"girl, it's literally just nanami. i can show up in a trash bag and i'm pretty sure he would be in love." y/n protested to utahime who was digging through the closet.
utahime insisted that she help y/n prepare for this date with nanami. she had to make sure this went smoothly between the two. plus, she had to meet up with shoko later so she figured she might as well go help her best friend while she waited.
"y/n, just try and look nice. wear these with your blue cardigan and white converse and we're good."
she handed y/n a white miniskirt as well as a crop top. she rolled her eyes and put on the clothes. she wasn't exactly nervous for the date. nanami was someone she already knew and he made her feel comfortable. y/n was just worried about how it would play out. nanami only told her that he was taking her out. despite texting him everyday since the party, begging for answers, he wouldn't budge.
y/n walked into the bathroom that she shared with her siblings and made final adjustments to her hair. after making sure she looked flawless, she smiled into the mirror and went back into the room. utahime looked at her smiling and her hand holding her heart.
"y/n! come downstairs." her mother yelled up to her. y/n and utahime headed downstairs and towards her mother's music studio.
she heard another voice in the room which usually meant one of her friends or bandmates were over. she knocked on the door, waiting to hear her mother's voice telling her to come in. once she heard it, she walked in to see nanami sitting at the computer. he spun around in the swivel chair and stared at y/n in awe. he was wearing a white button-up collared shirt and dark baggy cargos.
the two sat there staring at each other for what seemed like eternity. this is killing me, utahime thought. deciding who looked the best was up for debate. needless to say, both of them felt butterflies overcome their stomachs. utahime giggled as she watched the both of them drool over each other.
"hey y/n, i decided to come early 'cause i was bored."
"so you hung out with my mom?" y/n raised an eyebrow and put her hands on her hips.
"she's cool." nanami winked.
"don't suck up to me, boy. i still got my eyes on you. anyway, y'all go ahead and have fun. nanami, bring her back safely. i got all our family members watching you now." y/n's mother warned him in a stern voice.
"mom, we'll be fine. i love you, c'mon nanamin." she kissed her mother goodbye and held nanami's arm, escorting him out.
"family members..?" nanami asked, tilting his head.
utahime hugged y/n and nanami as she made her way out the front door. "she's not kidding either. her mom doesn't joke around. anyway, i'm meeting up with shoko. you two have fun today!"
"come upstairs with me, i gotta take my bag." y/n beamed at nanami, leading him upstairs.
"already trying to take me to the bedroom? buy me dinner first." nanami teased as he followed the girl into the bedroom.
all over her walls were different posters of what nanami assumed to be her favorite boyband, exo. among the posters, there were also many albums scattered around her room. he admired the albums, knowing they were her favorites. she often talked about them a lot and how they made her want to be involved in music. besides that, her desk consisted of books he knows she probably never finished reading. her bed, was made but he could tell she most likely laid on it after making it.
her closet was wide open and stuff was shoved in there in a strangely organized way. she grabbed a charger and her lip balm, tossing it into her little backpack. y/n picked up her helmet which was resting on her desk.
"let's go, kento."
the two made a beeline for the motorcycle out front. y/n put her helmet on as nanami sat down on the bike. he put his helmet on as well and she hopped on, clutching his waist instantly. no matter how many times she's been on the bike, she always felt like she needed to hold on tight. each time, nanami touched her hands for a minute, as a form of reassurance that she was safe. he revved the bike up and soon they were off.
✰
"i can't believe you really got me out here doing this." y/n said while putting on her vest and grabbing the gun from the attendant working.
nanami, after thinking for quite a long time about what he should do for the date, decided on laser tag. it wasn't too much and he knew that it was something y/n had never done before. plus, an opportunity to shoot nanami was something he knew she would like.
"have fun, kid." the attendant called out to the girl.
"what do you mean?" y/n asked and looked at his vest and saw that it was blue while hers was red. she went to complain but nanami smiled and gently planted a kiss on her cheek before walking over to the side with the rest of his team. her cheeks flooded with red from his touch but she shrugged it off. y/n never played laser tag and the one time she needed him, he decided to betray her.
asshole, she thought to herself. she sauntered over to the red team and prepared to walk into the room. her entire game plan was just to walk in and start shooting. she has already seen it all in the movies, so it must be the same. or so she thought. her team all looked at each other as if they had a plan set up already. y/n had one goal in mind; get rid of kento nanami.
the game started and she hid behind the rock that was more centered in the game. she scanned the room for anything that seemed close to a 6'0 dude with blonde hair. if she found someone else, she still shot them but was disappointed that it wasn't nanami. after she felt more people move her way, she crawled towards what seemed to be another barrier. her teammates around her were getting hit but she was determined to avoid anything. y/n hid behind the barrier for another few minutes or so. after shooting about 5 people, she spotted nanami.
his back was faced towards her and they were only a couple meters apart from each other. she swiftly made a move from the spot and sneaked over to the boy silently. when she was inches away, he turned around and pointed the gun at y/n; she did the same as well.
