Count On Me (Ittoki Otoya x Reader)

If you ever find yourself stuck in the middle of the sea,
I'll sail the world to find you
If you ever find yourself lost in the dark and you can't see,
I'll be the light to guide you

Find out what we're made of
When we are called to help our friends in need

OTOYA

I looked around the throng of people, trying to find ____, my best friend. We were at the mall for a book signing of her favorite author. Originally, she planned to go by herself, but I didn’t trust her with directions that much so I volunteered to come with her. The author was really popular so, naturally, there were a lot of people and as we were walking off the line of people, we got separated.

            I craned my neck higher to get a glimpse of her (h/c) hair. And maybe if I stand a bit higher she could see my red hair.

            Suddenly, a cold and slightly clammy hand wrapped itself around my wrist and I jumped, turning around and almost hitting ____ on the head with a pathetic excuse for a karate chop.

            “Whoa, Otoya,” she said, attempting to shield herself from my hand. ____ was able to stop my “attack” in time and was holding my hand in hers; I felt my face flush slightly and shook my head, trying to get rid of the heat.

            “_-____! Where did you go?” I asked, withdrawing my hand and letting it hang at my side.

            She scoffed and playfully hit me on the arm. “I could ask the same to you, Otoyan!” She had a cut grin on her face.

            I smiled wide and took her hand. “Come on and let’s eat. I bet you’re pretty excited to frame that autographed book of yours, huh?”

            ____ giggled. She opened her mouth, about to say something, but the lights abruptly went off, cutting off my sight. I felt ____’s hand tighten its hold on the fingers she was holding. I looked in her general direction and said, “Don’t worry, ____. I’m here; I won’t let go of you.”

            I put my free hand on top of the both of yours and traced it up to her shoulder and over to the other one, slowly bringing her closer to me. Despite the blush on my cheeks, making me want to melt from very close contact, I held on to ____ until the lights went on again.

You can count on me like 1 2 3
I'll be there
And I know when I need it I can count on you like 4 3 2
And you'll be there
Cause that's what friends are supposed to do, oh yeah

Wooooh, Wooooh
yeah Yeah

As I laid down on my bed later that night, I thought about ____ and all of the times we helped each other or kept each other company when we were lonely.

            There was that time when ____ was sick and there was no one in her house to take care of her. I immediately rushed to her house and as soon as she answered the door, I carried her up the steps and into her room, telling her to stay put and that I would be back. For three days, I was with her, nursing her cold until her parents came home from their business trips.

            And there was one time that I was close to almost failing my acting classes at Saotome Academy. I really didn’t know what to do so I called ____ up and told her about my problem. Apparently, she was in the theater club at her school and offered to help me. I had gladly accepted and we rehearsed and rehearsed until my finals. Thanks to her, my grade went sky-high.

If you toss and you turn and you just can't fall asleep
I'll sing a song
beside you
And if you ever forget how much you really mean to me
Everyday I will
remind you

Ohh
Find out what we're made of
When we are called to help our friends in need

The tune of Smile Magic blared from the speaker of my cell phone, distracting me from my thoughts. I opened the phone and looked at the caller ID; it was ____. I accepted the call and said, “Hello?”

            “Otoya? Hi.” She was speaking so softly that I almost couldn’t hear it. But I knew that tone of voice she was using—nervous and sleepy at the same time—and I smiled at the urgency of the call.

            Without letting her say anything else, I sang the chorus of my favorite song and her favorite lullaby.

“You can count on me like 1 2 3
I'll be there
And I know when I need it I can count on you like 4 3 2
You'll be there
Cause that's what friends are supposed to do, oh yeah

Wooooh, Wooooh
Yeah Yeah”

It was times like this that I was grateful for my singing voice; being able to help ____ fall asleep was a big achievement for me and I felt that I was the only one to be able to do that to her.

            It made me really happy.

            Although sometimes, when she was feeling down or depressed, she would always ask me why I was always hanging out with her. Every time she acts like that my heart hurt a little. She just didn’t know how much she meant to me. I’d been trying to find some way to let her know how I feel but I just couldn’t find the right words or the right situation to say it.

You'll always have my shoulder when you cry
I'll never let go
Never say goodbye

The next day, I went to ____’s house and was surprised to see her so worn and broken-looking. I couldn’t stand around doing nothing any longer and immediately wrapped my arms around ____’s figure. Moments later, I could feel wetness on my gray t-shirt and could feel ____’s body shaking against mine.

            I pulled away and escorted her to the couch, pulling her down beside me and laying an arm around her shoulders as she sobbed onto mine. I didn’t mind one bit and asked her why she was crying. She told me everything—problems with her family, her friends, even herself.

            I said nothing and just laid her down on my lap and stroked her hair while singing her lullaby.

“You can count on me like 1 2 3
I'll be there
And I know when I need it I can count on you like 4 3 2
You'll be there
Cause that's what friends are supposed to do, oh yeah

Wooooh, Wooooh
you can count on me cos' I can count on you”

As I finished the song, her breathing evened out and relaxed into her own personal sleeping rhythm. I smiled as I felt her clinging onto the hand that she was grasping, silently telling me to not go and stay by her side. Well, even without her telling me, I’d have done it either way.

            I slowly bent down and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead so I wouldn’t wake her up. I wanted to tell her when she was awake, but this would have to do for now.

            Stroking her hair, I leaned down and whispered something in her ear. As I straightened, I could see a hint of a smile forming on her lips, making me blush as red as my hair.

            “I love you, ____.”

THE END