[One-shot] Just a Typical School Romance
Title: Just a Typical School Romance
Author: pimanzero
Pairing: Sakumiya, Ohmiya, Junba
Genre: romance, fluff, friendship, school AU
Word count: 8.867
Rating: G
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot
Summary: A typical school friendship and romance story of five boys: Sakurai Sho, a transfer student; Ninomiya Kazunari, a bullied student; Aiba Masaki, the class president; Matsumoto Jun, the Ice Prince of the theater club; and Ohno Satoshi, an artist to be.
A/N: Originally written for kleif_asu in Sakumiya Be My Valentine Exchange at su_i_ka
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Sakurai Sho was once again standing in front of the class in his new school, once again being introduced by his new homeroom teacher as a transfer student. He had already gotten used to the questioning looks from his classmates-to-be, for this wasn’t the first time he was transferring into a new school. Due to his father’s job, he had to follow his family to move from one city to another, and usually, it was in the strangest timing (this time, he got transferred when the new semester was already two months running). That was why, he had also gotten used to not being able to make too many new friends.
It wasn’t that Sho is an antisocial or something. First, it was because of his strange timing of transfer, that everyone seemed to have formed a certain group of friends, and it felt so strange for Sho to just suddenly jump into one of those groups. And second, it was because he was already too tired to even try making a new friend. Because he knew he wouldn’t stay there for that long. He would transfer to another school again soon, anyway. So what’s the point of making any new friends, he thought.
That was why, when he got a really warm welcome from the class president, Aiba Masaki, he was a bit surprised.
Aiba Masaki was a kind and cheerful boy-a bit too cheerful, actually, in Sho’s opinion. He was tall and slim, and had a pair of light brown eyes, which were always sparkling, emitting warmth and sincerity. They reminded Sho of the warm sunlight in the morning, and Sho had to admit that he would never be able to hate that boy because of those eyes.
“And so, that’s all you need to know about our school for now,” Aiba said, after he gave a short explanation about West-Chiba High School to Sho. It was already the lunch break time, and they were left alone in the class, while the others had gone to the canteen, or having their lunch outside, because the weather was quite nice today. “And now I think you should grab something for lunch,” he added. “Or you’ve brought some bento with you?”
Sho shook his head. “I’ll grab something from the canteen.”
Sho was hoping that Aiba would offer him to go to the canteen together. However, the class president just threw him an apologetic grin. “Then I’m sorry, I can’t accompany you to the canteen, as well as to take you around the school today,” he said. “Actually, I am a member of the theater club. Our next play will come soon, so I have to rehearse with the rest of the members every lunch break time, and after school. So...”
A short pause, before Sho quickly replied, to melt the awkwardness that had begun to hang on the air, “Ah, it’s okay, it’s okay. I can go by myself. The canteen is on the ground floor, near the language lab, right?”
Aiba nodded. There was guilt in his eyes when he spoke up again, “I’m so sorry, ne, Sakurai-kun. I promise I will show you around when I have time-no, I’ll make time for it. Tomorrow. Or the day after tomorrow. I’ll talk about this with the others after this afternoon’s rehearsal.”
Sho gave the taller boy a soothing smile, trying to tell him that it really was okay. That Aiba didn’t need to feel guilty about such a thing. “Just, make sure you don’t forget your own lunch, okay?”
“Don’t worry, I’ve had my lunch been taken care of,” Aiba grinned, it was clear that he was relieved, that Sho was such an understanding boy.
“Senpai,” called someone, and both of them turned to find a boy with very thick eyebrows was standing by their class’ door, staring at Aiba with his sharp invisible-brown eyes. He had a really handsome face, and Sho immediately thought that the boy would be perfect playing the role of the Ice Prince in a play.
Sho was sure, if he was the one who’s been staring at with those eyes, he would have frozen at once. However, those freezing eyes seemed to have no effect on Aiba, since the boy could still answer to the call with his usual cheerfulness, “Yo, Jun-kun.”
“We can’t begin the rehearsal without you, you know?” the Ice Prince-Matsumoto Jun-said in a cold tone.
“Ah, sorry, sorry,” Aiba quickly stood up from his seat. “I got something to do just now. But it’s done. I’ll go catch up soon.”
Jun gave him a short nod, then left their class after throwing a cold look towards Sho (who really froze).
“I have to go now, or Jun-kun will be really mad at me,” Aiba said, taking a thick stack of papers-which Sho suspected was the script of their new play-out from his school bag. “See you later, ne, Sakurai-kun.” And with that, he dashed out of their classroom.
Sho followed his steps a moment later, down the staircase and to the ground floor’s corridor. He headed to the north; the direction to the canteen which Aiba had told him earlier. He found it soon after he took the turn to the left, and he walked straight to the bread counter. He was just about to find an empty table to eat, when suddenly there was a ruckus happening.
There was a group of guys-most probably the school yankees-surrounding a table at the far corner of the room. A pale boy was sitting alone in that table, staring at his lunch box, which was now being held high in the air by one of the yankees. And without warning, that yankee spilled all of the food inside the box into the nearest trash.
“Ooops, I’m sorry, my hand’s slipped,” he threw the now-empty lunch box back onto the table. “But those food aren’t worth eaten anyway, since it was made by a whore,” the yankee boy continued, and his fellow laughed.
This was clearly a bully. Sho spread his sight around the canteen and saw that all eyes were now darted to that ruckus, but no one seemed to be brave enough to stand up and help the pale boy. So then, when the mocking laughter of the yankees had turned into an annoying ring in his ear, Sho decided that he could no longer stay silent. He had to do something.
Nevertheless, before he could take a single step, the pale boy startled him and the rest of the people there, by suddenly hitting the table’s surface hard with both of his hands and stood up. The loud banging sound silenced the yankees for a moment.
“What?” said one of them a second later, defiantly, to the pale boy.
The pale boy said nothing. He just stared at his empty lunch box with hatred in his eyes. And after another moment of deafening silence, he grabbed that lunch box, and exited the canteen without even once looking at the yankees.
“Yeah, right. Run! Run and hide under your mom’s armpit, you scaredy-cat! Hahaha!”
The mocking laughter echoed again in the canteen, and it was enough to make Sho felt sick. So then he brought his bread and milk out from the canteen as fast as possible.
He climbed up the staircase, his thought was full of that pale boy. What had he done, that he deserved such a bad treatment from the people who should’ve become his friend?
Before he knew it, Sho had already reached the rooftop of the school building. He opened the door at the top of the staircase, welcoming the bright sunlight. The roof was wide enough, with a large water tank tower at one side, and a small building, most probably the warehouse, at the other side. There were cord-fences surrounding the open area, to keep people from jumping down-if there’s really one who was stupid enough to do so.
Sho walked around for a while and found a shady spot behind the warehouse, near the stack of the broken old desks and chairs. After the entire ruckus in the canteen earlier, that spot looked comfortable enough for him, to spend the rest of his lunch break time in peace. So he immediately took a seat and opened his supplies. He took a bite of his yakisoba bread gratefully, sighing as he leaned against the cold wall of the warehouse, and raising his face to stare at the blue sky above.
He was just about to have his second bread, when he heard the door to the rooftop was opened, and then closed again. A couple of footsteps, and the next second, Sho’s sight met the pale boy’s, who was a bit surprised to find that there was someone else there. Sho himself was surprised too, but it was because he suddenly met again with the boy that had filled his mind just a moment ago.
“Er... good afternoon,” Sho inclined his head a bit.
“That’s my spot,” the pale boy claimed bluntly.
“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t know,” Sho quickly tidied up the place by shoving his remaining bread and milk back into the plastic bag.
The pale boy walked past him and settled in his usual corner, and when Sho was just about to leave, he murmured, “But I don’t mind to share. As long as you keep silent.”
“Eh?”
The pale boy threw him a cold look. It was different from Jun’s cold look, though. Because those golden-brown eyes of the pale boy weren’t stern like Jun’s. They were more of gloomy than stern.
“Jaa,” Sho spoke up again, after hearing no response from the pale boy. “Sorry for the interruption.” He settled back down at his place, and continued having his lunch. The pale boy had spread a large cardboard and took a nap, his back on Sho.
For a moment, they stayed silent. Sho’s eyes kept gluing on that small figure lying not far from him. Until then, a loud grumbling sound was heard, and Sho choked.
It was the pale boy’s stomach.
If he didn’t see the bullying over the pale boy earlier, Sho would’ve been laughing. However, now he could feel nothing but pity about that boy.
“Er,” he talked after his coughing subsided. “Do you want some of my bread?”
Again, no response. So Sho decided to just leave the boy alone, and finish his lunch.
Fifteen minutes before the next lesson started, Sho had cleaned up all the trash he made, and was ready to get back to his classroom. He wasn’t sure whether the pale boy was still sleeping or not, but he spoke up anyway, “Er... The next lesson will start soon. I think you should get ready to go back to your classroom... And- here’s some bread for you. Please eat them, okay?”
He put the bread near the pale boy’s back, and then left without waiting for any response, for he knew that he would never get one.
*
“Ne, Aiba-kun?”
“Hmm?” Aiba shifted his eyes from the microscope to stare at Sho. They were in the biology class now, and were divided into pairs to study about human cells.
Sho wanted to ask Aiba about the pale boy from yesterday, for that boy had been occupying his mind since that afternoon, piquing his curiosity up. But then he remembered that he knew nothing about that boy. He just knew that the boy was bullied, and that he liked to spend his break time napping alone at the rooftop. So, then, Sho just smiled and shook his head.
“Nothing. Forget it.”
Aiba raised his brows questioningly, but didn’t push further, and shifted his attention back to their project.
*
Sho was surprised when he got his feet on the rooftop again that noon. His mind was still busy thinking about the pale boy, that when he didn’t see the later in the canteen, his feet automatically brought him to the place where he knew the boy might be seen at. And his feet were right, because he saw the pale boy was already sitting there, on his usual spot, his back leaning against the cold wall, and he was staring blankly at the blue sky.
Sho felt his heart clenched. Now that he took a proper look at the boy, he realized that the boy was so small and skinny. And with that porcelain-white skin, he looked so fragile. Sho wondered how he could bear all those bullying with such a fragile body. For a reason, Sho suddenly felt that he wanted to protect that boy.
It was strange. He never felt like this towards anyone before. Moreover, towards someone he had just met not more than two days ago.
The boy didn’t seem to notice Sho’s presence, until Sho greeted him. “Good afternoon. I’m going to intrude again...”
He turned his head a bit to throw the same uninterested look as yesterday, then stared back up to the sky.
“You don’t eat your lunch?” Sho tried to start a conversation with the pale boy, since he was wide-awake today, so he thought it was a good chance to know the boy further. However, it was the same as yesterday. The pale boy didn’t reply.
