Aiba/Jun - The Game We Play, chapter 17 of 22
I almost forget to update this story. Thanks to the reader who reminded me to update this :D
The Game We Play
Pairings: Aiba Masaki/Matsumoto Jun, Ninomiya Kazunari/Sakurai Sho, Ohno Satoshi/Ikuta Toma, Tegoshi Yuuya/Masuda Takahisa
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Romance, Drama, AU
Summary: Four princes of JE academy were bored with their always-the-same lives. So they decided to play a game that will change their life forever.
A/N: It's a complete AU, means all the characters have different personality from their real life version. It's my challenge to see whether I can get it to work. And because I love Aiba/Jun so much I have to write something about them. In this fic, Aiba is a real jerk (but a softie at heart) and an animal lover, Jun CAN actually sing, Nino is the playboy with bitter past, Sho CAN actually draw, and Ohno is not quiet. Other than that, enjoy the story!
Previous: Prologue | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16
Chapter 17
Sho wasn’t so sure what he should do with his brother when he saw his brother curled up on his bed, legs propped up on his chin and his head buried in his hands. He instantly knew this was related to Aiba because only Aiba could make his brother becomes like this.
“Jun?” He called his brother tentatively and was shocked when his brother looked up at him, his eyes red and puffy, a sign that he had been crying. He threw his bag onto the floor and went to his brother’s side to envelope him in a hug. “What happen, Jun?”
Jun broke down in Sho’s embrace, telling his little brother the whole story and how he despised himself for being so stupid. He was being lied at and yet he still couldn’t find the heart to hate Aiba, no matter what the boy had done to him. He loved Aiba too much to hate him and that made him become even sadder.
“What should I do, Sho-kun?” He said between sobs, small arms hugged his brother’s waist tightly, “Why couldn’t I hate him even if I wanted to? He’s lying at me, playing with me and yet I still love him.”
Sho didn’t know what to say because he also had the same problem as his brother. He fell in love with someone he shouldn’t love, someone who only wanted to play with him, someone he could never get no matter what he did. He’s not in the position to give any advice to his brother so he did the only thing he knew, crying along with his brother.
The two brothers sat there on Jun’s bed, hugging each other when Masuda barged into their room. He immediately went to their side to see what’s wrong with them with all the while trying not to cry.
“Oh you guys, please stop crying!” Masuda pleaded and somehow the two brothers stopped crying. Sho dried his tears up with his sleeve while Jun was still sobbing, though not as hard as before. Masuda could finally breathe in relief.
“Gosh, what happen to you guys? Crying like children.”
“If you know what happen to me, Massu.” Jun began to sob again and Masuda had to soothe him so that he could continue talking. “Now I knew why Masaki was being so nice toward me this past month. He only wanted to play with me.”
“Jun-”
“He even confessed to me! Only to make me say those words to him.” The tears falling again from Jun’s eyes as the confession was still fresh in his mind, Aiba with his serious and intense eyes staring at him so lovingly and then the younger man confessed to him and Jun thought that his world would be complete only to get it crushed within seconds.
Masuda wanted to hit Tegoshi for making his best friend to be this sad. This was because of Tegoshi’s stupidity that everything went so wrong like this. Jun was hurt since he thought Aiba didn’t love him as much as he love the younger man, though he just didn’t know how much Aiba did care for him. If not, Aiba would not faint and he would not be sick with fever.
Masuda was ready to tell his best friend about Aiba when Sho interrupted him by talking first, shocking not only him but also his brother.
“If I told you about the challenge earlier on, Jun, I’m sure that you wouldn’t be this hurt. I’m sorry, it’s my fault.”
Masuda turned to see Sho and he knew that the youngest among them was serious with his words. “You know about the challenge, Sho-kun?”
Sho nodded. “Yes, I know.”
“The two of you know already about this?” Jun gasped in disbelief. “And you didn’t tell me about it!”
“I’m sorry, Jun. I really am.” Sho pleaded at his brother. “But I think that since Aiba-san loves you and you also love him, so why not letting you two to be together? Even though I didn’t approve of your relationship with him, but seeing just how much you look so happy when you’re with him, I think that if the challenge could make you two know each other better, why not?”
“Aiba Masaki didn’t love me!”
“He really do, Jun. Or I think he do.” Masuda answered before Sho could stop him again. He had to tell Jun about Aiba’s condition. “You didn’t know what had happened after you left him at the class, right? Well, the truth was he fainted. He was burning with fever and I didn’t think it could be healed soon.”
