Broken Strings (Len x reader)

Chapter 13

(Y/n)'s POV

~After school~

The loud sound of the school bells filled my ears. It snapped me out of my trance and got me focused on packing up my stuff.

To be honest, I wanted to get out as fast as I could. It was horribly painful to watch Len and Hino together. Every time, my heart tore apart whenever I saw them...and he didn't even spare a glance at me.

Hino would constantly send glares and mocking smirks in my direction. I simply rolled my eyes and muttered some silly name for her whenever she did, making sure she could hear me loud and clear.

"Tsukimori, (Y/n)'s being mean," she would say to Len.
"So what? Just ignore her," he would reply back.

A frown always formed on her face whenever he said that. For some reason, I got the feeling that she actually wanted him to get mad and talk some sense into me, but he didn't. He never did...

Why though? Why would he avoid the trouble of being a good boyfriend? Was there some secret reason he had for his actions? Ugh, thinking about this wouldn't help me.

I walked past the school gates and decided to head to town to get my mind off this. Without thinking, I had went into a cosy, vintage cafe. This was the one I used to go to when mum was still alive...

The waiter came over and asked for my order, so I just ordered one of the cheapest things on the menu. There was a whole lot more I wanted to eat/drink but I didn't have much money to spend.

"Yo (Y/n)!"
"Kazuki, you're here too?"
"Yeah, I wanted to buy some snacks before I went home," he replied while sitting down in front of me.
"Oh."
"What are you doing here?"
"Just relaxing. I have nothing better to do."
"Hey, why don't we practise?"
"Right now?"
"Yeah! I'm sure it'll be tons of fun!"
"Um sure, I don't mind."

After a while of 'arguing', we finally decided on a fairly simple piece to play. While we played, many people gathered inside the small cafe to watch us. This only encouraged me to play better.

There was a fire lit in Kazuki's eyes every time he blew into his trumpet. I couldn't help but smile. It sure was a good feeling to play for others, especially with a good friend by your side.

Everyone seemed to be mesmerised by our performance as we attracted more and more viewers. After we finished a few songs, we gave a slight bow.

Kazuki gave me a reassuring hug with his arm before ruffling my hair. I simply smiled back and packed away my violin. Wait, there was a small piano in the corner! I would love to play it!

"That was an amazing performance! Mind playing for us again? We'll give you your orders without charge," said the waiter.
"Sure. You don't mind if I play the piano, do you?"
"What?! You can play the piano?!" Kazuki asked, surprised.
"That'll be great," the waiter replied.

Kazuki eagerly sat down on a nearby chair after pulling it closer to the piano in the corner. I sat down on the bench and started to play 'River Flows in You'.

~Some time later~

Kazuki had already left saying that he needed to go home. The sun had started to set. *sigh* Haku-nii was probably going to get worried if I didn't get home soon.

The walk home wouldn't take too long so I decided to walk along the streets inside of going through the short cut Haku-nii and I discovered a few years back. It wasn't dangerous or anything, just a little deserted.

As I was walking, I couldn't help but feel like someone or some people were following me. It was strange because when I turned around, there was no one behind me. Maybe a parent with their child but they weren't the ones giving me an uneasy feeling.

I walked a little faster, hoping that this stupid feeling would just go away. It never did so I called Haku-nii. He picked up on the third ring but he sounded tired.

"Yeah?"
"Haku-nii? Are you okay? You sound tired."
"What? I'm fine. When are you coming back?"
"I'm on my way now."
"Don't take too long."
"I won't. See you soon."

*sigh* In the end, I wasn't able to tell him how uneasy I felt. Maybe he had a bad day at work or something. I shouldn't bother him if he was feeling exhausted.

I slowed down just a little, because I probably seemed weird walking like a madman. I honestly couldn't help it if I did look like one. That uneasy feeling was still there and I don't think it was planning to go away any time soon.

"Hey, you alone?" asked a creepy guy.
"Leave me be, Mr."
"You're a student at Seiso Academy? That's that music school, right?"
"Sorry but I have to go."

I tried to walk away but his hand immediately grabbed onto my arm and pulled me back.

"Where do you think you're going?"
"Let me go."
"Why? Come on, why don't we go to my place?"

I kicked him, hoping to get him to let go of my arm but his grip was like glue. He then began dragging me towards a dark alleyway. I tried desperately to get free but nothing was working.

It was pointless to scream for help since there was no one around but I still tried. The man covered my mouth with his rough hand before throwing me against the wall.

I winced in pain as he towered over me. N-no, this cannot be happening...someone please save me...