The Reason| Hawks x OC

Chapter 2

It had only been a few days living with Hado. It was comfortable, quiet, and she never did anything to make me feel stupid for occasionally breaking down and crying. Mirio and Tamaki were constantly checking in on me as well. I was so thankful to have such amazing friends at such a dressing and rough time in my life.

I had been flipping through ads for apartments in the area and still had yet to come across any that were interesting or in my price range. Hado was sitting across from me at the coffee table, looking through an apartment magazine. We had a decent sized pile sitting on the floor.

A crunching sound broke my focus as I looked up to see Mirio walking in, messily munching on some popcorn from a large bowl.

"I have some popcorn to snack on if you guys want any," he said, sitting down on the floor between us. He set the bowl on the table with no care, spilling some of the kernels onto the stack of ads.

Tamaki shook his head as he flipped through a newspaper, circling any ads that he thought I may be interested in. Mirio reached for the closest brochure and a pen, tapping the end of it against his chin as he scanned the listings. I sighed inwardly as I glanced at each of them. They seemed completely caught up in the task of help me find a new home. I put the magazine I was looking through down and ran my hands over my face. This was exhausting.

"Do you want to take a break, Iris?" Hado asked gently. She sat her magazine down and folded her hands on top of it while she examined my fatigue.

I rubbed my eyes and nodded. I walked to her bathroom, quietly closing the door behind me. I walked over to the sink and mirror, looking myself over. It didn't look like I had slept much, and my face showed signs of constant crying. No amount of concealer was going to tame the dark circles under my eyes, either. I was a mess. I turned the sink on, splashing cold water on my face and patting it dry with a towel before glancing down at my hand.

The promise ring..

I hadn't taken it off.

The more I looked at it, the more my heart hurt. I pulled it off and after much mental deliberation walked out of the bathroom. It was heavy in my hand, so much heavier than when it stayed on my finger.

"Hado, do you have a small box or pouch I can put this in?" I asked, holding it up. It shined as it caught the light.

She looked like she wanted to ask me something, but refrained. She bit her lip as her eyes darted from the ring to my face, then back to the ring.

"What is it, Hado?"

She glanced at Mirio and Tamaki for a few seconds before finally standing and walking over to her jewelry box, not saying a word.

Mirio turned my direction, looking at the ring sadly. "You sure you want to get rid of it?"

"I'm not getting rid of it. I want to put it in a pouch or box and return it to him. At least, the returning of it I had hoped someone else could do.." I muttered the last part before being pulled into a hug from Hado.

"Here. It's a little pouch you can put it in. If you like, I can deliver it for you." Hado smiled gently.

I nodded, placing it into the small pouch before dropping it into her outstretched hand. I took a deep breath before sitting back down at the table.

Mirio leaned forward, resting his arms on the table. "Have you heard anything back from Mount Lady?"

I nodded. "She said she's finalizing everything and then I could start. She also told me she's super slammed after the Paranormal Liberation Army but she hopes all will be resolved soon."