Fake - Part 2
Nino woke up at noon the next day. Mrs Ohno had insisted for him to stay over but Nino refused her. If he stayed over, he will sleep in Ohno's room. After their kiss yesterday, he didn't trust himself to be alone with Ohno.
He didn't go straight to bed once he was home. Instead he played games first. The reason? Each time he closed his eyes, his mind would automatically remembered the way Ohno's lips moving against him. So, he played games to distract himself from thinking about Ohno.
He probably went to sleep around 4AM. He didn't sleep on his bed. Instead, he slept in the living room without switching off his console. He must be too tired at that time. But, luckily, he woke up around 5:30 AM to switch it off before he dragged his lazy ass to the bedroom.
Now that he had woken up, he once again thought about Ohno. Seriously, what he did yesterday was stupid. Why did he do that, though? He must be crazy to declare Ohno as his boyfriend. Ohno said he was okay with it but there were too many things to think about. For example, how long are they going to pretend to be a couple? How should they pretend to be a couple? Was continuing to act as they usually did enough to prove that they’re together? And, the most important question was, will Imada believe them and stop harassing Ohno? She’s the reason this whole thing started, after all.
Nino shook his head, refusing to think about this yet. He will figure something about it later. The best thing to do right now is to play games. He should take his bath before starting his gaming marathon. But first, let’s check the newspaper and his mails. He hadn’t check his mailbox for three days now. Who knows what important things could be in there?
So, he went outside to check those things. Nothing important was in his mailbox. Mostly there were bills and pamphlets. But, there was something that caught his attention. An envelope. There was no name on the envelope neither was there any indication that it had gone through the postal service. Did someone intentionally leave this envelope in his mailbox? Or maybe it was wrongly put in his mailbox? Hmm.. he had a bad feeling as he examined the envelope.
He went inside to open the envelope. There was only a sheet of paper in it. Immediately, he recognized it as a threatening letter. Someone cut letters from newspaper and pasted it on the paper to form a sentence that read: LEAVE HIM!!!
Eh? Was this letter real? Or was it a joke? Who dared to threaten him? Why would anyone do that? He rarely argue with anyone.
But, a face suddenly popped out in his mind. Imada. If there’s anyone who would hate him right now, it would be her. Furthermore, what was written on the paper made sense. She wants him to leave Ohno. But, would she really do that? He knew Ohno had said she was a psychopath but he didn’t think she will go as far as threatening someone just because she was rejected.
Maybe this was just a prank, he calmed himself. There’s nothing to panic about. For the time being, he will just ignore the letter. He left the paper on the table with the rest of his mail and newspaper. It’s time to take a shower.
When he finished showering and was drying his body, someone rang the bell. He looked at the intercom and saw Aiba with Sho and Jun behind him. Why was this bouncy sunshine here, he wondered? He opened the door even though he was just wearing his towel around the waist. It’s just his friends. They had seen him like this a few times before.
Stupid decision. He should really wear his clothes first before he opened the door.
Because... when he opened the door, the small figure of Ohno Satoshi came strolling in behind Sho. And even though Ohno had seen him in the same state before, he felt naked standing in front of Ohno with just a towel.
Why didn't he see Ohno in the intercom? It must be because Ohno hid behind Sho who is much bigger than him.
"Both of you, please stop staring at each other." Jun said, making Nino realized that there were other people with him right now. "You guys look like a pervert staring at each other like that, especially with Nino half naked here."
Nino narrowed his eyes at Jun. Among his close friends, Jun was the one who loved to tease his relationship with Ohno the most. Usually, Nino would be extra lovey dovey with Ohno just to annoy Jun. But, today he was in no mood to do so. Not when his heart was beating faster than usual.
"Geez, I will put on some clothes. Make yourself at home." He left the four of them in the living room and walked towards his own bedroom.
While he was looking for clothes to wear, someone knocked on his door.
"Yes?"
"Nino…" Ohno's soft voice answered. His heart stopped beating for a second to hear the voice. "Can I talk with you for a while?"
"Sure. I will be out in a minute. Just wait for me in the living room."
"But I want to talk with you alone."
"Eh?" What should he do? He didn't want to be alone with Ohno. Not right now. Not when he couldn't figure out what was wrong with him since the kiss.
But.. they needed to talk. He had to talk with Ohno about the things he was worried about. Furthermore, he didn’t want Ohno to think he was avoiding him.
"Okay, wait first." He decided.
