Wish We Were Older
Title: Wish We Were Older [Chapter 14]
Author: carcrashheart_8
Pairings: RyoDa, Ryo/OC, PiDa, KameDa [friendship], Akame, PiTakki [one-sided], RyoKame, JinNo, TomaKame
Rating: PG-13 [strong language and sexual references]
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 14
“What?!”
“Akanishi and Toma?”
Yamapi was panting, obviously out of breath from having run all the way to Ryo’s dorm room.
“You gotta come quick. It’s pretty bad,” he said between gasps.
In seconds, all three were on foot to the cafeteria where apparently the whole thing had gone down. Neither Ryo nor Ueda were focused on the conversation they had just had; instead, they were worried and concerned about what had happened.
Yamapi burst through the doors with Ryo and Ueda just behind him. There was an unbelievable sight; a terrified Junno was holding Jin back and Toma was under the grip of both Maru and Koki. Ueda could see Kame at a nearby table, shaking his head and looking like he was about to tear his hair out.
Ueda ran over to him.
“What happened, Kame?”
Kame looked up and just continued shaking his head, “THEY’RE IDIOTS! BOTH OF THEM! ASK THEM! I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THE HELL THEY WERE THINKING!”
Ryo stomped over to Toma and shouted, “What the hell happened?!?”
Toma was heaving, “This JACKASS has a lot of nerve!”
Jin responded, with his own gasping voice, “I’m a jackass?! You’re the one trying to steal Kame-chan from me!”
“ENOUGH WITH THE ‘KAME-CHAN’! HE DOESN’T WANT YOU ANYMORE!”
“SAYS YOU! YOU’RE NOT DATING HIM!”
“I DON’T NEED TO DATE SOMEONE TO KNOW WHEN THEY HATE SOMEONE ELSE’S GUTS!”
Then Ueda took a book from a nearby table and dropped it on the ground, creating a sound that echoed throughout the room. Everyone went quiet and drew their attention to the normally quiet boy.
He smirked.
“Would one of you PLEASE tell us what happened-BEFORE I KICK BOTH YOUR ASSES?!”
Jin and Toma looked shocked that Ueda, of all people, would say such a thing. Clearly he had been hanging out with Ryo a few too many times, his friends thought.
“Fine!” Toma yelled, only because he was still angry with Jin.
“I was just in here, calmly talking to Kamenashi about our tutoring schedule when THIS JACKASS,” he pointed at Jin, “came barging in here and started messing with us.”
“I wasn’t messing with Kame-I was messing with YOU,” Jin replied, sticking his tongue out in a most childish fashion.
Toma just rolled his eyes and scoffed, feeling like there was nothing to say to respond to someone so beneath him, intellectually.
Ryo then started chuckling profusely under his breath. He caught the attention of both Ueda and Yamapi, but wasn’t aware of it. He just continued laughing until his chuckles became loud guffaws that echoed throughout the room. He clutched his stomach and bent over, trying his best not to fall on the floor as he found hilarity in the situation.
Yamapi started chuckling in reaction to his friend’s odd behavior but it was Ueda who became angry.
“What’s so damn funny?!”
Ryo stopped laughing, feeling annoyed that Ueda had become so angry in such a short time. He stood up straight and glared.
“I was merely finding it funny that these two are fighting with each other. I mean we all know what they’re fighting about, don’t we?” he asked everyone in the room.
No one dared agree with him, especially since another fight seemed on the verge of starting.
“Oh, really? You know what’s going on? That’s a first!” Ueda laughed condescendingly.
“What are you trying to say, Ueda? That I’m oblivious?”
Ueda turned to Ryo and looked at him, seriously.
“That’s exactly what I’m saying,” he stated in a voice that sounded much deeper and much more serious than his usual voice.
Ryo gulped; clearly this wasn’t the same Ueda from the dorm room just five minutes ago.
“Damn, Kame. Are all your friends so crazy?” Jin laughed.
Kame shook his head and sighed. Junno looked at Jin, like he was about ready to cry. Toma, on the other hand, was just getting more and more angry with the other man.
He walked over to Jin and without a second thought, he punched the other boy, hard in the face. Jin fell to the floor and Junno went down after him.
“SHUT THE HELL UP ALREADY! NO ONE NEEDS YOUR COMMENTARY!”
Jin rubbed his nose and looked at Toma, shocked. Junno seemed concerned for Jin but as he locked eyes with Toma, something inside of him snapped. He stood up quickly and with a small grunt, he punched Toma right back. Toma fell to the floor in a more dramatic fashion than Jin had, which made the whole scene look like something from a really cheesy, overdramatic movie.
“NO ONE TELLS MY JIN TO SHUT UP!” Junno shouted at the cowering Toma.
“MY JIN!?” shouted practically everyone in the room, including Jin.
Junno looked around and immediately grew embarrassed. His cheeks turned red and he instinctually shared a glance with Ueda. The latter shrugged his shoulders and had a weak smile on his face. He then moved his hand as if to gesture that Junno needed to elaborate what he was trying to say.
Junno nodded and looked down at Jin. The injured boy seemed a little uncomfortable with his best friend’s eyes on him and started to squirm. Junno helped him up and looked at him longingly. Jin continued to squirm, pretending to brush imaginary dirty off his shirt.
“Jin, I-”
“DON’T SAY IT!” Jin interrupted, putting his hand up in front of Junno’s face.
“What?”
“Look, Junno-I-I-don’t know-I just-”
“I REALLY LIKE YOU! PLEASE GO OUT WITH ME!”
The entire room gasped at Junno’s sudden confession, startling Jin a bit. He looked around at all the nosy students and then at Kame. He then looked at Toma and even at Ueda, for some reason. He then looked at Junno who gave him the most pathetic-looking puppy dog eyes that he’d ever seen. He wanted to reject Junno but he just couldn’t.
