Dive back with me (Shinonome Akito)

Nostalgia

"Oi! Akito! Open the door!" Ena's muffled voice could be heard together with frantic pounding on the door.

"Yea, yea, I'm coming, chill." Akito mumbled back in response to the rapid knocks on the door.

"Hurry up! Ughh."

As Akito opened the door to let Ena in, he was shocked to see Mizuki following behind Ena, struggling to carry someone on their back.

"Hey! Wait- Ena-"

"Shut up or help out Akito. We were at the cafe when she just passed out like that."

Mizuki set you down on the couch as Ena got a blanket for you, both heaving a sigh of relief. They honestly couldn't believe you just knocked out like that.

"Ena. You better explain yourself."

"She pulled 3 all-nighters doing projects! 3! And her parents are on vacation! She even told us she was taking breaks!" Ena groaned, worry painted on her face. Mizuki stood beside Ena staring worriedly at the unconscious figure on the couch.

"You." Ena points at Akito,"Take care of her until she wakes up. Ughh why did she have to push herself so hard?! And i still need to go for my night class!"

Mizuki wearily sighs and follows Ena to her room to help out.

"What- Me? Hey!" Akito began to protest but of course Ena would not have any if it. He had to take care of you for the night.

Akito looks back at you. Of course he'd recognised this face. It was his childhood friend. Well, now practically strangers after what happened...

Both of you were extremely close to each other, hanging out everyday as kids. You would cheer him on in soccer matches, congratulate him on his wins, comfort him on his losses. And he, encouraged you to pursue your artistic dreams, watching you and Ena draw together, admiring your smile when he complimented you..

Then it all slowly faded away, when his firey passion for music scorched you when you tried to reach him. Your passion and talent for art didn't burn as bright as his did for music. It was nothing compared to his. You thought, 'Maybe I should let go. I would only hold him back, put out his fire.'

And you did. You let go, hoping to one day you could burn as brilliantly as he does, hoping one day you could stand beside him.

But you drifted away. You never hung out him anymore. Just nods of acknowledgement when you guys saw each other in the hallways.

You stuck together with Ena. Drawing with her made everything feel a lot less lonely and even became N25's unofficial assistant art director, working beside Ena. You took up gigs, art commissions, trying to excel in everything.

But it made you oh so tired.

"Ugh. Where am I- Owww my neck.." You grabbed the back of your neck as you sat up to look around you, swallowing the urge to puke. Your eyes met with a familiar ginger, sleeping on a chair next to you.

what-

no.

Ena.

Mizuki.

My projects.

How long have I been out?

I need to finish my projects.

You stumbled off the couch. The world immediately started spinning when you stood up and your knees gave way. You fell to the ground with a thud, alerting the sleeping figure beside you.

"What are you- You're running a fever lie down-" Akito rushes to you and grabs your wrist gently, trying to help you back onto the couch. You pulled your wrist away and, with much difficulty, stood up and started making your way towards the door door, ignoring the pounding in your head. Oh. Right. You still had to ask Ena about something.

"Hey. Akito. Do you know where's Ena? I know she brought me here but I need to ask her something."

Akito glances at you.

"Why do you always ask for Ena when you see me?"

"I- I don't know."

"And why did you pull 3 all nighters?"

You keep quiet. Ena must have told him.

"If Ena's not here then I'll go now. I have work to do."

Akito grabs your wrist again, preventing you from going out.

"If you're just going home to pull another all-nighter, I'm not letting you."

You glare at him, absolutely pissed off. You feel like throwing up but you don't. You weren't really in a position to resist anyone right now but you couldn't stop thinking about your unfinished projects. You had to put in more effort.

You were completely overwhelmed.

You felt like breaking under the pressure right then.

Maybe being sick made you cranky, maybe it was your bottled up emotions threatening to burst open. Your vision started getting blurry and your throat closed up. All that you could think about was how much time you wasted knocked out when you could be practicing, working harder.

You felt like you were underwater as tears spilled over your cheeks. How embarrassing. Being so weak in front of someone you looked up to.

"Hey, hey, listen to me. Ok?"

You felt a pair of hands on your shoulders and you nodded meekly. Your head felt absolutely messed up from crying and feeling nauseous.

"Good girl. Take a deep breath. Let it out."

You inhaled deeply and just started bawling. Its so hard to stop crying once you've started. You crash into Akito, eyes squeezed shut and tears spilling out, arms around his torso and fingers clutching his shirt so tightly.

idk do you want me to finish this lmao lmk and i will actually finish this entire plot

words: 931