Astronomia

Chapter 1

The first time I ever saw Tsukishima was at one of the school plays I performed in. He was in the club room, working on set design for our play Almost, Maine. I don't think I could ever forget the meeting. Even now, I can see him clear as day: eyebrows furrowed in concentration, carefully plotting the stars for the night sky. Apparently, the theater club had asked him - very nicely, of course - if he could do the set design. The club wanted it to be accurate, constellations and stars all in the right place. Who better to ask than one of the most prominent members of the astronomy club?

I played Pete, one of only two recurring characters. It was a pretty big deal - I had never been cast as a lead before. In the years before high school, I had always been a minor character, or sometimes even just a tree. Because of that, I went through some really childish stuff.

My dad would always be angry, "A minor role again, Tadashi?!"

Why was he always so angry?

My mom, though she thought it was comforting, would remark, "Oh, Tadashi! You'll get the star role eventually!"

It wasn't comforting; I could tell she was disappointed.

And my classmates… They were the worst. There were the obvious insults, "Fag! You're so gay! Seriously, you're like, the only guy in the theater club!" I understood those, I heard other guys in the club be called that, but what I could never fathom is why my classmates would care that I would get minor roles… "Are you that bad, that you still can't get a leading role? Ha! LOSER!"

Honestly, it was a blessing that I was cast as the leading male role. At the time, I thought it was a godsend only because it was finally the star role, but now I'm grateful because it gave me Tsukishima as well, however insignificant those small meetings were…

… Tadashi shuffled into the club room, eager to start play practice. Even though a few practices had already flown by, he was still glowing with happiness at the prospect of his role. Looking around, he had expected more of a gathering before everything started, but the area was severely lacking in students. There were a few milling around, of course, but there was a blond teenager who caught his eye. Tadashi had never seen him before, and it was too late to come in as an actor…

"Hi! My name is Yamaguchi Tadashi!" he cheerfully announced, suddenly appearing at the other teen's side. "I haven't seen you around here before, so…" Tadashi continued, rocking back and forth on his heels. Yes, he was friendly and a good person all around, but people made him nervous. Especially people he didn't know, and he definitely didn't know this person.

The blond glanced up from his work to Tadashi. Of course, Tadashi took that moment to realize that the blond was, indeed, busy painting.

"Oh! I'm sorry," he fumbled in apology, "I didn't realize you were busy!" The other continued to look at Tadashi, a bored expression on his face. The two stared at each other silently for a few moments, before the teenager turned back to the canvas.

Mentally scolding himself for being awkward, the actor took a long look at the painting. It was beautiful, that's all there was to it. Extraordinarily beautiful. The canvas was enormous, wider than it was tall, and it was covered in a lush dark blue paint. The dark blue was dotted with whitish yellow spots that seemed to form different silhouettes. Seconds later, Tadashi felt like hitting himself. He finally put two and two together. The canvas is the night sky for the play, the silhouettes being constellations. He could easily pick out the big dipper, and the milky way, even some of the zodiac constellations.

"Wow," he breathed out shakily. It was incredible, the design was so intricate and remarkably made. "This is stunning. Makes me wish I was an artist, not an actor."

"You're an actor?" the blond questioned without turning around, completely ignoring the compliment. He finished up another constellation, one Tadashi didn't recognize.

"Yeah. I play Pete," he explained. When the other teen didn't say anything, he continued, "Um, one of the recurring characters in the play."

"Huh," he grunted, purely to acknowledge Tadashi. They were quiet once again, the blond painting more stars, and him enjoying watching them be painted. The teen had dipped his paint brush in the paint twelve times, not that Tadashi had been counting, when he heard a chuckle that could have only come from the other. He knit his brows in confusion, and was about to ask what was funny when the boy talked once more.

"Usually people would have left by now," he noted with a smirk. "Does my ignoring you not bother you?"

"Oh, not really," Tadashi smiled slightly. "I was admiring your work, and silence isn't exactly new to me."

"Huh," he repeated, and they again fell into silence. In the few minutes they had been together, it had morphed into somewhat of a routine. He would paint, Tadashi would watch, they would converse for a few seconds, and lapse back into quiet. It worked, for both of them.

"Hey, Yams!" A voice called from behind the two teenagers. The boy in questioned turned around and saw the theater manager waving him over. "We're ready to get started! Let's go!"

