Wish We Were Older
Title: Wish We Were Older [Chapter 13]
Author: carcrashheart_8
Pairings: RyoDa, Ryo/OC, PiDa, KameDa [friendship], Akame, PiTakki [one-sided], RyoKame, JinNo, TomaKame
Rating: PG-13 [strong language and sexual references]
Summary: When his parents go overseas to work, Ueda is forced to go to an all-boys boarding school for his high school years. There, he meets Ryo Nishikido, a stubborn, strong-willed boy who ends up becoming his roommate. Ueda quickly falls for the other boy despite Ryo's rude words and bad attitude. Trouble starts up, however, and soon this seemingly one-sided love ends up becoming a love triangle and eventually a love square. Despite it all, Ueda must overcome these obstacles in order to maintain his spot at the elite high school.
Disclaimer: Title taken from "Wish We Were Older" by Metro Station
Chapter 13
“What was that, dear?”
Ueda sighed. He felt so nervous and so unsure at that moment, more so than any other time he could think of.
“I’d like to request to change dorm rooms, headmistress,” he repeated.
The older woman looked shocked yet concerned.
“Is there a particular reason for such a request, Ueda-kun?”
Ueda wasn’t sure if he could go through with it but he remembered why he wanted to do this in the first place.
“I’m afraid that I won’t be able to succeed academically if I stay in that-environment.”
“You mean, with Ryo?”
Ueda blinked rapidly, but refrained from showing any real emotion. It wasn’t working because the headmistress could clearly tell what was going on.
“Is something wrong, Ueda-kun?”
Ueda wiped his eye and shook his head, smiling weakly.
“Nothing, headmistress. I’m just a little tired-I didn’t get much sleep last night.”
“I see.”
Ueda continued smiling, even if it was all just an act.
“Well, I guess I can fulfill your request-as long as you’re sure that it’s what you really want.”
Ueda stopped smiling and instead looked firm.
“I’m absolutely sure.”
The headmistress stood up from her chair and went to a cabinet. She looked up and down the shelves before pulling out a box. In it were various forms that she had on hand, including formal requests for changing dorm rooms. She picked one up and was about to hand it to Ueda, but refrained from doing so.
“Headmistress?”
The older woman smiled.
“I think that we should make a temporary change in your residence, Ueda-kun.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, instead of formally changing your room, why don’t you just try switching with one of the other boys in your dorm, just for a little while? I think it would be better, just in case you decide that you want to change back.”
Ueda sighed.
“I don’t know. I’m kind of itching to change rooms. I think it would be better if I had a change of scenery-to focus on school, of course.”
The headmistress laughed, knowingly.
“Well, you can go ahead and sign this form but it will take a while to fully transfer-about two weeks. In the mean time, you can do a temporary switch with one of the other boys. Let’s see-where did I put that resident listing?”
As the headmistress looked for the list of boys in Ueda’s dorm, Ueda thought to himself. He wasn’t sure what he was doing, changing rooms. It seemed like the obvious choice, but at the same time, it didn’t seem so clear. One thing working in his favor was the fact that the request form would take weeks to process; it was true that he did have the choice to change his mind. Ueda was still unsure if he really needed that option. Even if this move was temporary, just until it became official, Ueda started to think that it was really the right thing to do. So went the thoughts of a high school boy in love. He was beyond confused and every decision he made seemed like the wrong one until something good happened to him. Ueda’s mind felt warped and it was all because he was in love.
Meanwhile, Ryo was sitting in homeroom, wondering where his roommate was. He turned to Yamapi and whispered.
“Hey, have you seen Ueda?”
Yamapi didn’t respond, since he was still enamored with his homeroom teacher. Ryo scoffed and rolled his eyes, prompting Kame to speak up.
“Hey, Nishikido-kun-didn’t Tat-chan come to class with you?” he asked.
Ryo shook his head and shrugged his shoulders.
“He said he was going to class on his own-I thought he would have been here already.”
Just then, the door opened.
“Ueda-kun, you’re late,” the teacher, Takizawa-sensei, stated.
Ueda handed him a note that the headmistress had written for him as an excuse. The teacher read it and nodded his head, gesturing for Ueda to sit down. Ueda walked over to his desk and Ryo watched as he did, the younger man’s cheeks turning slightly red. Ueda didn’t even look at Ryo and just sat down in his usual desk. When Kame and Ryo tried to get him to respond to their questions about where he had been, he just replied “nowhere.”
During lunchtime, Ueda was nowhere to be found and Ryo was getting anxious.
“Hey, does anyone know where Ueda is? First, he shows up late to homeroom-now he’s not even here for lunch.”
Koki shrugged his shoulders, as did Toma and Yamapi. Kame seemed a little worried too, and apparently, Maru was running late to lunch.
Ryo sighed, sounding disappointed and dejected. He put his head on his hand and continued eating his food.
That night, he opened the door to his dorm room, only to find Maru on Ueda’s bed, with an open suitcase and a smile on his face.
“Hey, new roommate!”
Ryo looked at the other boy strangely and quickly disappeared from the room.
Meanwhile, Ueda was unpacking his bag on Maru’s bed. Koki was sitting on his bed, listening to music and reading a magazine. Ueda kept sighing over and over again, sounding unsure of this arrangement that Headmistress had made. He continued unpacking when someone burst into the room. Koki jumped from his bed, as did Ueda.
“WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?”
“Nishikido-kun,” Ueda gasped.
“Don’t ‘Nishikido-kun’ me! Why the hell is that Nakamaru guy telling me that you switched dorm rooms with him?”
“Oh, so you found out,” Ueda chuckled, as he continued placing clothes in the dresser next to his bed. Koki looked terrified and decided to slink out at the moment, sure that there was another showdown about to take place.
“Don’t leave, Koki-kun. Nishikido-kun isn’t going to do anything. After all-why should he care?” Ueda smirked at Ryo.
Ryo glared, harder than he had ever before.
“You’re right! Why should I care? I don’t care what you do! After all-you don’t mean anything to me!”
Ueda looked shocked, felt shocked and expressed shock through his gasp. Ryo twitched a bit, but tried to maintain his composure even though he knew what he said was idiotic.
“I’m glad you finally admitted what we all already knew! Now you can leave and not feel guilty anymore! Right, Nishikido-kun?”
Ryo looked at Ueda. Though he was scowling, his eyes seemed sorrowful and Ueda was too disgusted to notice, thereby making Ryo to seem absolutely remorseless. The younger boy just walked out of the room and Ueda sat down on his new bed, crossed his arms and looked about ready to cry. Koki wanted to say something but could do nothing except sit next to Ueda and pat him gently on the shoulder.
Ryo came back to the room and looked pissed off. He practically kicked down the door and came stomping in, muttering under his breath curses and other bad words aimed at Ueda. He stomped around the room continuously and didn’t even realize that his new roommate was staring at him, from the corner of his bed, with a pillow as his only form of protection. Ryo stopped and looked at Maru.
“WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU LOOKING AT?!”
Maru scrambled to get off the bed and ran out of the room, terrified. Ryo grunted before falling back on his bed.
