Your Admirer | Idia Shroud x Reader

Face to Face | part 8

"Am I the only one in here?" you took one glance around the convience store, your shoes sliding across the tiled floor. The shelves were only a little taller than you, and everything was so cramped together that you were basically forced to triple check aisles. "What even is a strawberry chocolate cone thing..?"

Looking at the snack section was like seeing a rainbow up close. There were various assortments of candy, chips, and weird caramel balls that no one ever bought. "The packaging is probably pink." you thought you'd just be buying maybe two items maximum, but all of this food was too tempting to ignore.

A bright industrial light hung above your head, and you could hear its metal hanger rocking every few seconds or so. "I can't read this." you murmured, as you flipped an aluminum-wrapped bag over in your hand. "But the picture looks yummy, so why not?" and just like that, the snack was tossed into your basket.

Then, you turned and walked over to the meals. "I should probably get some real food too." you picked up a few sandwiches, carefully reading the ingredients for Rimi's sake. She was pretty picky, surprisingly. "This'll do. There's no way she dislikes ham, cheese, and lettuce." for the first time in a while, you felt normal.

You missed this feeling- this feeling of fitting in. After all these months, your life had changed. Everywhere you went you were noticed, and your selfies were probably in thousands, if not millions of strangers' camera galleries. You would've never imagined a small convenience store to be this comforting.

The quiet sound of mellow, city pop music echoed across the entire store, bouncing off the walls. There were no blaring car alarms or blabbering tourists on the street outside, since it was so late in the evening. It was tranquil. And you'd be fine spending a lot of money if it meant that you could stay.

As your hand reached for the cold, wet glass of the freezer, another came into view. "Oh, go ahead." you said instinctively, as you stepped back and gave the other customer space. Their fingernails were painted with jet black polish, and every time they moved, the bones in their knuckles would protrude.

But there was no response. They heaved out an entire carton of diet soda cans and placed it inside their basket. You thought it was your turn, until they reached for another beverage. "Here." the man's voice was deep and quiet, as he handed you the exact drink that you were planning to get. It was your favorite.

Your head tilted to the side, as you peered up under the shade of his jacket hood, hoping to catch a glimpse of his face. "How did you know I-"

"Y-You're (Y/N), right? The idol." he nudged the drink in his hand a little upwards, signaling for you to grab it. "I'm a fan." he smiled, flashing a set of sharp, pointy white teeth. You recognized him instantly, from that low voice to his long, fiery, blue hair. It was the same guy from the mall, there was no doubt about it. 

You made sure to maintain your friendly demeanor. "Thank you." the heavy weight of your new item was added to your cart. "What do I do now? Guess I'll just turn around..?" the first step was the hardest to take, but eventually, you had set off in the direction of the cashier. "Focus on the present, (Y/N)." you told yourself, "You can always think later."

. . . 

Once you were at the counter, "Crap." even in the deepest depths of your pocket, you couldn't find a single coin. All you had to offer was lint, and of course you weren't about to pay with that. That was when you heard it- his voice. Glancing back was optional, because you already knew the person who stood behind you.

"I, uh. I can pay for her." the tall, lanky boy came up to your side. He held his wallet with both of his hands, as if it were the most precious thing in the world. "H-How much? You said twenty-nine? All right.." he unzipped it, causing tons of coins to spill out. But he ignored them, and continued to hand the worker a wad of cash.

He struggled to respond to the cashier's questions, and instead preferred to nod or shake his head. It was only after you had made accidental eye contact, that you realized you were staring. You immediately jolted your head away, as an unfamiliar warmth enveloped the skin of your cheeks. "I owe you." you mumbled.

For just a moment, the boy smiled with closed lips. But it looked kind of awkward, due to how furrowed his eyebrows were. Another thing you hadn't noticed until now was the unnatural, blue color surrounding his eyelids and his mouth. His skin matched the shade of snow, and there wasn't a single blemish or scar on it.

What other choice did you have other than leaving the store with him? You made sure to keep your distance away, as you simultaneously exited the automatic, front doors. "Really? Just my luck.." you whispered to yourself, as cold droplets of rain pattered against your forehead. It had started pouring.

But then, the boy suddenly began to speak. "Uh, I have an umbrella. Hang on." he slipped the straps of his backpack off his shoulders. Then, he pulled out a small, mini-umbrella. "You can use it." the first thing he did was offer it to you, but you could do nothing except stand there frozen, staring directly at his face- which he was still hiding.

".. What's your name?" your voice overpowered the falling raindrops on the street, cutting through the awkward silence.

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authors note: we're finally getting somewhere everyone!! thankfully idia isn't as creepy face-to-face as he seems online. since this is the last fully-written draft before i publically publish the story, i'll include a more detailed qna (basically me just explaining my writing LOL)

Q&A
1. how much time has passed since part 1?
- about 5-6 months :) this explains why (y/n) couldn't connect the dots between the notebook/meet and greet/etc. they deal with so many other things that it's impossible to remember one fan from 6 months ago.

2. why is Idia also at the convenience store?
- it's coincidence, so there's no need to look too much into it. i'd assume that idia'd like to live near a city because of all the shops, and he'd totally get a place near a famous agency building.

3. where have we seen Idia in the story?
 - i've tried to include Idia in every part. he was the fan holding the lightstick at the concert in part 2, hence the rattling in his backpack at the diner. he's also Gloomurai.

4. why are some scenes so creepy?
- i intentionally make some scenes creepy because an important theme i wanted to convey in this fic was parasocial relationships. also, idia is not good at expressing his emotions. he probably doesn't see anything wrong with his actions because he's so obsessed with (y/n). of course, this will all be developed on later :)

5. how many parts will there be?
- i have no idea. i'll write until i think the story comes to a good close. probably over 50 parts! my school is starting soon though, so uploads may go slow. but i'll try my best to stay consistent, since i actually really like this plot.

8/4/2023
2:28 AM