(Y/n)'s POV
I hurried to the convenience store a few blocks down the street, navigating past other pedestrians and strolling families. Walking through the automatic doors, I headed straight to the counter.
"Hello, I was wondering if you'd be able to tell me if a boy with light blue-greyish hair around 180cm tall came by?"
"You mean IDOLiSH7's Yotsuba Tamaki? Are you his manager?"
"I'm his assistant manager. He's supposed to go on in a few minutes."
"He did come in to buy some king pudding. A few high school students came by and took him somewhere though."
"High school students?"
"Yeah, are they perhaps his friends?"
School friends? I didn't and hadn't bothered to pry into his school life as it was considered an unprofessional 'violation'. A barely noticeable numbing spread in my stomach, a vile degree of worry infecting my mind.
"Thank you for the info."
The wind scissored my hair, rushing to cool my skin. With it carried various sounds of natural occurrences, yet the quiet growl of frustration hadn't escaped my ears.
The sound had come from a nearby location. I walked to the back of the store, holding back a wince and soft gasp as a maroon-haired student pushed Tamaki against the wall. Two others stood watching the exchange, content to let their 'friend' do as he wished.
"It's always 'So-chan this' and 'So-chan that' with you," sneered the male.
"What is this? Bullying? Three on one seems unfair."
"Who are you? Stay out of our business."
"You've made a whole mess of my idol, yet you seem to be completely fine."
"The wuss wouldn't fight back."
"Were you looking for a fight?"
I took a step forward. He jerked his head towards me, gesturing for his two to take care of me. This, to his surprise, gouged a reaction out of the idol, who glared daggers into his eyes.
"Ne, before your friends beat me up, let me ask you something."
"Huh? You seem oddly calm in a situation like this."
"Why are you doing this?"
"Isn't it obvious?"
"No."
"Must we spell it out for you, Miss Idiot?"
"Yes, I'm afraid you'll have to."
"He doesn't take this seriously! With all the fame and popularity he has, he completely ignores his fan's support! If I were him-"
"You're a real moron, aren't you?"
"What?"
He released Tamaki, who gasped and looked worriedly between me and the student. I met the maroon-haired male's arrogant gaze, smirking to provoke him even further.
His fingers grasped my chin, tilting my head upwards to peer into my eyes. I glanced between the two other students now patiently waiting for their leader's command.
"Don't touch her!" Tamaki growled.
"Oh? Finally have some bite?" asked his attacker.
"...Tamaki, you did a good job holding back. It must've been hard. I'm gonna get you out of this situation."
"What are you gonna-"
I kneed the male in his stomach, pushing his writhing body to the side. He yelled at his friends to grab a hold of me, yet before they could, Tamaki's fist collided with their unsuspectingly cruel faces.
"I thought I told you to lay your hands off her!" he exclaimed.
"Stop fighting! I've recorded our conversation from before. If you promise to leave quietly, I won't send it to the police."
"And how are we supposed to trust you?" asked the leader.
"You have my word. It's up to you whether to believe me or not though."
"Tch, let's go."
We watched as the three boys grudgingly left the scene. A sigh of relief escaped my mouth. The bluff actually worked. Tamaki suddenly punched the wall and let out a yell of desperation.
"Hey, you're already hurt enough."
"(Y/n)-chan...I...they said so many cruel things about So-chan..." he whispered.
"I know."
"I wanted to fight back so bad...everything he said made me so mad..."
"I know."
"...thinking about everyone else made me stop."
My arms instinctively embraced the tall male. He buried his face in my shoulder as hot tears streamed down his cheeks. His hands clenched together as if barely containing the anger; the pain.
I didn't bother saying anything. What he needed weren't words half-heartedly spoken to alleviate his sorrow. He simply needed a companion to share the burden.
Fast-approaching footsteps could be heard nearing our location. I stepped back from Tamaki, who still stubbornly maintained a grip on my sleeve. Ryuu rounded the corner, his face a mixture of urgency and worry.
"What are you doing here? Gaku's already started the interview," he said.
His eyes slipped to Tamaki's dirtied face, his hand firmly clutched to me.
"What happened?" he asked, calmer this time.
"A bunch of immature students came by. Can you take him back? He'll explain everything later. He needs to be treated."
"(Y/n)-chan, where will you be going?" Tamaki asked.
"To an interview. Gaku-nii's probably gonna explode from worry. I need to get going."
"...sorry."
"There's nothing you need to apologise for. Ryuu'll take care of you."
"I'm not a kid."
This made me laugh. The two exchanged subtle greetings before I hurriedly made my way to the bus stop. The bus I needed to catch arrived just as I reached the station.
A figure waved at me from the back. A feeling of deja vu hit me like rain crashing against the window glass. Momo moved across to let me slide into the seat.
"Hey," he greeted.
"Hey, where are you going?"
"I uh...kinda ditched lunch earlier because I didn't like the food but I'm heading to a show now."
"Was Yuki mad at you?"
"*laughs* Very. He scolded me over the phone but I know better than to skip out on work. It was just lunch."
"Of course."
"Are you going somewhere?"
"Yeah, my brother's already started without me. It's an interview."
"An interview? Oh! Yuki mentioned something like that over the phone! I'm going there too. It's at the same venue."
"I see."
He offered a smile before we eased into a comfortable silence.
YOU ARE READING
Charismatic Lie (Iori x reader)
Fanfiction(L/n) (Y/n) is Trigger's assistant manager, and Gaku's younger sister. She has many clashes with her father due to their incompatible personalities, where their anger leads to the both of them thinking they despise each other. She later becomes IDO...
