cats don't always land on their feet (soraru and mafumafu story)

27

the only sound that can be heard is the clock ticking every second. minutes passed and no one seemed up to talking.
"okaaay,, well!! i for one am actually not doing too bad. and i'm super glad everyone was able to make it today! and thank you amatsuki for hosting today!" eve says trying to encourage everyone to speak up as well.
"oh, it's the least i can do, really! i'm glad it worked out for everyone to make it!" amatsuki smiled.
"well, not everyone.." sou muttered out, staring at the ground.
"hey,, it's okay, i'm sure he's here with us still, just, in spirit, you know?" eve said trying to comfort sou.
"yeah! he's always with us, sou. just cuz we cant see him, doesn't mean he's not here," 96neko chirps in.
"mhmm!" amatsuki nods.
"stop giving him false hope.." nqrse says in a monotone voice, "he's gone. we will never speak to or see him ever again, no matter how hard we try."
"h-hey, that's a little harsh, don't you think," 96neko says.
"listen, i'm just stating the facts. we should all come to terms with reality sooner rather than later," he says with slight attitude.
"but that's not true! i do believe he's here with us too," amatsuki says and eve nods.
"you guys are delusional then," luz says.
"yeah, if he's here, then prove it to us," shima says.
i slouch down in my chair even more.
"well.. i can't necessarily prove it but-" amatsuki pauses.
i can though... ugh.. i think to myself and sigh. i didn't want to say anything without getting the okay from mafu tho.
"exactly. so just cut the crap," nqrse says.
araki stands up from sitting beside nqrse, "what is your problem?! you don't have to be so harsh! what's gotten into you?"
"what? so you think he's here watching us right now too?!" nqrse snaps back.
"erm.. well, not exactly. but you shouldn't cut down other's beliefs just cuz their different from your own!" araki raises his voice.
"they don't actually believe it, they're just lying to themselves to try and forget about reality," luz says with a lot of attitude.
"yeah, sure, speak for yourself buddy." eve says standing up and taking a step towards luz with frustration.
"regardless of if he's a spirit or not, why does it matter? gone is gone. if he's here watching or not, we still will never see him again!!!" sou cries out, "we'll never talk to him.. never make jokes.. we'll never hear his laugh or see his smile ever again!!! nothing matters anymore. nothing! we'll never be okay, ever again.. nothing is okay..."
"i know.. and this group feels so empty without him.." sakata frowned, "it feels so wrong without him."
"he's probably the only reason we are all friends. he was the glue that held us together," eve said, putting a hand on sou's back.
"yeah, we are all pretty different from each other, there's no way i ever would've spoken to any of you," luz says keeping his attitude.
"yeah, i hear you! i don't wanna waste my time on you guys any longer than i already have," nqrse says standing up.
meychan nods in agreement, as does luz. they stand up as well.
"we're out of here," they say as they start walking towards the door.
"hey, hey, hey! wait a second!" araki says walking behind them, "is this really necessary? you guys can't be serious, right?"
"shut up, you're either with us or not," nqrse snaps.
"yeah, we don't have to associate ourselves with you if we don't want to," meychan says.
"oh come on now! this must be a joke," araki laughs nervously.
"yeah guys, come on lets be reasonable here and talk this through-" eve says reaching out.
"you aren't fooling anyone, eve. we all know you think you're better than us all. you're so popular you don't even sit with us or stop by to see us anymore, and actions speak louder than your pathetic words," nqrse says.
"t-thats not true! i have responsibilities to attend to! i stay back and help other students and teachers during my spare time, you guys know that!" eve fights back.
nqrse scoffs.
"it would be nice if you'd just come say hi sometimes," senra says with his arms crossed.
"oh come oon guys, this isnt needed!" sou complains and defends eve.
"yeah, says you, mr. pretty boy. youre just as bad as eve," urata snaps.
"guys, please! whats with you all?!" amatsuki says with concern.
"we're fed up with this friend group. if it can even be called a 'friend' group at this point," shima says.
"oh cut the crap shima! you too urata and senra! you guys are never like this! so why now all of a sudden? you guys used to love hanging out with everyone!" sakata cries out.
96neko nods, "yeah, we all enjoyed being all together."
"well not anymore..." luz says quietly.
everyone becomes silent for a moment.
i stare down at the floor, not wanting to make things worse. i just want to disappear. i hate this...
"anything to add, soraru?" nqrse says with sass.
i avoid eye contact and don't acknowledge his question.
"yeah, thats what i thought. you never do know to hold a conversation with any of us. you were only friends with mafu, and hung out around us because he did," nqrse says with rising anger.
"hey! thats enough from you!" eve steps towards nqrse.
the others who were giving a hard time started fighting and backing up nqrse's statements too. everyone started raising their voices. even sou, who had such a gentle voice, was screaming in anger.

i sink in my chair and i close my eyes tightly. no matter how hard i try, i just cant tune out everyone's shouts. i lean forward and put my hands through my hair. they shout louder.
thats enough... i think to myself. my grip on my head tightens. "thats enough..."
i clenche my teeth tightly. "thats enough.." i keep repeating, but no one can hear me.
"hgggg...." i groan before shouting, "THATS ENOUGH!!
everyone turns to look at me, with shock on their face and i look up at them slowly with disgust.

***