TBTO

Chapter 7

Disclaimer: No, I do not own Durarara

A.N.- The last two chapters I wasn't so satisfied with, so I may go back and redo them later; just a head's up

Warning! Stereotypical fluffy overload awaits you!

(Shizuo's POV)

"Okay so . . ., tell me what I'm doing here with you at an amusement park again?" Shizuo asked, as he casually walked beside his raven haired friend.

In all honesty, Shizuo really hadn't minded the short notice. Ever since the day the two had ate lunch together that day, and exchanged numbers, they'd become friends. Shizuo wasn't used to having friends, so it was almost strange being around Izaya at times. How should he act? How should he react to certain situations? He found himself asking himself these sorts of questions at times. Even so, most of the time anytime he asked himself these things; they would always play out naturally, no matter what he had planned.

It was natural that the two texted each other when they woke up and when they said "goodnight. It was natural that the two always ate together on the weekends. It was natural that Izaya would call Shizuo "Shizu-chan", just as it was natural that Shizuo would call Izaya "Flea." It had become nothing short of "their way". Shizuo found it strange how two strangers could become friends in such a short time period. He didn't understand how it happened or why he felt so . . . comfortable with being around him.

He felt like he could act himself. It was . . . something he'd always wanted. So why was Izaya special out of all people? He could never figure it out. They'd only known each other for little over a month, while Shizuo had known Shinra for years, and years, and years, and yet . . . he didn't quite get the same vibe around Shinra, that he got when he was with Izaya. Of course he'd never admit such a thing aloud . . .

Coming back to the conversation at hand, Izaya sighed at the question. "Because my sisters wanted me to take them here, and so to save my sanity, I thought it would be best to bring someone along to amuse me. That and, Shiki-san refused to go with me!" A visible pout crossed the younger's face.

Shizuo scratched the back of his head. "Yeah but . . ., isn't this the sort of place you'd take your girlfriend to instead? Especially since the twins already split up from us." 'And who is Shiki?' He thought to himself, puzzled.

Izaya opened his mouth to respond, but before any words could leave his lips, Shizuo cut in.

"You know what, never mind. The point is, next time I'm picking the place."

Izaya smirked. "Is is a date?"

But the blond hadn't heard, as he was instead standing and eyeing a cotton candy stand. Izaya grinned. "Ya know, for a grown man, you sure do have childish tastes. That stuff is so sweet, it's disgusting." Izaya grimaced, his nose crinkling up in distaste.

Shizuo rolled his eyes. "Tsk, and the crap fleas eat is supposed to be good? Whatever, I'm getting some." Before he could fish out his wallet, however, a hand stopped him, and pulled him away. "Not until we've ridden a few rides! We can get cotton candy later."

Not giving Shizuo the chance to complain, the younger man led him away by the arm, away from the sugary sweetness, and started heading towards what looked to be a-

Shizuo stopped dead in his tracks, yanking Izaya back by the sudden resistance. Confused and looking a little ruffled by the sudden dead stop, Izaya eyed Shizuo. "What's the matter?"

Shizuo's stare traveled from the rollercoaster, back to the inquiring man before him. "I don't like roller coasters." He said plain and simple, earning an incredulous look from the raven.

"You're afraid of roller coasters?"

Shizuo flushed. "I didn't say that! I just said I don't like them."

A suspicious look overcame his friend's face. "Aha! Well then . . ., I guess I'll just have to change your mind, right?"

Shizuo sweated a bit. "No thank you."

"Awe, why not? Are you . . . scared?" A challenging look crossed the raven, as he eyed Shizuo, carefully.

The conversation carried out in all of its stereotypical glory. First denial, followed by mockery, and ending up in a victorious peer pressure assault, as the hair dresser bullied his friend into riding one with him.

"Come on Shizu-chan~ You said it yourself that you aren't scared. Let's prove this then . . ., shall we?" Izaya purred, leaning close, so that he was hovering inches from Shizuo's face.

Shizuo was used to these sorts of tactics, and yet they still always embarrassed him. He assumed it was just Izaya's way of being intimidating, and yet it never failed to get under his skin.

Shizuo glared. " . . . Fine."

