The raven haired teen halted in his tracks when the distant steps no longer echoed down the hall. His thoughts of ditching homeroom to lounge on the roof ended as the footsteps hastened towards him.
"Feitan!" a young female's voice rang down the hallway, "The bell is about to ring!"
Feitan slipped his slender hands into his jacket pockets. Only one person was bold enough to harass him about his lack of motivation towards school.
"How troublesome," Feitan glanced over his shoulder, greeting his pursuer with an empty stare.
"Feitan!" You bellowed with your fists planted on your hips. You stood firmly behind your classmate, tapping your foot. With little interest, Feitan turned to face you.
"Are you ditching class again? Your constant skipping is making the class average terrible!" Your hands fluttered up. The delinquent grimaced. A lecture was brewing.
"Teacher will scold me if your marks don't improve. And stop hanging out with this Phantom Troupe it'll be even worse if the principal thinks you're in some type of gang."
Feitan's eyes followed the abrupt movements of your hands as the lecture continued. The single sheet of paper in your right hand waved helplessly from your vast hand gestures. It was a miracle how the paper even remained within your grasp.
"Are you done class rep?"
You tensed at the emphasis. A large lump churned in your stomach. You could feel a surge of heat and a mess of mingled feelings rush over your body. Feitan knew how much you hated when he called you that.
"A- And stop wearing this scarf thing!" You reached for the skull bandana covering his mouth. With one swift movement Feitan grabbed your wrist.
"[f/n] consider yourself lucky today. Tomorrow I might not be so kind," he retorted releasing your wrist. With a smirk, the delinquent turned to make his exit. He enjoyed finding new ways to make you flustered.
"J-Jerk!" you threw down the paper. The single sheet swayed back and forth before it politely greeted the ground. Its gentle impact irritated you even more. "This is the review for the test on Monday! You better study!"
Feitan looked back over his shoulder as you stormed off.
…
Stupid jerk. Stupid delinquent. Stupid jerk delinquent. He should just fail and then I'll have nothing to worry about.
With a large screech you dragged your chair from underneath the desk. You flopped down into the seat, arms folded while your mind crinkled with thoughts. Feitan was nothing more than a good-for-nothing idiot. He hadn't shown up for homeroom or English class and the school day was almost over. The principal was going to have your head at this rate. You puffed your cheeks as you recalled Feitan's statement.
"Consider yourself lucky today. Tomorrow I might not be so kind."
Your hands raked through your [h/c] locks. What the heck did he mean by that? You hated how Feitan knew exactly how to annoy you. But what more could you expect from your closest friend? You started to nip at the skin on your thumb. You assumed being close friends in middle school and attending the same high school nothing would change. However, hanging out now consisted of a game of cat and mouse.
You closed your eyes and took a deep breath. You shook your head, trying to calm down. Feitan induced stress would cause you to age faster. You opened your eyes ready to focus on the lecture at hand.
"Pssssst!"
You peered to your left in the direction of the noise, occasionally glancing back at your teacher to not draw attention to yourself. Your classmate pointed frantically to an item on your desk. You squinted trying to understand the words she mouthed.
Nachos? Hot cheetos?
You looked down at your desk. Oh, a note. You discreetly unfolded the slip of paper, careful not to alert the teacher.
Feitan again?
You tensed. Just when you decided to stop thinking about that jerk she would bring him back up. And why was her handwriting so big? You glanced over at your neighbors before replying. Hopefully they couldn't see the note's contents.
How can you tell?
Lol. You two are so cute. ^w^
Cute? -_- Stop saying such disgusting things. I was just getting in a good. You know my parents are finally coming home today.
OH?! That's great! It's been a month since their business trip, right? Invite me over for dinner sometime? Your father's cooking is the best! But really… It's obvious Feitan is crazy about you. You give him all the attention he wants when he skips.
So your true intentions show. The only thing he's crazy about is ditching school. And whatever this Phantom Troupe is.
And every time he ditches, who goes to scold him or track him down? Sheeesh! Why are you so blind? And is that jealousy I detect?
I'm not blind or jealous! You've been reading too much shoujo manga. If Feitan really wanted to spend time with me, he would just invite me over. We ARE friends.
Just kiss him already! Didn't you guys make a promise in middle school to live together at some point?
Idiot! That promise was just to attend the same high school and college. But we did that as friends! Friends! You got that?!
Pshhh. Maybe I need to jog your memory. Before your first year, I think I vaguely recall you and Feitan sharing a lover's embrace. I think he even kissed you on the forehead. Time can change things. Accept the changeeeeee.
You fumed. Your face flushed as your ears burned red. Your hand could barely stay still as you scribbled your response.
1. Feitan did not kiss me! Those were stupid rumors.
2. I was just upset. He was being a good friend.
3. Nothing has chang-
"[l/n]," the teacher's voice interrupted your train of thought, "If you pass that note one more time, I will read it out loud to the class."
Several chuckles escaped the class as you shrunk down into your seat. Nothing has changed. You assured yourself. Nothing has changed.
…
The sound of the rain incapacitated your steps. You stared out into the soggy school grounds, instantly regretting your class representative responsibilities that demanded much of your attention after school hours. Looking up at the spilling sky, you berated yourself for not checking the weather but most of all you loathed your parents. You squeezed your phone. The corner of your eyes doused with tears as you sucked back sniffles. This wasn't the first time your parents postponed returning home. Mother was always this way; waiting until the last minute to change plans without considering your feelings and father never opposed her untimely requests. You thought you were used to it. You thought you were.
You gulped back tears before stepping out into the rain. Today was the worst – you forgot your umbrella, the class representative duties were becoming overbearing, your parents were being irresponsible, and that imprudent Feitan was just being Feitan.
"You'll catch a cold," Feitan's soft voice penetrated your thoughts. He tilted his red umbrella in your direction. You turned your head away to quickly wipe away fresh tears. He was the last person you wanted to see. Especially like this.
"I'll be taking this," you stated firmly, shoving Feitan away and snatching his umbrella.
"Always so uncharitable," he mumbled, creating distance. You clenched your fists, staring down at the concrete as you began to walk. Feitan's sudden docile behavior deteriorated your mood even further. Aside from always complaining about the sun, Feitan hated the rain even more. He hated how the wet substance clung to his body making his clothes feel heavier. Yet he put up no fight when you stole his umbrella. Why was he being so compliant today?
Feitan didn't probe your silence; instead he kept his distance and stared out into the misty sky. Your anger was boiling over but you were surprised tears spilled in its place. Today was surely the worst. With your parents not returning home until who knows when, you detested returning to an empty house. Your feet froze as the umbrella tumbled to your side. You didn't want to go home. You didn't want to be alone.
Feitan's narrow eyes surveyed your trembling figure. A lot had changed between now and middle school yet you were the same as ever. You had the constant need to push yourself too hard, to take on too many responsibilities, and hide your true feelings. And when it all became too much, you would always confide in him. Though upon entering high school, you had become better at masking your pains. The fragile girl now in front of him was a rare sight for Feitan. The teenager smirked as he rested his hand on top of your head. You looked up into Feitan's dark eyes. The wet ends of his raven hair teased your nose with droplets of water.
"You can stay for the weekend," he spoke, "It'll be like old times."