“You can take some of my bread, if you want to. I bought a lot today,” Sho tried again. “Look, I have melon bread, anko bread-“
“I hate anko,” the boy cut him short.
“Don’t worry,” Sho quickly added, his tension lifted a bit, for the boy finally opened his mouth, “I have other bread. Which one do you like? Yakisoba bread, curry bread, meat bun, or sweet bread? And-oh, I buy milk for you too.”
The pale boy finally shifted his attention fully to Sho. “I hate milk. And yakisoba bread. And curry bread. And meat bun. And sweet bread. And you, if you keep talking to me, as if we’re friends,” he said, sounded really annoyed, making Sho froze in surprise.
“I-I’m sorry, I-“ he stuttered. The boy threw him a last annoyed glare, before then turning his back to Sho. “I didn’t mean to piss you off. Okay, I get it. I won’t talk to you again. And I’ll leave as soon as I finish my lunch. But because I’ve bought this milk, and these bread are obviously too many for me to eat alone, would you have it, please? Well, if you don’t like them, you can give them to someone else, or you can throw them away,” he quickly added, afraid that the boy might snap at him again if he thought that Sho was being pushy.
A short silence, in which it looked like the boy was considering Sho’s offer. And finally, he gave Sho a nod.
“Thank you,” Sho said, relieved. Then they passed the rest of the lunch break in silence. This time, Sho didn’t quite mind, because at least the pale boy had accepted his goodwill, and for a reason, he couldn’t stop smiling and grinning on his own like a fool because of that.
It looked like there was still hope for him.
Maybe.
*
It was Sho’s seventh day at his new school, when Aiba finally had his lunch break time free to take him around the school.
“And finally, this is the last room in the list-the school library,” Aiba pointed at the door to their left with his left thumb. Then he checked his watch, while Sho was checking the room. “Phew, we finished it in time.”
“Eh?” Sho tilted his head. “You have to go back to your rehearsal after this?”
“No,” the taller boy shook his head. “I told you, we cancelled the afternoon rehearsal just for today, so I can do my duty as a proper class president. But you know, I have Jun-kun waiting for me. We’re going to have lunch together. And he really hates it if I come late.”
Sho chuckled, “I see. He’s so strict, isn’t he?”
“Yes, he is,” Aiba grinned, “But he’s a nice boy, really. If you’ve come to know him further, actually behind that stern mask hides a really cute creatures.”
“Really?” Sho couldn’t believe what he heard, because in his opinion, Jun didn’t seem to have that image, at all. But it was Aiba who told him, so he knew that it must be the truth, and it made him chuckle again, because it was just too weird to imagine the Ice Prince suddenly being cute.
As weird as to imagine the pale boy suddenly being kind and talkative towards him.
Speaking of him, usually around this time, the pale boy would have already been there, at their usual spot.
These last six days, Sho always went to the rooftop every lunch break to have his lunch there. And he always brought bread and milk for the pale boy too. That pale boy himself finally seemed to be accustomed to his company already, and Sho was suddenly wondering, if he didn’t come to the rooftop today, would the pale boy ever wondered about his whereabouts?
Would he miss him?
Sho shook his head over his own silly thoughts.
Of course he won’t, said a voice inside his own head. That boy doesn’t even consider you as his friend, remember? So there’s no way he would be concerned about your whereabouts, as much as missing you. Stop dreaming too high.
And this pesimistic thoughts had ridiculously made his heart hurt.
“Do you want to join us?” Aiba offered, dragging Sho out from his trail of thoughts. And when his senses were already back to normal, he realized, that they’re already in front of the canteen.
“Eh, I- No, Aiba-kun, thank you. I don’t want to disturb.”
“Oh, come on,” Aiba pleaded, “You won’t disturb anybody. Besides, other members will be there too. It’s a great chance to introduce you to them.”
“Hmm...” Sho hesitated. Inside his head right now, there was a great battle between his positive thoughts versus his negative thoughts, which was won by his negative thoughts five seconds later. “Okay, then.”
“Yay!” Aiba chirped happily, “Then let’s go to the middle yard. They must have been waiting for us there.”
Sho nodded and smiled, then followed the excited Aiba out to the said yard.
After all, there’s no way the pale boy would wait for him.
... right?
*
The next day, when Sho arrived at the shady spot behind the rooftop warehouse, he was surprised by a glare full of hatred he received form the pale boy.
“Why do you come here again?” the boy said sharply. For a reason that Sho didn’t quite get, he looked somewhat angry.
“To have my, lunch, of course,” he replied, settling down beside the pale boy, who flinched away from him.
“Why, you’re not eating with your... new friends?”
Sho shifted his eyes to look at the pale boy, frowning. “My new friends, who?”
The pale boy averted his eyes from Sho, “That... the group of some noisy guys and girls you’ve had lunch with yesterday, at the middle yard.”
Oh. So that was the problem.
Sho couldn’t help but chuckle. “So, you saw me, huh?” The pale boy just pouted, keeping his eyes away from Sho, and Sho somehow found it cute. “Well, they’re the member of the theater club. I had a tour around the school yesterday with my class president, who is also a member of that club. And he invited me to have lunch together with them. I think it won’t hurt to accept such a nice offer, right?”
“But I was waiting for you, you know...” the pale boy murmured out of Sho’s expectation. He was so surprised, that he couldn’t say a thing to reply to the pale boy’s words.
“Nevermind,” the pale boy said again after a short pause. He then snatched the plastic bag in Sho’s hand to check its content. “What do you have today? Bread and milk again, huh?”
“Wait a minute,” Sho said. He decided that he wouldn’t let the pale boy ran away from this topic. Not after he piqued Sho’s curiosity up again. “You’re waiting for me?”
“Why do you always have bread and milk for lunch? Doesn’t your mom ever make you some bento?” the pale boy ignored his question, and instead, asking him another unrelated question.
“You haven’t answered my question,” Sho said, crossed.
“Why should I?” the pale boy replied, sounded annoyed. “I’ve said it clear enough just now. And I hate to repeat my words. Now, you answer my question.”
A short pause, in which Sho saw the pink flush appeared on the pale boy’s cheeks.
“I see,” he said then, grinning in amusement. Apparently, he wasn’t dreaming too high, he told the negative voice inside his head. “Well, actually, my mom is my dad’s personal secretary, and she’s even busier than my dad. So she never has the time to make bento for me. That’s why I always end up having bread and milk for lunch.”
The pale boy let out an understanding hum. He took a meat bun out from the plastic bag, tore its package, then started to eat. This was the first time Sho saw that boy ate the bread from him in front of him. Usually, he wouldn’t touch the bread Sho gave him when Sho was still there.
And getting a bit carried away by that, Sho then asked, “So, are we friends now?”
The pale boy stopped chewing his meat bun to stare at Sho. “You know,” he said, “’Friend’ is a heavy word.”
“Eh?”
“People shouldn’t just go around and offer friendship that easily to anybody they meet like that. No, if in the end, they would just break the friendship they’ve offered that easily too,” the pale boy mumbled bitterly, his gloomy eyes suddenly darkened, and Sho knew, there must be something really bad happened to that boy related to this in the past.
“You know,” he continued for he got no response from Sho. “I had friends before. So many friends. But then, they found out about my family. And they left me. They left me, just because I am an illegitimate son, who was born from an affair between this city’s rich landlord and his maid. They don’t want to be friends with someone like me. And not just that, they totally stopped talking to me. Bullying me, because they think I deserve those bad treatments, for I’m just a filthy boy.”
So this was the reason for all the bullying over him. It was cruel and unfair. And yet, nobody seemed to care.
Sho was suddenly feeling so sick and angry of all the people in that school. How could they become so judgmental and ignorant like that? This boy was also a human, who had the same rights as them. They couldn’t just selfishly treat him differently just because of his background.
The pale boy let out a long sigh. “That’s why, never ask something like ‘are we friends now?’ to me, because I can’t answer it. The answer is in yourself. I told you the things you need to know about me. Whether you will consider me as your friend or not, it’s on you to decide. Nah, thanks for the food.”
After saying that, the pale boy got up and walked past Sho, attempted to leave the place. However, before he could get away, Sho had caught his right hand, preventing him from going.
“Wait,” he called. “Let’s be friends.”
The pale boy turned to look at him, but Sho couldn’t decipher his expression.
Once again, Sho felt his heart pounding fast in his chest-but this time, it was more out of anxiety than anger-when he added, “I promise, no matter what, I won’t leave you.”
Then when the pale boy finally nodded, Sho had to restrain himself from jumping and hugging the boy right there and then in his excitement. “Jaa,” he stood up, then stretched his right hand towards the pale boy, “Sakurai Sho.”
The pale boy shook Sho’s offered hand, and it was the first time since their first meeting Sho saw a slight smile bloomed on the boy’s thin lips.
“Ninomiya Kazunari.”
*
“Good morning, Sho-chan,” greeted Aiba, when Sho entered class 3-B the next morning. Since the day they had lunch together with the rest of the theater club members, Aiba had announced that Sho was his friend, thus he decided to start calling Sho with ‘Sho-chan’ instead of the usual ‘Sakurai-kun’ he used before. Sho didn’t quite mind about it. Aiba was a nice boy, after all. So he let him be.
“Good morning,” he replied with a smile, then took a seat at his chair beside the class president’s.
Sho took his pencil case and books out from his bag, and when he was going to put them inside his desk’s drawer, his hands hit something. He took a peek inside his drawer, to find a yellow lunch box was placed there, with a piece of paper attached on its top side. He took the paper, and read the message written on the paper:
Don’t misunderstand this!
I’m doing this just because I pity you, who always have bread and milk for lunch, everyday.
If I were you, I would have died from malnutrition.
I’ll wait for you in our usual place this afternoon. Don’t be late, or I’ll take this bento back.
From: You know who I am.
Sho couldn’t help but smile over the short but cute message. He never expected Ninomiya to make bento for him. He thought he was just asking him a random question yesterday, to avoid Sho’s question. But it turned out that he really cared about Sho.
“...-chan? Sho-chan?” Aiba’s voice startled him, dragging him out from his daydreaming.
“Eh, yes? What?” Sho said in confusion. “I’m sorry, I’m not listening.”
Aiba eyed the small paper in Sho’s hand in curiosity. “What’s that?”
“Er-nothing,” Sho quickly shoved the paper into his pants’ pocket. “What did you say?”
He was glad that Aiba didn’t push further. “I said, the theater club members ask you to join us again today, in lunch break time. It looks like they all like you,” he grinned. “So, what do you say?”
“Oh,” Sho spit out, “I’m sorry Aiba-chan, I can’t. I’m honored, but I’ve already had appointment with someone else...”
“Hee,” Aiba’s face turned mischievous, “I see. That letter, huh?” he wiggled his eyebrows, making Sho blushed.
“I-it’s not like what you think.”