Had he always been this cute, Jin thought to himself.
“OK FINE!”
Another gasp went through the room, to which Jin responded with a loud, “OH SHUT UP!”
Junno smiled widely and went to embrace Jin but the other boy stopped him, threatening him if he did so. Junno nodded but continued to smile. He then gave a quick look towards Kame and stuck out his tongue.
Jin also looked at Kame and said, “I’m sorry, Kame-chan-but it’s over between you and me,” in a suddenly serious tone of voice.
Kame scoffed, “It was over a long time ago, Jin,” he then plastered a fake smile on his face, “Have fun with your new boyfriend.”
Jin smiled but when Junno looked at him, he had a large scowl on his face. The pair walked out with Jin pushing away Junno’s hand every time the taller boy tried to hold his.
“WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!” Yamapi half-chuckled.
“That, my friends, is what happens when two idiots find love,” Kame laughed. Ueda glared at him causing him to quiet down.
Ryo shook his head, “Hell, I’m surprised that Taguchi-senpai was the one to confess instead of-”
Ueda nudged him in the side and, in turn, he started rambling, “Instead of-um-other people-that-ooh look, French fries!”
“Instead of who, Nishikido-kun?” Kame asked, genuinely.
Toma laughed, thinking that Ryo meant himself or Ueda. Kame stared at him, oddly.
“Why are you still on the floor? Is that where you’re used to being?”
Toma turned around quickly from where he was sitting on the floor and mouthed curse words at the other boy. He scrambled to get up and stood over Kame.
Kame snorted, “What? You going to fight me or something?”
Toma didn’t say anything. Ryo and Ueda as well as everyone else just looked at Toma, holding their breaths, wondering what he would do next.
He then muttered under his breath, “What’s your problem with me anyways?”
“Excuse me?”
Toma’s voice got louder, “I said what’s your problem with me?! You’re always making fun of me and calling me names and taking every chance you can to make my life a living hell! Honestly, what the hell did I ever do to you?”
For some reason, Kame seemed greatly offended that Toma would ask such a question.
“What do you mean ‘what’s my problem with you’? The real question is what do you have against me?”
Toma laughed, half-heartedly. He gave a small glance towards Ueda but looked quickly back to Kame.
“I sometimes wonder how someone like you managed to get Tatsuya as a best friend. Someone as kind as him being friends with a little bitch like you-I don’t understand it!”
Kame scoffed, “If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you liked Tat-chan. I-”
Kame looked at Toma who seemed to blush a little. The younger man’s reaction was unexpected; he stood up suddenly and started babbling under his breath. He gave Toma a harsh look before storming out of the cafeteria, clearly angry about what he had just figured out.
Ueda went running after him, but Ryo and Yamapi stayed with Toma.
“What the-why did he just run out like that?” Toma looked towards the door, confused.
Ryo and Yamapi gave each other a look before sighing in a frustrated manner.
“Are you kidding me?” Ryo asked.
“Do you not realize what just happened?” Yamapi echoed.
Toma looked at his friends, now even more confused than before.
“What?”
Ryo grew frustrated and would have hit Toma in the face but he thought that maybe this wasn’t the best time to be giving his friend a beating.
“HE THINKS YOU LIKE UEDA!”
“Wait-why would he think that?” Toma scoffed.
Yamapi’s palm hit his forehead and he sighed deeply.
“Uhm-maybe because you made it kind of obvious?” Ryo replied in a slightly sarcastic tone.
Toma’s eyes widened but then he shook his head.
“That’s crazy. I don’t like Tatsuya-I like-oh shit,” he muttered.
“EXACTLY!” Yamapi and Ryo shouted at the same time.
“Aw-f-he thinks I like Tatsuya! Why does he-WHY DOES THIS SHIT KEEP HAPPENING?!”
Ryo and Yamapi looked at each other then shook their heads in frustration.
“Kame-are you okay?”
Ueda looked down the hall at Kame who was sitting on the floor, with his legs pressed close to him. He was obviously crying from the sniffling noise he was making. Ueda’s heart broke a little as he watched his friend cry over someone he loved.
The older boy walked over slowly and sat down next to Kame. He didn’t say anything at first and just listened to Kame’s quiet sobbing, knowing exactly how he felt at that moment. Ueda closed his eyes and felt a bit of pain go into his chest. He wasn’t sure if he was just empathizing with Kame or if he was just reliving the feelings that he had experienced with his love for Ryo.
“Aren’t you going to say anything?”
Ueda opened his eyes and turned to look at Kame who was staring back at him with bloodshot eyes.
“What would you like me to say?”
Kame chuckled half-heartedly before wiping his nose roughly.
“I guess there’s not much you can say, right? I mean, it’s not like you can help it if Toma likes you-”
“Did you just call him ‘Toma’?” Ueda smiled idiotically.
Kame rolled his eyes and looked away, “It just slipped out-besides he kept telling me to call him that while he was tutoring me. I don’t know why-I don’t exactly want him to start calling me ‘Kazuya’.”
Ueda kept smiling, trying his best to hide it from Kame who was in no mood to be teased. He stopped smiling when he realized what else Kame had said.
With a sharp turn of his neck, he responded, “HE DOES NOT LIKE ME!”
Kame was startled a bit but calmed down and laughed, “There you go again, going into denial when someone has feelings for you. Geez, Tat-chan, give it up for once.”
“I am not ‘going into denial’. Kame, Toma does not like me-he likes-well, I can’t say who he likes. He’s never actually told me.”
Kame looked deep in thought. He then responded, “I bet he likes Yamapi.”
