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"...good luck, Atsushi."

Aleksandr was unnaturally still, his usual smile and little idiosyncrasies absent, as he seemed lost in thought.

He avoided looking at Adrik, hands in his pockets, before turning away.

Iliya glanced at Adrik, then Aleks.

"...Adrik...? W-what happened?"

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Adrik Volkov

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Couldn't they just go away? They wanted a bus, didn't they? Then they should go get their goddamn bus and leave Adrik out of it.

He breathed out, shoulders trembling with the shape of the air ripping itself out of his body. "It's fine. Don't worry about it," he muttered. "Go take care of your case. This has nothing to do with you, Iliya. So don't try and wedge yourself in here like..."

Now he was taking it out on Iliya. Guilt pricked at his conscience and he started to say something else, but-

"Come on, Iliya, they don't want us here," Detective Atsushi said coldly, turning away.

Oh, and apparently I've pissed off the Kubo Atsushi's family. Way to go Adrik. Really took one for the team there. You'll be lucky to end up at some backwards college at this rate.

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"Adrik."

Aleksandr spoke quietly.

"...come on, man. That's not cool."

He muttered, watching Iliya scurry away.

"...What the hell did he do to you, huh?"

aleksandr sighed.

"...Not cool, man. Not cool."

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Adrik Volkov

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His heart seized in his chest, trembling with every beat. "Shut up Aleks," he whispered, watching Iliya leave. "You don't understand anything."

Adrik ran a hand through his hair, and just as he did so, heard the train roaring in the distance.

"Sounds like we better get to the platform," he said, mostly to himself.

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"...Yeah. i guess."

Aleksandr muttered quietly, stuffing hsi hands inside his pockets. he made a point to avoid looking at Adrik.

"...Rude."

He muttered.

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Merika steps into the agency hot chocolate in hand, rubbing her eye groggily as she walks through the building. She approaches the group as they talk, leaning against the table with an assortment of important items spread across it.

She takes a sip from her mug and exhaustedly says, "Sorry about my absence, was dealing with some problems at home and all."

She looks at all the items intently and adds on, "Quite the haul you got here. Where'd 'ya get it?"

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Adrik Volkov

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You're one to talk about being rude, Adrik mused bitterly, then hated himself for the thought.

What was wrong with him? Why was he looking for everyone else's faults right now? It was his first day, couldn't he make a little bit of an effort to get along with people? Why was he having these bad thoughts, about wanting to hurt Aleks, who was the only person even trying to help him after that disastrous introduction with that awful Andreja girl?

It doesn't matter, a voice murmured in the back of his head. They'll never like you anyway. This whole thing is pointless.

Panic surged up in him and he whipped around to face Aleks, opening his mouth to say sorry, I'm sorry- please love me- and then he realised that the train was coming to a stop with a loud screech.

"We better hurry before it leaves without us." His voice was dull, expressionless, and he averted his eyes, not wanting to look at Aleks.

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Niwa Atsushi

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"What on earth is his problem?" Niwa glanced at Iliya. "The second he saw you he looked like he bit down on a lemon or something. I've never seen someone go so sour so fast. Do you guys know each other or something?"

He wasn't used to being this direct. It wasn't right to poke your nose in other peoples' business.

But... all the same, something about that face just reminded him of something.

Something awful curled up in the back of his own heart, a memory of a face he couldn't make out. Someone's reflection in the pond, repeated twice over, which was wrong, how could it be-

"Iliya?" he asked, desperate to pull himself out of his thoughts. "What do you think?"

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Aleks let out a tired sigh.

God, this boy was exhausting.

"...Yeah. That seems smart, doesn't it."

He shrugged, waiting a beat before heading into the train behind Adrik.

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"That's my, um, Cousin. Adrik."

Iliya laughed a bit awkwardly.

"...We're not very close. At all. B-but-! He's a good guy! He doesn't mean harm."

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