The next day I went to school despite my moms wishes. It was Friday, I wouldn't get to go to school for the next 5 days since we had days off and I didn't want to miss any assignments. When I looked in the mirror that morning I was surprised to see I really only had a cut on my forehead. The rest of the bruises or scrapes were covered by my shirt. At least I wouldn't be asked all day what had happened.

"Sorry Shion, I really can't stay over. My great grandpa just died and me and my parents are going to a family gathering because of it all next week." Safu said, sitting next to me at the lunch table. She looked sad, she wanted to stay with me. Especially since I just got beat up the day before.

"Your great grandpa died? Oh I'm so sorry!" I couldn't take her away from that. Would my mom just have to decline?

"Oh it's fine, I didn't even know him. I don't even want to go. There's just going to be tears and hugging the whole time."

Safu took a bite of her sandwich.

"But does your mom really need someone staying with you in order for her to go?" She asked through a mouthful.

"Sadly, yes"

I stared at a biscuit on my tray. Safu took another bite of her sandwich.

"You know, Nezumi could just stay with you. Your mom leaves Sunday and gets back Saturday right? That's 6 days. I'm sure Nezumi wouldn't mind."

My eyes shot back up at her. Nezumi? Staying at my house? Living with me for a whole week? The idea made me excited.

"Do you think he could?" I asked The wanting in my voice didn't go unnoticed.

She looked at me sideways with a little snicker.

"Of course. Maybe while he's there you could ask him on a date."

At that an image of me and Nezumi holding hands at a movie passed my mind.

"A d-date?" It was true I finally had told myself I liked him but I still wasn't sure how. Was it just as a good friend? Or maybe...

"Of course a date. Seriously, you should ask him." She saw me pondering it. "And you know what, I'm gonna stop by your house today and give you some books."

I gave a little pout. "Not more of those Gray books, right?"

She laughed, "No, they're quite different, they don't have an 'r' in them."

She got up to throw her trash away, leaving me confused.

Later during my last class I asked Nezumi if he would stay over at my house while my mom was away. I ended up explaining the whole situation to him. Of course he had said yes.

I had a feeling next week was going to be great.

That day we walked home again. Mostly because I wanted to check on the puppies. They were in the same spot I had seen them yesterday. Still no mother.

"Do you know how far away the animal shelter is? I asked Nezumi while being attacked by the fur balls. He was leaning against the wall a few feet away.

"Not too far from where we're headed. Did you want to drop them off?" He asked, motioning his head to the pups.

I laughed as they pounced on me, almost knocking me down. "Yeah"

Me and Nezumi both carried two of them. I smiled at the way Nezumi would scrunch up his face every time one licked him. They sure were cute.

When we dropped them off it was hard to say good bye. I really wanted to take them home with me but we were renting a house and the owner sadly didn't allow pets. At least they'd find homes now.

"Well see ya Sunday." Nezumi said as we split up at the park.

"Yup, see ya"

I was so excited for him to come over. But what do you do for a whole week with someone?

When I opened my bedroom door I noticed that Safu had already come over to drop off the books she had mentioned. There were about ten sitting on my desk. As I went over I could see they had pictures on the front. Comic books? No, manga. I could see some Japanese writing on the front. Why did she want me to read these? I opened the one that was apparently the first of the series. It had two guys on the front page.

I sat on my bed and started reading. It seemed interesting. One guy was a doctor.

As I read on I got a weird feeling. Were these guys gay? Suddenly they were kissing. Really Safu? Why did she want me to read these. That alone, why did she have them? I read a little bit more. Things were starting to heat up. I could feel myself slowly sinking into the covers. I didn't want anyone to see me reading this. It was so wrong. But it was.. Interesting.

So that's how guys did it? I guess I had already known but I didn't really ever think how it would possibly feel.. Good. It certainly looked pleasurable in the manga.

I finished the first and reluctantly picked up the second.

"Shion, I'm home!"

I panicked and quickly hid the books under my bed as my mom walked in my room.

"How was today? You feeling fine?" She asked.

"Huh? Oh yeah, I'm fine." I reassured her. I still needed to tell her Nezumi was going to stay with me instead of Safu.

