"Ah, would you shut up for once?!" He slammed his hands on the table.
-
An average day, seemingly.
Things went as per usual, students attending classes, friends chatting, and the beloved student council president being surrounded by fans.
Smiling as if there was nothing wrong, he came up with an excuse to deny them all. Seeing as this was a common situation, he wasn't very off-put by it. Whilst Akane watched this all silently, the wish to run away almost overtook him. Though, he only walked away.
Because who would want to watch someone important to you be obsessed over by someone they don't even like?
-
Teru's popularity was no surprise to anyone, especially not the vice president.
He was popular, and everyone knew why. Including Akane. Though he knew who Teru really was, he could still understand why so many fawned over him. The guy was perfect. Flaws? Never heard of them.
And.. that's what pissed him off so much.
He is perfect.
His rage was hard to contain and even harder to understand. Emotions were never his forte. They made him feel stupid and vulnerable. Which was one of his many great fears. He cursed himself out silently. Feeling his eyes start to water slightly, he ignored it.
He wanted to scream.
Wanted to scream about how much he hated that damn president. How he hated how he made him feel. And how he hated that he didn't hate any of that.
But, it's not like he could spend too much time thinking about that. To think about that stupid president? He'd rather die. Well, not actually.
Thinking about Ao-chan, left him in a much better mood, and far less flustered. One of the many things he preferred.
-
Teru felt as if he sat atop a throne. A throne he was forced upon. He never wanted to accept the title of King, however, the citizens would never accept that. They would act as if he was some savior to them and harass him constantly with their supposed good intentions.
And on top of it all, he couldn't do anything about it.
He had to stay perfect, he had expectations to meet, and people to protect. He could never falter, or else it would all be over. What would Kou and Tiara think if their big brother couldn't protect anyone?
He felt himself being watched at every turn, every step, every time, and everywhere. Even if there was no one there, even if he was just being paranoid, it scared him. He felt so alone, yet surrounded by everyone. So many chances, yet he never took them. He couldn't, and neither did he want to.
He was never powerless, or so he thought, as he was the oldest child after all. Keeping everything in order, and protecting his beloved siblings. He knew he couldn't decide. And in return, he lost what truly made him a child.
His innocence.
Though, that was already expected, wasn't it? His fate was set in stone, he would be an exorcist as long as he lived. And would devote himself to killing supernaturals.
To dare to question if he could decide his future would be disappointing his family.
Which was something he would never do.
-
As soon as the redhead was out of sight of any students, he dashed to the student council room. A feeling of both yearning and relief washed over him, as he threw open the door. No one but himself would be there for the time being, letting out a long sigh. He shut the door with less force than before and plopped himself down in his seat.
Distractions are his absolute best friend. He quickly got to work on finishing any student council work he may have overlooked the day before.
Although they weren't due anytime soon, that didn't matter. He just needed something to get his mind off of a certain someone.
-
"C'monnn! Let's go somewhere alone, I've got something to tell you!" A cheerful girl coaxed him, as Teru simply stood there. He hated this, though not wanting to upset her, he was certainly annoyed. She didn't even notice it, too focused on trying to drag him away.
He found this to be quite unruly, as a few students whispered to each other, gossiping about how he would be confessed to once again. They must've found him to be lucky, as the girl did look somewhat pretty.
Nobody bothered to care about if he was uncomfortable, that was just how it was.
He was just their king, after all, it was better to ignore him.
He looked over to a clock hanging on one of the walls. As he realized a way to escape this. "Oh, it's that time already?" He uttered. The girl looked up, surprised that he finally spoke. "Uhh.. what time?" He smiled at her, one of the fakest ones the president could offer.
"Time to attend to my responsibilities as the student council president, wouldn't want to leave my dear vice president to handle all of the work!" He hummed, as she finally let go of him.
"Oh!.. I see. So that's how it is." The cheerful mood quickly disappeared, as if it was never there, to begin with. He assumed she was disappointed, before finally looking down at her face.
Disgust.
She didn't even bother to hide it, she grimaced at seemingly no one.
Surprised? I guess you could say he was, but there was more to it. His expression quickly changed to one of awe.
Ah, how he found that to be so lucky. To be able to show his emotions so clearly, where there would be no one to question what he was thinking. He stared at her, both admiring and despising her.
"Well, I better be off. Sorry that I wasn't able to go with you!~" He declared, before walking away.