Masuda almost did a dance of victory when Jun’s expression softened and worried replaced the anger. No matter what, Jun still love Aiba after all. His love for Aiba would not fade even though Aiba had done some terrible things to him. He knew this was stupid but he couldn’t help it.
“Is he okay? Had you given him cold medicine? And you brought him to the hospital, right? Answer me, Massu!”
“Relax, Jun. He’s okay, just had a very high fever. His body was so hot I was sure we could fry the egg on it.” Masuda only wanted to lift up the mood but it seemed like he chose the wrong moment to throw one of his lame jokes. He laughed nervously at Jun before he continued on with his story, “Tegoshi said Aiba didn’t like hospitals so we brought him to his dorm. We gave him the medicine that Takizawa-san has in his medicine box.”
“But he is okay, right?” Jun was still worried. He wanted to see Aiba but he was still angry at the man for deceiving him. If he went there right now he would only remember about Aiba’s confession and the fact that he was doing it for a challenge. He wanted to believe in Masuda when his best friend said that Aiba did love him, but he couldn’t.
Masuda shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know. But I know that he won’t die just because of a fever. Or maybe he could? Oh well, it’s not my problem anyway.”
“Massu!!” Jun shouted at Masuda and his best friend just stared at him in shock. Jun was never angry and he never raised his voice, so Masuda was a bit taken aback by the sudden anger emitted from his usually peaceful friend. “Don’t scare me! Please tell me that Masaki is really okay!”
“Why don’t you just see him then?” Sho suggested. He tried to calm his brother as best as he could, though he was quite shocked himself to see Jun getting angry. He had seen Jun being childish, pouting or even whining, but never angry. “Hitting Massu wouldn’t give you the information about his condition. You have to go there by yourself and see it with your own eyes.”
Jun glared at his brother and stopped hitting Masuda, much to Masuda’s relief. “I don’t want to meet him. I’m still angry at him.”
Masuda rolled his eyes. “Oh please, Jun. I’ve told you that he really loved you! What do you need more from that poor boy? Go and see him!”
“And you said to me that falling in love with Masaki will bring me no good.” Jun remarked, still remember the day when his friend said to him to be careful with Aiba and reminded him not to fall in love with the younger man. “Now why are you defending him?”
“I’m not defending him, Jun.” Masuda explained. What should he said to his friend to make Jun realized just how deep Aiba’s love for him? No one fainted just because someone you wanted to play with turned his back on you. No one murmured his target’s name over and over again like a mantra if he didn’t love that person. “I think he only wanted to mess up with you so I didn’t agree of him pursuing you. But now that I see he’s serious, I want to give him a chance.”
Jun was at a loss of words. He hugged his knees tightly, as the memories of him singing while Aiba accompanied him with his piano flashed in his mind. He was so happy at that time. Aiba was looking at him with longing and love Jun almost believed that the younger man did desire him. Now Jun wasn’t so sure anymore.
Seeing that his friend had fallen into his own world where no doubt filled with insecurities about Aiba’s feelings for him, Masuda groaned as he took Jun’s face in his hands so that Jun could see him directly in his eyes.
“I’m going to say this to you only once, Jun. I don’t care you believe it or not but that’s what I’ve heard when I helped Tegoshi to carry Aiba-san’s back to the dorm. He was chanting your name all the time. He said ‘I Love You’ so many times I lost count of it. It was heartbreaking to see him like that and in that instant I knew that he really loved you. And he cried, Jun. He cried while he whispered your name.”
Masuda paused to see whether Jun really listened to him, and was glad to see the happiness on his friend’s face, though only for a flitting second. It was enough for him to continue with his speech. He wanted his friend to be happy after all. And Jun could be happy with the person he loved if he just stopped being so stubborn.
“Open your eyes, ears and heart for him, Jun. I know you are hurt but he’s the one who get hurt the most. You wouldn’t know the feeling of seeing the back of your love walked away from you after they said just how much they detested you.” The image of his past boyfriend flooded his mind and Masuda shook it off of his mind. “Don’t be so stubborn and grab your happiness. Believe me; you’d be happier if you do that.”
Jun closed his eyes, letting Masuda’s words slowly being registered into his brain. He wanted to just believe and forget everything, but he couldn’t. Falling in love was never in his agenda and it’s his first time experiencing it. No one would expect him to know what to do at this kind of situation, right?
