⊱ 𝐁𝐄𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐅𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐒 ⊰

"You seem to be getting along better with Gorou," Ayaka observed.

"Oh, you can see that..." You mumbled. "Yeah, I guess so."

"What happened?" Thoma queried. "Was it when he took you home on Saturday?"

"Yeah," you sighed. "He was weirdly nice that night... So I guess I'm trying to get along with him, at least while we're doing the play."

"Well, it's nice to see you tolerating him for once," Ayaka smiled. "I'm sure Kazuha thinks so, as well."

"Yes, I do," Kazuha agreed.

"I guess it's cool," you shrugged. "He doesn't frustrate me as much as before."

"You should invite him to come with us to Komore Teahouse after school," Thoma suggested.

"...Seriously?" You blinked.

"Yeah!" He grinned. "It wouldn't be that bad, right?"

"I guess not..."

"I think it's a splendid idea," Ayaka said.

"If you say so," you exhaled. "I'll ask after drama class."

Kazuha smiled. He was glad you seemed willing to attempt being friends with Gorou, even if it didn't end up working. Part of him wanted to thank you.

━━━━⊱✿⊰━━━━

"Your chemistry was much better today. Good job," Yae said. "Hurry out, I need to go home."

"Yes, ma'am," you and Gorou replied in unison. Yae left the room and you placed your script in your folder before putting it in your backpack. No one else was there, since you both asked for a bit of extra time to practice. Yae obliged, but not long after, she was needed at home. So you also had to leave.

Suddenly, Gorou's voice rang out within the auditorium, causing you to look over at him.

"You really are talented, y'know."

"Hm...? Why do you say that?" You asked.

"I'm not sure, I just... felt like I had to," he said as he sat on the edge of the stage. You joined him.

"I've always been kinda jealous," he admitted, swinging his legs back and forth. "Since you've always been good at... pretty much everything."

"So you admit that I'm better than you."

"I didn't say that..."

"Damn," you chuckled. "Well, I wouldn't be too jealous."

"...Why?"

"Because... When you're good at a bunch of stuff, people expect you to be good at everything, and when you're not, they get disappointed," you smiled, looking over at him while he met your gaze.

"Hm..."

You stood up, "Would you wanna join me and my friends at Komore Teahouse? I'm riding over with Kazuha, he should be in the parking lot."

"You made Kazuha wait for you?"

"I asked him if he'd mind and he said no. Anyway, you didn't answer my question."

He thought about it for a moment, "...Sure."

━━━━⊱✿⊰━━━━

"You're late," Thoma said.

"And you brought Gorou," Ayaka smiled.

"Yep," you nodded, sliding into the booth against the wall. Kazuha made Gorou sit beside you while he took the space beside Gorou. You were slightly uncomfortable, with Gorou's arm rubbing against yours, but you did your best to ignore it. You noticed Ayaka was holding onto Thoma's arm while they sat on the other side.

"How's the relationship going?" You snickered.

"We're not calling it a relationship yet," Ayaka shook her head. "But I'm enjoying our time."

"That's good," Kazuha said.

Gorou felt a bit awkward, like he was thrown into an ocean of unfamiliar, so he didn't say anything. Meanwhile, you conversated with your friends as naturally as usual, though you were bothered since Childe wasn't present.

"So, Gorou, why were you taking Y/n home on Saturday? What happened?" Thoma asked.

He was startled by the mention of his name, "Huh?"

You glared at him, which he noticed from the corner of his eye. You were silently telling him not to say anything, but he looked back and smirked.

"Don't you dare-"

"She got drunk at a party."

You punched him in the arm, "You asshole!"

"Ow!"

"Wait, seriously!?" Thoma yelped. "You really were drunk when I called?!"

"Don't be so loud about it, jeez!" You groaned.

"I didn't expect that from you, Y/n... Did something happen?" Ayaka queried.

"No, nothing happened," you lied. "I was curious what it felt like, and I'm... never doing that again. The hangover was awful."

At least you weren't lying about the last part. Gorou didn't comment on your statement, deciding not to push you any further.

"Let's change the topic now, please," you requested.

"Alright... How's the play going?" Ayaka queried with a smile.

"Good," you replied. "...For the most part, anyway. I still need to deal with this cretin."

"Hey, I thought we were trying to get along," Gorou frowned.

"I was kidding," you playfully rolled your eyes.

"I really don't think you were."

"You're right, I wasn't. Anyway!" You clapped your hands together. "Thoma, talk about something. Give me details on your date."

They were all perplexed by your behavior. You seemed more jumpy than usual, and it was getting them concerned. You were desperately trying to avoid accidentally mentioning Childe since you didn't want them asking questions about him, and you also had to evade the topic of Scaramouche as well.

As Thoma began speaking, glancing over to Ayaka from time to time, you were off in your own little world. Since he attracted everyone else's attention, you took a moment to breathe. Gorou caught that, however.

"Do you need to step outside?" He whispered.

You were startled by his breath on your ear, "I'm fine."

"Doesn't seem like it."

Kazuha was hearing you whisper to each other, but he pretended like he was clueless as he got up and silently went to the bathrooms.

"I am fine. And even if I wasn't, you're the last person out of everyone at this table that I need comfort from."

"You thought differently at the party."

"I was drunk at the party. Stop bringing that up, please."

Suddenly, he took your hand and pulled you out of the booth. You blinked out of pure confusion and looked back to your friends.

"And where are you going?" Thoma asked.

"You act like you're my dad," you chuckled.

"I just wanna talk with Y/n for a minute, we'll be back soon," Gorou explained before tugging you out of the store. Despite being an actor, you didn't want to make a scene, so you went along with it until he forced you to sit down on a bench outside the building.

"That was unnecessary," you said, crossing your arms over your chest and leaning back against the wood.

He sat beside you, "Well sorry, but it's probably best to get some air for a while."

"...You pity me now, don't you?" You groaned.

"What? What are you talking about?" He responded in bewilderment.

"You're just feeling bad for me because of what I told you, right? That's why you're deciding to be weirdly nice to me."

"I guess that's part of it," he shrugged, looking at the ground. "But part of me... Wants to know you more."

"Why's that?"

"I don't know, I just..." He sighed. "I was a bit blinded by my dislike for you, so I never considered you might be dealing with serious problems. So when I found out you are, it... You were like a different person."

"...So you're doing this because you think I'm a different person? Got it."

"You know that's not what I mean. Why are you acting so difficult all of a sudden?"

"I'm not sure," you admitted. "I'm used to hating you a lot, I guess. It's hard to remember I don't anymore."

"Your memory must be awful."

"That is not what you should've pointed out from that sentence."

He laughed and his ear twitched, "I'm glad you don't hate me anymore."

"No."

"What do you mean 'no'?"

"You're supposed to say 'oh, I don't hate you either', and we can be equal."

"Okay, fine. I don't hate you either."