The Day After
Parallel Worlds
Ryosuke trudged into the classroom the next morning hoping to find the one person he had been eager to see. However, upon sliding open the door of his classroom, he was only met with an empty classroom.
Rio has a tendency of arriving early but today was different. Ryosuke felt a wave of disappointment as he leaned against the doorway, staring at their empty seats. He remembered every single moment they spent together but couldn't seem to remember exactly where it went wrong.
"You're here early again," Chinen's voice suddenly rang from behind him.
Ryosuke turned around to see his childhood friend staring back at him with a concerned expression. Before Chinen spoke, he gently nudged the older one into the classroom and closed the door behind them both. "There's something you should know," Chinen said, passing him today's attendance sheet.
Ryosuke eyed the latter for a brief moment as he took the sheet into his hands. Slowly, he lowered his eyes at the paper and scanned the names. He was just beginning to wonder what Chinen was trying to tell him but finally realized it when he noticed that Rio's name disappeared from the 1A class attendance sheet.
"What is the meaning of this..." Ryosuke asked, scanning the paper two more times in disbelief.
"I already checked the database to see which class she transferred to but.." Chinen paused. "...Turns out that she requested a complete transfer to the West wing. I don't have class information on anyone there."
The younger one recalled the events from last evening at work. Ryosuke not only arrived late, but his solemn expression nearly frightened the rest of JUMP when he showed up. Ryosuke, whose attitude had changed so positively since he started dating Rio, was now under his own cloud of rain. "She broke up with me." He said last night, silencing the group almost immediately.
For the rest of the evening, Daiki and Ryosuke stuck together. Even after rehearsal had ended, the two stayed behind to talk. Chinen didn't know what the conversation was about but he trusted them to not do anything reckless as they usually would when they're left alone.
"Did you do something to make her leave like that?" Chinen asked at this moment. He watched his friend shake his head in disappointment before releasing an exhausted sigh.
"I've been asking myself that same question the entire night." Ryosuke told him.
As the morning ticked on, students eventually started arriving to class. Ryosuke sat in his chair as he fumbled with his thumbs. He knew that Rio wasn't part of the class anymore but somehow, he still wished for a miracle- that she would walk in at any second.
Chinen, on the other hand, was beginning to get concerned. The class was nearly starting and Amu hasn't arrived either. The boy thought back to the attendance sheet and clearly remembered her name being there.
By the time the bell rang, even Ryosuke seemed to have noticed that something seemed off with Amu being late. He turned around to exchange concerned glances with Chinen.
'Did she make it home yesterday okay?' Chinen wondered. He felt guilty for forgetting to message Amu yesterday and cursed himself for being so careless. With his phone under the table, the boy sent her a text before anxiously waiting for her reply. However, after 10 minutes had passed, he grew even more worried.
Chinen excused himself from class and stepped into the hallway. Dialing Amu's number, he tapped his foot impatiently as he waited for it to connect but frowned when it went straight to voicemail.
Feeling uncontrollably anxious, Chinen immediately thought of the worst-case scenario. He had the urge to visit her home just to make sure she was okay but realized that he didn't know her address either...
... But he knew the one person who did.
Not wanting to waste any more time, Chinen found himself running up the stairs to the third floor before stopping at his friend's classroom. Sitting at the back of the class was Daiki who was too occupied staring out the window, as per usual.
"Sorry sensei. But Arioka Daiki is needed at the Jimusho for an emergency meeting." Chinen said to the teacher after barging into the room.
Daiki's teacher was already well aware of her student's current dilemma. Understanding what Chinen meant, she nodded and gave him permission to leave class early.
"What trouble am I in this time?" Daiki asked his friend after stepping out into the classroom in complete defeat.
"I only made that up because I need you for something else."
"Dude, you could've said something more positive like I won an award, or I'm needed for a club meeting or something... but the Jimusho? Just hearing that name scares the crap o-"
"Amu is missing from class today..." Chinen explained in an anxious tone. "... And no one has been able to get in contact with her ever since she went home yesterday."
Daiki quickly diverted his gaze away from Chinen, hoping that his friend wouldn't notice his concerned expression. "What about Rio chan?" He asked. "They're best friends so she might know what's happening."
"Rio... transferred out of our class today. She's in the West wing now." Chinen replied.
"Huh?" The older one furrowed his eyebrows. Not knowing what to do, he quickly rearranged his thoughts before suddenly remembering the hangout from Saturday.
"I know how to get to Amu's apartment. I can text you the instructions." Daiki said, digging into his pocket for his phone.
"Dai-chan. You should be the one to go."
"Chii..." The latter frowned, slumping his shoulders. "I think I'm the last person on earth she wants to see right now. She chose you, remember?"
"Amu might've given me her gift yesterday, but that didn't mean she chose me. Besides, if I go following your directions, there's a high possibility that I wouldn't even make it there." Chinen asserted before turning his friend towards the direction of the back staircase. "Use the back exit. I used it to leave yesterday and there were no reporters there."
Daiki softened his expression. "Are you really sure you're okay with this?"
"The two of you did spend an entire day together so you know her a lot better than I do." Chinen shrugged. "Don't get me wrong, this doesn't mean I'm giving up on her. I just want what's best for her and I'm sure you feel the same way too."
The latter hesitated for a brief moment but finally nodded. "I'll text the group once I have some news." He said, placing his face mask on. "Also, tell Ryo not to do what he's thinking of. We'll figure something out with Rio."
Before the younger one could question what Daiki meant by his request, his friend had already made a run for the staircase. Chinen took a deep breath and proceeded back to class, his hands tucked in his pockets.
When he had finally returned to his seat, he wrote a quick note before tapping Ryosuke on the shoulder and passing it over to him in secret.
Taking the folded note into his hands, Ryosuke unraveled the paper and read the contents inside:
'Dai-chan went to check up on Amu at her place. He also wanted me to tell you not to do what you're thinking about. Not sure what that means, but we'll figure something out with Rio.'
Ryosuke sighed after having read the note. Even Daiki knew what was going through his mind the entire day. Despite his best friend's warning, he had already made up his mind...
... And with Rio now gone from his life, he had no intentions of changing his plans either.
--
By the time Daiki arrived at Amu's apartment, he was completely out of breath. The boy rang the doorbell and waited in anxiousness for someone to answer the door.
After an entire minute had gone by, the boy frowned and reached for the bell once more. However, just as he was about to ring it, the door finally opened, revealing a disheveled girl behind it.
"Dai-chan?" Amu uttered. The girl squinted at the boy before her before rubbing her eyes in disbelief. 'Am I hallucinating...' She thought to herself.
However, just before Amu could question his sudden appearance, she felt her entire vision go blurry and stumbled in her effort to stay on her feet. Unfortunately, even her best efforts weren't enough when everything around her started spinning. Amu couldn't even remember losing consciousness by the time she collapsed.
Daiki was quick to catch her right before her fall. Almost immediately, he noticed the amount of heat radiating off her skin quickly placed his hand against her forehead. Amu was burning up from a fever.
Concerned with her current state, Daiki invited himself into her apartment and closed the door behind them. He carried the unconscious girl to the sofa before pushing his bangs back with his two hands in concern.
"Mou, what should I do?" He pondered, reaching for his phone. His first instinct was to call for an ambulance but he knew that given his recent 'scandal', things would blow up even more if news got out about Amu.
His next option was to call Rio for help but realized quickly that Rio had not only blocked Ry
Comments