blossoming.

sayuri

"issei, huh?" the waitress grinned. "that's a nice name, suits you. i'm tanaka saeko." she walked around the counter, taking a seat next to him. "so, about that story of yours, i wanna hear it. if you're okay with it, that is." saeko crossed her legs, leaning backwards. "but you said you wanted to eat first, right. sorry about that. i'm a sucker for a good story and i guess you could call me impatient." she watched as issei began to eat. slowly at first, but soon starting to shovel the fries into his mouth at a pace fast enough to make him choke on the food. saeko patted his back, handing him the glass of coke while he was coughing. "calm down, kiddo. no need to hurry," she chuckled. "don't tell me you have a curfew. are you underage?" issei shook his head, trying to steady his breathing again. "17, but nope, not anymore."

//

saeko cleaned up the counter and loaded the dishwasher before locking the door and turning off the lights in the main room of the diner. "come on," she motioned issei to follow her. "it's already past closing hours and i didn't plan on working overtime again." he got up from the chair, bag slung over his shoulder, following her through the kitchen and out of the backdoor of the shabby looking restaurant. "so, no curfew, huh?" the blonde looked at issei, cocking an eyebrow. "runaway or kicked out?" - "kicked out." saeko nodded slowly, locked the backdoor and approached a lonely car at the far end of the parking lot. issei caught himself thinking that this really wasn't the most beautiful part of town. "care for a drink?" he looked at saeko, furrowing his brow. "i'm 17. i'm not allowed to drink," he muttered. he heard the girl laughing. "don't try to tell me you never had a drink before. when i was your age i was hungover more often than not." she waited a few seconds. "knew it," she chuckled when issei didn't answer. 

//

"so, where are we going?" issei asked when saeko started the car. "a friend's house, not that far from here. d'you have a place to sleep?" he shook his head. "alright, leave that to me, then. so, what did you do to get kicked out?" issei gritted his teeth. "my mum found out about my boyfriend. she's pretty homophobic. said that she can't call me her son anymore and stuff," he whispered. "fuck," saeko mumbled. "that's harsh." issei's phone buzzed. he pulled it out of his pocket, scanning the message. he froze. don't try to contact etsuko. i don't want you to be a bad influence. as of now, you're no longer a part of this family, so don't act like you are. etsuko will get over this and forget about you, don't make it harder for her. "stop the car," he growled. "please," he added, trying to make his voice sound less hostile. saeko nodded, slowly pulling over. issei unbuckled the seatbelt and opened the door, storming off into the darkness. saeko got out of the car, slowly following him. she had only known the boy for about an hour, but she knew that he needed someone to support him right now.

//

after about five minutes of walking, saeko found issei with his head resting against a tree, nails dug into the ground. his body was shaking as quiet sobs left his lips. "hey, kiddo," she whispered. "let's head back to the car, yeah? it's pretty cold outside." issei didn't respond, so she grabbed his arm and pulled him back up to his feet. she noticed blood trickling down his forehead, but decided to not say anything for now. the way back took a bit longer, and when they finally reached the car, saeko turned on the lights and had issei sit down before she started looking for the first aid kit. "this is going to hurt like a bitch," she grinned apologetically when she returned with a cloth soaked in rubbing alcohol. issei hissed in pain when she carefully dabbed at the wound and wiped the blood off his nose. "there, all done," she muttered proudly after she covered the - still slightly bleeding - scratch with a plaster. 

"and now you're gonna tell me what the hell just happened," saeko commanded as she got back into the car. issei handed her his phone, the message showing on the screen. "who's etsuko?" she asked. "my little sister. she's 13," issei responded, voice almost void of any emotion. saeko felt like she just heard his heart breaking.