Doki Doki Movie Club! - A SM AU Fanfiction!

25: Answering Radfords Question!

"I WOULD DRIVE HOME WITH RICK" (RICK ROUTE PT 0.4)

"Well.." I trailed off, the radio filling my silence. I could still feel Radford staring at me with that look of sad anticipation in his eyes. I had to admit, driving Rick back to his house sounded nice.. even if it would be a bit awkward. But I wasn't sure how to tell Radford that.

Feeling the breeze of the air conditioning brush against my face and the weight of my awkward sighs mingling with the air, I finally replied after contemplating how I wanted to answer. "Well.. I.. admittedly, I'd kinda wanna drive Rick home."

"Re—Really?!" Radford questioned, raising his head. Whining slightly, he frowned more. "Dudeee...!"

"He—Hey! You asked me the question." I quickly replied with vehemence in my tone. I then rubbed a palm against my face. "Well.. if he asked me to, I'd drive him home. He's not much of a talker, but listening to some silence for a chance would be nice."

"Wh—hey, what's that supposed to mean?!" Radford grumbled with a pout.

"Nothing! Nothing.. I was just—joking.." I paused, before letting out a sigh and glancing back over to him. "Look, all I'm saying is I'd drive him if he wanted me to. You could still come along. It'd just mean I'd have more people to drop off."

Radford hesitated, before letting out a sigh—a weak smile slowly forcing itself onto his lips. "Well, I.. guess you're right on that one. It actually would be kinda cool to be talk to Rick more though, so I'd understand why you'd wanna drive him home yourself."

"Heh.. do you mean it'd be cool for me to talk to him more, or that it'd be cool for you to be able to have an excuse to talk to one of your friends?" I jokingly asked with a smug grin.

Radford gasped in offense—frowning. "Hey—!"

"Kidding, kidding.." I uttered. The radio then began to fill the silence that was shared between us again. It felt kinda awkward to be honest, even if the banter between us seemed light-hearted. But.. oh well, it was Radford. He'd be fine. Even when things got all dark and dim, he usually acted like his normal cheerful and movie-obsessed self.

After that, the topic moved to something different—and I eventually dropped Radford off back at his house.

————

"I WOULD DRIVE HOME WITH KEVIN" (KEVIN ROUTE PT. 0.4)

"I.. uhh.."  I trailed off, unsure of how to respond to his questions. After a few seconds of letting the air conditioning brush against my skin, I let out a sigh. "..I.. guess I'd drive Kevin home. I mean.. no offense to you or anything, but if he asked me to, I don't think I'd be able to turn the offer down—"

"Wh—dudeee!" Radford whined with a tight frown upon his lips, his brows furrowing.

"Hey! You could come too. Just because I'd be driving him home in this scenario doesn't mean you can't tag along." I protested.

"Well.. okay, yeah, that's true.." Radford muttered in response. Quietly, he grumbled to himself while crossing his arms, "..still not really cool of you though.."

"Ehhh.. you'll be fine. Besides—if Kevin did tag along, that'd mean free snacks, right?" I asked with a light-hearted laugh. Had I not been driving, I would have playfully nudged him with my elbow a little.

Radfords eyes immediately widened with excitement, and sparkles shimmering in his eyes, he mumbled to himself with a grin, "Oh—oh, yeah! Yeah, it—" He then paused—the sparkles fading out of his eyes. Suspiciously, he said in a scolding tone, "Heyyy.. you aren't thinking of asking him if he wants to be driven home just so you can get free snacks out of him, are you?"

"Mmm.. maybe." I jokingly replied back with a smug smile.

"Dude!" Radford yelled defensively, leaning foward with his brows furrowed. Oops..

"H—Hey, dude. I was just joking.." I responded with a laugh—a little amused at his anger.

"C'mon, Kevin's a really nice person! You can't just think snacks are the only thing he's good for!"

"That—that's not what I think—"

"Oh, really? Then why'd you only join the club when I—"

...yeahhhh.. eventually, that just led into one of our more petty arguments. But the argument died down once Radford eventually got that I was joking, and apologized before moving onto another topic like he usually did. Even so—I wasn't really alarmed. He was Radford. If I decided to drive Kevin home, he'd be alright.

After a few more minutes of driving, I eventually dropped him off. And then began to drive back to my house.

————

"I WOULD STILL DRIVE YOU HOME, RADFORD." (RADFORD ROUTE PT. 0.4)

After a few seconds of silence filled faintly by the car radio, I let out a sigh and spoke back. "Dude.. I'd still drive you home. You really think I'd ditch you for either of them?"

"I—no! It's just.." Radford hesitates. "..they're both really nice and fun to be around. I was just asking if you'd wanna drive them home because.. because I.. ugh.." Radford struggles to find the words, glancing down at his lap yet again.

"I already see them both in the club every night, dude. I don't need to see them more. Besides, I drive you to your work and to your house all the time. What's the point in changing that kinda routine if it makes you happy?" I asked, glancing back at him in the corner of my eye with a confused frown upon my face.

Radford pauses, before looking off to the side with some sort of shade of red beginning to fill his cheeks—barely lit up by the bright buttons in the car. "Dude, you think too much about me. If either of them wanna drive with you, it's fine—"

"Radford, I already said it's you I'd drive with. I'm not changing my mind on that." I firmly replied. I then added with a sigh after a few seconds, "..don't worry. There's no need to think about it. Especially when nothing like that is even gonna happen."

"..."

Radford was being.. suspiciously quiet tonight, especially on the drive back to his home. It was kinda weird for him to ask something like that. He looked to be spacing out a lot, so I figured he probably didn't want anymore conversation after that. I continued to drive along the road in silence—only occasionally commenting on a few things out loud or turning up the radio so he wouldn't be too bored while sitting there in the silence.

After a few more minutes, I eventually made it to his house—and dropped him off there just as I always did. But a part of me couldn't help but wonder what was gonna happen after he asked me that. After all, this was my first movie festival. So who knows what's gonna happen?

————

Tapping my pen against the surface of my desk, I lean over with a weak smile on my lips as I try to think of what to write for tomorrow.

Radford—he.. did seem a bit sad tonight when I was driving him home, so maybe I could write something for him? But Rick was also a really nice and quiet guy that seemed to have a lot more effect with his praise than he should have, so I could impress him too. Then again, Kevin might actually seem proud of me for once instead of acting all skeptical if I write for him.

After a few moments—I could hear a vehicle pass by my window, ans as if on cue, an idea clicked into my head. A more confident smile formed itself on my lips. Because of the past few days I had been hear, I was starting to get more confident in my writing. Especially now that I had thought of who I wanted to impress.

With determination, I began to write at my paper.