ᴍᴇᴛᴀɴᴏɪᴀ | ꜰᴏᴏᴅ ᴡᴀʀꜱ x ᴍᴀʟᴇ ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ 25

[Y/N] was sitting on the side of the road, feeling as if his soul was ascending. Or descending. Either way, his soul was going to be leaving his body.

He was lost. Very lost at that.

The [H/C]-ette grumbled as he stood up, breaking into a tense walk. He was frustrated, upset that Yukihira wouldn't so much as text him about something like this.

'That bastard, thinking he can so easily risk his place at Totsuki and leave me here!'

Then he stopped. [Y/N]'s eyes widened as he processed his most recent thought. Why did he just...

Everything around him seemed to cease in its movements, only the wind accompanying him. The night grew quieter than before. His brows furrowed as his breathing slowed, his eyes losing their concentration. The wind, his heartbeat, his own breathing was all that he could hear.

"...am I..." he whispered to himself, looking out at the empty winding road in front of him.

He thought back to his conversation with Takumi, his face falling in crushing realization.

"Am I the obsessive one over Soma?"

The realization made [Y/N] shudder, recounting all his experiences before Totsuki with the redhead. His home, the [L/N] Restaurant. His dependency on others, and especially his best friend.

He crouched down, resting his head on his knees. [Y/N] closed his eyes and took a moment to breathe, finally coming to an essential revelation.

He was dependent on Yukihira. Frighteningly so.

"Shit," he cursed, voice breaking.

He let his phone drop to the asphalt as he cradled his head in his hands.

"Shit, shit."

Being dependent on another person made him regret letting himself grow so close to Yukihira. It was to the point where just imagining attending Totsuki without his best friend made him panic.

"Goddammit," he mumbled into his knees.

The sky was dark, the sun completely out now. The night was quiet around [Y/N], giving him no solace or peace from his running thoughts. The rustling of leaves couldn't come close to breaking him out of his stupor.

"I'm... to him, oh god."

[Y/N] scowled as he said this and stood up with his phone. He looked down at the screen and noted how long he'd been out. It'd been more than an hour, and he had many texts from his dormmates.

And no messages or calls from Yukihira.

After a quick text sent to his dormmates, he tucked his phone into his pocket and began to walk again, trying to find at least a trace of the main school building.

But as he walked in hopes of finding the building, he couldn't help himself from pondering.

If Yukihira hadn't told him about the food war, then was [Y/N] just as important to the redhead? Or did [Y/N] care for Yukihira more without it being mutual?

"He didn't even tell me about the Don RS..."

Was he overthinking? He didn't know. The young [L/N] hoped time would tell him, because he knew now that his best friend wouldn't.

[Y/N] didn't show up for Yukihira's food war. He didn't even go to the Don RS club room that night, simply returning to the dorm when everyone was already asleep.

He wouldn't self-isolate, but he would put a finer line between himself and Yukihira. The redhead never crossed it anyway, so only [Y/N] would have to keep himself in check.

It was easier like this. 

"You're really not going?" Zenji, a nerdy boy in the Kyokusei dorm asked in shock. "But- you were so worried last night!"

The [H/C]-haired boy shrugged as he finished his breakfast, standing up and collecting the rest of the dirty dishes.

"I have chores and errands to run today," he said simply. "Just text me how it goes, okay?"

Zenji stared at [Y/N] for a moment, baffled and concerned for his dormmate. This was odd behavior for the [H/C]-ette who was attached to the redhead by the hip at all times.

Something wasn't right.

"Hey... did something happen between you and Soma?"

The words made the young [L/N] fall silent. The dirty plates were stacked in his hands. He avoided Zenjis' eyes.

"It's fine," the [H/C]-ette said simply. "I'm fixing it."

[Y/N] then left Zenji alone in the room to go into the kitchen, the eyes behind the glasses watching the [H/C]-haired boy in worry.

"We're your dormmates, [Y/N]." The shorter boy spoke from the kitchen doorway. "We're here for you. All of us."

The young [L/N] looked back at Zenji from his place at the kitchen sink, hands covered in soapy water. He looked down at his reflection in the sudsy water. His [E/C] eyes were unfocused, a mix of calm confusion and quiet desperation.

"I appreciate it," He replied sincerely, studying his troubled expression in the reflection of the dish water. "Really, I do. But if you can, I'd like you to keep this to yourself."

Zenji didn't know what to say. How could he know? He'd met [Y/N] only a short while ago, they weren't that close.

And yet, he wanted to help.

"I... what happened? Between you two?" he inquired, almost hesitantly.

The [H/C]-haired boy bit his lip at the question. He didn't know how to answer or how to explain.

He was ashamed. That, he knew for fact. He was ashamed of how he felt and his decision to deal with it.

Seeing that [Y/N] wasn't answering, Zenji awkwardly shuffled and gazed at his dormmate from the doorway.

"Are you sure you don't want to go to the food war?" he muttered quietly.

Like he already knew the answer to the question.

"Yes, I'm positive."

Zenji gave [Y/N] a curt nod and turned around to leave.

"Thank you. Zenji."

The [H/C]-ette's gratefulness was quiet, but it didn't go unheard. It made [Y/N] smile bittersweetly, knowing that he had found a person who would listen.  

Sweet, but bitter. It felt bitter knowing that the person who would listen wouldn't be his best friend.

A/N: idk if this was sad enough,, maybe ill just kill off soma. run it romeo and juliet style yk