Opening his eyes to stare at his friend’s dark orbs, Jun opened his mouth, “I still love him, Massu. I still love him so deeply until it hurts, no matter what he did to me. I couldn’t hate him. I wanted to see him so badly my chest hurt just thinking about the possibility of seeing him smile at me again. But right now, I couldn’t see him. Later maybe, but not right now, Massu.”
Masuda sighed. Jun’s answer didn’t satisfy him but at least that’s the best he could get from his friend. Resting his forehead on Jun’s, he smiled at his friend as he said, “Believe me, Jun, that you wouldn’t be sorry to keep him by your side. I just know that.”
Jun just nodded as he hugged his best friend. Masuda hugged him back and Jun felt safe in his friend’s arms. Sho then joined the two boys on the bed and hugged the two of them as tight as he could. He didn’t know where it would bring them, this thing called love. But he knew for sure that it would bring happiness. Although when will it be, Sho didn’t know.
++++
“So, Jun already knew about this challenge and said that he hated Aiba?” Nino asked as he eyed his cousin who shifted in his seat nervously. “And it’s all thanks to you and your big mouth, Tegoshi Yuuya.”
They were in Aiba’s room because they’re worried at his friend’s condition. Aiba was still their dear friend after all that had been with them for so many years.
“I swear, I didn’t do it on purpose.” Tegoshi felt the need to defend for himself. He really didn’t do it on purpose. “I thought that Masaki-”
“I know, you’ve explained it already. But could you please refrain yourself from butting into problem that doesn’t concern you? You might have ruined Aiba’s future already!” Nino gritted his teeth in annoyance. Why his cousin was so stupid? Didn’t he get the same brain function as Nino’s? Why Nino could think intelligently while his cousin thinks with his heart and not his head?
“I’m sorry.” Tegoshi cowered under Nino’s anger. His cousin was usually very cheerful, but when he’s angry it’s better not to cross his path or someone’s life would be over in an instant.
Ohno massaged his forehead that was hurting due to lack of cola in his system, then the time where Tegoshi interrupted him and Toma in the middle of their activity although they haven’t gone far, and also Nino’s anger. Why did he even consider these people as friends?
“Getting angry at Tegoshi would not solve the problem, Nino.” Ohno said as calm as he could. He eyed Aiba who was still breathing heavily as tears flowed down his cheek again, no doubt getting a dream about Jun’s rejection. “For now, let’s focus on healing Aiba. I don’t really like seeing him like this. He’s too vulnerable.”
“And you think I don’t want to see him get better too?” Nino asked. He too, eyed Aiba who was still laying the bed. He sighed as he saw the tears on Aiba’s cheeks. “This was so not Aiba-like, right? Aiba never cry no matter how hard his life was. He didn’t even cry when his mother died and when his father re-married another woman who took his mother’s place. Seeing him like this pained me.”
Tegoshi bit his lips, getting guiltier by the second. He should have just let Aiba confessed to Jun. He should have congratulated them and acted like he knew nothing. He should have-
Tegoshi mentally scolded himself for being so depressed. He shouldn’t be like this. It’s so not him.
Trying to be as optimistic as he could, he gave his friends his best confident smile and said, “I’m sure that once Matsumoto-san realized Masaki really serious with him, he’d forgive Masaki and they would be together again.”
“If everything that easy, we won’t be here pondering about what we should do to solve this problem, my cousin.” Nino mocked his cousin. Tegoshi was too optimistic and too oblivious sometimes.
“Then, what should we do?” Tegoshi asked. His eyes were glassy with unshed tears when he looked up at Nino then at Ohno. “We couldn’t leave Masaki like this.”
“You don’t have to do anything.”
Aiba suddenly spoke, startling the three of them. They quickly turned to see Aiba struggling to sit up on the bed. Tegoshi immediately went to his friend’s side to help him.
“You are not supposed to wake up yet!” Tegoshi scolded. He tried to push Aiba back onto the bed but the boy wouldn’t budge.
“I’m okay, you don’t have to worry about me.” Aiba swatted Tegoshi’s hand from his forehead. He didn’t want Tegoshi to know that his body was still burning with the fever. He didn’t want to look weak in front of his friends. It’s already bad enough to have Jun turned his back on him, he didn’t want to see the pity in his friends’ eyes to make him feel even more miserable.
“But you look horrible. How could you be okay?”
As usual, Nino’s sarcastic remark successfully stabbed Aiba’s chest so directly and painfully. And Aiba didn’t want to waste his energy to glare at Nino or retorted back. That would be too tiring and somehow Nino would find the right words to counter him back. Instead of answering Nino, Aiba decided to just ignore it.
