Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/
works/6578146.
  Rating:
      Explicit
  Archive Warning:
      Rape/Non-Con, Underage
  Category:
      M/M
  Fandom:
      the_GazettE
  Relationship:
      Reita/Ruki_(the_GazettE), Aoi/Ruki_(the_GazettE), OC/Ruki
  Character:
      Reita_(the_GazettE), Ruki_(the_GazettE), Aoi_(the_GazettE), Uruha_(the
      GazettE), Kai_(the_GazettE), Miyavi, Mikaru_(Dio_-_Distraught_Overlord),
      Original_Characters
  Additional Tags:
      Alternate_Universe_-_High_School, Drama, Romance, Humor, Hurt/Comfort,
      Minor_Character_Death, Rape, Homophobia, Substance_Abuse, Explicit_Sexual
      Content, Violence
  Stats:
      Published: 2016-04-17 Chapters: 4/? Words: 26903
****** Equilibrium ******
by FleetingAbsurdity
Summary
     Akira is a 'go with the flow' type of guy. Life hasn't granted him
     much fortune or misfortune - no effortless success, no terrible
     struggles. He doesn't consider his existence to hold any deeper
     meaning beyond the simple pleasures and minor frustrations of his
     day-to-day life. As someone who prefers to drift along without
     stopping to think or feel to all that great an extent, falling
     hopelessly in love would be just about the most uncharacteristic
     thing he could possibly do. The complicated and, at times,
     overwhelming emotions that a strong romantic attraction entails were
     nothing but an abstract concept to Akira, something he had only read
     about in books and seen in sappy movies. However, his indifferent
     perception of life begins to crumble when he befriends Takanori, a
     boy who is the perfect embodiment of Akira's ideal - the Nancy to his
     Sid, the Courtney to his Kurt. A boy who is so close, and yet, so far
     away.
Notes
     Cross-posted from my livejournal account soffu-chan (one can tell I
     was a middle schooler going through a weeaboo phase when I created
     said account).
     Originally, I wrote some seventeen chapters of this particular story,
     but after a year of not even taking a glance at it, I decided to
     rewrite everything I had previously gotten done. I still feel that
     the initial two chapters need more editing, but for the time being my
     focus is on the chapters I'm currently working on. Be prepared for
     slow updates; I tend to spend a lot of time fine-tuning a chapter,
     and I am an insufferable procrastinator - not the greatest of
     combinations.
***** Chapter 1 *****
The pounding of the drums drilled at his ears. He tapped his fingers against
his thigh, silently mouthing the words of the song he was listening to. With a
distant part of his conciousness he realized his mother was trying to speak to
him.
Removing the earphones, Takanori inquired: ”What?”
”We're here, honey”, she said, smiling warmly.
Takanori looked out the window, noting the car was now parked on the driveway
of their new home. The moving truck stood on the road, the men from the moving
company already unloading it, taking the boxes and furniture inside the house.
The boy unbuckled himself, getting out of the car. His mother and brother were
soon by his side, the latter throwing an arm around his little brother's
shoulders, grinning.
”How does it feel to finally be out of that shitty old town?” Mikaru asked.
”Feels great”, Takanori smiled, scanning the frontage of the house. It was a
large, rustic house with two floors. There were trees growing on the yard
surrounding the house, along with bushes and beautiful flower plantings. Even
small fountains and numerous statues stood here and there on the emerald green
grass. The gates around the terrain were gothic, made of metal with a layer of
dark paint.
All in all, the house was an undeniable luxury. Takanori's mother was the CEO
of a fairly successful company whose headquarters were located down town, so
even as a single parent, she could afford a reasonably spacious detached house
in a nice area. She and her family of two sons had lived in a small town near
the city for all their lives, but had now finally moved to the edge of the city
due to Mikaru attending a university there. His younger brother Takanori was
still in high school, but the boy had future plans of going to a university
specialized in arts, which was also in the city.
Their mother was currently checking her phone, sighing deeply. ”I have to drive
back to the headquarters for a meeting. I'll be back in an hour.”
”Alright”, Mikaru said, the woman ruffling both her sons' hair before going
back in the car, backing out of the driveway.
Akira sat idly on a leather couch in the living room, watching the music
channel. His feet were crossed on top of the coffee table, arms folded. Today
had been a lazy day for him, filled with lounging around the house and either
watching TV or sending messages back and forth with his friends.
”Akira, the new neighbors are here”, he heard his mother inform from the
kitchen, the teen humming in acknowledgement. Kicking his feet off the table
and standing up, the blond flexed lazily to relieve the tension in his sore
muscles. Akira walked down the hall, almost toppling over as his frantic mother
appeared in front of him with a freshly baked pie in her hands.
”Mom. Really? Couldn't you have done something more original than baking a
pie?” the blond frowned.
The woman answered her son with a grimace of her own, turning her back to Akira
as she walked out the door. The teen followed along, quickly putting his shoes
on and walking onto the yard. His mother was already going to the neighbors'
driveway, engaging in a conversation with the two teenage boys who stood there.
Akira strode to the woman's side just as she asked the boys: ”Your mother isn't
home?”
”No, she had to go to an urgent meeting, but she'll be back in an hour or so”,
the taller one stated. The guy was about eighteen years old, tall and a tad bit
built, with handsome features and brown, styled hair.
”Oh, what a shame. But you two can take this pie, oh, and welcome to the
neighborhood”, Akira's mother said, handing the dessert over to the taller boy.
”Thank you very much”, he said, ”my name is Mikaru, by the way. And this is my
little brother, Takanori.”
”Nice to meet you”, Takanori threw in out of common courtesy. Akira glanced at
the teen, taken aback by the sight.
Takanori was on the shorter side, his body lithe with the slightest hint of
curvature on his hips. His hair was almond brown with a few blonde streaks, the
longest tips of his straight and spiked up layered locks brushing over his
narrow shoulders. The boy's skin was pale, and the focal point of his sculpted
features were his plush lips. The brunet's eyes were alluring, intense with icy
blue irises. He wore a lot of eyeshadow, his eyebrows plucked into perfect
shape. His clothing was more Punky and dramatic than normal, and his right ear
was heavily pierced.
Akira didn't realise he looked like an idiot gaping at Takanori, but he just
couldn't tear his eyes away from him. It was the first time Akira had seen a
boy who was so... beautiful.
”Uhm... is something wrong?” Takanori inquired upon noticing how the blond was,
to put it simply, ogling at him. While averting his gaze with a nervous laugh
and assurance that nothing was wrong, Akira made a mental note about how
unfitting, yet attractive it was that a boy who looked so androgynous had such
a deep, masculine voice.
”My name is Ayako Suzuki, and this is my son Akira”, the blond's mother
introduced them, shaking hands with the boys.
”Nice to meet you, Akira”, Takanori said, smiling to the blonde, ”do you by any
chance go to the High School a few blocks away?”
Akira didn't know why, but he felt butterflies in his stomach as he stated:
”Yeah.”
Takanori's smile brightened as he stated: ”Me too. I'll be starting there
tomorrow.”
”Oh, that's wonderful! Akira can show you around the school”, Ayako cut in.
”Mom”, the blonde complained, looking at the woman in irritation for butting in
the conversation. ”But yeah, if you'd like, I can show you around and all
that.”
”Sure. Thank you, Akira”, Takanori responded, ”maybe we could walk there
together?”
”I suppose, yeah. Classes begin at eight o'clock, so we could leave at around
half past seven”, Akira proposed, Takanori giving him a nod.
”Um... what year are you in? I'm seventeen, so I'm starting my third year”, the
blond then said, wondering if they were in the same grade.
”I'm a third year as well."
"You sure about that? You look a bit too young to be a High School senior",
Akira teased the brunet, using his hand to measure the height difference
between the two of them - Takanori barely came up to eye level.
"I just haven't had my growth spurt yet", Takanori pouted.
"Actually, Taka, didn't the doctor say that-"
"That it's not certain but there's a possibility - is what he said", the brunet
interrupted Mikaru, folding his arms.
Akira chuckled. He couldn't help but think Takanori looked adorable when
pouting like that, despite the rebellious image. The blond smiled, reaching out
to ruffle the brunet hair of the younger boy. He wasn't sure why he did it -
perhaps just out of instinct.
”Hey, who gave you permission to mess up my hair?” Takanori feigned anger, the
size of his already impressive pout increasing.
”Ah, I'm so sorry, your highness”, Akira joked.
Takanori laughed at the comment, as did Akira. He moved his eyes to meet the
ones of Mikaru, having suddenly got that odd feeling of being stared at. Akira
was caught off guard by the harsh glare that had probably been intended to be
left unseen.
”We should get going now, Akira. I need to start making dinner and you, young
mister, need to finish your homework”, Ayako stated, saying her goodbyes to the
two boys and walking back to the Suzuki residence. The blond waved to the two
with a 'bye', only receiving a wave back from Takanori, while the older brother
just stood expressionless. When his back was turned to the two, Akira grimaced
at the hostile behaviour of Mikaru.
Akira went back inside his house, kicking his shoes off into some corner. He
walked upstairs, heading towards his own room. As he entered, he inwardly
sighed when he noticed his sister sitting on the bed.
”What?” Akira snapped, sitting on one of the bean bag chairs in front of his
TV, turning on his Xbox360.
”The new neighbors arrived just now, right?”
”They did. Now can you leave, please?” Akira grumbled, picking up a controller.
”Nope”, she stated, babbling: ”I happened to walk past the window when you and
mom were talking to them. May I just say that I got the laughs of the week
seeing you smile like a dork at the short guy.”
”I did not smile like a dork”, Akira growled as he for the previously saved
game of DragonAge to load.
”Yeah, you did. You looked like this”, the blond looked over his shoulder at
Minako who was apparently doing an impression of him talking to Takanori. He
snorted and turned his attention back to his game.
”All I'm saying is that if you like the guy, you should just go for it, Akira."
”But I don't even have any clue if he's gay or bi, and I don't want him to
think that I'm just trying to get laid or something. Besides, I just met him”,
Akira argued, skipping through a cut scene.
”So... you're just gonna jump right ahead to the friend-zone? Oh Akira, Akira,
Akira... you're making a fatal mistake, brother. What if I go after the cute
guy then?” Minako rattled on.
”You wouldn't.”
”But what if I did?”
”You wouldn't.”
Minako exhaled slowly. ”Okay, I probably wouldn't. I really don't feel like
getting jumbled in a love triangle with my own little brother.”
”Told you”, Akira chirped childishly, killing off a few enemies.
His sister quieted for a while, which unfortunately for Akira, didn't last very
long. Minako jumped down from the bed, instead sitting down next Akira on the
other beanie chair. She leaned back dramatically, rambling: ”What's the use of
having a gay brother if we can't even talk about the boys we like?”
Snorting, the blond kept most of his focus on the game. ”Gee, it's not like I'm
obliged to act like another one of your girlfriends, Minako. And on top of
that, you're forgetting that I'm bisexual, not homosexual.”
”I have never seen you with a girl, Akira. Sure you aren't just fooling
yourself?” Minako smirked, earning an irritated groan from his brother. Akira
was fun to tease, even though Minako did really care about her brother.
”There's no knowing about the future, sis. It's perfectly possible for me to
fall in love with a woman."
”And the fact that you were drooling after the new neighbor just now really
supports your theory”, Minako noted with a victorious tone, folding her arms in
a cocky fashion.
”I wasn't drooling”, Akira cursed under his breath when his character received
a nearly fatal wound, ”besides, it's not like I can't enjoy some eye candy
every once in a while. The guy was attractive as fuck.”
”Now you're talking”, an intrigued smirk split Minako's face as she leaned
closer.
”Hey, we are not getting in that zone again, got it?” Akira growled, furiously
tapping at the buttons of his controller.
”Is he cute? Does he seem nice? Oh, what's his name?” the blond's sister shot
question after question at him, Akira's attention on his game beginning to
falter.
”Yes. Yes. Takanori”, he answered swiftly, hoping it would be enough to satisfy
Minako's curiosity.
The girl pondered on something, voicing it out sooner than Akira would have
liked: ”And how old is he? He looked pretty young, so you might have just made
yourself a pedophile, Aki.”
”He's in his last year of High School like me”, the blond stated, relieved that
the game now settled to a more peaceful, enemy-free scene.
”Oh my god! Will he be going to the same school as you?” Minako was getting too
excited at the information in Akira's opinion. He merely hummed, ignoring the
enthusiastic squeal from his sister.
”Akira”, she took on a serious demeanor, ”I think you should really try to go
for it this time. Your love life has been a complete fail up until now, you
need to get your shit together.”
”Minako, when are you going to stop bugging me about this? I'm just not a long-
term relationship kind of guy”, Akira said, shrugging. He wasn't going to deny
the fact that his relationships had indeed been chaste. He just quite frankly
didn't get too interested in people, and was the kind of guy who appreciated
good friendships over dating.
”But what if he's the one?” Minako suggested, drawling the last two syllables
dreamily.
”I don't know... won't it be awkward if I fuck up somehow and we still have to
see each other every day?” It was a reasonable argument.
”That's why I gave you the useful advice of 'getting your shit together'.”
”How does that even...? Okay, I give up, this shit's getting confusing”, Akira
sighed, ”look, Minako, I can't just immediately 'go for it' without even
getting to know Takanori first. Because if I do, he'll think that I'm just
trying to get into his pants, and that definitely won't work out if he's
straight.”
At last, Minako gave up: ”Alright then. But just remember that you can always
come talk to me, Akira.”
”Yeah, whatever”, the blond mumbled. He felt relieved when his sister finally
stood up, intending to leave.
”Dinner's probably done soon, so don't get too comfortable here in your man
cave.”
”Right.”
The blond paused the game, leaning down on the chair until his blond tresses
brushed against the floor. Blood began rushing into his head, but Akira didn't
care. He was a tad irritated by how Minako always teased him like this. He did
know that she didn't mean any harm by it, rather doing so out of affection, but
the problem was that she just didn't give Akira a break. It shouldn't be that
big of a deal that he was bi, but apparently she saw it as a chance to annoy
the blond.
Yes, Akira had come out of the closet a few years back. He hadn't seen any
reason for hiding it, since all in all Akira was just like any other teenage
boy. The only difference was that he was also attracted to other boys, and even
dated them. It had been very occasional though, and Akira was never into it for
longer than maybe a week or two.
He had told his family as soon as he had come to terms with it himself, and
Akira had been beyond happy when none of them had had anything against it. His
parents still loved him unconditionally as who he was, encouraging and
supporting him. They knew how hard it was to be different in this society, how
people were often closed-minded about sexual minorities, as well as anyone who
was somehow out of the 'norm'. Of course Akira understood that it was still a
bit uncomfortable for his father, who was a straight man, to see his son
'getting it on' with another boy. Which was why Akira made sure not to throw
any kind of big scenes at home, seeing how it was better for everybody. Avoid
the awkward situations and all that.
Still, it had been a long time since Akira's last relationship. It had kind of
been a disaster, Akira realized as he reminisced on it. The blonde had went out
with a cute guy from another school, who had taken interest in Akira during a
sports event between different schools in the city. The first week had been
fun, but later on the blonde realized he and the guy had very different
expectations from their relationship. Whereas Akira was looking for a fun,
temporary thing, his boyfriend wanted a serious, committed relationship. When
the guy had asked Akira to move in with him, the blonde had understood it just
wasn't going to work out, breaking up with the other. After hundreds of phone
calls and text messages, Akira's problem was resolved with a new number and an
oath to never take part in that particular sports event again.
Snickering, the blond remembered how his friends had teased him about his
'stalker' for nearly a month. That was, until his best friend Kouyou had taken
a bit too much at a party, ending up piss drunk trying to seduce the daughter
of their school's principal. One can only imagine how much scolding the poor
guy got for his stunt, Akira and his other friends laughing their asses off at
Kouyou's idiocy. It was the general pattern between Akira's group of friends:
one of them did something extremely stupid, the others poking fun at him for it
until someone else decided to fuck up in some hilarious way.
Sitting back up, the thought of his friends had slapped a big grin on Akira's
features. This was exactly why Akira preferred being with his buddies instead
of trying to woo some random person. All the memories he had made with his best
friends were his most cherished ones, things he wouldn't trade for anything in
the world. Sure, it would be nice to have someone beside you when you wake up
in the morning, someone to shower you with love and do silly, embarrassing
things, all for the sake of seeing the other smile. Someone who shared with you
all the good and the bad, in an 'us against the world' kind of way.
But still, Akira preferred to just go with the flow, to let things sort
themselves out. Maybe some day he would find someone to pull his head out of
the clouds, to become the air Akira breathes, the force keeping him grounded on
Earth. Yet for now, the blond only wanted to enjoy his youth, spent with loyal
friends and a loving family.
Akira was perfectly fine with his life being the way it was.
”You lazy faggot, didn't I tell you that dinner is ready?!” the sound of
Minako's voice resounded from downstairs. Taking in the pissed tone of the
girl, Akira came to the conclusion that he had spent quite the chunk of time
lost in thought.
Well that killed the moment, Akira snorted mentally. He raised himself onto his
feet and headed downstairs for dinner and Minako's endless teasing.
Stepping into the kitchen, Akira found all his family members seated around the
table, chattering contentedly as they ate. The blond sat down, reaching for the
bowl of rice and gathering a big scoopful on his plate. After he had filled his
plate, Akira began eating, silently listening to the conversation shared
between his mother and father. Taking his mug in hand, Akira raised it to his
lips, taking a swig of juice.
”So, Akira. What took you so long to come down? Could it be that you jacked off
thinking about our new neighbor?” Minako inquired all of a sudden.
The blond nearly choked on his drink, spluttering: ”I did not. I was just
resting.”
”Resting with your hand down your pants”, the girl countered with a smirk.
”Shut the hell up”, Akira huffed in annoyance. He turned towards his parents,
mumbling: ”She's being really immature. I'm sorry if we're making you guys
uncomfortable.”
”Nonsense. We want you to be able to talk freely about your... well,
orientation. But I do agree that that was an immature thing to say, Minako. A
grown woman shouldn't talk like that”, their father said, trying his best to
hide his discomfort.
”No, no, it's okay. I mean, I don't think normal teens talk about these kinds
of things with their parents either”, Akira murmured awkwardly, scratching the
back of his neck.
”Whatever floats your boat, son”, the man shrugged, eyes back on his meal.
”Oh, Akira, could it be that you took an interest on one of the neighbours?”
Ayako cut in curtly.
Embarrassed, the blonde folded his arms, stating: ”Perhaps.”
”Which one?” she prodded excitedly.
”The short guy. Now let me eat, woman."
The women giggled, letting the subject go to switch to another matter that
didn't concern Akira, thankfully for the blond. Chewing on a clump of rice,
Akira looked out the window, at the Sun that was beginning to set behind the
horizon, painting the sky in hues of pink, orange and purple. The teen always
loved seeing the Sun either rise or set, the colorful painting of a sky
inspirational and motivating. He usually took a morning jog at the exact time
the first rays of sunshine reached up, giving him determination to finish his
four kilometer run before all the shadows of night had dissipated.
Which reminded him that he no longer had enough time go on jogs that long.
School was starting tomorrow, after a relaxing summer vacation. If he woke up
at the same time he had during the break, he would only have enough time for
half of the jog he had done as a habit. Unless of course, he was prepared to
wake up earlier, but that was out of the question. Waking up earlier meant he
would also have to go to sleep earlier, denying him his nightly gaming session
that often lasted for more than three or four hours. No, he was merely going to
cut his jog in half.
Groaning, the blond ate away the last pieces of food scattered on his plate as
quickly as he could. He wasn't the least bit happy about the continuation of
school, for many reasons. Mainly, he would have to study again, which was
probably the thing Akira hated doing the most. Also, he wouldn't have as much
time to hang out with his friends when the teachers began to assign him piles
upon piles of homework and assignments. Seven hours a day, stuck sitting on
uncomfortable chairs while some old hag gave lectures about unimportant things.
Yeah, Akira loved High School.
”Aki, you should really do something about that scowl of yours. I'm sure
Takanori won't appreciate you looking like that”, Minako informed.
”I wasn't scowling.”
”Yes, you were”, the girl argued, ”oh, also, can you ask him to come over
tomorrow after school? I'd love to meet him face-to-face.”
Akira stared at Minako as if she had gone insane, blurting: ”Hell no! You'll
say weird things to him and embarrass me.”
She faked a disgruntled look. ”I would never do such a thing.”
”You know, Minako, you should audition for a play. You're pretty damn good at
acting”, the blond said, his tone a mixture of seriousness and sarcasm.
”Acting? Whatever makes you say that, brother dear?” she arched a brow.
Akira exhaled slowly, preventing any excessive amounts of irritation from
seeping into his voice as he grunted: ”Can you please just lay off me already,
sis? Seeing how I just met the guy for the first time, for a few itsy bitsy
minutes, how can I possibly have a crush on him already, hmm?”
Minako pursed her lips. ”Guess you're right. Sorry.”
”That didn't sound very convincing”, the blonde snorted and motioned with his
hand for the girl to try again.
Her expression was quite cartoony, but she ended up complying: ”Okay, I'm
sorry, Aki dear. I promise I won't bother you about your love life anymore.”
Akira didn't really buy it. ”Alright. And don't call me 'Aki dear' if you want
to remain in the realm of the living.”
Minako laughed at that, as did the blond. ”Forgive me, mister Suzuki”, she
mocked.
Akira rolled his eyes, knowing he couldn't really be angry with his sister.
With a small smile, the blond thanked his mother for the food, taking his empty
dishes to the sink. The elder woman reminded him about his homework just in
case, Akira informing her that he had already completed everything the day
before. Rather than homework, he and the other students had been given small
projects from a few subjects to be completed during the summer. The blonde had
done those with ease, plus at the very beginning of the break so he wouldn't
have to start freaking out about them once the start of the Fall semester was
near. It only took him a few seconds to come up with entertainment for the rest
of the night, that being the obvious: his beloved video games.
I will eternally worship the person who invented video games, he would often
think. Besides that, Akira was also very passionate about music. He owned a
bass guitar, which he could play well enough to call himself an actual bass
player. One of the boy's prized possessions was also his wide collection of
CDs, proving the point even further along with how he worked part-time at the
music store located in the nearest mall. His friends Kouyou and Takamasa worked
at the same store, while the blonde's other two closest buddies, Yuu and
Yutaka, worked at GameStop. Needless to say, those two had a close relationship
with their gaming consoles like Akira, whereas Kouyou and Takamasa were more
attached to their guitars.
Going back to his room with his stomach pleasantly full, Akira slumped down on
his beanie chair, more than happy about getting to continue the game he had
been playing. Sinking into the comfortable seat, his fingers began tapping away
at the controller, eyes keenly following the flashing scenes on the screen. It
couldn't have been more than a couple of minutes before his cellphone suddenly
buzzed to life. Mumbling something about always being interrupted, the blond
reached blindly for the device, having to pause his game again. He unlocked the
phone, inspecting the new message with little to no interest.
 
