Staring, people are staring. He can feel it as he walks by. Someone is looking at him again, judging him as he walks by. He can feel their eyes burning into the back of his head, casting assumptions that he did nothing to provoke. He can just imagine what they must say about him. They see his hair, his clothes, his physical appearance, but not what really makes him worth judging. It's things like this that make him hate humanity even still, even though he had seemingly changed so much since then. Scramble Crossing never seemed as crowded as it did when he walked through it alone. He tried to avoid the piercing glares and keep from making any human contact. That's right, alone, his favorite state of being.
But… is it really?
He hated being alone, truth be told, but human interaction was just so foreign to him. It seemed like he had dug himself into such a deep hole at this point that even if he wanted to make friends with someone, he either would know how or he'd botch it up in some way. Alone, even when surrounded by people, was the cursed fate he had been assigned. A distinct voice made its presence known. Someone was calling his name, but who would actually want to associate with him?
"Hey, Phones, turn yo ass around." The voice called again, becoming clearer.
Neku had no trouble recognizing the voice of his boisterous friend. Turning around he made out Beat, and his sister Rhyme, making their way over to him. Just like that, Neku felt the tugging at the corner of his lips. His instincts took over and he was smiling, glad to see his friends. Just like that, he was no longer alone.
"Hey guys, I didn't think I'd run into you today." Neku replied as his friends stopped next to him.
"Beat and I heard about a sale going on at 104 and we had to come check it out." Rhyme explained.
"Yeah, man, you know I loves me a bargain. Hey, if you ain't busy you should tag along."
Neku stopped himself before replying. True, there was nothing he had planned today, but, he hated shopping. Too many people, rude and unhelpful staff and more of those judging eyes. And if there was a sale going on, that meant it would just be worse.
"I-I don't know, guys."
"Aw, c'mon, yo, it'll be fun." Beat pouted.
Neku could think of dozens of reasons why it would most certainly not be fun, but the look on Beat's face convinced him otherwise.
"Oh okay, I'll come with you guys." Neku gave in.
"Now das more like it." Beat grinned, slinging an arm around Neku and Rhyme and pulling them close. Neku would've protested, but making a scene in public usually attracts more attention, something that Neku did not want.
In fact, as soon as they entered the 104 building, Neku was glad Beat was invading his personal space so severely. Saying that the store was packed would have been the hugest understatement in Shibuya, as Neku could barely breathe without bumping into someone. Much to Neku's relief, he managed not to bump into anyone, at least not for the first 10 minutes or so. Still to his relief, the person he did manage to collide with was another person he knew.
"Hey, watch where you-oh, Neku. Hey!" The voice exclaimed. It was easy to recognize, and belonged to a good friend.
"Hey, Shiki, didn't think I'd run into you today."
"That was a really bad joke, you know." Shiki replied, chuckling.
"I know, but it's also what happened, so it's okay."
"Yo Shiki, how's it goin'?" Beat contorted himself in the middle of the aisle, still holding onto Neku and Rhyme, to greet her.
"You're here too, Beat? Should've known Neku wouldn't be here by himself."
"Hell yeah, yo, Rhyme and I was on our way when we bumped into Phones and decided to drag him along."
"Rhyme's here too?"
"Hey Shiki." Rhyme called, managing to squeeze around her brother and wave.
"Wow, the gang's all here then. Um, Eri's around too, somewhere, I-I think. I mean, we came into the store together, but, I, uh, lost her in the crowd." Shiki scratched the back of her head.
A frustrated groan could be heard as the aforementioned friend forced herself through a crowd or giggling schoolgirls to get to Shiki.
"Shiki, I love a good sale and all, but this, this is ridiculous."
"Yeah, I know. I'm actually all set here, so we can pay for whatever and make our wait out if you want." Shiki nodded and turned her head.
"What about you guys?"
"You guys set, yo?"
"I never wanted to come in the first place." Neku groaned.
"What about you, Rhyme?"
"I'm good. I say we do what Shiki suggested."
The trio, now joined by Shiki and Eri, forced their way through more economical shoppers and to the registers. Of course, a crowded store equals a long wait in line, but somehow the fact that Beat never let go of Neku's shoulder made it more bearable.
Never had Neku been that glad to be back in Scramble Crossing. At least there he had some fresh air to breathe and room to extend his arms more than an inch in any direction.
"Aight, yo, what's the plan?" Beat said, turning to Shiki. The schemer adjusted her glasses and looked to Rhyme and Eri.
"Actually, Eri, Rhyme and I were gonna go hit up some more stores close by." Shiki said, the other two nodding in agreement.
"Thas cool, yo, we can come witchu."
"Actually, Beat," Rhyme spoke, smiling, "It's sort of a 'girl's only' shopping trip."
