The Rain, It Pours (The Forest of Drizzling Rain Fanfic)

Chapter 5

Suga's eyes widened ever so slightly, and his already thin lips pursed tighter together until they were as pale as his face. Shiori couldn't be sure, but she thought he looked somewhat... disappointed? Even so, she didn't get a chance to ask as he turned his face away from her view to stare up at the blinking neon sign. It looked like the "B" was about to fade out soon.

"A... date?"

Shiori bobbed her head, though Suga wasn't looking to see it.

"Yes. If you plan on speaking to an entire counsel of strangers, you're going to have to get used to speaking to at least one stranger, right? What better way than a date?"

Shiori could barely make out the shift in his gaze from the sign to her as his dark eyes lost the reflecting green shimmer.

"I won't be... dating the counsel... though."

Shiori sneered,

"Oh, I don't know. The mayor seemed pretty intent on seeing you this morning."

Suga let out a terrified gasp before turning away completely. Shiori laughed louder then and poked his shoulder.

"Hey, you know I was just kidding. It's just a joke."

He turned his head to peer at her over his shoulder.

"Is... the date a joke?"

Her hand fell away from his back, and she stared into his eyes. They were dimly illuminated from the word "Mountain," but that only intensified the shadows lurking at their edges. She couldn't tell if he was being serious or naïve again. She hesitantly took in a breath.

"No."

He stared at her a few seconds longer, all in silence except for the occasional laughter escaping the tavern. Finally, he sighed, and turned back to fully face the entrance. She eyed his chest as he took in a long breath.

"Well... let's get this over with."

He sounded pained, and she couldn't help the sudden stinging in her chest.

Upon entering the bar, Suga and Shiori were immediately enveloped by a cloud of smoke. At least five smokers sat at the main bar, taking long drags, as if in long conversation with one another. Shiori fanned her hands and wrinkled her nose in distaste while Suga hacked and turned his face away. One of the smokers, a man with burly arms and a beard eyed the pair from across the room. He stared for a few seconds, then took another long drag.

Shiori swallowed, now suddenly regretting the idea. Then, she looked at Suga, saw the horror in his face, the uncomfortable squirming in his hands and body, and immediately took his hand. Shocked, he jumped, then eyed their clasped hands.

She smiled.

"Dance with me."

Suga's eyes widened.

"I-I don't..."

But she didn't give him a chance to finish.

Already, she was dragging him to the dance floor... if you could call it that. It wasn't a very large tavern. It had actually once been used for town meetings. Then, the museum was built up, and with it came the tourists. With tourists came money, and with money came a need for more entertainment. So, the town hall was retired, and the tavern was born. The dance floor had once been the waiting area. They knocked the wall down to put in a bar and open up the meeting area for the drinks and the coolers.

There was no place left for a stage, so they simply marked off the performance area with police tape. It gave the entire bar a grungy feel that turned most of the older, more proper folks away. It drew in the young people and the grunge like flies, though. The stage brought in all the dreamers in the town. Of course, most of the dreamers were just kids who brought their guitar to class and liked to tell their friends they would be leaving for the city once they heard back from their "record label."