”What's up dude?”
Akira pressed his lips together in a thin line, quickly replying to his friend.
 
”Not much. Playing DragonAge. A family moved in next door today.”
He paused to wonder if it was a good idea to babble about his new neighbors to
Yuu, but since the raven head would eventually find out when he met Takanori in
school, it didn't make much difference. Akira didn't have to wait long for the
next message to appear.
 
”OK. That's pretty cool if it's a family with kids. Unless they're like 12.”
 
”Lmao. But actually, one of them is gonna be in our class. I agreed to help him
get to know the school tomorrow.”
The blond smirked in amusement as his friend answered in record time.
 
”HIM? Oh shit! Dude, is he hot?!”
Outright laughing at Yuu's reaction, the blond had always been somewhat glad
about having a gay best friend. It was reassuring to know that there was
someone who understood him.
 
”Hotter than hell.”
 
”Fuck. If he's straight I swear to Buddha I'll jump off my roof.”
Chuckling at the mental image, Akira leaned back on his chair.
 
”I don't doubt that. Has little Yuu not gotten laid recently?”
 
”Hey, you little shit, may I remind you that you're the one who's only had
their own hand for company throughout this entire summer.”
Akira frowned. He wasn't a big fan of being nagged at about his lack of
relationships.
 
”Whatever. I'll see you tomorrow, bastard.”
 
”Yep. BUT! Introduce me to this new guy, ok?”
 
”Sure, sure. Now go to sleep, you blithering baboon.”
 
”Gonna pretend I didn't read that. See ya.”
Humming, Akira threw his phone back to where he found it, focusing back on the
screen. He ended up playing for a few more hours, until Minako chose to come
harass him again, resulting in the blond escaping to the bathroom to shower. He
took his fair time, zoning out as millions of unimportant thoughts crossed his
mind. When Akira finally deemed himself clean enough, he dried his hair,
straightening it and applying some choice hair products so that it would be
perfect as he woke up in the morning. The blond brushed his teeth lazily,
wrapping a towel around himself before returning to his room. He changed into
nightwear, laying back on his bed with arms folded beneath his head. Checking
the time, Akira noted it was only half past nine. He had enough time to finish
reading his new manga before sleep.
Yawning, Akira let the book fall from his hand onto the bed, taking out his
phone and making sure he had set it to wake him up at six o'clock. He placed it
back on his night stand with the manga, getting up on his feet to flick the
lights out while he was still remotely awake. Inhaling deeply, the blond slid
under the soft bedsheets, a content sound forming in his throat as he screwed
his eyes shut.
Meanwhile, Takanori was sitting on the couch of his family's newly decorated
living room, watching some random music channel with Mikaru at his side. Some
of the songs on the program were utter crap in the brunet's opinion, but most
were decent enough to keep him from changing the channel. Their ears picked up
the sound of the front door falling shut, their mother taking off her high
heels and scurrying to where the brothers were relaxing.
”Ah, I'm sorry for being so late, the traffic was completely jammed by the time
I was driving back”, she said with an apologetic smile on her features.
”It's fine, mom”, Takanori assured, a smile of his own curving the boy's plush
lips. His mother having to run around on business for the entire day was
anything but a rare occurrence. Being a single mother was anything but easy,
but she never complained and always did her best to spend at least a little bit
of quality time with her sons.
”You boys must be starving! I bought a few items from the nearby grocery store
that I can prepare quickly, but I'll buy proper food first thing tomorrow”,
their mother stated, disappearing into the kitchen.
Fifteen minutes later she had cooked a hearty omelet with toast, the boys
setting the table in the meantime. The trio ate while conversing, the two
brothers amazed by how their mother was able to prepare such a delicious meal
in a very short amount of time.
”Taka, are you excited about your first day at your new school?” she asked.
”A little, I guess. I don't think it's going to be that much different from the
previous one”, Takanori shrugged, nibbling on a piece of toast.
The woman hummed. ”I'm sure you'll make plenty of friends in no time!”
”Mom."
”It's true”, Mikaru stated. ”The woman from next door, Mrs Suzuki and her son
came by to welcome us in the afternoon. The guy, what was his name again...?”
”Akira”, Takanori completed.
”Yeah, Akira. He was all smiles when he met Taka”, Mikaru's tone was playful,
but there was a deeply hidden streak of discontent underneath it. The other two
didn't seem to notice, the younger boy's cheeks taking on an almost invisible
pinkish tint.
”Hmh, he said he'd be my tour guide for the first day”, Takanori stated.
”That's great!” their mother smiled wide, ”did he seem nice?”
Taking a moment to answer, the brunette mumbled: ”Yeah...”
The woman clapped her hands, questioning with a smirk: ”Was he handsome?”
Takanori rolled his eyes, ”I thought I told you I don't want any
relationships.”
”Aw, don't be a buzzkill, honey”, the brothers grimaced at her usage of a slang
word, ”one day you will find your knight in shining armour.”
”Mom, stop right now”, the brunet tried to sound annoyed, but couldn't stifle
the chuckle escaping his lips. This was one of his mom's redeeming
characteristics. Ever since he came out of the closet a few years back, she has
been supporting him unconditionally. The same couldn't be said about most of
Takanori's other relatives.
”Alright”, she giggled, ”but who knows, you might end up finding someone here
who you'll really like.”
”Sure..."
The trio also discussed the university Mikaru was going to attend. Their supper
was soon eaten, the boys helping their mother take care of the dishes. Everyone
went their own way after that, Mikaru taking the first turn at using the
bathroom while Takanori went straight to his room.
The brunet's bedroom was fairly large in size. The walls were painted a
beautiful venetian red. The furniture was all mahogany, consisting of a bed,
dresser, a closet, a vanity and a desk. He inspected his room one more time,
making sure everything was in its right place. All of his clothes, shoes,
accessories, bags et cetera were neatly put in the closet and the dresser,
while his jewellery were residing in the drawers of his vanity along with his
makeup, hair products, skin care products and colognes. Out of the
aforementioned he had set his most frequently used ones atop the vanity.
The brunet had a television in his room, equipped with a blu-ray player and a
playstation. All of his movies and games were inside the drawers of the TV
stand in perfect array. Takanori wasn't too attached to those, his most loved
hobby being art. His desk was enough proof of that, containing all his art
supplies and a computer with a tablet for digital art.
He had hung a few posters on his wall, and he was panning on covering one of
them entirely with posters. He had quite a stack with him from his old house.
Takanori checked that everything was in place inside his closet, stopping by
his bed to smooth out a pesky wrinkle on the sheets. He adjusted one of the
pillows, standing back with his hands on his hips. Everything looked good
enough for him by now, and so the boy scooted over to his dresser, lighting a
scented candle as the finishing touch.
Mikaru showed up at the threshold, clad in a simple white towel, hair and some
parts of his skin still dripping water wherever he went. ”Yo, princess,
bathroom's free.”
Huffing in annoyance, Takanori asserted: ”My room is not that girly.”
”I know. But you are”, the taller corrected himself with a grin.
Takanori folded his arms, stating: ”Just because I wear different clothes and
some makeup-”
”you shouldn't unkindly be called girly and blabbety blah”, Mikaru cut in, ”no,
but seriously Taka, I was just messing with you. You have my sincerest
apologies.”
”Dipshit”, the younger snorted. If the small smile appearing on his features
was any indication, the boy wasn't actually pissed at all. He brushed past his
brother who ruffled his hair before leaving down the hall. Takanori ventured
into the bathroom, locking the door behind him. The space was bigger than the
average bathroom, but other than that it was just like any other, save for the
bathtub grand enough to fit more than one person in there.
Takanori showered quickly, wanting to get a good night's sleep before the first
day of school. Once he had brushed his teeth, Takanori walked back into his
bedroom, shedding himself of the towel he had wrapped around his waist, going
to his dresser and taking out a pair of underwear and slipping them on. He
stepped to his closet, taking out an over-sized band tee and putting it on.
Whether it was because he liked to show off his milky, slim thighs or because
it was more comfortable to sleep with his legs bare, the brunet's sleepwear
hardly ever included pants.
Takanori had took out one of his favorite messenger bags, intending to use it
as his school bag. He rummaged through it one more time, making sure he had
packed everything. Satisfied with the current condition of his room, the brunet
was ready to go to sleep.
***** Chapter 2 *****
Sluggishly, the sun began peeking down at earth. The air was cool and a little
moist from the nightly rain, a lenient wind washing over like a tide, severing
leaves from trees and slapping them down onto the pavement. Akira was jogging
down the road in a brisk manner, occasionally lifting the back of a hand to his
forehead to swipe off any gathering perspiration. The breeze was making his
somewhat loose-fitting windbreaker flutter, his bangs flowing back to join his
mullet. The soles of his sneakers slapped down firmly on the cement, his
breathing labored. It felt relaxing for the blond to run with the fresh morning
air surrounding him and with the only sounds around him being the early
chirping of birds.

Familiar scenes flashed by - houses he had seen hundreds of times. In this part
of the city, many people lived in detached houses, growing trees and plants on
their yards and gardens - which was good, since the city could use some extra
carbon sinks in Akira's opinion. He took a small breather when he felt his
phone vibrate in his pocket, the stop convenient as it gave him the chance to
catch his breath. The blonde zipped the pocket open, fishing out his phone and
answering the incoming call without paying attention to the caller I.D.

”Hello?”

”Yo, Aki-kun! What time are you going to school?” asked Yuu. His tone was way
too energetic.

Akira held back a sigh, stating: ”In an hour or so, depending on if my new
protege remembers about our rendezvous.”

”You're escorting him to school? Wow, Aki, looks like you're already his
bitch”, Yuu joked.

”He lives right next to me. I think it's quite sensible that we go together, if
I'm going to be his tour guide for the day”, the blonde grumbled.

”I know, I know. I was just teasing you. But anyway, make sure you come by our
lockers when you come, and introduce me to the hot guy.”

Akira laughed and resumed his jogging. ”The hot guy has a name, you know.”

”No I don't. You didn't tell me because you're a selfish brat."

”Sure”, the blonde rolled his eyes, ”and his name is Takanori.”

”Takanori”, the other repeated, ”hmh... Pretty name. I kind of get the vibe
that he's a ladyboy, since you said he was hot - everyone knows you're into
flamers, dude.”

”Your vibe is correct”, Akira agreed. In his eyes, Takanori had indeed been
androgynous.

