Chapter Two
Hide stood stiff. He stared long and hard at the ground in front of him. There was nothing but hushed whispers, pages turning, and the clicking of typing heard throughout the school library. He smiled to himself as he remembered the shy boy.
"Nyeh," Kaneki jumped up again as he attempted to pry a book down from the top shelf.
Hide glanced over from the textbook he was reading upside down, but didn't know because he wasn't even studying it. He stood from his table and excused himself, his friends only nodded in response. As he approached the petite boy, he found his struggle cute. Hide stood behind the dark haired boy as he was oblivious to Hide's presence and continued to reach on his tip toes.
Kaneki panted and gave up, wearing defeat on his shoulders. Hide snickered to himself with a smile and, without struggling or trying, the book slipped easily into his slender fingers. Kaneki was slightly startled when he noticed the blonde. Hide observed the front title and then looked over to Kaneki who was furiously blushing.
"Here," he piped, holding the book out a bit too harsh that he accidentally punched the docile boy's shoulder.
He flinched, one eye screwing shut and he whimpered a small "ow."
"Ah! I-I'm so sorry," Hide panicked.
Out of instinct, he reached over and hugged Kaneki. Kaneki hadn't stopped blushing and was now clammy at his hands when the clumsy boy hugged him. Hide instantly pulled away, a small blush on his cheeks and he was stumbling over his words.
"Sorry! Again.. Uh, um," He scratched the back of his head, "I'm Hide," he introduced, slowly holding his hand out with extra caution.
Kaneki lightly laughed at Hide's amusing antics, accepting his friendly gesture. His hand perfectly fitting in Hide's. Kaneki's gaze fell to the floor as he blushed at the thought.
"K-kaneki," he looked back up to meet Hide's eccentric eyes.
"Kaneki," Hide repeated and grew a goofy smile, "My new best friend."
"Nagachika!" Hide snapped out of his trance, "Want to hit the cafeteria together?" Hide's friend, Hiroaki, yelled from across the library, waving his arms in the air.
"SHH!" the librarian scolded.
Hiroaki shrugged in shame and embedded a lopsided smile. Hide shook his head, he promised he'd savor not sulk memories of Kaneki.
"I'm coming," Hide whisper-yelled.
He ran his fingers over the dusty title of the book before gently placing it back with a smile and jogging over to Hiroaki. His friend held out his open hand and Hide greeted him with the usual, lame hand shake they did. It consisted of hand slapping, snapping, and for the finale, a "bro hug."
"Good thing you found me because I almost got lost in this place," Hide chuckled as he and his friend proceeded to exit the library.
"Yeah, the last time you came in here was when-" Hiroaki paused and his smile faded, he cleared his throat, "they're serving chicken nuggets today," he wheezed.
Hide's silence caused his insecurities to highten slightly. He rubbed the back of his neck, sliding his hands into his pockets, a habit he picked up from Hide.
"I'm sorry, I-"
Hide took off, running toward a boy with black hair. Hiroaki was taken aback but reacted quickly and ran after.
Hide placed his hand on the small shoulder of the short, black haired boy. He turned to face him and Hide was hit hard with realization.
"I'm so sorry, I thought you were... someone else," he mumbled and the boy only excused it, smiling, and walking away.
"Hey, you scared me shitless- eh- what's wrong? You okay?" Hiroaki asked, concerned and squished Hide's cheeks, forcing him to look at him.
"Y-yeah, let's just get some chicken nuggets," Hide mumbled, his stubborn way of refusing to cough up the truth.
His friend shrugged, letting go and put his arm around Hide's shoulders, raving about some hot girls in his Asian History class. Hide pretended to listen and occasionally commented, but his mind was wandering elsewhere.
Kaneki watched as Hide chewed his pencil away, due to his stress of forgetting how to do the homework. It had been a few weeks since Hide has settled in and he recently found out interesting things about the charming boy.
Like the fact that he wears reading glasses only at home, usually during study sessions or when he's too lazy to put on a fresh pair of contacts. And that he chews his pencils when he's anxious or stressed, like he was currently doing. Also that he was completely irresponsible when it came to self care- going to a supermarket to refill his kitchen with food, not tending to injuries, not studying because a marathon of his favorite show was on tv, the list could go on ranging from irrelevent, small details to the biggest, important details.
"This is why I don't study," Hide huffed and leaned back in his chair.
He had leaned a bit too far and the chair fell back, bringing him down with it. He tumbled off and ended up with his rear end in the air and face smushed in the carpet. Kaneki giggled, eyes closed and a soft grin worked on his lips.
"I give up," Hide sighed, defeated, brushing himself off and adjusting his glasses, "Time to bring out the big guns," he whipped out his phone and dialed the number of the smartest and prettiest girl he knew.
Kaneki's head tilted in confusion, listening intently.
