Night of the Beast
Part One

In a trendy leather shop in the mall, Kotarou is checking out a black leather jacket with metallic silver trimmings. "Good afternoon, sir. You like this jacket?" The shopkeeper walks up and asks Kotarou.

"Love it!" Kotarou says, "This is perfect!"

"You have really good taste. We do carry your size if you like to try it on." The shopkeeper offers.

"Oh, it's okay. It's not for me. I'm actually looking for a gift for someone. Can you tell me how much this jacket is?"

'It's 550 dollars."

Kotarou knows the jacket will be expensive, but he doesn't know it will cost that much. Since he doesn't have that kind of money, he thanks the shopper and leaves the store. The teenager walks down the mall and sees his friend Yuuto trying to pick up girls. "Excuse me, ladies. I seem to forget my phone number. Can I have yours?" Yuuto says to two girls, who glare at him and walk away.

"Yuuto, does that line EVER work?" Kotarou sighs.

"Hey, buddy, what are you doing here?" Yuuto asks.

"Since it's almost November, I decide to start on my X'mas shopping."

"Are you picking a gift for Tatsuki?" Yuuto smiles.

"Of course not! Why would I want to get something for that cold-heart jerk? Even if I get him something, he will probably just stuff it into the corner of his closet." Kotarou blushes.

"You don't have to be embarrassed. You want to pick something special for Tatsuki, right? That's why you do your X'mas shopping so early. You want to take your time and choose the best gift. There is no need to lie to me. We're friends, and friends talk."

Yuuto may be silly at times, but he has been a really good friend to Kotarou. The petite boy decides to tell Yuuto the truth. "You're right. I'm looking for a present for Tatsuki. He gave me lots of stuff and he took really good care of me. I feel bad that I always give him trouble and I want to get him something nice for X'mas. But it's no use, the gift I want to get him is way too expensive, I don't have that kind of money."

Kotarou feels so depressed. Tatsuki will look amazing and cool wearing that leather jacket while speeding down the road on his bike; but Kotarou is unable to get that jacket for Tatsuki.

"Listen, the country club I'm working at is having a Halloween Party, and they need like 80 waiters. They're paying each waiter 500 dollars for just one night of work, which is really good pay. I can ask them if they want you to work as a waiter." Yuuto says.

"Will you? Please? I really want to get Tatsuki that gift!" Kotarou pleads. The boy is so cute Yuuto can't say no.

"I'll see what I can do." Yuuto answers, "Tatuski is one lucky guy."

"Are you two talking about me?" Tatsuki asks behind Yuuto. Yuuto jumps and shouts, "Man! You scare the hell out of me! Don't sneak up on people like that! That's not cool!"

"Tatsuki, what are you doing here in the mall?" Kotarou asks. Tatsuki never goes to the mall.

"I come to look for you and take you home. It's getting late." Tatsuki answers.

"I'm not a kid. You don't have to keep babysitting me! Stop checking on me! Have you been listening to our conversation?" Kotarou asks. The petite boy is worried that his cousin might have heard them talking about the X'mas gift plans.

"I didn't hear anything. I just heard you two mentioning my name. So, are you guys talking about me?" Tatsuki asks.

"No, I'm just asking Yuuto to get me a job at the country club. There is a Halloween Party and they need a lot of waiters. I want to work there." Kotarou answers.

"It's a very nice party. Kotarou will have a good time." Yuuto adds.

"Get me a jot there then." Tatsuki says to the playboy.

"What?" Kotarou and Yuuto ask together. No one can imagine Tatsuki be a waiter.

"I want to work at the party, too. Get me a job there." Tatsuki says to Yuuto, he then turns to Kotarou and says, "come on, you need to get home."

"Now wait a second! Why do you have to work at the party? You don't even need money! Why do you always have to follow me around???" Kotarou yells at his cousin, who ignore the question and continues walking.

"Hey, Yuuto grabs Kotarou and whispers to the boy, "Remember, he is following you because he cares about you."

Kotarou smiles. It's nice to know that Tatsuki cares about him.

TBC…