”Oh shit! Oh shit!” by the sound of it, the blonde momentarily thought his
friend was having a seizure. ”Man, do you think he's a bottom?”

”Hold your fucking horses, Yuu. We can't be sure that he's into guys, and I
really don't want you scaring him on his first fucking day of school."

”But he can't be a top!”

”Are you even fucking listening to me, you horny bastard?” the blonde was
becoming irritated.

”I am. It's just that I haven't gotten any in so goddamn long and-”

”Yeah, yeah. But can you please just keep it in your pants - at least until he
gets used to this place?” Akira demanded. Him and Yuu would be in some serious
shit if they harassed Takanori only to find out that he was straight - although
Akira did have a feeling that it wasn't the case; the way Takanori held himself
and the overall air about him didn't exactly scream 'ladies man'.

”Okay, fine. But just so you know, it's your fault if I explode from sexual
frustration”, Yuu said dramatically.

”Calm your shit. I'm sure Hiro will hold another one of his parties soon and
you can get laid in the bathroom or something.”

”Oh yeah! That guy is seriously my idol. Big ass house, parents away every
weekend, cooperating older sister buying alcohol, the best motherfucking
stereos I've ever seen, a pool, food”, Yuu listed. Akira could visualize the
grin and gleaming eyes the raven head must have been sporting.

”See? I bet he'll throw a party this weekend. And if not him then someone else
will”, the blonde stated.

”You're right. Well, I'll see you later dude, bye!”

”Bye”, Akira ended the call. He was almost back home, gathering his remaining
energy to spurt the rest of the way.

Back in his house, Akira toed off his sneakers and left them in a shapeless
pile away from where the other shoes stood in perfect rows. He managed to
stumble on the long rug spread atop the floor of the foyer, leaving it bunched
up on one end as he leaped up the stairs. He went straight to the bathroom
where he intended to wash up a little. The blond stripped himself of his sweaty
clothing and dumped the garments into the laundry basket. He turned the shower
on, occupying it for no less than a minute, just enough to get rid of all the
sweat.

The boy grabbed a towel from a hanger, hastily encasing himself with it. Akira
peered into the mirror and took a blowdryer in hand to dry off his semi-wet
strands. After that was done, he straightened his hair carefully, fingering it
into shape. He reached for the hair wax that was atop the counter, coating two
fingers with a small amount and working it into individual locks of hair. Once
he was happy with the results, Akira headed to his room to get changed into
some proper clothes he could wear for school.

The blond went with a pair of stonewashed, ripped jeans, a form-fitting
patterned T-shirt and a black leather jacket equipped with studs on the collar.
He wanted to look good.I mean, not to impress that hot, new guy or anything. I
just want to look good, that's all. Akira gave himself a once-over through the
mirror that was fixed onto the door of his closet, giving his appearance a
mental thumbs-up. He glanced at this phone. He had five minutes of extra time
before he would go pick up Takanori.

Hoisting his school bag up to rest on his shoulder, the blonde skittered
downstairs, flopping down on the living room couch. His parents had already
left for work, leaving him alone with Minako who he assumed was still touching
up her makeup. The girl soon appeared at the top of the stairs, looking
incredulously at Akira.

”Why are you still lazing around in here?”

”Well, me and Takanori agreed we'd leave at half past."

”Dumbass!” Minako exclaimed, ”he's probably already waiting for you. Get
moving!”

Eyes widening in surprise, the blonde springed up immediately. ”He is?”

”I'm sure he is. Now go”, the girl ordered, almost exasperated at her
unthoughtful brother.

Akira was on his way curtly, lacing up his combat boots and slipping out the
door. He checked that he had his keys with him and began sauntering towards his
neighbor's house. The gravel of the path leading from the front door to the
gate crunched loudly underneath his boots, the blond tucking his idle hands
away into his pants' pockets.
Akira soon reached the Matsumotos' front gate and stepped onto the driveway.
Unlike yesterday, Akira now paid more attention to the patch of land belonging
to Takanori's family, marveling at the sight of a perfectly kept garden. Cherry
trees stood on the ground along with a few different deciduous trees, all
shedding leaves that served as natural décor atop the emerald grass. Flowerbeds
were filled to the brim with colorful tulips and daffodils. Trails consisting
of decorative stones led to a couple of secluded areas with overhanging trees,
where small ponds were surrounded by beautifully carved iron benches coated
with a layer of pure white paint.

You'd think that by the looks of their home, these people would be rich douche
canoes, Akira thought absent-mindedly, strutting forward instead of wasting
time wandering around like some nature-loving hippie. The boy closed in on
Takanori's house, the building resembling a rustic manor. It definitely cost
more than Akira's family's house, but it was around the same size. A brass
knocker shaped like the head of a lion was attached to the door, yet Akira
opted to press the doorbell rather than use the knocker.

He leaned back on his heels, assuming a cooler posture as he waited for someone
to come open the door. Akira heard muffled steps and voices, barely dodging as
the door swung open to reveal a slightly out of breath Takanori.

”Hi, Akira”, the brunet greeted the oder teen with a small smile.

”Uh, hey”, said the blond. His gaze unintentionally drifted along Takanori's
body, picking up a glint of interest at the other's outfit. The brunet was
wearing a long sleeved band shirt that hung down from his shoulders, the straps
on his shoulders marking the presence of a tank top underneath. It took all of
Akira's willpower for him to not stop and gape at the lower half of the brunet,
clad in the most low-cut denim shorts with studs lining the hem and pockets,
gifting anyone full view of Takanori's pale, slim legs. Just one peek at the
boy's flawless thighs and Akira felt like he was going to go insane. Well, he
was into cute flamers, after all.

Well fan-fucking-tastic. I'm going to need the self-restraint of a monk to be
around him, Akira concluded, praying to all gods of every religion that he
wasn't hard right now.

Apparently, Takanori hadn't picked up on anything unusual about the blond, his
tone completely casual as he spoke up: ”Sorry, could you wait here while I go
get my stuff? I got into a hell of a rush thanks to my asshole brother who
decided to take up half of my bathroom time.”

”Uhm... sure”, Akira mumbled out a response. Before he could look away, the
brunet had turned around to walk back inside, a lump forming in Akira's throat
as he witnessed the mild sway of Takanori's hips and his perfectly shaped ass.

Sweet Jesus, the blond thought, along with an incomprehensible string of curse
words.

Taking deep breaths and exhaling slowly, Akira did his best to maintain an
indifferent exterior, taking out his phone so he could have something to fiddle
with. He groaned inwardly; he hated waiting.

Merely a few minutes later Takanori came back, messenger bag slung over a
shoulder.

”Ready to go?” he asked, looking up at the blond who still fumbled with his
phone.

Akira nodded. He wasn't sure he could trust his mouth not to convert a socially
acceptable response of 'yes' into a not so socially acceptable 'no, let's just
stay here so I can fuck you' - so he kept it shut. Takanori closed the front
door, the duo walking towards the gate. Both were awfully silent until they
reached the sidewalk, Akira leading the way since he knew what roads to take to
get to his school as quickly as possible.
”So, uh... do you need to go see the principal before class? To get your locker
key and all that”, Akira spoke up somewhat awkwardly, hands firmly tucked into
his pockets as he trudged along the sidewalk of a busy street.

Takanori gave a dismissive shake of his head. ”No. I visited the school
yesterday, to finalize my transfer and pick my courses."

Akira's quiet hum was drowned out by the various sounds of morning traffic.
”And you've got your timetable?”

”Yeah. First period is Math."

”Way to start the first day of school... I fucking hate Math”, Akira stated. He
felt more at ease now that the two of them were having an idle conversation.

”Join the club”, Takanori chuckled.

Yuu's earlier request to immediately be introduced to Akira's new neighbor
crossed the blond's mind. He figured he'd inform Takanori beforehand: ”Do you
mind if I introduce you to a friend? I might've accidentally told him my new
neighbor was going to be in our class, and he's dying to meet you.”

”Sure.”

”And in advance: I'm not responsible for anything he says”, Akira felt the need
to give the brunet a small heads up about Yuu's questionable behavior.

”Oh? So he's a mouthy one”, Takanori laughed. He seemed relaxed in Akira's
company - or at least more relaxed than Akira was in his.

”'Mouthy' doesn't even begin to cover it”, the blond humphed. A small kid that
was passing by nearly ran into Akira, the teen taking a step to the side at the
last second. Being almost six feet tall, Akira thought he'd be easier to spot
and avoid on the street than this, but apparently some people just naturally
walked like they were blind. An irritated sigh escaped him. "Anyway, you'll see
what I mean once you meet him."
"Okay..." the brunet drawled out his response in a manner that indicated he
wasn't sure what to expect.

A beat of silence followed, both teens momentarily caught up in their own
thoughts.

”So... Akira”, Takanori spoke up, ”you got any hobbies?”

Akira furrowed his brows thoughtfully. ”Well, I love music. I play the bass and
collect CDs and band merch. I work part-time at a music store in a mall.
Besides that I play video games and hang out with my friends - basic teenager
stuff, I guess. You?"

”Mostly art: drawing and painting et cetera. But I love music too, and I
occasionally play video games, though I'm not that good at them."

”What bands do you like?" Akira found himself getting more and more intrigued.
Damn, why's he so...

Takanori bit his lower lip, his eyes bearing a hint of amusement at Akira's
honest curiosity. ”I listen to all kinds of Rock bands. Punk, Glam Rock,
Grunge, Alternative, Metal, you name it.”

Akira grinned. ”Looks like we have something in common.”

The duo reached their school in no time, blending into the crowd of students.
Takanori scanned the school building and yard - it was much bigger than his old
school. Not only that, but it also looked like it had been constructed quite
recently as opposed to the crusty, low-budget structure his former High School
was located in. City kids just have it better.
The teens made their way inside, shuffling down the hall. They came to a stop
at a row of lockers, a tall boy with black hair leaning against what Takanori
assumed was the guy's own locker. The raven head had a piercing on his lower
lip and on both of his ears, his handsome and sharp features accentuated with
rocker-like clothing. The brunet assumed this was the guy Akira had told him
about.

”Yo, dude”, Akira greeted his friend.

”Mornin', dickweed", a smug grin appeared on Yuu's face. They say appearances
can be misleading, but that certainly wasn't the case for this guy: he acted
every bit as douchey as you would expect from someone who looked like a
stereotypical bad boy in a teen movie.

”Takanori, this is Yuu”, the blond introduced his friend, gesturing at the teen
with his hand.

Takanori arched a brow as he realized Yuu was examining him from head to toe,
the taller teen's grin widening.

”Nice to meet you”, Yuu said after he was done with sizing up the brunet. It
was evident from his sleazy tone that the raven head was pleased with what he
saw.

”Likewise”, Takanori held back a snort.

Akira locked eyes with Yuu, giving the teen his best 'say something
inappropriate and I will cut your throat' -look.

The raven head's gaze swiftly went back to Takanori, as if Akira's general
existence was no longer even worth noting. Yuu had noticed the brunet was
wearing a shirt with the logo of the band Muse printed on it, trying to sound
nonchalant as he motioned at the shirt and asked: ”You like Muse, Takanori? I
think I have a few of their live DVDs lying around in my room. Wanna come over
and watch 'em sometime?”

Not knowing how this overly flirtatious guy would react if he outright rejected
the invitation, the brunet answered somewhat hesitantly: ”Yeah, I guess...”

”Guys, I hate to interrupt but class starts in five minutes”, Akira cut in, his
expression one of exaggerated boredom.

”I have to find my locker, then. I don't really want to carry these books
around all day”, Takanori stated, motioning to his visibly full messenger bag.

”Ok, we'll wait here."

Takanori dug out his locker key to check the number on it. He looked at the
numbers of the lockers to his right, assuming his would be among the next row
of lockers on that side of the hallway, taking off in that direction. Akira and
Yuu stood rooted to their places, waiting. The raven head didn't avert his gaze
from the brunet for one second, relishing the sight of Takanori from behind.

”Ay caramba!” he exclaimed. ”You were so right, Akira. Damn he's hot”, Yuu
babbled to his blond friend, waving a hand in front of his face as if he needed
to cool himself down.

”Stop yelling”, Akira snapped, hoping Takanori hadn't heard the raven head's
obnoxious comment.

Yuu only got more encouraged, whistling. ”I'd definitely tap that. Did you see
those legs? Man, I'd fuck the shit out of him.”

Suddenly, the boys heard a high pitched cough behind them. The boys turned to
face the disturbed, flushed face of a teacher, her wide eyes like the sugar
coating to the comical expression she wore. Yuu turned back slowly, his lips
pressed into a thin line and a mixture of embarrassment and amusement on his
face. Akira burst into laughter as soon as the teacher left the scene.

”Shut the fuck up”, Yuu grumbled, which merely caused Akira to laugh harder.

”I think you just traumatized Mrs. Hayashi."

”Whatever, you gay lord."

A mop of brunet hair came into vision, the shorter teen oblivious to what had
just taken place. ”Did I miss something?”

”No, nothing at all”, Akira said once his cackling had subsided, ”we should get
going now.”

The blond led the way to the end of the hall, going up the stairs as the other
two followed suit. Arriving at the second floor, the first classroom on the
left was where they had Math. The teens entered the class through the ajar
door. Nearly all of the other students were already seated at their desks,
individual conversations blending together into a mass of noise that
unquestionably irritated the hell out of the teacher standing at the front with
arms folded against his chest. As the man noticed the trio trudging into the
room without a care in the world, his patience grew too thin and he finally
snapped.

”Well look who's late on the first day of the semester; Shiroyama and Suzuki.”

The mentioned teens stopped to stare at the teacher, baffled. ”Huh?”

The man pointed at a clock above the blackboard - it was a minute over eight
o'clock.

”Are you fucking serious?” Akira asked, dumbfounded. His Math teacher,
Fujimoto, was notorious for being as boring as bingo night at a retirement
home. The only thing he liked was equations, and pretty much everything else he
hated. Although the man wasn't too fond of anyone in this school, it seemed
that the ones who really rubbed Fujimoto the wrong way were none other than
Akira, Yuu and their gang: Takamasa, Yutaka and Kouyou. The blond still
couldn't quite put his finger on why Fujimoto hated them specifically. They
didn't usually fool around that much during his lessons, so perhaps it was
about Akira and his gang reminding the teacher of some punks who bullied him in
his school years, or something.

”Watch your language, young man. Or do you want to be sent straight into the
principal's office first thing in the morning?” Fujimoto gave the blond a
warning glare.

"Not really", Akira mumbled, a sour scowl on his features.

Fortunately for the blond, Fujimoto decided not to chew his ass out today as
the man's attention was caught by the new face next to him and Yuu: ”Oh, and
who might you be?”

”Takanori Matsumoto. I'm new here.”

Fujimoto gaped at Takanori incredulously, presuming he had misheard the teen.
”Huh? But isn't that...? Aren't you...?”

The other students were observing the exchange intently. The brunet was
confused himself for a brief moment, until it hit him and he sighed in
frustration. ”I'm a dude!”

Fujimoto appeared to be a bit embarrassed at his own denseness, quickly
apologizing to Takanori. The teacher suggested that the boy introduce himself
to the rest of the class. Meanwhile, Akira and Yuu slinked to their desks,
heaving a breath of relief at the fact that the man had forgotten about them
and their tardiness for the time being. Reluctantly, Takanori stepped to the
front of the classroom, waiting in silence until Fujimoto took his seat at the
teacher's desk and raised his brows as a sign for the boy to begin.

Takanori had no idea what to tell a classful of bored teenagers about himself,
figuring he'd just wing it. He stated basic information about himself: his
name, age and who his family consisted of, then summarized his hobbies and
interests with a few sentences.

”Is there anything else you'd like to tell us? Do you have any pets? Favorite
school subjects?”

”I don't have any pets, and my favorite subject would have to be Art”, Takanori
stated. He didn't want to be the center of attention any longer and was already
about to take a step away from the front of the class.

”Okay. Does anyone have any questions for Takanori?” Fujimoto asked, glancing
from one student to another.

A tall, muscular teen wearing a football jacket - most likely a jock - raised
his arm half-heartedly.

”Go ahead, Shinji”, Fujimoto motioned to the jock.

”Are you a fag?” the teen spat out.

Takanori rolled his eyes. He had been sporting his androgynous style long
enough to be able to anticipate prejudiced questions like this. What might have
offended him a couple of years back now simply served to point out individuals
he should avoid at all costs.
”I believe Matsumoto's sexual orientation is none of your business, Shinji”,
Fujimoto said.

Before Shinji could retort, Takanori asked in turn: ”And are you a dumb fuck
who wouldn't even be sitting there without his pathetic football scholarship?”