Ueda’s eyes got big and he stood up quickly.
“HE DOES NOT LIKE YAMAPI!”
Kame blinked.
“Ryo?”
Ueda shook his head furiously; he was dead sure that Toma did not have feelings for Ryo.
“Tanaka-kun? Nakamaru-kun?”
Ueda kept shaking his head, almost getting a crick in his neck from such an action.
“Um-don’t tell me-oh gawd, don’t tell me, he likes-” Kame stood up suddenly and put his hand over his mouth, his eyes poking between his fingers. Ueda could see how huge they were at Kame’s apparent realization.
Ueda looked eager to hear who Kame had in mind.
“Who?”
Kame hesitated but then replied, “Jin?”
Ueda fell backwards in a somewhat comical fashion. He got up and looked at Kame who was sure that he was right. The older boy just shook his head and decided on giving up with letting Kame figure out just who Toma had feelings for.
Meanwhile, Toma was freaking out about having misled Kame into thinking that he actually had feelings for Ueda.
“He can’t think that! I mean, why would he? Have I ever given you guys reason to believe that I had feelings for Tatsuya? Am I that ‘obvious’?”
Ryo and Yamapi were sitting down at a table, across from Koki and Maru who apparently taken to eating their dinner.
Toma sat down on the table, on the edge and started thinking to himself. Ryo turned to look at Yamapi who seemed a bit depressed.
“Hey, what’s the matter with you?”
Yamapi shook himself out of his foggy thinking.
“Hmm? Me? Oh, nothing. I was just thinking about-well, it’s not important. Don’t worry about it.”
Yamapi was smiling oddly and looked genuinely nervous.
Ryo laughed, “Don’t tell me you like Kamenashi, too?”
Yamapi turned suddenly as did Toma who had heard Kame’s name.
“What?!”
“What do you mean ‘too’?!”
Ryo just laughed and patted Yamapi on the shoulder to get him to calm down. Yamapi eventually eased up and relaxed in his seat.
“I was just messing with you. Come on, what’s really going on with you? You’ve been sighing like crazy and it’s really pissing me off!”
Yamapi smirked a little before sighing again. Ryo twitched at the sound and nudged Yamapi in the side. The younger boy just laughed and started to twiddle his thumbs. He then took a deep breath.
“I think I’m in love with Takizawa-sensei,” he said, point-blankly.
Everyone at the table turned to look at him, including Toma who was no longer wrapped up in his own affairs.
“WHAT?!”
Ryo smiled, “So you finally figured it out, huh?”
Yamapi just glared at him and Ryo stopped smiling. He then continued.
“I don’t know-I’d never really liked a guy before-well, other than Tatsuya. But that’s because-and if you repeat this to Tatsuya, I will skin you alive-he kind of reminds me of a girl. You know, he’s cute and has really feminine features. But Takizawa-sensei-he’s so manly and cool. I didn’t even know I was into that kind of guy.”
Yamapi sighed again, but this time in a more love-struck way. Ryo made a gagging gesture while Toma was smiling underneath his carefully placed hand that went over his mouth. Koki and Maru were waiting for Yamapi to continue.
“Why don’t you confess to him?” Ryo said, possibly without really thinking.
Yamapi turned to look at him, giving him the most shocked look, which ended up freaking out Ryo upon examination.
“Well! I was just asking,” Ryo said, scooting away from his best friend until he stopped staring. Yamapi faced forward and put his head in his hands, exhaling loudly.
“I wish I could! But guess what. He’s a frickin’ teacher! A male one, at that! I can’t confess to him! He’ll probably just laugh in my face and maybe give me an ‘F’ if he thinks I’m ugly or something.”
Toma snickered under his breath, which prompted Yamapi to push him off the table. Toma picked himself up off the floor and took a proper seat next to Koki and away from Yamapi’s reach.
“As I was saying-I can’t confess to him. It’s too unrealistic. I don’t want to get my heart broken-again,” Yamapi now sounded dramatic as he started to choke up.
Ryo rolled his eyes and exhaled deeply.
“Then don’t confess! Just admire him from afar-I’m sure eventually the crush will go away and you’ll end up liking girls again. I know how much you’ve missed drooling over boobs.”
Yamapi chuckled, “Not as much as you-that’s for sure.”
Ryo smacked Yamapi in the back of the head and started growling under his breath. Yamapi just laughed in response, which prompted Toma and Maru and Koki to join in as well.
The next day, apparently Kame was refusing to speak to Toma, who was finding it hard to let Kame know that he didn’t actually have feelings for Ueda. Ueda and Ryo were getting frustrated that their two closest friends were at odds with each other. Kame was making things harder than Toma was but Ryo was too annoyed with his friend to notice the difference.
“We gotta get them talking again-I think Toma deserves a chance to confess properly.”
Ryo just looked at Ueda, who had the most earnest of looks on his face. It was funny, because times like these are what caused Ryo’s heart to beat a little faster. Clearly, Ueda was someone who would put his friends’ needs above his own, even if it meant prolonging any development between him and Ryo.
“Why should I do anything? It’s not my business to get Kamenashi and Toma together. Besides, Toma never exactly said he liked Kamenashi. We’ve all just been assuming that he did.”
Ueda pouted.
“But it’s so obvious. And I’m sure that Kame likes him too-he just has yet to realize it and admit it. I think if we help, the two of them will realize it and be able to fully confess to each other.”
“What do you care if they confess to each other? Shouldn’t be focusing on yourself?”
Ueda paused and looked as Ryo stared back at him, obviously hinting at the yet discussed developments between them.
Before he could answer Yamapi came over to them and sat down in his desk. He looked pale and was sweating like mad. His right leg was shaking uncontrollably and he had a hard time breathing normally.
