A/N Hello everyone! It's the weekend here and I'm happy to anounce that the next part of 'Drifting in Time' had been completed! All that's left now is a conclusion which I can't wait to write/type. I really enjoyed writing this today, really, really enjoyed it :)
Anyway, I hope you enjoy reading it.
Drifting in Time
By squishy the jellyfish
Part two: Flourish
He was ready. Well…as ready as he could've been as he clung onto the nearby sign-pole and hoisted himself up slowly. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to recover from the newest pain that had surfaced somewhere in his left leg after getting up.
Tezuka irked. It was particularly irritating when someone was either pretending to be innocent and knew nothing, or just didn't know anything altogether.
"What?" Ryoma inquired, popping another rice ball into his mouth.
Tezuka didn't flinch. "You told her that her hair was too long?" It was more of a statement than a question.
"Hm?" Ryoma looked up at the bespectacled male.
Tezuka sighed, his hands resting calmly in his lap. "That girl…"
"Mmm, so what?" Ryoma asked, his gaze dropping back to his food again.
"It was insensitive."
Ryoma raised a brow, clearly perplexed by his old friend's opinion. "Insensitive?"
"She's attracted to you."
"What?"
Tezuka could have snickered. "You didn't know?" Tezuka had seen the many looks the freshman girl had given Ryoma, it was downright pathetic how she kept going after him when he was completely oblivious. Still, he felt a little sorry for her nonetheless.
Ryoma threw a glare at the older boy. "What's there to know?"
Tezuka let out a long sigh, which was more or less rather an exhale. "Do you not understand what White Day is?"
The Ponta killer tilted his head to the side quizzically, "Was White Day today?"
Tezuka's face darkened.
Ryoma raised a shoulder. "She really shouldn't have bothered with chocolate…"
"…It was for White Day," Tezuka exclaimed.
Ryoma's eyes widened comically and then blushed as he shifted awkwardly in his seat. "It couldn't, I mean-no, what? Why would she-"
"She likes you."
The Ponta killer's face showed some form of regret. "Oh. I guess that was pretty insensitive."
Tezuka pinched the bridge of his nose.
"I suppose I'll have to tell her that I'm not interested in gir-her," he corrected quickly, the blush reddening in colour.
A faint smile appeared on Tezuka's lips.
Ryoma fumbled around in his back pocket and pulled out the very thing that would ultimately save him. The men that had fought so hard to get his wallet earlier had failed to see his mobile, of all the things… Scanning through his phone he hesitated. Ryoma narrowed his eyes before skipping down a few contacts and hitting the 'call' button. Holding the mobile to his ear, he waited.
"Oi, what's this?"
"Aww, how cute."
"Faggot! Faggot! Faggot!"
The door flew open, a boy ran out of the classroom and out into the hall clutching his binder book.
"Where are you going?!" Another boy yelled from the classroom.
The other didn't stop, he kept running, up the stairs…and straight into the chest of a much taller boy.
The taller boy stumbled backwards, the flailing mass of the shorter boy in his arms. "E-Echizen!"
"It's all your fault…" he mumbled, hitting the other boy weakly—not quite enough to actually hurt.
"What?"
"It's…all your fault!" Ryoma cried into Tezuka's chest, attempting to hit the older boy again but was stopped midway by some unknown force. He glared up at Tezuka poisonously before pushing him away and running up the whole flight of stairs.
"Echizen!" Tezuka called after the boy, stepping on something in his haste. He glanced down and lifted his foot, it was a binder book. He knelt down and picked it up gently, a slip of paper falling out almost instantly which floated gracefully to the floor. Tezuka's eyes widened.
Tezuka sighed as he fell back in the chair. He had ended up staying back at school to finish a project and a few essays until pretty late. He put his arm over his eyes. He was considerably tired after all of that non stop work, but it was worth it. His computer had decided to die on him the other day, so he had no choice but to stay back and use the school computers instead.