Beat frowned before looking over at Neku, and then smiled.
"Das cool, Phones and I will just go hang out and do somethin' and y'all gon' miss it."
But by the time Beat had finished bragging about his great plans the trio of ladies was already assimilated into the crowd and out of sight.
'Looks like it's just you and me, Phones."
Neku wasn't sure what it was, but he could feel his cheeks heat up. Doing the best to cover his blush with his collar, he nodded. Neku had liked Beat for a while, but he did his best to hide it. It helped that the boy was so damned oblivious, but sometimes that made it harder to drop a hint. Of course, when Neku considered that Beat was still holding on to him, he made it wonder how he didn't tip everyone off by turning bright red and fainting.
"Aight, Phones, what do you wanna do?"
"I-I don't know, I thought you had some cool plan worth bragging about."
"Nah, that was just to make them feel bad, yo. Truth is I ain't got nothin'."
Neku sighed and tried to think of something, anything.
"W-well, I did hear about a new piece of artwork up close by."
"One of those CAT things you always goin' on about?"
"Yeah."
"Aight, you point us in the right direction and we can check it out." Beat grinned in agreement. Neku stopped and tried to remember where he heard it was.
"I think it was… that way." Neku pointed. Beat nodded and the two made the effort of squeezing through the crowd. Within a few minutes, Neku stopped, causing Beat to slam the brakes too.
"Wassup Phones, you get us lost?"
"No," Neku rolled his eyes, "It's supposed to be around here, but there are no walls around here."
"Hmm. Yo, maybe it's invisible."
"Are you serious?"
"Think about it, yo, invisible wall, invisible art, talk about makin' it open to interpretations and shit."
Neku did have to admit that that was actually a good concept, but there was no way he'd give Beat the satisfaction of know he thought that. Neku shrugged Beat's arm from around his shoulder and walked around a bit, puzzled.
"Eyo, what about dis, what if we gotta look down."
"Beat, there are no walls on the ground; those are called floors or roads."
"Nah, das not what I meant, yo, what if we're standing on top of the wall."
"Beat, I." Neku stopped mid-sentence and looked ahead of him. In front of him was a blank view of the sky. That was it; the mural had to be on whatever this street was on top of. Neku ran over to the edge, Beat in tow, and dropped to the ground. He looked over the edge and was greeted with a 6 foot drop and a field of green.
"I don't get it." Neku said.
"Well, dis edge here gotta be the wall, yo, maybe you just ain't lookin' at it right." Beat said, lying next to Neku.
Neku made a note that Beat had three good ideas in a row and leaned over a little more. He turned his head towards his feet and grinned.
"There it is."
"I-is it upside down, yo?"
"No. In fact, I think it might have been painted the way we're looking at it."
"Yo, dat is pretty cool."
"Yeah. Yeah it is."
"Hey, Phones, I didn't realize how late it was."
"Just give me a few more minutes, Beat."
"Nah, it ain't that." Beat said as he rolled over and sat up, facing the empty skyline.
"Then what is it?"
"Look for yourself, man."
Neku crawled back from the edge and sat up as well. He looked over at Beat, who was staring up at the sky. Neku felt his eyes be drawn to it as well.
"You never struck me as the sunset type, Beat."
"Shaddup, yo. Besides, ain't sunsets kinda like nature's wall mural or somethin'?"
Neku smiled and rolled his eyes. He felt himself unconsciously scoot closer to Beat and drop his right arm to his side. He was surprised when Beat scooted closer too. He was even more surprised, actually, he was downright shocked when Beat grabbed his hand and pulled him a bit closer.
"Y'know, Phones, I'm glad me and Rhyme ran into you earlier. I hate seein' you alone."
Alone. That's right; he had been alone before running into the two siblings earlier. He had actually forgotten all about that. Up until now, Neku never realized that he wasn't ACTUALLY alone. Just because he wasn't around familiar faces didn't mean he wouldn't ever see them.
"And y'know what else, man, I ain't that oblivious. You think I can't notice when someone likes me?"
"Uh, I, um…" Neku stuttered.
"Why do ya think I been holding onto you and bein' all close all day?"
"You were doing it with Rhyme too, though."
"That's different, she's my little sis. Man, Phones, I think you the oblivious one. I like you too, yo. I mean, come on, we watchin' the sunset together and holdin' hands and everything. I'm tryna be romantic and you ain't givin' me much."
Neku couldn't help but grin. He leaned over and placed a kiss on Beat's cheek. This time it was the other boy's turn to turn bright red.
"I'd like to do this more often, you know."
"You askin' me out, Phones?"
"I might be. Are you saying yes, Beat?"
"You betcha I am." Beat said, glancing over at Neku and smiling warmly.