Wish We Were Older
Title: Wish We Were Older [Chapter 3]
Author: carcrashheart_8
Pairings: RyoDa [more pairings to come]
Rating: PG-13 for now [strong language]
Summary: When his parents go overseas to work, Ueda is forced to go to an all-boys boarding school for his high school years. There, he meets Ryo Nishikido, a stubborn, strong-willed boy who ends up becoming his roommate. Ueda quickly falls for the other boy despite Ryo's rude words and bad attitude. Trouble starts up, however, and soon this seemingly one-sided love ends up becoming a love triangle and eventually a love square. Despite it all, Ueda must overcome these obstacles in order to maintain his spot at the elite high school.
Disclaimer: Title taken from "Wish We Were Older" by Metro Station
Chapter 3
Ueda started to sweat and his heart beat faster.
“H-huh?” he stuttered, hoping Yamapi didn’t notice the slight hesitation he was demonstrating.
“I mean, do you like him as your roommate?”
Ueda breathed a sigh of relief.
“Oh-oh-well,” he stopped to think a bit.
Sure he had his problems with the other boy but the younger boy’s looks surely made up for that. No matter how much of a jerk he was, he was still one of the best-looking people Ueda had ever come across.
“Yeah, I like him. He annoys me sometimes but I can tell that deep down he’s a really good person.”
Yamapi sighed contentedly, “That’s good to hear. I’m glad that you’re able to put up with such a stubborn person. You’re really patient, Ueda-kun. I admire that.”
Ueda smiled and whispered, “Thanks, Yamashita-kun.”
Yamapi said his good nights to Ueda before falling asleep. Ueda fell asleep eventually as well after a few minutes of thinking.
Ryo, however, was not asleep and had heard Ueda’s words. His stomach started to churn as if he was feeling guilty about something. He clutched it for a bit before rolling over and attempting to finally go to sleep.
Eventually, the first weekend of the school year came and everyone was determined to celebrate its arrival. Toma and Yamapi wanted to go to the beach and they wanted Ryo and Ueda as well as Koki and Maru to come with them.
“Hell no.”
“Oh come on, Ryo, it’s not everyday that we all get to hang out together like this.”
“Yeah, Ryo, the beach is somewhere with plenty of girls in bikinis and there’s waves and we can surf and it’ll be awesome!”
Both Toma and Yamapi were trying their best to convince Ryo to come but the stubborn boy would not hear of it.
“I’m not going if ‘that guy’ is going with us,” he said with emphasis on one particular phrase.
“Who? Ueda-kun?” Toma asked, tilting his head a bit in confusion.
“’Ueda-kun’? Why do you have to be so formal to him? He’s just an idiot who can’t keep himself out of trouble and he’s a pain-in-the-ass and-”
“UEDA-KUN?! HI! HOW ARE YOU?!” Yamapi interrupted, sounding nervous as he noticed Ueda walk into the dorm room after having gotten up to brush his teeth and start his day with the rest of his bathroom routine.
“Um, hi? Ikuta-kun-Yamashita-kun-what are you guys doing here?” he said, looking at the threesome oddly as he walked over to put his toothbrush away.
“We were just telling Ryo about our plans to go to the beach-you want to join us?” Yamapi asked despite Ryo’s shaking of his head and knocking the other in the side.
“The beach? Today? Are you sure Ryo-kun wants me there?” Ueda said, with a smirk on his face and his hands on his hips.
Ryo scowled before looking away, feigning embarrassment that he was figured out.
Toma laughed and replied, “It doesn’t matter what ‘Ryo-kun’ thinks-we want you to come with us.”
Yamapi smiled and nodded in agreement, batting away Ryo’s protesting punches.
“Hold on a damn minute! I said I didn’t want him to come with us! Why the hell are you ignoring me?!”
“Because your opinion means nothing and besides, majority rules!” Toma stated firmly while giving a high five to Yamapi who gave his own reply to Ryo’s rudeness with a flick of his tongue.
Ryo grabbed both boys and managed to get them into headlocks while Ueda stood there, laughing.
“It’s amazing, you know,” he said, barely audible over the three boy’s grunts and screams.
“Huh?”
“I said, it’s amazing-you know, how you can’t bare the thought of spending one Saturday with me and how you think that living with me is so horrible. I wish I could say the same about you but sadly, I can’t.”
Ueda crossed his arms and walked out of the room without waiting to hear what Ryo’s response was. The younger boy let go of Toma and Yamapi who were both gagging for air; Ryo crossed his arms and started to scowl a bit. He wasn’t expecting to feel so guilty for showing just a bit of his straightforward nature. He didn’t like the fact that Ueda of all people was making him feel guilty and he certainly didn’t like the fact that his friends were picking his roommate over him in the first place.
Ryo moaned before going out of the room to look for Ueda. He found the other roaming the hallway quietly sobbing and wiping away noticeably large tears streaming down his face.
Ryo tried to say something but found that he had a hard time getting his mouth to move. He wasn’t too fond of apologizing to people and he had always thought it too difficult to even attempt in the first place. But then he remembered what he had been told at the beginning of that school year by someone special to him.
“Ueda!”
Ueda stopped sniffling and turned around to see a forlorn Ryo standing not too far behind him.
“W-What do you want?” he stuttered angrily.
