Believer

27

It was late at night a couple of weeks later when Akaashi was woken from his sleep by a flash of light. Confused, he brought his hands to his face and shielded himself. But that didn't stop another blinding flash from being set off. Groaning, he turned to face the opposite side of his bed, away from the source of his misery. He could feel his dry throat and bloodshot eyes, furthering his lack of desire to wake up. 

But even then, it was like the higher ups hated him because the light flashed again, and he could still see the remnants of brightness against the far wall of his room and through his fingers. He brought his hands down from his face, groggy mind becoming fed up with attempting to stop something that was quite clearly not going to end of its own accord. 

After another flash, his annoyance got the best of him and he found himself slipping out of bed, bare feet hitting the cold floor. He yawned as he stood up straight and glanced behind him. Tired eyes searched for the source of his annoyance and soon found the culprit. His computer had a  built-in device that flashed whenever he received a new email--similarly to how his phone did so when he received a text or missed call. Groaning, he stumbled towards it. 

I thought I unplugged this, he thought to himself. Usually he turned off the device before bed so nothing woke him up from his precious sleep schedule. Albeit it was already jacked because he went to bed at five in the morning, but still. 

Nevertheless, by the time he went over to his computer, he was wide awake. Turning off the flashes, he went ahead and opened his computer. From there, curiosity got the better of him and he entered his email to see what was so impossibly important that he had been forced to wake up at. 

A gasp left his lips as he saw who it was from. Kim Sinoju, the owner of a local, well known pub. Akaashi felt his hands begin to shake as he opened and skimmed through his email once before rereading it thoroughly a couple more times. He jolted from his desk seat and jumped up and down, excitement like fire flitted through his veins as he read the confirmation of the band’s first official gig. He felt laughter bubble up in his chest, knowing that his late nights and early morning and connection making and youtube funding came down to this moment. He stopped bouncing around and leaned back over his chair to get one more look at the reality of this email. 

He wasn’t making things up. This was all real.  In three month’s time, the band would be playing in a real pub with a real audience, all because Mr. Kim was willing to give them a chance after hearing a couple for their music samples. 

I have to tell Bokuto. He thought, mind running three hundred miles per hour. He looked at the time. 7:12. 

Early but not too early. Akaashi knew that the pianist often started classes around 9:15 since he was a senior. Today was a Tuesday so his clubs were in the afternoon as well. 

I think he said he goes to the gym at 6:45 most mornings. He recalled, excitement muddling his mind as he pulled out his phone. The bright screen hurt his eyes so he dimmed it. He walked to the window to see if Bokuto’s car was in the driveway as his fingers typed his messages. 

Akaashi: Bokuto! I have exciting news!!!

Akaashi: Where are you?! 

Akaashi: I want to tell you this in person

Akaashi sat on the sill of his window, looking out and noticing the rain. Fat droplets fell from the sky and splattered against everything solid. The artist felt the itch to paint. Paint the blacks and the blues and the grays. The sky and the rain and the houses and the puddles. But also the lights and reflections that cut through the dreary atmosphere and intensified its beauty. 

His phone lit up. 

Bokuto: Awesome!! Can’t waittttt!!!!

Bokuto: Bout to leave the gim

Bokuto: Wana meet at the coffee shop between here and our houses? 

Bokuto: I have something I want to tell u too! ;) 

Butterflies formed in Akaashi’s chest at the last message. Good news from Bokuto too! Today was going to be amazing, wasn’t it! Akaashi quickly sent back an okay and said he would be there soon. All the while, his heart was skipping beats and giddiness took over his mind. He quickly dressed, grabbed his phone and wrote a note to his parents so they would know where he would be and when he would be back by. And then, Akaashi made his way to the cafe. 

It wasn’t a far distance. And Akaashi loved the rain. Overall, the walk should have taken less than seven minutes, but the inability to see much made the escapade much harder than he needed to be. Nevertheless, he trekked through the rain with a smile and an umbrella above his head, minimizing how wet he was getting. 

He had made sure to put on his reflective coat and sneakers too, safety having been drilled into him as a child. 

But just when he was about to reach the last bend to the cafe, a blinding light flashed in front of him. Unconsciously, he moved the umbrella in front of him to shield his eyes. But it did little to help. Suddenly dizzy and blinded, he staggered to the side a bit. He could feel an indecipherable emotion coiling in his gut as his senses began leaving him one by one. He recentered his umbrella above him only to see something swerve in his peripheral vision. His heart was racing as the world kept swirling around him. Bright lights flashed and when it registered what was happening, he attempting to get away, 

It was futile. The hydroplaning car couldn’t stop and Akaashi couldn’t move fast enough with an unbalanced, dizzy head. Fear and pain racked Akaashi’s whole body as the two forces met point blank, the car having flipped off the road and crashed onto the sidewalk where the artist had been walking.