redamancy || georgenotfound

sixteen

A Discord anime-watching party usually resulted in a slow start the next day, and today was no different.

I glanced at my monstrous reflection in the mirror after spitting the toothpaste into the sink. My lips were dry and crackled, my hair looking like a preschooler tried to french braid it, and my eyes had swollen up like cherry tomatoes. Crying over Kaori and Kousei along with Cara (with Eret cruelly laughing at us) did seem to alleviate some of the consistent pressure I felt squeezing my chest. I didn't stick around to hear Cara's attempt to comfort me—all I had needed was a sad anime night with my friends that would leak the tears out.

"I'm heading out," I announced to Ria's closed door.

"Where?" she responded after a moment. Her cleared voice in opposition to her regular morning growl told me she had been up for a while.

"For a run."

"Okay, be careful."

I incoherently mumbled a word to myself before stepping out into the brightly-lit summer morning, already feeling the humidity form beads of sweat on my forehead. Trying to block out the heat with blasting beats from my earbuds, I quickly started my watch and set off, determined to sprint off my frustration and set a new personal record for my four-mile.

Even through stomping on the pavement a little harder and breathing a little heavier, nothing seemed to get rid of the pit of swirling frustration in the bottom of my stomach to the disposal. Swirling frustration at myself. How could I blame George? He wasn't at fault for liking someone.

As I reached the change in ground from pavement to pure rocky roads, the clouds seemed to make the kind decision to gently drape over the sun, alleviating a percent of the heat. Even though I was desperate not to give up so early, my pumping heart and the ache in my lungs that felt like a stab told me to catch my breath and lean against the first fence I could find. Trying my best not to draw glances towards me, I steadied my breathing at the pace of a turtle, and trudged into the shade of a nearby tree when the sun decided to poke out and say hello.

My eyes narrowed and I squinted through the sunlight when I made out a familiar back figure. I was almost certain it was George, but yet again, my doubts were high since the man waking up before ten in the morning only occurred once every blue moon. However, when he turned around to scan the area, the perfect curve of his nose and sharp angle of his jawline confirmed his identity.

I debated whether or not to go up and say hi, but quickly received an answer from the universe when I saw the back of a blonde-haired girl rushing towards him. They embraced as a greeting, and the blonde grabbed George's hand, tugging him in the direction opposite of where I was headed.

Good. I didn't need to see that.

• • •

"Jesus Christ, you look like a fucking tomato," Ria's face scrunched into a look of concern yet disgust, and she dramatically waved her hand below her nose. "Don't come near me, you probably stink."

I resisted the urge to chuck my sweaty sock at her, and gratefully caught the iced water bottle she retrieved from the fridge. "It's an oven out there," I gasped in between gulps. The ice-cold water trickled down my throat, sending waves of shock and relief through my body, tickling every nerve.

"Yeah see, it's your fault for going out though."

"Shut up. At least I got four miles in."

Rolling her eyes, Ria clunked some tray out of the oven, and I approached the island to take a glance. I could identify the star-piped goods as meringues, one row of them subtle pink, another green, another yellow, and the last one brown.

"Raspberry, lime, passion fruit, and chocolate. Take whatever once they cool," she pointed out, and clattered the tray onto the stovetop, shutting the oven door with her foot while throwing the oven mitts onto the counter. I finished my water bottle, savoring every last droplet, and tossed the bottle into the trash can Ria had opened. "There's no way you'd go out in this hot weather unless you're insane."

"What if I am?"

"My point exactly."

I shot her a glare that she aimlessly brushed off with a loud laugh before disappearing back into her room. I made the conscious decision to shower, but was quickly drawn back to the countertop when I heard my phone buzz repeatedly. After checking the caller ID, I accepted the call and held the phone to my ear, careful not to let the dried sweat rub onto the screen.

"Hey!" I could hear the smile in Eret's voice, which immediately caught my mood from crashing down into the dumps. "What's up? How are you doing?"

"Ran four miles in the humid weather; death doesn't seem too bad of an option now," I recited back plainly. I didn't get a chance to ask the question back before Eret burst into laughter, their chirpy mood almost confusing me. "Uh, are you okay?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" they responded while gulping down the last bit of laughs.

"You're being nice to me."

Eret snorted sarcastically, and I could easily picture them sitting at their desk, legs folded with one arm across their chest, supporting their elbow of the arm that held the phone off. "Of course. I'm a nice person."

I scoffed and moved to the couch, my legs starting to tremble from the awkward position I stood in. "You are anything but nice," I retorted. "If this is about George, it's really not that big of a deal."

"Oh, but it is."

"It's a stupid crush, okay? It'll go away within the next few months. And I like being friends; he's a good friend."

Eret sighed, and I could hear the creak of their barely-surviving chair pierce through the call, sending a shiver down my spine. "Rora, hate to break it to you, but you can't just force something you feel out completely."

"That's not true," I insisted. "I've seen it happen."

"Well, just don't depend on that. Because you never know; everyone reacts differently."

I stood from the couch and groaned when I noticed a stain on the cushion from consistent sweat pooling everywhere. Moving to the thermostat, I quickly turned on the air conditioning and let it loudly run in the background, maximizing the volume on my phone. "Sorry it's loud in the back, it's too hot in here."

"You told me your house is usually cold," Eret remarked.

"Ria's house," I corrected. "And maybe I'm hot because I went on a four mile run in the 80 degree weather?"

"You did what?" Their initial reaction didn't catch me as off guard as the next answer did. "And you saw George."

I bit my inner cheek harshly, feeling satisfaction bloom in the pit of my stomach as the lining came off in one piece. "Are you stalking me?"

Eret chuckled loudly, and from the way his breaths became slightly labored, I could tell he had thrown his head back to let out his giggles somewhere that wasn't in my ear. "Oh, actually? I just assumed the worst."

"Jerk," I mumbled in reply, giving zero care on whether or not they heard the word slip. Nevertheless, they continued to ramble on crap regarding feelings, which I continuously shut down until Eret finally gave up and resorted to discussing the ironic love between Kaori and Kousei along with Tsubaki's constant interjections. Judging by their zealousness over the anime, I could tell they had needed the rewatch of "Your Lie in April" more than I did.

"Okay I really gotta shower now. I smell like the inside of an ass-"

"Don't put that image in my head, go go go," Eret cringed in disgust. "And Aurora?"

"Hm?"

"You're worth it; every heartache, failure, beat-up, I'll always be there for you."

***
a/n
okay not me disappearing for four days from this book i'm so sorry, i hope you all are doing well and staying hydrated <3
also new book out on my acc yay