Ryo paused; he gulped and felt his stomach twinge again. He tried to form the words but found it difficult to do so. It took him awhile but he eventually started what ended up being a pretty pathetic apology.
“I-I’m-I’m s-s-s-s-s-s-”
“You’re what?” Ueda cocked an eyebrow and wiped his eyes with his handkerchief.
“I’m-I’m-I’m-s-s-s-s-so-so-so-”
“What?”
“I’M SORRY!”
Ueda gasped a little, shocked that such words ever came out of Ryo’s mouth. He was too stunned to say anything and began babbling almost as badly as the other boy had been.
“I-I-I-I-I-”
“Spit it out, dammit!” Ryo grew frustrated for absolutely no reason.
“HEY! Don’t go telling me to spit it out when you couldn’t even manage to apologize like a normal human being.”
“What are you calling me-an animal or something?”
“Well, you do make noises like you belong in a jungle or in a barnyard,” Ueda said, sticking his tongue out after he completed his statement.
“You little-I ought to just get it over with and kick your ass!”
“I’d like to see you try, you failure at everything!”
“What’d you call me?”
The two continued to bicker while Toma and Yamapi looked at them from just outside of the dorm room they were in.
“Do you think it’s love?” Toma said with a bit of seriousness in his voice.
Yamapi just laughed, “You’re joking, right? They’re both guys.”
Toma smiled to himself, nodding his head. He looked at the pair intently and thought to himself a bit before getting interrupted by Ueda storming down the hallway and pushing the pair out of his way. He slammed the door and locked it, leaving Ryo to bang as loudly as he could to get the other to open it.
“OPEN THE DOOR, UEDA! OR I’LL COME IN THERE AND KICK YOUR DAMN ASS!”
“I’LL OPEN IT WHEN YOU CAN GIVE ME A PROPER APOLOGY!” Ueda faintly shouted through the door.
“YOU LITTLE-YOU BETTER OPEN THE DAMN DOOR RIGHT NOW!” Ryo screamed as he kept turning the knob and banging his fists against the door.
Yamapi shook his head and rubbed his neck while Toma just stared at Ryo and wondered how he ever managed to become this boy’s friend, not to mention closest friend.
The pair finally gave up and decided that today was not the day for a beach trip. More importantly, it was better not to interfere in the affairs of two people who were destined to fight with each other no matter how much anyone else tried to stop them from doing so.
Unexpectedly, that fight turned into a war of silence between the two roommates that lasted for more than a week. The pair talked occasionally, mostly to get the other one out of their way in the morning when getting ready for school or when one of them was making too much noise while the other was sleeping or doing homework. It was hard enough on their friends but it was even harder on them. Ueda, deep down, hated fighting with Ryo but if not for his pride, he would be able to live a peaceful life with the boy. In his whole young life, he had never felt so much hate for someone he was so attracted to.
The war of silence ended but the bickering continued for another month before Yamapi decided to interfere with a friendly game of baseball out on the field on a Sunday afternoon.
“We’ll do it three on three; you don’t even have to be on the same team as Ueda-kun. Come on, what do you say?”
Ryo looked at him with annoyance and frustration but he eventually agreed to the game. Once Ryo agreed, Ueda did as well and soon enough, the two of them along with Yamapi, Toma, Koki and Maru went down to the baseball field to play.
Toma and Yamapi were team captains and each one chose Ueda and Ryo so the two wouldn’t end up on a team together. Koki ended up with Ryo and Yamapi and Maru ended up with Toma and Ueda. The game started off a bit tense but soon things started to pick up when Ueda was up to bat and Ryo was pitching.
Ueda tapped his bat against the dirt and picked it up again, gripping it tightly. He looked determinedly at Ryo who was tossing the ball from hand to hand before he pitched. He looked back at Ueda with the same determination, silently hoping the ball would strike the boy he considered his enemy, in the knee. He smiled to himself at the thought before winding his arm and throwing a fast curveball.
Ueda swung and missed. Yamapi, who was acting as both umpire and catcher, called it a strike. Ueda looked at him, sadly to which Yamapi replied with a sympathetic shrugging of his shoulders. The older boy glared and looked back at Ryo who laughed as the ball returned to him. He didn’t say anything but the laugh was enough to make Ueda more hell-bent on hitting the ball.
Once again, Ryo threw the ball and once again, Ueda swung and missed. Strike two was called by Yamapi and Ueda was ready to beat the other boy with the metal bat in his hands. He didn’t and decided to take his frustration out on the ball Ryo was throwing.
The ball returned to Ryo, who was still laughing and making faces at his roommate. He was clearly aware of the rage in the other boy but didn’t think that he would cause enough trouble to be struck by the bat Ueda had. In his mind, it was likely that Ueda would swing the bat but miss Ryo every time he did so.
“Come on, Ueda-kun! Don’t let Ryo get to you!” Toma called out to his teammate.
“Yeah, Ueda-kun! Swing that bat with all your might!” Maru cheered.
“Don’t let him annoy you,” Yamapi whispered, despite his position on the opposite team.
Ueda nodded slowly, never taking his eyes off Ryo once. Finally, Ryo wound his arm around before releasing the ball, this time in the form of a fastball.
The ball seemed to go in slow motion as it came closer to Ueda and his bat. He took one swing and he was surprised to hear the sound of the bat hitting the ball and was even more shocked to see the ball going flying into the air, straight to Ryo’s crotch.