"Ah, Tezuka-kun, everything in working order I hope?"
Tezuka jolted forwards in the chair. "A-ah, sensei."
The teacher smiled warmly, still positioned in the doorway of the classroom. "I think that's enough for tonight. Besides, you've been working a little too hard, I think, Tezuka-kun."
Tezuka nodded before piling his books on top of each other and putting his pen back into his pencil case.
"Have a good weekend!" The teacher shouted as he walked back out into the hall.
Tezuka concealed a yawn before feeling a slight vibration in his pocket.
Tezuka flew up the stairs and through the door. He stood panting, holding Ryoma's binder book as he stared at the Ponta killer's hunched form in the far corner of the roof. He approached the boy swiftly, kneeling down in front of him. "Echizen…"
Ryoma glanced up and spotted the book. "Give it back," he ordered, reaching his hand out with the means of snatching the book.
"No," Tezuka replied, dodging Ryoma's hand. "Tell me what happened."
"Give. It. Back," Ryoma bit out.
Tezuka's brows furrowed.
"I hate you. I fucking hate you!" He snarled.
Tezuka winced, like an abused puppy ready to be struck again.
"I hate how you hurt me!"
A flinch.
Ryoma gazed downwards. "…I hate how you made me love you," he said before wrapping his arms around Tezuka's waist and pulling him towards him roughly, making the older boy gasp.
He must have fallen asleep, Ryoma thought to himself as he spotted a familiar figure coming towards him in the corner of his eye. He vaguely recalled hanging up his mobile and going to lean against a brick wall of a building…but after that it was just blank.
"Echizen!" The figure shouted, rushing to him.
Ryoma closed his eyes.
Tezuka nestled into the warmth of the freshman's chest, finally submitting to the unrelenting hold of the boy. "Tell me what happened."
"No…" Ryoma said stubbornly, running his hand through the other's silky—yet tousled—hair idly.
"Echizen…"
Ryoma sighed. "They saw that piece of paper, made fun at me and called me derogatory names."
"They what?" Tezuka fumed, attempting to pull out of the freshman's grasp but failed. "E-Echizen!"
"Stay," he muttered simply, nuzzling into the brown hair he was previously running his hands through.
Tezuka's eyes softened. This boy, this kid, had been teased about his sexuality, had run out of the classroom upset and yet still bounced back. It was downright amazing. Surely he would break sometime…not that Tezuka wanted that.
"Tezuka-san."
Tezuka looked up from where he was sitting and saw a woman, most likely the doctor who had treated Ryoma's wounds. "Yes? How is he?"
"He'll be fine. He has a few bad bruises and cuts, but they should heal in time," the woman smiled empathetically.
Tezuka breathed a sigh of relief.
"Anou…are you his older brother perhaps?" The doctor asked, still smiling.
Tezuka downcast his eyes, it was a fair enough question for someone who didn't know either boy. Besides, she probably got the idea that 'Tezuka' was his given name. "A friend."
"Oh, pardon me," she said.
"It's okay…"
"He's asking to see you, Tezuka-san," she exclaimed.
The captain of the Seigaku tennis team got up wordlessly and followed the doctor into Ryoma's room.
"I'll leave you two then," the woman smiled once more before closing the door behind her.
Tezuka inclined his head slightly and then walked over to the bed where Ryoma lay. "How are you feeling?" He asked, sitting down into the chair next to him.
"Do you know why they attacked me?" The freshman asked calmly, avoiding looking at the third year completely.
Tezuka didn't reply.
"It was because I was gay. Said that they saw me kiss you," He answered himself, emotionless and unmoving.
Tezuka cringed. "Echizen…"
"Don't." Ryoma smiled suddenly, "Because I don't care. I don't give a flying fuck what they think."
Tezuka opened his mouth to speak, but was silenced by Ryoma's lips as he leaned over and pressed them against his own.
Next: : Part three: Wilt
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