SATURN, Daniel LaRusso x reader

IV | waste my time

"I'M SO SORRY! Someone told me that the bathroom was this way—I had no clue you were in here," he explains, ultimately embarrassed. His expression softened when he noticed the tear stains resting on my cheek.

I could sense his gaze on me, and it was getting more awkward by the second. Finally, he walks toward me and says, "People were looking for you. Are you still going to play?" He then sits beside me. His back is also against the wall while he keeps an appropriate distance between our figures.

Shaking my head in denial, I whisper, "I don't feel like it." My voice cracked mid-sentence, but I didn't care. I'm too sad to care about anything right now. If I lost Alex that quick, who else could I lose? Daniel's sight trailed to my red stuffy nose, separating his lips to speak but he paused.

"I, uhm..." he initiates, halting halfway which causes me to jerk my head towards him. "I think you did great out there. I don't know why you're sad but if it's about that, you did amaz—"

"It's not about that." I interrupted before bawling my fist up. I looked away from the boy to face forward, spacing out. The more I pondered about what was wrong, I felt tears swell up in my eyes. A good ten seconds of silence existed before I broke down—sobbing out loud again.

LaRusso's gaze shifted to confusion, furrowing his eyebrows as he scooted closer to me. He then belts his arm around my shoulder to pull me in so I can wail on him instead. I accept the side hug, fully leaning in.

He strokes his fingers through my hair in a repeated motion. "Shhh," he coos. He assures, "It's going to be okay. You're going to be okay." His breath syncs up with mine whilst his nose is touching the top of my head—meaning his lips brushed on my head every time I inhaled.

"If my mom was here, she'd understand." My breathing lost its pattern when I started crying heavily again. "I—I just want to be in her arms again. I never got to say good—goodbye." Being a stuttering mess, I begin muttering incoherent things through my hands and choking on my sobs.

It's like a great tremor overtook me when the tears raced down my cheeks like it was a competition. Somehow I'd always bring in my mom in situations when I'm sad, mad, or upset. I can't help it and I don't want to anytime soon. If my mom was here, all my problems would be gone in an instant.

Daniel adjusts himself to get closer, making contact with his warm body on mine. He proceeds to stroke the strands of my hair as the other hand is still wrapped around my shoulder. "I'm sorry, [y/n]. I can't imagine how you must feel, but just know that there are other people you can always talk to."

My orbs travel up to gaze at Daniel. I examine his complexion before licking my lips. He looked somewhat different. The locker room's light is dim, his hair is messier and darker than usual, and his lips appear plumper.

Slowly, I hesitantly lean in and press my lips against his. He immediately backs away, utterly speechless. His mouth fell agape, trying his hardest to not seem upset. I instantly get embarrassed—biting down on my lip so I don't break out in tears again.

"Do you not like me?" I ask as if I was the problem. His hand moves away from my hair, placing it down on the floor whilst shaking his head.

"No, no," he secures, "it's not that. You have a boyfriend and all..."

"We broke up," I correct. "Today, actually."

"You're not in the right mindset right now, [y/n]," he truthfully answers like he'd been waiting to say that. My sight flickers back forward before considering his words. What did he mean by that? "But it's fine. We can stay friends if that's what you want."

"I'd like that."

Weeks have passed since that day. The day Alex left me. The day Daniel and I officially became friends. I've been doing a bit better, but school has been a challenge for me. With rumors spiraling everywhere on how Alex broke up with me for cheating, and now me dating Daniel sucks.