𝐁𝐑𝐈𝐋𝐈𝐀𝐍𝐓

chapter four: lace

Akane placed a box on the floor of her new dorm, which she was moving into. Ryou stood a few feet away from her, as Alice insisted on helping her move in. However, Alice skipped off not long after, claiming she was going to make them some food.

The two noirette's were quite silent, focusing on where things were supposed to be placed. Ryou broke the silence occasionally, asking her where to place stuff. Akane broke it every few moments to ask for his thoughts on something.

Akane currently went through a box of her cooking trophies, pushing the box under the bed. She didn't care much about trophies, especially since she didn't have any accomplishing feeling in her after it. 

She briefly glanced at Ryou, doing a double-take when she noticed what was in the box he was holding. 

"Wait!" she scrambled, rushing over to him and taking the box from him. 

Ryou feigned confusion, as he raised an eyebrow at her. "Okazaki-san?"

Her pale complexion was a light crimson, her eyebrows furrowed in embarrassment. "I'll...take this box."

"What's inside?" Ryou asked, attempting to look into the box in her arms. 

Akane flinched, pulling it away. "Nothing. You..should do that box. Yes, that box should be fine."

The corner of Ryou's lips twitched upward, as he leaned in closer to her. "What are you hiding, Okazaki-san?" 

"Nothing," she quickly replied, "just...family stuff."

Ryou leaned in closer, as she avoided eye contact with him. "Oh, then let me see. I can see your family, can't I?"

Akane inwardly cursed herself for her lying skills. Family? She didn't have any! 

"No," she said quickly, "it's very personal to me." 

Ryou took another step closer to her, to which Akane started to take large steps back, and he followed closer and closer. As cliche as it was, her back hit the cream-colored wall. Ryou stepped in front of her, one of his arms caging her as he stared down at the girl who was a handful of centimeters shorter than he. The box she held was in between them, as she desperately tried to keep it closed.

"Are you hiding something, Okazaki-san?" he asked quietly, enjoying the way she squirmed slightly. 

"Why do you care?" she huffed, blowing out her cheeks. She stared into his eyes, her own filled with annoyance and embarrassment. 

Ryou couldn't help but stare back, his eyes tracing her delicate features, taking her in.

Her blank gaze. Her soft lips. Her sharp eyes. Her dark hair. 

There wasn't a single thing that wasn't perfect.

"You know," he said lowly, Akane staring up at him, "you're rather pretty." 

She tilted her head a bit, her slight bangs falling into her eyes. "You know," she copied, "you're rather handsome."

"Do you say that to every other man who says that to you?" he replied, the slightest hint of tease in his voice.