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Au: Regular (timeskip)
Tags/Warnings: GN! Reader, strangers to lovers, Hinata is approximately 20 (turning 21 that year) while the reader is honestly either 18 or 19
Word Count: 9.4k+
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"Alright, I'm off."
The apartment behind you remained silent. You paused, lips pinching together. Head dropping for a moment, you stepped through the rectangular hole in your wall and shut the wooden door behind it. You left once you heard the lock click, dropping your keys into the side pocket of your camera bag.
As soon as you stepped outside, you pulled on your headset, cranking up the music to tune out the overwhelming amount of chatter as waves of people began making their way toward the city's centre. Despite being in a bubble of your own, the city's music seemed to sneak into your ears. You'd have to travel across it while keeping your little bubble from popping.
Carnaval do Rio de Janeiro. Your program decided to organise a gathering for students to get to know each other and make friends. After graduating high school and deciding to spend the rest of the year until the following February prepping to move, moving, and getting settled into a new environment while also sorting out all your papers and payments, you hadn't made any friends. The school year had started a couple of weeks prior, and the fact that you had managed to surround yourself with a good number of classmates that you got along with was relieving. But once classes were over and work was finished, there wasn't much to say.
Despite you asking for them to attend with you, they rejected. You understood as the group's travel time to campus was longer than your own, but it did leave a pit fear weighing down your stomach.
You couldn't help but wonder if meeting these strangers would result in anything more than it already had. If you didn't manage to find a new friend that you could enjoy the night with while getting to know them, you'd likely find yourself on your own.
Even when you entered the school building, the music was still loud even though it wasn't near the main event.
The lobby was empty. With a sigh, you lowered the volume in your headset and took a seat against one of the walls, waiting.
The first group that appeared came from deeper in the building, huddled together in their trio. One stroked his scruffy beard while listening to the short girl speak. They made their way over in your direction, giving you a nod before standing a few feet around. They must've been older students in the program. You smiled kindly, returning the nod before they huddled back together.
You couldn't hear their low tones, but the front entrance opening caught your eye as people started to pile in and immediately gather into groups. The sinking feeling in your stomach grew, taking your body with it into the chair. You crouched and pressed the volume up on your phone.
