Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
You moved restlessly around your room, your body buzzing with the nicotine hit from the cigarette you held loosely between your fingers. Smoke curled lazily around you, creating a hazy cloud that hung in the air like a veil, cloaking you in a sense of detachment. You weren't sure exactly how long you had been pacing, lost in your thoughts, but the sun had begun to set, casting long shadows across the floorboards. You were supposed to be getting ready for the award ceremony tonight—but you were far too distracted to do that right now.
Your emotions were all over the goddamn place, a chaotic jumble of anger, frustration, confusion, and something else that you couldn't quite decipher. You felt like you were on the verge of some great epiphany, but the threads of your thoughts kept slipping through your fingers. It was as if your mind was a tangled ball of yarn that you just couldn't seem to unravel. Little did you know—someone else that you were very well acquainted with felt the exact same way, except in his case, he was probably stuffing his face with sweet treats in an attempt to alleviate the stress.
You took a long drag on your cigarette, the smoke filling your lungs as you exhaled slowly, watching as it dissipated into the air. You wondered if the smoke could somehow carry away your disarranged emotions with it, but you knew it was a futile hope. You needed to sort out your feelings, to understand what was going on inside you, but all you felt was lost and unsure.
As you paced, the sound of your footsteps echoed through the quiet room, a dull thud that matched the rhythm of your racing heart. You felt like you were caught in some sort of emotional whirlwind—unable to break free from its pull. You couldn't understand why Ranpo had such an effect on you, why his words cut so deeply, why you couldn't seem to shake off the sense of unease that had settled over your shoulders like a tightly wrapped shawl since that moment you shared with him in the parking lot.
For a second, you stopped your pacing, staring at the cigarette in your hand as if it held all the answers. But of course, it didn't. You took another drag, the smoke twisting in the air like a serpent, and tried to focus on your breathing. In, out. In, out. Slowly, your heart rate began to slow, the chaos in your mind starting to settle into a sense of uneasy calm.
But you knew that the peace was only temporary. There were still too many unanswered questions, too many emotions you couldn't name. You stubbed out your cigarette in the ashtray, the ember glowing briefly before fading to black.
The next thing you knew, you had stormed into Yosano's room without a word, your frustration and annoyance palpable in the way you moved. Yosano looked up from her vanity mirror, her makeup half-done, which reminded you that you still needed to get ready. She raised an eyebrow in surprise at the sudden intrusion. But before she could even say a word, you had already plopped yourself down on the edge of the bed, your legs dangling off the side as you let out a loud groan.
