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"Soma? Hello, are you in there?"
Soma blinked back to himself with a little, "Huh?" and immediately got giggles for it. Mina held one hand in front of her mouth and only lowered it to speak again.
"I was asking if you were finished getting the information you needed. You've been staring at that clock for about ten minutes now."
"Ah, sorry..." But Soma found his eyes drifting back to the clock.
He was supposed to be getting information for his History of the 1900s class; He'd found a good museum exhibit featuring various objects from the early part of that century, many pieces of art in their own right. The clock was taller than he was, a large grandfather, still working, ticking carefully thanks to the weights which kept the gears spinning at just the right pace. Though he could say he'd been staring at the wood, and the way the shape had been carved and maintained with care, or the clock face, which featured several distinct silver inlaid scenes which rotated with the time of day, the truth was that he'd been thinking of the strange visitor who had been dropped into lap. Near literally, given how he'd seemingly fallen into Soma's apartment.
Trevor Belmont--lost in time--had left with Yoko and Julius to go find Arikado and get his advice on the matter. Soma didn't appreciate being left behind again, even though they'd insisted there was no danger and it was better for him to go to his classes.
That had been yesterday, once they realized Arikado wouldn't be able to make it to meet with them. Today, early that morning, Trevor, Yoko, and Julius should have arrived wherever Arikado was. They'd decided to leave while Soma had still been sleeping, leaving both him and Mina with text reassuring them they would be back and to focus on their normal activities until then. As if it was so easy for Soma to do.
Mina sighed.
Soma turned back to her, rubbing the back of his neck. "Sorry," he said again. "I think I'm done for now. Want to get something to eat?"
"Sure. There's a cafe between here and the station, if you want to try it?"
As they walked away, Soma found himself looking back over his shoulder one more time, staring at the clock.
He couldn't help Trevor, not with his lack of occult and magical knowledge. At least, he couldn't help him get home. but he'd promised to help him anyway, and leaving things in the hands of others didn't sit right with him. He should have been relieved; He should have been glad that Arikado and the others would pool their own vast experiences and take care of things. If nothing else, he should be glad he wouldn't be around to accidentally give away that he had, at one point in his long past life, been Dracula, the Belmonts’ most hated enemy.
But the relief Soma should have had was nowhere to be found. Instead, he just felt... useless.
A hand carefully brushed against his arm, and Soma automatically crooked his elbow, blushing when he realized Mina was pressing up against him as she carefully held his arm.
"They should be back today," Mina said. "I'm sure they'll talk to us about what they've figured out, but we can also text Yoko or the others to let them know we're available, okay?"
"You always know what I'm thinking about," Soma said, feeling some tension leave his stomach, finally uncoiling. "How do you do that?"
"It's nothing, really. That's just the kind of person you are. You like helping people."
"No no, it's just, I feel I have some responsibility to Trevor, is all. Since I promised." Soma tried to will away the blush which had only gotten warmer, though he didn't know how well it worked, since his stomach was back to flip flopping again. Not for the same reason as before, though.
"I just happen to admire that determination," Mina said, leaning further into him.
And there went all his composure. He couldn't quite form full sentences until they reached the cafe, Mina only giggling at him and being distinctly unhelpful in that way.
Still, she'd managed to get Soma to stop worrying, at least for the moment.
So until they heard back from their older friends, Soma focused on the present. He could face any problems of a different time when they arrived.