The class president laughed. “It’s okay, Sho-chan. Just, I will be happy to know who that special someone is, whenever you’re ready to introduce us.”
Sho just nodded. His face bright red.
*
Since that time, three months had passed.
Sho had become close friend with Nino. And during the time they spent together, he had discovered many new things about that boy. Sho even had succeeded in bringing Nino into his small circle of friends. In fact, Nino was now also had become close friend with Jun, who’s in the same grade as him. Knowing this, Nino’s ex-close friends stopped their bullying over the poor boy at once, and this made Sho relieved.
However, there was still one thing that bugged Sho about Nino. It was his feeling towards that boy.
During these last three months, Sho finally discovered that his feeling towards Nino was not just a common feeling between friends. No, it was more of it.
It was love.
And knowing that he would never be able to solve this problem alone, Sho had been consulting about this matter to Aiba and Jun.
Today, they were having lunch together at the canteen, just the three of them, because Nino said that he didn’t feel well, and wanted to take a nap in the school clinic.
“So, have you finally confessed to him?” Jun asked out of the blue, making Sho choke. Aiba stroke his back to calm him down, while he took a sip from his bottle of tea.
“Do not suddenly talk about this in public place,” protested Sho.
Jun just rolled his eyes, clearly didn’t feel sorry at all. “Nino’s not here. And it’s not like the others are interested in our conversation, either.”
“Maa, maa,” Aiba said, before the two boys started to fight. “How about it, Sho-chan? Have you confessed?”
Sho let out a long sigh and shook his head. “I can’t.”
“Why?”
“I told you,” Sho said in a frustrated tone. “It’s not that easy. He’s my best friend, and I don’t know how he feels about me. Just one wrong step like confessing could ruin our friendship. And I don’t want it.”
Jun clicked his tongue in annoyance. “Pathetic. Typical stupid reason. Actually, you’re just afraid of being rejected, right?”
Sho threw him a death glare, but did nothing else, as he waited for the boy to continue his words. Jun sometimes could be really irritating with his bold words, but Sho knew, all he said and done was only for his good.
“Listen, Sho-san, one won’t be bothered to get up early in the morning, everyday, just to make bento for someone else. No, if he doesn’t keep a special feeling towards that certain someone.”
Sho shifted his gaze to his yellow lunch box in front of him. The usual lunch box Nino used to bring him bento everyday. Then he stared at Jun in amazement. Jun gave him an understanding nod.
Sho felt a strange ticklish sensation at the pit of his stomach, knowing that suddenly there was a hope for him. However, the feeling’s gone in an instant when he heard Aiba’s remarks.
“So that’s why you never complain, even though you have to bring me bento everyday?”
This time, it’s Jun’s turn to choke. “T-that’s different, baka! I just do it so we can use the lunch break time to rehearse for our new play.”
Aiba raised his brows, “But our play’s over a week ago. And you still bring me bento.”
“T-that’s... that’s...” Jun’s face was now beet red, and Sho really wanted to laugh over his cuteness. However, he didn’t want that iron ring around the younger boy’s finger to land on his head, so he tried hard to restrain it. “Then, starting tomorrow, I won’t bring any bento for you!”
“EEEEEEHHH!!!” Aiba sulked, “No, no, please don’t be angry to me, Jun-kun. I’m sorry for teasing you. Please don’t stop bringing me bento, okay? Because I really like your cooking.”
Jun refused to reply or to look at Aiba, and the looks on Aiba’s face finally made Sho laughed.
If only he could be that straight-forward like these two, then he wouldn’t be troubled by that silly problem called love.
*
When they finished their lunch, Jun was still sulking, and Aiba went to beg for an apology from him. So Sho decided to drop by at the school clinic first before going back to his class, to check on Nino’s condition.
He found his best friend lied on one of the beds in that clinic, with a fever patch on his forehead.
“You sure you don’t want me to accompany you to go home?” Sho asked when he was already seated on a white chair beside Nino’s bed. The later just shook his head.
“You still have class after this. I’ll wait until your class over.”
“Well, if you said so.”
The door to the clinic scrolled open, and both of them shifted their eyes to see who’s coming.
There was a man standing by the open door, spreading his sleepy gaze around that small clinic. The man had a pair of dark sleepy eyes, a pointed nose, and a pair of pouty thin lips. His skin was tanned, and with his pair of chubby cheeks, he looked liked an oversized elementary school student. His clothes didn’t help either; he was wearing a blue t-shirt and a pair of ripped jeans, with paint stains here and there, a pair of old straw sandal, and a white sling bag.
Overall, he was... unique.
“Oh-chan!” Nino suddenly shouted, making Sho startled. He immediately got up from his bed, and attempted to get down, but Sho prevented him.
“Nino, you’re still sick. You have to lie back down.”
"I asked around, and they said that you're here," the man named Oh-chan threw a wide smile towards Nino, and approached the bed. “I’m back,” he said, grinning.
“How’s Italy?” Nino asked, excited, when they shook hands.
“Great. Beautiful!”
From their conversation, Sho knew that Satoshi was an artist, and he had just gotten back from his first international exhibition, held by one of the most famous art school in Italy, for talented beginner painters all over the world.
They kept chit-chatting excitedly, as if they had forgotten Sho’s existence there. Until then, Nino suddenly turned to him, “Sho-chan, this is Ohno Satoshi, one of our school alumnus, who will soon become a famous painter. And Oh-chan, this is Sakurai Sho, my friend.”
They shook hand. Ohno flashed him a wide grin, and Sho suddenly had this strange feeling, that this man would bring him headache, if they were too close to each other too often.
*
And his intuition was apparently true, because Ohno Satoshi was really bringing him headache for the next few days.
It was ten days already, and Nino always invited Ohno to join their lunch. Sho didn’t know what an alumnus like Ohno did in their school everyday. But he just didn’t like it. He didn’t like how Nino was seemed to be attached to that old man, everytime they met.
Sho felt that he was ignored, and he hated it.
“The plane’s comiiiing! Open your mooouuuuthhh!!” Nino delivered a piece of tamagoyaki with his chopsticks to Ohno’s mouth, who took it gratefully.
And that’s it. Sho had had enough of their ridiculous closeness, that then he snapped. “Just cut it, you two! That’s disgusting!”
A short pause, in which Ohno, Nino, Jun, Aiba, and the rest of the students in the canteen shifted their gaze to stare at Sho in surprise.
“What did you say?” Nino said, his voice quivered dangerously.
“I said you guys are disgusting, for doing such a thing in a public place,” Sho repeated his words daringly.
“Oh yeah?! So what do you call a grown-up boy who still pick on his foods, and refuse to eat bell peppers and carrots?” Nino pointed sharply to a sheet of tissue on the table in front of Sho, where Sho had separated bell pepper and carrot chops from his lunch.
“Just a moment,” Jun suddenly stood up from his seat, then quickly dragged Sho out from the canteen, before the older could say another word to snap back at Nino. Sho could feel many eyes following their movements, and some girls even had started whispering to each other.
Jun stopped their steps when he thought that they were already far enough from the canteen. Then he turned towards Sho, looking incredibly pissed. “Do you want Nino to hate you or what?”
“What do you mean?” Sho said, still feeling annoyed from his fighting with Nino earlier.
“Look, I know you’re jealous. But it isn’t right to act childish, just like what you’ve done earlier.”
“Childish? Me?!” Sho raised his tone. “It’s Nino and his stupid Oh-chan who acted childish. And I don’t like it!”
Jun brushed his palm over his face, calming himself down. “Listen to me. You have to go and apologize to Nino, understand?”
“Hell, no way!”
“Then don’t come to me for help if he really does hate you,” Jun said with a tone to end the arguments. And with that, he left Sho alone to cool his burning head down.
*
After a few moments debating with his own self, Sho then decided that Jun was right. That he was acting childish, and he should go apologize to Nino. So after he totally calmed down, he came back to the canteen, just to find Aiba was sitting alone there, waiting for him.
They didn’t speak to each other when Sho was packing back up his remaining lunch, already lost his appetite over the silly fight. Only then when Sho had finished tidying up, that Aiba spoke up. “I heard they’re going to the rooftop.”
He didn’t need Aiba to explain who ‘they’ were to know that it must be Nino and Ohno. So then he gave Aiba a short nod, and headed straight to the rooftop.
He had just reached the bottom of the last staircase which would lead him to the rooftop, when he heard two familiar voices were talking. Sho stopped his steps and listened carefully. It was Ohno speaking to most probably Nino. So they’re not in the rooftop, but just sat at the top of the staircase, near the door.
“It’s not a lie, Nino. I’m really going to go to Italy,” said Ohno in a serious voice, different from the usual cheerful voice he used when he talked in front of the others.
Sho knew he shouldn’t eavesdrop. But Ohno’s words made him froze at his place.
“But-but you’ve just come back,” Nino replied, his voice quivering.
“I come back just to prepare all the things I need to move to Italy. That’s why I came here everyday these last few days. I’ve had vice-headmaster Ogura helped me with all the documents I need.”
“But-but...”
“Nino,” Ohno cut Nino’s complaint with a very calm voice. “You know it, right? It is my dream to be able to study art in Italy. And now, that I’ve won the scholarship, it means that my dream has come true.”
“I know,” Nino spit out, sounded desperate and looked like that he was just about to cry, “But I...”
“Come here,” Ohno said. Sho heard some shifting sound, and he suspected, Ohno must’ve been hugging Nino right now. His heart clenched hard over that image, and it hurt.
“Listen,” he heard Ohno continued his words in a soothing tone, “I’m just going for four years, okay? If you don’t think about it too much, four years are so fast. Then after four years, I promise I will come back to Japan and see you again.”
“But it will be lonely without you again,” Nino sulked, and Sho suddenly felt his jealousy again. Nino never said those kinds of words to him. Not even once.
Ohno chuckled. “The situation has changed, Nino. You have best friends now, whom I’m sure will always be by your side, no matter what happens.”
This time, Nino didn’t answer, for Ohno got it right. Instead, he asked, “Then when will you depart?”
“The day after tomorrow.”
A short pause, before Nino spoke up again, “Then just for four years, okay? Not more. You have to promise me.”
Ohno chuckled again. “I promise. Nah, now, I should go to vice-headmaster Ogura’s office again, to get my documents. I’ll see you again after school, okay?”
Another shifting sound, and some footsteps walking down the staircase. Sho suddenly realized that he was still standing near the bottom of the staircase. If he didn’t quickly get away from there, he would be busted. However, he was too slow, because the next second, he had stood face to face with Ohno, who seemed surprised to see him there.
“Did you...?” the older man said in a tiny voice, obviously didn’t want Nino to hear them.
Sho knew there’s no use of lying. So he nodded. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have eavesdropping,” he murmured.
Out of his expectation, Ohno smiled to him. “Then you know what the problem is, right? So please, would you go and cheer Nino up for me?”
