It was Thursday when Kamenashi Kazuya first met him.

And it was Thursday that Kamenashi's life was to be forcefully strapped to a roller coaster of happiness, sadness, pain, heartbreak, realisations, betrayal, and ultimately: redemption and salvation.

He didn't choose to be put through all these tiring emotions. Hell, Kamenashi was one to avoid all kinds of unnecessary trouble if possible.

But then again, he supposed it was all worth it.

—

Spring

The first time Kamenashi saw him was when he realised that he wasn't as familiar with the school as he thought he was.

Kamenashi was always one of the last to leave school, mostly because he was the Student Council President, and he put all his heart and soul into work, determined to be the best of the best. So it was not unusual for him to be seen by patrolling teachers, cooped up alone in the student council rooms until dark.

It was coincidentally today that he decided to take the shortcut down to the front gates inseatd of his usual route. It was late, and he wanted to get out of school before the janitor locked up the gates again (he remembered how annoying it was to have to climb the gate the last time). Kamenashi knew that through the older building of the school, he could cut through the arts department and make it down the staff stairway to arrive directly at the front doors.

The lazy evening light was streaming through the slightly smeared glass windows, painting the corridors of the old building a deep golden-orange. As he was about to make his way down the familiar stairs that would lead him out, Kamenashi noticed a very scuffed door, splashed with colour and had distinct hand and finger prints of paint messily decorating its handle. It was tucked away snugly in a alcove in an area which Kamenashi always though to be a dead end. He wasn't involved in any of the arts, but being the President, he was well informed regarding the various classrooms and departments in this wing of the school. However, he wasn't exactly sure what room this was.

It was definitely not the visual art classroom, Kamenashi was sure. Although visual arts was classified as an arts subject (obviously), and therefore should be located here in the Arts Wing, said classroom was located on the top level of the school in the Science Wing. This was mainly because that specific classroom was the only one that had large skylights and ceiling-to-floor windows which gave the students all the natural light needed.

So he wasn't exactly sure what room this was. He did not know of any storeroom in this area, and even if there was, why would it be hidden in an alcove of all places? Sure the school was old, traditional (and large), but surely...

It was then that the hidden door was pushed open, and a boy, with messy jet black hair stepped through.

The first thing Kamenashi noticed was the boys hands. They were stained in blotches of colour, ranging from faint reds to dark purples. In his right hand was a bundle of unwashed paintbrushes, and a large canvas folder was clipped under his arm. Kamenashi also saw that the boy's white uniform and dark grey trousers were tainted with distinct blotches and streaks of coloured paint as well as a black substance that looked like charcoal smudges. His eyes scanned down and then he noticed yet another oddity. The boy was barefoot. Immediately, Kamenashi's first reaction was to tell the boy off for breaking just about 50 school rules in one go, but it was then only did he realise that it was after school, so basically whoever this boy is, he was off the hook.

The black haired boy carefully closed the door with difficultly due to his being laden down with art supplies and turned to leave. He stopped in surprise upon seeing Kamenashi standing in the corridor.

When Kamenshi finally glimpsed the boy's face, he did a double take, for he almost mistook him for a girl. The boy had very delicate facial features, that unlike most boys, was not very prominent or angular. He had a small face and high cheekbones, which went well with his dark obsidian eyes. He had a single piercing in his left ear, where a lone cross dangled lazily. The longish hair that framed his slim face and brushed the tops of his shoulder blades further highlighted his feminity, which all in all, made Kamenashi stare.

The boy's expression was flat. He didn't look depressed, or angry, or even bored. Kame couldn't even describe the expression as 'emotionless'. "Oh, I didn't know there were still people here." muttered the boy quietly. He had a smooth voice. Not too deep or too high. "Is there something you need, Kaichou*?" Even his tone was flat. It wasn't rude, just… curious.

