Silence | Book 1

2-9: Coffee

A loud buzz rang through Tristan's apartment, startling him from the last few pages of his book. This early? He thought as he checked his phone for the time. It proudly displayed the time as a little after eleven o'clock, and just in that moment it gave the ping of a new text message.

H: It's me

Tristan rolled his eyes and plucked his keys from the counter before putting on his coat. He typed back with one hand while he went through his keys to find the one for his door.

T: I know, on my way.

Once he'd sent his message, he stepped outside and closed the front door, locking it.
With hasty steps he descended the stairs, until finally he reached the ground floor, where he could pretend it hadn't taken any effort at all. With a slight smile he opened the outside door, which was rather old, the dark green paint chipped away and scratched by years of students moving in and out. On the doorstep he found Hibiki, who grinned and lifted a hand to greet him, while flanked by Kazuya and Hideki which made him look even smaller than he was in actuality. Before Tristan could say anything, Hibiki proudly held up a set of keys and rattled them a little.
"Er...?" Tristan said while trying to smile as if he knew what that meant. Hibiki just sighed and pulled out his wallet, flipping it open to show him a brand new driver's license.
"Oh! You got your driver's license?" Tristan's smile widened as he realised what the car keys meant, and Hibiki grinned back with an excited nod. He stuffed his keys and wallet back into his pocket, to write a message.

'I can finally drive again'

"When did you get it?"

'Friday. I had to pass a few tests first.'

"Getting used to driving on the left side?"

Hibiki shook his head.

'People drive on the left side in Japan too. I'm used to that. I just had to drive with an examiner for half an hour.'

"They do?"
Hibiki nodded.
"I didn't know that, but I'm glad you passed." Tristan said with a smile, and Hibiki grinned back.

'Shall we go?'

"Yeah." He replied, perhaps a little too eager, as Hibiki gestured for him to come with to where the car was parked.

Despite the grey weather, Hibiki's new car shone like it had just been driven out of a showroom. Once more it had Tristan in awe, not sure how he felt knowing that Hibiki could probably throw enough money out of the window to pay for his entire tuition and not blink an eye. He didn't get much time to think about it however, as Hibiki already had opened the door for him.
Tristan sat down on the cream-coloured leather seat, and was in the middle of fastening his seatbelt when Hibiki flopped down into the driver's seat, far more relaxed about it than he was. Somehow he felt like he would stain the neat interior just by touching it – so he kept his hands on his knees. At least until Hibiki caught on, and he got shaken lightly by his shoulder.
"Hey... what's that for?" He asked, once he was done swaying from left to right.
Hibiki just looked at him and pushed one of the corners of his mouth up, telling him to smile. Tristan complied, smiling a little, before he realised that his cheeks were flushing. Quickly he looked away, only for Hibiki to chuckle slightly before he set to typing something on his phone.

'Don't worry about money, if you want something just get it'

"Oh you don't have,-" he was immediately shushed by a raised hand.

'There is no money. It does not exist'

"What are you on about? Of course it exists, I am sitting in it."