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The stray threads hanging around a tear in his jeans were particularly interesting Mika at the moment. He winds one around his finger tightly enough that it threatens to cut off circulation before yanking back, pulling it out of the fabric.
As he repeats the process with the umpteenth thread, he's certain that focusing on this is much better than letting himself take in his surroundings. It isn't possible to fully ignore the atmosphere, though. The bass in the song blaring out of the speakers rattles his bones and the smoke in the air tickles his throat and lungs, making his eyes water. It's enough to send him into a momentary coughing fit.
The person next to him on the couch (one of the things in his atmosphere that he'd been successfully drowning out until that moment) lets out a snicker in response to the series of coughs. Mika chooses to ignore it, keeping his head down and staring at that same tear in his jeans.
It works for a while. He pulls so many threads out that the tear is starting to widen, becoming something he'll have to sew back together later. Each thread pulled out loosens a new batch for him to focus on. But there are certain times where ignoring your surroundings is seen as rude, one of which being when the people around you are trying to get your attention.
Mika's arm is nudged by the person sitting next to him.
"Get a load of those two."
The redhead gestures casually to a couple sitting a few feet away from them. Mika's eyes widen in disbelief as he watches them. They're making out as if their life depends on it, as if there aren't tons of people in the room with them. His gaze scans across the other people in the room — how are they all ignoring this?
...Maybe it's rude to stare even if the couple clearly doesn't mind being watched. He hangs his head again, staring at the growing tear in his pants.
The guy next to him lets out a scoff at his shy response. Mika looked like a deer in headlights any time he lifted his head. He clearly wasn't acclimated to this kind of environment.
Trying once again to get Mika's attention, the man speaks up.
"Ya want me to grab ya a drink?"
Mika slowly lifts his head, looking around as if trying to make sure it was him who was being addressed. Once he confirms as such, he shakes his head slowly.
"'m eighteen." Meaning he wasn't of legal drinking age. That should be enough of an explanation for the stranger of why he was turning him down.
Apparently, it wasn't a normal answer. The expression Mika earned in response was one of amused confusion.
"...So ya ain't here for the free booze. And ya clearly ain't here for socializin'." The man chuckles under his breath. "Why are ya here, then? Ya just like sittin' on other people's couches? Kyahah~!"
Honestly, Mika had been asking himself the same thing since he'd arrived.
He'd been invited to the party by a fellow student in one of his courses. They'd probably called out to him out of pity. It was the only realistic reason he could imagine, considering he isn't one to talk during class unless required. He certainly isn't known for going to parties, either.
He'd wanted to reject the invitation outright. But if someone was kind enough to take pity on him for seeming like he has no friends, shouldn't he at least do them the favor of accepting?
That logic is how he'd ended up here. In retrospect, he regrets convincing himself to come.
The only response from Mika the couch stranger gets is awkward silence and visibly awkward body language.
"Tch..." The redhead takes a hefty swig out of his beer bottle. Once it's been drained, he sets it on the ground before standing up. "C'mon."
Mika's immediate instinct is to stare at him in disbelief. 'C'mon'?
"I- I ain't... Uh..." He's eloquent as always, isn't he?
"C'mon. Follow me~"
Mika knows you should never judge someone solely on appearances, but the man looked like a perfect example of the type of guy he tries to avoid. The type who's loud, the type who's overbearing, the type who's been to parties like this countless times. The complete opposite of himself; those kinds of people terrify him.
He was tall, too, at least ten centimeters more than Mika. And he definitely looked stronger than him! If this guy were to try and mess with him, he'd be toast.
Since Mika remains frozen in indecision, the stranger makes the choice for him. He tugs him off the couch by his arm. It's rough enough to make Mika tense up in fear, but not rough enough to hurt. Honestly, even the lightest touch from someone he isn't close with is rough enough to make him tense, so it's difficult to use that as an accurate barometer.
The crow-haired boy somehow manages a few coherent words between various frantic mumblings.
"Nnhaa—? W-Wait, where're ya takin' me?!"
The stranger, unphased by Mika's clear display of anxiety, simply shoots him a grin.
"Ya've spent enough time sittin' alone. The generous Rinne-kyun's gonna show ya what a party is really like! Kyahaha~"
Those words do not serve to dampen Mika's nerves at all. Not one bit. He tries multiple times to writhe his way to freedom, but the redhead keeps a solid hold on him. He feels himself about to fall into a genuine panic, breath stuck in his throat, head spinning — all until the worrisome imagined scenarios playing out in his mind are abruptly interrupted by the feeling of wind against his face. In his frazzled state, he hadn't even noticed where he was being taken.
...A balcony?
He's never heard of scary guys at parties taking people out onto balconies before. Maybe it's the start of some sort of hazing that's so cruel it's not common knowledge?! But considering the stranger lets go of him as soon as they're outside and alone, that doesn't seem to be the case. Mika takes in a series of shaky breaths as he attempts to calm down.
"Chill, dude. Ya look like you're gonna pass out!" Mika is eyed cautiously for a moment. "Ya ain't actually about to pass out, right? Ah man..."
