BET

21

【Ｉ＇ｖｅ　ｂｅｅｎ　ｓｅａｒｃｈｉｎｇ　ｈｉｇｈ　ａｎｄ　ｌｏｗ
Ｉ　ｈａｖｅ　ｏｎｌｙ　＇ｔｉｌ　ｔｈｅ　ｎｉｇｈｔ　ｉｓ　ｏｖｅｒ】

Y/N took the entire rest of the day and most of the night to cry her eyes out. She showered at some point and managed to eat a few bites, but she was basically in tears constantly until she fell asleep at some point in the early morning. She wasn't sure when exactly that was, it took a while for her to fall asleep and she didn't really sleep a lot. It was more of a light sleep and not really a very relaxing kind of sleep. When Y/N woke up she felt terrible. She went to take another shower and went out to get herself some breakfast, before heading back into her own home to get a bit of a nap.

When she woke up it was already evening and she was hungry enough to warm something up for herself. And then Y/N figured that it was maybe the right time to head out for a few drinks. She could go to the bar that was close to her home, the one where she had made out with Shouta a few days earlier. It would probably bring back some memories, but it was a nice place and Y/N wanted to be there right now. So she got dressed, packed up a few things and made her way there, so she could get completely wasted and forget her own name for a night.

What she didn't expect when she walked in the door was that right there, at the bar, near her favourite spot was a familiar face. Y/N froze in place, wondering whether she should just turn around and disappear and go back home or maybe to a different bar, but it was already too late, because she saw the bartender turning towards her and waving at her with a big smile on his face, greeting her loudly. And in the same moment Shouta turned around and looked at her and kind of smiled in a very melancholic way, before gesturing slowly to the seat next to him.

Y/N wasn't sure whether to take him up on his offer, but her feet started moving on their own and she walked up to him, sitting down on the bar stool next to Shouta. She wasn't even sure what to say to him, but she sat down anyway and just stared at the bar in front of her. It seemed like the bartender noticed that something weird was going on, so he just quietly brought her her usual drink without saying much to her. Y/N was kind of grateful for that, because she herself didn't really know what the hell was going on. She didn't want to try and explain something she didn't understand herself.

"So you found your way back here, then?" Shouta finally said after they had been sitting together in a long and awkward silence.

"Yup. It sure seems so..." Y/N muttered, sipping on her drink, before glancing over at him. He looked like he wasn't sure what to do, like there was something on his mind and he had no idea how to tell her about it. He definitely didn't look as angry as he did yesterday anymore.

"Planning to get blackout drunk again?" he asked. Y/N shrugged. She wasn't so sure anymore.

"I don't know yet. Depends how the evening goes, I suppose. What are you doing here?" she wanted to know. She found it pretty weird that she had seen him here twice already. And in the coffee shop. He probably lived in the area, but Y/N still found it a little curious. He didn't seem like someone who went out a lot.

"I was just going to see who would show up and all. I feel like there was someone I needed to talk to and I figured I might find them in here. If they even want to talk to me. Not like they have a reason to be mad at me, but I might have been a little harsh the last time I've seen them." Shouta explained. Y/N raised her eyebrows. Why did she get the feeling that this was about her? What else was he going to tell her? Had he forgotten something? He hadn't tortured her enough already?

"And... did you find them?" she asked. Shouta just nodded and hummed affirmatively. Y/N sighed.

"Is this about me?" she wanted to know. Shouta looked over at her and he looked at her with those sad eyes again. If Y/N had to see those sad eyes even one more time she'd probably die.

"Of course it's about you. Who else do you think it could have been about? I mean, I've been really specific here." he answered. Y/N chuckled to herself a little. Well, whatever else was bothering him, he could bring it on. She was ready. She could take it. And if not, she could get blackout drunk.

"I just didn't want to be presumptuous and self-centred." she replied and shrugged, before leaning back a little and taking a deep breath. She wasn't sure if she was ready for this, she really didn't know.

"You look pretty tense." Shouta commented.

"Yeah, that's because I am. Why don't you get started and bring it on? I won't be more ready than this for whatever you have to say to me." she told him. Shouta sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"I'm not here to get mad at you or anything like that. I'm here because I'm sorry for how harsh I was. I mean, the point still stands, what you did was really stupid and really selfish, but... I mean, I've been young once too. Not too long ago, actually. And I know that dumb ideas are like... the essence of being a young person. What you did was wrong, but I was maybe a little harsh, all things considered." he told her. Y/N's mouth had fallen wide open. She had not been expecting this whatsoever. She had been expecting everything but an apology.

"No, I think you were pretty spot-on with what you said there. I think you are right. It was stupid and selfish and I could have gotten you into real, actual trouble and I get it if you don't ever want to see me again." she answered.

"Well, here is the thing. I do want to see you again. I mean, you know yourself that this was dumb. You've just said it yourself. And when I said that I never want to see you again... well, I thought that's what I wanted, but that wasn't true. I do want to see you again. I still have to expel you and all, but... I mean I'd like it if we could maybe meet up from time to time or something."

"What, like a date?" Y/N asked, sounding like she was in complete disbelief. Was he actually asking her out after everything that she had done? After how badly she had fucked up? This wasn't right. She wasn't supposed to get a reward for doing the wrong thing, this wasn't how the world worked... well, actually it was exactly how the world worked, at least when you were good at playing the system.

"If you want to call it that. I'd prefer not to call it that, because I'd like to know more about you before we officially go on dates and I want to know if this whole episode was just one massive case of really bad judgement or if you're usually like that, but... yeah, same concept as a date." Shouta explained. Y/N burst into laughter. This was probably the most roundabout way anyone had ever explained a date to her and the way he said it seemed very endearing.

"Sure. We should go on a date some time. I'd like that. Because honestly, I was much more upset about having fucked up my chances with you than I was happy about getting expelled." Y/N answered.

"Well, that's at least something..." Shouta muttered, but he gave her a little smile, before typing something in his phone and handing it to her.

"Here, give me your number and I'll let you know when we can meet for a coffee or something." he said to her. Y/N nodded with a smile and put in her number. Maybe... If she played her cards right, maybe she could go home with him or take him home with her. Maybe this was going to work out for her... And maybe it would all work better than expected. She handed the phone back to Shouta.

"So... what are we going to do with the rest of this beautiful evening?"