Expectations // Soukoku

12 // Coffee dates (Update!)

So? Dazai doesn't eat enough anyways. He needs to stop skipping meals." Chuuya had said serenely while looking at Dazai with worried eyes. Dazai's face had heated up slightly after hearing that. Tachihara was left at a loss for words.

After school when Dazai was taking his leave, he could hear someone calling for him. "Dazai! Da — Dah... — Zaih!" A disembodied voice yelled, clearly out of breath. Dazai turned around and curiously searched for the person calling his name. He spotted Tachihara jogging towards him. His forehead was damped in sweat and his uniform looked wrinkled. He clearly did not exercise much. Either that or he had been running around looking for Dazai for a long time. It must have been a very serious matter for Tachihara to go all out like this.

"What is it? Is something wrong?" Dazai asked once Tachihara was panting before him. The fake-ginger looked like he had just run a marathon. He must be one of those people who sit at their computers all day.

"Chuuya..." He managed to breathe out. Dazai flinched at the mention of Chuuya's name. Had something happened to him? Was that why Tachihara had run after Dazai?

Tachihara had to catch his breath before he could speak, or he might have passed out from the lack of oxygen. Once he did he finally stood up straight and took a deep breath before loudly asking: "What's your relationship with Chuuya?" His eyes were squeezed shut and his lips tightly pressed against one another. Suddenly Dazai could feel his words getting stuck in his throat. Was this really it? Was this the reason Tachihara had run after him? Dazai did not know how to feel. Relieved? Possibly.

There was a moment of silence, which lasted until it was broken by laughter. Tachihara slowly opened his eyes. He felt perplexed. Had he said something funny? Perhaps, he had mispronounced a word while asking his question. That theory was quickly debunked when Dazai spoke up: "Sorry, I just thought you were going to say something serious." He wiped away some water that had gathered up by his eyes.

Tachihara looked at him with chagrin. His question was utterly serious. He huffed disappointedly and looked away. "I was being serious. Why does Chuuya like you anyway? You're so weird." He said, sotto voce.

"Huh?" Dazai asked in confusion as he had not heard Tachihara.

"I was being serious," Tachihara repeated, this time orotund.

Embarrassed, Dazai mouthed an 'Oh'. He bit his lip nervously and his eyes drifted to the ground, not capable of looking at Tachihara. "Sorry." He murmured before looking up. Tachihara turned his head back as well. Dazai put on a small smile and said: "We're just friends." But with the way he said it he almost sounded hurt. And he definitely was. The moment those words escaped his lips it felt like a needle piercing through his heart. Tachihara nodded. He didn't say anything. Just bowed and left.

For a good minute, Dazai stood there, dumbfounded. He was only brought back to reality when he felt someone tug at his sleeve. The sudden touch startled him. "Wha — Huh? Chuuya?" He said in a croaky voice. His voice had kind of healed during the day but it seemed to have betrayed him again at that very moment.

Chuuya's eyes stared straight through Dazai and no doubt he knew something was not right. "You okay? Why are you just standing here alone?" Chuuya asked, clearly concerned but he didn't let that show on his face.