“I don’t want anyone to worry about me. I can take care of myself.” Aiba said determinedly.
Ohno sighed. “Please Masaki, don’t force yourself.”
“I’m not forcing myself.” Aiba countered. He got up from his bed albeit shakily and grabbed his clothes from inside his closet.
“What are you going to do? You can’t go out yet, not with your condition!” Tegoshi tried to take the clothes from Aiba’s hands but to no avail. Aiba’s grip was still strong even when he was sick.
Seeing that his cousin couldn’t take care of the matter by himself, Nino immediately went to help. He put his hand on the younger’s shoulder to stop him from going out. “That’s right, Masaki. You have to-”
Aiba slapped Nino’s hand off of his shoulder so roughly Nino was surprised at the action and he backed away for a little. Aiba’s eyes were so fierce Nino afraid of his own safety.
“I said I’m okay. That means I’m okay.” Aiba said. He wore his clothes and tried to balance himself by leaning on the closet’s door. It was so obvious that he was not okay but none of his friends had the guts to stop him. They’ve learned their lesson not to interrupt Aiba when he’s in this mood.
“Where are you going?” Tegoshi, ever the brave one amongst them, asked. Though he knew he didn’t need to ask. He already knew the answer.
“To Jun’s place. I need to see him.”
Ohno sighed. He should have known that his friend wouldn’t let this matter slipped so easily just like that. After knowing just how much Aiba loved Jun, he knew that his friend would try to convince Jun to believe in him and forgive him, even if he had to kneel in front of Jun to beg for forgiveness. Aiba had never in love before, but when he loved, he loved hard. Ohno was worried that Jun still didn’t want to meet him because he was still angry and that would be bad for Aiba. The fever could get worsen and if Jun really refused to meet him, Aiba’s heart wouldn’t be able to take the attack.
Ohno knew he had to make the decision right now if he wanted to save his friend. He had to choose whether to let Aiba go to the south dorm and got his heart broken once again if Jun said he hate him twice, or he could stop Aiba before he went far. He chose the latter as he murmured “I’m sorry” before he hit Aiba lightly on his back, making the boy fall forward.
“Masaki!!” Tegoshi managed to catch Aiba before he fell to the floor and was glad that Aiba was not hurt. Aiba had fainted again for a very different reason. After making sure that Aiba was okay, Tegoshi turned to Ohno and gave him a glare. “What did you do that for?”
“Do you want to risk him getting himself killed if he insisted on going to the south dorm in this cold weather?” Ohno helped Tegoshi to get Aiba back to the bed while Nino just watched them for the side, his face still full with worry. “And what do you think would happen to him if Matsumoto-san refused to see him?”
Tegoshi brushed the hair off Aiba’s face tenderly as he pondered over Ohno’s words. He knew that what Ohno said was right. But still, he wanted Aiba to make up with Jun fast so that he could be with his Massu soon too.
Tegoshi almost slapped himself for being so selfish. His friend was in this condition because of him too and all he could think was about himself. Just how cruel he was? The tears that had been dried after Masuda left him alone with no promises that he would come back to him until this problem was solved, began to fall again. Tegoshi didn’t know whether the tears were for Aiba or for himself.
As Tegoshi sobbed uncontrollably on the bed beside Aiba, Nino could only watch his cousin broke down from the side. He felt sad for Aiba because Jun might really hate him and didn’t want to see him anymore. But for Nino, that’s not his greatest worry. He still had to think about his own problem too. If Jun knew about the challenge then that would mean Sho knew about it too.
Nino had grown attached to the boy for this past month he couldn’t think of spending his time without Sho by his side, watching him painting and rambling about Jun.
Nino looked upwards at the night sky through the windows in Aiba’s room. The moon was so beautiful and it glowed so magnificently like usual. The unusual thing was, the dorm was so quiet while there was usually so much noises coming from the people lived in it. Aiba was usually being teased for calling Jun for too long, Nino would be mocked for reading art book which was not his interest before, Ohno would get the disbelief look when he got panicked when he forgot to feed the little squirrel, or when Tegoshi went to his long speech about what he and Masuda did that day.
The dorm was always so lively but right now, it was so quiet it scared him. Only in a month, their lives turned upside down with the so called game they’ve been trying to play with their targets. They started it as a game for them to play, but it seemed to turn into a game that played them.
Looking at Aiba lying on the bed motionlessly, then at his cousin who was still crying, to Ohno who just stood there beside Tegoshi watching them solemnly, Nino couldn’t help it but to feel the pain his friends were experiencing. Nino could only pray that everything would be okay in the end.
