Stay

Genre: Hurt/Comfort

Characters: Yamada Ryosuke, Shida Mirai

Summary: Sometimes just being there can cheer a person up.

Shida Mira.

It was something about her that made her seem strange, and no, her pink hair wasn’t the reason. Okay, it is partly her crazy hair color, but it wasn’t the main reason why she gave off a weird vibe.

Maria is our new neighbor. She moved in about a month ago in apartment 213 just beside us. Her hair was white at the time and she wore gothic outfits. Regardless of her appearance, my mother greeted her with open arms, showering her with home cook meals and gifts. I told her she was overdoing it, but she insisted on making a ‘good impression.’ It wasn’t long before the two of them became close friends and Mirai began sharing her personal life with her. Apparently Mirai is a college student who just got out of a bad relationship with her parents and is now living on her own. Whatever argument she had with them must have been pretty bad since they cut her off completely. I wonder what happened, but I might never get an answer because whenever my mother brings up her parents she always dodge the question.

Despite her odd appearance, she seems pretty normal…on the surface.

I try to avoid her presence, but I fail consistently, like right now.

It was 8:30 pm. I just got out of cram school and I took the subway home. Unfortunately for me, she took the subway too. Normally I wouldn’t mind so much, but today was different. She was acting weirder than her usual self.

Her eyes were red and dilated. Was she drunk?

She noticed me staring at her and I quickly buried my head into my book hoping she wouldn’t recognized me.

“Yamada, is that you?”

Damn it. Just keep your head down Ryosuke.

“Yama-chan it is you!” She plopped down beside me and pinched my cheeks. She giggled. “Sorry, I just can’t resist pinching your chubby cheeks.”

I hate it when people pinch my cheeks.

“Hi Shida-san…”

“You can just call me Mirai you know? And I’ll call you Ryuunosuke for now.”

“It’s Ryosuke.” I muttered.

“Oh,” she flushed, rubbing the back of her head. “Did I say Ryuunosuke? Sorry, I guess my mind is still in a blur.”

“Uh, have you been drinking Shi— I mean Mirai?” I asked in the most polite way I could.

“Just a sip.” Her eyes said otherwise. She yawned lightly. “What are you reading?”

“Oh I’m just studying for a history test I have next—“

Mirai dozed off and laid her head on my shoulder. My cheeks suddenly felt hot. I was frozen solid. No one’s ever been this close to me before. I don’t like the feeling I get when she’s touching me. It’s like a strange fuzzy feeling I never felt before. I hate it.

I moved my shoulder slightly to get her to wake up but she seemed completely knocked out.

I sighed. At least we’re almost home.

When the subway got to our stop, I tried to wake Mirai up again, but she was still sound asleep. I couldn’t just leave her there, so I lifted her up and carried her out the door. She’s lighter than I imagined. Despite her drunkenness, she’s actually pretty cute. Her scent was nice too. God, what am I saying?

Finally I made it to her apartment but her door was locked. I would take her to my house but my mom’s there. She would flipped if she saw her like this. It took me a while to decide whether or not to look through her purse to get the key, I hope she doesn’t get mad that I went through her stuff.

I unlocked her door and carried her inside. I laid her gently down on the couch. She looked ‘happier’ when she’s asleep, it was strange. Before I could leave, her face began to twitch and her eyelids fluttered open lightly. She looked around the room, dazed and confused.

“W-what happened?”

“You passed out on the subway so I carried you home.”

 “How embarrassing…” Her face reddened. “I’m sorry for troubling you Rouke.”

I cringed at the name. My name shouldn’t be so hard to remember. It’s Ryo—whatever, it’s no problem. You should rest now. I’ll check up on you in the morning.” With that, I walked to the door and as I turned the knob I heard Mirai’s voice. It was soft and frail, but I heard her clearly.

“Please stay.”

I tightened my grip on the knob and bit my lip. Why does she want me to stay? I guess a minute or two wouldn’t hurt.

“Uh, I’ll stay, but only for a little bit, I have to study. Okay?” I turned to face her and I noticed she was crying.

Why is she crying?! Was it something I said? What do I do? I don’t know what to do in this situation. Do I ask her what’s wrong? Am I supposed to let her cry on my shoulder? Do I give her a hug? I don’t know! Do something baka! Anything!

“Why are you crying? If it’s something I said, I’m sorry.”

She shook her head. “It’s not your fault.”

“Uh…want to talk about it?”

She didn’t say anything. I nervously sat down beside her. “Mirai?”

“My parents hate me.” Mirai said softly.

“Why would they hate you?”

 “Because I could ever meet up to their expectations!” she blurted out. “Before I came here, I ran away from home with my boyfriend. He talked me into running away when I was too scared to tell my parents the truth.”

“What truth?’ I asked hesitantly.

She looked down in shame. “If I tell you, will you promise not to tell your mother or anyone?”

I looked at her questionably before replying. “I promise.”

She held my shoulders and looked me dead in the eyes. “I mean it. You can’t tell anyone! Especially her! I don’t want her to look down on me too.”

“Mirai you have my word. Please, just tell me what’s wrong.”

She took a deep breath.

“I’m pregnant.”

“You’re preg…?” I couldn’t finish my sentence. She was pregnant? She’s been drinking while she’s pregnant? I wanted to say something about it, even scold her harshly for it, but now wasn’t the time. She’s already feeling hopeless.

She nodded. “My boyfriend promised he was going to take care for me, but he had no money. My parents own a financial business so we’re pretty wealthy. He was the one who talked me into stealing some of it, saying that they wouldn’t even notice. We stayed at a hotel for about a week until he disappeared with the money. This whole time he was using me and I was too stupid to notice. I betrayed my parents…I’m too ashamed to go back so I used the remaining of the money to rent an apartment here. I lied about being a college student, I didn’t want you and your mother to see me as a failure too. I feel so alone and hopeless…”

I didn’t know what to say. I was speechless. With my body reacting on its own, I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her into a tight embrace.

“Yamada…?”

“You’re not a failure. Even after all you did, I believe your parent’s still love you. They’re probably worried about you, wondering where you are. And you’re not alone, you got us now.”

Who’s saying all of this? Why am I feeling so empathetic and protective to her? This is all new to me, but I just can’t stand to see her so sad. I’m beginning to think what those strange feelings are now.

Mirai turned to look me in the eyes and smiled, but it quickly faded away.

“Even if they didn’t hate me, how could I ever face them again? I caused them so much trouble…”

“I understand you’re scared to face them, but whatever happens I’ll be there for you.” I grabbed ahold of her hand to ensure her that it was going to be okay. Her smile returned.

“Thank you, Ryosuke.”

I smiled back. She laid her head on my chest and drifted off to sleep and soon I did the same. 

Word Count: 1376.  

A/N: My first attempt at writing in first person. I don’t know what to say. Sorry for spelling/grammar mistakes. T_T