If it wasn’t for Nino, Sho would have refused. But it was. So he gave Ohno a short nod, and went straight upstairs, to where Nino was. He found the younger was sitting at the top of the staircase. And when he saw Sho was coming, he quickly wiped his tears.
“There’s no use to hide your tears. I’ve seen it,” Sho said, a bit too harsh than what he meant to. Nino didn’t reply, and that made Sho knew, just how sad the younger was at that time.
Well, it must be sad, to part with the one you love like that... However, what Sho was feeling inside his heart right now was even worse than just sadness.
He was brokenhearted.
“Look,” he said, trying hard not to scream from the pain he felt in his chest right now, “I’m sorry for my childish action in the canteen earlier.”
Nino shook his head. “I-I’m not crying because of that...”
Sho let out a long sigh, before then settled down beside Nino. “I know,” he said, reaching his arm out, and took Nino in his embrace. “I know...”
Nino hid his face in Sho’s shoulders, and he knew that the boy was starting to cry again. He stroke the younger’s back soothingly, while holding back his own tears, for his heart was now so hurt, just like there were so many sharp blades stabbing it again and again.
*
It was Sunday, and they were at the airport, accompanying Nino to meet Ohno for the last time before his departure to Italy. Aiba and Jun had to drag the reluctant Sho all along the way, because actually Sho didn’t want to go. He hadn’t recovered from his heartbreak, that he didn’t want to see any other intimate scenes between Nino and Ohno.
But there he was now, in the end, leaning lazily to one of the railings near the departure gate, a bit separated from the others, who were having some light chats with Ohno.
Finally, there was an announcement which told all passengers of Japan Air Lines with the destination of Italy, that they should check in into the waiting room soon. So then, they bid their goodbyes to Ohno. Nino gave Ohno a really tight hug, and his eyes were teary again. But he seemed to be shy to cry in front of Aiba and Jun, so he held his tears back.
To Sho’s surprise, Ohno approached him. So he quickly straightened his body up.
The older boy flashed his usual sleepy smile to Sho. “Thank you for your help the other day,” he offered his hand to Sho, who reluctantly shook it. “Please take care of Nino for me, okay.”
He didn’t need to be told to do so. Though his heart had broken, Sho didn’t plan to just leave Nino alone and unprotected like before. He had promised to that boy, after all, that no matter what, he wouldn’t leave. So he nodded.
Ohno flashed him another smile, then dragged his luggage towards the international departure gate. He turned to gave them a final wave, before then disappearing behind the glass door. And while the others’ attention was still focused to the departure gate, Sho’s attention had already shifted to an envelope Ohno gave him when they shook hands earlier.
To: Sakurai Sho-kun
A letter...?
Sho was just about to open it, when his friends approached him. So he quickly shoved the letter inside his pocket. He didn’t want to be questioned about that letter. All he wanted to do now was just to go home and took a nap. A very long nap.
*
It was Aiba and Jun dominating the conversation, when they’re on the way to the train station. Nino was so silent all along the way, most probably because he’s still fighting to hold back his tears, and Sho was just chimed in once in a while with pickup remarks.
Until then, Sho didn’t know what had gotten into him, but he suddenly had an idea. He stopped his feet at once, making his friends stopped too, to give him questioning look.
“Nino,” he said out of the blue, “I’m transferring in the end of this month.”
It was Aiba who responded first. “What?!”
“You’re kidding, right, Sho-san?” Jun said in a cold tone. But there was an obvious quiver in his voice.
“I’m not,” Sho stared straight at Nino, who was staring back at him with an expression Sho couldn’t decipher.
“But-I never heard about it before,” Aiba spoke up again.
Sho shook his head. “It’s because I never talk about it with you guys, yet.”
A short silence and Sho was waiting for any reactions from Nino. He was expecting the boy to throw him questions like Aiba and Jun. And he was even half expecting the boy to cry again, and begged him not to go, just like what he did to Ohno.
However, what he got was obviously not on his list, because Nino was suddenly stepping forward, and gave his nose a hard punch-a really hard one, that Sho could see some small stars in front of his eyes, as the pain stung his face.
“Just do whatever you want to do! I don’t care anymore!” he yelled out loud, making some of the pedestrians around them turned to throw them weird glances. Then before Sho could say a thing, Nino had already left, stomping away in anger, making some girls who had stopped to watch that incident stepping aside, to make way for him. Jun threw a desperate look towards Sho and Aiba, before then dashed to follow Nino.
“Sho-chan, are you okay?” Aiba said, after a short pause that felt like eternity for Sho. “You’re bleeding.”
Sho raised his hand to check on his wounded nose. Aiba’s right. His nose was bleeding. However, the pain that stung in his nose was nothing compared to the pain in his chest.
Just, what had he done? He had hurt Nino because of his selfishness.
“Is that really true, Sho-chan?” Aiba asked him again, when they resumed their walk to the train station. “You’re going to transfer again at the end of this month?”
Sho let out a tired sigh, before answering with a weak voice, “No...”
“Yappari,” Aiba let out a sigh too. Then silence.
“Ne, Aiba-chan,” Sho finally spoke up again when they’re already inside the train, heading to their home. They didn’t meet Nino and Jun. The two younger boys were most probably taking another train home. “If I go and apologize to him, do you think Nino will forgive me?”
Aiba gave him a soothing smile. “Of course he will.”
*
That was what Aiba said. But in reality, it was so hard for Sho to meet Nino at School nowadays. So it was almost impossible for him to apologize to the younger.
It’s been almost a week since that day, and Nino was still nowhere to be seen. Sho was nearly giving up, when Jun suddenly showed up in his class.
“He’s at the rooftop,” he said, staring at Sho with his Ice-Prince-gaze. But Sho was already accustomed to it, that he no longer froze.
“Thanks,” he was just about to walk past Jun, when the younger stopped him with his hand.
“Remember, don’t do stupid things, or you’ll lose him forever.”
Sho gave him a slight smile, and Jun returned it, squeezing his shoulder shortly to give him encouragement. Then he let Sho resumed his steps towards the rooftop.
He found Nino was sitting at their favorite spot behind the warehouse, staring blankly at the blue sky above.
“Um...” Sho spoke up. Nino turned his attention back to the earth, and when he saw that it was Sho standing in front of him, he quickly stood up. “Don’t go,” Sho quickly added, knowing that Nino would flee away. “Just... just listen to what I gotta say first.”
Nino said nothing, and just threw Sho an uninterested look. Just like the first time they met here a couple of months ago.
“I want to apologize, because I lied to you about transferring to another school,” Sho began to explain. “I’m not going anywhere. I don’t know what had gotten into me that time, that I made such an inappropriate joke like that, even though I knew that you’re still sad because Ohno-san went to Italy... So I’m so sorry, okay?”
Nino tilted his head. “Is that all?”
“Yes. So would you forgive me?”
“If you came here just for that explanation, then you’ve wasted my time. Because I’ve heard it from Jun just a day after that incident.”
Eh?
“Then, if you’ve already known about this, why are you still mad at me?”
“Because you don’t speak the truth.”
These words confused Sho. “But I am telling you the truth,” he remarked, started to feel irritated.
Nino let out a tired sigh. “You don’t get what I mean. This is a waste of time, really.”
“Then just go!” Sho finally snapped. “Why are you still here and speak to me? I won’t get what you mean, anyway. So just go and leave me alone! Keep mad at me! I don’t care!”
Nino shot him a pained look. It was clear that he was deeply hurt and disappointed. He stomped away from that place, leaving Sho alone, and Jun’s words earlier were suddenly resounding in Sho’s ear.
“Remember, don’t do stupid things, or you’ll lose him forever.”
Sho quickly turned and dash to catch Nino, who was already halfway crossing the rooftop towards the door.
“Nino, wait!” he called desperately. But this time, Nino didn’t stop. So Sho just jumped in one wide step, and hugged Nino tightly from behind, to prevent him from going any further. “Don’t go,” he whispered with a shaking voice to Nino’s ear. He suddenly felt so scared if he wouldn’t be able to be near Nino anymore.
“Get off me,” the younger boy said in a surprisingly calm voice.
“I won’t. Because if I do, you’ll be gone. I don’t want to lose you.”
“Why?”
“Because I love you, Nino. Because I love you.”
And finally, he said it.
Twice.
Sho could feel his face was burning hot from the embarrassment. But compared to it, his anxiety was greater. He was afraid of how Nino would respond to his confession.
For a moment, they were just standing there, unmoving and in silence. Sho was half hoping that they could stay in that position forever, so he didn’t need to feel the second heartbreak, if it turned out that Nino turned him down. However, then, he felt a pair of hands were pulling off his arms which were circling around Nino’s waist, before then the owner of those hands turned his body to properly face Sho.
To Sho’s surprise, Nino’s face was as red as his. But he was grinning wide. Really wide.
“Finally. You said your true feeling to me.”
And Sho just couldn’t think straight anymore. So then, he just leaned forward, and took those thin and inviting lips into a deep kiss.
The rooftop. Here was where their friendship begun.
And here too, their love story had finally begun.
*
A week later.
“Sho-chan, quick! Your friend’s been waiting for you for a while now,” his mother shouted from under the staircase.
“I’m coming, Mom. Just tell him to wait a little longer,” he shouted his reply, while desperately messing around his wardrobe, to find suitable pants to wear.
It was his first date with Nino. He didn’t want to look lame.
Then he saw a pair of army green trousers that looked okay. So he quickly grabbed it and wore it. He then felt that there was something strange with one of the pockets. So he shoved his hand into the said pocket to check, and found a crumpled paper was stuffed in it.
He straightened the paper’s surface with his hand, and realized, that it was the letter Ohno gave him when they were at the airport. Because of that incident with Nino that time, Sho had totally forgotten about this letter. So then, now that he found it, he quickly took the letter out from the envelope, and opened it. The writings were a bit faded from the washing process, but they still could be read well.
Dear Sakurai-kun,
I don’t know why, but during the short time we were together, I feel that you don’t seem to like me that much. Then I take the liberty to assume, that it is because of Nino.
Am I right?
Well, if I’m not, then my deepest apology for you.
But if I am right, then, there’s one thing that I want you to know:
I confessed to Nino, once. But I was rejected.
That’s all.
Well, it was short, but I really enjoy my time with you guys. Thanks for everything. And please watch Nino for me, okay?
- Ohno Satoshi -
Sho folded the letter and put it back into its envelope again, a wide foolish grin was on his lips.
“I knew it already, Ohno-san. And yes, I will take a good care of him.”
