Beneath Their Devotion (Yanderes x Reader)

5. Mother's Advice

The clinking of silverware and the muted conversations around her did little to distract Y/N from the storm brewing in her mind. She sat alone in the common room, picking at her breakfast.

The light outside was soft but it didn't calm her as it usually did. The call with her mother the night before had left her on edge.

"We'll talk in person," her mother had said, her voice distant. It was a tone that always sent chills down Y/N's spine.

The implications of that statement weighed heavily on her. The idea that she would be coming to the nearby town this evening.

Y/N could feel it—dread lingering at the edges of her thoughts. She wasn't ready to face whatever her mother was going to say. Not yet. Preferably not ever, actually.

Pushing a piece of toast across her plate, she sighed, wishing she could tune out the world for a while.

"Y/N!" A familiar, energetic voice broke through her thoughts.

A familiar voice she recognised instantly. Akira.

Before she could make sense of what was happening, he grabbed her wrist, pulling her out of her seat.

His usual bright smile was plastered on his face as he dragged her to another table, his grip firm but not rough. "You look upset. C'mon, you're sitting with us," he declared as if it had already been decided.

Surprised, Y/N allowed herself to be led across the room. But my breakfast...

She hadn't even seen Akira when she first sat down—he must have just arrived.

She found herself suddenly facing the guy she had noticed at the maze the other day. The guy who had held her hand. He sat slouched over the table, his head resting on his hand, his eyelids drooping as if he were about to drift off at any moment.

She had never spoken to him, but he seemed different from most of the others she had encountered so far at Thornebridge.

Akira, still grinning, motioned to the seat beside the sleepy stranger. "This seat is free," he said.

Y/N hesitated, glancing at the half-asleep figure who finally lifted his head to look at her. His eyes were a deep, piercing shade of grey, like clouds before a thunderstorm. Pretty.

"Yuuichi," he stated, introducing himself without any preamble, his voice lethargic.

"Y/N," she replied, sitting down. She felt a little off-balance from how quickly everything had changed.

She had expected a quiet morning, and now she was sitting between two people, one who seemed to have endless energy, and the other who looked like he could fall asleep right there in the middle of breakfast.

"So, you guys know each other?" Yuuichi's eyes flicked from Y/N to Akira, his brows knitting together.

Akira scratched the back of his neck, looking a little sheepish—a rare sight for him.

"Yeah, we grew up together." His voice trailed off at the end, a soft chuckle escaping his lips.

Y/N noticed Yuuichi watching her closely. There was something in his gaze, curiosity perhaps, but it felt more intense than the lazy demeanour he was projecting.

She shifted uncomfortably in her seat, feeling like she was under a microscope.

"So," Yuuichi said, breaking the silence that had formed, "are you... close?"

"Pretty close," she said quickly, trying to sound more nonchalant than she felt. "We've known each other for a long time."

Akira beamed. "Very close."