“What’s wrong with you?” Ryo asked with a weird look on his face.
Yamapi turned to look at him, with wide eyes that looked almost ready to pop out of their sockets.
“Is everything okay, Yamapi?” Ueda asked, sounding more concerned than Ryo had been.
“I’m gonna confess today,” he said in a hushed voice, making sure no one heard what he had said.
“Confess? To who?” Ueda looked around the room, thinking that the person Yamapi would confess to was in plain sight.
“You know who-the same person he’s been daydreaming about since the semester started,” Ryo scoffed.
Ueda stopped to think and his eyes grew huge.
“ARE YOU CONFESSING TO TAKIZAWA-SENSEI?!” he shouted.
The whole room got quiet and turned to look at Ueda. Yamapi hid his face and Ryo just started snickering to himself. Ueda smiled awkwardly and attempted to cover up for his mistake.
“I mean-you’re going to confess that you didn’t do your homework-right?” he said to Yamapi, although his eyes were fixed on the classmates who were giving him odd looks.
Yamapi nodded slowly and Ryo just continued to laugh, except when Ueda hit him in the back of the head.
The door opened suddenly and Yamapi nearly fell out of his desk. Ueda and Ryo each held their breaths, expecting their teacher to enter into the room.
But when they saw Kame, they all exhaled. But seconds later, Ueda and Ryo both straightened up and stared at the other boy who looked slightly disturbed upon seeing them.
“Um-is something wrong?” Kame asked, giving the two boys strange looks.
Ueda and Ryo just shook their heads and Kame proceeded to sit down. He took out his notebook and began writing, which prompted Ryo to nudge Ueda. Ueda turned around and smiled at Kame who was unaware that his friend was looking at him. Kame looked up and was startled at the creepy face Ueda had on.
“What the heck is the matter with you?” he asked.
Ueda just continued smiling before saying, “Kame-do you think you’ll be speaking to Toma any time soon?”
Ryo smacked his forehead, clearly annoyed at the lack of subtly in his classmate’s approach. Kame just glared in response.
“Why should I talk to him? I’ve nothing more to say to that loudmouth bastard. He’s the one person I can stand the least and I don’t want to spend a second more with him!”
“Doesn’t he tutor you?” Ryo chimed in.
Kame frowned, not having realized the difficult situation he had brought himself into.
“Aw man-I need someone to tutor me but it can’t be him! What am I supposed to do? Tat-chan?”
“Who, me?”
“Yeah, you. Do you want to do me a HUGE favor and tell To-Ikuta that I don’t want him to tutor me anymore??” Kame batted his eyelashes like a girl, hoping it would get Ueda to do the service for him. Ueda sighed and nodded.
“And can you, Nishikido-kun, do me an even GREATER favor?”
Ryo looked at the other boy oddly, “What do you want from me?”
“Such rude speech-the least you could do is ask nicely,” Kame pouted, not aware of the lack of good it would do.
Ryo smiled, “Oh excuse me-I meant to say-why the fuck should I be doing anything for you, asshole?”
“RYO!” Ueda smacked the other boy, hard in the head, surprisingly without any retaliation from the other boy.
“OKAY FINE!” Ryo shouted, rubbing the spot where Ueda had hit him, “What do you need from me, Kamenashi?”
Kame smiled, pleased with Ryo’s more polite tone.
“That’s better-do you think you could possibly-tutor me?” Kame once again batted his eyelashes, which sickened Ryo to see.
“Ugh-you really are such a girl, Kamenashi. A bigger one than this guy if you can believe it,” he said while pointing at a none-too-pleased Ueda.
“PLEASE, NISHIKIDO-KUN!” Kame whined.
“Why do you want me to tutor you? I’m not much of a math genius and I’m already pretty busy with class rep duties and soccer club.”
“Oh I don’t need you to TUTOR me-I need you to ‘tutor’ me. You get it?”
Ryo and Ueda blinked in a quizzical fashion, not understanding the difference between the words.
“What I mean is-can you pretend to tutor me so that Ikuta gets jealous?”
“HA!”
“What the hell?”
Ryo started laughing hysterically at Kame’s request and managed to get Ueda even more annoyed with him.
“Why-exactly would you need to get Toma jealous, Kame?” Ueda asked, unable to understand why Kame would have Ryo of all people make Toma jealous.
“It’s because I like him.”
“WHAT?!”
Kame blinked a few times, not sure why his friends were questioning him.
“I just said that I like Ikuta-why are you so surprised?”
“Um-maybe because you were too dense to figure it out earlier?” Ryo scoffed.
Ueda glared at him and then looked at Kame, “Ryo would be happy to help you, Kame. Just leave it to him-and to me, so he doesn’t go messing anything up for you. Right, Ryo-kun?”
Ryo just muttered under his breath and turned around. Kame smiled and thanked Ueda who smiled back.
Ueda glanced at Yamapi and noticed that the other boy had not moved since he sat down in his seat. He was clearly nervous about seeing Takizawa-sensei and Ueda had taken notice. Ueda wanted to say something to comfort the other boy but he never got the chance.
The bell rang and in walked Takizawa-sensei, looking as good as ever.
Ueda started getting a little nervous as well as he imagined how unstable Yamapi must have been at that moment. But he clearly was never expecting what would happen next.
“Hello everyone. How are-”
“TAKIZAWA-SENSEI, I’M IN LOVE WITH YOU!”