Later, as Ueda lay in his new bed, he thought about the words Ryo had said to him. First, Ryo makes the other boy aware that they would never have anything romantic and then, Ryo makes it clear that he never cared about Ueda, at all. Ueda was beginning to think that giving up on Ryo was the best way and to start it off, he was going to make the room change a permanent thing.
Ryo, at that moment, was thinking instead of sleeping. He, too, was rethinking over what he had said to Ueda that day. He also thought about the revelation he had come upon; that is Ueda’s feelings for the younger boy.
“URGH!” Ryo grunted under his breath as he put his hands over his eyes in disgust.
He clearly knew that Ueda had feelings for him and yet, he still chose to act in a way and say things that only ended up hurting Ueda. As he continued to think, he ended up realizing that Ueda had moved out because of what Ryo had said to him earlier.
“Oh gawd, he must think I’m some homophobe or something,” he thought to himself, “why else would he move out?”
Ryo never liked to assume that people had feelings for him, which is why he was so slow when it came to figuring out that Ueda had feelings for him. He chose this path even more so when it came to other guys, assuming instead that any guy who showed what most would interpret to be romantic feelings, was just interested in being friends. But it was different with Ueda for some reason. Ryo knew that when it came to Ueda, he definitely acted different. He was always much angrier when it came to Ueda, he was more affected by things Ueda did or said than anyone else, he also noticed how much more he cared about what Ueda was doing than he did with even his own best friends.
Ryo suddenly sat up.
“Do I like Ueda?” he asked himself. There was no one to answer him; Maru was asleep as was everyone else in the dorm. Even if Toma or Yamapi or anyone other than Ryo could answer, it wouldn’t mean nearly as much as if Ryo could answer the question for himself.
The next morning, in the cafeteria, Ueda was sitting eating his breakfast for the first time that week. He hadn’t been able to eat a proper breakfast, since almost every morning he was rushing to get ready. Living with Koki as opposed to Ryo allowed for him to get up earlier since Koki set his alarm at a much earlier time than Ueda was used to. It was good though, to be without the worry of being late or the worry that Ryo would be yelling in his ear to get ready. It was good, Ueda thought, or maybe it wasn’t.
Just then, Ryo walked in, with Maru beside him, smiling and laughing. Ueda almost spit out his orange juice but managed to swallow it in time. Maru walked over first and waved enthusiastically before going to get food; Ryo stayed back and sat down.
“So, Tanaka-kun, how was your first night living in the same room as this idiot?” Ryo laughed.
Koki looked at Ueda and then back at Ryo and smiled awkwardly. Ueda just ignored Ryo, continued eating his food and drinking his orange juice. He didn’t even look up once as Ryo sat across from him.
Ryo frowned but then smiled again, continuing to try and annoy Ueda, for some unknown reason.
“I bet he still snores, am I right? It’s really loud, huh, like a buzz saw? Haha”
Koki looked a little uncomfortable but he still tried to laugh so as to not get Ryo mad at him. Ueda wasn’t paying attention; he was but he didn’t want to appear to be.
“It must really be annoying to live with this guy, huh, Tanaka-kun?”
Ueda slammed his hand down on the table. Ryo and Koki stopped and stared at him. Ueda looked at Koki and smiled sweetly.
“Koki-kun-I’m going to leave first. I’ve suddenly lost my appetite!”
Ueda got up and put his tray away before walking out of the cafeteria. He managed to bump into Toma and Yamapi in the hallway.
“Whoa, Tatsuya, where’s the fire?” Toma laughed.
Ueda glared at him before storming off.
“What’s his problem?” Yamapi scratched his head.
Just then, Ryo came running out, only to stop when he saw his friends.
“I’ve got your answer right here,” Toma quipped, pointing his thumb in Ryo’s general direction.
“What are you morons going off about?” Ryo grunted.
Yamapi laughed as did Toma; the pair dragged Ryo back into the cafeteria even though it was obvious Ryo wanted to go after his former roommate and possible crush.
Later on, the school day was about to end and it meant that Ryo and Ueda would have to clean the classroom together, alone. At least, that’s what Ryo expected. The bell rang and when he turned around to “complain” to Ueda about how he had to be stuck with the older boy for classroom duties. But when he turned around, Ueda wasn’t there and in his place was Kame.
“Tat-chan told me to take over his duties for him-he said he had something to do.”
Ryo sighed, putting his hand to his head.
After a disastrous hour cleaning up with Kame, Ryo felt exhausted. He staggered down the hallway towards his dorm room. His mind was completely blank at that moment, save for the reoccurring thought of going to sleep as soon as his head hit the pillow of his bed. It was 4:30 in the afternoon, but Ryo didn’t care.
He trudged through the maze of doors, until he stopped when he saw Ueda standing outside of the room they once shared. He looked reluctant to knock on the door, repeatedly putting his closed fist up to the wood but without making a sound.
Ryo smiled subtly.
“Can I help you with something?”
Ueda jumped upon seeing Ryo, but quickly acted as if he was annoyed to see the other boy.
He crossed his arms and huffed, “I just wanted to see if Maru was here. I have nothing to say to you.”
Ryo laughed, “You expect me to believe that? I know you only came so you could talk to me. Face it, Ueda, you’re finding life pretty hard without me, aren’t you?”
Ueda felt disgusted. One thing he couldn’t stand was Ryo’s haughty attitude, even if it was part of the reason Ueda found his former roommate so undeniably attractive. He sighed and rolled his eyes, showing the annoyance that resulted from Ryo’s arrogance.
“You sure are full of yourself for someone so small. Look-I’ll admit I wanted to talk to you but it’s gonna be short and sweet because I can’t stand the sight of you.”
Ryo chuckled again, “Ouch.”
Ueda sighed again.
“Do you remember when we had that conversation while cleaning the classroom the other day?”
“Oh yeah-hey, why didn’t you show up for class rep duties?”
Ueda put his hand up, “Please. I need to get this out, right away.”
Ryo shrugged his shoulders and Ueda proceeded to continue. The older boy was nervous for what he was about to say. He was always nervous when it came to Ryo, but by now, he sure as hell was used to it.
“And remember when I told you that I ‘liked you’ and you just thought I meant as a friend? Well, the truth is-”
This was it; Ryo was sure Ueda would confess. He was also sure that he could just tell the other boy that he had known all along and that he too felt the sparks between them. The two would finally get their feelings out to one another and all would be right with the world. Ryo was an idiot for thinking it would be that simple.
“The truth is-I DID like you.”
Ryo’s dreamy state vanished in a second. He mouthed out the words that Ueda had just spoken and came upon a realization.
“DID?!”
“And now, I don’t like you anymore-in fact, I’ve moved on. That’s why I moved out-I was trying to get over you and thankfully, it worked. So-what I want from you is to not speak to me except when necessary, such as when we have to work at being class reps together and maybe with school assignments. As far as us hanging out anymore, that’s not going to happen-now that you and I are no longer roommates, we’re no longer friends either-but that shouldn’t be too much of a disappointment for you, eh, Nishikido-kun?”
Ryo didn’t say anything because he couldn’t; he was too shocked for real words to form. Not only had Ueda confessed but he also was basically telling Ryo off and banning him from speaking to him. Ueda was being ridiculous, in Ryo’s mind, and Ryo simply wouldn’t take it.
He was about to defend himself but Ueda stopped him from doing so.