Nino immediately pull out a t-shirt and a pair of shorts to wear. Then, he opened the door.
"What do you…"
"Nino, what is this?" Before Nino could ask, Sho interrupted them. Jun and Aiba trailing behind him. All of them seemed worried. Nino looked at them confusedly before Sho shoved the paper from earlier to him. Damn! He should throw the paper. Now, the mother hen will start asking questions.
"I don't know." He answered. It's the truth. He didn't know why someone sent him that letter. Of course, his lack of interest annoyed Sho.
"Don't you want to know who the sender is?" Sho asked again. Nino shook his head. He didn't like the way the others were looking at him. He knew they were worried but he's an adult. There's nothing to be worried about.
"It's because of me…" Everyone's attention shifted to Ohno. Damn, once again Nino cursed when he saw Ohno hold the paper. From his expression, it was evident he had drawn the same conclusion as Nino. The paper was from Imada. She threatened Nino because of their fake relationship.
"Excuse me?" Sho asked. He looked intently at Ohno, expecting him to elaborate.
“Imada san… She is crazy." Ohno started to ramble before Nino could stop him. “Nino told her we’re dating and she is angry. The letter must be from her.”
“WHAT?” Aiba and Sho said together, clearly surprised. “YOU’RE DATING?”
“Geez…” Jun said, shaking his head because of Aiba’s and Sho’s reaction. “Why are you surprised? It's obvious they're dating."
Ignoring Jun, Aiba approached Nino with a pout and then he started to whine. "How could you! We promised to tell each other about this!"
Nino could only sigh, feeling annoyed because Aiba chose this moment to talk about their childhood promise. Of course he will tell Aiba if he's dating someone. But, he wasn't dating anyone right now. It was just a lie. A lie he created because he was stupid.
"How long have you guys been dating?" Sho's turn to ask questions.
Nino rolled his eyes in disbelief. Seriously, he could understand if Aiba was distracted by the news. But, for Sho to be focusing on their dating news… that's unbelievable.
"You guys can ask for details about their relationship later." Jun said. He's the only one who wasn't affected by what Ohno said. The only one who was smart enough to realize why Ohno said the threatening letter was his mistake. "So, you suspect this Imada threatened Nino because she likes you and is jealous to know you're with Nino."
"Yes." Ohno nodded his head eagerly. "She is a psycho."
"And we're not dating!" Nino blurted out, feeling the need to clarify the matter to his close friends. Three pairs of eyes automatically looked at him with confusion so he immediately continued. "She has been harassing Ohchan. I told her we're dating so that she will stop flirting with Ohchan."
"Oh, really?" Jun gave him a smirk. He took out his phone before shoving it to Nino. "Explain this picture then."
Nino's eyes widened as he looked at the picture Jun was showing him. It was a picture from yesterday. A picture of him and Ohno kissing in the car. Ohno stood beside him to look at the picture and Nino could feel the other guy stiffened next to him, equally shocked to know Jun had a picture of them kissing.
"There's a video too." Jun said, taking the phone from them. Then, he shoved it again, showing a video of them kissing this time.
"How did you get that?" Nino asked as Jun took the phone away from him when Aiba and Sho tried to look at it. Even though Jun didn't let him watch the whole video, he felt uncomfortable with what he saw. Ohno, who was next to him, stayed quiet and he wondered what he was thinking about.
"Ikuta kun." Jun answered simply. Ah, that made sense. Ikuta and Jun were friends. Ikuta might have seen them yesterday. Knowing Ikuta, it wasn't a surprise if he recorded the video. He's a pervert. "They aren't photoshopped, right?"
Neither Nino nor Ohno answered him. Both of them looked at each other and seeing how red Ohno's cheeks were, Nino was positive that his cheeks were similar. Their silence gave Jun the confirmation and satisfaction he needed as he smirked at them.
"What did you show them?" Aiba asked. Jun smiled teasingly before he gave his phone to Aiba. Sho scooted closer to him.
Their reaction upon seeing the video was too comical. Usually, Nino would make fun of Sho and Aiba. But, he was too embarrassed to do so because it was his video both of them were watching. Both Aiba and Sho widened their eyes in surprise. Sho looked away but Nino noticed how he would subtly glance at the video. Aiba, on the other hand, watched the video with interest. Pervert. Nino snatched the phone from Aiba angrily. He deleted the video before handing the phone to Jun.
"Hey, I haven't finished…" Aiba whined. Nino simply glared at him to make him stop.