END CHAPTER 14
A/N: Ah! It took me so long to write this chapter ;__; I've been having trouble with this series because I want to make it as enjoyable as possible >< I hope it's still good and that no one is getting bored with it! I promise that the next chapter will be much longer and detailed :) Thanks for all the support ♥
Author: carcrashheart_8
Pairings: RyoDa, Ryo/OC, PiDa, KameDa [friendship], Akame, PiTakki [one-sided], RyoKame, JinNo, TomaKame
Rating: PG-13 [strong language and sexual references]
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 14
“What?!”
“Akanishi and Toma?”
Yamapi was panting, obviously out of breath from having run all the way to Ryo’s dorm room.
“You gotta come quick. It’s pretty bad,” he said between gasps.
In seconds, all three were on foot to the cafeteria where apparently the whole thing had gone down. Neither Ryo nor Ueda were focused on the conversation they had just had; instead, they were worried and concerned about what had happened.
Yamapi burst through the doors with Ryo and Ueda just behind him. There was an unbelievable sight; a terrified Junno was holding Jin back and Toma was under the grip of both Maru and Koki. Ueda could see Kame at a nearby table, shaking his head and looking like he was about to tear his hair out.
Ueda ran over to him.
“What happened, Kame?”
Kame looked up and just continued shaking his head, “THEY’RE IDIOTS! BOTH OF THEM! ASK THEM! I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THE HELL THEY WERE THINKING!”
Ryo stomped over to Toma and shouted, “What the hell happened?!?”
Toma was heaving, “This JACKASS has a lot of nerve!”
Jin responded, with his own gasping voice, “I’m a jackass?! You’re the one trying to steal Kame-chan from me!”
“ENOUGH WITH THE ‘KAME-CHAN’! HE DOESN’T WANT YOU ANYMORE!”
“SAYS YOU! YOU’RE NOT DATING HIM!”
“I DON’T NEED TO DATE SOMEONE TO KNOW WHEN THEY HATE SOMEONE ELSE’S GUTS!”
Then Ueda took a book from a nearby table and dropped it on the ground, creating a sound that echoed throughout the room. Everyone went quiet and drew their attention to the normally quiet boy.
He smirked.
“Would one of you PLEASE tell us what happened-BEFORE I KICK BOTH YOUR ASSES?!”
Jin and Toma looked shocked that Ueda, of all people, would say such a thing. Clearly he had been hanging out with Ryo a few too many times, his friends thought.
“Fine!” Toma yelled, only because he was still angry with Jin.
“I was just in here, calmly talking to Kamenashi about our tutoring schedule when THIS JACKASS,” he pointed at Jin, “came barging in here and started messing with us.”
“I wasn’t messing with Kame-I was messing with YOU,” Jin replied, sticking his tongue out in a most childish fashion.
Toma just rolled his eyes and scoffed, feeling like there was nothing to say to respond to someone so beneath him, intellectually.
Ryo then started chuckling profusely under his breath. He caught the attention of both Ueda and Yamapi, but wasn’t aware of it. He just continued laughing until his chuckles became loud guffaws that echoed throughout the room. He clutched his stomach and bent over, trying his best not to fall on the floor as he found hilarity in the situation.
Yamapi started chuckling in reaction to his friend’s odd behavior but it was Ueda who became angry.
“What’s so damn funny?!”
Ryo stopped laughing, feeling annoyed that Ueda had become so angry in such a short time. He stood up straight and glared.
“I was merely finding it funny that these two are fighting with each other. I mean we all know what they’re fighting about, don’t we?” he asked everyone in the room.
No one dared agree with him, especially since another fight seemed on the verge of starting.
“Oh, really? You know what’s going on? That’s a first!” Ueda laughed condescendingly.
“What are you trying to say, Ueda? That I’m oblivious?”
Ueda turned to Ryo and looked at him, seriously.
“That’s exactly what I’m saying,” he stated in a voice that sounded much deeper and much more serious than his usual voice.
Ryo gulped; clearly this wasn’t the same Ueda from the dorm room just five minutes ago.
“Damn, Kame. Are all your friends so crazy?” Jin laughed.
Kame shook his head and sighed. Junno looked at Jin, like he was about ready to cry. Toma, on the other hand, was just getting more and more angry with the other man.
He walked over to Jin and without a second thought, he punched the other boy, hard in the face. Jin fell to the floor and Junno went down after him.
“SHUT THE HELL UP ALREADY! NO ONE NEEDS YOUR COMMENTARY!”
Jin rubbed his nose and looked at Toma, shocked. Junno seemed concerned for Jin but as he locked eyes with Toma, something inside of him snapped. He stood up quickly and with a small grunt, he punched Toma right back. Toma fell to the floor in a more dramatic fashion than Jin had, which made the whole scene look like something from a really cheesy, overdramatic movie.
“NO ONE TELLS MY JIN TO SHUT UP!” Junno shouted at the cowering Toma.
“MY JIN!?” shouted practically everyone in the room, including Jin.
Junno looked around and immediately grew embarrassed. His cheeks turned red and he instinctually shared a glance with Ueda. The latter shrugged his shoulders and had a weak smile on his face. He then moved his hand as if to gesture that Junno needed to elaborate what he was trying to say.
Junno nodded and looked down at Jin. The injured boy seemed a little uncomfortable with his best friend’s eyes on him and started to squirm. Junno helped him up and looked at him longingly. Jin continued to squirm, pretending to brush imaginary dirty off his shirt.
“Jin, I-”
“DON’T SAY IT!” Jin interrupted, putting his hand up in front of Junno’s face.
“What?”
“Look, Junno-I-I-don’t know-I just-”
“I REALLY LIKE YOU! PLEASE GO OUT WITH ME!”
The entire room gasped at Junno’s sudden confession, startling Jin a bit. He looked around at all the nosy students and then at Kame. He then looked at Toma and even at Ueda, for some reason. He then looked at Junno who gave him the most pathetic-looking puppy dog eyes that he’d ever seen. He wanted to reject Junno but he just couldn’t.
