I'm Still Here (Hiro x Reader)

Chapter Three

| Your POV |

The next night, you head to the bench again. It's been a bad day. The stars are barely visible tonight. And what makes everything worse? That kid is on the bench again.

Sighing, you continue to make your way to the bench. You take your seat on the far end. Two minutes after you sit down, the kid says, "Do you come here a lot?"

You look over at him. "Yeah. Pretty much every day. What about you? I've never seen you here."

"Yeah, I'm just here to hide from my brother." He rolls his eyes. "I try to go to these bot fights-"

"Illegal," You chime in.

The kid points at you and smiles. "Betting is illegal. Fighting isn't."

"Fair enough. Go on."

"Anyways, so I'm in the middle of a fight- and yeah, so I kind of trick the guys and all that, but it's cool. I'm pretty darn awesome. But of course Tadashi gets angry every time because it's 'dangerous'." He rolls his eyes again. "Whatever. I can handle things myself."

"Well, it is dangerous. And your brother . . . it's kind of his job, protecting the younger ones." You shrug. "You shouldn't be so hard on him."

"You act just like him," He mutters.

"Hey, I support your act of rebellion. It's awesome and it's good for you." Smiling, you say, "I'm ___."

"Hiro," He says, his lips curling up into a smile.

You raise your eyebrows and nod. "How old are you?" You ask.

"Fourteen," he tells you.

"That's a little young to be participating in illegal activities," you say, laughing quietly. "What grade are you in, then? Eighth, ninth?"

"Actually, I've already graduated high school," he tells you, the pride clear in his voice.

You nod in approval. "You're a smart kid, huh? Cool. Are you in college?"

Hiro rolls his eyes. "No way. Why should I go? I already know more than they do." You shake your head at him. He shrugs and continues with, "How old are you?"

"Fifteen," you tell him, "but I'm not a super crazy genius, so I'm still in high school."

He laughs. "Well, we can't all be awesome, can we?"

You laugh with him and shove his shoulder. "Watch it, kid," you warn. Your cheeks heat up. You just met this kid and you're already acting like you're his friend? You're suddenly grateful that it is extra dark out tonight. "So, are there any bot fights tonight?" You ask, keeping your voice steady and indifferent.

"No," He says. "But there are a couple more tomorrow night. Why?" He pauses. "Did you. . . want to come?"

"Yeah! Totally!" You bite your lip. "If you want me to."

"That sounds great," He says. He stands up. "Then I'll see you tomorrow night. We can meet up here at, like, ten?"

"Sure, okay," You say.

"Great. I'd better be going. I'll see you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow."

Hiro waves and jogs off.