“Look-I don’t wanna start a fight; every time we fought it just made my feelings for you grow deeper so if we fought now-I’m afraid all hell would break loose. I’m over you now, Nishikido-kun-you and I no longer have any reason to fight anymore.”
Ryo still couldn’t get any words out because Ueda interrupted him.
“I guess I’ll see you around. Bye.”
Ueda walked off and left Ryo confused and bewildered. One would think that an impulsive person like Ryo would have ran after his former roommate and do something utterly romantic, resulting in the two developing a strong personal relationship once again; one would think so but Ryo certainly didn’t. He couldn’t move and he felt so unsure of what had just taken place.
Had Ueda, of all people, just rejected him?
Now was the time for Ryo’s stubbornness and need for revenge to show itself when his impulsiveness disappeared.
“This isn’t over, Ueda Tatsuya-not by a long shot,” he whispered under his breath, and before going into his room to devise a plan for fixing things with the boy he seemed to love.
A few days went by and Ryo chose to stick to what Ueda said, not speaking a word to the other boy except when they had to discuss classes and the like. In Ryo’s mind, it would end up driving Ueda crazy and the other boy would finally come to his senses. He’d move back in with Ryo and everything would be as it should; apparently, Ryo didn’t account for the fact that Ueda was ignoring him.
“Ueda-kun, are you going to help out with class rep duties today?” he asked with a smile, turning around in his seat to direct his attention to his classmate.
“Yes.”
Ueda didn’t even look up when he responded to Ryo’s question. Ryo pouted, crossing his arms and turning himself around. He looked at Yamapi and sneered at the love struck face the other boy had.
When homeroom ended, Ryo decided to try again.
“Ueda-kun, do you happen to have yesterday’s math notes?”
“Yes.”
Ryo blinked.
“Can I borrow them?”
Ueda shook his head.
“I left them in my room.”
Ryo continued smiling, despite his annoyance.
“Okay, then-never mind.”
Ryo, once again, turned away from Ueda and muttered to himself. He realized that he missed Ueda’s cheerful self, even if he was a pain in the ass other times. Ueda’s smile seemed to disappear whenever Ryo was around, when just a week ago, his smile only got wider when he saw his former roommate. Ryo noticed that when he joined the group for a meal, Ueda would immediately set his food down and get up, throwing away sometimes a whole meal if Ryo was there. Ryo knew that Ueda was serious and that it would not be as easy as simply being courteous to the older boy.
“How could you let this happen?!”
Ryo’s grandmother smiled at him, taking her attention away from the important documents she had previously been working on.
“What ever could you mean, Ryo?”
Ryo scowled, like a child throwing a tantrum.
“You know perfectly well what I mean! Grandma, you let Ueda-kun move out of the dorm room without telling me! And now he won’t even really speak to me-at least not like he did before. He’s just so cold now.”
The headmistress sighed, knowingly as if she knew all of this would happen.
She got up from her desk and strolled over to the window, looking out at the hyperactive teenage boys running around campus.
“Ryo, I told Ueda-kun that if he wanted to move from your dorm room, permanently, he would have to wait two weeks until the form was processed.”
“Yeah, so?”
The older woman turned and looked at her grandson, slightly in disbelief that he was not as intelligent as she had hoped.
“A request for change in residence takes one business day to process-the two week period I gave to Ueda-kun was more or less, made up.”
Ryo jumped up from the chair he had sat down in.
“What?!”
“I knew there had to be some sort of tension between you two and that was the reason Ueda-kun wanted to leave. I thought two weeks would be enough time for the two of you to patch things up and for Ueda-kun to move back in with you.”
“It’s already been a week and he still won’t really acknowledge me!” Ryo felt suddenly discouraged.
“Well, there’s nothing I can do for you, Ryo. If at the end of two weeks Ueda-kun DOESN’T come to me to say that he would like to go back to his old dorm room, I’m afraid I will have to make his residence change official-i.e. permanent. A student is allowed only one request of change in residence except in extreme scenarios and I’ll tell you that those are very rare.”
Ryo frowned, unable to feel anything but pure disappointment.
“I would like to order for Ueda-kun to just move back for you but I cannot do that. I am already doing enough, letting two students switch rooms for two weeks without any official form documenting such a move. If you can make him change his mind, without resorting to anything that would go against school policy, then I support you, 100%. I can tell you care a lot for Ueda-kun, so I can’t stand in your way.”
Ryo looked at his grandmother and saw the warmth in her eyes. She had always supported Ryo and always believed in him, even when his own parents did not do the same. She was the one who instilled trust in Ryo, giving him a bit of freedom; more than anyone would think someone of her position would give to their “delinquent” grandson.
“Grandma-”
“Go on, Ryo. Do good things and you will be rewarded ten-fold. It’s a corny saying but in this case, I think it will help. If you care enough for Ueda-kun, I want you to make up with him and if you can, try and get him to change rooms again. I don’t usually tell students this, but it really is a hassle for students to move out of their dorm rooms. The movers are always teachers and they never like agreeing to such a thing.”
The older woman laughed, as did Ryo. He felt reassured; with his grandmother’s support, he was sure that he could make Ueda come back to him, both physically and emotionally.
“Thanks for everything, Grandma.”
Ryo’s grandmother smiled widely.
“Just continue doing your best, Ryo. And remember what I told you last summer-look after him. Do all you can to help him and never let him leave your side.”
Ryo nodded his head, smiled and ran out of the headmistress’s office. The older woman exhaled deeply, feeling some relief that there might actually be some peace for her grandson and Ueda.
The next day, Ueda was eating breakfast with Koki and Maru and felt relieved that Ryo had not yet shown up.
“It’s great not having him hovering around like the pest that he is,” Ueda joked.
Koki and Maru looked at each other and shook their heads.
“What?” Ueda asked.
Just then, Kame came storming in, looking pissed off to no end. Toma was right behind him as was Yamapi, who seemed more annoyed than anyone.
“What’s going on?” Ueda asked Kame.
Kame slammed his books on the table and huffed loudly.
“This idiot won’t stop annoying me!” he yelled, clearly referring to Toma.
“I’m an idiot? You’re the one who failed his math test! Even though I spent almost a week tutoring you for it!” Toma retorted, waving his finger in Kame’s face.
Kame looked about ready to bite that finger off, but refrained from doing so.
“Whoa-whoa-whoa! You were tutoring Kame?” Ueda chuckled, confused.
“Yeah, he asked me too. Man, was I in the shock of my life when I realized a boy my age was so incapable of simple arithmetic!”
“I’m not some special needs case! You don’t have to act like I’m the biggest idiot you ever met,” Kame screamed, sounding more hurt than anything.
Toma laughed heartily.
“I couldn’t have said it better myself. You have to be the worst case of bad schooling I ever met! Where the hell did you go to junior high? Didn’t they teach you how to add and subtract? I mean, really, are you that stupid?”
Kame looked at Toma, on the verge of tears. He took his math book and hit Toma right in the face with it. Everyone watched, shocked, as the boy went crashing to the ground. A large welt formed on his forehead and he began to scream bloody murder when he saw that his nose was bleeding.
“I’m bleeding! I’m bleeding! I’m fucking bleeding, Kamenashi!”