Kamenashi was slightly taken aback. This kid knew who he was? Of course he did reprimanded Kame mentally. You are the Student Council President for pete's sake. A little dazed for some unexplained reason, Kamenashi blinked and somehow managed to shake his head. "Uh... no, not really." Great, he sounded like a complete idiot, and in front of a fellow student too. Just prefect. "I was just heading home. What are you doing here at this hour?" asked Kamenashi, hoping to pick up the remaining pieces of his pride.

The boy shrugged. "I have to use the art equipment in school, but I don't like it when the art department is all crowded, so I always borrow the stuff after school. I don't go home straight after the bell goes. I was just going to put the stuff I took back, so…" He shifted his weight from one foot to another rather nervously, but his dark expressive eyes never faltered from Kamenashi's face. "Well... If there's nothing..."

Kamenashi hurriedly nodded the boy on his way, feeling his composure slipping by the second. The boy smiled, and at once, his previously flat look blossomed radiantly, and Kamenashi suddenly felt like he was being suffocated. "Alright then. See you tomorrow Kaichou. Keep up the good work and all."

He then quickly slipped past Kamenashi, close enough to allow the tips of their sleeves to touch. Immediately, a strange, but comforting smell of oil paints, fresh paper, and something else that he couldn't exactly identify (but smelled faintly of lavender) engulfed him. Kamenashi wondered why he found the chemical smell of paints 'comforting', but maybe it was because he was always surrounded by the crisp scents of the classroom air freshener (which was present in almost every single classroom) and the sterile smell of the laboratories in school. Perhaps all this artificial smells were messing with his senses? Kame wasn't sure.

Even after the boys footsteps faded, Kamenashi still stood, rooted to the spot, his entire body somehow numb. What the hell was that? Or rather, who the hell was that?

Kamenashi knew almost everyone in this school, including the freshmen. He was the President, for Christ's sake! He ought to know these things! And yet... he did not recall having seen that boy's face anywhere in the student records, let alone in any of the school assemblies. It was possible that he was his junior, but then again, Kamenashi could remember every single one of the names back to front, front to back! But why was it that he did not recognise the boy at all? He then mentally face palmed himself. he'd forgotten to ask the boy's name.

Deciding not to obsess over it, Kamenashi sighed heavily before descending the stairs to leave. He was late enough as it was, and was sure the janitor had locked up the front gate. If that were so, how would that boy get out? He didn't seem like the athletic type at all. Does he climb over the gate like Kamenashi does? Or perhaps-

Great, now he was rambling. Kamenashi roughly ruffed his hair in frustration. He really needed to hurry back. He was already late for dinner.

—

The second time Kamenashi Kazuya saw him, was not in the best of circumstances.

Kame had completely forgotten about the mysterious boy with the load of work that swamped him the minute he got home. Extra tuition classes, student council responsibilities, schoolwork... He literally had no spare time to think about eating, let alone ponder over the dark haired boy. It was once again back to his old routine. Go to school, go to meetings, come home, eat, tuition, schoolwork, then sleep.

The bell for recess had just gone, and Kamenashi began clearing up his Chemistry books and equipment. He felt a hand thump him on the back and turned around to see his best friend, Tanaka Koki grinning back at him. "Yo! Kameppi!"

Kame scowled as several girls watching the interaction squealed. "I told you not to call me that." grunted Kame, peeved. "Do you want to make a fool of me in front of the student body?"

Koki sighed and raised his hands in surrender. "Same ol' Kamenashi." he chuckled. "Y'know, you are so uptight, I bet even the thinnest stick in the world couldn't fit up your a-"

Kame gave Koki a menacing glare, which immediately shut the latter up. "I don't need to hear your crappy vulgar jokes. C'mon, lets go to the council room."

Koki groaned. "What~?! C'mon Kame! I just go out of a class, and bow you want me to sit through another lecture? Why don't we just skip the meeting for today! I reckon you need some rest man, you look like hell, even under that annoying mask you have up. Advanced Placement is not easy Kame, and you are the top in the school anyhow. So why don't you slack of for awhile at least?"