Shizuo felt like hurling. The last roller coaster the flea had dragged him on was the most dreadful experience of his life. Throughout the entire ride, he could feel himself stiff as a board, his pupils dilated on their own accord. Izaya on the other hand, appeared to be having the time of his life, especially at the point when they were suspended in mid air, faced with an inescapable drop. Shizuo had felt nothing but absolute, sheer terror in that moment, and all pride had jumped overboard, as his sweaty, clammy with nerves, hand met Izaya's in a vice grip. The raven had merely continued his maniacal laughter, although now with a slight wince at the pressure. Right as the screams reached their peaks of excitement, Shizuo's eyes had forced shut.

Now bent half way over in a dizzy spell on a bench, Shizuo felt his entire body was sore. The ride had not only been terrifying, but it curved and jerked you around mercilessly, and he was sure he would have a stiff neck and back for the rest of the day. How Izaya had managed to enjoy the ride, Shizuo would never know.

Standing over the blonde, the said male grinned innocently down. "Neh, Shizu-chan~ If you were so afraid of roller coasters, you should've just said so!"

Shizuo glared half heartedly up, but instead of seeing mischievous, twinkling crimson, he was met with a fluffy cloud of pink instead.

He blinked, staring at it.

"Well? Are you going to accept it or not?" The raven prompted, pushing the cotton candy into the debt collector's unsuspecting hands.

Shizuo stared for a bit, but eventually muttered a quiet "thank you", and took a bite of the sugary cloud, as his friend shrugged, and took a casual seating at his side. He didn't need to ask when he got the treat; they were right beside a vendor.

"So when are we meeting up with your sisters again?" Shizuo asked, pink cotton candy escaping out the corner of his mouth.

"Two hours from now," Izaya answered, fishing out his phone to confirm it.

"So . . . Shizu-chan."

Shizuo groaned, recognizing the tone of voice.

"What do you want?"

"Let's go on another roller coaster!"

Shizuo nearly choked at this statement.

"Hell no!" He glared pointedly into crimson pools.

"Please! Come on! What else is there to do here?" Izaya begged, childishly.

Shizuo blanched. "Oh I don't know . . ., hmm, let me think about that. Oh I know! Games, Farris wheel, something that doesn't jerk you around like your neck is going to snap off any minute, maybe?"

Izaya stared.

"How old are you? Four?"

Dodging a half hearted punch from the blonde, Izaya smirked. "I'm kidding! But can't we wait to do those things at the end at least? Just one more roller coaster, okay? Please? And I swear if you don't like it, we won't go on anymore. Promise!"

Shizuo took another bite of his cotton candy, glumly. Sighing, he consented, knowing Izaya would find a way to manipulate him into going anyways, otherwise.

"Fine . . . but ONE more. No more than that okay? One and ONLY one." Shizuo emphasized, sternly, earning a cheerful grin from the other, as he once again "promised" to do just that.

. . . That day Shizuo Heiwajima learned never to trust a promise from Izaya Orihara.

-Later-

"Really, Shizu-chan? A Ferris wheel? I can't believe this is the last ride we go on, before meeting up with my sisters. You're such a bore." Izaya insulted, sitting with a palm under his chin, propping his head up, as he stared into mocha eyes.

"Shut up, Flea. You promised I could chose the last ride. Besides this is relaxing, and so much better than those stupid roller coasters you dragged me on." Shizuo grumbled the last part, glaring softly.

Izaya smirked, deviously. "You liked them~" His raven strands encompassed his face, gently swooping about, as the wind cradled the pieces, the edges of his scarlet soaked v-neck flying out from his form, pulling up with each teasing cradle, the two synchronizing with ease. Shizuo having grown accustomed to Izaya's tastes by now, had learned that red was his favorite color. He wore so much of it that it made him wonder at times whether his friend owned any other color.

Shizuo glared, stubbornly. "I only liked the last one."

"Liar! You were smiling on the last three, if I remember correctly. Although on the ones before that, you kept crushing my hand. That hurt ya know~" Izaya teased, rubbing at his hand in mock discomfort. Shizuo growled, hiding his embarrassment.

Eyes slipping away from his, Izaya stared out around them, viewing the entire park.

"You know, I really love high places."

Shizuo blinked, staring wondrously at the sudden change in conversation. Before he could ask, the raven, as usual, carried the conversation.

"It's as if I can see everything! The people on the ground look so fragile, I feel like I could just step on them like ants~ It's . . . exhilarating! Having that sort of control over people . . ."

