* Author's Note: I had a review for the first chapter stating that I didn't show Yu on the TV before he was shown on the Midnight Channel. I have a certain way I'm going about this plot, and it'll all be explained thoroughly in the last chapter. I wanted it to be a little different, plus it was hard finding some way to get him on TV that wouldn't seem stupid and out of place. So yeah, I hope it makes sense when I write it out.
Figured You Out
- 2 -
Yosuke forgot his umbrella.
The rain was already pouring down that morning. He had made his usual morning walk to his friend's house, and about halfway in the trip he felt a single raindrop hit his arm. It only grew worse a few steps later, and he had to run through the streets with his school bag overhead as a lame excuse for a guard against the rain.
When he reached the front door, his fingers were itching to ring the doorbell, but as he went to do so the door swung open.
"Good morn-"
Yu cut himself off mid-sentence as he stared at the sight of the other completely soaked.
With a sigh, and a shake of his head, the grabbed another umbrella from the small closet nearby before exiting the house.
"Thanks man."
Yosuke figured he'd dry off enough in the fifteen minute walk they had to get to school. But the umbrella was proving to be a great help for him not possible catching a cold in the process. The rain had also proven to be a decent distraction given the craziness that had occurred the night before.
They hadn't really said much even five minutes into their walk. Normally they would be chatting about anything that came to mind, but it seemed as if they were both locked in their own thoughts, mostly regarding the very strange instance from not even seven hours ago.
Yu had been restless, though his face didn't show an ounce of him losing sleep. With his expertise in being so stoic it almost hurt, he was able to place that every-day mask on his face to show that nothing was bothering him. Though, deep down, he had been a worried mess ever since the TV had fizzled on at midnight.
"So…nothing weird happened last night?"
"Not a thing."
"Ahaha good, I don't want you getting kidnapped by the boogie man or anything."
The attempt to lighten the mood ended up being lame in even Yosuke's mind and he was mentally kicking himself for it. He knew their leader was more than capable of handling himself, but that never stopped making him worry about the other's well-being. More so because they had grown so close, it'd was unthinkable to even imagine life without him...if something happened...
Yosuke had to shake his head, stray drips of water scattering as he tried to refocus his thoughts on normalcy.
"Don't worry about me. You should be more worried about practice today."
The thought of basketball practice was already making Yosuke ache in pain.
The day flew by rather quickly despite the ever-present downpour of rain. The storm kept them from being able to sit on the rooftop while eating lunch as they did every school day. It was strange, sitting in the hallways at school. The way they sat on the floor, it caused them to be even closer than when they were sitting on the rooftop with just their legs brushing together at random moments.
In the hall, they sat on the tile floor, both legs and shoulders closer together than what was normal for them. Of course, the line had already been crossed more than once the night before which Yosuke was still trying not to think about along with the impending idea that his best friend might have a shadow that was intent on causing trouble.
All of the heavy thoughts were pushed aside though as soon as he took a bite into the delicious meal that never failed to impress his taste buds. The sound he made when he bit into the fried shrimp was close to that of a moan. It was certainly a noise that Yu had never heard before and it made him look over at his friend curiously.
"Like it?"
"Moar lyke luff eet."
Yu couldn't help but to laugh lightly as he let his mind remain tied as closely to the realms of innocence as possible. The slight blush on the other's face though from when he had realized what noise he had made didn't help that much.
They had merely been playing around the night beforehand, but Yu knew that his actions had been spurred by something. It was a something that hadn't been labeled, and it was also something that he consistently pushed away since they both enjoyed the simple, comfortable, and relaxing dynamic of their friendship.
But, the sight of his shadow worried him, simply because, it meant that he had something pent away to the point of having it revealed in fifty different ways of violence, cruelty, and maliciousness.
"Shit man, we've only got a few minutes left."
"Don't choke-"
Yosuke had taken a bite of a rice ball and was in mid-choke as he tried to devour his food quickly before the bell rang. Yu was already slapping on his back to help him swallow properly.
The last few hours of lectures were boring as usual, but the stupid texts that were shared easily made them more than bearable. When basketball practice finally came around, Yosuke was clearly dreading it.
He'd only joined the team after he had been riled into playing at one of the games. The team was already short on players, and since his best friend was on it he thought he'd give it a go. It beat just being alone on the days the other had practice.