*
A/N 2: I didn’t mention this in the story above, but Ohno is Nino’s childhood friend. I write this down here because someone asked me, “Why Ohno still be able to be that close to Nino though he’d been rejected?” And this is the answer. Because they’re childhood friend. And even if Nino turned him down, their friendship never change :3
Author: pimanzero
Pairing: Sakumiya, Ohmiya, Junba
Genre: romance, fluff, friendship, school AU
Word count: 8.867
Rating: G
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot
Summary: A typical school friendship and romance story of five boys: Sakurai Sho, a transfer student; Ninomiya Kazunari, a bullied student; Aiba Masaki, the class president; Matsumoto Jun, the Ice Prince of the theater club; and Ohno Satoshi, an artist to be.
A/N: Originally written for kleif_asu in Sakumiya Be My Valentine Exchange at su_i_ka
-------
Sakurai Sho was once again standing in front of the class in his new school, once again being introduced by his new homeroom teacher as a transfer student. He had already gotten used to the questioning looks from his classmates-to-be, for this wasn’t the first time he was transferring into a new school. Due to his father’s job, he had to follow his family to move from one city to another, and usually, it was in the strangest timing (this time, he got transferred when the new semester was already two months running). That was why, he had also gotten used to not being able to make too many new friends.
It wasn’t that Sho is an antisocial or something. First, it was because of his strange timing of transfer, that everyone seemed to have formed a certain group of friends, and it felt so strange for Sho to just suddenly jump into one of those groups. And second, it was because he was already too tired to even try making a new friend. Because he knew he wouldn’t stay there for that long. He would transfer to another school again soon, anyway. So what’s the point of making any new friends, he thought.
That was why, when he got a really warm welcome from the class president, Aiba Masaki, he was a bit surprised.
Aiba Masaki was a kind and cheerful boy-a bit too cheerful, actually, in Sho’s opinion. He was tall and slim, and had a pair of light brown eyes, which were always sparkling, emitting warmth and sincerity. They reminded Sho of the warm sunlight in the morning, and Sho had to admit that he would never be able to hate that boy because of those eyes.
“And so, that’s all you need to know about our school for now,” Aiba said, after he gave a short explanation about West-Chiba High School to Sho. It was already the lunch break time, and they were left alone in the class, while the others had gone to the canteen, or having their lunch outside, because the weather was quite nice today. “And now I think you should grab something for lunch,” he added. “Or you’ve brought some bento with you?”
Sho shook his head. “I’ll grab something from the canteen.”
Sho was hoping that Aiba would offer him to go to the canteen together. However, the class president just threw him an apologetic grin. “Then I’m sorry, I can’t accompany you to the canteen, as well as to take you around the school today,” he said. “Actually, I am a member of the theater club. Our next play will come soon, so I have to rehearse with the rest of the members every lunch break time, and after school. So...”
A short pause, before Sho quickly replied, to melt the awkwardness that had begun to hang on the air, “Ah, it’s okay, it’s okay. I can go by myself. The canteen is on the ground floor, near the language lab, right?”
Aiba nodded. There was guilt in his eyes when he spoke up again, “I’m so sorry, ne, Sakurai-kun. I promise I will show you around when I have time-no, I’ll make time for it. Tomorrow. Or the day after tomorrow. I’ll talk about this with the others after this afternoon’s rehearsal.”
Sho gave the taller boy a soothing smile, trying to tell him that it really was okay. That Aiba didn’t need to feel guilty about such a thing. “Just, make sure you don’t forget your own lunch, okay?”
“Don’t worry, I’ve had my lunch been taken care of,” Aiba grinned, it was clear that he was relieved, that Sho was such an understanding boy.
“Senpai,” called someone, and both of them turned to find a boy with very thick eyebrows was standing by their class’ door, staring at Aiba with his sharp invisible-brown eyes. He had a really handsome face, and Sho immediately thought that the boy would be perfect playing the role of the Ice Prince in a play.
Sho was sure, if he was the one who’s been staring at with those eyes, he would have frozen at once. However, those freezing eyes seemed to have no effect on Aiba, since the boy could still answer to the call with his usual cheerfulness, “Yo, Jun-kun.”
“We can’t begin the rehearsal without you, you know?” the Ice Prince-Matsumoto Jun-said in a cold tone.
“Ah, sorry, sorry,” Aiba quickly stood up from his seat. “I got something to do just now. But it’s done. I’ll go catch up soon.”
Jun gave him a short nod, then left their class after throwing a cold look towards Sho (who really froze).
“I have to go now, or Jun-kun will be really mad at me,” Aiba said, taking a thick stack of papers-which Sho suspected was the script of their new play-out from his school bag. “See you later, ne, Sakurai-kun.” And with that, he dashed out of their classroom.
Sho followed his steps a moment later, down the staircase and to the ground floor’s corridor. He headed to the north; the direction to the canteen which Aiba had told him earlier. He found it soon after he took the turn to the left, and he walked straight to the bread counter. He was just about to find an empty table to eat, when suddenly there was a ruckus happening.
There was a group of guys-most probably the school yankees-surrounding a table at the far corner of the room. A pale boy was sitting alone in that table, staring at his lunch box, which was now being held high in the air by one of the yankees. And without warning, that yankee spilled all of the food inside the box into the nearest trash.
“Ooops, I’m sorry, my hand’s slipped,” he threw the now-empty lunch box back onto the table. “But those food aren’t worth eaten anyway, since it was made by a whore,” the yankee boy continued, and his fellow laughed.
This was clearly a bully. Sho spread his sight around the canteen and saw that all eyes were now darted to that ruckus, but no one seemed to be brave enough to stand up and help the pale boy. So then, when the mocking laughter of the yankees had turned into an annoying ring in his ear, Sho decided that he could no longer stay silent. He had to do something.
Nevertheless, before he could take a single step, the pale boy startled him and the rest of the people there, by suddenly hitting the table’s surface hard with both of his hands and stood up. The loud banging sound silenced the yankees for a moment.
“What?” said one of them a second later, defiantly, to the pale boy.
The pale boy said nothing. He just stared at his empty lunch box with hatred in his eyes. And after another moment of deafening silence, he grabbed that lunch box, and exited the canteen without even once looking at the yankees.
“Yeah, right. Run! Run and hide under your mom’s armpit, you scaredy-cat! Hahaha!”
The mocking laughter echoed again in the canteen, and it was enough to make Sho felt sick. So then he brought his bread and milk out from the canteen as fast as possible.
He climbed up the staircase, his thought was full of that pale boy. What had he done, that he deserved such a bad treatment from the people who should’ve become his friend?
Before he knew it, Sho had already reached the rooftop of the school building. He opened the door at the top of the staircase, welcoming the bright sunlight. The roof was wide enough, with a large water tank tower at one side, and a small building, most probably the warehouse, at the other side. There were cord-fences surrounding the open area, to keep people from jumping down-if there’s really one who was stupid enough to do so.
Sho walked around for a while and found a shady spot behind the warehouse, near the stack of the broken old desks and chairs. After the entire ruckus in the canteen earlier, that spot looked comfortable enough for him, to spend the rest of his lunch break time in peace. So he immediately took a seat and opened his supplies. He took a bite of his yakisoba bread gratefully, sighing as he leaned against the cold wall of the warehouse, and raising his face to stare at the blue sky above.
He was just about to have his second bread, when he heard the door to the rooftop was opened, and then closed again. A couple of footsteps, and the next second, Sho’s sight met the pale boy’s, who was a bit surprised to find that there was someone else there. Sho himself was surprised too, but it was because he suddenly met again with the boy that had filled his mind just a moment ago.
“Er... good afternoon,” Sho inclined his head a bit.
“That’s my spot,” the pale boy claimed bluntly.
“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t know,” Sho quickly tidied up the place by shoving his remaining bread and milk back into the plastic bag.
The pale boy walked past him and settled in his usual corner, and when Sho was just about to leave, he murmured, “But I don’t mind to share. As long as you keep silent.”
“Eh?”
The pale boy threw him a cold look. It was different from Jun’s cold look, though. Because those golden-brown eyes of the pale boy weren’t stern like Jun’s. They were more of gloomy than stern.
“Jaa,” Sho spoke up again, after hearing no response from the pale boy. “Sorry for the interruption.” He settled back down at his place, and continued having his lunch. The pale boy had spread a large cardboard and took a nap, his back on Sho.
For a moment, they stayed silent. Sho’s eyes kept gluing on that small figure lying not far from him. Until then, a loud grumbling sound was heard, and Sho choked.
It was the pale boy’s stomach.
If he didn’t see the bullying over the pale boy earlier, Sho would’ve been laughing. However, now he could feel nothing but pity about that boy.
“Er,” he talked after his coughing subsided. “Do you want some of my bread?”
Again, no response. So Sho decided to just leave the boy alone, and finish his lunch.
Fifteen minutes before the next lesson started, Sho had cleaned up all the trash he made, and was ready to get back to his classroom. He wasn’t sure whether the pale boy was still sleeping or not, but he spoke up anyway, “Er... The next lesson will start soon. I think you should get ready to go back to your classroom... And- here’s some bread for you. Please eat them, okay?”
He put the bread near the pale boy’s back, and then left without waiting for any response, for he knew that he would never get one.
*
“Ne, Aiba-kun?”
“Hmm?” Aiba shifted his eyes from the microscope to stare at Sho. They were in the biology class now, and were divided into pairs to study about human cells.
Sho wanted to ask Aiba about the pale boy from yesterday, for that boy had been occupying his mind since that afternoon, piquing his curiosity up. But then he remembered that he knew nothing about that boy. He just knew that the boy was bullied, and that he liked to spend his break time napping alone at the rooftop. So, then, Sho just smiled and shook his head.
“Nothing. Forget it.”
Aiba raised his brows questioningly, but didn’t push further, and shifted his attention back to their project.
*
Sho was surprised when he got his feet on the rooftop again that noon. His mind was still busy thinking about the pale boy, that when he didn’t see the later in the canteen, his feet automatically brought him to the place where he knew the boy might be seen at. And his feet were right, because he saw the pale boy was already sitting there, on his usual spot, his back leaning against the cold wall, and he was staring blankly at the blue sky.
Sho felt his heart clenched. Now that he took a proper look at the boy, he realized that the boy was so small and skinny. And with that porcelain-white skin, he looked so fragile. Sho wondered how he could bear all those bullying with such a fragile body. For a reason, Sho suddenly felt that he wanted to protect that boy.
It was strange. He never felt like this towards anyone before. Moreover, towards someone he had just met not more than two days ago.
The boy didn’t seem to notice Sho’s presence, until Sho greeted him. “Good afternoon. I’m going to intrude again...”
He turned his head a bit to throw the same uninterested look as yesterday, then stared back up to the sky.
“You don’t eat your lunch?” Sho tried to start a conversation with the pale boy, since he was wide-awake today, so he thought it was a good chance to know the boy further. However, it was the same as yesterday. The pale boy didn’t reply.
“You can take some of my bread, if you want to. I bought a lot today,” Sho tried again. “Look, I have melon bread, anko bread-“
“I hate anko,” the boy cut him short.