All the mischief and malice had left the stranger's expression the moment they'd gotten out of sight from the other partygoers. He leans against the door to the balcony to block people off from interrupting them. Realizing this might come off as another reason to be scared, he speaks again.
"Look, it's alright. I was just messin' with ya back there. Those guys inside, they'd think I was goin' soft if they saw me doin' this."
"Doin' what?" Having regained a little bit of composure, Mika attempts to stand up straight.
"Ya looked like a kicked puppy sittin' on that couch. Out here, none of those people are gonna bother ya." It's not a direct answer, but that's as honest and vulnerable as he's willing to get. He pulls a carton of cigarettes out of his pocket. "Ya smoke?"
Mika stares at him with wide, incredulous eyes. Is he understanding the situation right? The guy was only trying to help him, to get him out of an uncomfortable environment... It's not an easy motive to believe.
"...No." He shakes his head, doing so a little too frantically. Awkwardness is ingrained in each of his gestures.
"Suit yourself." The stranger pulls one out and holds it between his lips, his other hand reaching for his lighter.
"Ehh, hold on! I'll... I'll take one." He'd had plenty of horror stories regarding the dangers of smoking drilled into him growing up. But in the moment, it felt like the right thing to do.
His words are met with a skeptical look. After a moment, the stranger seems to decide it's fine. He shrugs and pulls a second cigarette out of the carton. It's handed to Mika, who wields it between his fingers with the caution of someone who'd just been handed a poisonous plant.
"...'m Mika, by th' way."
The redhead nods and lights the end of his own cigarette. He leans over to press it against the unlit end of Mika's. It's a strange halfway cigarette kiss, considering one party is holding theirs in their hand.
After taking a drag, he responds. "Rinne."
"Nice ta meet ya..." It nearly comes out with the uncertainty of a question.
Mika brings the cigarette to his lips and sucks on it harshly, inhaling way too much smoke in the process. He falls into a fit of harsh and ragged coughs.
"Gyeheh~" Rinne, as Mika now knows him to be named, seems amused by his pathetic display. "If ya took one to impress me, you're sure doin' a great job over there."
His voice is laced with sarcasm. As Mika continues to cough, Rinne smacks at his back and snickers.
"Alright, alright~ I think that's enough for ya, Mii~tan~"
"Geh— Hhn..." Inhale, exhale. Whew. "M-Mii-tan?"
"What, ya don't like it? And here I thought I was a nicknamin' prodigy."
Mika shakes his head. "Nah, it's fine. I, um... I like it."
He's not sure if he actually does. Something about the way it sounded coming out of Rinne's mouth felt taunting, almost condescending. But he doesn't want to look even more lame after what just happened, so he accepts the nickname.
"Alright then. Mii-tan it is." Rinne takes another puff of his own cigarette, blowing out the smoke slowly. "And Mii-tan definitely ain't finishin' that. Hand it over."
A hand is outstretched towards the younger man, beckoning for him to pass off his cigarette.
"Nnhaa?" Mika shakes his head. "No, 's fine. I—"
"C'mon, kid." Not taking no for an answer, Rinne plucks it from between Mika's fingers. "I ain't gonna be the reason someone like ya ends up bein' a chainsmoker."
Mika wonders what he means by that. What category of person has Rinne slotted him into after such a brief time being around each other? In any case, the type of person Mika had initially assumed Rinne to be seemed to not be fully accurate. It was hard to tell. He was mysterious. Intimidating, but not cruel.
"...Thank ya kindly, by the way." Mika opts to look down at the concrete below them. He traces a crack in it with the toe of his shoe. "Fer, um. Ya know. Fer gettin' me outta there, and stuff."
"Don't go gettin' sappy on me now~" Another puff of smoke is exhaled. "If ya keep actin' like that, it's gonna be hard to hold myself back from teasin' ya. I'm tryna act like a good guy here, y'know~?"
Mika's not certain, but he has a feeling it isn't entirely an act.
Before he can say anything about that, though, a loud banging from behind cuts him off. He turns to see what caused it, only to be greeted with the face of one of his roommates in the window.
"Mika-chan!" Her voice is muffled through the glass, but it's familiar enough for him to understand. Before he has time to react, she's pushing the door open with enough force to stumble Rinne.
"Are you alright?! Hey, is this guy bothering you?" She sends Rinne a sharp glare.
"Naru-chan? I didn't even know ya were here! Nnhaa, wait, 's alright! He was just—"
"Kyahaha~! Looks like I've been caught. Boo-hoo~ We were just about to get to the fun part!"
And so, the brash and ill-mannered persona returns to the stage. The two of them squabble, Narukami angry and Rinne laughing away.
As he's dragged away by his roommate moments later, Mika's left with questions that he doesn't know if he'll ever get the chance to have answered. He's not entirely sure why he's so curious in the first place. According to the things Narukami was telling him as she escorted Mika back to their shared dorm, Rinne was bad news. She tended to be up to date on the current events socially. That meant that her stories probably had some credibility to them, didn't it?
Right before falling out of earshot and eyesight, Rinne calls out to them and waves. "Come play with me again some time, Mii~tan~♪"
Mika doesn't attempt to respond.
…But you know, maybe attending parties again every now and then wouldn't be the worst idea.