Had he always been this cute, Jin thought to himself.
“OK FINE!”
Another gasp went through the room, to which Jin responded with a loud, “OH SHUT UP!”
Junno smiled widely and went to embrace Jin but the other boy stopped him, threatening him if he did so. Junno nodded but continued to smile. He then gave a quick look towards Kame and stuck out his tongue.
Jin also looked at Kame and said, “I’m sorry, Kame-chan-but it’s over between you and me,” in a suddenly serious tone of voice.
Kame scoffed, “It was over a long time ago, Jin,” he then plastered a fake smile on his face, “Have fun with your new boyfriend.”
Jin smiled but when Junno looked at him, he had a large scowl on his face. The pair walked out with Jin pushing away Junno’s hand every time the taller boy tried to hold his.
“WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!” Yamapi half-chuckled.
“That, my friends, is what happens when two idiots find love,” Kame laughed. Ueda glared at him causing him to quiet down.
Ryo shook his head, “Hell, I’m surprised that Taguchi-senpai was the one to confess instead of-”
Ueda nudged him in the side and, in turn, he started rambling, “Instead of-um-other people-that-ooh look, French fries!”
“Instead of who, Nishikido-kun?” Kame asked, genuinely.
Toma laughed, thinking that Ryo meant himself or Ueda. Kame stared at him, oddly.
“Why are you still on the floor? Is that where you’re used to being?”
Toma turned around quickly from where he was sitting on the floor and mouthed curse words at the other boy. He scrambled to get up and stood over Kame.
Kame snorted, “What? You going to fight me or something?”
Toma didn’t say anything. Ryo and Ueda as well as everyone else just looked at Toma, holding their breaths, wondering what he would do next.
He then muttered under his breath, “What’s your problem with me anyways?”
“Excuse me?”
Toma’s voice got louder, “I said what’s your problem with me?! You’re always making fun of me and calling me names and taking every chance you can to make my life a living hell! Honestly, what the hell did I ever do to you?”
For some reason, Kame seemed greatly offended that Toma would ask such a question.
“What do you mean ‘what’s my problem with you’? The real question is what do you have against me?”
Toma laughed, half-heartedly. He gave a small glance towards Ueda but looked quickly back to Kame.
“I sometimes wonder how someone like you managed to get Tatsuya as a best friend. Someone as kind as him being friends with a little bitch like you-I don’t understand it!”
Kame scoffed, “If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you liked Tat-chan. I-”
Kame looked at Toma who seemed to blush a little. The younger man’s reaction was unexpected; he stood up suddenly and started babbling under his breath. He gave Toma a harsh look before storming out of the cafeteria, clearly angry about what he had just figured out.
Ueda went running after him, but Ryo and Yamapi stayed with Toma.
“What the-why did he just run out like that?” Toma looked towards the door, confused.
Ryo and Yamapi gave each other a look before sighing in a frustrated manner.
“Are you kidding me?” Ryo asked.
“Do you not realize what just happened?” Yamapi echoed.
Toma looked at his friends, now even more confused than before.
“What?”
Ryo grew frustrated and would have hit Toma in the face but he thought that maybe this wasn’t the best time to be giving his friend a beating.
“HE THINKS YOU LIKE UEDA!”
“Wait-why would he think that?” Toma scoffed.
Yamapi’s palm hit his forehead and he sighed deeply.
“Uhm-maybe because you made it kind of obvious?” Ryo replied in a slightly sarcastic tone.
Toma’s eyes widened but then he shook his head.
“That’s crazy. I don’t like Tatsuya-I like-oh shit,” he muttered.
“EXACTLY!” Yamapi and Ryo shouted at the same time.
“Aw-f-he thinks I like Tatsuya! Why does he-WHY DOES THIS SHIT KEEP HAPPENING?!”
Ryo and Yamapi looked at each other then shook their heads in frustration.
“Kame-are you okay?”
Ueda looked down the hall at Kame who was sitting on the floor, with his legs pressed close to him. He was obviously crying from the sniffling noise he was making. Ueda’s heart broke a little as he watched his friend cry over someone he loved.
The older boy walked over slowly and sat down next to Kame. He didn’t say anything at first and just listened to Kame’s quiet sobbing, knowing exactly how he felt at that moment. Ueda closed his eyes and felt a bit of pain go into his chest. He wasn’t sure if he was just empathizing with Kame or if he was just reliving the feelings that he had experienced with his love for Ryo.
“Aren’t you going to say anything?”
Ueda opened his eyes and turned to look at Kame who was staring back at him with bloodshot eyes.
“What would you like me to say?”
Kame chuckled half-heartedly before wiping his nose roughly.
“I guess there’s not much you can say, right? I mean, it’s not like you can help it if Toma likes you-”
“Did you just call him ‘Toma’?” Ueda smiled idiotically.
Kame rolled his eyes and looked away, “It just slipped out-besides he kept telling me to call him that while he was tutoring me. I don’t know why-I don’t exactly want him to start calling me ‘Kazuya’.”
Ueda kept smiling, trying his best to hide it from Kame who was in no mood to be teased. He stopped smiling when he realized what else Kame had said.
With a sharp turn of his neck, he responded, “HE DOES NOT LIKE ME!”
Kame was startled a bit but calmed down and laughed, “There you go again, going into denial when someone has feelings for you. Geez, Tat-chan, give it up for once.”
“I am not ‘going into denial’. Kame, Toma does not like me-he likes-well, I can’t say who he likes. He’s never actually told me.”
Kame looked deep in thought. He then responded, “I bet he likes Yamapi.”
