Yu's POV:
I close the door behind me quietly. But it's no use: he's still awake.
"Where the hell have you been?" Dojima snaps, standing up.
"...Out," I mutter.
"With who?"
"Does it matter?" I whisper.
"Yes, it does," he snaps. "With who?"
"Jesus, with Kanji, alright!?"
His nostrils flare. "Tatsumi? Again?"
"...So what?"
He looks at me for a moment, narrowing his eyebrows. "And what do the two of you get up to together?"
Making out? Helping his mom? Making out some more??
"Answer me," he grunts.
"Just... stuff," I sigh.
"You're hiding something."
"I'm not, Uncle. I just want to go to my room." I head for the stairs.
"I'll ask you again," he frowns. "What do you do when you're with a punk like him?"
"He's not a punk," I scoff. "He's never done anything wrong. You just make assumptions because of his attitude. You don't know him, so quit it."
He glares at me. "If you bring a guy like him anywhere near my house-"
"Why would I do that?" I snap. "Like you said, this place is your house. Your home. Not mine."
~~~
Yosuke's POV:
Still no reply, huh?
Geez.
I turn my phone over on my stomach, staring at the ceiling.
"I can't sleep," Teddie groans.
"Dude, shut up," I mutter.
"The floor is all hard..."
"Yeah, well..." I sigh.
"Well, what!?" He scoffs. "I want the spare futon."
"No way, man."
"Why not?"
"That's Yu's and-"
"Oh? It's Sensei's?"
I bite my lip. "Yeah... For when he stays over, you know...?"
"Oh... Okay, then." He shrugs, seemingly satisfied with the excuse.
Damn it, Mom... Not even letting a kid like Teddie sleep on the couch? That's cruel. On ME.
"Hey, Yosuke?"
"What?"
"Uh... Can I borrow your phone?"
"Dude, no way," I snap.
"Please?" He begs. "I wanna talk to Sensei."
"...Dude, I-"
Then again, it's true.
Yu did pick up last time when Teddie called...
I think for a moment.
"Okay. Fine." I reluctantly hand him the phone, to which he snatches out of my hand.
"Ooh!"
"Yeah, you're welcome," I scoff, drawing back my arm.
~~~
Yu's POV:
Yosuke...
I take a deep breath in.
Ignore what Kanji, said, dammit. I have to speak to him.
...I mean, if he's calling me, it's got to be a good sign, right? Like... maybe he did feel something. Maybe he wants to do it again.
I try to calm myself, but my heart flutters in my chest.
"B-big bro?" I hear a quiet knock on the door.
"Hm?" I give once last glance to the cell before throwing it aside, letting Nanako in.
"...I... I had a nightmare..." She rubs her eyes tiredly.
"...Nanako," I sigh, kneeling down to her level. "It's all alright. I'm here."
She buries her face into my shoulder. "I'm scared, big bro..."
"Don't be..." I whisper, gently rubbing her back. "Where... where's your dad?"
She looks away. "Dad doesn't like it when I bother him while he's working, so..." She trails off, as if coming to a conclusion. "Am I bothering you, big bro?" She looks at me with tears in her eyes.
"Of course not," I say. "You're never a bother."
She smiles slightly, rubbing her eyes again. "I'm sorry..."
"Come on, now," I smile, taking her hand as I stand up.
"Will you... sleep with me tonight?" She asks. "And... and hold my hand?"
"You got it, Nanako," I smile.
"Yay..." She giggles tiredly.
~~~
Yosuke's POV:
"What do you mean, he's not answering?" I scoff.
"I mean, it keeps heading straight to voicemail!" Teddie frowns.
Jesus... Not again, Yu... Please, not again...
"I'm gonna keep trying," he decides.
"Ted, no." I grab the phone from him. "He'll... call us back."
"...What if he doesn't?"
"I know where he lives," I say. "It's not like he can just go AWOL."
"Hm..." He hums softly.
"Dude, just shut up and get some rest, okay?"
"...Yeah, okay." He sighs in defeat, laying back down.
I attempt to put my phone to the side, when Kanji starts up a chat.
Kanji
Kanji: Have you talked
to him yet?
Yosuke: Can't get ahold of him
Yosuke: Wait up
Yosuke: Tf hav u said 2 him??
Kanji: I haven't said
anything.
Kanji: All I did was
warn him.
Yosuke: Warn him??
Yosuke: Jesus christ Kanji Im
not gonna kill him
Kanji: Just lay off,
alright?
Yosuke: Dont start treating
me like im the bad guy!!
Yosuke: I care abt him
Kanji: It ain't fair
on him.
Yosuke: Ye cause u control
him??
Kanji: The hell are
you talking about?
Kanji: Nobody wanted this,
Senpai.
Yosuke: Fuck off Kanji
Yosuke: Tell him 2 answer
his damn phone
I power my cell off before he can reply.
Bastard.
~~~
Yu's POV:
"There's a knock at the door." Yosuke whispers softly, tugging at my shirt.
"It's okay," I say, pulling the covers further over us.
But the knocking grows louder.
"Goddamnit," he groans.
"Ignore it," I sigh, bringing him closer to my chest.
The banging becomes more consistent and loud with each passing moment.
Just leave us alone. God, just leave us the fuck alone...
"For fuck's sake, Yu, go answer the door," he grunts.
"...No," I mumble.
He shuffles a little beneath me, but I find my grasp on him tightening.
"Answer it," he snaps.
"No," I plead.
"Dammit, Yu!" He yells.