Luckily, he hadn’t been knocked out, considering the size and hardness of the book, not to mention the strength that Kame had administered in the swing.
Kame simply glared at him, not apologizing as he stormed back out of the cafeteria.
Ueda watched as he left, laughing to himself as he did so. Yamapi came sauntering over.
“What’s so funny?”
Ueda stopped his giggling fit, long enough to tell Yamapi, “I think Kame likes Toma.”
Yamapi started busting up as well, as did Koki and Maru when they heard it from Ueda. Toma, meanwhile, was still on the floor, wondering why everyone was laughing while he was injured.
“WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU GUYS LAUGHING ABOUT?!”
As Ueda continued chuckling to himself, he walked with Yamapi to homeroom. He stopped laughing when he opened the door and saw Ryo sitting at his desk, looking at a book. Yamapi looked at Ueda, expecting the other to make a joke but Ueda didn’t say anything. He merely walked in and sat down behind Ryo, as he always did.
“Yo, Ryo,” Yamapi greeted the other boy.
Ryo looked up from his book and nodded. Ueda was expecting him to turn around and smile that stupid smile as he greeted him. It was disgusting, Ueda thought, like Ryo thought he was making the other boy’s day, simply by speaking.
But, much to Ueda’s surprise, Ryo didn’t say a word. So he decided to get the conversation going.
“Good morning, Nishikido-kun,” he said sweetly, tapping the other boy’s shoulder as he said it.
Ryo just nodded and grunted.
“Morning,” he mumbled, not taking the courtesy to even look at the other boy as he spoke. Ueda wasn’t offended at the lack of politeness so much as he was mad that Ryo was barely speaking to him. What was even more distressing was that Ryo would not speak to him, throughout the entire session of homeroom, not even when the teacher wanted the two of them to keep the class up-to-date with what they had been doing. When they were done, Ryo sat down first, not looking at Ueda once, as if the other boy did not exist.
It seemed like Ryo was not taking his grandmother’s advice of trying to patch things up between him and Ueda, but Ryo was smart enough to come up with an unorthodox strategy.
At lunch time, Ueda sat down first, being the only one of his friends to arrive in the cafeteria. Ryo was not there, which is what Ueda was most concerned with. As he started eating, one by one his friends started trickling into the cafeteria, each with their own complaints about the day.
Maru had failed a test; Koki was stressed about an upcoming project; Kame was annoyed with Toma still; Toma was annoyed with Kame still; and Yamapi was lost in his own world. Ueda managed to focus his attention on each friend’s problem without once mentioning any of his own goings-on.
“Hey, where’s Nishikido-kun?” Koki asked without thinking. Maru smacked him on the head and gestured towards Ueda, as if Ryo was a forbidden topic in the group. Ueda shrugged his shoulders and smiled awkwardly.
“I guess Nishikido-kun is too busy. He won’t be joining us, it seems,” Ueda just kept smiling awkwardly, hoping it would prove that he had very little interest in what the other boy was doing. Everyone looked at him, shook their heads and continued to eat.
The end of the day came soon enough and it was time for Ryo and Ueda to clean up the classroom. Normally, Ueda would be happy about this time of day, thinking it would give the two a chance to talk but since the last time they had cleaned up ended with a misunderstood confession, Ueda wasn’t feeling too hopeful. He started without the other boy, getting the broom and dustpan from the closet. He began sweeping, occasionally looking at the door, wishing that it would open.
He watched the clock and saw that Ryo was 15 minutes later for clean-up duties. Ueda still felt distraught but once the clock continued to move and 15 minutes became a half-hour, Ueda was ready for a fight. He was almost done, no thanks to Ryo. If the other boy showed up, Ueda would surely bite his head off. But Ryo never showed and Ueda was feeling the anger disappear, only to be replaced by morbid curiosity. When he finished with his duties, he put the cleaning supplies away and grabbed his bag. He ran down the hallway and made his way to the dorm building. When he reached the hallway where Ryo’s room was, he stopped running and started walking, but at a quick pace. He knocked on the door, not giving it a second thought.
The door opened and there was Ryo. Ueda felt his anger quickly come back as he saw the other boy, looking nonchalant.
“What do you-”
“WHERE WERE YOU?!”
“Huh?”
Ueda was breathing rapidly.
“Where were you?! You were supposed to help with clean-up! Why didn’t you show up?! It’s your job!”
Ryo laughed, crossed his arms and leant against the doorway.
“Is that why you’re here? I just forgot, okay? I didn’t realize today was Thursday.”
Ueda put his palm to his forehead and pointed behind Ryo. There was a giant daily calendar on the other boy’s desk that clearly said Thursday on it.
Ryo shrugged his shoulders, “So I’m not observant. You should know that by now.”
Ryo looked at the other boy, expecting him to understand the hidden meaning behind his words. Ueda’s shoulders tensed a bit, in response.
“Look, I just wanted to know why you’re here and not back at the classroom. But it doesn’t really matter-forget it. If you don’t remember next time, then I’ll just have to tell the teacher that someone needs to replace you.”
Ryo smirked, “Is that a threat?”
Ueda turned away, his cheeks going red.
“I’m just telling you what will happen if you neglect your duties, nothing more. I have to go.”
Ueda tried to walk away but Ryo had grabbed his arm, leaving the other unable to move. Ueda turned and looked at Ryo, with his mouth slightly open and his heart beating uncontrollably. Ryo looked at Ueda and pulled him forward, into the room, shutting the door behind him.
Ueda looked around, noticing that Maru was not around, leaving the pair of them virtually alone. He looked at Ryo who had his eyes fixed on his. Neither one said a word for what seemed like an eternity. But then Ueda spoke up.
“What-what are you doing?”
Ryo let out a small breath of air; Ueda felt the warmth of it and his skin tingled.
“I’ve tried to talk to you but you won’t let me. I thought ignoring you would be a good strategy and apparently-it was,” he whispered with a small smile on his face.
Ueda looked at him, a bit confused at the words coming from the other boy.
“Strategy?”
“For finally getting you to listen to me. I never wanted you to move out of the dorm room.”
Ueda’s heart kept beating against his chest and he felt like he would collapse right in Ryo’s arms. He gulped subtly and let out a deep breath.
“You didn’t?” he asked, taking his eyes away from Ryo’s gaze and lowering them slowly to the floor.
“No, I didn’t. I didn’t want you to ever leave my side.”
Ueda looked back up at him. Had Ryo just said those words? He had his arms on Ueda’s shoulders and the older boy’s eyes nearly rolled back in his head. The feel of the other’s hands was something Ueda could never describe in words.
“What are you trying to say?”
Ryo closed his mouth. He just stared at Ueda, marking every feature on the other boy’s face mentally, as if he wanted to remember this moment forever.
“What I’m trying to say is I think I like-”
Just then the door swung open. It was Yamapi and he looked extremely worried.
“YAMAPI!”
“WHAT THE HELL, MAN?” Ryo groaned.
“You guys gotta come quick! Toma and Akanishi got into a fight!”