“OW!”
“HOLY SHIT!”
“HAHA!”
“RUN, UEDA-KUN, RUN!”
Ueda wasn’t sure whether he should help Ryo or steal both first and second as Koki and Yamapi both went to check on their teammate. He decided on the latter and ran straight for first, stopping only for a second before continuing onto second base. Koki looked up and ran for the ball, but failed to catch up to Ueda who made it to third. Koki dropped the ball and started stumbling around for it as Ueda gaped at the literally free home base staring back at him.
He moved his legs and started running. Dust flew up and surrounded him, making him look like a cartoon character speeding away. The dust cloud around him separated and he could see that home base was still free. He lunged forward, sliding down the baseline as he went home. He was ecstatic as he got closer and closer to home plate, but before he reached it, he felt a giant weight on his back, nearly knocking him out when it hit him.
A loud thump was heard and the gasps of everyone on the field echoed. When the dust finally cleared, Toma and the others were shocked to see Ueda lying face up on the ground with Ryo lying on top of him.
The pair looked at each other; both were very embarrassed and very shocked at the position they were in. But it seemed that Ueda was more affected by it because Ryo began laughing uncontrollably. Upon closer inspection, one could see that Ryo had the ball in his hand and it was touching Ueda’s open hand.
“YOU’RE OUT, MOTHERFUCKER! WE WIN!” Ryo taunted as immaturely as he could, as he struggled to get up off Ueda before joining Yamapi and Koki in a round of high fives.
Ueda’s mouth dropped as he leaned on his elbows and watched Ryo jump around like he had won the World Series instead of just a friendly game of baseball. No matter how attractive he was to Ueda, this moment was enough to make Ueda wish he had never met the boy.
Toma and Maru hovered over Ueda, making sure he was okay. Ueda confirmed his wellness before glaring at Ryo, who was now doing half-assed cartwheels around the pitcher’s mound with Koki and Yamapi laughing and cheering him on.
“That bastard,” Ueda muttered under his breath.
That night, after both boys had eaten dinner and showered in preparation for going to bed, Ryo coughed to get Ueda’s attention.
“Sorry about tackling you on your way to home plate. I wasn’t exactly planning on falling on top of you in the process,” he said, nervously running his fingers through his hair.
Ueda glared at him while drying his wet hair with a towel. He put it around his shoulders and tugged at the ends.
“You’re a crazy psychopath. What kind of person tackles someone in a game of baseball?! Learn to get your sports right-jackass.”
“I’m the jackass-I-you know what, I’m not going to argue with you anymore. I’m a little tired from having-WHOOPED YOUR ASS TODAY! Oh yeah! Suck it, bitch!” Ryo guffawed, doing his best gangster poses as he did so.
Ueda punched him in the stomach and Ryo just groaned, falling to the floor and wincing in pain.
“Good night!” Ueda smiled, turning off the light and jumping into bed. He left Ryo lying on the floor in the dark, rolling around and trying to take the pain as best he could.
“Son-of-a-b-AH!” he groaned as he struggled to get up so he could get into bed and go to sleep as well. As the other made noises of excruciating pain, Ueda smiled to himself and fell asleep with a warmth inside of him.
Ever since Ueda had punched Ryo, the latter was afraid of letting even the tiniest of insults slip out of his mouth. Ryo was a black belt in karate but even he was afraid of the surprisingly forceful punch of his roommate. Ueda enjoyed the fear in Ryo’s eyes so much that he threatened Ryo just for looking at him the wrong way. The fun didn’t last too long for Ueda and eventually the two were forced to deal with their problems when they inexplicably ended up being the class representatives.
“I swear if there is a God, He is out to get me!” Ryo complained as he and Ueda cleaned the classroom after school.
“Hey, don’t go complaining to me-it’s not like I volunteered for the job.”
Truth was, he hadn’t, neither of them had. It was based off a class vote as well as the teacher’s approval. Apparently all their classmates were aware of their so-called relationship as bickering roommates and thought it would be funny to put the two together once again.
“I wouldn’t mind it if you had never been assigned to the same homeroom as me-not to mention the same dorm room! I can’t believe I have to spend more hours in the day with you-for the next year!”
As Ryo continued to gripe, Ueda just put his focus on sweeping up the classroom floor. He didn’t want to let this thing get him down. He was having a seemingly good day; his test scores from his math exam were the highest in his class and he had been appointed as secretary of the art club. Of course, he was also a bit happy that he and Ryo were to spend more time together as class representatives. But at the same time, it was enough to make his good mood turn slightly sour.
“Are you done yet so I can go back to the dorm?” Ryo said, with his arms hanging loosely next to him and his position not too far from Ueda.
“Hmm?” Ueda was in his own world and was absentmindedly sweeping the same spot over and over again.
“I said, are you done yet?!” Ryo whined.
Ueda rolled his eyes, “Just go ahead without me. Tell the teacher that I’m almost done and that we did everything he asked us to-can you do that or is it too difficult for you?”
Ryo clenched his teeth and replied, “I’m perfectly capable of doing such a task-just keep your smart-ass comments to yourself!”
Ueda laughed in a taunting manner and continued sweeping. Ryo huffed and walked out with his schoolbag in hand and his other hand in his pocket. Ueda laughed at the mini-tantrum the other had just thrown and continued sweeping until he was done. He threw the sweepings away and put the broom back in the janitor’s closet. He went to the bathroom to wash his hands and clean himself up. But when he walked out, he was shocked to see someone being bullied.
