Run!

Again, I spoke too soon…

It was just the beginning. A little while after I accepted the request, little did I know that it spread like wildfire. At first, they seldom came in small groups like three to four fans but then it turned into large groups with almost fifteen fans! Yes, FIFTEEN people! They could easily mob us. Also, it got harder and harder to enjoy the sights because people are constantly calling for your attention. What have I done? I shouldn't have taken those items and conversed naturally, now we're suffering the consequences of being interrupted every now and then. People had been following us, especially some fans.

Though there were some respectful enough to ask for our permission to take pictures, many were still just clicking their phones at us. There was even an instance when a random girl just arched her arms at Justin and took a selfie. It shocked him but he couldn't even shove the girl away. I was the one who came in between them and politely pushed her away. "[No more pictures, please…]". I then took him near our group again, he looked so scared.

"Oh my god, this is insane!" I exclaimed as I grew tired of dealing with their fans, "This is too much! My bag is full of fan letters, I don't think I can go on like this.".

"Well, it's your fault for accepting them in the first place." Louie had then commented as I looked at him. "You could've said no, you know.".

"I was just being polite." I emphasized in my last word, "I never thought that it would go like this.".

He then shrugged at me and then gestured for my bag, "Let me carry those for you." Huh, now he's being sincere…? Nope, I won't be having it today.

I then walked past him and said, "No thank you, I can carry these myself.".

"I – I'm sorry, I can't understand you – Whoa!" I then heard Elise exclaiming; she was overwhelmed by the people surrounding her while she was browsing some items. Sheesh, these people…

"[Come on people, back up… Please, BACK UP!]" I exclaimed as I forced my way toward her. Some of them did back up while others didn't, I had to 'swim' across the building sea of people. When I finally reached her, my junior had fear in her eyes, being circled by strangers isn't fun at all.

"Ms. Jeanne!" She then hugged me out of fear.

I held her tight as I pleaded, "[Please, back up, you're caging us in!]".

People from behind had started to push forward, making it hard to get through this crowd. I couldn't help getting irritated since Elise is already sobbing yet some people are still pursuing us. I wanted to yell at them but I kept thinking that we were going to be toast online if I do so and the only way out of this is to get away with these people.

Luckily, I've managed to get ourselves out of that sea of fans but it wasn't over since they had the audacity to follow us! I looked back annoyed but what can I do? My friends and I had regrouped and I could clearly see the mixture of fear, annoyance, and tiredness on their faces, especially the youngsters.

"I'm sorry, guys –"

"We should run." Vince cut me off with a clear suggestion. What? Is he for real…? "RUN!" And like ants, the six of us run started to run. We ran so suddenly that we all got separated. Well, it's a good move since the people that are following us were perplexed as to who would they chase but the downside is, we aren't familiar with the place. But for now, losing our chasers is the top priority.

After god knows how many minutes passed, I was able to get away. I was catching my breath while I rested my hands on my knees and it's a good thing that I do morning runs every now and then, my endurance is quite strong. I stopped for a while and checked my phone, Ebony had then sent a photo on our group chat. Meet here…? Oh, the Meiji Jingu grand shrine gate. I know this gate, I've seen this when I was researching our itinerary.

Whoa, this shrine gate's huge! Luckily, my phone's map app is correct. By the foot of the shrine gate, I saw my friends patiently waiting. "Ms. Jeanne!" Elise sobbingly ran towards me from the gate and embraced me tightly, "Waah! I thought we were goners!".

"Hush… We're fine, we're alright… Everything's going to be alright…"

We then approached the others. Ebony was clinging to her boyfriend but she did offer me a hug which I gladly took. "We're glad to see you back, Jeanne." She said to me as we broke our embrace.

"Yeah, me too…" I then looked around; Elise was by my side, Vince and Ebony leaning by the shrine gate, and then Louie squatting by the side. Wait… Someone's missing. "Where's Justin?".

"He's not here yet…" Louie answered, "But don't worry, he'll be here…". I hope you're right, he might be somewhere far from here, and I hope he's alright.

It's been 30 minutes and still no Justin. I'm starting to get worried, what if he got lost and couldn't find his way here? What if he lost his phone and wasn't informed to meet everyone here? What if he got caught!? Damn it, brain, stop thinking like this!

"Come on, Jeanne… Stop phasing around… You're only making me dizzy." Vince commented at me as we were patiently waiting, well, my patience is wearing thin.

"I can't help it, I'm just so worried… There are so many what-ifs in my head right now."

"Alright, alright… let's look for him…"

We had then ventured out to areas he could've gone through. We were hoping for relief but instead, fear had once again filled our minds because instead of Justin, we only found his beret cap laying on the ground. Oh no, no, no… Not again!