END CHAPTER 13
A/N: Another cliffhanger? Sorry XD;; If you read my fics, you should know that I love cliffhangers :3 Anyways, thanks to everyone who has been reading this series and commented on it. I can never truly express how much your support means to me. Thank you very much ^^
Author: carcrashheart_8
Pairings: RyoDa, Ryo/OC, PiDa, KameDa [friendship], Akame, PiTakki [one-sided], RyoKame, JinNo, TomaKame
Rating: PG-13 [strong language and sexual references]
Summary: When his parents go overseas to work, Ueda is forced to go to an all-boys boarding school for his high school years. There, he meets Ryo Nishikido, a stubborn, strong-willed boy who ends up becoming his roommate. Ueda quickly falls for the other boy despite Ryo's rude words and bad attitude. Trouble starts up, however, and soon this seemingly one-sided love ends up becoming a love triangle and eventually a love square. Despite it all, Ueda must overcome these obstacles in order to maintain his spot at the elite high school.
Disclaimer: Title taken from "Wish We Were Older" by Metro Station
Chapter 13
“What was that, dear?”
Ueda sighed. He felt so nervous and so unsure at that moment, more so than any other time he could think of.
“I’d like to request to change dorm rooms, headmistress,” he repeated.
The older woman looked shocked yet concerned.
“Is there a particular reason for such a request, Ueda-kun?”
Ueda wasn’t sure if he could go through with it but he remembered why he wanted to do this in the first place.
“I’m afraid that I won’t be able to succeed academically if I stay in that-environment.”
“You mean, with Ryo?”
Ueda blinked rapidly, but refrained from showing any real emotion. It wasn’t working because the headmistress could clearly tell what was going on.
“Is something wrong, Ueda-kun?”
Ueda wiped his eye and shook his head, smiling weakly.
“Nothing, headmistress. I’m just a little tired-I didn’t get much sleep last night.”
“I see.”
Ueda continued smiling, even if it was all just an act.
“Well, I guess I can fulfill your request-as long as you’re sure that it’s what you really want.”
Ueda stopped smiling and instead looked firm.
“I’m absolutely sure.”
The headmistress stood up from her chair and went to a cabinet. She looked up and down the shelves before pulling out a box. In it were various forms that she had on hand, including formal requests for changing dorm rooms. She picked one up and was about to hand it to Ueda, but refrained from doing so.
“Headmistress?”
The older woman smiled.
“I think that we should make a temporary change in your residence, Ueda-kun.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, instead of formally changing your room, why don’t you just try switching with one of the other boys in your dorm, just for a little while? I think it would be better, just in case you decide that you want to change back.”
Ueda sighed.
“I don’t know. I’m kind of itching to change rooms. I think it would be better if I had a change of scenery-to focus on school, of course.”
The headmistress laughed, knowingly.
“Well, you can go ahead and sign this form but it will take a while to fully transfer-about two weeks. In the mean time, you can do a temporary switch with one of the other boys. Let’s see-where did I put that resident listing?”
As the headmistress looked for the list of boys in Ueda’s dorm, Ueda thought to himself. He wasn’t sure what he was doing, changing rooms. It seemed like the obvious choice, but at the same time, it didn’t seem so clear. One thing working in his favor was the fact that the request form would take weeks to process; it was true that he did have the choice to change his mind. Ueda was still unsure if he really needed that option. Even if this move was temporary, just until it became official, Ueda started to think that it was really the right thing to do. So went the thoughts of a high school boy in love. He was beyond confused and every decision he made seemed like the wrong one until something good happened to him. Ueda’s mind felt warped and it was all because he was in love.
Meanwhile, Ryo was sitting in homeroom, wondering where his roommate was. He turned to Yamapi and whispered.
“Hey, have you seen Ueda?”
Yamapi didn’t respond, since he was still enamored with his homeroom teacher. Ryo scoffed and rolled his eyes, prompting Kame to speak up.
“Hey, Nishikido-kun-didn’t Tat-chan come to class with you?” he asked.
Ryo shook his head and shrugged his shoulders.
“He said he was going to class on his own-I thought he would have been here already.”
Just then, the door opened.
“Ueda-kun, you’re late,” the teacher, Takizawa-sensei, stated.
Ueda handed him a note that the headmistress had written for him as an excuse. The teacher read it and nodded his head, gesturing for Ueda to sit down. Ueda walked over to his desk and Ryo watched as he did, the younger man’s cheeks turning slightly red. Ueda didn’t even look at Ryo and just sat down in his usual desk. When Kame and Ryo tried to get him to respond to their questions about where he had been, he just replied “nowhere.”
During lunchtime, Ueda was nowhere to be found and Ryo was getting anxious.
“Hey, does anyone know where Ueda is? First, he shows up late to homeroom-now he’s not even here for lunch.”
Koki shrugged his shoulders, as did Toma and Yamapi. Kame seemed a little worried too, and apparently, Maru was running late to lunch.
Ryo sighed, sounding disappointed and dejected. He put his head on his hand and continued eating his food.
That night, he opened the door to his dorm room, only to find Maru on Ueda’s bed, with an open suitcase and a smile on his face.
“Hey, new roommate!”
Ryo looked at the other boy strangely and quickly disappeared from the room.
Meanwhile, Ueda was unpacking his bag on Maru’s bed. Koki was sitting on his bed, listening to music and reading a magazine. Ueda kept sighing over and over again, sounding unsure of this arrangement that Headmistress had made. He continued unpacking when someone burst into the room. Koki jumped from his bed, as did Ueda.
“WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?”
“Nishikido-kun,” Ueda gasped.
“Don’t ‘Nishikido-kun’ me! Why the hell is that Nakamaru guy telling me that you switched dorm rooms with him?”
“Oh, so you found out,” Ueda chuckled, as he continued placing clothes in the dresser next to his bed. Koki looked terrified and decided to slink out at the moment, sure that there was another showdown about to take place.
“Don’t leave, Koki-kun. Nishikido-kun isn’t going to do anything. After all-why should he care?” Ueda smirked at Ryo.
Ryo glared, harder than he had ever before.
“You’re right! Why should I care? I don’t care what you do! After all-you don’t mean anything to me!”
Ueda looked shocked, felt shocked and expressed shock through his gasp. Ryo twitched a bit, but tried to maintain his composure even though he knew what he said was idiotic.
“I’m glad you finally admitted what we all already knew! Now you can leave and not feel guilty anymore! Right, Nishikido-kun?”
Ryo looked at Ueda. Though he was scowling, his eyes seemed sorrowful and Ueda was too disgusted to notice, thereby making Ryo to seem absolutely remorseless. The younger boy just walked out of the room and Ueda sat down on his new bed, crossed his arms and looked about ready to cry. Koki wanted to say something but could do nothing except sit next to Ueda and pat him gently on the shoulder.
Ryo came back to the room and looked pissed off. He practically kicked down the door and came stomping in, muttering under his breath curses and other bad words aimed at Ueda. He stomped around the room continuously and didn’t even realize that his new roommate was staring at him, from the corner of his bed, with a pillow as his only form of protection. Ryo stopped and looked at Maru.
“WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU LOOKING AT?!”
Maru scrambled to get off the bed and ran out of the room, terrified. Ryo grunted before falling back on his bed.
Later, as Ueda lay in his new bed, he thought about the words Ryo had said to him. First, Ryo makes the other boy aware that they would never have anything romantic and then, Ryo makes it clear that he never cared about Ueda, at all. Ueda was beginning to think that giving up on Ryo was the best way and to start it off, he was going to make the room change a permanent thing.