He starts to kick at me, trying to free himself.
"Please... stop..." I plead.
"Get... off..." He whispers, pushing me harder.
~~~
"Get up!" Dojima calls from above me, kicking me in the side.
"Huh?" I splutter, sitting upright.
"The hell are you doing?" He snaps.
I look around, and remember that I slept on Nanako's floor last night.
The last thing I remember is holding her hand, urging her to go to sleep...
"Get up," he yells again, grabbing my arm, and heaving me up. "You're late."
"Late?" I frown.
"For school, dumbass!" He flicks me on the forehead.
"O-ow..." I groan, pulling back. "...Where is she?"
"She already set off, dammit. Said she couldn't wake you up."
"...S-sorry, Uncle," I mumble.
"Get dressed, dammit," he frowns. "You're cutting into my time now, so hurry the hell up."
"What are you talking about?"
"I'm taking you to school, so hurry."
"...Wait, what?" I ask.
"Are you deaf or stupid?" He snaps.
"You... you don't have to take me to school, Uncle... I can manage on my own."
"You really think I believe that?" He narrows his eyes at me, forcing me to look away.
"I'll... go get changed."
~~~
Yosuke's POV:
"Oh... Hey, Senpai!" Rise smiles, arriving at my desk.
"Hm?" I look up. "Oh... Hey, Rise. What are you doing here?"
"Well... a lot of kids in my homeroom keep recognizing me, so it's kinda hard when I get there so early..." She frowns. "They always ask for photos or autographs and stuff... it's annoying."
"Well, you know what they say," I shrug. "You're prettier in real life than you are on TV."
"I guess that's true." She cracks a small smile. "...By the way, have you heard from Yu-senpai?"
I sigh. "Nah. Nothing..."
"Huh..." She mutters. "...I might be to blame, huh?"
"What?" I say. "Don't be ridiculous, Rise... I... I think it's my fault, if anything."
"Your fault?" She looks at me. "But... you're his best friend?"
"...Something... happened," I mumble.
"...Something bad?"
"No... Well, yes..." I grunt. "I just... was shocked, I guess... I reacted badly. But I'm ready to be mature now." I smile. "I'm ready to help him."
"You're such a great guy, Senpai," she giggles.
"...Really?" I grin.
"Uh-huh. You're always thinking of others, aren't you?"
"I, uh... I guess so?" I chuckle nervously.
"...I kinda wish I liked you."
"Huh?" My eyes widen.
"You're kind, you're funny... and you're not too bad-looking."
"Th-thanks?"
"...But..." She sighs.
"...There's someone else?"
"...This is so embarrassing," she groans. "I mean, he hates me, but... there's some sort of aura that makes me attracted to him... does that make any sense?"
"...I guess?" I frown. "Who... is he?"
"...Yu-senpai."
"Y-Yu?" I splutter.
"...Yeah." She nods slowly.
Wait... This might work out.
I can help Yu get back into girls by using Rise! God, that's genius!
And we can forget that... incident ever happened... Yes!!
"...Senpai?" She says, waving a hand in front of my face.
"Hey! Yes, hi!" I smile, quickly standing up.
"Oh..." She takes a step back, being caught by surprise.
"You wanna know a secret, Rise?" I smirk.
"...H-huh?"
"Yu loves confident girls."
"...He does?" She asks.
"Yeah!" I chuckle. "Especially overbearing ones. Needy girls, clingy girls... Girls that rely on him."
"...Are... you sure?" She asks slowly.
"I'm his best friend!" I scoff. "Of course I know this stuff!"
"H-he... seems kinda scary, though..."
"He's just like that! Rough around the edges, you know! Break down his walls! Show him what a confident girl you are!"
"...I- I don't know..." She steps back slowly.
"Come on, Rise! It's that uncertainty! Uncertainty is one thing he cannot stand!"
"...I—"
"Give it a try," I smile. "You could just find yourself a brand new boyfriend!"
"O-okay..."
"Yes! Great!!"
"I... I could... try...?"
"Work on that confidence, Rise, and he'll be all over you in no time!"
~~~
Yu's POV:
"Uh, thank you, Dojima-san..." I mumble. "You can go now."
He folds his arms. "Go into the building."
I sigh, standing between the school gates. "...Yeah. Okay."
"Well...?" He scoffs.
I hold my breath, turning around.
"And I better not get a phone call from school today, telling me you skipped again," he calls from behind me.
I don't respond.
He knew. Of course he damn well knew...
I take two steps into the school building and I already feel sick.
It's gotta be halfway through first period now, and the hallways are completely deserted.
I thought I'd feel better... Knowing I had the chance to see Yosuke — to clear things up.
But... Right now, I can't bare the sight of him. I can't bare the sight of anyone.
What if he's told everyone?
My heart sinks just at the thought.
We can't patch this up if he's already told everyone what happened.
Fuck... I can't breathe...
~~~
"Dude, what is going on?" Kanji frowns, pushing his way into the bathroom. "You texted me during class, and you don't even know why?"
"...Will you skip with me?" I whisper.
"Senpai, my attendance is already failing."
"So, a little more won't hurt, right?"
"...What's the matter?"
"I can't do it. You're right, Kanji. I can't face him... Not after what happened. I thought I had this all in the bag, but..." I sigh. "I don't."
"...It's alright," he shrugs.
"It's not, Kanji... I... I dunno what to do..."
"Well, we could start by getting some fresh air," he suggests. "This stuffy little bathroom isn't gonna do you any good."
~~~
thanks for reading:)
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