blossoming.

sakurasō

issei stared at the front door of his no-longer-home, utterly devastated. he turned his head to look up at the sky, a dry chuckle leaving his lips as he noticed how clouded it was; just like his mind. 

the only thing he could think of was that he was glad that his mother hadn't recognised takahiro. and he knew his mother well enough to know that she would be too embarrassed to talk about the problem - him being gay - to her best friend, takahiro's mother. all that meant that takahiro wouldn't learn about his current situation, which was good. issei didn't want to be a burden to his friends, let alone to his boyfriend and his family. 

issei finally decided that his feet would get too cold if he didn't put on his shoes. he picked up the duffel bag with his clothes and slowly walked towards the beautiful brass gate. he sighed when he closed it behind him, the familiar creaking sound the last thing he heard before he pulled out his earphones and turned the volume of his music up to the point where he couldn't even hear his own breathing. 

he didn't notice etsuko staring after him as his tears started flowing.

//

the whole situation reminded issei of that one time when he was 10 and ran away from home, because his parents didn't want to get him a puppy. the only difference being that he actually was on his own now and that he couldn't return home to his parents, and that no one would come looking for him. he tried to stay calm, panicking now wouldn't make this any better for him. first of all, he needed a place to sleep. issei raised his hands, massaging his temples with his thumbs. think, think, think. where could you go? it's too dangerous to sleep on a park bench. he wished he could scream. at one point in the last two hours he had stopped crying, but now he had a headache and his feet hurt from walking around the whole day. he couldn't remember if he had actually sat down and got some rest today. to make matters worse, his stomach started growling, aching even because he hadn't eaten in at least 5 hours. 

issei dug his hands deep into the pockets of his coat, hoping to find some change that would at least get him some dinner. he actually managed to find enough for some fries at the american diner that he always passed on his way to school. it might not be enough to call it a silver lining, but that would get him through the night and that was the important part. maybe he'd finally be able to think about finding a place to spend the night after he had eaten.

//

the door opened with the ringing of a small bell and a short waitress approached him. her blonde hair barely reached her chin and her straight fringe made her look kind of cute. she gave him a wide smile as she told issei to take a seat on one of the chairs in front of the counter. apart from one or two other tables, the diner was empty. not that weird at 11 in the evening. he staggered towards the seats, his feet hurting enough to make his steps unsteady. a few minutes passed until the waitress spoke to him again, with empty plates piled up on her arms while she expertly made her way around the counter and loaded the dishwasher. "you okay, kid?" issei cocked a brow. she was barely older than him. "i had a rough day, is all. i'd rather not talk about it," he mumbled. "uh, would you mind taking my order? i'm pretty hungry." the girl nodded. "sure, what would ya like?" - "some fries and maybe a glass of water. if the water's free, that is. i don't have enough money for both." the waitress gave issei a thumbs up. "coming right up."

//

"extra large portion of fries and a large coke," the girl chirped, setting a large plate down in front of issei. "i just said that i can't afford that." he shoved the plate away. "i heard your stomach before you walked through this door. you're going to eat that and you're going to eat all of it or i will feed you with my own two hands. plus, you look like shit and i want to hear your story, because i'm pretty sure that you need someone to listen to you and some help right now," the girl's voice was fierce as she set the plate back in front of issei. she crossed her arms. "so, food or story first?" 

might as well talk to her. "food first," issei said, a small smile creeping onto his lips at the girls' persistence. "oh, uh, i'm matsukawa. matsukawa issei. what's your name?"