“Don’t worry,” Sho quickly added, his tension lifted a bit, for the boy finally opened his mouth, “I have other bread. Which one do you like? Yakisoba bread, curry bread, meat bun, or sweet bread? And-oh, I buy milk for you too.”
The pale boy finally shifted his attention fully to Sho. “I hate milk. And yakisoba bread. And curry bread. And meat bun. And sweet bread. And you, if you keep talking to me, as if we’re friends,” he said, sounded really annoyed, making Sho froze in surprise.
“I-I’m sorry, I-“ he stuttered. The boy threw him a last annoyed glare, before then turning his back to Sho. “I didn’t mean to piss you off. Okay, I get it. I won’t talk to you again. And I’ll leave as soon as I finish my lunch. But because I’ve bought this milk, and these bread are obviously too many for me to eat alone, would you have it, please? Well, if you don’t like them, you can give them to someone else, or you can throw them away,” he quickly added, afraid that the boy might snap at him again if he thought that Sho was being pushy.
A short silence, in which it looked like the boy was considering Sho’s offer. And finally, he gave Sho a nod.
“Thank you,” Sho said, relieved. Then they passed the rest of the lunch break in silence. This time, Sho didn’t quite mind, because at least the pale boy had accepted his goodwill, and for a reason, he couldn’t stop smiling and grinning on his own like a fool because of that.
It looked like there was still hope for him.
Maybe.
*
It was Sho’s seventh day at his new school, when Aiba finally had his lunch break time free to take him around the school.
“And finally, this is the last room in the list-the school library,” Aiba pointed at the door to their left with his left thumb. Then he checked his watch, while Sho was checking the room. “Phew, we finished it in time.”
“Eh?” Sho tilted his head. “You have to go back to your rehearsal after this?”
“No,” the taller boy shook his head. “I told you, we cancelled the afternoon rehearsal just for today, so I can do my duty as a proper class president. But you know, I have Jun-kun waiting for me. We’re going to have lunch together. And he really hates it if I come late.”
Sho chuckled, “I see. He’s so strict, isn’t he?”
“Yes, he is,” Aiba grinned, “But he’s a nice boy, really. If you’ve come to know him further, actually behind that stern mask hides a really cute creatures.”
“Really?” Sho couldn’t believe what he heard, because in his opinion, Jun didn’t seem to have that image, at all. But it was Aiba who told him, so he knew that it must be the truth, and it made him chuckle again, because it was just too weird to imagine the Ice Prince suddenly being cute.
As weird as to imagine the pale boy suddenly being kind and talkative towards him.
Speaking of him, usually around this time, the pale boy would have already been there, at their usual spot.
These last six days, Sho always went to the rooftop every lunch break to have his lunch there. And he always brought bread and milk for the pale boy too. That pale boy himself finally seemed to be accustomed to his company already, and Sho was suddenly wondering, if he didn’t come to the rooftop today, would the pale boy ever wondered about his whereabouts?
Would he miss him?
Sho shook his head over his own silly thoughts.
Of course he won’t, said a voice inside his own head. That boy doesn’t even consider you as his friend, remember? So there’s no way he would be concerned about your whereabouts, as much as missing you. Stop dreaming too high.
And this pesimistic thoughts had ridiculously made his heart hurt.
“Do you want to join us?” Aiba offered, dragging Sho out from his trail of thoughts. And when his senses were already back to normal, he realized, that they’re already in front of the canteen.
“Eh, I- No, Aiba-kun, thank you. I don’t want to disturb.”
“Oh, come on,” Aiba pleaded, “You won’t disturb anybody. Besides, other members will be there too. It’s a great chance to introduce you to them.”
“Hmm...” Sho hesitated. Inside his head right now, there was a great battle between his positive thoughts versus his negative thoughts, which was won by his negative thoughts five seconds later. “Okay, then.”
“Yay!” Aiba chirped happily, “Then let’s go to the middle yard. They must have been waiting for us there.”
Sho nodded and smiled, then followed the excited Aiba out to the said yard.
After all, there’s no way the pale boy would wait for him.
... right?
*
The next day, when Sho arrived at the shady spot behind the rooftop warehouse, he was surprised by a glare full of hatred he received form the pale boy.
“Why do you come here again?” the boy said sharply. For a reason that Sho didn’t quite get, he looked somewhat angry.
“To have my, lunch, of course,” he replied, settling down beside the pale boy, who flinched away from him.
“Why, you’re not eating with your... new friends?”
Sho shifted his eyes to look at the pale boy, frowning. “My new friends, who?”
The pale boy averted his eyes from Sho, “That... the group of some noisy guys and girls you’ve had lunch with yesterday, at the middle yard.”
Oh. So that was the problem.
Sho couldn’t help but chuckle. “So, you saw me, huh?” The pale boy just pouted, keeping his eyes away from Sho, and Sho somehow found it cute. “Well, they’re the member of the theater club. I had a tour around the school yesterday with my class president, who is also a member of that club. And he invited me to have lunch together with them. I think it won’t hurt to accept such a nice offer, right?”
“But I was waiting for you, you know...” the pale boy murmured out of Sho’s expectation. He was so surprised, that he couldn’t say a thing to reply to the pale boy’s words.
“Nevermind,” the pale boy said again after a short pause. He then snatched the plastic bag in Sho’s hand to check its content. “What do you have today? Bread and milk again, huh?”
“Wait a minute,” Sho said. He decided that he wouldn’t let the pale boy ran away from this topic. Not after he piqued Sho’s curiosity up again. “You’re waiting for me?”
“Why do you always have bread and milk for lunch? Doesn’t your mom ever make you some bento?” the pale boy ignored his question, and instead, asking him another unrelated question.
“You haven’t answered my question,” Sho said, crossed.
“Why should I?” the pale boy replied, sounded annoyed. “I’ve said it clear enough just now. And I hate to repeat my words. Now, you answer my question.”
A short pause, in which Sho saw the pink flush appeared on the pale boy’s cheeks.
“I see,” he said then, grinning in amusement. Apparently, he wasn’t dreaming too high, he told the negative voice inside his head. “Well, actually, my mom is my dad’s personal secretary, and she’s even busier than my dad. So she never has the time to make bento for me. That’s why I always end up having bread and milk for lunch.”
The pale boy let out an understanding hum. He took a meat bun out from the plastic bag, tore its package, then started to eat. This was the first time Sho saw that boy ate the bread from him in front of him. Usually, he wouldn’t touch the bread Sho gave him when Sho was still there.
And getting a bit carried away by that, Sho then asked, “So, are we friends now?”
The pale boy stopped chewing his meat bun to stare at Sho. “You know,” he said, “’Friend’ is a heavy word.”
“Eh?”
“People shouldn’t just go around and offer friendship that easily to anybody they meet like that. No, if in the end, they would just break the friendship they’ve offered that easily too,” the pale boy mumbled bitterly, his gloomy eyes suddenly darkened, and Sho knew, there must be something really bad happened to that boy related to this in the past.
“You know,” he continued for he got no response from Sho. “I had friends before. So many friends. But then, they found out about my family. And they left me. They left me, just because I am an illegitimate son, who was born from an affair between this city’s rich landlord and his maid. They don’t want to be friends with someone like me. And not just that, they totally stopped talking to me. Bullying me, because they think I deserve those bad treatments, for I’m just a filthy boy.”
So this was the reason for all the bullying over him. It was cruel and unfair. And yet, nobody seemed to care.
Sho was suddenly feeling so sick and angry of all the people in that school. How could they become so judgmental and ignorant like that? This boy was also a human, who had the same rights as them. They couldn’t just selfishly treat him differently just because of his background.
The pale boy let out a long sigh. “That’s why, never ask something like ‘are we friends now?’ to me, because I can’t answer it. The answer is in yourself. I told you the things you need to know about me. Whether you will consider me as your friend or not, it’s on you to decide. Nah, thanks for the food.”
After saying that, the pale boy got up and walked past Sho, attempted to leave the place. However, before he could get away, Sho had caught his right hand, preventing him from going.
“Wait,” he called. “Let’s be friends.”
The pale boy turned to look at him, but Sho couldn’t decipher his expression.
Once again, Sho felt his heart pounding fast in his chest-but this time, it was more out of anxiety than anger-when he added, “I promise, no matter what, I won’t leave you.”
Then when the pale boy finally nodded, Sho had to restrain himself from jumping and hugging the boy right there and then in his excitement. “Jaa,” he stood up, then stretched his right hand towards the pale boy, “Sakurai Sho.”
The pale boy shook Sho’s offered hand, and it was the first time since their first meeting Sho saw a slight smile bloomed on the boy’s thin lips.
“Ninomiya Kazunari.”
*
“Good morning, Sho-chan,” greeted Aiba, when Sho entered class 3-B the next morning. Since the day they had lunch together with the rest of the theater club members, Aiba had announced that Sho was his friend, thus he decided to start calling Sho with ‘Sho-chan’ instead of the usual ‘Sakurai-kun’ he used before. Sho didn’t quite mind about it. Aiba was a nice boy, after all. So he let him be.
“Good morning,” he replied with a smile, then took a seat at his chair beside the class president’s.
Sho took his pencil case and books out from his bag, and when he was going to put them inside his desk’s drawer, his hands hit something. He took a peek inside his drawer, to find a yellow lunch box was placed there, with a piece of paper attached on its top side. He took the paper, and read the message written on the paper:
Don’t misunderstand this!
I’m doing this just because I pity you, who always have bread and milk for lunch, everyday.
If I were you, I would have died from malnutrition.
I’ll wait for you in our usual place this afternoon. Don’t be late, or I’ll take this bento back.
From: You know who I am.
Sho couldn’t help but smile over the short but cute message. He never expected Ninomiya to make bento for him. He thought he was just asking him a random question yesterday, to avoid Sho’s question. But it turned out that he really cared about Sho.
“...-chan? Sho-chan?” Aiba’s voice startled him, dragging him out from his daydreaming.
“Eh, yes? What?” Sho said in confusion. “I’m sorry, I’m not listening.”
Aiba eyed the small paper in Sho’s hand in curiosity. “What’s that?”
“Er-nothing,” Sho quickly shoved the paper into his pants’ pocket. “What did you say?”
He was glad that Aiba didn’t push further. “I said, the theater club members ask you to join us again today, in lunch break time. It looks like they all like you,” he grinned. “So, what do you say?”
“Oh,” Sho spit out, “I’m sorry Aiba-chan, I can’t. I’m honored, but I’ve already had appointment with someone else...”
“Hee,” Aiba’s face turned mischievous, “I see. That letter, huh?” he wiggled his eyebrows, making Sho blushed.
“I-it’s not like what you think.”
