Everything in life accelerates, spins, flushes, tints the moment he lays eyes on that boy, speaks to that boy, hears that boy. With hair and eyes like fire, like flowers, like the sun. Alive.
Recently, the deep buzz against wood has called flitting golden orbs to his mobile just a little faster. Everything's a little faster. Sharp yellow pupils glean the words a little faster, his heart rises from his gut a little faster.
However, right now, everything is slow. As if the world has stopped. The pillowy bounds of the mattress beneath him caress his form, an arm over his forehead, as honey eyes about a flat face pierce the ceiling, the summer heat bombarding his figure. Not even video games are appealing at the moment; no mobile game, no handheld- he wants nothing to do with it. The very thought of having to move his thumbs comes with a sweaty price. His face folds only slightly as his skin sticks to itself, shifting. There's no escape from this drab world. It's calm and bland and only recently has he tasted anything else. But... what's wrong with calm and bland?... What is this sick mix of excitement and anxiety that has come over him at inexplicable moments as of late?
Calm lids close over softened eyes. The whirr of the AC unit above his bed comes to mix with that of the cicadas that cling to the wood paneling beyond his window as it turns on, lightly rasping his ear drums. He fades from consciousness.
Bronze orbs laze open as dull vibrations pull him from slumber, golden fringe playing at a tired brow as he shifts to his side. He strains to reach the shaking mobile on the small bookstand beside him, nearly falling out of bed in his pointless struggle; he himself knows it would be easier at this stage to actually get up, but he's come this far and standing doesn't sound particularly appealing at the moment. His thumb glides over the screen of his phone, despite the effort it takes- but a rush hits him as he reads the name, and his processing capacity is almost faster than that of the device in his hands at the moment. Shōyō. The title of the message itself brings a small smile to his normally drab face: NEW! The number of exclamation marks Shōyō uses in any one message would be pointless to count. Though the average is 16. As he brings himself to sit on the bed, legs folded, slats of light from the warm glow of afternoon between the blinds flood his form, mixing with the pale illumination of the screen in his hand: a lit contrast to his slim facial contours.
Everything's been strange lately. Slow... then fast, slow... then fast. There's no longer a standard velocity to life. Like a roller-coaster. It's no surprise when his brain processes the message before him the organ in his chest skips a beat. A sensation unforgotten.
"! Kenma! It's new! It's new! Let's go the amusement park! Plus, the mascot is a cat! You like cats! And they have a super cool ride, like GYOOM! GWAAAAAAH!"
Another floods in before he even moves to answer.
"It's for my birthday! My grandma bought them! WOOOAAAH!"
A soft smile. Before he's bombarded with another exclamation point packed message, fingers glide effortlessly across the screen-board keys. He's received enough messages from Hinata to know what 'them' refers to without asking.
"Sure. I'd like that."
Little does he know, he'd more than like that- but, that's aside the point.
"YEAH! YEAH! tomorrow? I can't wait to show you the mascot! You'll get along since you're both cats! 6 AM!"
Slight displeasure riddles him with the words 6 AM. He's not exactly a morning person.
Shōyō doesn't have to mention where; Kenma already knows.
...
The chill of Summer morning brisks his face, igniting his flesh in a soft, reddened hue. No one's yet at this little park at this hour; the one just down the block from where they first met each other last year after Hinata's absentmindedness and his obsession with the handheld before him winded them both up lost in the middle of some residential neighborhood. The swing set is just as he remembers it last week; two seats, silently hanging; the worn metal slide; the octagonal structure little kids climb on and hang all over; just like the one Kuroo tricked him into climbing back in 2nd grade; which ended with a big square bandage stuck smack in the middle of little Kenma's forehead for 3 days. A slow breath in as his mind is shaken from memory; the still air leaves sharp ears un-entertained. Waves of displeasure riddle his arms in tiny bumps despite the light jacket he adorns, golden orbs lifting to the sky on the horizon. A mix of hues. Warm yellows, vibrant pinks, energized oranges about a cloud spotted sky. It's all so... bright and lively. Just like the wavering silhouette of the boy on a bike on the winding road before him. Tussled, wavy, copper hair sways above orange eyes; the tips ignited like fire with the glow that surrounds him. A wide, genuine smile; this boy matches the sun.
"KEEEEENMA!"
That voice; indescribable. So much vigor and excitement and joy packed into such a small frame; despite its light panting and reddened cheeks. The young feline's heart skips a beat. This boy: Hinata Shōyō, breathes life into the day.
A small smile as his friend rides up, hopping from his bicycle to jaunt alongside it before it even comes to a stop. A slight raise of one hand in greeting; though its meek and plain and not half as exciting as Hinata's, Kenma means it as genuinely as ever.
One soft, flat word.
" Shōyō."
"Ah! Look loooook! My grandma visited us over the weekend and she brought me theeeeeeeeese!" Two small slips of paper bearing the likeness of a... cat-like animal mascot-thing flitter in the boy's fingers, the small form raising and falling with each lively jump. Each time he reaches the peak, the fiery fringe about his face billows; he nearly seems to float.
A gentle nod. A soft smile.
"Mhm."
"So! so! at first, I didn't even know she was coming! Mom made dinner and gwah! Granny was there! Pyoooooah! She gave me the tickets! From the radio! From the radio! She won them!" The warmth in his eyes sparkles with a joy the pudding-haired cat can't even fathom. After a good minute or two of his excited, almost shrieky, yet-nasaly yet something not entirely of this world gabble, Kenma brings soft-spoken words to lips.
"U- uh. Shōyō.."
A gently upturned brow.
"Shōyō."
A final try.
" Shōyō."
Copper orbs widen as the boy's gaze finally befalls his own. "Huh? Huh huh? What is it, Kenma?"
"We should go. We'll miss the metro."
"OOOOOOOOAH! Yeah! Let's go let's go!"
Despite the near-empty street just an hour ago, the turnstile entry to the amusement park is riddled with the hustle and bustle of people. Noisy, crowded; the voices surrounding them blend to a weird mesh, not that Shōyō seems to be bothered at all by their surroundings. Kenma's never been one for such situations. They reach the gate and the pudding-haired boy holds out his ticket to the man on the other side of the window before gently making his way through the little turn-stall. Shōyō is a full 10 metres ahead of him by the time he makes it through.
"OOOOOOOWAAAAAA!" Stars about orange-marmalade eyes. The small frame leaps up and down amongst the crowd, pointing out different rides and prizes and advertisements. His excitement at every turn is further accompanied by a lively gasp.
"OOAAH!" A claw machine. "OOAAAH!" A sign for glow-in-the-dark-bracelets. "OOAAAH!" A man dressed as a cat. "OOOAAAAH!" A sort of large? fountain. "OOOAAAAH!" A face-painting station that won't open for another 3 hours. "OOOAAAAH!" An empty cotton candy machine. "OOOOOOAAAAAAAHH!" A stand for one of those games where you throw a ring on a bottle that so many people get scammed playing. The small establishment is plastered in prizes and advertisements of their mascot; a charcoal cat-like creature with a patch of white, shaped like a star decorating one viridian eye. "A CAT KENMA! A CAT!" Bright eyes flit back to his friend.
Before Kenma can even respond, his body tenses, the hair rushing about his face as the first ride of the day begins somewhere a great distance to their right; screams flooding the air in waves.
"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAH!"
He wants to ride that first.