"So, you guys are dating." Sho stated matter-of-factly. Nino quickly shook his head before he explained.
"Like I said, she was harassing Ohchan and I told her we're dating to make her stop. It's just a lie."
"But, the kiss…"
"Ohchan saw Imada in the car park. Maybe she was there to make sure we're not lying. That's why Ohchan kissed me."
"That was intense." Aiba commented. Nino ignored him.
"Look, guys." Nino began. He needed them to stop talking about the kiss. "There's nothing to be worried about. I don't think Imada send the letter. She doesn't know where I live."
"But, she could follow you home." Sho pointed out. Nino only shook his head. Of course he had thought of that. Yes, she could follow him home but...
"Not everyone can get into the building, right?" Nino reasoned. "You can get in because I gave the access card and keys to Aiba chan in case of emergency. She could follow me but she cannot enter the building and put the letter in my mailbox."
Everyone looked thoughtful for a while before they nodded their head in unison. Everyone except Sho.
"Unless she lives here." Sho gave him a worried look. Nino rolled his eyes at Sho. Leave it to Sho to think of every possibility. What a worrywart his friend was.
"No, she doesn’t live here." Ohno quickly denied. "She told me where it is. I don't remember but I know it isn't here because I remember thinking that her house is far from Nino's when she told me about it."
Nino sighed in relief. There. Ohno had given Sho a reason to stop worrying.
“See… She cannot enter this building. So, it’s not her.” Nino said, hoping Sho will stop talking about this.
“But, Nino, this is not something that you should take lightly. We have to investigate this.” Sho said, obviously refused to give up.
“It’s nothing, okay. It’s just a prank. Maybe one of the kids put the letter in everyone’s mailbox for fun.”
“But…”
“Don’t worry, okay. I’ll be careful. But, I’m sure it’s nothing.” Nino said. Of course it wasn’t enough to convince Sho and the others. “So, why are you guys here?”
He quickly changed the topic. Even though his friends looked at him with dissatisfaction, they silently agreed to stop talking about the letter.
“We’re here to make sure you’re okay.” Jun answered. “Ohchan said you’re not eating properly ever since you started working on your current project. So, I come here to cook for you.”
“Awwww, that’s so sweet of you, Jun pon.” Nino said. He loved the way Jun narrowed his eyes because of the nickname. It’s obvious he hated the name. “Ohchan is exaggerating. I am fine. I eat properly.”
“Really?” Jun said, clearly doubtful by what he had said. “I’ve checked your kitchen, Nino. There’s nothing edible here.”
Nino silently cursed. He had narrowly escaped a mother hen, only to be interrogated by another mother hen.
But, it wasn't something to be complained about. He was truly blessed to have people who cared for him even though it's suffocating sometimes when they worried too much about him.
"I will do my groceries later."
"How about now?" Jun said. "I want to cook for you today so let's do groceries."
"Huh?" Nino didn't agree yet but Jun and Aiba had already dragged him outside.
Nino found himself smiling as he stared at the sleeping Ohno on the couch. As always, he couldn’t bring himself to wake the guy up. Aiba, Jun and Sho had just left his house, leaving Ohno behind because none of them wanted to disturb Ohno. Well, that was what they said. However, Nino knew they had hidden agenda for leaving Ohno and him alone in the house.
While he was dragged to the nearby supermarket by Jun and Aiba, Ohno had stayed at his home with Sho. Well, he had to thank them for cleaning the house for him while he was out. His hunch told him that Sho had used the chance to talk with Ohno about their fake relationship, just like what Aiba and Jun did to him. The grocery shopping was just an excuse to separate the two of them. Before they went to the supermarket, both of them brought him to a cafe. As he hadn't eaten yet, he didn't refuse them even though he knew they’re going to interrogate him.
“You like him, right?” Jun began after the waiter took their order.
“Of course!” Nino answered lazily. “He’s my friend.”
Jun rolled his eyes at him before he continued.
“Okay. You know what I mean right?” Jun retorted. “You love Ohchan, right?”
Nino was ready to agree, telling Jun that he loves Ohno as a friend. But, Jun quickly continued without giving him a chance to answer.
“I don’t mean as a friend.”
He chose to ignore Jun, only to be persuaded by Aiba to answer the same question.
"He is just a friend, guys. I'm just helping him."
"By pretending to be his boyfriend?" Jun said sceptically.
"If he has a boyfriend, the psycho will stop bothering him." He tried to justify his decision.