It was Koki, thrown up against a wall by none other than Jin. Ueda gasped, but quickly covered his mouth as he watched and eavesdropped on the two boy’s exchange.
“You think it’s alright for you to be so rude to someone who is above you?” Jin asked, sounding more pissed off than he usually was.
Koki whimpered and closed his eyes, forcing Jin to grip his collar even tighter and slam him back up against the wall.
“Answer me, asshole!”
“Hey!”
Jin turned his head and groaned, irritated.
“I’m getting a little tired of you always making trouble for everyone.”
Ueda gasped again, seeing that Ryo was the one stopping the bullying from occurring.
“Nishikido-kun,” Koki smiled.
Jin dropped Koki and walked over to Ryo with a snarl on his face and his fists clenched tightly. Ryo looked at the taller boy, unfazed and unafraid of what could possibly happen next. Ueda watched in awe at the two violent-tempered individuals.
“I don’t care who’s grandson you are-it’s time you learned respect for those above you,” Jin whispered angrily.
“Like I would be afraid of trash like you, A-ka-ni-shi,” Ryo mocked the other boy by saying his name in a singsong voice.
Jin laughed sarcastically before growling and throwing a punch. Ryo managed to dodge it and counterattacked with a punch to Jin’s stomach. It was a move that Ryo had clearly stolen from Ueda. Jin fell to the ground and Koki gasped in shock.
Jin managed to get up, clutching his stomach and stumbling away. He stopped and mouthed something that Ueda couldn’t hear and that Ryo completely ignored. The older boy disappeared from sight, never noticing Ueda who was standing only a couple feet away from him.
“Wow, Nishikido-kun, you’re so cool!” Koki gushed as he got up from the ground and praised the other boy.
Ryo dusted off his hands and smirked, proud of what he had done. Ueda felt his heart jump at the heroicness Ryo had displayed, despite the proud and somewhat annoying expression he had on his face. Ueda knew there was a reason he fell for his roommate so hard and so quickly and it was evident in the way that he was looking at Ryo at that exact moment. But then Ryo showed his normal side and Ueda’s proud feelings disappeared almost instantly.
“Yeah, you’re lucky I came here in time before this jerk kicked your ass. It’s not that hard to figure out why you and my dumbass of a roommate are friends. You’re both idiots!” Ryo grabbed his bag from the floor and walked off.
Ueda came out from the corner and put his hand on Koki’s shoulder. The injured boy jumped and was about to say Ueda’s name but the latter shushed him.
He simply whispered, “Don’t listen to what he says. But I’m glad he helped you.”
Koki smiled widely, “Ah, thank you, Ueda-kun. Uh-wait-do you want to go get dinner right now?”
“Huh?” Ueda looked at his watch, “It’s only five-thirty.”
“Ah, but all the good food will be gone by the time we go,” Koki pouted, sounding like a hungry little kid.
“Um, well, I guess so.”
Koki smiled even wider and shouted, “Great!” while grabbing Ueda’s arm and dragging the other boy down the hallway towards the cafeteria.
Later that night, before they each went to bed, Ueda smirked to himself and looked at Ryo as he was changing. Ryo didn’t notice but when he did, he jumped back a bit and put up his fists as if to defend himself.
“W-What’s with that look on your face?”
Ueda laughed, “Why are you getting all jumpy for? I was just smiling at you.”
Ryo groaned, “Ah, you’re always staring at me and always smiling-you’re such a weirdo.” He put on his pajama shirt and smiled a bit as Ueda turned his attention away from him.
It was odd that the atmosphere between the two of them had suddenly cooled down but it seemed that maybe Ryo was basking in the glow of his heroism and felt a desire to only do good.
“Hey, how ‘bout you put your crap on your side of the room?!” he grunted as he took some of Ueda’s clothes and threw them on the other’s bed.
It was great while it lasted, Ueda thought to himself.
Before both boys knew it, the first few months of school had ended and it was a rough yet fun journey for Ryo and Ueda both. They had their fights and their arguments about little things but they managed to develop an unspoken bond; the unfortunate thing was that only Ueda would admit to such a bond.
They were getting along better, both had to admit, and it seemed like they were on the verge of really creating a friendship between them. Ryo would actually let Ueda in on a few details of his life as the grandson of the headmistress and Ueda would let the other know about his own life.
But there was one detail that Ueda had never hoped to hear from the roommate he had grown so fond of.
Ryo ran into the room with his bag hanging off his shoulder and his hair all messed up. He knocked into Ueda who was sitting at his desk, quietly doing his homework.
“OW! What the-?”
“YOU WILL NOT BELIEVE WHAT HAPPENED!” Ryo replied with a wide smile on his face.
Ueda smiled back, and just asked, “What?” turning back around to continue his homework while still keeping an ear out for whatever Ryo had to reveal.
“I HAVE A GIRLFRIEND!”
Ueda’s heart dropped.
“What?”
