𝑳𝑬𝑺 𝑭𝑹𝑨𝑮𝑰𝑳𝑬𝑺 •𝒃𝒙𝒃•

a beautiful delusion ~ 42

AN: I apologise for the hella late update, I've had a lot of things to deal with! I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Breathe.

In.

Out.

Just take a deep breath and breathe out.

The soft rain conjured a sweet pattern upon his skin, the thousands of liquid globes reflecting the greenery of nature. It was as if a filter was thrown over the world around him.

Silver and grey clouds touched upon an even bleaker sky.

His muscles cried out, burned out to the point of convulsion, so he closed his eyes and held his hands over the ears of his heart so that he could not hear their cries.

The wet pavement sprung water to the sides with each harsh step he took. The wind bit against his exposed skin, piercing through his flesh and his bones and taking root at the pit of his stomach.

Why did the rain come? Why mingle with the heat?

Distant sounds of cars overruled the sound of the rain, and he stopped, the heels of his shoes dragging against the ground. His eyelashes had clumped together from the rain, and the corners of his eyes stung as he leaned his head back and glanced up into the sky. Drop after drop splatted against his already damp skin, yet he did not move to take cover from the rain.

"Yo, boy," Through the loudness of traffic and the silent splats of water, a voice rang out, "Are you lost?"

Lost?

Yuma turned his head to the side and caught sight of a man staring at him. Unlike him, the man was standing under cover. "No, I live in this neighbourhood."

As if displeased by that answer, the man furrowed his brows and spoke, "That's not what I meant."

Then, what did he mean by 'lost'?

"Never mind that, come inside, you're soaking wet."

That was an odd thing to do—invite a stranger inside. But, once Yuma took a better look at the building in front of him, he realised that it wasn't an apartment building, but a store front. He was standing in front of, what seemed to be, a bookstore.

Noticing Yuma's reluctance, the man raised his hands in a defensive manner. "There's no funny business going on, I promise."

How not suspicious.

"No funny business." Yuma repeated after him and began walking towards him.

"I promise!" The man nodded his head.

_

The inside of the store was lit up by a pale, orange light, giving the surroundings a more 'vintage' feel.

Slowly, Yuma followed after him, the insides of his shoes letting out a light squeal with each step he took. Seriously... what was he thinking, continuing to run even thought it started to rain? He should've just taken cover and waited for it to pass.

"I don't really have much I can offer you other than paper towels." The man said, reaching over the counter.

Yuma stopped and looked around.

It was a small store, that much was obvious, and it only had a few bookshelves lining the walls. But, each bookshelf was packet to the brim, with a couple of books looking like they were about to fall out from the lack of space. Small tables were pushed against the walls, with a few chairs stacked around them.