Private Finished I don't want to go...

"Thanks..." He sighed in relief. "But um, don't worry. If possible, I want to see who else might be willing to come with us. The more friends I can gather, the better." He sniffled, the aftereffects of his tears still there even if he wasn't crying anymore. The ray of hope was swelling - if you looked, you'd see the flames of determination burning brightly behind his soft smile.

"I mean, I probably shouldn't assume, but... you're a friend to me." His cheeks were flaring up from the words, not quite believing that he was being so...open. It made him want to curl up into a ball and find a hole to live in, but...it wasn't a bad feeling. It was nice to not have to hide everything for once. "But, um... you've got my number, right? I'll probably text you more about it sometime. I shouldn't take up more of your evening..."

When Carmin nodded, Yuki's heart filled up a little more. He felt warm and fuzzy inside, happy to know he had someone he could call a friend. He'd spoken with Charlie a few times, but for some reason they'd fallen out of touch. He hadn't really taken the time to talk to her ever again after that, seeing as she'd looked preoccupied a lot of the time.

"Oh!" Yuki was sure he'd given Carmin the let's be friends card, but maybe he'd forgotten. Then again, he'd received the cards a little late. The boy smiled at Carmin's trouble with the phone. It seemed like not everyone was used to technology like he was. "If you don't mind, I could do it." He held out his free hand for the phone.

"No worries," the boy said as he took the phone and typed in his number within seconds, fingers flying across the screen. He called his own phone with Carmin's and hung up without answering to give himself Carmin's number. "There we go! All done." He gave Carmin's phone back and rustled around in his pockets, looking for his wallet. Thankfully it was there.

"And if you happen to lose my number somehow, it's on this card for you to re-enter if you need to." He said, holding out the 'let's be friends!' card to Carmin with his number in big font on the front.

"Alright then! I'll let you know when I've figured things out." Yuki smiled, sipping his hot (cold) chocolate again. "And, um..." He paused, fidgeting a little as his face warmed up again. "Thank you again. For today."

And with that, he waved Carmin a goodbye as he headed towards the business district in search of a hotel to stay the night at. With his wallet, he'd have more than enough for at least a month's stay, but he'd rather not let the issue drag out longer than a week if it had to. He had to show his parents he was capable. He couldn't be just some baby anymore. (Even if he had just spent a few moments bawling like one.)

Maybe in the morning he'd buy some more clothes... Oh, but how about his uniform? He'd have to see if Ace would be willing to clandestinely bring it to school for him. Then again, could he trust Ace or Mahalia to not bring him back home by force? He'd figure it out later. For now, a place to stay was his priority.