END CHAPTER 3
A/N: I'm in a bit of rush to post this XD; I hope it's good and please continue reading this series :) I'll try to update soon but I'm nearing the end of the semester and I have many assignments and exams =__=;; so it's a warning that I may not update for a while but don't worry! The latest I'll post it is a week or so from now ^^ Anyways, thanks for reading and commenting ♥
Author: carcrashheart_8
Pairings: RyoDa [more pairings to come]
Rating: PG-13 for now [strong language]
Summary: When his parents go overseas to work, Ueda is forced to go to an all-boys boarding school for his high school years. There, he meets Ryo Nishikido, a stubborn, strong-willed boy who ends up becoming his roommate. Ueda quickly falls for the other boy despite Ryo's rude words and bad attitude. Trouble starts up, however, and soon this seemingly one-sided love ends up becoming a love triangle and eventually a love square. Despite it all, Ueda must overcome these obstacles in order to maintain his spot at the elite high school.
Disclaimer: Title taken from "Wish We Were Older" by Metro Station
Chapter 3
Ueda started to sweat and his heart beat faster.
“H-huh?” he stuttered, hoping Yamapi didn’t notice the slight hesitation he was demonstrating.
“I mean, do you like him as your roommate?”
Ueda breathed a sigh of relief.
“Oh-oh-well,” he stopped to think a bit.
Sure he had his problems with the other boy but the younger boy’s looks surely made up for that. No matter how much of a jerk he was, he was still one of the best-looking people Ueda had ever come across.
“Yeah, I like him. He annoys me sometimes but I can tell that deep down he’s a really good person.”
Yamapi sighed contentedly, “That’s good to hear. I’m glad that you’re able to put up with such a stubborn person. You’re really patient, Ueda-kun. I admire that.”
Ueda smiled and whispered, “Thanks, Yamashita-kun.”
Yamapi said his good nights to Ueda before falling asleep. Ueda fell asleep eventually as well after a few minutes of thinking.
Ryo, however, was not asleep and had heard Ueda’s words. His stomach started to churn as if he was feeling guilty about something. He clutched it for a bit before rolling over and attempting to finally go to sleep.
Eventually, the first weekend of the school year came and everyone was determined to celebrate its arrival. Toma and Yamapi wanted to go to the beach and they wanted Ryo and Ueda as well as Koki and Maru to come with them.
“Hell no.”
“Oh come on, Ryo, it’s not everyday that we all get to hang out together like this.”
“Yeah, Ryo, the beach is somewhere with plenty of girls in bikinis and there’s waves and we can surf and it’ll be awesome!”
Both Toma and Yamapi were trying their best to convince Ryo to come but the stubborn boy would not hear of it.
“I’m not going if ‘that guy’ is going with us,” he said with emphasis on one particular phrase.
“Who? Ueda-kun?” Toma asked, tilting his head a bit in confusion.
“’Ueda-kun’? Why do you have to be so formal to him? He’s just an idiot who can’t keep himself out of trouble and he’s a pain-in-the-ass and-”
“UEDA-KUN?! HI! HOW ARE YOU?!” Yamapi interrupted, sounding nervous as he noticed Ueda walk into the dorm room after having gotten up to brush his teeth and start his day with the rest of his bathroom routine.
“Um, hi? Ikuta-kun-Yamashita-kun-what are you guys doing here?” he said, looking at the threesome oddly as he walked over to put his toothbrush away.
“We were just telling Ryo about our plans to go to the beach-you want to join us?” Yamapi asked despite Ryo’s shaking of his head and knocking the other in the side.
“The beach? Today? Are you sure Ryo-kun wants me there?” Ueda said, with a smirk on his face and his hands on his hips.
Ryo scowled before looking away, feigning embarrassment that he was figured out.
Toma laughed and replied, “It doesn’t matter what ‘Ryo-kun’ thinks-we want you to come with us.”
Yamapi smiled and nodded in agreement, batting away Ryo’s protesting punches.
“Hold on a damn minute! I said I didn’t want him to come with us! Why the hell are you ignoring me?!”
“Because your opinion means nothing and besides, majority rules!” Toma stated firmly while giving a high five to Yamapi who gave his own reply to Ryo’s rudeness with a flick of his tongue.
Ryo grabbed both boys and managed to get them into headlocks while Ueda stood there, laughing.
“It’s amazing, you know,” he said, barely audible over the three boy’s grunts and screams.
“Huh?”
“I said, it’s amazing-you know, how you can’t bare the thought of spending one Saturday with me and how you think that living with me is so horrible. I wish I could say the same about you but sadly, I can’t.”
Ueda crossed his arms and walked out of the room without waiting to hear what Ryo’s response was. The younger boy let go of Toma and Yamapi who were both gagging for air; Ryo crossed his arms and started to scowl a bit. He wasn’t expecting to feel so guilty for showing just a bit of his straightforward nature. He didn’t like the fact that Ueda of all people was making him feel guilty and he certainly didn’t like the fact that his friends were picking his roommate over him in the first place.
Ryo moaned before going out of the room to look for Ueda. He found the other roaming the hallway quietly sobbing and wiping away noticeably large tears streaming down his face.
Ryo tried to say something but found that he had a hard time getting his mouth to move. He wasn’t too fond of apologizing to people and he had always thought it too difficult to even attempt in the first place. But then he remembered what he had been told at the beginning of that school year by someone special to him.
“Ueda!”
Ueda stopped sniffling and turned around to see a forlorn Ryo standing not too far behind him.
“W-What do you want?” he stuttered angrily.
Ryo paused; he gulped and felt his stomach twinge again. He tried to form the words but found it difficult to do so. It took him awhile but he eventually started what ended up being a pretty pathetic apology.