The Game We Play
Pairings: Aiba Masaki/Matsumoto Jun, Ninomiya Kazunari/Sakurai Sho, Ohno Satoshi/Ikuta Toma, Tegoshi Yuuya/Masuda Takahisa
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Romance, Drama, AU
Summary: Four princes of JE academy were bored with their always-the-same lives. So they decided to play a game that will change their life forever.
A/N: It's a complete AU, means all the characters have different personality from their real life version. It's my challenge to see whether I can get it to work. And because I love Aiba/Jun so much I have to write something about them. In this fic, Aiba is a real jerk (but a softie at heart) and an animal lover, Jun CAN actually sing, Nino is the playboy with bitter past, Sho CAN actually draw, and Ohno is not quiet. Other than that, enjoy the story!
Previous: Prologue | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16
Chapter 17
Sho wasn’t so sure what he should do with his brother when he saw his brother curled up on his bed, legs propped up on his chin and his head buried in his hands. He instantly knew this was related to Aiba because only Aiba could make his brother becomes like this.
“Jun?” He called his brother tentatively and was shocked when his brother looked up at him, his eyes red and puffy, a sign that he had been crying. He threw his bag onto the floor and went to his brother’s side to envelope him in a hug. “What happen, Jun?”
Jun broke down in Sho’s embrace, telling his little brother the whole story and how he despised himself for being so stupid. He was being lied at and yet he still couldn’t find the heart to hate Aiba, no matter what the boy had done to him. He loved Aiba too much to hate him and that made him become even sadder.
“What should I do, Sho-kun?” He said between sobs, small arms hugged his brother’s waist tightly, “Why couldn’t I hate him even if I wanted to? He’s lying at me, playing with me and yet I still love him.”
Sho didn’t know what to say because he also had the same problem as his brother. He fell in love with someone he shouldn’t love, someone who only wanted to play with him, someone he could never get no matter what he did. He’s not in the position to give any advice to his brother so he did the only thing he knew, crying along with his brother.
The two brothers sat there on Jun’s bed, hugging each other when Masuda barged into their room. He immediately went to their side to see what’s wrong with them with all the while trying not to cry.
“Oh you guys, please stop crying!” Masuda pleaded and somehow the two brothers stopped crying. Sho dried his tears up with his sleeve while Jun was still sobbing, though not as hard as before. Masuda could finally breathe in relief.
“Gosh, what happen to you guys? Crying like children.”
“If you know what happen to me, Massu.” Jun began to sob again and Masuda had to soothe him so that he could continue talking. “Now I knew why Masaki was being so nice toward me this past month. He only wanted to play with me.”
“Jun-”
“He even confessed to me! Only to make me say those words to him.” The tears falling again from Jun’s eyes as the confession was still fresh in his mind, Aiba with his serious and intense eyes staring at him so lovingly and then the younger man confessed to him and Jun thought that his world would be complete only to get it crushed within seconds.
Masuda wanted to hit Tegoshi for making his best friend to be this sad. This was because of Tegoshi’s stupidity that everything went so wrong like this. Jun was hurt since he thought Aiba didn’t love him as much as he love the younger man, though he just didn’t know how much Aiba did care for him. If not, Aiba would not faint and he would not be sick with fever.
Masuda was ready to tell his best friend about Aiba when Sho interrupted him by talking first, shocking not only him but also his brother.
“If I told you about the challenge earlier on, Jun, I’m sure that you wouldn’t be this hurt. I’m sorry, it’s my fault.”
Masuda turned to see Sho and he knew that the youngest among them was serious with his words. “You know about the challenge, Sho-kun?”
Sho nodded. “Yes, I know.”
“The two of you know already about this?” Jun gasped in disbelief. “And you didn’t tell me about it!”
“I’m sorry, Jun. I really am.” Sho pleaded at his brother. “But I think that since Aiba-san loves you and you also love him, so why not letting you two to be together? Even though I didn’t approve of your relationship with him, but seeing just how much you look so happy when you’re with him, I think that if the challenge could make you two know each other better, why not?”
“Aiba Masaki didn’t love me!”
“He really do, Jun. Or I think he do.” Masuda answered before Sho could stop him again. He had to tell Jun about Aiba’s condition. “You didn’t know what had happened after you left him at the class, right? Well, the truth was he fainted. He was burning with fever and I didn’t think it could be healed soon.”
