trauma bonding ~ dustbunny

twelve

"Let me know if you need anything else," Tomura muttered, placing the drinks he hand balanced on his tray onto the table. The two high school girls smiled up at him. "Thank you Onii-Chan!" The pink hair girl giggles. Her purple haired friend waves her off. "Can we please have some straws?" Right. That's important. Tomura pulled out two straws from the pocket of his apron. "Don't stay out too long, your lunch period is almost over." Both girls nod, promising to make it back to their campus in time for their next class. 

"Tomura?" Amajiki went to tap his shoulder but instantly retracted his hand. He was a quick learner and it didn't take long for him to realize that touching, especially without warning, was a huge no. "There's, um, someone waiting for you at the counter," Amajiki says under his breath. Already? Spinner wasn't supposed to be here until one. He's over an hour and a half early. Tomura walks to the front but it's not Spinner. 

It's her.

Fucking kill me. She stood a few feet in front of him with his bag. That's right, he left it at the gym. "Tomura, right?" How did she know his name. They've only met twice and he's barely said anything. "I'm friends with Fuyumi." Oh, that made more sense. He nods; his throat was already beginning to swell up. "Can I help you?" he forces out in a monotone voice. "You left your bag." She holds it out for him to take. "Burn it," he deadpans. That damn bag was nothing more than a reminder of how pathetic he was. He didn't want it anymore. "I thought about it. But the headphones look expensive."

Wait.

He instantly takes it and undoes the zipper. He had been looking for those all morning, he didn't even realize he had taken them to the gym with him. The bag could go but these were an absolute need. "Thank you," he mutters. "Yeah...um..." She glares at the ground and twirls her hair long pale white hair around her finger. "I'm shit at apologies so...my bad?" Her eyes flicker from the ground to the window. That's when Tomura notices their the same color as his. Not the exact same. Her's are prettier; shiny and bright. Meanwhile, Tomura's appeared dual and empty. 

"Do you workout often?" She asked randomly. Tomura glanced down at his body. "Not as much as I should," he responded truthfully; which surprised him. "Thanks," Tomura repeated. He physically could not express how grateful he was to be reunited with his headphone. And he wasn't going to try. "Yeah, it's....nothing." Tomura didn't question how she found him, he decided to believe Fuyumi told her. 

"Rumi?" Tomura tensed watching his manager come from behind the counter. "It's nice to see you again dear," Sako greets. Rumi. That's her name. Her face turns bright red as she fidgets with her hair faster. "Yeah, uh, hi," she says, waving slightly. "I wasn't aware the two of you knew each other." Tomura falls silent but fortunately for him she leads the conversation. "I was just dropping something off," she answers. "How nice. Would you like coffee dear?" she shakes her head. "No thank you." He nods. "Well let me know if you need anything."

"You know Mr. Atsuhiro?" Again she adverts her eyes away from him. "I applied here last week." she admits. "Job hunting it harder than I anticipated." Tomura nods, making a mental note. "I'm sorry," he says because he has no idea how to respond to that. "That's what I was supposed to say."
"Let's pretend you did." 
She chuckles rolling her eyes. But she smiles. And that was nice to see. They stand there for a second just staring at each other, neither one knowing how to end the conversation properly. Finally Rumi says, "I'll let you get back to work." Tomura nods, watching her leave the cafe'. 

Why is she so pretty?