"Oh yeah, Safu is going to be gone next week so she can't stay here with me while you're in the city. But Nezumi can. Is that ok?"

The smile on her face grew bigger.

"Yeah! He seems like he'll take great care I you."

It was official. I would be spending the next week with Nezumi.

That night I pulled the rest of the manga's out from under my bed. I was almost afraid my mom would hear the sound of me turning the page. Why was I reading them anyway? I told myself it was just for information but didn't know if that was my only reason. Before I knew it I had finished all of them. Many times I had felt my pants grow a little tighter around me but I had waited for it to go away. I wasn't going to do that to myself unless I absolutely had to. Truthfully I had only ever jerked off a couple times in my life.

I went to bed around 3am that night.

It felt like forever till Sunday came. My mom left early in the morning and Nezumi would get here around lunch time.

"Love you Shion, have a good time!" She told me as she went out the front door.

"Love you!" I yelled out. She got to her car. We waved good bye till she turned the corner and I couldn't see her anymore. I walked back inside.

What were me and Nezumi even going to do for a week? We had school Thursday and Friday but we would be home the rest of the time. My mind drifted to the manga's that Safu had given me. There was a scene a lot like this in one of them. They had stayed over at each others house and then they-.. No. That kind of stuff wasn't going to happen between us. Sure I liked Nezumi but again I still wasn't sure how. Friend? No, it was a little different. Lover? Maybe but I didn't even know what he thought of me.

I sat on the couch and turned on the tv in our living room. There wasn't much on. I felt my eyes drifting closed. I hadn't gotten much sleep last night, maybe a little nap before Nezumi came would help.

"Wakey wakey, Shion" a voice whispered into my ear. Mom? I squinted my eyes open and slightly rubbed them. Nezumi stood behind the couch. Oh! He was coming over today. How long had I been asleep?

"Huh? Oh Nezumi, sorry, I guess I took a nap for longer than I thought."

Nezumi laughed and I realized there was a smell coming from the kitchen. Food? I looked out the window. The sun was slowly getting lower in the sky. It must of been around 5.

"I would of waken you when I got here but you were deep asleep. Rough night last night?" The gray eyed boy asked. I suddenly remembered the manga's and started to feel my cheeks get hot.

"A little." I told him as I looked away. The tv was turned off. Did Nezumi do that?

Suddenly a little whisper came right beside my ear.

"What on earth could you have been doing?"

I flushed redder and leaned back as the warm breath fanned across the side of my head.

"N-nothing!" I wanted to change topics. "Anyway what are you cooking? It smells great."

Nezumi gave me a little curious look then answered somewhat flamboyantly.

"My famous soup, wanna try it?"

I nodded and followed him to the kitchen. There were already two bowls on the table. Nezumi poured some in each.

"It's hot" he warned as he set a bowl back in front of me. I carefully got a spoonful and blew on it. The steam curled up into the air. I slurped it up.

"It's great!" I told the boy. He gave a little smile from across the table.

"It better."

Ten minutes later I had finished my second bowl and was super full. The soup in my stomach gave me a warm feeling all around. Where had Nezumi learned to cook so well? I realized I knew practically nothing about him.

"So what's your family like?" I asked.

He stopped moving his spoon for a second then quickly put it in his mouth, finishing the last bit.

"Why?" He asked

I tilted my head. "Because I don't know almost anything about you."

He grabbed our bowls and set them in the sink.

"It's small."

I knew from his expression he didn't want to tell me anything else but being me I kept going.

"Where do your parents work?" I asked. He turned around sharply and gave me a look. Was that personal?

"They don't." Was all he said as he walked out if the kitchen. They didn't work? How'd they make money then? I decided not to ask anything else for now. He seemed irritated.

As I walked out, I found the boy sitting on the couch in front of the tv.

"Do you wanna watch a movie?" He asked.

A movie? That sounded fun. I didn't have anything else planned so I sat down next to him on the couch. We were about a foot apart.

He grabbed the remote and switched through channels till he found some sci-fi movie. As he put the remote back down he reached over and grabbed me by the waist, pulling me closer to him. I let out a little surprised gasp.

