Chapter Text
The car ride to the hotel was nice. Calm. Well, as calm as it could be, knowing that you were on the way to witness your sister marry your best friend. Marry your ex-boyfriend. You scoff at the thought. Is that even what he was? An ex? You sigh, placing your chin on your palm as you stare out the window. You watch the blur of palm trees and ferns, the way the teal-blue waves crash against the yellow sand. The sight could've been beautiful under any different circumstances. The music in your wired earbuds blare loudly, probably annoyingly loud if there were anyone else in the cab with you.
⋆‧°𓏲ּ𝄢⋆˚꩜｡
The harsh sweet smell of the hotel lobby floods your nostrils, causing you to dread the next two weeks even more.
The automatic doors to the entrance of the lobby slide open, causing your hair to flow back by the small gust of wind. You adjust your dark black cat-eye sunglasses, shielding your e/c eyes from the annoyingly bright sun.
"Sis!!!!" Your sister wails, standing from her seat in the lounge area and zooming over to you.
She tosses her arms around your neck, pulling you into a tight hug. She pulls one of your earbuds out, causing it to dangle against your chest. You fight the urge to roll your eyes. You swore to yourself that you were going to be civil. No remarks, no confessions, just you showing up for your sister's wedding
"I'm so happy you could make it!" She says, eyes squeezed shut by how wide she's smiling.
"Of course I came, sis. It's your wedding." I smile, shaking my head.
"You still drinking those energy drinks?" Seishirou quips, looking up from his phone and briefly gesturing towards the empty RedBull can in your hand.
"Haha, he remembers everything about you!" Your sister chuckles, oblivious to the tension. She pulls back from the hug, leaving her hands on your shoulders.
"You look so gloomy. Would it kill you to wear some color?" She jokes, eyes raking over your outfit.
You glance down at yourself. You're wearing a dark black cami, part of your black bra peeking through the top. The top is paired with equally dark jean shorts and a stuffed belt, tights underneath.
You shrug. "I always dress like this." You say, not feeling the least bit self-conscious.
You catch Seishirou's gaze from where he sits in his chair, his eyes taking over your darkly-clad form. You hadn't changed one bit. Sure you matured a bit, growing into a woman instead of staying an awkward teenager. Seishirou found it quite hot, actually, that the cute girl he'd befriended had turned out to be such a catch. But before he lets his thoughts wander too far, he clears his throat and goes back to his stupid mobile game.
"So, are you guys excited?" You offer, breaking the silence, flashing your white teeth in a smile, a large contrast to your dark attire.
"It's whatever." Nagi responds dryly, shrugging his shoulders.
"Oh, don't be such a killjoy, babe." Your sister laughs.
You try to fight off a look of disgust at your sister's small "babe." You manage to play it off as a small scoff. Your sister doesn't notice. Seishirou does. Of course he does.
He smirks slightly at your reaction, clearly amused by our scoff.
Back in high school, Seishiro always hated stupid terms of endearment, and right now, hearing it from your sister of all people, makes you dig your nails into your palm.
“Anyways, it was good to see you guys. The plane ride was long, so I’m going to head up to my room and probably take a nap,” You sigh, nodding awkwardly, ready to leave.
“Already?” Your sister whines, pouting at the idea of your departure. “Cake tasting is at eight, and I want you to be there!” She says, jutting her lower lip out.
“I’ll be there. I’m just going to take a nap, and finish this level.” You sigh, gesturing towards your phone in your hand.
"Ugh, you two and your games. You know, I'll never understand how you can just mash a bunch of buttons and call it entertai-" Your sister sighs, but is cut off by Seishirou.
"What game?" He asks, looking up from his phone, a strand of his white hair falling in his face.
"Shadow Legends," You reply, shrugging.
"Of course you're still playing that game," He scoffs, looking back down at his phone. So much for a warm welcome.
Your sister, oblivious to it all, simply sighs.
