My new Neighbor's an Idol!?

Time

"Did you hear what I just told those boys?" Ishi asked, certain that there was no way she was too far to hear him speak.

"I was about to come back." She answered him. "So... Yes."

"Well, if you're going to rejoin the rest of us, then let's go." He didn't want to be carrying these two full plates of food forever. So the shorter a conversation with those things weighing him down, the better. Plus it would be better to not have to talk directly to her about what happened. Unfortunately...

"Actually, can we delay that for a little bit?" After he had chased off those boys, this was the first time all day that she was able to talk to him uninterrupted. "Here, come with me." Rinse took the boy by the arm. Since he was carrying two plates, there was little resistance coming from him.

Back around the corner that she came from, the idol took the pair to a tiny little cove away from everyone else. With the rock structures obscuring vision, the two of them could safely to whatever they wanted without anyone seeing them.

"I guess if you just want to talk, I can live with that." Ishi spoke as he placed down the food onto some convenient rocks. Once he did so, the boy quickly grabbed a bite to eat, as he hadn't done so all day. "But I'm not exactly the best person you could be having a chat with."

"You really shouldn't knock yourself down like that. We're friends, so why should I care about who you are?" She nudged his arm playfully, signaling to him that she no longer had her down mood. "Besides, how can you feel that way after all that talk about how you say I'm just a normal girl?"

"It has nothing to do with our status." He couldn't care any less about their positions in life. "I just thought that someone so cheerful like you wouldn't want to hang out with someone as negative like me. Especially since we argue a lot." It was true that their personalities didn't seem very similar at all. If anything, some people would view them as complete opposites.

"Well, let's just say that it's something that I want to do." If it was up to her, she'd certainly have hung out with him more often today. Then again, being the one to have a private spot away from everyone was nice too. Especially since it meant getting a chance to share dinner with Ishi.

"Yeah well, I'm not against doing it either." There was no way to twist it. With Rinse, he felt less upset with the interaction compared to most others that he had throughout his life. That was despite their occasional battle of words. "Now eat up so we don't have to fill the air." The boy chewed a bit onto a rib bone, draining it clean of any traces of meat.

"Actually..." She wasn't done yet, nor was the idol planning on ending this so soon. "What was up with all those words you said about me?"

"Here we go..." He wasn't looking forward to having to explain his position to her.

"If I wasn't an idol, would that make us better friends?"

"Doubt it." He answered. Perhaps if she acted the same way, then it could happen. Assuming that Rinse was just a regular girl who moved in next door, as well as sat besides him that fateful day. He still wouldn't want to chat with her all that much. "Plus then some things wouldn't have happened." Otoya and Koto wouldn't have practically made him hang out if she wasn't as popular as she was. The arcade and movie theater would never have happened, which would've resulted in a never having that talk with Youna and becoming her friend.

She was also the one who stood by his side when he was accused of stealing money. If it wasn't for her, perhaps his relationship with Ryugi would become truly broken. And if she never invited him to the production studio that day, then he would've never learned about Chinae's true identity.