"drop your weapon." nanami murmured.
"you're a bit too into this game, huh? make me." y/n smirked. nanami dropped his gun which ultimately made y/n drop hers too. he moved closer to her and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. his finger grazed her cheek and he slowly leaned forward. y/n smirked and picked up the gun to shoot nanami when he was distracted. he was 'dead'.
nanami was the last person that needed to be out. y/n's team won and celebrated as they heard the news. nanami stood there in surprise and gave a bitter laugh. he felt betrayed but he couldn't help but laugh. y/n looked at the guy as he stood there dumbstruck.
"wow, you got me there."
y/n massaged the back of nanami's neck and stood on her toes to kiss him in a split second, "i might as well make up for it then."
the two smiled at each other and went back outside to give the equipment back. after taking their belongings, both of them headed out and back to the motorcycle.
"onto the next adventure." nanami babbled as they put on their helmets.
✰
"can i get two waffles with earl grey lavender ice cream? thanks." nanami told the guy behind the register. he began punching in numbers and glanced at the two of them.
"anything else?"
"do you want anything?" nanami asked sweetly.
"um, can we get drinks? i want an iced latte." y/n replied, staring intently at the menu above them.
nanami smiled and wrapped his arm around y/n's shoulder. "anything for you. a iced latte for her and a iced americano for me, please."
the guy told them the total and they both took out their cards. they glared at each other and pushed their cards in front of the guy. he was puzzled; not sure which card to take.
"take my card, don't listen to her." he shifted the card onto the guy's hand as y/n frowned at nanami. he lifted his shoulder in a half shrug as he grabbed the receipt. y/n took a few dollars out of her wallet and put it in the tip jar.
the two walked to the booth in the farthest corner of the cafe. y/n set her helmet down next to her and fixed her hair as she stared at nanami. he was on his phone but by the way the camera was angled, she knew he was taking a picture. she stopped fixing her hair and flipped him off instead. nanami laughed as he took his final photo of her.
there was no doubt that y/n was attracted to nanami. he obviously was her type; tall, smart and funny. at first, she was hesitant. how could she even find someone who only cared about fucking to be attractive? as she got to spend more time with him, she felt herself drawn to him. he made her feel comfortable, like she was the only one for him. no matter what she was going through, he made her forget. she felt like nothing bad could ever happen in these moments with him. it was almost as if he was her shield. nanami was her safe place. as long as nanami was by her side, y/n knew she would be okay.
clearly, y/n must have been daydreaming because by the time she snapped back to reality, the food was at the table.
"thanks kento." she spoke as she grabbed the cutlery.
"for what?"
"for today, it was really nice. i enjoyed myself a lot."
"oh, did you now? i'm guessing i'm doing a good job then." nanami leaned back in his chair and watched y/n smile as she chewed on her waffle.
nanami thought the date was going pretty well. he and y/n played laser tag, went to the park and were now having a meal. he couldn't have imagined a better night with her. well, a better night would be her coming home with him afterwards and being laid up but he knew it was too soon. as she began to talk, all he could do was look at her.
the minute he saw y/n, he knew she was the one for him. besides the fact that she was the most beautiful girl he's ever laid his eyes upon, she never fell for his cheesy textbook pick-up lines or sexual innuendos. she had a strong head on her shoulders. she had big dreams and goals that she was so determined to make come true. she was independent and smart.
nevertheless, y/n could handle her own. the fact that she even gave nanami a chance was unbelievable to him. she didn't need a man yet here she was, on a date with the dude who at first just wanted to fuck. now, he's grateful. y/n had a special place in nanami's heart, and he was willing to do anything for her.
"okay, let's talk top 3 countries you'd want to visit. i'll name mine and you name yours." y/n chirped, wiping her hands on a napkin.
"that's a random topic to talk about, but okay." nanami sipped his iced americano while eyeing y/n.
"i'm thinking france, greece and probably thailand?"
"hmm, did you want to invite me to travel to these countries with you?" nanami joked around.
"i mean... in the future, maybe." y/n smiled and crossed her legs. she drank a bit of her iced latte before speaking again, "now name yours. let me hear about it."
"i'm a bit embarassed to say, but i only want to visit kuantan, malaysia." he chuckled and drummed his fingers on the table.
"oh, malaysia? why there?"
"it looks... peaceful. i don't know, it just seems like a nice place to settle down."
"maybe we can travel there together!" she gushed with glee. nanami nodded his head, extending his hand to hold y/n's.
"promise?" he stuck out his pinkie to y/n.