“I-I’m-I’m s-s-s-s-s-s-”
“You’re what?” Ueda cocked an eyebrow and wiped his eyes with his handkerchief.
“I’m-I’m-I’m-s-s-s-s-so-so-so-”
“What?”
“I’M SORRY!”
Ueda gasped a little, shocked that such words ever came out of Ryo’s mouth. He was too stunned to say anything and began babbling almost as badly as the other boy had been.
“I-I-I-I-I-”
“Spit it out, dammit!” Ryo grew frustrated for absolutely no reason.
“HEY! Don’t go telling me to spit it out when you couldn’t even manage to apologize like a normal human being.”
“What are you calling me-an animal or something?”
“Well, you do make noises like you belong in a jungle or in a barnyard,” Ueda said, sticking his tongue out after he completed his statement.
“You little-I ought to just get it over with and kick your ass!”
“I’d like to see you try, you failure at everything!”
“What’d you call me?”
The two continued to bicker while Toma and Yamapi looked at them from just outside of the dorm room they were in.
“Do you think it’s love?” Toma said with a bit of seriousness in his voice.
Yamapi just laughed, “You’re joking, right? They’re both guys.”
Toma smiled to himself, nodding his head. He looked at the pair intently and thought to himself a bit before getting interrupted by Ueda storming down the hallway and pushing the pair out of his way. He slammed the door and locked it, leaving Ryo to bang as loudly as he could to get the other to open it.
“OPEN THE DOOR, UEDA! OR I’LL COME IN THERE AND KICK YOUR DAMN ASS!”
“I’LL OPEN IT WHEN YOU CAN GIVE ME A PROPER APOLOGY!” Ueda faintly shouted through the door.
“YOU LITTLE-YOU BETTER OPEN THE DAMN DOOR RIGHT NOW!” Ryo screamed as he kept turning the knob and banging his fists against the door.
Yamapi shook his head and rubbed his neck while Toma just stared at Ryo and wondered how he ever managed to become this boy’s friend, not to mention closest friend.
The pair finally gave up and decided that today was not the day for a beach trip. More importantly, it was better not to interfere in the affairs of two people who were destined to fight with each other no matter how much anyone else tried to stop them from doing so.
Unexpectedly, that fight turned into a war of silence between the two roommates that lasted for more than a week. The pair talked occasionally, mostly to get the other one out of their way in the morning when getting ready for school or when one of them was making too much noise while the other was sleeping or doing homework. It was hard enough on their friends but it was even harder on them. Ueda, deep down, hated fighting with Ryo but if not for his pride, he would be able to live a peaceful life with the boy. In his whole young life, he had never felt so much hate for someone he was so attracted to.
The war of silence ended but the bickering continued for another month before Yamapi decided to interfere with a friendly game of baseball out on the field on a Sunday afternoon.
“We’ll do it three on three; you don’t even have to be on the same team as Ueda-kun. Come on, what do you say?”
Ryo looked at him with annoyance and frustration but he eventually agreed to the game. Once Ryo agreed, Ueda did as well and soon enough, the two of them along with Yamapi, Toma, Koki and Maru went down to the baseball field to play.
Toma and Yamapi were team captains and each one chose Ueda and Ryo so the two wouldn’t end up on a team together. Koki ended up with Ryo and Yamapi and Maru ended up with Toma and Ueda. The game started off a bit tense but soon things started to pick up when Ueda was up to bat and Ryo was pitching.
Ueda tapped his bat against the dirt and picked it up again, gripping it tightly. He looked determinedly at Ryo who was tossing the ball from hand to hand before he pitched. He looked back at Ueda with the same determination, silently hoping the ball would strike the boy he considered his enemy, in the knee. He smiled to himself at the thought before winding his arm and throwing a fast curveball.
Ueda swung and missed. Yamapi, who was acting as both umpire and catcher, called it a strike. Ueda looked at him, sadly to which Yamapi replied with a sympathetic shrugging of his shoulders. The older boy glared and looked back at Ryo who laughed as the ball returned to him. He didn’t say anything but the laugh was enough to make Ueda more hell-bent on hitting the ball.
Once again, Ryo threw the ball and once again, Ueda swung and missed. Strike two was called by Yamapi and Ueda was ready to beat the other boy with the metal bat in his hands. He didn’t and decided to take his frustration out on the ball Ryo was throwing.
The ball returned to Ryo, who was still laughing and making faces at his roommate. He was clearly aware of the rage in the other boy but didn’t think that he would cause enough trouble to be struck by the bat Ueda had. In his mind, it was likely that Ueda would swing the bat but miss Ryo every time he did so.
“Come on, Ueda-kun! Don’t let Ryo get to you!” Toma called out to his teammate.
“Yeah, Ueda-kun! Swing that bat with all your might!” Maru cheered.
“Don’t let him annoy you,” Yamapi whispered, despite his position on the opposite team.
Ueda nodded slowly, never taking his eyes off Ryo once. Finally, Ryo wound his arm around before releasing the ball, this time in the form of a fastball.
The ball seemed to go in slow motion as it came closer to Ueda and his bat. He took one swing and he was surprised to hear the sound of the bat hitting the ball and was even more shocked to see the ball going flying into the air, straight to Ryo’s crotch.
“OW!”
“HOLY SHIT!”
