3.2 - Drowning (here comes first aid!)

I got lost inside my own world for who knows how long. The only thing bringing me back to the world was my phone ringing—with a call. There was a possibility that it'd be work-related, so even though I wanted nothing to do with answering right now, I rolled over and opened my eyes to at least perceive the caller.

It was Mayu.

It wouldn't do to ignore the call of a dear friend. As reluctant as I was, I answered.

"Hello, Mayu…?"

An energetic and loud voice exploded at the other end of the call. "Why are you ignoring my texts!!! Are you too absorbed in your manga-reading again?... though," Her voice drastically softened, with a small pinch of worry added into the mix. "Are you okay? Your voice sounded a bit… unusual."

I was perfectly aware how unusual I was behaving, but hearing it from my friend… made my chest hurt a little. "As expected, I can't hide from you, Mayuyu. Yeah, I do feel a bit under the weather. Do not worry, though." I made sure to smile so she could hear it in my voice. She didn't seem to be convinced, but still let it slide. "Oh well, you did the right thing by opening the call! Or else you would've missed out on the good news!" Good news? What could it be? God knew I could use some positivity…!

She explained that while bargaining with a costume-seller for her next project, she ended up getting a cosplay outfit of a character I liked for a very good price, and it was her gift for me. "Mayuyu…! You didn't have to, you're still a student, I'll pay for it—"

She refused immediately. "That doesn't sound like 'Oh my god, thank you, Mayu-sama!'" She giggled in her distinct way, planting a little smile on my face too. "Oh, Mayu-sama… Of course, I am most thankful. Well, could I at least request to know which character it is?"

"Nooope, it's a surprise~ I'll come visit you tomorrow around… 5 PM? 6 PM? I have a meeting with my classmates regarding our project together, but after that's done and settled I can drop by! How's that?" I agreed, it's not like I had any more plans outside, especially after the date of the day before. "Sweet! It's a deal, then!" After exchanging our goodbyes, she hastily added something. "Oh! And don't forget to reply to our group chat, or else Rikkun will collapse from worry! See ya!"

Crap, I had totally forgotten about that!

Even this short talk with my friend had snapped me to my usual self, so I couldn't help but feel ashamed of my gloomy self prior to this. I hesitantly opened the chat and saw that I had been ignoring them for a whole four hours!! I hastily read through the messages to see what I had missed. Rikkun had posted about some gacha rolls he did for a character he liked. It had ended up in… Disaster.

Rikkun: I mean, it's not like I was expecting to get her, but at least I could've gotten another character? And a few more 4 stars??

mayuyu: oof…

mayuyu: i thought she was so cute, too :(( i was looking forward to seeing you play w her…

Rikkun: (crying sticker) Well, at least there's 2 weeks until the banner ends…

These conversations were from the time I was doing my skincare. As for the ones afterwards—during my gloomy hours that I didn't even notice passing, that is…

Mayu had sent pictures from the costume's shop she mentioned to me on the phone. I couldn't help but get excited at the sight of the cosplay section of the shop, on one corner of the photo. I zoomed in and tried to see which characters I could recognize. Quite a few, they were such well-made costumes too! My heart jumped at the thought of owning one of these. Which one was it…?

I shook my head to snap me out of my thoughts and proceeded with reading the texts.

mayuyu: this shop is amazing every time i visit!

mayuyu: a costume of a character mattsun likes was on a suuuper sale so i ended up getting it ✩ my treat!

Rikkun: Woah, awesome!

mayuyu: (smiling sticker)

And then silence for one and a half hour.

Rikkun: Say… Did he have plans for today too? I feel like he would have replied by now…

mayuyu: dw, he's probably just absorbed reading again~

mayuyu: well, in any case, i'll call him when my business is over here.

Rikkun: Thank you, I'd appreciate that…

Rikkun: Either way… If something is wrong, please don't hesitate to tell us, man…

mayuyu: worrywart! he's just fine!!

Rikkun: I hope that's the case…

Well… I couldn't claim that I was doing great back then, but… Now that I was back to fairly 'normal' levels, I didn't really want to cause unnecessary worry. Riku was quite the sensitive guy at heart, after all.

Yuuma: oh man… i apologize for making you worry. i'm okay!! just tired…

I didn't expect it, but Riku instantly replied back. Was he waiting all this time…?

Rikkun: I'm glad… You tend to hide your negative emotions, so… (smiling sticker) Not that it works against your two best friends.

I felt like my forehead was gently flicked, just like how he'd do it to me whenever I got into trouble since our younger day… A smile bloomed on my face.

Yuuma: can't a guy have some worries in peace? (angry but funny face sticker)

Rikkun: No ♡ Not allowed here

Yuuma: what about you, mr melancholy?

Rikkun: That's different! Really though… Mayu will visit you tomorrow, right? I'd love to visit too but I have some stuff to help my mother with. Make sure to tell your worries to Mayu properly!

It was easy to say "yes" to that, but when the next day arrived and she was actually in front of me—stuff didn't go as easy…