The class president laughed. “It’s okay, Sho-chan. Just, I will be happy to know who that special someone is, whenever you’re ready to introduce us.”
Sho just nodded. His face bright red.
*
Since that time, three months had passed.
Sho had become close friend with Nino. And during the time they spent together, he had discovered many new things about that boy. Sho even had succeeded in bringing Nino into his small circle of friends. In fact, Nino was now also had become close friend with Jun, who’s in the same grade as him. Knowing this, Nino’s ex-close friends stopped their bullying over the poor boy at once, and this made Sho relieved.
However, there was still one thing that bugged Sho about Nino. It was his feeling towards that boy.
During these last three months, Sho finally discovered that his feeling towards Nino was not just a common feeling between friends. No, it was more of it.
It was love.
And knowing that he would never be able to solve this problem alone, Sho had been consulting about this matter to Aiba and Jun.
Today, they were having lunch together at the canteen, just the three of them, because Nino said that he didn’t feel well, and wanted to take a nap in the school clinic.
“So, have you finally confessed to him?” Jun asked out of the blue, making Sho choke. Aiba stroke his back to calm him down, while he took a sip from his bottle of tea.
“Do not suddenly talk about this in public place,” protested Sho.
Jun just rolled his eyes, clearly didn’t feel sorry at all. “Nino’s not here. And it’s not like the others are interested in our conversation, either.”
“Maa, maa,” Aiba said, before the two boys started to fight. “How about it, Sho-chan? Have you confessed?”
Sho let out a long sigh and shook his head. “I can’t.”
“Why?”
“I told you,” Sho said in a frustrated tone. “It’s not that easy. He’s my best friend, and I don’t know how he feels about me. Just one wrong step like confessing could ruin our friendship. And I don’t want it.”
Jun clicked his tongue in annoyance. “Pathetic. Typical stupid reason. Actually, you’re just afraid of being rejected, right?”
Sho threw him a death glare, but did nothing else, as he waited for the boy to continue his words. Jun sometimes could be really irritating with his bold words, but Sho knew, all he said and done was only for his good.
“Listen, Sho-san, one won’t be bothered to get up early in the morning, everyday, just to make bento for someone else. No, if he doesn’t keep a special feeling towards that certain someone.”
Sho shifted his gaze to his yellow lunch box in front of him. The usual lunch box Nino used to bring him bento everyday. Then he stared at Jun in amazement. Jun gave him an understanding nod.
Sho felt a strange ticklish sensation at the pit of his stomach, knowing that suddenly there was a hope for him. However, the feeling’s gone in an instant when he heard Aiba’s remarks.
“So that’s why you never complain, even though you have to bring me bento everyday?”
This time, it’s Jun’s turn to choke. “T-that’s different, baka! I just do it so we can use the lunch break time to rehearse for our new play.”
Aiba raised his brows, “But our play’s over a week ago. And you still bring me bento.”
“T-that’s... that’s...” Jun’s face was now beet red, and Sho really wanted to laugh over his cuteness. However, he didn’t want that iron ring around the younger boy’s finger to land on his head, so he tried hard to restrain it. “Then, starting tomorrow, I won’t bring any bento for you!”
“EEEEEEHHH!!!” Aiba sulked, “No, no, please don’t be angry to me, Jun-kun. I’m sorry for teasing you. Please don’t stop bringing me bento, okay? Because I really like your cooking.”
Jun refused to reply or to look at Aiba, and the looks on Aiba’s face finally made Sho laughed.
If only he could be that straight-forward like these two, then he wouldn’t be troubled by that silly problem called love.
*
When they finished their lunch, Jun was still sulking, and Aiba went to beg for an apology from him. So Sho decided to drop by at the school clinic first before going back to his class, to check on Nino’s condition.
He found his best friend lied on one of the beds in that clinic, with a fever patch on his forehead.
“You sure you don’t want me to accompany you to go home?” Sho asked when he was already seated on a white chair beside Nino’s bed. The later just shook his head.
“You still have class after this. I’ll wait until your class over.”
“Well, if you said so.”
The door to the clinic scrolled open, and both of them shifted their eyes to see who’s coming.
There was a man standing by the open door, spreading his sleepy gaze around that small clinic. The man had a pair of dark sleepy eyes, a pointed nose, and a pair of pouty thin lips. His skin was tanned, and with his pair of chubby cheeks, he looked liked an oversized elementary school student. His clothes didn’t help either; he was wearing a blue t-shirt and a pair of ripped jeans, with paint stains here and there, a pair of old straw sandal, and a white sling bag.
Overall, he was... unique.
“Oh-chan!” Nino suddenly shouted, making Sho startled. He immediately got up from his bed, and attempted to get down, but Sho prevented him.
“Nino, you’re still sick. You have to lie back down.”
"I asked around, and they said that you're here," the man named Oh-chan threw a wide smile towards Nino, and approached the bed. “I’m back,” he said, grinning.
“How’s Italy?” Nino asked, excited, when they shook hands.
“Great. Beautiful!”
From their conversation, Sho knew that Satoshi was an artist, and he had just gotten back from his first international exhibition, held by one of the most famous art school in Italy, for talented beginner painters all over the world.
They kept chit-chatting excitedly, as if they had forgotten Sho’s existence there. Until then, Nino suddenly turned to him, “Sho-chan, this is Ohno Satoshi, one of our school alumnus, who will soon become a famous painter. And Oh-chan, this is Sakurai Sho, my friend.”
They shook hand. Ohno flashed him a wide grin, and Sho suddenly had this strange feeling, that this man would bring him headache, if they were too close to each other too often.
*
And his intuition was apparently true, because Ohno Satoshi was really bringing him headache for the next few days.
It was ten days already, and Nino always invited Ohno to join their lunch. Sho didn’t know what an alumnus like Ohno did in their school everyday. But he just didn’t like it. He didn’t like how Nino was seemed to be attached to that old man, everytime they met.
Sho felt that he was ignored, and he hated it.
“The plane’s comiiiing! Open your mooouuuuthhh!!” Nino delivered a piece of tamagoyaki with his chopsticks to Ohno’s mouth, who took it gratefully.
And that’s it. Sho had had enough of their ridiculous closeness, that then he snapped. “Just cut it, you two! That’s disgusting!”
A short pause, in which Ohno, Nino, Jun, Aiba, and the rest of the students in the canteen shifted their gaze to stare at Sho in surprise.
“What did you say?” Nino said, his voice quivered dangerously.
“I said you guys are disgusting, for doing such a thing in a public place,” Sho repeated his words daringly.
“Oh yeah?! So what do you call a grown-up boy who still pick on his foods, and refuse to eat bell peppers and carrots?” Nino pointed sharply to a sheet of tissue on the table in front of Sho, where Sho had separated bell pepper and carrot chops from his lunch.
“Just a moment,” Jun suddenly stood up from his seat, then quickly dragged Sho out from the canteen, before the older could say another word to snap back at Nino. Sho could feel many eyes following their movements, and some girls even had started whispering to each other.
Jun stopped their steps when he thought that they were already far enough from the canteen. Then he turned towards Sho, looking incredibly pissed. “Do you want Nino to hate you or what?”
“What do you mean?” Sho said, still feeling annoyed from his fighting with Nino earlier.
“Look, I know you’re jealous. But it isn’t right to act childish, just like what you’ve done earlier.”
“Childish? Me?!” Sho raised his tone. “It’s Nino and his stupid Oh-chan who acted childish. And I don’t like it!”
Jun brushed his palm over his face, calming himself down. “Listen to me. You have to go and apologize to Nino, understand?”
“Hell, no way!”
“Then don’t come to me for help if he really does hate you,” Jun said with a tone to end the arguments. And with that, he left Sho alone to cool his burning head down.
*
After a few moments debating with his own self, Sho then decided that Jun was right. That he was acting childish, and he should go apologize to Nino. So after he totally calmed down, he came back to the canteen, just to find Aiba was sitting alone there, waiting for him.
They didn’t speak to each other when Sho was packing back up his remaining lunch, already lost his appetite over the silly fight. Only then when Sho had finished tidying up, that Aiba spoke up. “I heard they’re going to the rooftop.”
He didn’t need Aiba to explain who ‘they’ were to know that it must be Nino and Ohno. So then he gave Aiba a short nod, and headed straight to the rooftop.
He had just reached the bottom of the last staircase which would lead him to the rooftop, when he heard two familiar voices were talking. Sho stopped his steps and listened carefully. It was Ohno speaking to most probably Nino. So they’re not in the rooftop, but just sat at the top of the staircase, near the door.
“It’s not a lie, Nino. I’m really going to go to Italy,” said Ohno in a serious voice, different from the usual cheerful voice he used when he talked in front of the others.
Sho knew he shouldn’t eavesdrop. But Ohno’s words made him froze at his place.
“But-but you’ve just come back,” Nino replied, his voice quivering.
“I come back just to prepare all the things I need to move to Italy. That’s why I came here everyday these last few days. I’ve had vice-headmaster Ogura helped me with all the documents I need.”
“But-but...”
“Nino,” Ohno cut Nino’s complaint with a very calm voice. “You know it, right? It is my dream to be able to study art in Italy. And now, that I’ve won the scholarship, it means that my dream has come true.”
“I know,” Nino spit out, sounded desperate and looked like that he was just about to cry, “But I...”
“Come here,” Ohno said. Sho heard some shifting sound, and he suspected, Ohno must’ve been hugging Nino right now. His heart clenched hard over that image, and it hurt.
“Listen,” he heard Ohno continued his words in a soothing tone, “I’m just going for four years, okay? If you don’t think about it too much, four years are so fast. Then after four years, I promise I will come back to Japan and see you again.”
“But it will be lonely without you again,” Nino sulked, and Sho suddenly felt his jealousy again. Nino never said those kinds of words to him. Not even once.
Ohno chuckled. “The situation has changed, Nino. You have best friends now, whom I’m sure will always be by your side, no matter what happens.”
This time, Nino didn’t answer, for Ohno got it right. Instead, he asked, “Then when will you depart?”
“The day after tomorrow.”
A short pause, before Nino spoke up again, “Then just for four years, okay? Not more. You have to promise me.”
Ohno chuckled again. “I promise. Nah, now, I should go to vice-headmaster Ogura’s office again, to get my documents. I’ll see you again after school, okay?”
Another shifting sound, and some footsteps walking down the staircase. Sho suddenly realized that he was still standing near the bottom of the staircase. If he didn’t quickly get away from there, he would be busted. However, he was too slow, because the next second, he had stood face to face with Ohno, who seemed surprised to see him there.
“Did you...?” the older man said in a tiny voice, obviously didn’t want Nino to hear them.
Sho knew there’s no use of lying. So he nodded. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have eavesdropping,” he murmured.
Out of his expectation, Ohno smiled to him. “Then you know what the problem is, right? So please, would you go and cheer Nino up for me?”