Masuda almost did a dance of victory when Jun’s expression softened and worried replaced the anger. No matter what, Jun still love Aiba after all. His love for Aiba would not fade even though Aiba had done some terrible things to him. He knew this was stupid but he couldn’t help it.
“Is he okay? Had you given him cold medicine? And you brought him to the hospital, right? Answer me, Massu!”
“Relax, Jun. He’s okay, just had a very high fever. His body was so hot I was sure we could fry the egg on it.” Masuda only wanted to lift up the mood but it seemed like he chose the wrong moment to throw one of his lame jokes. He laughed nervously at Jun before he continued on with his story, “Tegoshi said Aiba didn’t like hospitals so we brought him to his dorm. We gave him the medicine that Takizawa-san has in his medicine box.”
“But he is okay, right?” Jun was still worried. He wanted to see Aiba but he was still angry at the man for deceiving him. If he went there right now he would only remember about Aiba’s confession and the fact that he was doing it for a challenge. He wanted to believe in Masuda when his best friend said that Aiba did love him, but he couldn’t.
Masuda shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know. But I know that he won’t die just because of a fever. Or maybe he could? Oh well, it’s not my problem anyway.”
“Massu!!” Jun shouted at Masuda and his best friend just stared at him in shock. Jun was never angry and he never raised his voice, so Masuda was a bit taken aback by the sudden anger emitted from his usually peaceful friend. “Don’t scare me! Please tell me that Masaki is really okay!”
“Why don’t you just see him then?” Sho suggested. He tried to calm his brother as best as he could, though he was quite shocked himself to see Jun getting angry. He had seen Jun being childish, pouting or even whining, but never angry. “Hitting Massu wouldn’t give you the information about his condition. You have to go there by yourself and see it with your own eyes.”
Jun glared at his brother and stopped hitting Masuda, much to Masuda’s relief. “I don’t want to meet him. I’m still angry at him.”
Masuda rolled his eyes. “Oh please, Jun. I’ve told you that he really loved you! What do you need more from that poor boy? Go and see him!”
“And you said to me that falling in love with Masaki will bring me no good.” Jun remarked, still remember the day when his friend said to him to be careful with Aiba and reminded him not to fall in love with the younger man. “Now why are you defending him?”
“I’m not defending him, Jun.” Masuda explained. What should he said to his friend to make Jun realized just how deep Aiba’s love for him? No one fainted just because someone you wanted to play with turned his back on you. No one murmured his target’s name over and over again like a mantra if he didn’t love that person. “I think he only wanted to mess up with you so I didn’t agree of him pursuing you. But now that I see he’s serious, I want to give him a chance.”
Jun was at a loss of words. He hugged his knees tightly, as the memories of him singing while Aiba accompanied him with his piano flashed in his mind. He was so happy at that time. Aiba was looking at him with longing and love Jun almost believed that the younger man did desire him. Now Jun wasn’t so sure anymore.
Seeing that his friend had fallen into his own world where no doubt filled with insecurities about Aiba’s feelings for him, Masuda groaned as he took Jun’s face in his hands so that Jun could see him directly in his eyes.
“I’m going to say this to you only once, Jun. I don’t care you believe it or not but that’s what I’ve heard when I helped Tegoshi to carry Aiba-san’s back to the dorm. He was chanting your name all the time. He said ‘I Love You’ so many times I lost count of it. It was heartbreaking to see him like that and in that instant I knew that he really loved you. And he cried, Jun. He cried while he whispered your name.”
Masuda paused to see whether Jun really listened to him, and was glad to see the happiness on his friend’s face, though only for a flitting second. It was enough for him to continue with his speech. He wanted his friend to be happy after all. And Jun could be happy with the person he loved if he just stopped being so stubborn.
“Open your eyes, ears and heart for him, Jun. I know you are hurt but he’s the one who get hurt the most. You wouldn’t know the feeling of seeing the back of your love walked away from you after they said just how much they detested you.” The image of his past boyfriend flooded his mind and Masuda shook it off of his mind. “Don’t be so stubborn and grab your happiness. Believe me; you’d be happier if you do that.”
Jun closed his eyes, letting Masuda’s words slowly being registered into his brain. He wanted to just believe and forget everything, but he couldn’t. Falling in love was never in his agenda and it’s his first time experiencing it. No one would expect him to know what to do at this kind of situation, right?
Opening his eyes to stare at his friend’s dark orbs, Jun opened his mouth, “I still love him, Massu. I still love him so deeply until it hurts, no matter what he did to me. I couldn’t hate him. I wanted to see him so badly my chest hurt just thinking about the possibility of seeing him smile at me again. But right now, I couldn’t see him. Later maybe, but not right now, Massu.”