The jock fell utterly silent, while the rest of the classroom erupted in
laughter.

”Oh shit, you just got served, Shinji!” Yuu exclaimed from the back, pounding
his fist against the surface of his desk as he roared in laughter.

Akira was in the same condition as his friend, noting in between chuckles:
”Damn, that was some flawless shade right there.”

”I fucking love this guy, Akira!” Yuu announced, panting a bit while trying to
calm down.

”Gotta admit, he's not just a pretty face."

”Yeah, but you know what else is pretty? His a-” the raven head's chatter was
cut off as Akira slapped a hand across his mouth. Yuu tried to squeal in
protest, but zipped it when he spotted Takanori walking into their direction.
Akira peered at Yuu, his expression implying that his pervy friend now owed him
one.
Takanori took a seat at the desk in front of Akira's, and the blond didn't
miss the mischievous smirk Yuu flashed him. Akira ignored his friend - as well
as Fujimoto, who had begun the actual lesson by scribbling something on the
blackboard, rambling as he did. Akira propped up his head with his hand. He
zoned out, his face blank and his eyes staring off into space. The boy rarely
even considered taking part in Fujimoto's lessons, since the man treated him
and his gang so badly that he'd lost all motivation to try and keep his grades
up. He sucked at Math anyway.

Akira registered Takanori hanging his messenger bag around the backrest of his
chair, pulling out his books and supplies from the depths of the bag. Akira
observed as the brunet started doodling in his notebook, feeling a slight sense
of connection between him and the shorter teen - so neither of them were fans
of doing Math.
After a few minutes of watching Takanori sketch out what - from the blond's
point of view - looked like it could have been a torso, Akira's thoughts were
invaded by the question of why Takanori had reacted the way he had when Shinji
asked him if he was gay. Technically, Takanori hadn't denied anything, but he
hadn't actually given a definitive answer. Just threw some shade in return for
the spiteful way Shinji had phrased his question. The insult towards Shinji
might mean that Takanori is gay, and either in the closet or fucking tired of
people asking him about his sexual orientation. But then again, he could be
straight and just fed up with people assuming that he's gay based on his
appearance. Akira hated being the kind of guy who makes assumptions about
people based on stereotypes, so he was keeping an open mind for now. Fuck, why
am I even so fixated on this? What does it matter if he's gay or not?

Akira was treading on thin ice. Why was he obsessing over a boy he just met?
Hadn't the blond just promised himself he wouldn't think about relationships
for a while? He had school to worry about, and his hands were filled with
working at his part-time job, hanging out and doing stupid shit with his
friends and going to parties every now and then. Simply put, he had no time for
relationships, and he wasn't looking for someone to fuck, either. Although
Takanori would be a more than fine catch, Akira wasn't planning on wasting his
time being wistful over the brunet. It made no difference whether the boy
preferred men or women or both or neither - Akira was just going to befriend
him.
***
The bell rang, signaling the end of first period. Akira closed his Math book
(that he had only opened for the sake of appearances) and shoved it inside his
bag along with his pencil and eraser. He hung the bag from his shoulder,
carrying it lazily. Akira located his friends all gathered around Takamasa's
desk. It didn't come to him as a shocker that Yuu had snatched Takanori with
him and presented the boy to their gang, like one would do with a brand new
puppy.

The blond trudged over to join the group, wincing when he heard Takamasa
shriek.

”You're so adorable!” the blue-haired teen exclaimed, seemingly fascinated by
Takanori. Takamasa was easy to recognize in this school - he was the only guy
who frequently dyed his hair in bright, crazy colors.

”Uh... thanks”, Takanori mumbled, a little shocked at the sudden outburst.

”Myv, behave. You've got a girlfriend, remember?” Kouyou scolded his friend,
sitting atop a random desk with his features as stoic as ever.

”Myv...?” Akira felt sorry for Takanori. The brunet was becoming more confused
by the minute.

”Yeah, it's my nickname”, Takamasa reached into the pocket of his jeans to pull
out a pack of gum. He took out one of the strips wrapped in colorful paper,
peeling the wrapper off and throwing the gum into his mouth.

”Guys, I think we should go outside. Mr. Fuckmuppet over there is glaring at
us”, Yuu stated, pointing a thumb over his shoulder at Fujimoto.

Kouyou clicked his tongue. ”What a wiener.”

”Agreed. Let's get the fuck out”, Akira said, stepping towards the classroom
door. The other five joined him, Takamasa kicking his chair over before leaping
out of the classroom.

”That man must hate you”, Takanori commented as the lot made their way to the
first floor, the blue haired teen almost skipping instead of walking.

”He's an old prune, never mind him”, Akira shrugged.

”He's not even the worst. Wait until you see our History teacher”, said Yutaka,
the boy who appeared to be the least rebellious member of the gang. His clothes
were rather ordinary, but his hair was styled like the other boys' were.
Takanori thought Yutaka's smile was cute, and possibly the most attractive
thing about him.

Takamasa acted like he had ADD, babbling and jumping around every chance he
got. Takanori dodged as the blue-haired teen's arm accidentally almost hit him
in the face. Kouyou was the polar opposite of Takamasa. He wasn't very
talkative and he came off as indifferent and somewhat cold. He was tallest out
of all of them, and he was really handsome, Takanori noted.

”Everyone calls her 'grandma' because she's an old hag”, Yuu snickered.

The teens went outside where other students were gathered into groups,
gossiping and whatnot. Akira and Kouyou led the gang to the back of the
building, coming to a halt and leaning against the wall. The boys came here to
have a smoke - it was something they had been routinely doing for the past two
years, and oddly enough, they hadn't been caught in the act any more than a
handful of times. Their teachers had most likely shrugged them off as a bunch
of delinquents beyond the teachers' help, so no one usually bothered to waste
their energy lecturing the boys on the dangers of smoking. Not like they gave a
shit, anyway. Yuu was the first one to take out his box of cigarettes, followed
by Akira, Kouyou and Takanori. It appeared that Yutaka wasn't a smoker, which
Takanori thought was rather admirable. He couldn't imagine how hard it must be
to not take up the habit when all your friends were doing it. Even Takamasa had
replaced his gum with a cigarette.

The break was over within ten minutes, the group disposing of their cigarette
butts. Their next class was Chemistry, another subject collectively hated by
the boys. They went back inside dragging their feet, Takanori following the
other boys since he wasn't familiar with the school building yet.
Instead of individual desks, the Chemistry classroom had tables with two seats,
since lab projects were often done in pairs. Takanori went ahead and sat down
at the first empty table he could find, taking out his Chemistry book and
notebook. As he was making himself comfortable, the brunet saw from the corner
of his eye that Yuu was promptly approaching his table. However, it ended being
Akira who took a seat on the unoccupied chair next to Takanori, the blond
having shot past Yuu just barely in time.

”You'll thank me later”, Akira groaned, snorting in amusement as Yuu shot him a
death glare and grudgingly went to sit with Kouyou on the other side of the
room.

Not long after, their Chemistry teacher entered the classroom, fully ready to
spend the entirety of the lesson lecturing the unmotivated students on atomic
orbitals. Akira, for one, wished they could have just done some interesting mad
scientist type experiments on the first day, but of course that was a no-no,
since it might have meant that students would have actually had some fun during
class - can't have that. None of the teens said a word while the teacher was
talking, since the man was strict and scarily buff. Takanori and Akira were
equally lost when the time came to do exercises from their books. The blond had
come to the conclusion that one would have to utilize witchcraft in order to
understand and get all of the exercises done during class. He would have to
take another look at them at home, though he'll most likely end up doing a
half-assed job of solving them, caving in to an urge to play his bass or play
video games instead of trying to really focus on his homework.

In the end, Akira gave up on the seemingly impossible excercises, slumping in
his seat and opting to take a short nap. He could feel the gaze of their
teacher drilling holes through his thick skull; it wasn't just Fujimoto who
harbored negative feelings towards Akira and his group of primate-like friends:
a number of teachers were more than sick and tired of the lot.
 
***
Lunch was at eleven o'clock sharp. Takanori walked with Akira and Yuu as they
made their way to the cafeteria - the straight half of the group had all had
some business with a teacher, so it would take a few minutes for them to come
join the others. The queue wasn't too long yet, the boys rushing to the line
before more people would start pouring into the cafeteria. They took out their
money to pay for their lunches, soon heading towards a table with trays in
hand. Akira sat beside Yuu while Takanori took his place opposite the two,
which the raven head probably found disappointing.

”Jesus, it's only the first day and I'm already going insane”, Yuu stated,
grasping his utensils tighter than necessary.

”You said it, dude”, Akira agreed with his friend. He had been bored to death
ever since he had first set foot on the school grounds this morning.

Yuu paused with his hand in mid-air, a contemplative expression appearing on
his features. ”Oh yeah. Takanori, there was something I needed to ask you.”

Said boy looked up in curiosity, humming as a gesture for Yuu to go ahead and
pose his question. Akira grew suspicious in a flash, throwing a glare of
warning at Yuu. Unfortunately the teen had once again simply forgotten about
his best friend, and so, Akira's efforts went to waste. Shit,here it comes...

”So, Takanori... do you pitch or catch?” Yuu smirked, and Akira could barely
resist the urge to jump up and punch the living daylights out of the raven
head. But for now, the blond merely choked on his sandwich, his face taking on
a bit of a red tone as he coughed to prevent the bread from going down his
windpipe and ending up inside his lungs. Yuu was such an ape sometimes. No, he
was a bonobo. He was definitely a bonobo.

Takanori raised his brows. He was silent for a while, a slow smirk curving his
lips as he decided to respond: ”Catch.”

It was all the confirmation the other teens needed, Akira staring at the brunet
wide-eyed while Yuu grinned toothily. At least now they didn't have to keep
wondering what Takanori's sexual orientation was.

”You're my kind of guy, Taka”, the raven head beamed. If his face was any
indication, Yuu was just about ready to perform a ten-minute victory dance to
Don't Stop Believing,or better yet -YMCA.

Takanori's smirk faded, and he took on a more serious tone: ”Then... you two
are also...?”

”Yup, fudge packers. Though Akira's only a semi-fudge packer - he's bi”, Yuu
stated.

”Why that's a nice way to put it”, Takanori rolled his eyes.

”Indeed!"

”Oh, but why aren't you two together then? You seem like a good match”, the
brunet said, looking from Yuu to Akira in an excited manner.

”Me and him? Oh please... I'd rather get deep-throated by a fucking shark”,
Akira sneered.

Yuu humphed, very much on the same page with the blond: ”Yeah, as if he'd ever
be good enough for me.”

”Okay, okay - I was just wondering. Don't get your panties in a bunch."

”But you happen to be just my type”, Yuu said, his intent gaze set on the
shorter boy.

”Uh...?” Takanori faked a brief chuckle in an attempt to ease the awkwardness,
glancing down at his untouched lunch. He should have known this would happen.

”Will you go on a date with me?” Yuu made his intentions clear. He seemed quite
confident that Takanori would take him up on his offer in a heartbeat - few
cute bottoms had been able to resist Yuu's bad boy charm before.

Takanori bit his lip, thinking on it. He only ever had one-night stands, which
didn't exactly fit the picture if he was planning on befriending these two.
Takanori's method of dating was to spend one night with the guy and then never
see him again.

”I'm sorry... I'd rather just be friends, if that's okay?” Takanori answered,
shrinking under Yuu's tongue-tied stare. It looked as if the raven head had
witnessed Takanori spontaneously grow another pair of eyes on his forehead.
Akira slapped Yuu's shoulder harhsly, but got no response.

Wanting to do something about the uncomfortable situation, Akira stated:
”Sorry, Taka. Yuu is an asshole who doesn't take rejection very well.” He
finished his sentence with gritted teeth, another slap landing on the raven
head's shoulder.

”No, no. It's okay, really. But... why?” Yuu mumbled.

”I just... I don't do relationships, you know? And I don't want to risk making
things awkward by having a one-night stand, because I'd really appreciate you
guys as friends...” Takanori trailed off, sure he had just ruined everything.

Akira understood the brunet fully, since he wasn't much of a romantic or
friends-with-benefits type of guy himself. He elbowed Yuu between the ribs and
declared on behalf of them both: ”Don't worry, we understand. I already
consider you a friend, so don't be afraid of knocking Yuu off his high horse.”

”Hey! I said it's okay. It's just an awful waste, finally meeting someone who's
so damn bangable but who prefers to banish you to the cold depths of the friend
zone”, Yuu commented, demoralized.

Takanori arched a brow: ”You think I'm bangable?”

”Hell yeah I do. If mister future policeman wasn't sitting here, it'd only take
me a fraction of a second to bend you over this table and fuck you so hard you
would-”

”That's enough of that. I don't want to vomit on my lunch”, the raven head was
cut off by a mildly disgusted Kouyou. He, Takamasa and Yutaka joined the trio
at the table, setting their trays down.

”And on another note, why the fuck are you trying to scare off the new guy?
Odds are-”

”He's gay, dude”, Yuu smirked, that simple statement ending the argument.

”Oh for fuck's sake! The last thing we need right now is sexual goddamn
tension. No offence, Taka”, Kouyou took his apparent irritation out on the
bread roll he had on his tray, stabbing it in half and futher maiming it as he
spread butter on both halves with a few crude swipes of a knife. One of the
guys mumbled about how it was a safety hazard to allow Kouyou to handle sharp
objects when he was angry.

”Non taken. I'm used to perverts”, the brunet shrugged it off, unwrapping his
granola bar and taking a large bite out of the sweet snack.

”I'm not a pervert!” Yuu exclaimed in protest.

”Sure, and I'm virgin Mary”, Akira took a sarcastic jab at the raven head. The
others laughed while Yuu scowled, poking at his lunch in frustration. The blond
had a point.

”The fuck is wrong with being horny? And I doubt little Taka just accidentally
put on shorts that cover less skin than actual underwear”, grumbled Yuu in his
own defence.

Takanori leaned closer to the raven head, a grin splitting his features as he
whispered with a teasing, husky tone: ”No, it was rather intentional.”

”Fucking homos. At least Akira over there has the decency to be discreet about
himself”, Kouyou cut in, motioning to the blond who was back to eating his
lunch.

Yuu cackled in a manner similar to a textbook villain that had just unveiled
their evil plans, ”Oh no, it's only a matter of time before that birdbrain
loses it. It's been months since he last got laid."

Huffing, Akira drawled: ”Even so, I don't go around harassing people unlike a
certain someone.”

”Harassing?! I haven't harassed anyone!”

”Actually, sexual comments and hinting-”

”Fine! I get it”, Yuu frowned at Akira.

”Guys, come on. Do I look offended?” Takanori was getting a bit tired of Akira
and Yuu's childish bickering. The two were a prime example of those amusing
but, quite frankly, annoying straight bros who cracked 'you know how I know
you're gay' jokes with each other - even though they weren't even straight.

”No...” they muttered in unison.

”See? So there's no reason to argue like that. I'm alright, as long as nobody
makes me horny, because then we're gonna have some issues”, Takanori said,
pointing at his tight denim shorts.

”Can you people just shut up? I'm trying to eat here, assholes”, Takamasa spoke
up from the end of the table.

”We people have a name, you douchebag”, and Yuu was mouthing off again.
Fantastic.

”Indeed you do: ass bandits”, Kouyou declared.

”Colon cowboys”, Takamasa snorted.

”...Sometimes I honestly can't tell if you guys are homophobes or just immature
asshats”, Akira sighed, as if he was any better in comparison to the rest of
the group.

”No, we just don't see the point in sucking another dude's cock”, Takamasa
stated.

”Just like how we don't see the point in obsessing over boobs.”

”Will you zip it already? You're all twats, end of story”, Yutaka got the final
word in the matter, his firm glare enough to make his friends drop the subject.

After a minute of silence, Akira turned to Kouyou and asked the taller teen:
”Hey, Kouyou. I was thinking I'd stop by the store today to discuss my working
times. You coming?”

The honey blond's brows curved in surprise, ”You're still going to work now
that school's started?”

”Well, yeah”, the blond stated. He didn't know why it was such a big deal. He
wasn't putting too much effort into his studies, so working for a couple of
hours a handful of times a week certainly wouldn't tire him out, and since it
was his last year in High School, his timetable wasn't packed with courses.
Besides, he really wanted to save up some money to buy himself a motorcycle.
When he finally got it, it would feel so much more satisfying knowing that he'd
earned it through his own effort rather than begging his parents to buy it for
him.

”Well, I'm not. I'm just going to focus on my guitar playing. And maybe on
school if I get bored”, Kouyou informed.

