𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐲 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬.

18 | black cat

atsushi and tanizaki stood alongside the school gates, their bags hunging on their shoulders as they waited for a certain blond, kenji. he was assigned on cleaning duty every monday and requested for the boys to wait for him so that all three of them could walk home together. atsushi was tapping his fingers on both sides of his trousers, trying to refrain himself for getting bored.

as students from different classes and years passed by the gates, the ginger kept his gaze fixed on the small boy beside him. he was observing him from the corner of his eyes, waiting for the right timing to speak up. of course, atsushi had already felt tanizaki's stares a while ago but refused to bring it up. unfortunately, kenji's multiple attempts turned out a failure. somehow, nakajima couldn't be happy even though he wants to be. he felt like something kept lacking. he felt incomplete.

tanizaki finally removed his gaze on the quiet lad, trailing to another person. he saw akutagawa at the other side of the gate, crouching infront of a black cat, who he was suprisingly petting. he still wore a blank expression, though he seem to quite enjoy the cat's presence. the ginger saw the opening.

a light tap on the shoulder made atsushi jump out of his thoughts. he spaced out again. looking up at the taller male, he raised his eyebrows, as if he was asking a question. junichirou pointed ahead, which nakajima followed where it leaded. there sat akutagawa who was caressing the black fur of a random cat with the back of his index finger. "suprisinging, right? seems like our akutagawa likes cats," tanizaki giggled.

atsushi remained quiet, just staring at the other side of the gate. akutagawa was still wearing his earphones, looking so peaceful as he pat the stray cat. atsushi was missing his presence, even though he dosen't admit it. it's been days since they last spoke, slowly turning into strangers again. in a short amount of time, he grew attatched to him that he felt hurt in their current situation.

he's just right infront of me,
but why is he so far away?

"i've been meaning to tell you this, atsushi," tanizaki spoke as the fresh breeze passed. said name turned his way, saying nothing as a signal for the ginger to continue. smiling slightly, the taller male looked akutagawa's way, "i saw him cried this lunch time while he was listening to his playlist. he said he was just having a nightmare, but that wasn't convincing at all," scoffed, tanizaki.

the light gray haired male widened his eyes, surprised to hear that. the ginger smiled, turning to him, "did something happend? akutagawa never cries if it's not important."

"why're you asking me? i'm not an important person," atsushi glanced at akutagawa who stood up from the ground, folding his arms.

"you are for him." without hesitation, junichirou asnwered.

nakajima snapped his gaze towards the taller male, his eyes wide open. he could feel his cheeks and ears turn warm. "what the fuck was that?!" tanizaki only laughed, but he was honest when he said that phrase.

"oniisan!" an unfamilliar high pitched voice reached the light gray haired latter's pale ears. both males turned towards the voice, seeing a girl with long, black hair. she was pretty and tall, everybody could fall for her. even atsushi finds her pretty, though she wasn't really his type.

tanizaki smiled at the girl when she halted beside him, turns out to be his younger sibling. "were you waiting for me? i'm currently waiting for lucy though, i'm going over to her place for a project." the girl said, junichirou nodding in response. "i don't mind plus we're actually waiting for kenji."

this time, it was the girl's turn to nod. not long enough, her gaze trailed to the pale boy beside her brother, who she's unfamilliar with. the ginger followed where she looked, laughing softly in the sudden realization. "oh, right. atsushi, meet naomi. naomi, meet atsushi," tanizaki introduced with a smile.

the girl named naomi happily grinned, extending her hand for atsushi to shake, "it's nice to meet you! i'm his sister," cheerfully, she said. nakajima forced a smile, and shook her soft hand. don't get him wrong though, it's not like he has a bad impression on naomi, it's just that he wasn't in the mood and is awkward around new people.

"naomi!" another voice shouted from a distance. this made all three of them turn around to see another pretty girl with red hair, running towards their way. she was waving, calling for her friend's attention.

"there you are, lucy!"

[ 🤍 ]
can you guess what's lucy's
role here? 👀