nevermind that—but you really have to stop that!"

without missing a hint, he replied, "so which one is it?"

kotoe sighed, the toes inside of her shoes curling. "you know what i'm talking about!"