Chapter Text
" .... and then he told me that she came to visit the school last week. I'm telling you, she'll transfer here soon."
"That would be nice, wouldn't it? To have one more beauty walking the hallways."
"I might even ask her out."
Bugs. Filthy bugs.
"Stay in line, you tits freak."
"But I heard she turned down at least 400 guys who hit on her ..."
"Holy ... that sounds like a real catch though?"
"Yeah .... and she's a D cup on top of that. Imagine how soft that'd feel."
Filthy bugs who only think about getting laid.
"They say she has jet black hair and pale skin and looks just like Rena Takeda."
"Oooo I heard, I heard. She's got a slim waist and a round ass too."
"Ahhh my head's already spinning."
Shitty, filthy bugs, talking loud and proud about their sexual fantasies.
Aki didn't want to listen to that ... talk anymore, if you could even call it a talk, he truly didn't, but what could he do when his desk was in the damned middle of the classroom? Every kind of gossip just flew right by his ears. The talk of the town that time around was a new girl transferring to their school, but in which class exactly he really couldn't bother to find out. Though, for a brief second he wondered what would compel someone to switch schools barely two weeks into the semester - but being curious was never his forte so he let go of that thought quickly. If you were to ponder it for a bit, normally, any hormonal teenager would be eager to grab a date with a cute girl, right? He should be thinking about that too, right? Well, Aki wasn't your average hormonal teenager. Not because he was the token emo of the class, or because he would sneak out during lunch break to crack a smoke on the rooftop, or because he would sometimes come to school on his bike even if he lived around the corner, or because he never dated anyone even though he was officially granted - by the grace and the prying eyes of 216 love deprived girls - a spot in the 'Top 10 most wanted ikemen of Fourth East' at last year's culture festival. He was just ... different.
"Damn how I wish I could pin her down-"
Fucking bugs.
He could feel 10 pairs of curious and startled eyes turn around as, out of nowhere, he slammed his fists into the cherry wood desk, hard enough for his pen to roll down and fall onto the worn out parquet floor.
"There was a spider." Aki declared nonchalantly as he wiped his hand onto his gakuran, trying to add at least some credibility to his sudden outburst. When the others stopped whispering around and got back to their "men" talk he lifted the fallen pen from the ground, clumsily moving it around between his worn out fingers like a baby grasping hold of something for the first time. He leaned back into the seat, turning his head from left to right before landing his eyes on a silhouette a hand's reach away. You'd be wrong to call him a spontaneous person, but even Aki would sometimes fall victim to the illusion of teenage freedom. Reaching for his school bag, left laying on the thin blanket of dust underneath his desk, he carefully stepped around the redhead's outstretched leg as he headed for the door.
Makima looked up from the manga she was reading, taking one last sip from her strawberry milk before crushing the can between her slim fingers and pointing her index at Aki's head, a few pinkish drops sliding down her wrist. "Last period will start soon."
"I know."
"Thinking of skipping, Hayakawa-kun?"
"Maybe."
"Then I'm coming too."
He crooked his head to take a look at the enigma in front of him before nodding slightly and reaching out to slide open the classroom door. They walked out in tandem, paying no mind to their homeroom teacher as he called after them. They were side by side, not too close but not too far apart either, a distance that said they're friends but not yet best friends.
"Shall we stop by Family Burger? Beni-chan has a shift today."
He wanted to say no since he knew Makima would question the shit out of him the first chance she got but his stomach thought otherwise. Guess it was his fault once again for skipping lunch in favor of some sweet and familiar relief coming at him in the form of nicotine. And talking about lunch, he forgot his bento box in the locker, didn't he? Aki made a quick mental note to drop by after last period was over otherwise the eggs and tuna would provide the classroom with a lovely scent over the weekend.
"Looks like it can't be helped. Also, can you stop calling me Hayakawa-kun? It gives me chills."
"I don't call anyone at school by their given names. You can bear with it for a few hours, Aki-kun. You're a big boy, aren't you?"