"That's all for today guys. We'll cover more when we have new plays prepared for the next game."
The small team that was present was dismissed. The showers were filled with steam shortly afterward. Locker doors slammed, a few people exiting in the process. Two lone members stood in their personal showers towards the end of the line. Half the showers had been broken and had yet to be fixed, so that left quite a gap in the run of showers available in the locker room.
"See you later." Kou waved to the two that were now left alone in the locker room.
Both teens waved, calling out their goodbyes in turn just before they resumed focusing on their own time in the shower.
Yosuke was finding it harder than usual to shower off quickly and get dressed. He was peering through the small amount of steam from the hot shower, seeing the traces of muscles on the other's arms; leading down to his chest, and thankfully the wall in between was covering the rest. The sight alone was making him hotter than he already was, face flushed from the embarrassment of actually openly gawking at the sight of his best friend wet and very naked in the shower…
Dude what the fuck, I need to just stop. Stop it.
Returning his attention to the shower head above him, the water fell on his body, and he silently wished that he could stand a cold shower right now to sooth away the inappropriate thoughts starting to form in his mind. He didn't like guys; it just wasn't something he was into. Personal choice. And he had learned to forego the oddness if someone around him was possibly gay. But, he felt nothing but doubts start to tackle over any idea of him not liking a guy, well not any guy, just, the one in the stall next to him.
"Need me to scrub your back?"
"D-Dude, no, just, what?"
"You're taking forever to just wash your hair."
Yosuke sputtered while fumbling to grab the shampoo bottle off the small counter between their stalls.
"I just felt a little faint from the hot water, uh yeah."
Yu didn't seem to buy it but he didn't press the matter either. Moving to turn the knob to shut off his shower, he then stepped out and grabbed his towel to wrap around his waist.
Fuck, shit, why is this happening? He's my best friend, and oh god why is he looking at me like that?
Yosuke felt a shudder pass through his body even with the hot water pouring down on him. He had to close his eyes in that instant to avoid shampoo from getting in them, and his hands were washing his hair much rougher than usual. It made him nervous, knowing that grey eyes were watching his every movement.
"Taking your time?"
Feeling utterly thankful that the last remnants of shampoo was out of his hair, he managed to shut off his shower after that and grab his towel to cover himself up properly before stepping out of the stall. Those eyes were still on him, and it felt like they were taking in all of him.
"You know I'm slow."
Yu rolled his eyes, a half-smile on his lips as he turned to head towards his bag that held his clothes.
You just find him attractive. It's okay to admit your best friend is attractive, just like a compliment? Yeah.
Yosuke fought with himself the rest of the time that they got dressed, hiding himself with quick turns and trying not to stare too much as the other stood there shirtless, or the way his lips were moving in concentration when he tied his shoes.
They exited the locker room, returning to the normal atmosphere outside which he felt thankful for. But it was as they reached the front gate of the school that his phone rang and he answered it only for it to be a dreaded call from his father telling him to come into work.
"I'm sure you can find your way home without me."
"I'll be fine. Make sure Teddie doesn't find his way into the women's fitting rooms again."
"Oh God, why'd you have to remind me of that?"
Yosuke was already seriously dreading heading into work and having to deal with the antics of his annoying roommate/comrade/person he didn't want to see right now, he'd prefer staying with his best friend.
As Yu headed home on his own, he could only stare up at the sky and try not to remember how the heat had felt on his skin. The way brown eyes looked over at him while they were in their own nakedness. It made him feel that feeling and think those thoughts and he had to force himself to stop.
"Just stop."
Yu muttered lowly to himself just as he reached the doorstep of the house. His key slid in the lock easily, turning it, stepping inside, and shutting it behind him with a firm relocking of the door. As he stared at the darkened room in front of him, he felt an instant chill run down his spine.
Something was off. The room was normally dark from the curtains being drawn together, but this was a shade darker than usual. The atmosphere was tense, and it was almost suffocating him all of the sudden. He dropped his school bag, falling down to one knee, his hand reached up and ran onto his forehead as he felt a pressure in his head and almost easing into his mind.
The last thing that flashed through his head was brown eyes, brown hair, and every aspect that made up his best friend.
The last thing he saw was Yosuke before everything went black.