Masuda sighed. Jun’s answer didn’t satisfy him but at least that’s the best he could get from his friend. Resting his forehead on Jun’s, he smiled at his friend as he said, “Believe me, Jun, that you wouldn’t be sorry to keep him by your side. I just know that.”
Jun just nodded as he hugged his best friend. Masuda hugged him back and Jun felt safe in his friend’s arms. Sho then joined the two boys on the bed and hugged the two of them as tight as he could. He didn’t know where it would bring them, this thing called love. But he knew for sure that it would bring happiness. Although when will it be, Sho didn’t know.
++++
“So, Jun already knew about this challenge and said that he hated Aiba?” Nino asked as he eyed his cousin who shifted in his seat nervously. “And it’s all thanks to you and your big mouth, Tegoshi Yuuya.”
They were in Aiba’s room because they’re worried at his friend’s condition. Aiba was still their dear friend after all that had been with them for so many years.
“I swear, I didn’t do it on purpose.” Tegoshi felt the need to defend for himself. He really didn’t do it on purpose. “I thought that Masaki-”
“I know, you’ve explained it already. But could you please refrain yourself from butting into problem that doesn’t concern you? You might have ruined Aiba’s future already!” Nino gritted his teeth in annoyance. Why his cousin was so stupid? Didn’t he get the same brain function as Nino’s? Why Nino could think intelligently while his cousin thinks with his heart and not his head?
“I’m sorry.” Tegoshi cowered under Nino’s anger. His cousin was usually very cheerful, but when he’s angry it’s better not to cross his path or someone’s life would be over in an instant.
Ohno massaged his forehead that was hurting due to lack of cola in his system, then the time where Tegoshi interrupted him and Toma in the middle of their activity although they haven’t gone far, and also Nino’s anger. Why did he even consider these people as friends?
“Getting angry at Tegoshi would not solve the problem, Nino.” Ohno said as calm as he could. He eyed Aiba who was still breathing heavily as tears flowed down his cheek again, no doubt getting a dream about Jun’s rejection. “For now, let’s focus on healing Aiba. I don’t really like seeing him like this. He’s too vulnerable.”
“And you think I don’t want to see him get better too?” Nino asked. He too, eyed Aiba who was still laying the bed. He sighed as he saw the tears on Aiba’s cheeks. “This was so not Aiba-like, right? Aiba never cry no matter how hard his life was. He didn’t even cry when his mother died and when his father re-married another woman who took his mother’s place. Seeing him like this pained me.”
Tegoshi bit his lips, getting guiltier by the second. He should have just let Aiba confessed to Jun. He should have congratulated them and acted like he knew nothing. He should have-
Tegoshi mentally scolded himself for being so depressed. He shouldn’t be like this. It’s so not him.
Trying to be as optimistic as he could, he gave his friends his best confident smile and said, “I’m sure that once Matsumoto-san realized Masaki really serious with him, he’d forgive Masaki and they would be together again.”
“If everything that easy, we won’t be here pondering about what we should do to solve this problem, my cousin.” Nino mocked his cousin. Tegoshi was too optimistic and too oblivious sometimes.
“Then, what should we do?” Tegoshi asked. His eyes were glassy with unshed tears when he looked up at Nino then at Ohno. “We couldn’t leave Masaki like this.”
“You don’t have to do anything.”
Aiba suddenly spoke, startling the three of them. They quickly turned to see Aiba struggling to sit up on the bed. Tegoshi immediately went to his friend’s side to help him.
“You are not supposed to wake up yet!” Tegoshi scolded. He tried to push Aiba back onto the bed but the boy wouldn’t budge.
“I’m okay, you don’t have to worry about me.” Aiba swatted Tegoshi’s hand from his forehead. He didn’t want Tegoshi to know that his body was still burning with the fever. He didn’t want to look weak in front of his friends. It’s already bad enough to have Jun turned his back on him, he didn’t want to see the pity in his friends’ eyes to make him feel even more miserable.
“But you look horrible. How could you be okay?”
As usual, Nino’s sarcastic remark successfully stabbed Aiba’s chest so directly and painfully. And Aiba didn’t want to waste his energy to glare at Nino or retorted back. That would be too tiring and somehow Nino would find the right words to counter him back. Instead of answering Nino, Aiba decided to just ignore it.
“I don’t want anyone to worry about me. I can take care of myself.” Aiba said determinedly.
