Disclaimer: I don't own Durarara!, or any of the characters used in this fic. They are the property of Ryohgo Narita and Suzuhito Yasuda. I only own any of my original characters that I choose to include, as well as any of my own original plot ideas.
These, My Magic Strings
Prompt: Stuck fast...
A/N: For LJ.
Before they came, what did she have? A quiet life, that of any ordinary high school student with numerous insecurities. From what people had told her, she wasn't "pretty enough," "sexy enough," or "good enough." She wasn't even special like the rest of them had been. She didn't have anything. No real friends, no parents, no hand to hold in the night.
She was just plain, simple... boring.
Mika had been there for a while, but even that hadn't been real. She'd just been along for the ride. A plain face for people to use in comparison to Mika's.
Funnily enough, that had all been reversed when the Black Rider had been spotted in Ikebukuro. It had been the start of a new school year, one that she had believed would be filled with the same old things. At the beginning, only Mika had changed, vanished, into nothing but a rumor carried along as a message in the wind. But what had she cared? She'd only been Mika's puppet, a toy used for her own selfish amusement.
Still, she'd gone ahead and searched for her.
Then, they showed up. The two boys who behaved like squabbling brothers. One blond, one dark, both crazy for her. It had been a new feeling, knowing that, for once, boys were interested in her instead of her so-called friend. They would argue over who would get to walk her home, who would buy her treats after school, who she'd end up choosing to go out with.
Anri had never had any experience with such things, often going through those days thinking that, just maybe, it was all a lovely dream.
After some time with them, she'd decided that she might be able to like one of them as more than just friends. Even so, she couldn't choose. Mikado was shy, polite, and amazingly sensitive. Qualities most boys his age seemed to lack. Masaomi, on the other hand, was curious, perverted, and full of boundless energy. She found his antics to be surprisingly entertaining.
As different as they were, there was something about the two that felt the same: They were both sweet and sweet on her.
For the longest time, she'd been drowning, wondering if someone would come to pull her out of that pit. Contrary to what she'd thought, nobody had come to save her. Rather, these two boys, her truest friends, had walked right into her life so as to stand by the wayside, cheering her on as she worked to save herself.
Well, it hadn't really been cheering so much as gentle words of encouragement from Mikado, and excited battle cries from Masaomi. Just the same, she'd slipped right out of the dark, finally putting those puppet's strings to good use so to pull herself away. Now, it seemed, she was the one holding those binding wires, moving herself as she saw fit.
Maybe having these strings wasn't so much of a curse as she'd thought. Maybe they were just the ties that would guide her to those who cared.
She couldn't cut them now. Not when they'd brought that shining star to rest in her hands.