Akira was a bit disappointed: now he would have to go on working without one of
his best friends. A sudden worry overtaking him, he quickly asked Takamasa:
”But you're still gonna work, right?”

The blue haired teen halted with his fork halfway into his mouth, "Ah, sorry,
Aki, but I definitely won't be able to pass all my courses if I have to work
every week as well. But, I mean I could come hang out and maybe give you a hand
with the storage stuff sometimes."

”I'm not gonna work, either. My old man would skin me alive if my grades
dropped to any lower than they already are”, Yuu said in turn. Yutaka told the
others that he was in the same situation as Yuu and Takamasa in terms of
maintaining his current level of academic success. Yutaka's grades were a lot
higher than his friends' were, and istead of being worried about not
graduating, he couldn't afford to let his grades drop because he was planning
on going to Medical School. Pursuing a career in medicine was quite appropriate
for a hard-working humanitarian like Yutaka.

”Okay. I'm still going to the mall today, though. Any of you guys wanna come
along and hang out after I sort out my shit?” Akira suggested.

The other teens were down with the idea, which was made clear to the blond by
the simultaneous 'sure' each of them spoke out. Almost done with their
respective trayfuls of mediocre public school food, Takamasa wolfed down the
rest of his lasagna while, next to him, Kouyou grimaced at the piglike
behavior, himself eating slowly to make sure all of the food reached his mouth
and didn't drip down his chin like Takamasa's did. Akira drank away the last
drops of his soda, muffling a burb by covering his mouth with his fist. It
dawned on him far later than acceptable how rude it was to make plans in front
of someone without including them, the blond glancing at Takanori
apologetically.

”Oh yeah; Taka, would you like come with us?”

The brunet smiled. Akira was more considerate than what you'd expect based on
his appearance. ”I guess I wouldn't mind looking around the shops for some
clothes.”

”Then it's settled. You'll hang with us, right?” Akira grinned.

”Yeah. You get to show me the wonders of the city," the brunet joked in feigned
overexcitement.

”I can show you one of those right now”, Yuu smirked. More than one person
sighed at that. The guy just wouldn't give up
***** Chapter 3 *****
The rest of the gang's school day was spent in Biology and History class. Once
the clock hit three, a mass of young adults burst out the school's door, a
cloudy Autumn sky greeting them. Everyone was on their way without a second's
worth of lingering on the school grounds, their minds set on going either home
to relax or down town to meet up with friends. On the other hand, Akira and his
group were in no hurry, slow steps leading them towards their rather close-by
destination as they babbled about random nonsense.

The nearest mall - where the music store Akira worked part-time at was located
- was only a couple of blocks away from the High School. The glass doors off
the tall, oddly shaped building slid open as the teens approached them. It was
loud inside the mall: various stores played some kind of music, people bustled
about, kids screamed at their parents to buy them candy and toys, teenagers
joked, laughed, yelled. Mouth-watering smells mingled together on the first
floor, since that was where most of the restaurants, coffee shops, fast food
joints and bakeries were. There was a map of the mall on a large sign next to
the escalators, the group walking right past it. Takanori figured the others
knew this place like the back of their hands, having had part-time jobs here
and whatnot. They stepped onto the escalator and soon arrived on the second
floor. The boys made a left turn, sauntering towards the music store ahead of
them.

Sonic Sound... how uncreative, Takanori read the sign above the entrance of the
shop.

His negative first impression was sent flying out the backdoor as he heard the
amazing music thundering inside the store. The place resembled an underground
night club, shelves after shelves of CDs and records dividing the fairly large
space into smaller sections. The walls were painted with graffiti, posters and
fliers pinned up here and there. It was difficult for Takanori to see how the
store could possibly appeal to all ages, but judging from the Hard Rock song
playing from the stereos and the types of bands whose posters littered the
walls, the target population this store was mainly catering to was, without
doubt, teens and young adults.
Akira walked straight to the checkout where the owner of the store, Miyagi, was
sitting, flipping through the pages of a magazine. Miyagi was a man in his
thirties who could be mistaken for a college student, his semi-long ebony hair
brushing against the crook of his neck and his youthful features void of any
traces of facial hair. He had gauges on both ears, his choice of clothing from
the border of casual and professional: a white dress shirt and neat jeans with
ankle-high boots.

The man's demeanor was energetic as he hoisted himself to his feet, greeting
the teens with a smile.

”Yo, Miyagi. I'd like to discuss my shifts at the store”, Akira stated.

”Oh? You mean you still want to work even though you've got school?” Miyagi was
surprised. Most teens who had previously taken up a summer job at his store had
quit once Autumn had come around.

”Yes. Though I don't think I'll be able to work every single day”, the blond
said.

”I wouldn't expect you to, either”, Miyagi smiled. He knew High School was
quite time-consuming - some students barely had time for a serious hobby, much
less a part-time job. ”What do you have in mind?”

Akira had thought about it extensively enough throughout the past couple of
days. To him, three days a week sounded bearable, and would leave him with time
for other things such as gaming, bass playing and friends. ”I was thinking I
could do Tuesdays and Thursdays after school, as well as Saturdays from morning
to afternoon-ish ”

”Alright, that'll work just fine”, Miyagi nodded. They could discuss the exact
length of Akira's shifts the next day. Giving the rest of the teens a once-
over, the man took notice of the boy he hadn't seen in their company before: "A
brand new addition to the group, I presume? Aren't you a bit too cute to hang
out with the likes of these punks? They're nothing but trouble."
"And aren't you a bit too old to flirt with a seventeen-year-old boy,Miyagi?"
Kouyou remarked, arching a brow in amusement at the almost inappropriately
interested look the man gave Takanori.
"Damn straight! You're probably old enough to be Taka's dad", added Yuu.
"So I take it your name is Taka?" Miyagi asked the brunet.
"Takanori. I don't know why they've nicknamed me already", Takanori said. "Me
and my family moved next to Akira's, and since we're also going to the same
school, we hit it off, I guess", he smiled over at the blond.
"Wow, you've got great luck, Akira."
"Hey, what the hell? Are you seriously trying to flirt with Taka?", Yuu cut in
before Akira even had the chance to process what was going on.
"Of course not. I'm straight and in a relationship", Miyagi couldn't help but
laugh at how the boys were blowing his relatively innocent compliments out of
proportion. "Anyway, feel free to look around, Takanori. We've got a premium-
quality selection of music here, if I do say so myself", wanting to futher mess
with the gang, he winked at the brunet, "I'll give you a forty percent discount
on the first item that catches your eye."
"Dude!" Yuu turned to his friends with his eyes wide, "Miyagi giving someone a
forty percent discount? If that's not flirting then I'm the fucking pope!"
"Give it a rest, Yuu. You're starting to sound extremely jealous and paranoid",
Yutaka stated.
"That's because he is", said Kouyou bluntly, "Taka, if you're gonna buy
something, do it quickly. I'm getting tired of listening to this shitshow of a
conversation."
"'Kay", Takanori walked over to a shelf that contained Rock albums from the
90s. A forty percent discount was too good an offer to simply pass by, after
all.
"Good at taking orders. I like that", something akin to a smirk curved Kouyou's
lips for the shortest of moments.
"Oh don't you start", Yutaka shook his head in disapproval.

In the end, Miyagi really did give Takanori the promised discount on the
Radiohead album he picked out. The brunet thanked the man for the kind gesture,
to which Miyagi answered with another wink. Yuu and Akira narrowed their eyes
at the man in a suspicious fashion, both receiving a slap to the back of their
heads from Yutaka who was utterly done with their childish antics for the day.
The boys left the music store and sauntered back in the direction of the
escalators, Akira facing Takanori to ask the shorter boy: "Hey, Taka. You said
you wanted to shop for clothes, right?"

”Uhm, yeah."

”Well, where do you want to go?” the blond then asked, looking around. There
was an abundance of different types of clothing stores on that floor of the
mall - menswear, womenswear, unisex, even one that only had kids' clothing.
Takaispretty short... he might actually find something there that fits
him,Akira thought, amused.

"You want to tag along?" Takanori raised his brows.
"Well, why not? We've got a similar style, so wherever you go to look for
clothes is most likely somewhere I would go, too", Akira shrugged, "What about
you guys?"
"Sure, whatever. As long as Taka doesn't take hours in one single store",
Kouyou said, "he's gay, so I'm not certain I can trust him in that regard..."
"Not all gay guys are shopaholics, douchewad", Yuu asserted.
"That's absolutely true. And you're the proof, Yuu."
As everyone agreed to go along with Takanori, the brunet wasted no time in
beginning his search for new clothes - perhaps a pair of jeans and some socks.
One can never have too many socks, since they seem to regularly disappear,
never to be worn again. Do they go to a sock retirement home in an alternate
dimension? The boy would never know. The teens wandered about, Takanori
eventually leading them into a store where something wasn't quite right. The
other boys noticed in horror that there wasn't a single sign of a men's or
boys' section, embarrassed frowns signaling their discomfort as the girls in
the store gave them weird looks.

”Uh, Takanori”, Akira began, ducking behind a clothesrack as more women entered
the shop, ”... isn't this a women's store?”

”Yup."

”Then what the hell are we doing here?” Akira hissed, crouching behind
Takanori. Due to the fact that he could pass as a tomboy in most people's eyes,
the brunet blended in here just fine. Akira, however, stuck out like a sore
thumb - as did the rest of his gang.

Takanori huffed. ”Will you stop being so childish? I came here because they
sell nice accessories. I'll have a quick look and then we can leave right away”
He studied a scarf that had captured his interest, feeling the fabric between
the tips of his fingers, ”the others sure aren't freaking out like little
brats, you know.”

Akira sighed; maybe he was overreacting. His brows knit together when he looked
to his sides: no sign of his friends. He stood up, attempting to locate the
guys that had seemingly vanished into thin air.

”Huh? Where the hell did those wankers go?” Akira wondered. Takanori now
noticed the absence of the teens, as well, putting the scarf back to its
original place. The duo went on a search for the others, Akira evoking a few
giggles from girls that passed by him. The blond growled under his breath.
Fuck, he was pissed. As soon as they found his idiot friends, Akira was going
to drag Takanori out of here.

At the back of the store, the blond's blood began to boil when he caught up to
the four imbeciles. His face petrified into a disapproving expression, he
watched as Takamasa, Kouyou and Yutaka were shamelessly exploring the lingerie
section while Yuu stood at a distance trying to ignore the other three, shaking
his head.

”The fuck?!” Akira yelled, notifying the others of his presence.

The perverted trio flinched, guilty looks on their features as they faced
Akira. The blond was beyond pissed off now. They were supposed to be getting to
know Takanori, not perving around like little boys who have never seen women's
underwear before.

”Goddamn morons. We're leaving”, Akira stated.

Takanori snickered next to the blond, who stared at him in disbelief. ”The hell
are you laughing about?”

The brunet shook his head, quieting. Yuu shuffled towards the two, his face the
definition of unamused when he spoke. ”Fucking straight people. I don't get
what's so damn magnificent about these skimpy clothes.”

”You queers wouldn't understand”, Takamasa took it upon himself to, apparently,
state the facts.

”I guess not. Although...” Yuu said, picking up a hanger with a black lace
thong and matching stockings on it. He held it near Takanori's hips,
scrutinizing. ”... This would look sexy as hell on you, Taka.”

Takanori blushed, immediately directing his gaze as far away from the garment
and Yuu's borderline horny grin as possible. Meanwhile, unable to resist, a
perverted smirk slowly crept upon Akira's features. In that moment, he was a
precise replica of Yuu as the both of them could clearly envision it: the way
the lingerie would sit tightly against Takanori's pale, naked skin,
accentuating the slim, beautiful form of his body.

”You'd better not be planning on raping him right in front of our innocent
eyes”, Takamasa's voice brought the two back to reality.

Yuu gave the blue-haired boy an annoyed glare. ”Duh. Do I look like a fucking
rapist to you cunts? I'm simply implying that it would look good on Taka,
'cause you gotta admit, he's got the legs for it.”

The brunet felt even more embarrassed at that, mumbling: ”It wouldn't. How do
you suppose my... you know... would even fit in those?”

The raven head's grin widened to the point where he might just dislocate his
jaw. ”That's the beauty of it, Taka. It'll be so snug... and god, just imagine
how it'll be when you get hard...”

”Okay, you need to stop”, Yutaka snapped, storming up to Yuu and yanking the
hanger from his hold, putting it back where it belonged. He gazed at Takanori
apologetically: ”I'm sorry about these idiots. It seems they can't get it
through their thick skulls that just because you're gay, doesn't mean you're
automatically interested in them or their perverted ideas.”

Akira ran a hand through his hair, Yutaka's words making him and Yuu feel a
little ashamed about the way they acted just now. Takanori found it funny how
Yutaka was somewhat like Jiminy Cricket for Akira and Yuu, giving them all a
small smile. ”Nah, it's okay. Like I said, I'm used to perverts.”

”Uh... guys”, Kouyou raised a finger, eyes trained on something behind the
other teens, ”I don't mean to interrupt the moment, but a shop assistant just
noticed us and I think we're going to get thrown out of here.”

It took the rest of the group a second to register what Kouyou said, and before
any woman could make a move to tell them to leave, the boys were rushing out of
the store as if chased away by a mob of zombies.
The group came to a stop a stone's throw away from the clothes store, Akira
leaning on his bent knees with both hands. None of them spared a second thought
to what a scene they were causing, the boys ignoring the stares they got from
people. No matter what angle you looked at their shenanigans from, being creeps
in a women's store and running around as if their asses were on fire was a
violation of several social norms, and it was a miracle that no one decided to
call mall security on the boys.
Huffing, Akira turned to his four friends. ”Thanks a lot, guys. We can't even
go to one fucking store without you assholes getting us into unnecessary
trouble.”

Takamasa gaped at the blond in disbelief. ”The hell? It's not like you're
completely innocent, either.”

Akira lowered his head, muttering an inaudible, most likely offensive, comment
about the blue-haired teen. He then changed the subject: ”Let's just go grab a
bite somewhere before I get the chance to stab all you fucks.”

Takanori sniggered at the blond's half-request, half-threat. ”You sure are a
smooth talker, Akira.”

Said teen raised his hand to swipe invisible dust from his jacket. ”Born with
it.”

Six medium-sized pizzas, a couple more playful arguments and a countless amount
of Yuu's sexual innuendos later, Akira suggested that they visit one more
store, namely GameStop, and make their way home afterwards. It was only six
o'clock, but Yutaka was nagging about the homework he had to do and the books
he had to read, Akira was thinking that he ought to go to sleep before midnight
so that he'd have the energy to go to work the following day, and Yuu was
getting far too horny for anyone to handle - thus, the sooner they left the
mall and went their separate ways, the better. The boys spent no more than ten
minutes at GameStop, Akira buying a new horror game he had heard good things
about while the others waited for him. Yuu began bragging to Takanori about all
the challenging video games he had beaten, but his self-worshipping speech was
cut short by Akira who shoved between the raven head and Takanori once he had
paid for his game. The group set sail towards the escalators and the mall's
entrance, Akira and Yuu playing tug-of-war over the brunet as each tried their
damnedest to separate Takanori from the other. It took a stomp on Akira and
Yuu's feet from the brunet and a scolding from Yutaka for the taller two to
allow Takanori to walk without either of them glued to his side.

When the gang stepped outside, the sky was a murky greyish blue, dark clouds
hinting at oncoming rain. Light drizzle dotted the sidewalk and the boys'
clothes. They didn't care about it though, since it was unlikely that the
occasional droplets would escalate into a rainstorm before they got home.
Several blocks down was a crossroads where Kouyou, Yutaka and Takamasa
departed, waving goodbye to their friends and walking down the streets that
lead to their aparments. The families of all three of them lived in apartment
blocks more or less downtown. The same applied to Yuu, who also had to soon
part ways with Akira and Takanori, though not before he had exchanged phone
numbers with the brunet.

With the blond's friends no longer in their company, Akira and Takanori
continued their walk home in a peaceful manner. They could enjoy moments of
silence where Akira was lost in the aimless, stress-free thoughts of the first
day of a new semester and Takanori was immersed in a thorough examination of
his surroundings, his artistic sense scouring the dusk city scenery for ideas
for his drawings.
One of the things about cities that always managed to capture the brunet's
interest was how he could see the countless stories around him: the alley where
a shop-lifting kid hid to make the security guard chasing him lose his tracks,
where a young, unconventional couple exchanged secret kisses, embraces, where
someone who had sadly lost their way and ended up in a vicious cycle of drugs,
alcohol and whatever illegal jobs they could get sought refuge from the biting
winter air inside a dumpster, the alley that old people avoided in fear of
being mugged; the apartment building that was occupied by married couples and
their kids, single parents, students, retirees, straight people, gay people,
people of different ethnic backgrounds, all complete with their own sets of
ideals, problems, personality traits, interests. So many things might be
happening around him: happy and sad, fair and unfair, everyday and life-
changing. It was fascinating to imagine the lives of these people that may very
well exist somewhere, sometime. It was a way to bring more depth and meaning to
one's own life: exploring the human condition in the safety of one's own
imagination, bringing those hypothetical experiences, in a way, to life through
artistic means - visual art, music, literature, filmography - and connecting
with people who view or listen to one's art, one's stories - people who might
have had similar experiences in their time. Well, a lot of artists are
humanists, at the end of the day. Takanori was likely an artist of that sort.
As for Akira, the taller teen was thinking back on their afternoon at the mall,
which compelled him to break the silence by asking - not out of obligation, but
curiosity - :  ”Did you have fun?”