Ueda’s eyes got big and he stood up quickly.
“HE DOES NOT LIKE YAMAPI!”
Kame blinked.
“Ryo?”
Ueda shook his head furiously; he was dead sure that Toma did not have feelings for Ryo.
“Tanaka-kun? Nakamaru-kun?”
Ueda kept shaking his head, almost getting a crick in his neck from such an action.
“Um-don’t tell me-oh gawd, don’t tell me, he likes-” Kame stood up suddenly and put his hand over his mouth, his eyes poking between his fingers. Ueda could see how huge they were at Kame’s apparent realization.
Ueda looked eager to hear who Kame had in mind.
“Who?”
Kame hesitated but then replied, “Jin?”
Ueda fell backwards in a somewhat comical fashion. He got up and looked at Kame who was sure that he was right. The older boy just shook his head and decided on giving up with letting Kame figure out just who Toma had feelings for.
Meanwhile, Toma was freaking out about having misled Kame into thinking that he actually had feelings for Ueda.
“He can’t think that! I mean, why would he? Have I ever given you guys reason to believe that I had feelings for Tatsuya? Am I that ‘obvious’?”
Ryo and Yamapi were sitting down at a table, across from Koki and Maru who apparently taken to eating their dinner.
Toma sat down on the table, on the edge and started thinking to himself. Ryo turned to look at Yamapi who seemed a bit depressed.
“Hey, what’s the matter with you?”
Yamapi shook himself out of his foggy thinking.
“Hmm? Me? Oh, nothing. I was just thinking about-well, it’s not important. Don’t worry about it.”
Yamapi was smiling oddly and looked genuinely nervous.
Ryo laughed, “Don’t tell me you like Kamenashi, too?”
Yamapi turned suddenly as did Toma who had heard Kame’s name.
“What?!”
“What do you mean ‘too’?!”
Ryo just laughed and patted Yamapi on the shoulder to get him to calm down. Yamapi eventually eased up and relaxed in his seat.
“I was just messing with you. Come on, what’s really going on with you? You’ve been sighing like crazy and it’s really pissing me off!”
Yamapi smirked a little before sighing again. Ryo twitched at the sound and nudged Yamapi in the side. The younger boy just laughed and started to twiddle his thumbs. He then took a deep breath.
“I think I’m in love with Takizawa-sensei,” he said, point-blankly.
Everyone at the table turned to look at him, including Toma who was no longer wrapped up in his own affairs.
“WHAT?!”
Ryo smiled, “So you finally figured it out, huh?”
Yamapi just glared at him and Ryo stopped smiling. He then continued.
“I don’t know-I’d never really liked a guy before-well, other than Tatsuya. But that’s because-and if you repeat this to Tatsuya, I will skin you alive-he kind of reminds me of a girl. You know, he’s cute and has really feminine features. But Takizawa-sensei-he’s so manly and cool. I didn’t even know I was into that kind of guy.”
Yamapi sighed again, but this time in a more love-struck way. Ryo made a gagging gesture while Toma was smiling underneath his carefully placed hand that went over his mouth. Koki and Maru were waiting for Yamapi to continue.
“Why don’t you confess to him?” Ryo said, possibly without really thinking.
Yamapi turned to look at him, giving him the most shocked look, which ended up freaking out Ryo upon examination.
“Well! I was just asking,” Ryo said, scooting away from his best friend until he stopped staring. Yamapi faced forward and put his head in his hands, exhaling loudly.
“I wish I could! But guess what. He’s a frickin’ teacher! A male one, at that! I can’t confess to him! He’ll probably just laugh in my face and maybe give me an ‘F’ if he thinks I’m ugly or something.”
Toma snickered under his breath, which prompted Yamapi to push him off the table. Toma picked himself up off the floor and took a proper seat next to Koki and away from Yamapi’s reach.
“As I was saying-I can’t confess to him. It’s too unrealistic. I don’t want to get my heart broken-again,” Yamapi now sounded dramatic as he started to choke up.
Ryo rolled his eyes and exhaled deeply.
“Then don’t confess! Just admire him from afar-I’m sure eventually the crush will go away and you’ll end up liking girls again. I know how much you’ve missed drooling over boobs.”
Yamapi chuckled, “Not as much as you-that’s for sure.”
Ryo smacked Yamapi in the back of the head and started growling under his breath. Yamapi just laughed in response, which prompted Toma and Maru and Koki to join in as well.
The next day, apparently Kame was refusing to speak to Toma, who was finding it hard to let Kame know that he didn’t actually have feelings for Ueda. Ueda and Ryo were getting frustrated that their two closest friends were at odds with each other. Kame was making things harder than Toma was but Ryo was too annoyed with his friend to notice the difference.
“We gotta get them talking again-I think Toma deserves a chance to confess properly.”
Ryo just looked at Ueda, who had the most earnest of looks on his face. It was funny, because times like these are what caused Ryo’s heart to beat a little faster. Clearly, Ueda was someone who would put his friends’ needs above his own, even if it meant prolonging any development between him and Ryo.
“Why should I do anything? It’s not my business to get Kamenashi and Toma together. Besides, Toma never exactly said he liked Kamenashi. We’ve all just been assuming that he did.”
Ueda pouted.
“But it’s so obvious. And I’m sure that Kame likes him too-he just has yet to realize it and admit it. I think if we help, the two of them will realize it and be able to fully confess to each other.”
“What do you care if they confess to each other? Shouldn’t be focusing on yourself?”
Ueda paused and looked as Ryo stared back at him, obviously hinting at the yet discussed developments between them.
Before he could answer Yamapi came over to them and sat down in his desk. He looked pale and was sweating like mad. His right leg was shaking uncontrollably and he had a hard time breathing normally.
