Worth It {Ash x Eiji}

Thin

{ *yeets full tea cup at the wall* 

oops...}

" I want to stay!"

" You can't! Don't you get that you're in serious danger here?! Charlie tells me that they regulate the gangs, but that doesn't make your involvement less dangerous! You could be targeted and killed! What would I tell your parents?!"

Eiji shook his head, seething.

" Don't you get that they've shown me kindness and hospitality in their own way?! How can I just abandon them when they're the most loyal friends I've ever had?!"

Ibe was clearly ready to lose his temper, if he hadn't already lost it by then.

" Eiji! It's final! I'm moving you to another school that will take your foreign exchange terms!"

Eiji stood and slammed his hands on the kitchen table.

" NO!"

" YES!"

" Fine! Then I'll skip school!"

" You wouldn't!"

" TRY ME!"

They stared at each other and panted, and Eiji couldn't believe that he'd been yelling like that. It wasn't like he'd never raised his voice before, but it was hard to find an issue that he would be more passionate about than the one that they were currently on. Something about Ash made him not want to leave, made him want to show loyalty to him. He'd saved his life so many times already!

" I'm not leaving Ash and the others. They get me." He told him sternly, and Ibe held his head and sighed in a stressed manner. He realized in that moment that he couldn't control Eiji and he was going to do as he wanted, being that he was 18 and an adult. He couldn't make that decision for him, even if he was his designated caregiver in the states.

" Fine... but they need to keep you safe."

Eiji pulled out the phone.

" He gave me this... something that I can always reach him on. I told you, he has his people watching over the house to keep us safe. If I move, that doesn't automatically mean we'll be safer, actually, it might make things worse. We're in this now."

Ibe stood, looking down at the breakfast on the table after seeing the expression on Eiji's face.

" I'll drive you to school. What time should I pick you up?"

" Don't pick me up. They'll walk me again. I have work tonight... so I'll have to ask Ash what he wants to do about that, but I'll let you know."

When Eiji arrived out front of the school building, Ash was leaning on one of the pillars and waiting for him already. It had gone unspoken that Eiji would be there at that time and he'd be there to escort him, but Eiji wasn't weirded out by it.

Ibe looked out the window and watched Ash wave him off, swallowing his worries as he drove away. He prayed that Eiji would be safe with him there.

" He doesn't like me." Ash chuckled. " Gee, I wonder what I did."

" I mean... being a gang boss has nothing to do with it I'm sure." Eiji managed to laugh back, gripping the straps of his backpack. He and Ash walked together, drawing whispers from their peers and groups of people. The girls all gossiped about the way the two boys were attached at the hip so suddenly and half of them were jealous. Meanwhile others were just curious about the exchange student and didn't care why Ash stayed by him.