"Okay, let's try this. If I am in the same situation, will you do the same thing? Will you pretend to be my boyfriend?"
"Heck, no!" Nino quickly shook his head. He couldn't imagine having Jun as his boyfriend, even as a fake one.
When he looked at his friends, both of them were smirking. That's when he realized it was a trap. Damn! Ah, why was he so stupid?
"You're not Ohchan. If you say you're not interested, she will stop bothering you. You're scary. Ohchan is not like that." He quickly made an excuse to justify his answer.
Jun smirked at him, an indication that he didn’t believe him at all.
"Okay, how about me then?" Aiba asked with his stupid idiot grin. Ah, another trap question. He wanted to say yes but no, it's impossible to do so. As he remained quiet, Aiba continued. "Will you let me kiss you to prove that we're dating?"
"Euwww.. no." It was too gross, trying to imagine both of them kissing. However, Aiba didn't seem to be offended by his answer.
"So, you see what we're trying to prove here?" Jun asked. Both Aiba and Jun smirked at him, making him even more annoyed at them.
"Ninomiya san!" Nino blinked when someone called him. He lifted his face to see Nana smiling at him. He returned the smile, feeling happy to have a distraction from Jun and Aiba.
"Good afternoon, Nana. Are you here for lunch?" He asked her.
"Yes." She nodded her head. "I've just finished my lunch. Hmm…"
She started fidgeting, as if she had something to ask but was afraid to do so.
"Is everything okay?" He asked softly, hoping to ease her.
"Yes… it's just… I overheard your conversation." She said. Nino started to feel uncomfortable, knowing perfectly well what she heard. He knew she wasn't the type of person to gossip but what if she accidentally told someone else about his lie? "So, what happened yesterday was just a ruse?"
"Please don't tell anyone else." He pleaded. She only smiled reassuringly at him.
"Don't worry. Your secret is safe with me." She told him, zipping her mouth to show that she can be trusted. "There's nothing between you and Ohno san, right?"
"Yes, we're just friends."
"Okay, then. I shall take my leave. See you on Monday." Nana said, smiling at him and his friends.
After she left, Nino looked at Jun and Aiba, who seemed to stare at Nana's retreating figure with interest.
"She's cute, right?" He teased his friends. "I think she is still single. If you want, I could introduce you to her."
Jun clearly wanted to retort, but the waiter arrived with their food so he stayed silent. Once the waiter left, he once again talked about Ohno.
“Are you sure you don’t have any feelings for Ohchan?” Jun asked. Nino didn’t answer him with words. He just looked at Jun with annoyance, hoping his expression was enough.
“Nino…” Aiba called him softly. “I know I am an idiot..”
“Of course you are.”
“But, right now, I think you are the stupid one.” Aiba continued, ignoring Nino’s remark. “From what I see, the two of you clearly love each other. Jun and Sho also notice that. Don’t lie, but I’m sure the kiss makes you feel something, right?”
“It makes you realize that you want to be kissed by Ohno again and perhaps more than that?” Jun added.
Nino tried to avoid looking at them. He only stared at his food and continued eating, pretending to ignore his friends. He didn’t want to admit that they’re right. But, both of them laughed loudly because of his reaction.
“You guys are crazy.” He scolded them.
“Well, we might be crazy but we’re not stupid. You know your own feelings. Better do something before you lose him.” Jun advised. None of them talked about the matter again for the rest of the afternoon.
They went to the supermarket after lunch and then headed to his house, spending the whole evening there, playing Aiba’s stupid board game. After they’d had enough fun and laughter because of the game, Jun decided to prepare dinner for all of them. He was glad Ohno volunteered to help Jun. At least, it gave him some time away from Ohno.
After dinner, they watched a movie together. Ohno had fallen asleep at that time because he was too tired. At first Nino thought that all of his friends will sleep in his house. However, when they finished watching the movie at 11, Aiba, Jun and Sho announced that they’re going home. Ah, he should know that they’re going to trick him.
Ohno snored softly, putting an end to his thoughts. He put a blanket on Ohno before preparing a futon for himself on the floor. He fell asleep almost quickly, while remembering the kiss with Ohno yesterday.
Next
A/N: Thank you so much for the warm comments for the previous part. I hope I didn't disappoint you this time.
So, what do you think of this part? Was it wise for Nino to ignore the letter? Was it just a prank or did someone really angry with him for dating Ohno?
Let me know what you think of it in the comments. I truly appreciate all the comments for my fic :)