"promise! on that note, i have to pee. i'll be right back."
y/n got up from the booth and went to the other side of the cafe where the bathrooms were. she walked into the ladies' section and closed the stall door behind her. she put toilet paper on the seat, she didn't believe in sitting on public toilets. her mother also taught her not to.
she pulled out her phone and opened instagram. she saw nanami's story at the top. the first was a video of her putting the helmet down and flipping off the camera. the next was a picture of when she was probably daydreaming about nanami. the last one was a selfie of him and y/n in the background with the caption reading, 'matching outfits today' with a heart. she felt her cheeks burn bright red.
y/n finished her business and checked her phone again before washing her hands. she had a missed text message. she opened the message to see that it was UNKNOWN and attached were photos of her and nanami in her room, at laser tag, the park and in the cafe.
"what the f-"
before y/n could complete her sentence, her mouth was covered and her hands were snatched behind her back. her body pressed against someone. she looked up at the mirror to see someone in all black, with a red goblin mask holding her close. his mouth and eyes were the only things that were exposed. he leaned in towards her ear and breathed.
"what the fuck are you doing with him? you should be with me?"
she yelled into his hand but he only tightened his grip on her. he chuckled softly to himself.
"you might not wanna do that. i'm gonna be real with you, you're the most gorgeous girl on the planet. i just wanna talk and conversate 'cause i usually just stalk you and masturbate."
the stalker snickered, like a maniac. "i wanted to do that today, you know? talk, but you wanted to be with that fucker today. i see how it is."
she screamed nanami's name but this only displeased him. he shoved her forcefully against the wall. he was right against her; left hand still holding her arms and right hand still covering her mouth. y/n tried to struggle free, but it was to no avail. he was much more stronger and bigger than her.
"SHUT THE FUCK UP. DO NOT CALL THAT FUCKER IN HERE. i'm gonna let you go, okay babe? i'm gonna see you soon. maybe today isn't the best day but you'll be mine soon. as for your little boyfriend, if i see you with him other than in school or with friends, i am going to kill him."
he paused, letting that sink in for y/n. the stalker then pulled out a sharp knife, as if to make his intentions to kill nanami true to y/n. her heart leaped into her throat, she was paralyzed with fear. "if you are alone with him, i will kill him. if he makes a move on you, i will kill him. i know you don't want that now, right?"
y/n stopped moving and tears began to form at the corners of her eyes as she listened to his words. the last thing she thought of happening today was her being threatened by her stalker with a knife. the thought of nanami being hurt was the last thing she wanted. she nodded her head reluctantly.
"that's what i thought. now, you're gonna get your shit and go home. i don't care if your little date isn't finished. if you call anyone or tell anyone, your boyfriend is dead. am i clear?" she nodded her head once more.
"good. run along babygirl. i got a car waiting to take you home. it's the black chrysler." he kissed her forehead which made her tremble with disgust, and released the girl.
her tears came flooding down freely as she picked up her phone from the ground. she turned to the man and said, "can i at least give him a final kiss..?"
"that's all he gets." he folded his arms with a condescending sneer.
before y/n walked out of the bathroom, she took a risky step towards the man. if she couldn't snatch his mask off to at least uncover his identity, she wanted to do one thing.
"what's wrong, baby? miss me alr- OWW!" the man was kicked in the balls by y/n, and she made sure to do it extra hard. y/n was satisfied, seeing the man in pain. she headed out the door as she tried to regain herself. the last thing she needed was nanami to see her and worry. as much as she wanted to cry in his arms and tell him everything, she knew it wasn't the smart thing to do. any wrong move she made and nanami's life would be gone for good. she really couldn't be able to be around him, just when their relationship started to take off.
"y/n, are you alright? you were crying. Y/N!" nanami stood up from the booth as he watched her gather her stuff.
"today was amazing, nanami. it's a day i will never forget. you are a really wonderful person. anyone would be lucky to have you."
"you have me tho-"
"i can't be with you, nanami."
nanami stood in a speechless stupor, unable to process the enormity of what had just happened. he thought everything was going according to plan. he really thought that she was willing to give him a chance.
"wait, if it's something about my attitude i can-" he spluttered out.
"i can't do it. not now. i'll still be your friend but we can't be anything more. i'm so sorry." y/n mumbled, her chest rising and falling with rapid breaths.
nanami lifted y/n's chin with his hand and they were face to face with each other. she looked into his eyes and saw them become glossy. nanami was ready to cry. the one girl he ever felt this way about is breaking his heart into pieces. y/n knew it was breaking him but what he didn't know was that she was protecting him. she noticed a single tear fall from his right eye. she brushed her finger over it to wipe it away. she stood on her tiptoes and kissed nanami. it was soft, yet painful. it truly felt like a goodbye and neither could process the feeling.
she let go, knowing that if it lasted any longer, things would get ugly. she dried her tears as she headed out the cafe and towards the car. y/n had to give up the only thing protecting her, nanami. in order to keep him safe.
as she got in the car, she could catch a glimpse of the booth where the two of them were sitting at. through the window, she watched as nanami huddled in the corner. slowly but surely, his head fell into his hands. he was crying and it hurt y/n. it hurts so damn much.
if only he knew.