“Okay, well I guess if you're going to be back in time for cake tasting, you can go. Just don’t be gone too long, okay? I want to do all the fun wedding stuff with you and Seishirou,” She says, smiling brightly.
She can’t be serious. Seishirou audibly sighs, dropping his head into his hand.
“Um, alright. I’ll be there.” You sigh, adjusting the strap of your backpack and putting your earbud back into your ear.
“Babe, would you be a gentleman and please help Y/N take her bags up to her room?” Your sister asks, patting your shoulder.
That catches his attention. Your name catches his attention. He stretches his hands above his head, standing up and pocketing his .
“Such a hassle,” He sighs, although he walks over to you and takes your backpack off your shoulders and onto one of his own.
You mutter a thanks, and he just hums. The walk to the elevator is quiet. Too quiet.
He presses the button to call the elevator down.
“What floor?” He asks, shooting you a sideways glance.
“Five.” You nod, shoving your free hand into the pocket of your small jean shorts, the other tightly gripping the handle of your suitcase.
Seishirou taps the circular button with the back of his hand, causing the “5” to light up.
You chew the inside of your cheek nervously. The music in your ears is the only thing keeping you from flying on spot.
“Room number?” He asks, this time turning his head to look at you.
Like it matters.
“512,” You reply.
“512,” He repeats under his breath, committing it to memory.
“So... You coming to the cake testing?” He offers, glancing over at you awkwardly.
Fuck, could the elevator please hurry up?
You simply nod. “Yep.” You pop the ‘p’ sound at the end, a nervous habit you'd never seem to lose throughout the years.
You feel your palms begin to get clammy. The last time you and Seishirou had been alone together was like any normal day. The last time you saw him before leaving for Spain was at his house. The two of you had been playing Shadow Legends, Seishirou’s favorite game. You had told him that you had gotten into the same college as him. You hadn’t. His soccer scholarship had gotten him straight into the university, which left you relying on your grades. To your surprise, you'd gotten accepted to one of your dream universities... In Spain. And the worst thing about it was that you couldn't bring yourself to tell him. You’d already told him that you'd been accepted into the same college as him, and now you were expected to tell him that it was a lie, and that you're actually going to take your classes on the other side of the world? Yeah right. But in the end, it ended up doing much more damage than good. If you hadn’t been such a coward, maybe things would’ve ended differently. Maybe the two of you could’ve worked some sort of long-distance thing. At least stayed in contact. Maybe seeing each other again under circumstances that didn't involve him marrying your sister.
“You cut your hair.” He swallows, nodding towards your hair.
“Just a trim.” You shrug, acting as if the idea of Seishirou remembering something as trivial as your hair doesn't make your stomach feel fuzzy.
“Used to be longer,” He sighs, pulling his phone from his pocket and putting in his own earbuds.
So much for a conversation.
The sound of the elevator chiming is like music to your ears. You lead the way out of the elevator, your eagerness to get some space obvious.
You press your key card to the lock of your hotel door, Seishirou helping you push it open. You wheel your suitcase into the room.
“I’ll see you in an hour?” He asks, voice almost.. Hopeful?
“Yeah, just let me-” You begin.
“Finish your level? Obviously. Just don't be late,” He interrupts, knowingly.
He gently tosses the backpack that he was carrying onto the bed.
You shake your head slightly, smiling.
“See ya, Sei.” You say, the familiar nickname slipping before you can stop it.
His eyes widen slightly, but his usual blank expression quickly returs.
Yeah. See ya,” He repeats, closing the door behind him as he exits.
Once he's gone, you lock the door and begin unpacking. You sit your suitcase onto your bed, and begin taking out all the outfits.
You smile to yourself. If your sister had an issue with the lack of color in your outfits today, she will be for the rest of the trip. To be honest, you don’t know why you even came to the wedding. Having to spend the next two weeks with your sister and Seishirou are going to be hell.