Stuck In Another Reality? Darn.

Chapter 21.

Here you are again, wandering while battling with your minds' constant whispers. You hated this feeling, you hated it so much that your hair was stringy from running through it so much.

You sighed and kept strolling in the dark, knowing that this was dangerous. A part of you wanted it like this, just so you could die by someone else's hand. That would be better than the two choices you were offered.

But alas, nothing interrupted to kill you after your slow strolling stopped you in front of Venti's statue. 

After all, it was easy getting out of there. Jean didn't see any reason to make you stay, much to your relief. If you had to guess, she probably assumed that you were sleeping, when here you were, strolling outside in the middle of the night.

But then you managed to get a glimpse of something that caught your attention. There was a pair of feet swinging out of the hands cupped together, and your head tilted in confusion.

"Hello?" You were struck with a feeling of immediately feeling like every horror movie protagonist ever as you cringed to yourself. Eh, that might not be so bad.

A sudden woosh of wind sent your hair flowing back, you immediately knowing who this was as he settled in front of you. 

"Hey, Venti..." You trailed off, not knowing what else to say. You were the one who ran from them, after all. You should aplogize, but you just couldn't. Not after what that war criminal told you.

"[Name], the others were so worried, is everything okay?" Your head tilted downwards, part of it being the exhaustion, the other part was the shame that came from being so vulnerable.

Well, more like, a want to be vulnerable. Never before had you wanted to spill so badly, and of course it felt like your throat had closed up from the thought. 

So you settled with shaking your head. "I don't care if I'm underage, I'm getting myself a drink."

Your words were quiet, but so was the area around you. You hoped that Venti would be distracted by the prospect of getting a drink to ignore that fact that you were so far from okay.

Nope. As you had turned away to continue to the bar, your hand was snatched by Venti, who forced you to turn around. But you couldn't stop him as he dragged you towards him and tilted your head so he could see your face.

'There it is, the thing that made them treat you like Maki.' Bob's voice floated through your head as you quickly closed your eyes, knowing it had something to do with that.

"Look...I'm sorry for how I treated you back there, [Name]. I was just surprised. But please, let me make up for it now, songbird."

Your eyes opened and widened at the nickname, a soft heat warming up your ears. Rantaro always insisted on calling you his little brother, much to your personal distaste.

Kokichi kept his regal side when it came to your nicknames in public, calling you 'His Future Leader' or something like that. Privately, however, he was so much softer and affectionate, his personal favorites being cheesy nicknames like 'Darling' or 'Sweetheart'.

But never had either of them called you songbird. The realization distracted you, banishing the negative thoughts for now as you eased yourself into looking at Venti's concerned face.

It made your heart swell to see how Venti cared for you, but it also damned you to know how you could kill him by existing. You didn't want him to die, but you also didn't want to die. 

Maybe you could decide by flipping a coin? You just couldn't make that choice by yourself. You had already escaped death once, and everyone else was so pure.