With You (Souyo)

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Yosuke's POV:

Yu and I sit on his bed as he pours us both a glass of sake.

I've told him several times already that I don't want any, but he won't accept no for an answer.

He slowly sits on the bed, sitting on one leg with the other dangling, handing me the glass.

Reluctantly, I take it, bringing it up to my lips.

I don't really like sake, but I don't want to upset him.

I hold the glass against my teeth as I notice he's just staring at his.

I slowly put mine between my knees.

"What's up?" I croak.

"Hm?" He suddenly snaps out of some kind of transe. "Sorry."

He curls his fingers around the glass edge, but still doesn't make an attempt to move.

"Did I... upset you before?" I sigh.

"No," he shakes his head. "It's not about that. Sorry. Don't worry about it."

Without another second, he gulps down the amber liquid.

"Oh, fuck," he groans, holding his side; putting the glass down on the table. "Sorry, mind if we do this another time? I just wanna sleep right now."

"You can't sleep," I scoff. "You're meeting Emi and the others in a couple of hours."

"You go," he shrugs, turning away. "Tell them I'm not well."

"Come on, Yu," I urge softly. "Just give yourself some closure. Say your final goodbyes, you know?"

"What's the point," he groans. "It's all for nothing. And Togo'll be there."

"Forget about her," I prompt, rolling my eyes. "She can't control your life. Not anymore." I sigh, licking my lips. "Yu, we have to face this. Confront it, rather. Together."

"How am I supposed to confront something from years ago when I can't even confront myself over what I did just last night?"

"Take a break," I beg. "Getting yourself all worked up isn't going to help anybody."

"I can't," he groans. "I'm needed all the time."

"You're right," I nod. "I need you. But you need me, too, right? Just ask me for help."

"I don't know how to do this," he slowly turns to face me once more. "I don't know what to say to them, or how to act, or anything."

"Just be yourself," I say.

"Yosuke, this isn't a date. Emi has changed so much -- what about everyone else?"

"What's the worst that could happen?"

"Shit, I don't know," he murmurs. "They turn out to be more fucked up than your brother?"

"That's low," I frown.

"I know, I'm sorry," he mumbles. "I didn't mean it like that."

"Don't worry," I reach out to remove the sleep from his inner eye. "Everything will be okay. It's only gonna be an hour."

"I won't be able to stop thinking about Shin," he whispers. "About what I did..."

"Yu," I say, softly. "What you did was wrong, but you know that. All you need to do now is admit it to him."

"I can't bring myself to. I- I was going to at that café, but... Geez, I froze up, and ran. Like I always do, huh?"

"Yes, okay," I nod. "Running away from things is a bad habit. But we need to improve that. Us. Together."