Takanori's focus shifted from a colorful billboard on the side of a maroon
brick building to the slightly dark form of Akira, a bright wave of light
occasionally dancing across the lean silhouette and reflecting from narrow yet
gentle eyes as cars drove by. The brunet quickly fixed his gaze on his Converse
shoes that tapped against the damp pavement with every step he took, suddenly
feeling timid about receiving Akira's undivided attention. Being out on an
evening stroll through the city with an attractive guy who you had a lot in
common with was a little bit...

”I have to admit, it was pretty fun. I really appreciate how welcoming your
friends were towards me”, Takanori said. It had been the first time in ages
that a group of guys his age had taken an honest liking to him instead of
brushing him off as the weird gay kid, making malicious comments about him or
asking him ignorant questions. Back in his previous years of education when he
had attended small town public schools, there were hardly any kids who would
speak to him on a regular basis, much less hang out with him. It was a world
where no one was anything but straight and androgyny meant that there was
something wrong with you. It was a world where the big boys would beat him
black and blue if he dared to accidentally see them shirtless in the locker
room. It was no wonder he had usually skipped P.E. On the opposite side of
spectrum was Akira and his friends - they understood. And even if they didn't
fully understand themselves, they accepted. Naturally, most of it could be
chalked up to Akira being openly bisexual and Yuu being almost too openly gay,
but that didn't make the boys' lack of prejudice any less respectable. It felt
wonderful to have his peers treat him as an equal for a change.

Mahogany eyes glanced over at Takanori, a strangely thoughtful gleam in them.
Akira smiled at the shorter boy. ”That's awesome to hear. Yeah, most of the
time they're complete assholes towards just about anyone, but I guess you made
a good impression on them. Even Kouyou's a sucker for anyone who's cute and
listens to him.”

Slightly embarrassed because of the discreet compliment in the blond's words,
Takanori returned the taller boy's smile. ”If that's so, then I'm glad. They
seem like great guys.”

"They are, once you get to know them. And once you get used to their bullshit",
Akira rolled his eyes in an exaggerated way and induced a chuckle from the
brunet. "I'm sure all of them would like to befriend you, especially Yuu. Ugh."
"I wouldn't mind being friends with them, either. Including Yuu", stated
Takanori. He had that certain 'it is what it is' type of expression as he spoke
Yuu's name. Although the raven head's playboy nature was quite the annoyance
every now and then, Yuu did appear to be capable of backing off and shutting
his trap when he was seriously told to do so. Plus, it was clear that there
wasn't any spite behind the raven head's actions, and Takanori had to admit
that it was flattering to have someone be so preoccupied with him. Yuu was a
bit of a jerk, but he was a lovable jerk.

The duo arrived in front of the blond's house. The pitter-patter of rain had
gotten more frequent and small puddles were starting to form atop the pavement.
Takanori faced the blond and gave him a brief hug, the action surprising enough
to cut off Akira's awkward 'uhm, so...'. ”Thanks for today, Akira. You're a lot
sweeter than what the others give you credit for.”

Clearing his throat, Akira hoped it was too dark for the brunet to notice the
blood that rushed to his cheeks. He mentally kicked himself for acting like a
shy grade schooler - come on, man! It was just a hug. No big deal. As the blond
inwardly fussed over possible physical signs of his embarrassment, he failed to
spot the hint of red on Takanori's features. Akira mumbled a 'thanks', saying
farewell to Takanori and trudging across the front yard to the door. He glanced
over his shoulder at the brunet who gave him a final small wave and began
walking towards his own house.

***
Later that evening, Akira was munching on the remains of his late supper and
washing it down with a large cupful of soda - not exactly the healthiest
beverage to have with a meal, but certainly the tastiest in the blond's
opinion. Sure any kind of alcohol is great, as well, but nothing beats the
sugary deliciousness of an ice cold bottle of original Coca Cola. Akira had a
sweet tooth, there was no doubt about it. When he had arrived home, the first
thing the boy had done was his homework. Or to be more specific, he had tried
to do his homework. He really had. He spent nearly half an hour on one Math
exercise without getting anywhere close to a solution. After another thirty
minutes of that madness he just went 'fuck it' and flung his Math book to the
other side of his bedroom. Pissed and bored, Akira had fished around in the
pockets of his jeans and, to his delight, found five bucks he had gotten as
change when he had bought the new horror game. Having figured he could ease his
bad mood with some sweet snacks, the blond had got up and gone to the nearest
corner shop to buy a large bottle of coke as well as some kit kats (his
favorite candy).

Akira left his dishes in the sink, immediately striding upstairs into his
bedroom. He had already showered and dressed into sleepwear - a pair of
sweatpants and a black tank top -, so he could spend every last minute of the
rest of the evening trying out the video game he'd bought. The blond slumped
down onto one of his beanie chairs and reached out for one of the kit-kat bars
that he had laid on the floor at his feet, peeling the wrapper off. He
separated the chocolate bars from each other, eating them one at a time. He
stood up to switch on the TV and his console, popped the game out of its case
and put it in the console, then sat back down. The game's intro soon came on.
Looks promising...

Fifteen minutes into the gameplay, Akira managed to get his character killed.
Thankfully it was a checkpoint-based game, so he would just have to start again
from the beginning of the last checkpoint. He was still a bit pissed about it,
though, and thought it would be best if he paused for a while to calm down and
figure out how to avoid the thing that got him killed the next time around. He
lay down on the beanie chair and took a deep breath.
Akira was tired as hell. One day of school had him exhausted, and it wasn't
just the school itself that had tested the blond's nerves all day. His friends'
constant yapping and goofing off had sucked him dry, and now he was lying
around pretty much as a mere husk of a man. He had seemed fine a few hours ago,
but after agonizing over his Math homework for too long, he was finally drained
of all juices. He was tired, mildly pissed and... horny. Remembering the hug
Takanori had given him, that thing the brunet had said about him being sweet,
the mental image Yuu had planted in his head by stating how good Takanori would
look with a black thong and stockings on, those goddamn shorts... yeah, Akira
was turned on. Honestly, who the hell wouldn't be?

It's like, come on!

Akira had spent months with only his own hand bringing him occasional release,
and he had been reminded of it day after day by his playboy friend who wasn't
even doing much better than the blond. As much Yuu tried to deny it, the truth
was that the raven head hadn't hooked up in weeks, either. The last time Yuu
seduced a guy at a party the two of them got into so huge an argument about who
was going to bottom that the raven head had ended up just storming off without
another word. Naturally, Akira had laughed his ass off when Yuu had told him
about it, and he had gifted the raven head with some gay guy wisdom: "Dude, as
long as you're going to be a strict top, you'd better stick to the flamers.
That's what I do, and I've never gotten into a fight over positions."
But back to the matter at hand - what the flying fuck am I going to do about
Takanori? I mean, sure, I'm not looking for a relationship at the moment, and I
think fuckbuddy friendships are fucked up, butJesus Christ... can that guy be
any hotter and any more my type? And as much as I don't want to admit it, this
is probably the first time Yuu's been so determined to get a guy to sleep with
him, although...Akira frowned ... I really don't want him to succeed.

However, the conclusion the blond had drawn was that he just couldn't try and
ask Takanori out - or fuck him. At least for now. For one, Akira was a loyal
friend, and he wanted to respect the fact that Yuu had essentially called dibs
on Takanori. Yes, he didn't like it, he didn't think it would be an
unforgivable act of treachery to snatch the brunet from Yuu, but if he just
lets the raven head do his worst for now, he won't have to deal with Yuu
whining at him and cursing him and perhaps throwing some punches at him. The
less he had to deal with a bitter and jealous Yuu, the better. The second and
the more important fact was that Takanori himself said that he doesn't want to
be in a relationship, period. Akira sided with Takanori on the matter. Friends
are more important than temporary flings - Akira had sworn by that for several
months now, and, in theory, even when he'd had his short relationships. Maybe
that's why they were so short.

And Akira indeed wanted to be Takanori’s friend. The brunet hadn't said
anything yet, and probably wouldn't say anything before they got to build up
their friendship, but Akira had a hunch that Takanori hadn't exactly been
popular in his old home town. Small town plus an androgynous gay boy equals
nothing good in most cases. The very likely fact that Takanori hadn't had that
many friends before fuelled Akira's desire to befriend him all the more.
Someone that gorgeous and alternative surely deserved a few trustworthy
friends. And that comeback Takanori made at the most annoying jock in their
class -Fuck, that made my day. Shinji'll definitely cry a couple of ugly
straight boy tears tonight.Akira's whole frame shook with an evil cackle.

Yeah, I definitely want to be Taka's friend. But, it's seriously a little hard
when I would like nothing more than to fuck him senseless.Akira groaned - he
was beginning to feel just like his bonobo of a friend. Maybe he should follow
his own advice: attend a party as soon as he could and get laid, seeing how he
didn't want to risk doing anything stupid by letting himself become too horny
around Takanori. He could see a great friendship ahead with the boy, and it may
very well be ruined by a single slip-up.

I really hate you sometimes, the blond glared daggers at his crotch.

He rubbed a palm against his face, heaving a heavy exhale. There was no knowing
what direction everything was going to take - whether he would find it easy or
hard to just try to be Takanori's friend, whether an unexpected turn of events
would see the brunet hook up with Akira or Yuu, whether they'd become good
friends or not. Of course Akira was hoping for the best, but being optimistic
had never been his forté, and it was so easy to expect the worst when it came
to someone the blond was genuinely interested in.

What the fuck even is my life? Akira wondered. Because a question as vague as
that is impossible to find a definitive answer to, the blond didn't waste his
time trying to come up with anything, instead directing his thoughts back to
his new game and the axe murderer who would chop his character's balls off if
he didn't figure out a way to get past them.

The blond played the game until midnight, which was when he dragged himself
into bed and passed out.
***** Chapter 4 *****
Akira rubbed his palms together to create a bit of warming friction. It was a
chilly morning, the sky semi-cloudy, the ground still somewhat soggy from
yesterday's rain storm that had persisted through the night. The blond's jog
had been made challenging by the after-rain conditions, or rather, it had been
his choice of footwear combined with the slippery streets that had provided him
with unwanted difficulty. Like a grade-A dumbass, Akira had worn a pair of
sneakers with the flattest, smoothest soles possible – without even a moment's
worth of hesitation, for fuck's sake – and what had ensued was the blond coming
close to falling on his ass more than a couple of times. Had it been Winter and
the pavement covered in black ice instead of puddles, Akira would currently be
on his merry way to the hospital with a bone fracture and some hefty bruising.
This would have been the perfect opportunity for one of Akira's old teachers
from elementary school to come and, once again, lecture him on the importance
of weather appropriate clothing.

After a quick shower and change of clothes, the blond had sent Takanori a text
where he had inquired if it was okay for him to pick up the other boy at the
same time as he had done the previous day. The polite question was only the
surface, though – deep down, the message was a heads up, a confirmation that
the blond did intend to become friends with Takanori, and that him showing the
boy around and spending time with him the previous day wasn't just some sort of
onetime neighborly gesture. A simple 'sure' accompanied by a smiley face
emoticon was what Takanori had responded with. For some reason, Akira had
imagined the brunet typing that out with the small, beautiful smile Akira had
previously caught glimpses of playing on the boy's plush lips.

Although Akira had killed time by wandering around his house before he had set
course towards Takanori's house, he still ended up arriving at the Matsumotos'
doorstep a few minutes earlier than he was supposed to. Not like it really
mattered, though, figured the blond as he rang the doorbell. Five minutes here
or there was something most people wouldn't even notice. And if Takanori were
to notice, the only harm in it would be the slight dent to Akira's manly pride
if Takanori decided to tease him about his earliness.

When Takanori came to open the door, Akira noted that the boy's attire was less
suggestive than it had been the day before. Black skinny jeans, an over-sized
T-shirt and a long-hemmed hoodie that hung unzipped from the brunet's narrow
shoulders. Too bad for Akira, he finds clothing that makes people look cute and
small almost precisely as sexy as revealing, tight clothes, so Takanori's
outfit for the day wasn't an improvement in terms of reducing the attraction
Akira felt towards the shorter teen. Even so, there was no doubt that it would
have been worse if Takanori had worn something that bared his legs. Just
thinking about those smooth, hairless thighs led Akira to speculate about how
Takanori maintained them: did he shave them every day, or did he settle for
the, based on what Akira had heard, painful but less tedious method of waxing?
His thoughts then took an inappropriate turn as he assumed that the brunet
waxes his legs and wondered if perhaps Takanori enjoys the pain – if the boy
moans in half-pain, half-pleasure when he rips off the waxing strips, imagining
that the sensation stems from someone squeezing and slapping his thighs just as
they're positioning themselves between the brunet's legs and- Woah, okay, let's
just stop that train of thought right there, Akira opted to end his musings
before they had the chance to escalate into a full-blown sexual fantasy. Truly,
it might be for the best that Takanori avoid revealing his legs to Akira.

“You ready to go?” the blond managed to pull himself together, flashing a
friendly smile at Takanori. The shorter teen's features softened at that
(having looked groggy and a tad bit irritated at first glance) and Akira's
smile proved to be contagious as the corners of Takanori's mouth curved
upwards.

“Yeah. I really don't feel like going to P.E., though.” There was a barely
traceable huskiness to Takanori's voice. He hadn't quite overcome the lethargic
feeling that had been holding onto him even after he had gotten out of bed and
went about his usual morning routine.

“Well, I don't care much for that class myself. I mean, I like to exercise, but
I prefer to do it alone,” Akira confessed. “but gotta show up if you want to
pass the course. At least every once in a while.” He winked at Takanori. The
brunet laughed – apparently Akira had played hooky quite a few times before and
hadn't gotten into much trouble for it. That was a relief. The last thing
Takanori needed was a P.E. teacher who wouldn't tolerate any skipping.

“So skipping isn't out of the question... thank goodness. But I guess I should
try and show up today, considering it's the first class of the course”, the
brunet let out a defeated sigh. Although a large urban High School tends to
have plenty of diversity among students, and due to that fact, not quite as
much prejudice as small suburban schools, it's still a given that there are
going to be typical straight guys and jocks in physical education. Perhaps a
miracle would happen and no one would bother to regularly mock or harass
Takanori the way he had been mocked and harassed in his previous school, but
the probability of him surviving his last couple of P.E. courses completely
unscathed both mentally and physically was small. If not anything else, at the
very least he'd be given nasty looks by the jocks. After all, the boy's
appearance could hardly be read as 'harmless masculine straight guy who would
rather be punched in the balls than look at another guy naked'. What most
people fail to realize is that even if someone is androgynous or flamboyant,
it's still much more likely for them to be straight than anything else. But
people like to make assumptions based on even the most ill-founded streotypes.

And even though Takanori happened to be gay, he actually would rather get
punched in the crotch than ogle at other guys in the locker room, because he
knew that if he did, he would get much worse than a single swing of a fist –
but try getting that through homophobes' thick skulls.

“Better safe than sorry.” Akira stepped to the side as Takanori closed the
front door behind himself. The boy cursed when his shoelaces came loose after
merely one step, bending at the hip to quickly tie them back together. The
blond turned his gaze elsewhere.

This is going to be a long day... Akira was tempted to run right back inside
his house when he registered a stir in his nether regions. Sometimes I wish
there was a way to temporarily shut down your dick.

The two boys headed out without delay. They were soon immersed in a
conversation about various music and pop culture related topics, Takanori
appearing less groggy after a good while of walking and breathing in fresh air
– or as fresh as air could realistically be in a sizable city, even after a
night of heavy rain. It was obvious to Akira that the brunet hadn't gotten
enough sleep, however, he could only make wild guesses as to the reason for
that. Maybe Takanori was a light sleeper and was kept up by the rainstorm, or
perhaps he had been in deep thought about his new school and Akira's lot. Maybe
he had been kept up by a persistent feeling of nervousness about something,
though Akira didn't have a clue what that something could be. P.E. class? No,
even if the boy was worried that the jocks might give him a hard time, he would
figure that Akira, Yuu and the others would stand up for him, right? I doubt
it's anything serious. It could be that he stayed up late watching movies or
something of that nature, kind of like how I lost track of time playing my new
game.