“HAHA!”
“RUN, UEDA-KUN, RUN!”
Ueda wasn’t sure whether he should help Ryo or steal both first and second as Koki and Yamapi both went to check on their teammate. He decided on the latter and ran straight for first, stopping only for a second before continuing onto second base. Koki looked up and ran for the ball, but failed to catch up to Ueda who made it to third. Koki dropped the ball and started stumbling around for it as Ueda gaped at the literally free home base staring back at him.
He moved his legs and started running. Dust flew up and surrounded him, making him look like a cartoon character speeding away. The dust cloud around him separated and he could see that home base was still free. He lunged forward, sliding down the baseline as he went home. He was ecstatic as he got closer and closer to home plate, but before he reached it, he felt a giant weight on his back, nearly knocking him out when it hit him.
A loud thump was heard and the gasps of everyone on the field echoed. When the dust finally cleared, Toma and the others were shocked to see Ueda lying face up on the ground with Ryo lying on top of him.
The pair looked at each other; both were very embarrassed and very shocked at the position they were in. But it seemed that Ueda was more affected by it because Ryo began laughing uncontrollably. Upon closer inspection, one could see that Ryo had the ball in his hand and it was touching Ueda’s open hand.
“YOU’RE OUT, MOTHERFUCKER! WE WIN!” Ryo taunted as immaturely as he could, as he struggled to get up off Ueda before joining Yamapi and Koki in a round of high fives.
Ueda’s mouth dropped as he leaned on his elbows and watched Ryo jump around like he had won the World Series instead of just a friendly game of baseball. No matter how attractive he was to Ueda, this moment was enough to make Ueda wish he had never met the boy.
Toma and Maru hovered over Ueda, making sure he was okay. Ueda confirmed his wellness before glaring at Ryo, who was now doing half-assed cartwheels around the pitcher’s mound with Koki and Yamapi laughing and cheering him on.
“That bastard,” Ueda muttered under his breath.
That night, after both boys had eaten dinner and showered in preparation for going to bed, Ryo coughed to get Ueda’s attention.
“Sorry about tackling you on your way to home plate. I wasn’t exactly planning on falling on top of you in the process,” he said, nervously running his fingers through his hair.
Ueda glared at him while drying his wet hair with a towel. He put it around his shoulders and tugged at the ends.
“You’re a crazy psychopath. What kind of person tackles someone in a game of baseball?! Learn to get your sports right-jackass.”
“I’m the jackass-I-you know what, I’m not going to argue with you anymore. I’m a little tired from having-WHOOPED YOUR ASS TODAY! Oh yeah! Suck it, bitch!” Ryo guffawed, doing his best gangster poses as he did so.
Ueda punched him in the stomach and Ryo just groaned, falling to the floor and wincing in pain.
“Good night!” Ueda smiled, turning off the light and jumping into bed. He left Ryo lying on the floor in the dark, rolling around and trying to take the pain as best he could.
“Son-of-a-b-AH!” he groaned as he struggled to get up so he could get into bed and go to sleep as well. As the other made noises of excruciating pain, Ueda smiled to himself and fell asleep with a warmth inside of him.
Ever since Ueda had punched Ryo, the latter was afraid of letting even the tiniest of insults slip out of his mouth. Ryo was a black belt in karate but even he was afraid of the surprisingly forceful punch of his roommate. Ueda enjoyed the fear in Ryo’s eyes so much that he threatened Ryo just for looking at him the wrong way. The fun didn’t last too long for Ueda and eventually the two were forced to deal with their problems when they inexplicably ended up being the class representatives.
“I swear if there is a God, He is out to get me!” Ryo complained as he and Ueda cleaned the classroom after school.
“Hey, don’t go complaining to me-it’s not like I volunteered for the job.”
Truth was, he hadn’t, neither of them had. It was based off a class vote as well as the teacher’s approval. Apparently all their classmates were aware of their so-called relationship as bickering roommates and thought it would be funny to put the two together once again.
“I wouldn’t mind it if you had never been assigned to the same homeroom as me-not to mention the same dorm room! I can’t believe I have to spend more hours in the day with you-for the next year!”
As Ryo continued to gripe, Ueda just put his focus on sweeping up the classroom floor. He didn’t want to let this thing get him down. He was having a seemingly good day; his test scores from his math exam were the highest in his class and he had been appointed as secretary of the art club. Of course, he was also a bit happy that he and Ryo were to spend more time together as class representatives. But at the same time, it was enough to make his good mood turn slightly sour.
“Are you done yet so I can go back to the dorm?” Ryo said, with his arms hanging loosely next to him and his position not too far from Ueda.
“Hmm?” Ueda was in his own world and was absentmindedly sweeping the same spot over and over again.
“I said, are you done yet?!” Ryo whined.
Ueda rolled his eyes, “Just go ahead without me. Tell the teacher that I’m almost done and that we did everything he asked us to-can you do that or is it too difficult for you?”
Ryo clenched his teeth and replied, “I’m perfectly capable of doing such a task-just keep your smart-ass comments to yourself!”
Ueda laughed in a taunting manner and continued sweeping. Ryo huffed and walked out with his schoolbag in hand and his other hand in his pocket. Ueda laughed at the mini-tantrum the other had just thrown and continued sweeping until he was done. He threw the sweepings away and put the broom back in the janitor’s closet. He went to the bathroom to wash his hands and clean himself up. But when he walked out, he was shocked to see someone being bullied.