Kame smiled lightly at Koki's own way of expressing his concern. And it was no lie that he was dead tired. Kame did not come from a well off family, but he was not poor either. His father was a computer technician that worked in a considerably well known company; while his mother was a real estate agent. They were extremely strict, and although Kame was given permission to stay back in school after hours, his parents were against him going out with friends, regardless of the occasion. Kame had grown used to his sheltered lifestyle, and although he was not as exposed to society as normal teenagers, he was a friendly person, and got along with both friends and teachers well. He was fussed over greatly by the teachers in his Advanced Placement classes, who had high hopes for Kamenashi. Even though Kamenashi was always praised, showered with admiration, and continuously being given a 'well done!' pat on the back, he felt that everything around him was fake.

At first he was happy at the amount of attention he was given, but soon he began to notice that no one even praised him for himself. No one really cared for him as a person. It was always: "Kamenashi, you are so smart!", "Kamenashi, push harder! I want this to be 100%!", or "The best student tittle in definitely yours. Just score in the final exams!" Every single compliment fired his way was not at him directly, but at his results. It was results, results, results. Soon, Kamenashi's life began to revolve around the idea of being perfect, of being the best of the best, or he would not be loved by anyone anymore. By being at the top, he mattered. By scoring, he was noticed. People noticed him. iIf he were to drop, or to lose his place, would anyone accept him? He wasn't sure about that. After all, he was nobody without his title and smarts.

His true friend was Koki because Kamenashi could see the sincerity in Koki, and besides, the two of them had been childhood friends for as long as they could remember, so other than Koki, Kamenashi didn't exactly want to fully depend on anyone else. Koki was the exact opposite of Kame, so it was a complete puzzle to the teachers as well as his classmates to why someone like himself would mix around with a delinquent like Koki. Koki, unlike Kamenashi wasn't in Advanced Placement. In fact, he was stuck in the last class of their year, better known as the Dropout Class. Not everyone in that class were delinquents, it basically consisted of a mix of oddities. Their academic grades were bad, but that didn't mean the students did not have other talents. Koki was one who flunked almost all his tests, but was excellent in sports. He never failed to win a gold for every event in sports day.

"Don't be stupid." scoffed Kamenashi as he walked down the corridor with Koki hunkering along. "Mid terms start next month, and-"

But Koki was hardly listening. he knew how Kame would ramble about how important tests and crap were. It was then that he heard a loud clang and a distinct sound of water splashing, followed by laughing coming from around the corner of the corridor. A group of students came running around the corner, grinning and giving each other 'high-fives'. They stopped upon seeing Kamenashi and Koki. Immediately, their smiles dropped and was quickly replaced by fearful looks. "Damn, it Kaichou!" hissed one of the students.

"What were you guys up to?" snapped Kamenashi.

But then there was a distinct squelching noise as a figure, who was half drenched in beige paint, sloshed around the corner, leaving trails of the thick substance in its wake.

"Uepi!" exclaimed Koki, startling Kamenashi. He looked past the group of students who were standing awkwardly to see a familiar dark haired boy, who had half his body and uniform soaked in the strong smelling suspension.

The boy was trying to rub away the paint from his eyes when he noticed Kamenashi and Koki. "Oh, Kaichou and Koki-kun." His voice was muffled, strained, and sounded rather like he was about to cry. Koki quickly turned on the group of students, who were now cowering under his gaze.

"You little shits…" snarled Koki. "I'm gonna rip your faces off and stuff them up your assholes!" He ground his fist into his palm menacingly, which was enough to send the group of bullies fleeing the corridor with their tails between their legs.

Kamenashi stared after them, his eyes cold. "I know that group. They're from Advanced Placement as well. I'll see to it that they get their asses suspended." said Kamenashi, as he turned his attention back to the boy. "Are you oaky?"

