𝒫𝑅𝒪𝒫𝐸𝑅; 𝒯𝑜𝓀𝓎𝑜 𝑅𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓃𝑔𝑒𝓇𝓈

The Festival

 (3rd POV)

Festivals are supposed to be proper, A way to celebrate in a pristine, elegant manner. You don't eat, Don't speak unless spoken to and most importantly, You follow directions. That's what Rei grew up with, that's how she sees festivals, so why is this one so different? Instead of the classical music and quiet chatter, you hear the upbeat kota music and screams of joy coming from the visitors. Festivals never had games, at least none for kids, but she's been here less than a minute and seen several.

The girls approach the boys. It was decided at the last minute that Rei would go to the festival with Emma and Hina, more like Emma decided.

Mikey stares at his long-time friend, Her hair is neatly done, She's in a black and white Kimono and her face is covered with a light amount of makeup. He always thought Rei was pretty, well, prettier than average but he has never seen her like this. The longer she stares, the warmer he feels his cheeks get.

"Sorry we took so long" Hina apologises.

"It's fine" Takemichi tells the shorter girl, The 6 stroll around the festival for a while, Emma actively trying to get Draken's attention, Hina and Takemichi flirting with each other and Mikey and Rei, two friends, hanging behind them.

Rei feels a tap on her shoulder.

"I want one," Mikey tells the redhead. He points to a large bag of gummy worms, hanging off a booth which reads, "Spin for a prize!"

They're probably overpriced, Mikey knows that, But he's hungry.

"You have money?" Rei asks

"Enough" Is all he says before wrapping his around her wrist, forcing her away from the group. He could feel how stiff she was, a rare and unusual sight to see on Rei.

After 3 attempts, winning nothing more than a small stuffed bear, Rei pulls Mikey away,

"I could have won! 4 times a charm!" Hey whines

"You're buying triple of what it's actually worth" she deadpans before stopping abruptly.

"Where is everyone else?" She questions, turning to see Mikey shrugging his shoulders. Rei lets out a long groan before beginning to look. occasionally stopping to get food, play a game, or attempt small talk.

Mikey notices how quiet she is. It's not uncommon for the two to walk in comfortable silence, Rei's not necessarily a talkative person anyways, but usually, the two find something to talk about. She looks tense, hugging herself, and jumpier than usual. After a few trips to food stands and games (including a shooting one), he puts his hand on her shoulder and stares straight at her.

"Wanna get out of here?" He asks, quiet enough for only her to hear

She takes a second to respond before a smile creeps onto her face. She grabs Mikey's wrist, walking at a quicker pace than average, making their way out of the festival in silence and sitting near the parking lot, the two friends sit in silence.

"Pah loves these things" Mikey starts

"I remember, he would show up to my place with cotton candy half the time" Rei laughed

"I'm surprised Peh isn't here" She states, Mikey stares at his friend's features as they shift from a look of contentment to a look of sadness.

Peh should have been here, he loves festivals more than Pah, chances are he didn't want to go without him.

"What's wrong?" Mikey asks, staring at the girl who won't stare back. Curiosity got the best of him.

"Nothing, just thinking about Peh" She lies.

The blonde gives his friend a look that translates to "Stop bullshitting me".

"You've been off all night, if something wrong I wanna know, and don't say its about Peh because we both know you're lying" He states in a matter-of-fact way as he rests his hand on the girl's shoulder.

Rei releases a deep sigh. It's hard to lie to someone you've seen every day for five years.

"I've always hated festivals, I thought something like this would be different, guess I was wrong" She admits.

"Aiko, I've been thinking about her too much lately... She always wanted to go to something like this... It feels wrong without her," she tells him, throwing a pebble.

Mikey looks at the redhead with soft eyes.

"You should have told me, We could have ditched a while ago" He tells her.

"Yeah but, we have nothing better to do, besides, I know you like this stuff" She gestures to the scene in front of them.

Mikey stays quiet for a moment.

"Let's go then, we can check on Peh on the way" He smiles, holding out his hand.

The girl takes it, standing up and staring at the blonde, giving him a nod.

"Oh, can we stop by my place? I wanna change" She asks as they make their way to Mikey's bike.

"Really? You look really nice"

Her body freezes at the comment, Mikey thought she looked nice?

"Nice doesn't equal comfortable" She responds, brushing off his remark as she takes her seat on the back of his bike and the two begin the journey to Reis' apartment.

AN:

Hey y'all, I want Rei to be a fleshed-out character, not just a random Y/N type thing that doesn't add anything to the story. Hope ya enjoy it so far, Cya soon!