Ryo, at that moment, was thinking instead of sleeping. He, too, was rethinking over what he had said to Ueda that day. He also thought about the revelation he had come upon; that is Ueda’s feelings for the younger boy.
“URGH!” Ryo grunted under his breath as he put his hands over his eyes in disgust.
He clearly knew that Ueda had feelings for him and yet, he still chose to act in a way and say things that only ended up hurting Ueda. As he continued to think, he ended up realizing that Ueda had moved out because of what Ryo had said to him earlier.
“Oh gawd, he must think I’m some homophobe or something,” he thought to himself, “why else would he move out?”
Ryo never liked to assume that people had feelings for him, which is why he was so slow when it came to figuring out that Ueda had feelings for him. He chose this path even more so when it came to other guys, assuming instead that any guy who showed what most would interpret to be romantic feelings, was just interested in being friends. But it was different with Ueda for some reason. Ryo knew that when it came to Ueda, he definitely acted different. He was always much angrier when it came to Ueda, he was more affected by things Ueda did or said than anyone else, he also noticed how much more he cared about what Ueda was doing than he did with even his own best friends.
Ryo suddenly sat up.
“Do I like Ueda?” he asked himself. There was no one to answer him; Maru was asleep as was everyone else in the dorm. Even if Toma or Yamapi or anyone other than Ryo could answer, it wouldn’t mean nearly as much as if Ryo could answer the question for himself.
The next morning, in the cafeteria, Ueda was sitting eating his breakfast for the first time that week. He hadn’t been able to eat a proper breakfast, since almost every morning he was rushing to get ready. Living with Koki as opposed to Ryo allowed for him to get up earlier since Koki set his alarm at a much earlier time than Ueda was used to. It was good though, to be without the worry of being late or the worry that Ryo would be yelling in his ear to get ready. It was good, Ueda thought, or maybe it wasn’t.
Just then, Ryo walked in, with Maru beside him, smiling and laughing. Ueda almost spit out his orange juice but managed to swallow it in time. Maru walked over first and waved enthusiastically before going to get food; Ryo stayed back and sat down.
“So, Tanaka-kun, how was your first night living in the same room as this idiot?” Ryo laughed.
Koki looked at Ueda and then back at Ryo and smiled awkwardly. Ueda just ignored Ryo, continued eating his food and drinking his orange juice. He didn’t even look up once as Ryo sat across from him.
Ryo frowned but then smiled again, continuing to try and annoy Ueda, for some unknown reason.
“I bet he still snores, am I right? It’s really loud, huh, like a buzz saw? Haha”
Koki looked a little uncomfortable but he still tried to laugh so as to not get Ryo mad at him. Ueda wasn’t paying attention; he was but he didn’t want to appear to be.
“It must really be annoying to live with this guy, huh, Tanaka-kun?”
Ueda slammed his hand down on the table. Ryo and Koki stopped and stared at him. Ueda looked at Koki and smiled sweetly.
“Koki-kun-I’m going to leave first. I’ve suddenly lost my appetite!”
Ueda got up and put his tray away before walking out of the cafeteria. He managed to bump into Toma and Yamapi in the hallway.
“Whoa, Tatsuya, where’s the fire?” Toma laughed.
Ueda glared at him before storming off.
“What’s his problem?” Yamapi scratched his head.
Just then, Ryo came running out, only to stop when he saw his friends.
“I’ve got your answer right here,” Toma quipped, pointing his thumb in Ryo’s general direction.
“What are you morons going off about?” Ryo grunted.
Yamapi laughed as did Toma; the pair dragged Ryo back into the cafeteria even though it was obvious Ryo wanted to go after his former roommate and possible crush.
Later on, the school day was about to end and it meant that Ryo and Ueda would have to clean the classroom together, alone. At least, that’s what Ryo expected. The bell rang and when he turned around to “complain” to Ueda about how he had to be stuck with the older boy for classroom duties. But when he turned around, Ueda wasn’t there and in his place was Kame.
“Tat-chan told me to take over his duties for him-he said he had something to do.”
Ryo sighed, putting his hand to his head.
After a disastrous hour cleaning up with Kame, Ryo felt exhausted. He staggered down the hallway towards his dorm room. His mind was completely blank at that moment, save for the reoccurring thought of going to sleep as soon as his head hit the pillow of his bed. It was 4:30 in the afternoon, but Ryo didn’t care.
He trudged through the maze of doors, until he stopped when he saw Ueda standing outside of the room they once shared. He looked reluctant to knock on the door, repeatedly putting his closed fist up to the wood but without making a sound.
Ryo smiled subtly.
“Can I help you with something?”
Ueda jumped upon seeing Ryo, but quickly acted as if he was annoyed to see the other boy.
He crossed his arms and huffed, “I just wanted to see if Maru was here. I have nothing to say to you.”
Ryo laughed, “You expect me to believe that? I know you only came so you could talk to me. Face it, Ueda, you’re finding life pretty hard without me, aren’t you?”
Ueda felt disgusted. One thing he couldn’t stand was Ryo’s haughty attitude, even if it was part of the reason Ueda found his former roommate so undeniably attractive. He sighed and rolled his eyes, showing the annoyance that resulted from Ryo’s arrogance.
“You sure are full of yourself for someone so small. Look-I’ll admit I wanted to talk to you but it’s gonna be short and sweet because I can’t stand the sight of you.”
Ryo chuckled again, “Ouch.”
Ueda sighed again.
“Do you remember when we had that conversation while cleaning the classroom the other day?”
“Oh yeah-hey, why didn’t you show up for class rep duties?”
Ueda put his hand up, “Please. I need to get this out, right away.”
Ryo shrugged his shoulders and Ueda proceeded to continue. The older boy was nervous for what he was about to say. He was always nervous when it came to Ryo, but by now, he sure as hell was used to it.
“And remember when I told you that I ‘liked you’ and you just thought I meant as a friend? Well, the truth is-”
This was it; Ryo was sure Ueda would confess. He was also sure that he could just tell the other boy that he had known all along and that he too felt the sparks between them. The two would finally get their feelings out to one another and all would be right with the world. Ryo was an idiot for thinking it would be that simple.
“The truth is-I DID like you.”
Ryo’s dreamy state vanished in a second. He mouthed out the words that Ueda had just spoken and came upon a realization.
“DID?!”
“And now, I don’t like you anymore-in fact, I’ve moved on. That’s why I moved out-I was trying to get over you and thankfully, it worked. So-what I want from you is to not speak to me except when necessary, such as when we have to work at being class reps together and maybe with school assignments. As far as us hanging out anymore, that’s not going to happen-now that you and I are no longer roommates, we’re no longer friends either-but that shouldn’t be too much of a disappointment for you, eh, Nishikido-kun?”
Ryo didn’t say anything because he couldn’t; he was too shocked for real words to form. Not only had Ueda confessed but he also was basically telling Ryo off and banning him from speaking to him. Ueda was being ridiculous, in Ryo’s mind, and Ryo simply wouldn’t take it.
He was about to defend himself but Ueda stopped him from doing so.
