Potions Lovers | Yandere!Male x Reader

Chapter 21 - Distant Dreams

        Perhaps unbreakable bonds and promises of forever friendships were somewhat of an illusion—just one giant scam. Okay, sure, Ren always understood that, but he didn't think it applied to his friendships. His were special, never to be weathered down by the sands of time or to collapse under the strain of petty grudges, never to be seen without the rose tinted glasses that masked the true colors of his precious little friend circle from him. Now that those glasses were cracked and chipping, Ren had shut his eyes. He didn't want to look. 

No matter how strong some friendships seemed, at their very core, they were delicate and one wrong move could change it irreversibly. And try as they might to pretend otherwise, Ren and Yumi's friendship would never be the same after a single confession fractured it to pieces, leaving the two with a confusing and awkward mess to deal with. Ren wished to revert things to normal, yet deep down, he knew it would be futile because things always change. He couldn't tightly hold onto these relationships forever, forcing them to stay the same, but—ever the dreamer—Ren would try. 

These incessant thoughts robbed him of sleep tonight. Ren sank further into his pillow, shielding his eyes with his arm as if blocking out the darkness of the night was going to help him rest. Eventually, he grabbed his phone from his bedside table and squinted at his messages from this evening. 

Kenji's text told him to shake it off because things would be okay. 

Yumi's apology text included an unwanted offer to treat Ren to whatever he wanted to eat. He hadn't replied yet. 

Nao didn't bother contacting Ren—no surprise there. 

And you hadn't texted him either, nor did you need to. After the train ride home, you walked Ren back to his house and waited until you saw him safely enter inside before you stalked back into the night, taking the shortcut back to your place. It was the complete opposite of your usual routine with Ren and it had unnerved him enough to call you minutes later to ensure your safety. He'd planned to head straight to bed after you answered, but you hadn't let him. 

"Bedtime already? It's only 8pm."

"I'm done with today." Truly, he was; Ren loosened his tie and flung it off elsewhere as he spoke, quickly changing into his sleepwear. 

"I know, but just hang with me for a little bit. I wanna make sure you get through your homework first so you won't stress over it in the morning," you'd said while stifling a yawn. The sound of your bag opening and textbooks hitting your desk echoed through his phone's speakers, making him hang his head tiredly. He didn't want to, but there was a pile of assignments to complete. "Come on, Ren, let's get it out of the way...There's no need to make tomorrow more difficult than we know it'll be."

During those two hours, you took Ren's mind off of everything, which—now that he was plagued with non-stop thoughts again—he really appreciated. You didn't ask him to pretend things were okay when they weren't; you simply helped Ren stay on track. Ever since you two became friends, you watched out for each other. At a competitive school like yours, envy filled the heart of every student, and even good friends would secretly wish for each other's downfall since everyone wanted to be the greatest. Such thoughts often infected his own friends and maybe that was another reason Ren was so enamored with you; because you weren't like them. Your friendship was special, filled with love rather than hard feelings, and now that he had it, he refused to give it up. 

But...what if he had to?  

Now that Ren had analyzed today's situation with a clear mind, he realized Yumi's threat to cut ties with him was real. Earlier, you said she was probably bluffing, but he knew Yumi better than you did. Preventing him from dating anyone else wasn't a sign that she loved him, nor was it a sign that she hated you. Instead, it proved something equally troubling—that it was the idea of losing to you Yumi could not stand.