Theme: #24 Goodnight
Author's Note: Greetings! i really like this particular story and i hope you do too! as a side note my other story is on hiatus so i don't mess it up any way enjoy this one!
Disclaimer: Not mine. never has been. never will be
It had been nearly two hours and she hadn't moved from her spot. She sat on a bench across from an elevator in Shibuya station, not watching or waiting just sitting, staring into space. Finally she stood and walked out of the station.
She wasn't that concerned about where she was going all that mattered is if she kept herself busy then she wouldn't have time to think. So she walked through the streets in the late March drizzle-taking note of every little detail she passed until she found herself standing in front of a familiar apartment complex. Her first instinct was to just walk in, as it was usually unlocked. It was nearly ten-thirty at night however, so she doubted it was unlocked at this particular moment.
So instead of knocking she sat on the doorstep and buried her head in her knees in silence until the door opened a short while later. "What the hell Zoe?" Kouichi whispered after jumping slightly at the sight of his blonde friend, forgetting why he had gone outside in the first place. He quickly regained his composure and reached down to help her stand up.
"I'm sorry," Zoe muttered avoiding his gaze. When they finally made eye contact Kouichi noticed her eyes were bloodshot and her lip was bleeding; from experience he knew it was because she had been chewing her lip.
"Are you ok?" he asked and she was quiet, hesitant, unlike herself until she shakily shook her head.
"No."
He said nothing but ran his hands down her back and pulled her into a hug. After a few moments he turned her so she was facing him, their noses only inches apart. He looked at her softly, hardly breathing, understanding, not knowing, not even loving, just comprehending, comprehending what she needed.
"Will you go on a walk with me?" she asked, her voice barely remaining steady. He simply nodded his head and shut his front door. The two walked in silence for nearly an hour under the crescent moon until they reached a quiet riverbank where they sat, still in silence, and skipped rocks for a while. "Can we stay like this forever?" she whispered.
"Sitting on wet ground, throwing rocks, at midnight?" Kouichi chuckled.
"Not exactly," She whispered, smiling sadly. "I mean where we are in life. Everything's just, you know, good." Kouichi could tell by the tone of her voice that she really wanted to tell someone, tell him, what was going on.
"Come on, it's too cold tonight." Kouichi said, suddenly standing up and holding his hand out to help Zoe up and the two walked in silence toward Zoe's house until she spoke up.
"I'm not ready to go home yet. Can we go to your apartment?" Zoe whimpered tugging on Kouichi's sleeve like a small child. It was all too weird for him, he had never seen Zoe this vulnerable.
"It's after midnight Zoe, your parents…" Kouichi began to explain until he saw the look in her eyes. "Of course we can." Kouichi's mother was still at work when they reached his home so they didn't need to worry about waking her up or explaining why Zoe was there.
After nearly a half an hour of sitting on his couch, staring at the blank T.V., Kouichi turned and faced Zoe in silence. She quickly glanced at him and turned her attention back to the T.V., her eyes swelling with tears.
"Whenever you're ready." Kouichi said gently. Tears began to flow from Zoe's face and she buried her head in her hands so he couldn't see her tears. "Zoe, it's ok, you can tell me."
She let a small sob escape and quickly walked to the window and leaned against the glass facing the night sky. Kouichi silently moved behind her and joined her in staring at the moon. After a few moments Zoe broke down, gripping the windowsill for support. As Kouichi stood their watching her he realized how hard it was to see someone change right before his eyes. The confident girl he once knew was no longer standing in front of him. He wasn't sure how to handle her. He wanted to comfort her but he wasn't quite sure how. So he quietly lead her to the couch and sat next to her rubbing her back in a consoling way.
"I don't want to leave," Zoe whimpered, leaning into Kouichi.
He wrapped his arms around her and whispered, "Tell me what's going on."
She took a few deep breaths and sat up straight, eyes still glistening with tears. "I'm going back to Ancona, in three weeks."
"What!" Kouichi exclaimed, leaning back in shock while Zoe's tears poured over again at his reaction. Kouichi quickly collected himself and calmly asked, "Only to visit?" he knew the answer by the prior events but he wouldn't believe it until she said it.
She bit her lip and shook her head. "My dad, my dad was promoted. It's his dream job. We leave in three weeks." She stuttered, wiping her eyes rigorously.
"Does anyone else know?" he whispered trying to fight back the tears that were forming in his eyes. She bit her lip harder and shook her head again.
"Everything's going to change" She muttered, standing up from the couch. Kouichi firmly grabbed her wrist and stood up also.
"No, nothing will change." he said calmly. "I won't let it."
"I've done this before Kouichi. For the first few weeks you guys will miss me, then you'll slowly move on…and forget me." She sobbed, wrapping her arms around him. "Or you'll replace me. Either way everyone wins but me."
"Zoe that will never happen." Kouichi said, pulling her off him and holding her at arms length.
"It'll never be the same," She whimpered, trembling slightly.
"Zoe, you are way too young to not believe it is going to be ok" Kouichi whispered, pulling her into a hug.
"I really want to believe." Zoe muttered into his chest and broke down in sobs. Kouichi merely let her cry and stroked the back of her head.
Once Zoe had calmed down the two were back on the couch, Kouichi with his arm draped around her shoulders and Zoe breathing deeply to keep herself calm. "I'm sorry, you probably want to sleep. It's just well they've, my parents, have been packing all day and, and that make it too real." She said in a relatively steady voice.
"You can stay all long as you need, just call and tell them where you are." Kouichi said handing her her cell phone. She took the phone and Kouichi went to the Kitchen and called his mom to tell her Zoe would be there when she got home.
When Kouichi went back to the family room he found Zoe watching Law & Order. He quietly sat down next to her and the two watched in silence until Kouichi felt Zoe's head on his shoulder .He chuckled a little when he found her asleep, so he continued to watch T.V. in fear that if he moved he would wake her.
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Zoe's eyes shot open when she woke and realized she was still at Kouichi's house. When she tried to sit up she found that she was lying on top of Kouichi. He was snoring slightly and had his arm draped over her back and she couldn't help but to chuckle a little at this.
"Goodnight, Kouichi" She whispered, kissing his check and resting her head back on his chest and shutting her eyes.
"Goodnight" He mumbled, squeezing her gently and going back to sleep. This made Zoe smile and she let her self fall back asleep while safe in his arms.
Author's Note: this was kind of a prequel to my last story i just didn't want to tell you at the beginning because i thought it would ruin the "surprise" anyway i hope you liked it!!