“Look-I don’t wanna start a fight; every time we fought it just made my feelings for you grow deeper so if we fought now-I’m afraid all hell would break loose. I’m over you now, Nishikido-kun-you and I no longer have any reason to fight anymore.”
Ryo still couldn’t get any words out because Ueda interrupted him.
“I guess I’ll see you around. Bye.”
Ueda walked off and left Ryo confused and bewildered. One would think that an impulsive person like Ryo would have ran after his former roommate and do something utterly romantic, resulting in the two developing a strong personal relationship once again; one would think so but Ryo certainly didn’t. He couldn’t move and he felt so unsure of what had just taken place.
Had Ueda, of all people, just rejected him?
Now was the time for Ryo’s stubbornness and need for revenge to show itself when his impulsiveness disappeared.
“This isn’t over, Ueda Tatsuya-not by a long shot,” he whispered under his breath, and before going into his room to devise a plan for fixing things with the boy he seemed to love.
A few days went by and Ryo chose to stick to what Ueda said, not speaking a word to the other boy except when they had to discuss classes and the like. In Ryo’s mind, it would end up driving Ueda crazy and the other boy would finally come to his senses. He’d move back in with Ryo and everything would be as it should; apparently, Ryo didn’t account for the fact that Ueda was ignoring him.
“Ueda-kun, are you going to help out with class rep duties today?” he asked with a smile, turning around in his seat to direct his attention to his classmate.
“Yes.”
Ueda didn’t even look up when he responded to Ryo’s question. Ryo pouted, crossing his arms and turning himself around. He looked at Yamapi and sneered at the love struck face the other boy had.
When homeroom ended, Ryo decided to try again.
“Ueda-kun, do you happen to have yesterday’s math notes?”
“Yes.”
Ryo blinked.
“Can I borrow them?”
Ueda shook his head.
“I left them in my room.”
Ryo continued smiling, despite his annoyance.
“Okay, then-never mind.”
Ryo, once again, turned away from Ueda and muttered to himself. He realized that he missed Ueda’s cheerful self, even if he was a pain in the ass other times. Ueda’s smile seemed to disappear whenever Ryo was around, when just a week ago, his smile only got wider when he saw his former roommate. Ryo noticed that when he joined the group for a meal, Ueda would immediately set his food down and get up, throwing away sometimes a whole meal if Ryo was there. Ryo knew that Ueda was serious and that it would not be as easy as simply being courteous to the older boy.
“How could you let this happen?!”
Ryo’s grandmother smiled at him, taking her attention away from the important documents she had previously been working on.
“What ever could you mean, Ryo?”
Ryo scowled, like a child throwing a tantrum.
“You know perfectly well what I mean! Grandma, you let Ueda-kun move out of the dorm room without telling me! And now he won’t even really speak to me-at least not like he did before. He’s just so cold now.”
The headmistress sighed, knowingly as if she knew all of this would happen.
She got up from her desk and strolled over to the window, looking out at the hyperactive teenage boys running around campus.
“Ryo, I told Ueda-kun that if he wanted to move from your dorm room, permanently, he would have to wait two weeks until the form was processed.”
“Yeah, so?”
The older woman turned and looked at her grandson, slightly in disbelief that he was not as intelligent as she had hoped.
“A request for change in residence takes one business day to process-the two week period I gave to Ueda-kun was more or less, made up.”
Ryo jumped up from the chair he had sat down in.
“What?!”
“I knew there had to be some sort of tension between you two and that was the reason Ueda-kun wanted to leave. I thought two weeks would be enough time for the two of you to patch things up and for Ueda-kun to move back in with you.”
“It’s already been a week and he still won’t really acknowledge me!” Ryo felt suddenly discouraged.
“Well, there’s nothing I can do for you, Ryo. If at the end of two weeks Ueda-kun DOESN’T come to me to say that he would like to go back to his old dorm room, I’m afraid I will have to make his residence change official-i.e. permanent. A student is allowed only one request of change in residence except in extreme scenarios and I’ll tell you that those are very rare.”
Ryo frowned, unable to feel anything but pure disappointment.
“I would like to order for Ueda-kun to just move back for you but I cannot do that. I am already doing enough, letting two students switch rooms for two weeks without any official form documenting such a move. If you can make him change his mind, without resorting to anything that would go against school policy, then I support you, 100%. I can tell you care a lot for Ueda-kun, so I can’t stand in your way.”
Ryo looked at his grandmother and saw the warmth in her eyes. She had always supported Ryo and always believed in him, even when his own parents did not do the same. She was the one who instilled trust in Ryo, giving him a bit of freedom; more than anyone would think someone of her position would give to their “delinquent” grandson.
“Grandma-”
“Go on, Ryo. Do good things and you will be rewarded ten-fold. It’s a corny saying but in this case, I think it will help. If you care enough for Ueda-kun, I want you to make up with him and if you can, try and get him to change rooms again. I don’t usually tell students this, but it really is a hassle for students to move out of their dorm rooms. The movers are always teachers and they never like agreeing to such a thing.”
The older woman laughed, as did Ryo. He felt reassured; with his grandmother’s support, he was sure that he could make Ueda come back to him, both physically and emotionally.
“Thanks for everything, Grandma.”
Ryo’s grandmother smiled widely.
“Just continue doing your best, Ryo. And remember what I told you last summer-look after him. Do all you can to help him and never let him leave your side.”
Ryo nodded his head, smiled and ran out of the headmistress’s office. The older woman exhaled deeply, feeling some relief that there might actually be some peace for her grandson and Ueda.
The next day, Ueda was eating breakfast with Koki and Maru and felt relieved that Ryo had not yet shown up.
“It’s great not having him hovering around like the pest that he is,” Ueda joked.
Koki and Maru looked at each other and shook their heads.
“What?” Ueda asked.
Just then, Kame came storming in, looking pissed off to no end. Toma was right behind him as was Yamapi, who seemed more annoyed than anyone.
“What’s going on?” Ueda asked Kame.
Kame slammed his books on the table and huffed loudly.
“This idiot won’t stop annoying me!” he yelled, clearly referring to Toma.
“I’m an idiot? You’re the one who failed his math test! Even though I spent almost a week tutoring you for it!” Toma retorted, waving his finger in Kame’s face.
Kame looked about ready to bite that finger off, but refrained from doing so.
“Whoa-whoa-whoa! You were tutoring Kame?” Ueda chuckled, confused.
“Yeah, he asked me too. Man, was I in the shock of my life when I realized a boy my age was so incapable of simple arithmetic!”
“I’m not some special needs case! You don’t have to act like I’m the biggest idiot you ever met,” Kame screamed, sounding more hurt than anything.
Toma laughed heartily.
“I couldn’t have said it better myself. You have to be the worst case of bad schooling I ever met! Where the hell did you go to junior high? Didn’t they teach you how to add and subtract? I mean, really, are you that stupid?”
Kame looked at Toma, on the verge of tears. He took his math book and hit Toma right in the face with it. Everyone watched, shocked, as the boy went crashing to the ground. A large welt formed on his forehead and he began to scream bloody murder when he saw that his nose was bleeding.
“I’m bleeding! I’m bleeding! I’m fucking bleeding, Kamenashi!”
