people pleaser | nishimura riki

16. his playlist

╭── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╮

"You...alright?" Aira asked her hooded up friend. "Did you not have a good night sleep?"

"I'm alright." Riki smiled before cussing below his breath as he took his airpods off. "Fuck I forgot to charge them."

Aira knew she something was up.

Though rumour has it that Riki was a careless drop kick whose vocabulary only consisted of swear words, she could confidently deny them.

She doesn't know about other people, but when he is around her, she noticed how considerate and clever his words are.

They should be studied.

Hence, for him to be frustrated over something so minor, she definitely knew something was up.

"Do you want to borrow my headphones?" Aira handed her wireless device before even waiting for his response.

"Thank you." He smiled again before trying to connect to the device.

"Can I ask you something?" Aira tilted her head in curiosity.

"Mhm?"

"What are you always listening to?"

"Music."

"The same album?" Aira carefully asked. "Over and over again?"

There it was.

Another hesitation.

It didn't take a genius to notice Riki replaying the same album on his spotify profile a couple times a day.

"I just like it."

"Is it yours...or someone else?"

Another pause.

"It's mine." Riki chuckled. "Do you want to listen?"

"Sure!"

Upon agreement, Riki helped Aira put her headphones on her before playing the songs he cannot get over. He watched as the girl beside her smiled with her eyes closed, fully immersing herself with the melodies of whatever song was being played.

A moment that looked foreign, but felt too familiar.

Fused by excitement, Aira thought nothing more than friend sharing music taste.

But to Riki, it was like a repeat of history.

The same playlist that Riki listens on repeat,

the same playlist Aira was now listening to,

the same playlist that became both his comfort and pain,

was once the same playlist that brought him joy.

Because he had dedicated this playlist, to someone else.

Someone special.