The establishment they arrived to was your typical fast-food place - the sliding doors were a typical grease smeared white, the inside smelled of typical burnt oil and cheap air freshener, the floor was the typical chessboard pattern that always gave Aki a headache. If you could describe the place in one word that would be ‘typical’. Kobeni looked up from the register, her eye bags way darker and twice as big compared to last week. As he looked at her Aki thought to himself that one of these days she'd realize skipping school for a mere 3.000 yen wage was plain dumb and quit soon. Aki could bet the half eaten onigiri and the strawberry flavored condom that somehow ended up in his pocket that it might happen by the end of the month. There were no words exchanged as the pair headed straight to an open table, only one glance back at Kobeni as she turned to another part timer to place their orders. They were always the same, anyway.
"So ..." Makima shrugged as she swirled a stray strand of hair in between her thumb and index before tucking it behind her ear. "What happened?"
"It felt ... uncomfortable."
The girl hummed as she took out her English worksheet, twiddling with her pen before taking the cap off and putting some check marks down on the paper. "Hmmm. Please elaborate."
"I don't get what's the big deal with dating someone .. and fondling boobs."
"I'll have you know it's quite relaxing. Especially if they're the right size. Just like Power-chan's."
Aki sighed and rolled his eyes, opening his bag to look for his worksheet as well. "You're saying that because she's your girlfriend. It's not like you'd fondle the boobs of a stranger."
"So you're saying you don't want to fondle a boob, Aki-kun?"
"No."
"Then how about a dick?"
Aki felt the blood rush straight to all of his body extremities and if you looked closely you would think he stopped breathing for a good minute. You could say his mind decided to ascend. That was one of those times he wished she wasn't so straightforward. As he came down from the momentary high he pondered over Makima's words. Did he like guys? Was that the reason he felt uncomfortable earlier? Would he be fine going on a date with a guy instead? Would he be able to hold hands with a guy? Hug him? Touch him? Kiss him? How would his lips feel? How would his skin feel underneath him? The raven head completely immersed himself into a vivid daydreaming session, not even registering Kobeni as she approached their table, placing down two disgustingly greasy burgers and fries and an overly filled cup of diet coke - it's not like anyone can stop me, as she once said - waving a hand that smelled of iron and corner mart hand sanitizer in front of his eyes.
"Earth to Tomato-kun."
Aki looked at her as if she was the third coming of Christ, shaking his head in disbelief as he lightly fanned at his reddened cheeks, perhaps trying to, even though unsuccessfully, chase away the stray thoughts that invaded his mind. Across from him, Makima was holding back a snicker.
"Is this funny to you?"
"No ... yes ... a little maybe."
Aki resolved to ponder over his gay awakening later as he dragged the dark red food tray in front of him, rolling up his sleeves as he brought his hands together at chest level. "Thank you for the meal."
"I'm sure it will be a good meal, Aki-kun." Makima chimed in before taking a hesitant bite out of her burger.
The next few minutes that passed by were uneventful and that made Aki feel ... unusually restless. Makima had been quiet the entire time - as she always was - and Beni-chan went back to the front counter. He could sense the sweat beads rolling down the side of his face and it was definitely not because of the hot sauce, at least not entirely. He glanced at Makima, thinking she might have noticed that too but it looked like she decided to busy herself by chipping away at her nail polish as she kept on turning her phone on and off, waiting for a message that might not even come. Aki was secretly thankful for that, but that was something he'd rather tell her at a later time.
"Power-chan asked if we should go for karaoke today."
"If you don't mind waiting for me a little I'll be there."
"I'll ask Beni-chan too on my way out."
Aki sent her a small nod as he took one last bite of his burger and chewed on it like he was expecting it to start tasting 'not typically cheap' any other second. He waved Kobeni goodbye and walked out, the sliding door shutting behind him with a creak. The chill spring breeze softly hit him, blowing a few strands of his hair out of their place. He reached for a cigarette, the only distraction he could think of for the time being, as he made his way back to the school. Aki counted 19 puffs and three cigarettes by the time he arrived at the gate. It was relatively quiet, as pretty much everyone already went home, let alone for some clubs that would go on until the late afternoon hours. He lazily slipped out of the worn out converse he was wearing and into his uwabaki, dragging his feet up the chipped and dirty stone stairs, all the way to the end of the second floor corridor. He could hear muffled voices coming from behind closed doors but his brain was actively not registering a single word. At least not until he was forced to stop in his tracks as a finger hooked into the collar of his shirt.
"Aki-kun, great timing."