Luckily, he hadn’t been knocked out, considering the size and hardness of the book, not to mention the strength that Kame had administered in the swing.
Kame simply glared at him, not apologizing as he stormed back out of the cafeteria.
Ueda watched as he left, laughing to himself as he did so. Yamapi came sauntering over.
“What’s so funny?”
Ueda stopped his giggling fit, long enough to tell Yamapi, “I think Kame likes Toma.”
Yamapi started busting up as well, as did Koki and Maru when they heard it from Ueda. Toma, meanwhile, was still on the floor, wondering why everyone was laughing while he was injured.
“WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU GUYS LAUGHING ABOUT?!”
As Ueda continued chuckling to himself, he walked with Yamapi to homeroom. He stopped laughing when he opened the door and saw Ryo sitting at his desk, looking at a book. Yamapi looked at Ueda, expecting the other to make a joke but Ueda didn’t say anything. He merely walked in and sat down behind Ryo, as he always did.
“Yo, Ryo,” Yamapi greeted the other boy.
Ryo looked up from his book and nodded. Ueda was expecting him to turn around and smile that stupid smile as he greeted him. It was disgusting, Ueda thought, like Ryo thought he was making the other boy’s day, simply by speaking.
But, much to Ueda’s surprise, Ryo didn’t say a word. So he decided to get the conversation going.
“Good morning, Nishikido-kun,” he said sweetly, tapping the other boy’s shoulder as he said it.
Ryo just nodded and grunted.
“Morning,” he mumbled, not taking the courtesy to even look at the other boy as he spoke. Ueda wasn’t offended at the lack of politeness so much as he was mad that Ryo was barely speaking to him. What was even more distressing was that Ryo would not speak to him, throughout the entire session of homeroom, not even when the teacher wanted the two of them to keep the class up-to-date with what they had been doing. When they were done, Ryo sat down first, not looking at Ueda once, as if the other boy did not exist.
It seemed like Ryo was not taking his grandmother’s advice of trying to patch things up between him and Ueda, but Ryo was smart enough to come up with an unorthodox strategy.
At lunch time, Ueda sat down first, being the only one of his friends to arrive in the cafeteria. Ryo was not there, which is what Ueda was most concerned with. As he started eating, one by one his friends started trickling into the cafeteria, each with their own complaints about the day.
Maru had failed a test; Koki was stressed about an upcoming project; Kame was annoyed with Toma still; Toma was annoyed with Kame still; and Yamapi was lost in his own world. Ueda managed to focus his attention on each friend’s problem without once mentioning any of his own goings-on.
“Hey, where’s Nishikido-kun?” Koki asked without thinking. Maru smacked him on the head and gestured towards Ueda, as if Ryo was a forbidden topic in the group. Ueda shrugged his shoulders and smiled awkwardly.
“I guess Nishikido-kun is too busy. He won’t be joining us, it seems,” Ueda just kept smiling awkwardly, hoping it would prove that he had very little interest in what the other boy was doing. Everyone looked at him, shook their heads and continued to eat.
The end of the day came soon enough and it was time for Ryo and Ueda to clean up the classroom. Normally, Ueda would be happy about this time of day, thinking it would give the two a chance to talk but since the last time they had cleaned up ended with a misunderstood confession, Ueda wasn’t feeling too hopeful. He started without the other boy, getting the broom and dustpan from the closet. He began sweeping, occasionally looking at the door, wishing that it would open.
He watched the clock and saw that Ryo was 15 minutes later for clean-up duties. Ueda still felt distraught but once the clock continued to move and 15 minutes became a half-hour, Ueda was ready for a fight. He was almost done, no thanks to Ryo. If the other boy showed up, Ueda would surely bite his head off. But Ryo never showed and Ueda was feeling the anger disappear, only to be replaced by morbid curiosity. When he finished with his duties, he put the cleaning supplies away and grabbed his bag. He ran down the hallway and made his way to the dorm building. When he reached the hallway where Ryo’s room was, he stopped running and started walking, but at a quick pace. He knocked on the door, not giving it a second thought.
The door opened and there was Ryo. Ueda felt his anger quickly come back as he saw the other boy, looking nonchalant.
“What do you-”
“WHERE WERE YOU?!”
“Huh?”
Ueda was breathing rapidly.
“Where were you?! You were supposed to help with clean-up! Why didn’t you show up?! It’s your job!”
Ryo laughed, crossed his arms and leant against the doorway.
“Is that why you’re here? I just forgot, okay? I didn’t realize today was Thursday.”
Ueda put his palm to his forehead and pointed behind Ryo. There was a giant daily calendar on the other boy’s desk that clearly said Thursday on it.
Ryo shrugged his shoulders, “So I’m not observant. You should know that by now.”
Ryo looked at the other boy, expecting him to understand the hidden meaning behind his words. Ueda’s shoulders tensed a bit, in response.
“Look, I just wanted to know why you’re here and not back at the classroom. But it doesn’t really matter-forget it. If you don’t remember next time, then I’ll just have to tell the teacher that someone needs to replace you.”
Ryo smirked, “Is that a threat?”
Ueda turned away, his cheeks going red.
“I’m just telling you what will happen if you neglect your duties, nothing more. I have to go.”
Ueda tried to walk away but Ryo had grabbed his arm, leaving the other unable to move. Ueda turned and looked at Ryo, with his mouth slightly open and his heart beating uncontrollably. Ryo looked at Ueda and pulled him forward, into the room, shutting the door behind him.
Ueda looked around, noticing that Maru was not around, leaving the pair of them virtually alone. He looked at Ryo who had his eyes fixed on his. Neither one said a word for what seemed like an eternity. But then Ueda spoke up.
“What-what are you doing?”
Ryo let out a small breath of air; Ueda felt the warmth of it and his skin tingled.
“I’ve tried to talk to you but you won’t let me. I thought ignoring you would be a good strategy and apparently-it was,” he whispered with a small smile on his face.
Ueda looked at him, a bit confused at the words coming from the other boy.
“Strategy?”
“For finally getting you to listen to me. I never wanted you to move out of the dorm room.”
Ueda’s heart kept beating against his chest and he felt like he would collapse right in Ryo’s arms. He gulped subtly and let out a deep breath.
“You didn’t?” he asked, taking his eyes away from Ryo’s gaze and lowering them slowly to the floor.
“No, I didn’t. I didn’t want you to ever leave my side.”
Ueda looked back up at him. Had Ryo just said those words? He had his arms on Ueda’s shoulders and the older boy’s eyes nearly rolled back in his head. The feel of the other’s hands was something Ueda could never describe in words.
“What are you trying to say?”
Ryo closed his mouth. He just stared at Ueda, marking every feature on the other boy’s face mentally, as if he wanted to remember this moment forever.
“What I’m trying to say is I think I like-”
Just then the door swung open. It was Yamapi and he looked extremely worried.
“YAMAPI!”
“WHAT THE HELL, MAN?” Ryo groaned.
“You guys gotta come quick! Toma and Akanishi got into a fight!”
END CHAPTER 13
A/N: Another cliffhanger? Sorry XD;; If you read my fics, you should know that I love cliffhangers :3 Anyways, thanks to everyone who has been reading this series and commented on it. I can never truly express how much your support means to me. Thank you very much ^^