The boy merely smiled weakly. "Its nothing really."

"Like shit its nothing!" snapped Koki angrily. "C'mon, Uepi! You have to seriously stand up for yourself!"

'Uepi' laughed shakily. "Yeah, and do what? Punch them back?"

"Anything's better than letting them throw paint all over you!"

"Well, if this had been going on for some time, you could have reported it." added Kamenashi, walking up to the two boys.

Koki tapped his fist into his palm thoughtfully. "Ah, I suppose you both haven't met! Kame, this is Ueda Tatsuya, but I suppose you could call him Uepi. Uepi, this is- wait a minute, why the hell am i introducing him? Practically the whole school knows about you pompous ass, Kame!" joked Koki, much to Kame's annoyance.

Ueda merely gave a small smile as he tried to flick the paint out of his hair. "I know. Kamenashi-kaichou is pretty well known."

"And of course you know who he is." muttered Koki, rolling his eyes. "Anyways, lets get you cleaned up." Koki patted Ueda comfortingly on the back and guided him down the hallway to the nearest bathroom. "You go on ahead, Kame! I'll catch up later." called Koki over his shoulder. Ueda merely turned his head slightly and gave Kamenashi a small smile and wave before allowing himself to be led away.

That was the second time Kamenashi saw him.

And as he made his way down to the Council Room, little did Kamenashi know that no matter how hard he may try, he was never going to be able to forget about the strange Ueda Tatsuya even if he wanted to.

—

"Hey, Koki? Who was that boy just now?"

Koki had been lounging back in one of the many chairs, balancing on two of its legs with his feet propped up on the table. He quirked an eyebrow at Kamenashi mentioning something other than schoolwork. "Who? Oh, you mean Uepi? Well, he's in my class. A seriously quiet kid, but he's nice. Ah, and he's also crazy talented in art. I'm not kidding, man. Y'know the portrait of the school in the assembly hall? He was the one who drew and painted that."

Kamenashi's eyes went wide. "You can't be serious." he spluttered. "That thing covers an entire goddamn wall… How the hell does he do something like that and find the time to focus on his studies?"

Koki only rolled his eyes at this comment. "Duh, he's in the Dropout Class, y'idiot." scoffed Koki. "He barely passes his subjects, other than art and music I suppose. Wait, why are you askin' me all this?" Koki suddenly narrowed his eyes, a sly grin on his face. "Ah, I see… You find him interesting, am I wrong? Impossible." grinned Koki.

Kamenashi scowled. "I do not." he snapped. "I just find it strange that I have never heard of him, and I know every single person in this school. That's how I keep track of what the hell they are doing!"

"C'mon, Kame. Even if you claim to know everyone, there has to be a few you don't know. Especially in the lower classes. Sure I'm confidant you can recite the names of every single person from the Science and Maths Dept. like some freaky declaration, but there are something you don't know Kame. Ueda's not a very social person, and he's like a shadow, disappearing to god knows where."

Kame looked thoughtful for a moment. "He's weird." sighed Kame finally. "I mean, I've never met anyone like him."

"I know what you mean. He's got seriously strange quirks too. But then again, Ueda's really likeable. You should be friends with him, Kame."

Kame's eyes had a strange far-off look. "Should I?" he muttered.

He didn't know why, but he suddenly felt that it would be nice to be 'friends' with this, Ueda Tatsuya.

—

The third time Kamenashi Kazuya saw him, he was sitting alone in the cafeteria.

The table was far off to a corner of the room, where Ueda sat, a pencil behind his ear and a sketchbook open before him. His lunch was a packet of sandwiches that lay nest to his book, unopened. From his seat with his fellow classmates, Kame was offered a good view of Ueda's table. Through the throng of noisy students, somehow, Ueda stood out. Too much in fact. Slowly, Ueda untucked the pencil from behind his ear and started to make gentle swipes across the paper before him.