“What’s wrong with you?” Ryo asked with a weird look on his face.
Yamapi turned to look at him, with wide eyes that looked almost ready to pop out of their sockets.
“Is everything okay, Yamapi?” Ueda asked, sounding more concerned than Ryo had been.
“I’m gonna confess today,” he said in a hushed voice, making sure no one heard what he had said.
“Confess? To who?” Ueda looked around the room, thinking that the person Yamapi would confess to was in plain sight.
“You know who-the same person he’s been daydreaming about since the semester started,” Ryo scoffed.
Ueda stopped to think and his eyes grew huge.
“ARE YOU CONFESSING TO TAKIZAWA-SENSEI?!” he shouted.
The whole room got quiet and turned to look at Ueda. Yamapi hid his face and Ryo just started snickering to himself. Ueda smiled awkwardly and attempted to cover up for his mistake.
“I mean-you’re going to confess that you didn’t do your homework-right?” he said to Yamapi, although his eyes were fixed on the classmates who were giving him odd looks.
Yamapi nodded slowly and Ryo just continued to laugh, except when Ueda hit him in the back of the head.
The door opened suddenly and Yamapi nearly fell out of his desk. Ueda and Ryo each held their breaths, expecting their teacher to enter into the room.
But when they saw Kame, they all exhaled. But seconds later, Ueda and Ryo both straightened up and stared at the other boy who looked slightly disturbed upon seeing them.
“Um-is something wrong?” Kame asked, giving the two boys strange looks.
Ueda and Ryo just shook their heads and Kame proceeded to sit down. He took out his notebook and began writing, which prompted Ryo to nudge Ueda. Ueda turned around and smiled at Kame who was unaware that his friend was looking at him. Kame looked up and was startled at the creepy face Ueda had on.
“What the heck is the matter with you?” he asked.
Ueda just continued smiling before saying, “Kame-do you think you’ll be speaking to Toma any time soon?”
Ryo smacked his forehead, clearly annoyed at the lack of subtly in his classmate’s approach. Kame just glared in response.
“Why should I talk to him? I’ve nothing more to say to that loudmouth bastard. He’s the one person I can stand the least and I don’t want to spend a second more with him!”
“Doesn’t he tutor you?” Ryo chimed in.
Kame frowned, not having realized the difficult situation he had brought himself into.
“Aw man-I need someone to tutor me but it can’t be him! What am I supposed to do? Tat-chan?”
“Who, me?”
“Yeah, you. Do you want to do me a HUGE favor and tell To-Ikuta that I don’t want him to tutor me anymore??” Kame batted his eyelashes like a girl, hoping it would get Ueda to do the service for him. Ueda sighed and nodded.
“And can you, Nishikido-kun, do me an even GREATER favor?”
Ryo looked at the other boy oddly, “What do you want from me?”
“Such rude speech-the least you could do is ask nicely,” Kame pouted, not aware of the lack of good it would do.
Ryo smiled, “Oh excuse me-I meant to say-why the fuck should I be doing anything for you, asshole?”
“RYO!” Ueda smacked the other boy, hard in the head, surprisingly without any retaliation from the other boy.
“OKAY FINE!” Ryo shouted, rubbing the spot where Ueda had hit him, “What do you need from me, Kamenashi?”
Kame smiled, pleased with Ryo’s more polite tone.
“That’s better-do you think you could possibly-tutor me?” Kame once again batted his eyelashes, which sickened Ryo to see.
“Ugh-you really are such a girl, Kamenashi. A bigger one than this guy if you can believe it,” he said while pointing at a none-too-pleased Ueda.
“PLEASE, NISHIKIDO-KUN!” Kame whined.
“Why do you want me to tutor you? I’m not much of a math genius and I’m already pretty busy with class rep duties and soccer club.”
“Oh I don’t need you to TUTOR me-I need you to ‘tutor’ me. You get it?”
Ryo and Ueda blinked in a quizzical fashion, not understanding the difference between the words.
“What I mean is-can you pretend to tutor me so that Ikuta gets jealous?”
“HA!”
“What the hell?”
Ryo started laughing hysterically at Kame’s request and managed to get Ueda even more annoyed with him.
“Why-exactly would you need to get Toma jealous, Kame?” Ueda asked, unable to understand why Kame would have Ryo of all people make Toma jealous.
“It’s because I like him.”
“WHAT?!”
Kame blinked a few times, not sure why his friends were questioning him.
“I just said that I like Ikuta-why are you so surprised?”
“Um-maybe because you were too dense to figure it out earlier?” Ryo scoffed.
Ueda glared at him and then looked at Kame, “Ryo would be happy to help you, Kame. Just leave it to him-and to me, so he doesn’t go messing anything up for you. Right, Ryo-kun?”
Ryo just muttered under his breath and turned around. Kame smiled and thanked Ueda who smiled back.
Ueda glanced at Yamapi and noticed that the other boy had not moved since he sat down in his seat. He was clearly nervous about seeing Takizawa-sensei and Ueda had taken notice. Ueda wanted to say something to comfort the other boy but he never got the chance.
The bell rang and in walked Takizawa-sensei, looking as good as ever.
Ueda started getting a little nervous as well as he imagined how unstable Yamapi must have been at that moment. But he clearly was never expecting what would happen next.
“Hello everyone. How are-”
“TAKIZAWA-SENSEI, I’M IN LOVE WITH YOU!”
END CHAPTER 14
A/N: Ah! It took me so long to write this chapter ;__; I've been having trouble with this series because I want to make it as enjoyable as possible >< I hope it's still good and that no one is getting bored with it! I promise that the next chapter will be much longer and detailed :) Thanks for all the support ♥