Tadashi nodded in acknowledgement as the manager turned around and left. He began to leave as well, before being stopped by a voice.

"My name's Tsukishima Kei," the voice mumbled. Tadashi smiled: finally, a name to a face.

"Well, I'll be seeing you around, Tsukishima," he grinned in response. He jogged off, rushing to catch up with the manager and the rest of the group.

If he had been facing Tsukishima, Tadashi would have seen a small smirk and an eyeroll.

The next time that we met, though not the second time I saw Tsukishima, was also unforgettable. I had just finished my first school-wide performance of Almost, Maine. I was proud of myself, I thought I did an amazing job. The entire play was well done, and of course the set design was a big part of it. All of the cast got a round of applause, and I did as well.

But not everyone agreed. Honestly, I thought after I got a lead role, my classmates would leave me alone, after all, I couldn't be made fun of for a minor role anymore. Boy, was I wrong. Not only did they not leave me alone, but there were more of them than ever.

Why?

What did I ever do wrong?...

… Making his way to the courtyard for lunch, Tadashi felt himself be pushed roughly against the wall. His head hit hard, a dizzy spell immediately coming over him. Panicked and wide eyes, he looked around frightfully, taking a quick count of four. Four guys.

"H-hey guys, what's up?" he tried weakly, to no avail. He felt fist connect with his abdomen and he coughed violently.

"Shut up, faggot," one of the bigger guys ordered. Tadashi complied quickly in order to keep the pain to a minimum. "So… I went to your play, for extra credit for English," he continued harshly, a smirk evident in his voice as Tadashi turned white.

"Turned out not only are you shitty at acting," he snarled, as the rest of them chuckled, "but the girl would've made a better guy than you!"

The four guys erupted into laughter, obviously amused by their terrible insult.

"I mean, come on?! You gonna start crying on us now? You're such a baby," a different guy sneered.

"Yeah! Pathetic!" another chimed in happily.

Tadashi closed his eyes, trying to keep back the tears. He wasn't exactly sad: he knew all of this, he'd been told this before. But it was the pain that hurt, his stomach ached and he could feel fingernails digging into his arms. He wished that this would be over quickly.

Apparently his wish was granted, because the four boys went quiet, and the grip on his arms loosened significantly. Curious, but still cautious, he trained his ears to listen carefully.

"Pathetic," a rough voice repeated. A flurry of mumbles and murmurs came from the guys, almost trying to appease the fifth person. "Sorry, but that'd have to be you." At the second sentence, Tadashi's eyes flew open. He knew that voice, it had teased him countless times.

It was Tsukishima.

He didn't know if he had ever been as happy to see someone as he did right then. Tsukishima was an angel with blond hair and a smirk. He could feel himself relaxing as the grip on his arms left completely, and let himself rest on the wall.

Just the sheer presence of Tsukishima made the boys nervous. The blond was quite a bit taller than any of them, and he had an aura that would rival an angry bear. Of course, the guys didn't like being confronted as well: that was their thing, they confronted people. Not the other way around.

So when Tsukishima bent down slightly to get into their face, the four guys hightailed it out of there. Smart move, actually, Tsukishima thought to himself smugly. He didn't have the best of days that day. Finally, finally, did he acknowledge Tadashi. They stared at each other quietly, before Tadashi made a noise that sounded suspiciously like a squeak.

"What was that?" Tsukishima asked with a smirk. He knew exactly what was said.

"U-um, I said thanks," he repeated, this time a blush on his cheeks.

"Yeah. Those guys were pathetic," Tsukishima remarked, a sneer crossing his face for a millisecond. Tadashi frowned, he much prefered the smirk. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I guess," he mumbled in reply. Shuffling his feet slightly, he pushed off the wall and grabbed his lunch. Tadashi looked at Tsukishima, and seeing how he didn't have a lunch, decided to go off on a limb. "Do you wanna eat lunch with me, Tsukki?"

The second the pet name was said, Tadashi slapped both his hands over mouth in obvious horror. Before he could begin spewing any number of excuses and apologies, Tsukishima spoke first.

"Sure, Yamaguchi."

And there was no correction, no, "Don't call me Tsukki," or, "My name is Tsukishima." There was nothing in the form of distaste, only the ghost of a smirk on his face.