"You don't need to sit so far away."

My heart jumped as I felt the side of my body press against him. How was I going to pay attention to the movie now? He slouched down into the couch a little bit to get more comfortable. His arm was still lightly hooked around my waist. It felt like I couldn't breath. He was so close to me. It was different then when he had hugged me on my bedroom floor. More... casual.

I took a little leap and rested my head on his shoulder. I could feel him stiffen up at my sudden movement but then he pulled me tighter to him. Did I really like him like that?

The movie ended to soon. We had stayed in the same position the whole time, not daring to move. Now the credits rolled and it started getting awkward. Should I move first? Would he take offense by that? We couldn't just stay here. But it was comfortable. I shifted slightly and pulled my head up. My neck was a bit sore.

"Well I guess I'll go shower." I told him.

Wait he was my guest. Should I let him shower first? But he waved me off.

"Ok."

I turned the water on the coldest I could stand it. My hair hung limp as it slowly became drenched. What was going on between me and Nezumi? We were just friends right? I admired him a lot. He saved my life before. He cared about me. He was a strong person. But I couldn't like him like that. We were both guys any way. I guess that kind of thing was getting pretty normal though. My mom wouldn't care if we got together. She'd probably love it knowing I found someone.

A couple minutes later I finished and went back to my room already dressed in pajamas. Nezumi was there. His suit case sat next to him on the floor.

"Oh good, you're out. I'm gonna go take a shower too." He stood up, a change of clothes were already in his hands.

"Ok. Towels are in there."

And he left.

I had completely forgotten about where he was going to sleep. He could take the couch. Maybe my moms bed across the hall. But his stuff was in here already. Should I pull out an air mattress? I decided to ask him once he was done.

I heard the water squeak on and felt little goosebumps. I shouldn't of taken such a cold shower. Now I was freezing. Especially now that it had been getting colder outside. I got under my covers to keep warm. A little while later Nezumi came out. His hair was out of his usual ponytail and now hung around his shoulders. He really did look like a girl in some ways. He was beautiful. Nezumi caught me looking at him. I tried to cover it up.

"Oh, where do you want to sleep? There's my moms room, the couch. I could pull out a-"

I got my answer of where he wanted to sleep as he turned off the lights and got in my bed. I could feel the mattress dip a little at the extra weight. He was sleeping here?

Nezumi managed to get under the covers and was now facing me.

"You don't mind, right?" He asked. His voice soft.

"Oh uh n-no, I don't mind"

To be honest I really didn't. This is what people did at regular sleepovers anyway right?

Nezumi put his arm around my back and brought us closer.

Ok maybe people didn't do this at sleepovers.

His face now rested barely an inch away from mine. The hand on my back found a little spot of skin that wasn't covered by my shirt and started rubbing circles. I had goosebumps everywhere and I knew he could feel it.

"You cold?" He asked quietly. His eyes were closed as I looked up at him.

"A-a little" I stuttered.

He continued to then tangle our legs together and draw even closer. His chin slightly pressed against my forehead. Well that was warmer. I struggled to make my body calm down. It was rigid and my heart beat was going like I was about to jump off a cliff.

His hand slid a little more up my shirt, making me shiver. But not because I was cold. His hand was actually very warm. Where he touched seemed to almost burn.

He sighed into my hair, making it ruffle a little.

We were... just friends right? Thats the only thing he thought we were, right? My mind wasn't so sure as we cuddled. After a few minutes my heart beat finally slowed and I became more relaxed.

He really was warm.

I slid my arms out from between us to get in a more comfortable position. They ended up lightly around him.

Now we were totally pressed together.

He nuzzled into me a little more then kissed my forehead.

That definitely wasn't just a friend thing. After my body finally calmed all the way down I was surprised to find myself falling asleep in Nezumi's arms. Maybe he was just the type of friend who liked to cuddle?

(Sorry guys, there wasn't as much nezushi action as I had wanted in this one. There was just too much other stuff I had to fit in. But it gets a lot better next chapter ;) Also sorry for typos. Hopefully there's not too many but my laptop recently broke and I've had to write this all on my phone.)