Ohno sighed. “Please Masaki, don’t force yourself.”
“I’m not forcing myself.” Aiba countered. He got up from his bed albeit shakily and grabbed his clothes from inside his closet.
“What are you going to do? You can’t go out yet, not with your condition!” Tegoshi tried to take the clothes from Aiba’s hands but to no avail. Aiba’s grip was still strong even when he was sick.
Seeing that his cousin couldn’t take care of the matter by himself, Nino immediately went to help. He put his hand on the younger’s shoulder to stop him from going out. “That’s right, Masaki. You have to-”
Aiba slapped Nino’s hand off of his shoulder so roughly Nino was surprised at the action and he backed away for a little. Aiba’s eyes were so fierce Nino afraid of his own safety.
“I said I’m okay. That means I’m okay.” Aiba said. He wore his clothes and tried to balance himself by leaning on the closet’s door. It was so obvious that he was not okay but none of his friends had the guts to stop him. They’ve learned their lesson not to interrupt Aiba when he’s in this mood.
“Where are you going?” Tegoshi, ever the brave one amongst them, asked. Though he knew he didn’t need to ask. He already knew the answer.
“To Jun’s place. I need to see him.”
Ohno sighed. He should have known that his friend wouldn’t let this matter slipped so easily just like that. After knowing just how much Aiba loved Jun, he knew that his friend would try to convince Jun to believe in him and forgive him, even if he had to kneel in front of Jun to beg for forgiveness. Aiba had never in love before, but when he loved, he loved hard. Ohno was worried that Jun still didn’t want to meet him because he was still angry and that would be bad for Aiba. The fever could get worsen and if Jun really refused to meet him, Aiba’s heart wouldn’t be able to take the attack.
Ohno knew he had to make the decision right now if he wanted to save his friend. He had to choose whether to let Aiba go to the south dorm and got his heart broken once again if Jun said he hate him twice, or he could stop Aiba before he went far. He chose the latter as he murmured “I’m sorry” before he hit Aiba lightly on his back, making the boy fall forward.
“Masaki!!” Tegoshi managed to catch Aiba before he fell to the floor and was glad that Aiba was not hurt. Aiba had fainted again for a very different reason. After making sure that Aiba was okay, Tegoshi turned to Ohno and gave him a glare. “What did you do that for?”
“Do you want to risk him getting himself killed if he insisted on going to the south dorm in this cold weather?” Ohno helped Tegoshi to get Aiba back to the bed while Nino just watched them for the side, his face still full with worry. “And what do you think would happen to him if Matsumoto-san refused to see him?”
Tegoshi brushed the hair off Aiba’s face tenderly as he pondered over Ohno’s words. He knew that what Ohno said was right. But still, he wanted Aiba to make up with Jun fast so that he could be with his Massu soon too.
Tegoshi almost slapped himself for being so selfish. His friend was in this condition because of him too and all he could think was about himself. Just how cruel he was? The tears that had been dried after Masuda left him alone with no promises that he would come back to him until this problem was solved, began to fall again. Tegoshi didn’t know whether the tears were for Aiba or for himself.
As Tegoshi sobbed uncontrollably on the bed beside Aiba, Nino could only watch his cousin broke down from the side. He felt sad for Aiba because Jun might really hate him and didn’t want to see him anymore. But for Nino, that’s not his greatest worry. He still had to think about his own problem too. If Jun knew about the challenge then that would mean Sho knew about it too.
Nino had grown attached to the boy for this past month he couldn’t think of spending his time without Sho by his side, watching him painting and rambling about Jun.
Nino looked upwards at the night sky through the windows in Aiba’s room. The moon was so beautiful and it glowed so magnificently like usual. The unusual thing was, the dorm was so quiet while there was usually so much noises coming from the people lived in it. Aiba was usually being teased for calling Jun for too long, Nino would be mocked for reading art book which was not his interest before, Ohno would get the disbelief look when he got panicked when he forgot to feed the little squirrel, or when Tegoshi went to his long speech about what he and Masuda did that day.
The dorm was always so lively but right now, it was so quiet it scared him. Only in a month, their lives turned upside down with the so called game they’ve been trying to play with their targets. They started it as a game for them to play, but it seemed to turn into a game that played them.
Looking at Aiba lying on the bed motionlessly, then at his cousin who was still crying, to Ohno who just stood there beside Tegoshi watching them solemnly, Nino couldn’t help it but to feel the pain his friends were experiencing. Nino could only pray that everything would be okay in the end.