•Riko's POV•
I woke up and immediately heard the rain pouring down my window by the bed. I loved the sound, knowing I was dry and under roof, warm. I stretched my legs and arms out, letting out a weird noise. 
I heard Ryota and my parents argue like always before he slammed open the door to my room, and then used his force and slammed the door shut while he cursed under his breath. 
"What's going on?" I tiredly asked and he just sighed and sat down on the edge of my bed. 
I waited patiently and he eventually sighed,
"Mom,"
And with only that I knew. You see, our well-educated mother hated how Ryota was focusing more on the band and not the school. She kept telling him, he would not get a job with his lack of motivation and he would fall into depression and so on if he didn't pull himself together. Ryota had tried to tell her how far they already had gotten, but it wasn't enough to convince our mom's opinion.
This was one of the reasons I didn't tell her that I loved playing the guitar and I wanted to form my own band one day. She would probably pass out if I said anything.

Ryota took a deep breath before he sent me a grin.
"Go and wash up and let's go," 
I gave him a grin back before getting out of bed and went over to the door and I could hear him yell at me,
"Hurry up!
Ryota and I were going downtown to buy Ryota new strings for his bass guitar. I wanted to tag along with him because of the incident earlier and I wanted some donuts. Donuts were my guilty pleasure for sure. 
I washed up and did my morning routine and it only took me about a half an hour.

New record!

I put the headphones around my neck and plugged it into my phone.
Ryota had gone outside and was waiting for me impatiently by the porch. I ran downstairs and quickly got to his side. I linked my arms with him as usual and made our way.
The walk didn't take long and Ryota and I kept on blabbering about everything. One of our topics was about how they were going to make Tomoya get some solo parts where he would go nuts on the drums. I thought it would be a great idea so Tomoya can get the chance to show the public how extremely talented he actually was.

We arrived the music shop and went straight to the guitar section. Ryota eagerly looked through all the accessories but didn't find the particular strings that he needed.
He then told me to go to the cashier and ask and I gave him a thumbs up and went over.
When I caught my eyes on the guy I couldn't recognize him. He wasn't the owner who usually was working whenever we were here.
On the other hand, this guy was much younger and he had his phone on his face, typing eagerly.
I could have stolen a drum set and he wouldn't have noticed. 
I cleared my throat to get his attention, but it was like I didn't exist. I folded my hands, slightly annoyed and tried again, but once again no reaction.
He then snickered at his phone and started type something again. 
I felt like rolling my eyes but instead, I called out.
"Excuse me," 
Which made him snap back into the reality and he looked up from his phone before laughing awkwardly.
I must say, he was good looking. I loved his style too. 
Not breaking the cold attitude, I sarcastically smiled and asked if he got the strings that Ryota needed and he told me to wait and he'll go and check in the back room.
After waiting for about 5 minutes he came back with some packages.
"Luckily, we got the last of them," he smiled, handing them to me.
I bowed politely and thanked him, still a little annoyed with his lack of focusing on his work.
Which made me think of something.
When I was about to walk back to Ryota, I turned around and looked at him with wonder.
He seemed to understand my puzzled look and without letting me ask he said with a grin on his face,
"I started yesterday. The owner has a free day,"
I nodded.
"Riko-san. Did they have them?" 
The guy looked at me as if he was trying to figure out something when his face suddenly lit up and he said loudly,
"Aah! You guys must be Aoi-san's friends!"
We both looked at him with raised eyebrows.
"How did you know?" I asked, surprised at him blurting out on us so suddenly.
He then laughed and said,
"I'm her big brother,"

We both looked at him while 'oh'ed in realization. He kept his grin and I must honestly admit that he and Aoi looked quite alike. The only thing that came to my mind of them being different was how outgoing personality her brother seemed to have while Aoi was quieter for sure. Still, when you make her open up a bit, she seemed a little more relaxed and herself. 
I hope Taka won't ruin that with her. I will kill him if he did.

Ryota paid for the strings and we both told our goodbyes.

"When he said they were siblings, I saw the resemblance," Ryota started, scratching his goatee looking beard. 
"Their personality, on the other hand, is a whole other story,"
I nodded, agreeing with him 100%. He seemed to get my thought. We got to the donut store and I got my precious donuts and we then walked around and shopped so Ryota didn't have to face mom just yet.
"You got chocolate all over your face. Here."
Ryota gave me some napkins and I attempted to wipe the chocolate off which had missed my mouth. 
We both were full of eating tons of donuts and even got some cake left.
"You eat the last piece,"
Ryota groaned and replied,
"Do you want me to throw up?"
Just the word throw up made me even more nauseated. We ended with leaving the shop so we didn't have to smell the before delicious now awful smell of donuts, cake, and coffee.
"We should have invited Taka over for some cake," Ryota said, still tried to avoid throwing up
I looked at him, frowning.
"Why him? Tomoya loves sweets more than him,"
Ryota let out a sigh before he answered worried,
"That bastard hasn't been eating well lately,"
He continued by saying,
"He's been putting too much effort into the band and the stress he put himself on... he's not handling it well, I guess." 
When he mentioned it, Taka seemed to be more tired than usual.
"Did you tell him about it or?"
Ryota shook his head, looking guilty.
"I don't want to disturb him when he works. You know how he can suddenly snap and ."
I told him I understood, but I began thinking about it. It was not often when I worried about that idiot, but he can't continue like that. 
Ryota got a call from Toru, telling him they were going to practice their new song. He quickly apologized and told me to go home. I waved him goodbye and instead of going back home I decided to go to the music shop and find myself a pair of new earphones. 
When I stepped through the door the doorbell made its sound and I got greeted by Aoi's brother. 
He's paying attention to the shop now.

He recognized me and shot me a smile. I smiled back and he walked out from the checkout and went over to me.

"Need some help?" he asked cheerfully and I politely declined.
"Alright," 
I looked up and he shot me a wink before walking back to the checkout. He pulled up his phone again and I tsk'ed.
He's outgoing and confident... Wonder why Aoi's not.

It kept crossing my mind and I was tempted to go and ask, but I guess that was not appropriate. 
I eventually caught my eyes on the earphones and grabbed them. I placed them on the bench.
"New earphones?" he asked, and I chuckled and said yes.
He chuckled, knowing it was obvious. It was quiet for a second before he asked,
"How's Aoi at school?" he seemed to be genuinely curious about it and shot him a grin before answering happily,

"Good. I practically jumped on her on the first day," I laughed awkwardly.
"I'm glad," he said smiling before breathing out in relief. 
Oh, shoot.
"You two are similar but your personality is like black and white. Totally different," I hinted and he laughed and agreed.

"She's hesitant but much smarter." he chuckled before he shook his head.
"When you get to take her out from her shell she's funny and outgoing, trust me,"

I smiled and quickly gave him a nod. 
"There is no one who's messing with her, right?" he asked, rather serious about it.
I shook my head and said unsure,

"Not that I know of. Taka can be a pain in the sometimes, but he doesn't mean it like that."
His smile faded and asked,
"Who's Taka?" 
My eyes widened and started to panic a bit.

"Ah! Not like that! He's a sometimes but usually really nice. Nothing to worry about," I tried to not let him think otherwise and he relaxed a little and told me he understood. His serious expression changed to more lurking one before he asked slyly,

"Do you perhaps like him?" 
"NO." 
His mouth closed and he apologized quietly before he chuckled at my fast response.
I paid for the earphones, quickly bowed and said bye. 
Without letting him say anything more, I walked out the door. I turned around and saw him staring at me before giving me a smile and a wink. 
My heart skipped a beat and I quickly turned around.

What the hell...