Hands stuffed inside his pockets in a typical Akiralike fashion, the blond
looked up at the sky while he was somewhat absent-mindedly telling Takanori
about an interesting David Bowie article he had come across in a recent music
magazine. It wasn't as cloudy anymore – the sun was fully visible, only
occasionally dimmed by a passing cloud. It felt like the temperature had risen
a little. He glanced at Takanori who slipped his phone out of his pocket and
mumbled: “Got a text. It had better not be Mikaru bragging about something on
his campus again.”

An amused sound escaped Akira. “Minako does that too. Damn university nerds,
always trying to show off.”

Takanori swiped at the phone's screen to unlock it, arching a brow when he
opened the message. ”It's from Yuu.”

Akira tried not to snicker. He didn't have any trouble guessing what a message
from Yuu could contain – in Takanori's case, the raven-haired teen's messages
most likely consisted of absurdly straightforward yet clumsy flirting, whereas
the texts Yuu exchanged with Akira and his other friends were filled with lame
jokes, unnecessary swearing and playful mockery. In other words, Yuu always
acts and talks in a moderately douchey manner – he just adds a layer of what he
thinks is irresistable bad boy charm when he's dealing with someone he wants to
have sex with. In reality, that 'bad boy charm' is just Yuu's usual behavior
with a larger concentration of pervetedness.

”Well? What'd he write?” Akira prompted.
Takanori read through the text, the combination of what Yuu had sent him and
the prominent smirk on Akira's handsome features causing a light flush to color
the boy's cheeks.

“Ugh... something too stupid and embarrassing to be said out loud”, the brunet
was reluctant to share with Akira what Yuu had texted him. He forrowed his
brows and faced away from the other teen when the blond leaned closer in order
to take a quick peek at the phone.

“Come on, you know saying that is going to make me even more curious”, Akira
wiggled his brows.

“Okay okay, I'll tell you”, Takanori caved in, “now stop doing that, it makes
you look sleazy.”

“That's not how you pronounce 'sexy', Takanori.”

“Right, my bad”, the brunet rolled his eyes. He let out a drawled sigh, unable
to keep the slight discomfort he felt from showing on his face as he read Yuu's
message aloud: “'Are you an animal lover? 'Cause I'd let you stroke my weiner
dog.'”

Akira grimaced. He usually didn't give two shits about the things his friend
did while attempting to woo some guy, but right now, the blond found himself
plagued by a tinge of second-hand embarrassment due to Yuu's joke. He wasn't
very fond of the idea of Yuu's endless barrage of sexual innuendos potentially
affecting Takanori's impression of not only the raven head, but Akira as well.
“I bet it either took him all night to come up with that or he found it online.
Either way, it's lame as fuck.”

“Says the guy who probably uses butt-related humor to score with both sexes”,
Takanori chuckled.

“Hey! That's biphobic”, Akira played along, “Strangely enough, I've noticed
that ass one liners don't really work on the ladies – could explain why I
haven't gotten a girl to date me yet.”

“What if it's because you come off as so flamboyantly gay that the thought of
you being attracted to women doesn't even cross those girls' minds?”

“Me? Flamboyant? I'm as masculine as a guy can possibly get. I'm manlier than
bacon cooked in beer sauce. I'm manlier than the world's biggest monster truck
driven by Arnold Schwarzenegger shaving his beard with a chainsaw. I'm manlier
than a lumberjack with a german accent fighting against a pack of fifty full-
grown bears and killing them all with his bare hands. I'm manlier than Chuck
Norris arm wrestling Clint Eastwood in a pit full of venom-covered machetes
that's also on fire.” Akira dramatically stressed his point, grinning. His
joking tirade didn't go unnoticed by people that the two teens walked past, a
few confused, amused and even disapproving glances thrown the blond's way.

“Mr. Suzuki, description isn't a synonym for argumentation.”

Akira feigned an expression that suggested he had been offered nothing short of
life-changing knowledge and smacked his forehead. “So that's why I keep barely
passing my English courses.”

The duo continued bantering until they arrived at an intersection where they
registered Yuu powerwalking in their direction. “Yo, it's the beauty and the
beast! What a coincidence!” the raven-haired teen exclaimed, joining the other
teens' side in a matter of seconds. A coincidence – bull fucking shit, thought
Akira. Yuu had probably estimated the time Akira and Takanori would leave for
school from the time they had arrived at school the previous day and the time
he knew it took to walk from Akira's house to their school (Yuu had of course
gone to hang out at Akira's place after school many times before, so he knew
the distance between the two places like the back of his hand), and he had
roughly counted when he should leave his apartment so that he and Akira and
Takanori would meet at this intersection. Probably.

Yuu instantly began to cling to Takanori like a burr, wrapping an arm around
the shorter boy's shoulders despite the protest he was met with. Every time the
brunet attempted to slip away, Yuu tightened his hold on the boy. “He's like a
Chinese finger trap. You have to go deeper before you can free yourself”, Akira
murmured into the shorter teen's ear. Takanori raised a brow. He was still in a
playful enough mood to test the blond's theory, and so, he faced Yuu, running
his hand along the raven head's stomach and resting his fingers just above the
other teen's belt. “Yuu...” Takanori said, his voice deliberately breathy. He
let his lips remain parted as he gazed into Yuu's eyes. It was the best
Takanori could do as an attempt at seducing the raven head without going too
far and consequently making himself laugh or cringe.

As one would have predicted, Yuu was immediately thinking with his dick. After
a brief pause of surprise the raven head smirked and let go of Takanori's
shoulders in favor of sliding his hand down the brunet's back all the way to
his ass. “Mmh... what's this, Taka? You trying to feel up my six pack?” And for
a moment Akira was worried that he may have reached enlightenment because he
was able to refrain from laughing his ass off. No way in hell was he going to
go to Nirvana and leave poor Takanori at Yuu's mercy.

Yuu's barely-there grip on the brunet's rear end gave Takanori the perfect
opportunity to take a swift step back and leap to safety behind Akira. “Wai-
what?” the raven head's reflexes weren't quite fast enough as his hand only
managed to graze the hem of Takanori's long hoodie when he tried to reach for
the boy. “He really is like a Chinese finger trap.” Takanori and Akira laughed
in unison.

“The hell?” Yuu had to think for a moment. When he realized what the brunet
meant with the analogy, his face turned sour. “Oh yeah, that's real fucking
funny, guys. A laugh riot.”

Once he'd had enough of listening to Akira and Takanori's snickering, the raven
head ran up behind the two and hooked an arm around both of their shoulders,
having to tilt his body awkwardly because of the height difference between
them. “Ah ha! How do you suppose you're going to trick your way out of this
one? Now I can anticipate the crap Taka just pulled and not fall for it again,
and this time I've got the both of you trapped.”

Akira rubbed his chin in a philosopheresque fashion. “Hm... this does seem more
challenging. How about like this?” Suddenly Akira wrapped his arm that was
closest to Yuu around the raven-haired teen's back and leaned down to hook his
other arm around the back of Yuu's knees. He lifted his shocked friend and
carried him princess style, making the raven head lose his grip on Takanori's
shoulders.

“What in Buddha's name are you doing, dude?! Fucking put me down you fucker,
before I fucking murder you!” Yuu yelled, doing his best to manhandle the blond
while being held in his arms. Takanori had to step aside so as to not become
the accidental target of the vortex of limbs the raven head transformed into.
To all intents and purposes Yuu looked like he was cosplaying as the Tasmanian
Devil from Looney Tunes.

“Damn, you should go on a diet or something – you weigh a ton”, Akira grumbled
and shoved Yuu back to his feet unceremoniously.

“Dickbreath.”

“Fuckwit.”

“Secret power bottom.”

“Secret cumslut.”

“Secret Hitler reincarnation.”

“Secret Stalin reincarnation.”

“Should I take you kids to a day care or can we just get going already?”
Takanori gave the bickering teens a judgemental look. He turned his back to
them and began waltzing ahead down the street. Akira and Yuu glared at each
other but did as Takanori wanted them to, shambling towards the smaller boy and
soon catching up to him. It didn't take long for the three teens to engage in a
regular conversation without anyone clinging to or “trapping” anyone else.

Approximately five minutes later the group stepped inside their school. They
came across Yutaka, Kouyou and Takamasa in the hallway, the trio having been
easy to spot thanks to Takamasa's colorful hair and clothes. Kouyou was
partially hidden inside his opened locker, hunched over a notebook that lay on
the top shelf of the locker. He was writing something down in a hurry, his
pencil racing across the page and leaving behind letters that looked more like
hieroglyphs than Roman alphabet.

“Homework's supposed to be done at home, dude”, Yuu poked Kouyou's back, the
other teen reaching back with his free hand in an attempt to swat the raven
head's fingers.

“Look who's fucking talking. At least I'm still doing my homework, I bet you
barely even glanced at yours.” Kouyou scoffed, the sound of him talking echoing
inside the locker. “Were you too busy writing lame love letters to that Brian
Molko knock off?”

“The fuck? Who writes letters in this day and age? The modern man's declaration
of love is obviously a dick pic.”

“And this right here, ladies and gentlemen, is the reason why Yuu has never
been in a relationship”, Yutaka commented.

“Hey! Neither have you, pointdexter”, countered Yuu.

 “I've had opportunities, but I had no choice but to turn them down since I'm
already married to science.”

After a final few scrawls Kouyou was finished with his homework. He shoved the
notebook and the pencil into his backpack, slamming the locker door shut. The
sound from the action was as sudden as it was loud, and it caused the other
boys to flinch.

“Fun fact: that unconscious fearful reaction was triggered by the amygdalae.
They are two almond-shaped groups of nuclei in your brain”, said Yutaka,
certainly proving that he was faithful to his spouse, science.

“Zip it, nerd. Let's get moving.” Kouyou exhibited no interest in Yutaka's fun
facts, though to be truthful, the lanky teen cared little about anything apart
from his several guitars. Kouyou's fixation on his guitars could almost put
Gollum's obsession with the One Ring to shame.

A short walk down the hall was all it took for the teens to reach the boys'
locker room. A small amount of nervousness pestered Takanori, as he could
derive from the frown that seemed impossible to will away and the slight
quickening of his pulse, all despite the fact that he was safely tucked into
the space between Akira and Yuu. He had felt the same, if not a bit worse,
every time he had forced himself to go to P.E. in his old school. In the end,
it's clear that a handful of good experiences aren't enough to make conditioned
responses disappear.

Though it was an automatic reaction that was mostly emotional – a mild feeling
of fear and other negative emotions that rose in him when he was in the kind of
situation he had bad, past experiences of – there was also some rationality to
it, at least in the sense that he could deduce the usefulness of his wary
state. No matter how objectively the brunet tried to deliberate his situation,
the likelihood that a careful and ready state of body and mind would come in
handy in some way didn't decrease. Avoiding eye contact, keeping the largest
possible distance between him and others – even basic things like that, things
that most men do anyway when they're in a locker room or a bathroom, can be
done much more efficiently when you're a tad bit apprehensive. On one hand,
when you're relaxed and not all that careful of your surroundings, it's easy to
accidentally bump into someone or not pay much attention to where your bored
and neutral gaze lingers longer than a split second. And on the other hand,
being too nervous might not be helpful either, since the resulting rapid pulse
and involuntary movements render you less in control of your body. If too much
and too little both spell trouble, then something from in between, a moderate
amount, might be the best alternative.

Of course, one could call to question why a few careless bumps or glances are
such a big deal. Were Takanori your average joe going into a locker room filled
with other average joes, it definitely wouldn't be that big of a deal. But such
wasn't the case. A gay boy who didn't fit the popular ideal of masculinity and
a locker room filled with ignorant straight guys obsessed with that very ideal
– not a good mix. In fact, the two didn't mix at all – like trying to make a
solution out of water and fatty acids.

“Is everything okay, Taka? You seem kind of tense”, Akira had taken notice of
the brunet's less than pleased expression “Hey, I promise that if any idiot
tries to mess with you, he won't get off easy.”

Takanori studied Akira's face for a few seconds. Serious, yet warm. He couldn't
detect anything besides honest friendly concern on the blond's features – not
deceit, not an arbitrary need to prove something. “I don't know what the jocks
here are like, so I'm a bit nervous.”

“Now now, Taka, what you should actually be nervous about is trying not to get
aroused when you see this Greek god like body unclothed”, Yuu interjected.

“More like trying not to be disgusted when he sees that you're scrawny, hairy
and that you're wearing a corset to hide your beer belly”, stated Takamasa with
a mischievous grin. To further irritate Yuu, the blue-haired teen blew a large
gum bubble right in front of his friend's face, the pink ball sticking to the
skin of Yuu's nose before it deflated. In response the raven head threw
whatever insult that came to his mind at the colorful teen.

The rest of the group ignored Yuu and Takamasa, going ahead and stepping inside
the boys' locker room. They were bombarded by a foul stench in an instant.
After a long vacation away from any school locker rooms, their noses weren't
used to the pungent smell of sweat that was characteristic of a cramped space
where dozens of adolescent males put on and took off their workout clothes. And
as if the odor itself wasn't terrible enough, the experience was made even
worse by the fact that guys tend to be very sensitive to smells that aren't
their own, though, again, for the most part it was just the stench itself.
Despite how frequently the locker rooms were cleaned and aired out by school
staff, it seemed like a considerable amount of sweat always lingered in the
boys' locker room, as if the odor was absorbed into the very structures of the
tile walls, the floor and the ceiling. Akira often found himself on the verge
of considering going exclusively straight as he tried his best to only breathe
in through his mouth and change into his gym clothes as quickly as possible.
And they say boys don't have any real problems.

Most of the guys who were on this particular P.E. course had already arrived in
the locker room and busied themselves with changing their clothes, all the
while babbling and cackling with their buddies. Takanori did his best to be
incospicuous, fixating his gaze solely on empty spaces and inanimate objects.
He found an empty spot at the end of one of the long wooden benches that lined
the walls as well as the isle of hangers in the middle of the narrow room. He
hung his messenger bag on the closest metallic hook, rummaged through its
contents and pulled out a small tote bag into which he had stuffed his gym
clothes.

From the corner of his eye, Takanori noticed Yutaka parking next to him on the
bench, and a second later a bundled up shirt hit Yutaka on the back of his
head. Sure enough, the cannon ball of canvas was fired by Yuu who was not happy
with his friend's decision to occupy the only spot next to Takanori. The raven
head hoped that Takanori would at least turn around to admire his now exposed
upper body, but the shorter boy's attention remained on his own clothes
regardless of the show Yuu was putting on behind him and Yutaka.

“Just admit defeat before you lose the last of your dignity, dude”, Akira
exclaimed from a few meters away, currently prying loose the laces of his
combat boots.

Yuu went to sit down beside the blond. He was somewhat disappointed by
Takanori's lack of interest in him, sulking like a kid. “Don't you 'dude' me”,
he brushed off his friend and began changing clothes. He slipped on a tank top
– albeit grudgingly - since it looked like Takanori wasn't planning on giving
his nude torso a single glance. Akira couldn't help but roll his eyes at the
desperate raven head.

While he carried on changing his clothes article by article, Akira peered over
at Takanori every once in a while to make sure some random jock hadn't targeted
the brunet. It wasn't that he doubted Takanori's ability to handle a
confrontation with a meddlesome, prejudiced asshole – hell, Akira reckoned such
confrontations had been a regular occurrence in Takanori's previous school, and
the brunet could certainly shoot back when he wished to, as Akira had gathered
from yesterday's events. His aim wasn't to patronize Takanori or put on some
unnecessary macho act. He just wanted to be there for Takanori so that the boy
wouldn't have to go through the closed-minded treatment the jocks would
inevitably subject him to all on his own.

Akira knew the jocks in his school. There were a few of those typical nutjobs
who checked all the boxes: sexist, racist, homophobic, transphobic – you name
it, they hate it. It would simply be impossible for them to not shout slurs at
the mere sight of Takanori, seeing as that was more or less what they did with
Akira and Yuu, as well. Everyone at school who knew them also knew that they
weren't straight, including those certain jocks. Nearly every time Akira and
Yuu encountered the jocks it was either gay jokes or slurs mumbled under the
jocks' breaths.