If it wasn’t for Nino, Sho would have refused. But it was. So he gave Ohno a short nod, and went straight upstairs, to where Nino was. He found the younger was sitting at the top of the staircase. And when he saw Sho was coming, he quickly wiped his tears.
“There’s no use to hide your tears. I’ve seen it,” Sho said, a bit too harsh than what he meant to. Nino didn’t reply, and that made Sho knew, just how sad the younger was at that time.
Well, it must be sad, to part with the one you love like that... However, what Sho was feeling inside his heart right now was even worse than just sadness.
He was brokenhearted.
“Look,” he said, trying hard not to scream from the pain he felt in his chest right now, “I’m sorry for my childish action in the canteen earlier.”
Nino shook his head. “I-I’m not crying because of that...”
Sho let out a long sigh, before then settled down beside Nino. “I know,” he said, reaching his arm out, and took Nino in his embrace. “I know...”
Nino hid his face in Sho’s shoulders, and he knew that the boy was starting to cry again. He stroke the younger’s back soothingly, while holding back his own tears, for his heart was now so hurt, just like there were so many sharp blades stabbing it again and again.
*
It was Sunday, and they were at the airport, accompanying Nino to meet Ohno for the last time before his departure to Italy. Aiba and Jun had to drag the reluctant Sho all along the way, because actually Sho didn’t want to go. He hadn’t recovered from his heartbreak, that he didn’t want to see any other intimate scenes between Nino and Ohno.
But there he was now, in the end, leaning lazily to one of the railings near the departure gate, a bit separated from the others, who were having some light chats with Ohno.
Finally, there was an announcement which told all passengers of Japan Air Lines with the destination of Italy, that they should check in into the waiting room soon. So then, they bid their goodbyes to Ohno. Nino gave Ohno a really tight hug, and his eyes were teary again. But he seemed to be shy to cry in front of Aiba and Jun, so he held his tears back.
To Sho’s surprise, Ohno approached him. So he quickly straightened his body up.
The older boy flashed his usual sleepy smile to Sho. “Thank you for your help the other day,” he offered his hand to Sho, who reluctantly shook it. “Please take care of Nino for me, okay.”
He didn’t need to be told to do so. Though his heart had broken, Sho didn’t plan to just leave Nino alone and unprotected like before. He had promised to that boy, after all, that no matter what, he wouldn’t leave. So he nodded.
Ohno flashed him another smile, then dragged his luggage towards the international departure gate. He turned to gave them a final wave, before then disappearing behind the glass door. And while the others’ attention was still focused to the departure gate, Sho’s attention had already shifted to an envelope Ohno gave him when they shook hands earlier.
To: Sakurai Sho-kun
A letter...?
Sho was just about to open it, when his friends approached him. So he quickly shoved the letter inside his pocket. He didn’t want to be questioned about that letter. All he wanted to do now was just to go home and took a nap. A very long nap.
*
It was Aiba and Jun dominating the conversation, when they’re on the way to the train station. Nino was so silent all along the way, most probably because he’s still fighting to hold back his tears, and Sho was just chimed in once in a while with pickup remarks.
Until then, Sho didn’t know what had gotten into him, but he suddenly had an idea. He stopped his feet at once, making his friends stopped too, to give him questioning look.
“Nino,” he said out of the blue, “I’m transferring in the end of this month.”
It was Aiba who responded first. “What?!”
“You’re kidding, right, Sho-san?” Jun said in a cold tone. But there was an obvious quiver in his voice.
“I’m not,” Sho stared straight at Nino, who was staring back at him with an expression Sho couldn’t decipher.
“But-I never heard about it before,” Aiba spoke up again.
Sho shook his head. “It’s because I never talk about it with you guys, yet.”
A short silence and Sho was waiting for any reactions from Nino. He was expecting the boy to throw him questions like Aiba and Jun. And he was even half expecting the boy to cry again, and begged him not to go, just like what he did to Ohno.
However, what he got was obviously not on his list, because Nino was suddenly stepping forward, and gave his nose a hard punch-a really hard one, that Sho could see some small stars in front of his eyes, as the pain stung his face.
“Just do whatever you want to do! I don’t care anymore!” he yelled out loud, making some of the pedestrians around them turned to throw them weird glances. Then before Sho could say a thing, Nino had already left, stomping away in anger, making some girls who had stopped to watch that incident stepping aside, to make way for him. Jun threw a desperate look towards Sho and Aiba, before then dashed to follow Nino.
“Sho-chan, are you okay?” Aiba said, after a short pause that felt like eternity for Sho. “You’re bleeding.”
Sho raised his hand to check on his wounded nose. Aiba’s right. His nose was bleeding. However, the pain that stung in his nose was nothing compared to the pain in his chest.
Just, what had he done? He had hurt Nino because of his selfishness.
“Is that really true, Sho-chan?” Aiba asked him again, when they resumed their walk to the train station. “You’re going to transfer again at the end of this month?”
Sho let out a tired sigh, before answering with a weak voice, “No...”
“Yappari,” Aiba let out a sigh too. Then silence.
“Ne, Aiba-chan,” Sho finally spoke up again when they’re already inside the train, heading to their home. They didn’t meet Nino and Jun. The two younger boys were most probably taking another train home. “If I go and apologize to him, do you think Nino will forgive me?”
Aiba gave him a soothing smile. “Of course he will.”
*
That was what Aiba said. But in reality, it was so hard for Sho to meet Nino at School nowadays. So it was almost impossible for him to apologize to the younger.
It’s been almost a week since that day, and Nino was still nowhere to be seen. Sho was nearly giving up, when Jun suddenly showed up in his class.
“He’s at the rooftop,” he said, staring at Sho with his Ice-Prince-gaze. But Sho was already accustomed to it, that he no longer froze.
“Thanks,” he was just about to walk past Jun, when the younger stopped him with his hand.
“Remember, don’t do stupid things, or you’ll lose him forever.”
Sho gave him a slight smile, and Jun returned it, squeezing his shoulder shortly to give him encouragement. Then he let Sho resumed his steps towards the rooftop.
He found Nino was sitting at their favorite spot behind the warehouse, staring blankly at the blue sky above.
“Um...” Sho spoke up. Nino turned his attention back to the earth, and when he saw that it was Sho standing in front of him, he quickly stood up. “Don’t go,” Sho quickly added, knowing that Nino would flee away. “Just... just listen to what I gotta say first.”
Nino said nothing, and just threw Sho an uninterested look. Just like the first time they met here a couple of months ago.
“I want to apologize, because I lied to you about transferring to another school,” Sho began to explain. “I’m not going anywhere. I don’t know what had gotten into me that time, that I made such an inappropriate joke like that, even though I knew that you’re still sad because Ohno-san went to Italy... So I’m so sorry, okay?”
Nino tilted his head. “Is that all?”
“Yes. So would you forgive me?”
“If you came here just for that explanation, then you’ve wasted my time. Because I’ve heard it from Jun just a day after that incident.”
Eh?
“Then, if you’ve already known about this, why are you still mad at me?”
“Because you don’t speak the truth.”
These words confused Sho. “But I am telling you the truth,” he remarked, started to feel irritated.
Nino let out a tired sigh. “You don’t get what I mean. This is a waste of time, really.”
“Then just go!” Sho finally snapped. “Why are you still here and speak to me? I won’t get what you mean, anyway. So just go and leave me alone! Keep mad at me! I don’t care!”
Nino shot him a pained look. It was clear that he was deeply hurt and disappointed. He stomped away from that place, leaving Sho alone, and Jun’s words earlier were suddenly resounding in Sho’s ear.
“Remember, don’t do stupid things, or you’ll lose him forever.”
Sho quickly turned and dash to catch Nino, who was already halfway crossing the rooftop towards the door.
“Nino, wait!” he called desperately. But this time, Nino didn’t stop. So Sho just jumped in one wide step, and hugged Nino tightly from behind, to prevent him from going any further. “Don’t go,” he whispered with a shaking voice to Nino’s ear. He suddenly felt so scared if he wouldn’t be able to be near Nino anymore.
“Get off me,” the younger boy said in a surprisingly calm voice.
“I won’t. Because if I do, you’ll be gone. I don’t want to lose you.”
“Why?”
“Because I love you, Nino. Because I love you.”
And finally, he said it.
Twice.
Sho could feel his face was burning hot from the embarrassment. But compared to it, his anxiety was greater. He was afraid of how Nino would respond to his confession.
For a moment, they were just standing there, unmoving and in silence. Sho was half hoping that they could stay in that position forever, so he didn’t need to feel the second heartbreak, if it turned out that Nino turned him down. However, then, he felt a pair of hands were pulling off his arms which were circling around Nino’s waist, before then the owner of those hands turned his body to properly face Sho.
To Sho’s surprise, Nino’s face was as red as his. But he was grinning wide. Really wide.
“Finally. You said your true feeling to me.”
And Sho just couldn’t think straight anymore. So then, he just leaned forward, and took those thin and inviting lips into a deep kiss.
The rooftop. Here was where their friendship begun.
And here too, their love story had finally begun.
*
A week later.
“Sho-chan, quick! Your friend’s been waiting for you for a while now,” his mother shouted from under the staircase.
“I’m coming, Mom. Just tell him to wait a little longer,” he shouted his reply, while desperately messing around his wardrobe, to find suitable pants to wear.
It was his first date with Nino. He didn’t want to look lame.
Then he saw a pair of army green trousers that looked okay. So he quickly grabbed it and wore it. He then felt that there was something strange with one of the pockets. So he shoved his hand into the said pocket to check, and found a crumpled paper was stuffed in it.
He straightened the paper’s surface with his hand, and realized, that it was the letter Ohno gave him when they were at the airport. Because of that incident with Nino that time, Sho had totally forgotten about this letter. So then, now that he found it, he quickly took the letter out from the envelope, and opened it. The writings were a bit faded from the washing process, but they still could be read well.
Dear Sakurai-kun,
I don’t know why, but during the short time we were together, I feel that you don’t seem to like me that much. Then I take the liberty to assume, that it is because of Nino.
Am I right?
Well, if I’m not, then my deepest apology for you.
But if I am right, then, there’s one thing that I want you to know:
I confessed to Nino, once. But I was rejected.
That’s all.
Well, it was short, but I really enjoy my time with you guys. Thanks for everything. And please watch Nino for me, okay?
- Ohno Satoshi -
Sho folded the letter and put it back into its envelope again, a wide foolish grin was on his lips.
“I knew it already, Ohno-san. And yes, I will take a good care of him.”
*
A/N 2: I didn’t mention this in the story above, but Ohno is Nino’s childhood friend. I write this down here because someone asked me, “Why Ohno still be able to be that close to Nino though he’d been rejected?” And this is the answer. Because they’re childhood friend. And even if Nino turned him down, their friendship never change :3