-
"Where the hell was that guy!?"
This is what Akane would like to ask, but he would never admit that he was, once again, thinking about Teru.
He was oddly furious, everything seemed so loud and annoying to him. The clock ticked like an annoying reminder that time was still moving forward.
He gazed over at the papers laying on the table, unwilling to continue working.
Though, he'd have to push through.
He picked up another page, wincing as he heard the familiar sound of his pen clicking. Akane attempted to continue his work, as the door opened suddenly. Causing him to jump up from his seat in surprise.
"Wha-?!.. Oh, it's you." He tried to sound annoyed, but Teru's sudden appearance brightened his mood quite a lot.
"The one and only. Missed me?~" Teru teased, shutting the door and stepping over to the tables. "You wish," Akane remarked, feeling himself fight back a smile.
Akane wasn't the only one who felt that way.
For both of them, it was so refreshing to be near each other. It felt different. In a way, they could never get tired of it, not in a million years. At the same time, it made both of them feel so lonesome. They wanted something more than this, but their situations would never allow it.
There was this odd silence between them, different from how it would usually be. Bickering constantly fits the room much more than this.
Akane slid some papers over to the other, as Teru smiled at him.
Yeah, something was off.
Although he wasn't necessarily close to Teru, he could tell. Should he mention it? Or, just let Teru stay silent for the rest of their time together.
He was already annoyed by all of the work, and now he had to figure that stupid president out? Now he really wanted to scream. That idiot never told him anything. ,
Without realizing it, the pen he held in his hands had snapped in half. He felt the sharp pieces of it cut into his hands, as the ink leaked out. The blonde was already staring at him as if waiting for him to say something. He sighed, after realizing Akane was going to stay silent.
"Wowie! Can't control your strength, huh? Didn't expect much from a supernatural anyway. That was a nice pen too." He chuckled, using the same fabricated cheery tone as before. Akane stared off to the side, clearly embarrassed about it. But, there was something else too.
He was sad.
Because he could tell Teru was acting. Wasn't he the one who Teru could be himself with? The only one he wasn't a king to? He felt all of the specialness he once prided himself on, be ripped away so quickly.
"Ooh, staying silent now. Playing hard to get?~" Teru sighed, quickly fetching a medkit.
He took Akane's hands, which had already dropped the broken pencil. Picking out the small shards which had been embedded inside of his palms. "What the hell are you doing?!" It seems the redhead finally returned to his senses, retracting his hands away immediately.
"Putting plastic in your hands." Teru let out a dry laugh. Seeing as he was the only one laughing.
Akane glared at him, feeling color rise to his cheeks.
"Let me do it myself, no one ever asked you to help." He muttered, attempting to take the medkit from Teru's hands. But, it was only an attempt, as the blonde raised it above his head, higher than Akane could reach. He kicked him, though it had no effect.
The redhead narrowed his eyes at him, before giving up.
"What do you want from me? You're already annoying as is, can't even let me handle my issues. You act as if you care about me."
Teru looked down at him, smirking.
"Care about you? Of course not. Remember my dear vice president. You're nothing more than a supernatural I see every day. I don't expect you to be able to understand that though."
Those words hurt both of them deeply. Akane knew he was lying, you wouldn't treat a supernatural who meant nothing to you, so delicately and fondly. Even if the exorcist did hang him from the ceiling occasionally. Teru felt a bitter taste in his mouth after saying that, wishing he could take it all back and just be honest.
But he couldn't.
You can never take something back once you've said it. That's just a fact, and he knew it.
Akane sat back down at his seat, laying his hands down on the table. Teru felt his smile fall, sitting down on his own. Without much delay, he continued to take the shards out of the redhead's hands.
An uncomfortable silence engulfed them.
Teru stayed focused, occasionally glancing up at the other. The expression that sat on his face, made him feel horrible. Not like how he felt after teasing the supernatural to rage. No, this couldn't even compare.
How he wished he could drop everything, and envelope Akane in a tender and loving hug. And mutter sweet phrases into his ear. But, those of the Minamoto bloodline can't just act on their impulses.
He picked the last shard out of his hand, before quickly bandaging it up.
"All done!" He exclaimed in a sing-song voice, but it barely sounded like it. "Thanks." The other murmured. "Hmm? Did you say something?" He teased once again, not realizing how much rage Akane was boiling with.