On the bright side, the assholes hadn't bothered to pick up a fight with Akira
and Yuu on more than a couple of occasions. It was possibly due to the fact
that everyone else either liked or didn't give a single shit about the duo,
which meant that the jocks couldn't gather up a large enough crowd to
completely overpower Akira and Yuu. That, and there was usually a teacher
lurking in every corner of the school ready to threaten to call the cops on
anyone who took part in a brawl. But when it came to Takanori, Akira feared
that the jocks weren't going to be anywhere near as hesitant to use violence.
If they happened to catch Takanori all alone, with two or more people it would
be a piece of cake for them to gang up on the boy, since even one individual
jock definitely had a bit more brute strength than Takanori. They were jocks,
after all – what they lacked in brain power they made up for in physical power.

Even so, there's no point in worrying this much in advance, Akira shooed away
his pessimistic thoughts. He whipped off his band tee, attempted to fold it
nicely (with little success), then put on his gym shirt. I'll just keep an eye
on Taka and step in if a fucker starts giving him trouble. The blond glanced at
Takanori only to dart his gaze elsewhere upon realizing that the boy was in the
middle of changing his pants. Then again, maybe I need to get used to him
before I even think of keeping an eye on him in the locker room.

Just as Akira crouched down to tie on his sneakers, the small group of asshat
jocks who weren't fond of him and his friends entered the locker room. At first
the jocks merely minded their own business – sat down on a bench, chattering
about typical guy stuff in a loud fashion as they began changing. However, it
didn't take long for the jocks to notice Takanori, as much as the brunet tried
to blend in with his surroundings.

Takanori would be lying if he claimed that he wasn't a bit startled when a
sudden, obnoxiously smug chuckle invaded his ears, originating from somewhere
no more than an arm's distance away from him. Looking to his right, his
expression turned cold at the sight of a goonlike jock towering over him, an
ominous smirk on the guy's angular face.

“You know, I had a feeling I'd see some weird shit today”, the jock said,
studying Takanori from head to toe, “So what are you? A chick? A tranny? A
hermaphrodite?”

”Maybe it's a lesbian, thinks she's a guy”, another jock suggested, also
examining the brunet as if he was a representative of an unidentified species.

For now, the jocks' demeanor wasn't too aggressive. Rather, Takanori got the
impression that they were more amused than hostile, so he figured the 'make
them lose interest' tactic would work best in the hectic locker room. There
were only few minutes left before class began, anyway. He took on a bored
expression, facing the hangers and slipping his shirt off. “Sorry to disappoint
you, but last time I checked, I had a dick”, Takanori stated in monotone. The
side view allowed the jocks to get quite the eyeful of the brunet's flat chest
and prominent Adam's apple, driving home the reality that Takanori was indeed
male.

“Moreover, Sakamoto will show up any minute now. Unless you want him to send
you to the principal's office for stirring shit, I suggest you barbarians leave
Takanori be”, Yutaka added with a glare at the annoying lot.

The jock who had been the first to approach Takanori furrowed his brows, the
smirk on his face slowly fading. “Well, if it isn't Akira's nerdy friend,
always there to ruin the fun.”

“I don't think most people would consider asking ignorant questions fun, but
hey, what do I know.”

“So we're ignorant barbarians, huh?” The jock's grin was revived as his
attention went back to Takanori. The brunet had barely put on the T-shirt he
had packed into his tote bag when the jock grabbed him by the collar of his
shirt. “Then I guess it wouldn't be weird if I did this.”

Takanori stumbled over his own feet when the jock began forcefully pulling him
by the shirt, dragging the boy over to a wall and pinning him against it. It
had happened in the blink of an eye, the brunet's mind unable to make the
connection between being grabbed and feeling his back hit the hard surface of
the tile wall. Shocked, Takanori could do nothing but curse and struggle in the
jock's iron grip.

“Let's see if you're telling the truth, tranny”, before the jock had even
finished his sentence, he crudely shoved his free hand down Takanori's pants.
There was only enough time for the tips of the jock's fingers to brush against
the brunet's skin before he was ripped away from Takanori with what seemed like
twice the amount of force the jock had used on the shorter teen.

“What the fuck do you think you're doing?!” Akira growled into the jock's smug
face, though there was mild surprise amongst the smugness. The jock hadn't
expected for the intervention to be quite this swift – he had counted on his
cronies to be able to hold back any meddlers for a few more seconds. Looking
around him, the jock noted that his three friends were effectively being held
back by Yuu, Kouyou, Takamasa and Yutaka.

“Oh, Akira. Is that transvestite another one of your queer friends?” Instead of
responding, Akira merely glared at the jock and tightened his grip. “Hey-
chill, okay? I wasn't gonna hurt him or anything, just wanted to see if he
really has a dick or not.”

“How the fuck are his genitals any of your fucking business? If he's in the
guys' P.E. class, then he's a guy”, Akira stated firmly. How this asshat of a
jock could be so out of touch with reality that he thought sexual harassment
was okay as long as it wasn't accompanied by punches boggled the blond's mind.
Honestly, Akira felt like he ought to do some damage to the jock just for the
bullshit the conceited bastard was spouting. But that would make him no better
than the jock.

Akira glanced over at Takanori to confirm the brunet was okay. The boy was
looking down, fixing his shirt and sweatpants. The shock the attack had given
Takanori had thankfully dissipated, but it was no wonder the brunet had gotten
a small scare – throughout the past two years of going to this school, Akira
had rarely seen the jocks put their hands on someone in a crowded place. A
place with witnesses, a place where a teacher was bound to show up. Fuck, it
wasn't the 70s anymore – not every student and teacher would turn a blind eye
to blatant violence. Either the jocks had lost a significant amount of brain
cells during the Summer or they saw Takanori as an exceptionally fitting target
of bullying. Which ever the reason, this incident had convinced Akira that it
would be for the best that he and his friends stay close to Takanori.

”Ahem!” A voice resounded in the room, causing an instant silence. The voice
belonged to none other than the physical education teacher, Sakamoto. He was a
middle-aged man who appeared to be in good condition, if the toned arms
revealed by his short-sleeved shirt were any indication. Although the man had a
rather friendly-looking face, he was no pushover – Akira and his gang could
attest to that. Sakamoto didn't shy away from sending anyone who made a scene
during class to the principal's office, but he was a bit more lenient when it
came to skipping class. It was probably because the man was more than glad to
not have to deal with Akira's group's shenanigans every single lesson. And,
well, the situation at hand was another one of those shenanigans.

Sakamoto approached the back of the locker room where Akira and the others
still had a hold on the jocks, and where Takanori stood against the wall with
the front of his shirt a wrinkled mess. The man cleared his throat once again.
”Is there a problem here?”

Akira narrowed his eyes at the jock a final time and removed his grip. ”Not
anymore. I think we got our dispute settled... isn't that right?”

”Yeah, whatever”, the jock didn't bother to object. He was frowning, becoming
annoyed with the whole ordeal, and though it had ended up taking more than
Takanori's initial unfazed, boring reaction, the jock lost interest in the
brunet. He already began inching back towards the bench where his and the other
three jocks' stuff lay.

Sakamoto sighed. “Since this is the first lesson of the semester, I suppose I
can let it slide. But, keep in mind that the next time I catch any of you
sparring like this I am sending you straight to the principal's office.
Understood?”

The boys nodded.

“Good. I expect everyone to come down to the field promptly”, the man stated.
While the teens returned to their respective spots in order to throw on the
rest of their P.E. clothes, Sakamoto shuffled over to a door on his right. He
fished a bundle of keys out his pocket, and after a bit of fumbling he managed
to unlock the door. A puff of relatively cool air and rays of sunlight entered
the locker room – the door lead outside to the sports field. Leaving the door
wide open, the physical education teacher headed out to the field.

Akira was the first of the group to finish changing, but he wasn't going
outside just yet. Thinking back on how Takanori had admitted to feeling nervous
about coming face to face with the school's jocks and the stunt the douchebag
jocks had pulled, Akira hoped he could ease the brunet's mind, if only to a
small degree, by talking to him.

The blond felt a tinge of awkwardness as he walked towards Takanori – upon
retrospect, Akira found it embarrassing how obviously riled up he had gotten
when the jock had harassed Takanori. Akira had flown in and restrained the jock
with such haste and strength that it almost qualified as a performance for a
kung fu flick. Not that Akira wasn't proud of his fast reflexes, but perhaps
his reaction had been a tad bit on the extreme side. Sure, sexual harassment is
no laughing matter, but a quick shove and a 'get off of him' would have worked
just as well, and at the same time, made it less evident to everyone watching
that Akira was disproportionately pissed off about the jock laying his hands on
a boy Akira had known for, what, three days?

Anyhow, Akira needed to act calm and collected if he had any intention of
easing the tension Takanori was feeling. Be reassuring without fussing. Lighten
the mood without disregarding the seriousness of what nearly happened. “Taka,
you alright?”

The brunet's gaze shifted from the shoes he was tying on to the sun-kissed
features of Akira. The blond had a small, compassionate smile on his face.
Perhaps the smile was a bit of a guilty one, as well, for possibly coming off
as too concerned.

“I'm fine. He's not the first guy to push me up against a wall”, Takanori's
lips curved into a strange, cynical smile for a brief moment. “Besides, I can
take care of myself.”

“I'm sure you can, but do you honestly think that you could have fought him off
on your own?” Akira said.

“I could have tried to get him off me by means other than violence. By saying
something suggestive, for example. That would have freaked out a homophobe like
him to the point where he would have let go of me - after punching me first,
that is”, Takanori theorized.

“Although utilizing your own wit to beat the opponent sounds great, it's also
not a bad idea to ask your friends for help”, Yutaka joined in the
conversation, “Using nothing but words can backfire. I tried to say something
to get them to leave you alone, but it only served to further provoke them -
sorry about that, by the way.”

“He would have done that anyway, even if you hadn't said anything. Plus,
'ignorant barbarians' was a very fitting insult”, Takanori chuckled.

“Jocks in a nutshell”, added the blond, snorting. “But in all seriousness, I
agree with Yutaka. Even if you can handle the jocks' discrimination just fine,
isn't it still easier to go through it when you've got some people backing you
up? It doesn't have to be you against the world, you know.” Akira gifted the
brunet a reassuring smile.

For Akira, his friends were one of the few things that put some color onto the
boring, empty white canvas that is life. Though he didn't really have a clue
who he was or what he was supposed to be doing, he knew his friends were
important to him, he knew there was merit to being around them. And when Akira
would finally be able to begin figuring himself out, he knew his friends would
support him – and that he would support them.

Well, maybe his view of friendship was what it was because he'd been lucky
enough to befriend like-minded, trustworthy people, whereas Takanori might not
have been as lucky. Whether or not that was the case, it was up to Takanori to
decide if wanted to share that information with Akira. All Akira could do was
to bit by bit show Takanori the variety of mutual merit a good friendship has
to offer and how surprisingly easy it can be to form those good friendships.
Even the simplest of common traits, like not being straight or being an avid
Rock fan, can be a passageway to a companionship. In a nutshell, that's how
Akira befriended Yuu, Kouyou, Yutaka and Takamasa back in the day.

Takanori took a moment to digest Akira's words. No matter how much he wanted to
say something sceptical or resort to catastrophic thinking, the confidence in
Akira's voice and the way he held Takanori's gaze made it difficult not to
consider the blond's statements.

“Perhaps so.”

Eventually the group had to haul their asses over to the sports field, but by
no means did that signify the end of their (mostly Yuu and Takamasa's, if you
were to ask anyone other than Yuu or Takamasa) tomfoolery. The two were
attempting to determine which of them was the better ladies' man or gentlemen's
man by comparing quantities and qualities – that is, how many people they'd had
sex with, and how hot those people had been. Well, Yuu is Yuu, and it wasn't as
if he hadn't already bragged about his conquests on so many occasions and in
such great detail that his friends could write a comprehensive, hundred-page
impromptu study on the subject. Takamasa taking part in the bragging was a bit
morally gray, though, seeing as he currently has a girlfriend. A girlfriend who
would most likely be upset if she caught wind of Takamasa shamelessly babbling
about his exes and one-night stands.

The other four were once again ignoring Yuu and Takamasa, conversing about less
sexual and private matters. They walked across the running tracks that formed a
border between the sports field and the grassy plains beyond. The green terrain
that surrounded the field had a few tall trees growing here and there, and it
reached about a dozen meters in all directions before it was met with the
borders of the school grounds and the school building. As for the so-called
front yard of the school – that side of the grounds was mostly concrete,
occupied by parking spaces and bike racks that were many in number. The width
of the running tracks corresponded with about five of Akira's long strides, six
of Takanori's. It was sort of wasted effort for the teens to carry on walking
to the middle of the field where Sakamoto stood, since the P.E. teacher always
sent them to run laps after not much more than a 'today we'll be playing insert
generic team sport here, but first you need to get warmed up by running a lap
or two'.

The asshole jocks were already at the field, their apparent leader just aching
to spout bullshit insults at Akira, Takanori and the rest. After all, the
moment the group got within hearing distance of the jocks, the mastermind of
the monkey squad made a megaphone out of his hands and exclaimed: “Yo, what
took you guys so long? Did the little cum-guzzler give all of you head for
protecting his pathetic ass?”

And on with the gay slurs. These jocks were as predictable as Akira's lousy
Math grades. And Chemistry grades.

“Are you insinuating that my ass was in danger? What were planning on doing to
me?” Takanori shot back, giving the jocks a look that was both suggestive and
quizzical. Time to test tactic B.

Surprise took over the jock's features, but the surprise quickly transitioned
into exaggerated disgust. “Ugh, fucking faggots. I don't have to listen to this
gay shit.” And with that, the four jocks turned and walked away from Takanori
and the others, chins up, one of them flicking the visor of his snapback to
have the hat rest on his head in a more “cool” manner.

“Wow. And I thought us queers were dramatic”, said Akira, snorting. The rest of
the gang couldn't refrain from laughing at the jocks' display, too.

“I thought you were as good as dead for a second there, but well played,
shortie”, Kouyou actually sounded vaguely impressed, ruffling Takanori's hair.
Not long after Kouyou's somewhat large hand was removed from Takanori's locks
by an unamused-appearing Yuu.

“Get your douchey hands off of Taka. Literally. Jesus knows how many damn
vaginas you've fingered with those.” Yuu let go of the taller teen's wrist in
mid-air, as far away from Takanori as possible.

“And Jesus knows how many assholes you've fingered. So who's the real winner
here?”

“Me. Assholes are better than vaginas.”

“How would you know? You've never tried a vagina.”

“Fair enough”, Yuu rubbed his chin, then slowly turned to face Akira, “Let us
consult the bisexual.”

“No comment”, Akira brushed off the raven head. He had slept with both guys and
girls (despite the fact that he'd only dated guys – though he could hardly call
them serious relationships, and there hadn't been many of them), but the blond
had never felt the need to compare the two. Generally speaking, he enjoyed both
for slightly different reasons – but Yuu and Kouyou weren't looking for a
serious answer, they were just fooling around.

Yuu shifted his attention to Yutaka. “Let us consult the biology expert.”

“Dunno. Don't care”, Yutaka shrugged, “it's quite obviously a matter of
preference.”

Before anyone in the group had the chance to say anything else, Sakamoto yelled
out yet another 'ahem!' to kill the noise the boys in the P.E. class were
making. As usual, the man didn't do much else than inform that they would be
plaing football before he shooed the teenagers away to run a couple of laps. He
may have commented on the nice weather. Akira, for one, hadn't paid enough
attention to clearly state whether or not that was the case.

As the teens shuffled over to the running tracks, Takamasa was babbling about
wanting to get anEye of the Tiger montage type of workout, and he asked
Takanori if he could use the smaller boy as a back weight while running.
Needless to say, Takanori denied the request. Half of it was because he was in
no mood to take a piggyback ride (he couldn't even remember the last time he'd
been carried piggyback – maybe when he was twelve?) and the other half was
because he had a feeling that the energetic blue-haired teen would end tripping
by running too fast and focusing too little on keeping his balance, sending
both himself and Takanori toppling over.

Fortunately, the P.E. lesson itself was rather quick and uneventful. The jocks
were still creeped out by Takanori's less than serious comeback that had
nonetheless been far too sexual for their heteronormative comfort, which had
resulted in the jocks actively avoiding the brunet. Yuu had become oddly
immersed in the game of football, and he had barely given Takanori an
occasional glance over his shoulder. The same had applied to Takamasa. Akira,
Takanori, Yutaka and Kouyou had spent roughly half of the time participating in
the game, half lazing around on the sidelines.
It was soon nine o'clock. The end of first period.It wasn't too bad, thought
Takanori as he heaved a relieved breath, There have been worse days, much, much
worse days.And lame as it was, he couldn't help but smile faintly at Akira and
the others when they weren't looking. And there are much, much worse people.
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