[drabble] Solitude
Title: Solitude (Alternative Title: 5 days Inoo locked himself in his room + 1 day BEST broke in)
Author: Luna (dreamweavernyx )
Pairing: Various [Inoo-centric]
Genre: Various
Notes: Written for the Inoo-thon, prompt #22.
Happy birthday, Yuki (chii_loves_me )!
~
1
Well-stocked coffee supply?
Check.
Highlighters?
Check.
Comfy chair?
Check.
Table lamp on and not about to blow up anytime soon?
Check.
Notebook and pen?
Check.
Textbook so thick even the phone directory pales in comparison?
Check.
“Alright,” said Inoo. “I’m all set!”
He pushed his door shut, locked it securely, and walked to his desk. Sinking into the comfortable wheelie chair, he picked up his pen and twirled it.
“Study time!”
2
It was nearly midnight. Inoo was enjoying a calming walk down the corridors in an attempt to get himself sleepy enough to fall properly asleep.
It was a quiet, peaceful night. The crickets chirped gently, the moon was full, the stars were bright, the silence was serene.
A sudden shriek ripped through the air.
“CAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!” screamed Hikaru, running down the hallway, and yanking at random doors to see which was open and could provide an escape route for him.
Inoo stared wide-eyed at the scene.
He bolted into his room, and slammed it shut before locking it securely.
There was no way a crazed cat-fearing lunatic would barge into his room tonight.
3
Inoo sighed as he stretched luxuriously. A good night’s sleep was very rare, the chance to oversleep even more so.
In fact, it was so rare that Inoo began to suspect something was wrong. He was very sure that by 8am he would get a wake-up call from the ever-vigilant Yabumama.
Something must be terribly, horribly wrong, he mused.
He opened his door and took a peek outside. The corridor was empty.
Suddenly, in the distance, he thought he saw something pink. As it grew closer, he realized it was a bunny, very much like the one from Ya-Ya-Yah when Hikaru dressed as a pink bunny, but this one significantly shorter than Hikaru.
He rubbed his eyes.
“Chinen?”
“Inoo-chan!” called Chinen, bouncing towards him down the corridor. “I’m a wabbit!”
Inoo could only stare in shock.
“I’m a flying wabbit,” sang Chinen, “I can fly awayyyyyyyyy~”
A penguin came zooming down the corridor and crashed into Chinen.
“The sky is blue, the grass is green,” giggled Daiki the penguin. “And I see floating sheep in the sky!”
Inoo blinked once, twice. He was confused.
“Whoosh!” yelled Yuto, running down the hallway with a pink flowery curtain attached to his shoulders and a colander strapped to his head. “I LOVE RED BULL!”
The world has gone mad, thought Inoo. He pulled his head back into his room, and slammed the door shut on the crazy Red-Bull-high cosplayers outside.
“Wake me up when reality comes back,” he yelled to nobody in particular, before diving back under his covers.
If insanity was going to run rampant, he would hide out in his room until sensibility decided to return from its holiday.
4
“Shut up!” Inoo yelled. “Stop apologizing. You don’t mean it at all.”
“Wait-”
“For what? For you? You’ve already made it damn obvious that you aren’t willing to wait for me.”
He didn’t wait for a reply, and instead stormed into his room, shutting the door into that shocked face and furiously twisting the lock shut.
Only then did he allow himself to slowly slide to the floor, the shock of the moment slowly taking over.
“If only you’d realize that I’ve always been waiting here,” he murmured quietly to himself, tears sliding slowly down his cheeks as he buried his head in his knees.
He fell asleep without realizing it, slumped against the locked door.
5
Inoo burst into his room, ignoring the loud bursts of laughter from his bandmates.
“I do not look like a girl!” he yelled at them down the corridor one last time, before closing and locking his door for privacy.
He stomped over to the mirror and scowled as he examined the extent of the damage done.
I’ll never fall asleep in their presence ever again, he decided resolutely.
Taking a deep breath, he reached up and began the long process of unknotting one of the many ribbons tied onto his curls.
+1
Inoo sighed tiredly as he entered his room. It had been just another day of university, just another day of cramming, just another day of being invisible…
Or was it?
Today, more so than any other day, the lack of interaction with everybody, anybody, bothered him.
Wordlessly, he kicked the door shut, hearing the lock click behind him. He dumped his bag next to his desk, and collapsed on the bed.
Why? he wondered, trying his best to sink deeper into the pillow. At least a simple greeting would do. It’s as if everybody’s forgotten…
A sudden noise brought him out of his reverie, and he looked up just in time to see another pebble hit the window. He opened it, and looked out.
There, under his window, stood the rest of BEST.
“Inoo-chan!” yelled Yabu.
“On three,” said Takaki, grinning, and in unison they all began to burst into song.
Happy birthday to you,
Happy birthday to you,
Happy birthday to Inoo-chan,
Happy birthday to youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!
Hikaru unfurled a giant banner that read “Happy Birthday to our dear Queen Inoo!” Daiki popped several partty poppers, and confetti rained down upon the four of them.
“You guys…” murmured Inoo, as tears began to fill his eyes.
“Come on down,” said Yabu, grinning as he held up a cake.
Inoo opened the window wider, and jumped out from his first-floor window to the ground, and ran to his bandmates.
“Did you actually think we’d forget?” asked Daiki, smiling.
“Not a chance,” continued Takaki, patting Inoo’s shoulder.
“But it was mostly Yabumama’s idea,” chimed in Hikaru happily.
Inoo looked from one expectant face to another, and finally broke into a genuine smile of his own.
“Thanks, guys. Thank you so much.”
He ended up breaking into tears of happiness upon an awkward Yabu’s shoulder.