Romantic Killer But I Made It Gay

Part 20

Junta and I start toward the school in silence. As we walk I can see him smiling comfortably out of the corner of my eye, while I'm left feeling awkward and out of place. Not to mention short and skinny next to this ripped giant. Seriously, how does Kiki figure I managed to score a childhood friend like this?

"You surprised me back there," Junta comments, breaking the silence.

"Yeah..." I look away, not sure what to say. "You really don't have to try cauliflower cake. I was just joking around."

He laughs, shaking his head. "I don't plan to. But I was talking about that boy, what was it,   Ka...?"

"Kazuki."

He snaps, smiling at me. "Right! Kazuki! I never expected you to have another boy move in with you. Are you sure it's okay? He's not forcing you to do this, is he? He's not doing things to you, right?"

"I'm fine." Wow, he's really protective. It makes sense if Kiki was right and he likes me. "Since my parents don't live here anymore I've got an empty room. Plus, I live close to his work, so he can commute easily."

"I still...I'm not sure about it," he murmurs, scratching his cheek. "Can you really trust him? I mean, you two just met a few days ago, right?"

I sigh. To me, he's even more of a stranger than Kazuki is. Can I trust him? But I don't say that. To him, we've known each other our entire lives and I've suddenly moved in with a strange boy he doesn't know.

"It's okay," I assure him. "Kazuki can seem unfriendly, but he's really nice on the inside. Plus, with girls always pestering him, he says he has no interest in dating. So nothing's going to—"

"Wait." Junta pauses midstep, turning to me. "You didn't say he's straight."

"W-What?"

"You didn't say nothing can happen because he's straight." When I don't respond he grabs my shoulders, locking my gaze with his. "He is straight, right?"

"Well..." How do I say he used to be until my magic friend changed that? "I don't know?"

"That's a very important thing to ask when you're going to be living with someone!"

"I know, I know," I grumble, swatting his hands away. "But I'm not ready for that awkward conversation. And I hadn't told him I'm not, by the way, until you randomly brought it up. So thanks."

Junta flushes, his arms dropping to his sides. "I'm sorry. I thought he knew."

With the dejected look on his face I can't help but pat his arm, muttering, "It's fine. You didn't mean any harm."

He lights up and we start walking again.

"I guess if your parents are fine with it then I shouldn't butt in," Junta murmurs, a hand thoughtfully over his mouth. "If you're really okay..."

I smile awkwardly. He's the one he would be worrying about, not me. I still don't know how this mind control thing works, and if there's any way for me to break out and free my poor friends.

Friends...? How am I already thinking of this stranger as my friend? Is it because of Kiki's magic? No, I know what it is; he treats me like a normal human, not some weirdo. If we've really been friends for most of our lives, then he really knows the true me, and he accepts me for it. I smile up at him but he luckily doesn't notice. If he can do that, he must be a really nice guy.

A strong gust of wind suddenly blows in, almost knocking me back in surprise. As I cover my face, Junta does the same and we wait until it passes to look at each other.

"Are you okay, Haru?"

"I'm fine..." Suddenly I feel something move in my hair and I freeze, imagining a giant roach sitting on my head. "Junta? Is something on my head?"

He blinks, then laughs. "Yeah, a giant Hercules beetle."

"A what?" I yelp, reaching for my hair. "Are you spewing some Greek mythology on me?" My fingers touch something cold and hard and I flinch, my hands instinctively retracting.

"Here, I'll get it."

I look up to see Junta leaning down toward me, a hand outstretched for my hair. It's hard to breathe with him so close, his eyes directed away from mine, showing the handsome outline of his face. Friends. Friends, friends, friends, friends! We're just childhood friends! But—

"Agh—!" I yell and he tries to pull the beetle off but ends up pulling out some of my hair instead. "What are you doing!?"

"Sorry." He winces at my loud voice. "It's really tangled in there. I told you, you should cut your hair sometime. The way it hangs over your eyes is..." realizing he's about to insult me, he flushes and corrects himself, "I think guys would like you better if you didn't look so shaggy."

"Well if beetles get stuck in my hair every day I just might," I grumble as he works his fingers around the creature's jagged legs, trying to untangle it from me. After a couple minutes he succeeds and holds it up for me to see. It's the size of his hand, with shiny green wings and long black legs that flail around as it tries to free itself.

"Disgusting," I decide. "Can you not show it to me?"

He turns the other way, his large body blocking it from view. "It's a really big one. You might fetch around ten thousand yen for this puppy."

"Ten thousand!?" I'm suddenly interested in the creature. "I could use money like that!"

"Maybe we should—" he's cut off by the beetle pushing his fingers apart and buzzing into the air. We watch as it flies to the nearest telephone pole, landing around eye level.

"We can still get it!" I run after it and after a second Junta joins me. He's fast, but he slows down so we can run at each other's sides.

Out of the corner of my eye I see a flash of yellow near my foot, but before I can react my ankle gives out from under me and I fall forward, crashing into Junta. He turns just in time for me to fall into his arms, sending him stumbling back to catch his balance.

For a second the whole world is quiet. I can feel Junta's heart pounding through his chest, almost matching my fast pace. Then I quickly push myself to my feet, my ankle suddenly healed. Of course it is. This was all part of Kiki's diabolical plan.

"That was close." Junta's face is the color of a cherry blossom tree in full bloom, and I'm sure I match him. "Are you okay?"

"I—ah, I sprained my ankle last night," I lie, backing away slowly and hoping he doesn't notice. I can't say I tripped too a stranger, that would ruin what little pride I have left. "I guess it gave out on me."

"Really?" He glances toward the beetle but it's already made its getaway into the sky. "Let me take a look at it."

Oh no. "You don't have to!"

He shakes his head. "Sprained ankles are no joke, Haru. Remember when I thought I was fine to play but I ended up really hurting my leg?" His eyes glaze over as he gets lost in imaginary memories. "You ran out onto the field and tried to help me up. Too bad you weren't strong enough to do anything..."

Jesus, I'm like some kind of angel in his memories! I shiver, the thought of my mind ever being affected like that making me uncomfortable. But back to the present, if he checks my ankle he'll know I'm lying! What to do...

Junta laughs at my furrowed brow. "It's okay." He leans in and whispers, "You're just embarrassed that you tripped, right?"

He knows me so well! In my shock, all I can do is nod. Kiki did a great job, I'll give it that, at creating a perfect childhood friend for me.