It was Koki, thrown up against a wall by none other than Jin. Ueda gasped, but quickly covered his mouth as he watched and eavesdropped on the two boy’s exchange.
“You think it’s alright for you to be so rude to someone who is above you?” Jin asked, sounding more pissed off than he usually was.
Koki whimpered and closed his eyes, forcing Jin to grip his collar even tighter and slam him back up against the wall.
“Answer me, asshole!”
“Hey!”
Jin turned his head and groaned, irritated.
“I’m getting a little tired of you always making trouble for everyone.”
Ueda gasped again, seeing that Ryo was the one stopping the bullying from occurring.
“Nishikido-kun,” Koki smiled.
Jin dropped Koki and walked over to Ryo with a snarl on his face and his fists clenched tightly. Ryo looked at the taller boy, unfazed and unafraid of what could possibly happen next. Ueda watched in awe at the two violent-tempered individuals.
“I don’t care who’s grandson you are-it’s time you learned respect for those above you,” Jin whispered angrily.
“Like I would be afraid of trash like you, A-ka-ni-shi,” Ryo mocked the other boy by saying his name in a singsong voice.
Jin laughed sarcastically before growling and throwing a punch. Ryo managed to dodge it and counterattacked with a punch to Jin’s stomach. It was a move that Ryo had clearly stolen from Ueda. Jin fell to the ground and Koki gasped in shock.
Jin managed to get up, clutching his stomach and stumbling away. He stopped and mouthed something that Ueda couldn’t hear and that Ryo completely ignored. The older boy disappeared from sight, never noticing Ueda who was standing only a couple feet away from him.
“Wow, Nishikido-kun, you’re so cool!” Koki gushed as he got up from the ground and praised the other boy.
Ryo dusted off his hands and smirked, proud of what he had done. Ueda felt his heart jump at the heroicness Ryo had displayed, despite the proud and somewhat annoying expression he had on his face. Ueda knew there was a reason he fell for his roommate so hard and so quickly and it was evident in the way that he was looking at Ryo at that exact moment. But then Ryo showed his normal side and Ueda’s proud feelings disappeared almost instantly.
“Yeah, you’re lucky I came here in time before this jerk kicked your ass. It’s not that hard to figure out why you and my dumbass of a roommate are friends. You’re both idiots!” Ryo grabbed his bag from the floor and walked off.
Ueda came out from the corner and put his hand on Koki’s shoulder. The injured boy jumped and was about to say Ueda’s name but the latter shushed him.
He simply whispered, “Don’t listen to what he says. But I’m glad he helped you.”
Koki smiled widely, “Ah, thank you, Ueda-kun. Uh-wait-do you want to go get dinner right now?”
“Huh?” Ueda looked at his watch, “It’s only five-thirty.”
“Ah, but all the good food will be gone by the time we go,” Koki pouted, sounding like a hungry little kid.
“Um, well, I guess so.”
Koki smiled even wider and shouted, “Great!” while grabbing Ueda’s arm and dragging the other boy down the hallway towards the cafeteria.
Later that night, before they each went to bed, Ueda smirked to himself and looked at Ryo as he was changing. Ryo didn’t notice but when he did, he jumped back a bit and put up his fists as if to defend himself.
“W-What’s with that look on your face?”
Ueda laughed, “Why are you getting all jumpy for? I was just smiling at you.”
Ryo groaned, “Ah, you’re always staring at me and always smiling-you’re such a weirdo.” He put on his pajama shirt and smiled a bit as Ueda turned his attention away from him.
It was odd that the atmosphere between the two of them had suddenly cooled down but it seemed that maybe Ryo was basking in the glow of his heroism and felt a desire to only do good.
“Hey, how ‘bout you put your crap on your side of the room?!” he grunted as he took some of Ueda’s clothes and threw them on the other’s bed.
It was great while it lasted, Ueda thought to himself.
Before both boys knew it, the first few months of school had ended and it was a rough yet fun journey for Ryo and Ueda both. They had their fights and their arguments about little things but they managed to develop an unspoken bond; the unfortunate thing was that only Ueda would admit to such a bond.
They were getting along better, both had to admit, and it seemed like they were on the verge of really creating a friendship between them. Ryo would actually let Ueda in on a few details of his life as the grandson of the headmistress and Ueda would let the other know about his own life.
But there was one detail that Ueda had never hoped to hear from the roommate he had grown so fond of.
Ryo ran into the room with his bag hanging off his shoulder and his hair all messed up. He knocked into Ueda who was sitting at his desk, quietly doing his homework.
“OW! What the-?”
“YOU WILL NOT BELIEVE WHAT HAPPENED!” Ryo replied with a wide smile on his face.
Ueda smiled back, and just asked, “What?” turning back around to continue his homework while still keeping an ear out for whatever Ryo had to reveal.
“I HAVE A GIRLFRIEND!”
Ueda’s heart dropped.
“What?”
END CHAPTER 3
A/N: I'm in a bit of rush to post this XD; I hope it's good and please continue reading this series :) I'll try to update soon but I'm nearing the end of the semester and I have many assignments and exams =__=;; so it's a warning that I may not update for a while but don't worry! The latest I'll post it is a week or so from now ^^ Anyways, thanks for reading and commenting ♥