"Ah, would you shut up for once!?" He slammed his hands on the table. Wincing almost immediately as his cuts ached. Teru stayed silent, which Akane assumed to be due to annoyance.
As Akane calmed himself down, what he had done finally dawned on him.
"Shit-.. sorry. Didn't mean to snap at you." He avoided the other's eyes. "A.. Aha, don't worry about it. The words of a supernatural would never hurt me.~" There it was, that acting, that pretends to smile, that fakeness that the redhead hated so much.
He gritted his teeth, keeping his eyes trained on the floor as if it would run away if he even glanced away.
"Akane?" Teru called his name.
"Forget my damn apology, I wish you would just shut up!" He barked, as the blonde got ready to say something. But, before he could utter a word, the redhead finally lifted his head.
"Just don't say anything. Don't tell me I wouldn't understand. Don't tell me I'm just some supernatural. I know I wouldn't understand." His voice faltered, as Teru watched tears stream down his face. "At least you know." The exorcist replied, that he just wanted to seem uncaring, to seem as if he did think all of that.
But, he knew that he wasn't fooling anyone.
"I said shut up." He protested. Teru finally shut his mouth, letting the other relax a bit. He sat back down, wiping his eyes, wishing that those stupid tears would stop falling. The blonde eventually spoke up, deciding he had waited enough time.
"Look. I.." He couldn't find the right words to say, something that was rare for him.
"You.. what? Spit it out." Akane sneered, as Teru remained silent. "I'm sorry." The redhead stared at the other's expression with disbelief.
He looked as if he would crumble with only a few more words. He looked vulnerable.
"You're sorry? After saying all of that, now you regret it?" And, with a few more words he certainly did crumble. He didn't bother to hide how he felt. "No. That's not it, I've regretted it this whole time. But that doesn't change the fact that I've said it, right?" He replied, a smile unlike any other lay on his face, placing his hand under his chin.
Akane nodded begrudgingly, shocked, and confused.
"I.. really am sorry. You probably don't believe me though." The smile soon turned into a frown, as he got up from his seat. "Ah well, I've caused enough problems, haven't I? I'll see you tomorrow." He fixed his hair, which had been disheveled from the events that happened before. And wiped any trace of genuine emotion from his face.
He opened the door, though was stopped as he felt something holding onto his wrist. That something, being Akane's bandaged hand.
He stopped his movement, turning to face the other. "Don't think you can just walk away from this because you apologized," Akane grumbled. He should've expected this, but he didn't.
The redhead pulled him back into the room, closing the door in case anyone walked by. "Do you want me to beg for forgiveness? Plead on my knees?" Teru asked jokingly, though a bit serious at the same time. "Are you stupid?.." The redhead sighed, "I.. wanted to apologize too. I made you upset, and you did the same to me. So, it's even. I guess." He felt relieved to finally say that, hoping it could help repair whatever was left.
Teru stared at him in bewilderment. Even? How? In what way?
"Are you stupid?.." The exorcist repeated as Akane looked over at him in surprise. "Excuse me!?-" Teru quickly covered his mouth, as the other's face reddened. "What you said, can't even compare to what I did." He moved his hand away, letting it rest on the table.
"You're right. I know.. you were an ass. But, I also know you didn't mean it." Akane admitted and gave the blonde a slight smile.
Why did that smile scare him so much? Why did it make him feel like just giving in? Why?
"Oh?~ I didn't mean it? And how would you know?" He asked as Akane scoffed. "Because I know you, even if it's not that much." The redhead smirked confidently. "Sure, sure!~ Whatever fl-" Now he was the one being cut off, as Akane pulled the collar of his shirt towards him.
Their lips met, though separated almost immediately as Teru backed away, freeing himself from the other's grip.
"No, this isn't right. I.. I have to go." He muttered placing a hand over his flushed face. This is what he feared, one would give in to their temptations, and.. everything would go wrong.
If only things could have gone differently if he had never met the other. He knew it was better to keep his distance.
".. Huh?.." Oh, Akane messed up, didn't he? He should've known that nothing would work out. No.. he did know, yet he did it anyway.
"Wait, president! Ah.. shit.. TERU!!" He desperately shouted for the other, watching as the exorcist dashed out of the room, he searched his clothing for the watch. Fumbling to get it out of his pocket, but it was too late.
He was already too far away, out of reach.
He had always been, but now, it was clear. Even if for a moment, he seemed to be so close. Even if he chased and chased, he could never reach him.