"H-Hey, Sakura. I know this is sudden but I was wondering if you could help me study for the final tomorrow. I-If it's no trouble," Hide scratched his head, pacing around the room.
Kaneki instantly knew what was going on. He shifted in his spot, the sheets of the bed shuffling. Hide looked over and shrugged it off, more concerned for the girl's response.
"Sure, why not? If you could just text me your adress, I'll be there shortly," Hide pumped his fist in the air and praised himself.
"Thanks a lot, I'll see you."
Kaneki remained in his spot and was not feeling as lively as before. He knew that seeing Hide with someone else would hurt him, especially if it were a girl. It was a long shot and stupid thought to think someone like Hide would even like guys. The ghost was now in a miserable mood, spacing off as he sulked.
He scolded himseld for knowing he should've got rid of Hide when he had the chance but now the blonde found 'pots of freshly made coffee that he didn't make' or 'new pencils he had no clue he owned' normal.
He was so caught up in his thoughts, he was brought to his senses when he heard a feminine voice. He sighed and shook his head, lifting himself from the bed and lifted the chair that Hide left on the ground. He set it upright and sat himself down.
"I'm so sorry about the mess, I-"
"No, no, it's okay. I don't mind, besides you should see my room. This is nothing compared to it," she giggled and Hide laughed with her.
The invisible teen only watched, trying to think on the bright side. Telling himself that there was at least someone who could make Hide nervous and happy like this. Telling himself that there was absolutely no chance he could exist again. Telling himself it wasn't worth a burden. Telling himself whatever makes Hide happy will make him happy.
The entire study session was really Hide's lame puns and attempts to slyly attack the girl with pick up lines. Kaneki found himself smiling when he realized how happy Hide was. But his smile quickly faded when in a split second, Sakura was all over Hide.
Kaneki blinked rapidly and gulped, shakily breathing out. He stood up, pushing the chair roughly that it fell down with a small bang. Sakura gasped and pried her lips off of Hide's, clinging to him as she cowered in fear.
"What was that?" She squeaked, staring at the chair on the ground.
"What was what?" Hide asked lowly and clung to Sakura as well; he was startled himself.
"The chair fell by itself," She answered, pushing herself against Hide as much as she could.
Kaneki fell to his knees, his hands fisting his hair. He grit his teeth, a large migraine coming over him. He doubled over and screwed his eyes shut. This has never happened before. What am I supposed to do? he thought to himself fighting against the migraine. This rarely happened to him- whenever he was tempted to do sinful things like hurting someone. Usually it just took over him because he didn't fight it; he didn't want to. But he couldn't stop now. The pain in his head was excurciating and it was hard fighting it.
He didn't want to give in.
Kaneki's grip in his hair was tight and he snarled. He felt a sharp stab of pain bolt through his head. He lifted his head, a pained scream leaving his bleeding lips. His eyes viciously shot open and one of his irises was blood red, black splotches over the white coat of his eye but it wasn't completely corrupted yet.
He didn't want to give in to the demon. He couldn't let himself give in to the demon. He stumbled to his feet and rammed into the wall while doing so. He felt his kagune scratching at his skin, threatening to expose itself in full form.
Sakura gasped and jumped to her feet. Hide was also startled but he hugged his pillow close.
"Di-Did you hear that?! What was that!?"
"I-I don't know-Wait! Don't leave!"
Their voices were muffled and only created an irritating ring in his ears. Kaneki continued to throw himself at walls to fight the demon cursing him with an unbelievably painful migraine.
"No! Don't touch me! Inviting me to your possesed house! What are you some satanic freak?!" He threw himself at a wall, scratching at the smooth surface as he foamed from his mouth.
"I-I-No, I swear I'm not! I-" He rammed into another wall, now bleeding from his nose and ears.
"You sick asshole, stay away from me!" A door slammed and Kaneki dropped to the ground- eyes rolling up, body going limp, and he fell unconscious.
Hide pressed his forehead against the door. He internally groaned while pulling at his face. He banged his head on the hard wood before sinking to the ground, hiding his face in his hands out of shame and embarrassment.
He bit down on his lips, anxiously. He shakily stood up, hunched over. He sighed and straightened himself up, brushing his clothes. He used the back of his hand to wipe away Sakura's remaining lip stick messily colored over Hide's lips. He fought back tears of anger. He took a deep breath, to calm himself.
"It's okay. I should get back to studying," He soothed himself, shuffling to his room.
He gently pushed the door open and stopped dead in his tracks. His eyes widened and his muscles tensed. A small breath of shock left his ajar lips and he didn't know how to react.
On the floor of his room laid a white haired boy, unconscious, full of bruises, splotchees of blood, and he wore tattered clothing. His gaze fixated on the boy's facial features. He studied them closely. His mind went blank and his pupils dilated when he recognized him. It was like time stopped at that moment.
"K-Kaneki?"
forgive me for the short chapter but i hope ur all ready for the real deal m8s! x