He looked so vulnerable and alone, sitting there.

In a way, Kamenashi felt that Ueda was somehow… special. He couldn't say exactly what he thought, but he just felt as though that boy, with that strange, calm tone; that shock of pitch black hair; and that annoying dangly earring-thing was just… unique. Merely these little things about Ueda made Kame wonder. He was barely listening to the conversation around him.

Without thinking further, he stood up and gathered up his bento. His classmates did not notice him. They did not see him push back his chair and leave the table, before walking steadily toward Ueda. The dark-haired boy did not look up at first, too engrossed in sketching. Kamenashi thumped his lunchbox down in front of Ueda, making the latter jump violently. "Hey." muttered Kamenashi, pulling out a chair and settling down. Ueda watched him with wide eyes, surprise and bewilderment evident in them. Kamenashi picked up his chopsticks and caught a slice of omelette. His eyes drifted upwards to look at Ueda as he popped the piece of egg into his mouth. Ueda's elegant features were even more carefully defined up close, and Kamenashi could see his hair still slightly damp, drops of water glistening on the strands (most likely after washing off the paint earlier). "You don't have to look so surprised you know." stated Kamenashi, matter-of-factly, causing Ueda to blink.

"E-eh?"

Kame sighed, and Ueda flushed with embarrassment. "I mean, I want to be your friend. Is that.. okay?" asked Kamenashi, his tone careful, guarded. For some reason, he found himself being rather patient with Ueda's shyness. He didn't want to scare the boy.

Ueda blinked his dark, chocolate brown eyes again, opened his mouth to speak, then closed it, before chewing uncertainly on his lip. He flickered his gaze timidly up at Kamenashi. "M-Me?" he stuttered, his tone hushed.

Kamenashi sighed again. "Yeah." He paused for a moment, then stuck out his hand at Ueda, who looked at the outstretched limb in puzzlement. "Kamenashi Kazuya. Nice to meet you." Ueda's eyes widened further. "The last introduction doesn't count. Koki was the one who introduced you, and I didn't even get to properly introduce myself. I want to be your friend, so its just logical that we actually introduce ourselves to each other right?"

I took awhile for Ueda to process everything Kamenashi just said. But he seemed to snap out of his somewhat dazed trance, and smiled uncertainly at Kame, before putting down the pencil in his hand to shakily grasp Kamenashi's. Kame's seemingly straightforward attitude seemed to get to him. "Uh… U-Ueda Tatsuya… Nice to meet you too, I suppose… But… why?"

Kame released Ueda hand and raised a brow. "'Why?'"

"I mean… w-why would you want to be friends with me? I don't mean to offend though! I just- well- I'm glad that- but…" Ueda was looking everywhere but Kame now. His fidgety hands accidentally struck his pencil, which rolled across to Kame, who stopped it with his finger.

Over Ueda's stammering apologies, Kame merely chuckled, which made the dark-haired boy look back at him in surprise. With laughing eyes, Kame replaced the pencil at the centre of Ueda's sketchpad. "Is a reason needed for wanting to be someone's friend?" Disregarding Ueda's expression, Kame used his chopsticks to push the latter's uneaten sandwich toward him. "You should eat, Ueda." said Kame with a gentle smile.

And just like that, Kamenashi Kazuya had become friends with him, and precisely at that moment, Ueda Tatsuya wondered if this was what 'happiness' felt like.

(to be continued)

—

OMG, I can't believe I finished the prologue + chapter 1…. And I have a Chem calculations test tomorrow…. meh.

Anyway, how is it? Good, Bad? Should I continue? (OwO)

I hope the KameDa fans out there are okay with a slow fic…. I just hope I can stay committed to it (/ . \ ;)

But even if it is slow, I plan to finish this fic in about… 10-15 chapters. So the smut scenes may arrive in chapter 3 onwards ^^