Blue and White, But Something's Not Right [Kaede, Akira]

As she sat down and set the plate down on the table, Kaede did her best to keep the jacket around her, hiding her face as she quietly picked at the food in front of her, jumping slightly at the sudden, sharp clink of the glass tapping against the table. Occasionally, she'd take a bite, before gingerly taking the milkshake, putting it in front of her, and trying to sip from it through the straw, only for bits of the additives to get stuck and for her to quickly put it back where it had been before.

"Everyone just looks at you like you're...not even a person. It's awkward. To look at me, to try and be nice to me. Everyone thinks that I'm some druggie, so they don't want to help. Some might be a bit nicer than others, but...guys in spandex with hearts of gold just exist in comics and stories."

Some people were a bit nicer than others, but, too many -- most, really -- didn't even want to look at her. Kaede's hands slipped from the table, slowly folding in her lap, before attempting to hide even further in the jacket, despite how futile it was.

Her head perked up slightly at what he said next, but it quickly receded. Somewhere to stay -- but, it was someone that owed him. But, a part of her wanted to say yes. Her leg bounced anxiously as she thought about it, idly picking at bits of what remained on her plate.

Get away. Go. Run. Scram. Get out.

Every fiber of her being was screaming at her to leave, to run, get away from here. Even if what he was saying was enticing -- to meet someone that may be like those heroes in the comics she kept so close. But, as she slowly set down her fork, quietly sliding back into the chair and bringing her legs close to her chest, she kept fighting with that urge to run.

"N-No, that's fine. You...You don't need to do that."

Run, now.

Ever so slowly, she started to move back into a normal sitting position, sliding the coat off her shoulders as she started to stand...before she immediately booked it. Turning on her heel, she immediately zipped out of the restaurant, faster than a human, more on the level of a car as she quickly fled out the door.

She held onto the old, worn backpack over her shoulder as she ran as far as her legs could take her, collapsing in an alleyway, before moving up against the wall, quietly rummaging through her backpack, pulling out a comic.

All-Star Superman, Issue #10, "Neverending." Kaede opened it to a particular page, atop a roof, where the beloved farm boy saved a girl from throwing herself off the building. Cradling the comic to her chest, Kaede curled up, quivering on the ground as she cried.

That's how she knew it was fiction.

Because heroes didn't save people like her.