Shizuo swallowed. It seemed as if the raven's entire being had changed in an instant. His once joking, cheerful self, had now taken on a look of wild, sadistic, and almost . . . bitter . . . apparel. It was unarming, as if he were thinking aloud, rather than actually speaking in turn.

"You know . . . you're a very weird guy." Shizuo commented, his fingers twitching.

"Am I?" Izaya still had that distant look, his eyes slightly glazed.

Shizuo stared at him, but the raven didn't seem to notice. Sighing, he brought a hand to his chest, and slipped a hand inside the pocket that resided there. Pulling out the contents, he attempted to pull out a cigarette, but was quickly intercepted.

"Ah!" Gasping, he gazed quizzically from the hand connecting from his hand that grasped the pack of cigarettes, to the owner of the other hand. Suddenly it was as if those crimson orbs had never left his own, and the typical Izaya was back.

Shizuo blinked. Had he imagined the sudden distance?

"Don't smoke. It's bad for you. Besides, I hate the smell."

Shizuo paused, staring intently into the younger's face, as if looking for a trace of any past feelings, but found none. He was sure it had been there though; he was sure.

Shrugging, he grumbled, but complied.

Stopping at the top of the Ferris wheel now, the two were suspended in silence.

"Is it true that you really don't have a girlfriend?"

The question was so sudden, it almost surprised him. He didn't know why. Izaya was always unpredictable. Rolling his eyes, Shizuo answered.

"Yeah, it's true. Why is that so hard for you to believe?"

With a cat like grin, Izaya leaned forwards, staring, observing, gauging his reaction; it was almost as if he were forcing Shizuo's thoughts into a trap, as he came dangerously close to him.

Shizuo didn't falter though, he didn't back down. He recognized these antics; he knew the game. It was a challenge. Izaya enjoyed a sense of superiority over others, and Shizuo would not yield, even if it did embarrass him.

"I don't know-", Izaya's voice came out in a purr, "-maybe it's because you're so interesting . . ."

He paused, as if to monitor Shizuo's reaction, "-or maybe there's another reason."

Grinding his teeth, Shizuo forced down a blush. Izaya didn't mean anything by it, he only wanted to trip Shizuo up; Shizuo knew this, yet the raven's disarming ways was something that was near impossible to keep up with at times; hard to defend against.

"I always get this vibe about you; it's like you're hiding something . . . and I want to know what." By now the raven was towering over the blonde, their faces so close, that Shizuo felt breath against his lips, that was not his own. Once again he was taken back to the memory of that day on the couch when they first ate together. Immediately, he dismissed the thought. 'Of course not! He's just being his usual weird . . . flea self.'

"Tsk, like you can talk. Hypocrite." He snarled in defense, not pulling away in the slightest, despite his discomfort.

A gentle smile graced his lips at the call out. It didn't reach his eyes.

"My Shizu-chan~ I have no idea what you're talking about. No secrets here." As if to support his claim, the high school student put up both hands, as if in surrender; see through.

Shizuo glared, eyeing those crimson pools down, as if urging them to submit silently, and to admit. Admit? To what exactly?

Their hands brushed against each other, their faces so close, that their foreheads almost touched. Neither seemed to notice.

Then, out of the blue, a cell phone went off. The sound shocked the both of them. Their lips met in shock.

Eyes widening, Shizuo's face dusted pink, and he quickly backed away, staring, mouth agape at the raven. It wasn't a kiss. Their lips didn't mold together, to gentle caress one another, they didn't taste each other; it was a simple accident. They merely brushed against each other, the most casual of touches, so soft, that it was almost unnoticeable, like when one's arm brushes against another arm, when trying to get through a busy crowd. Even so, Shizuo's face felt heated.

Izaya on the other hand, although surprised, didn't seem to be bothered by it. No trace of red sprinkled his face. He blinked. The ringing continued, and he took out his cell phone from his pants pocket, and answered.

It was the twins.

They came back to the ground; the ride at its end.

Shizuo couldn't erase his expression.

'What just happened?'

A.N. -

I ADORED this chapter. I felt like I was drowning in fluff :'D

I worry I made them kind of ooc however, which is something I hate, but maybe it's just because the type of fic this is, that they come off that way. What do you all think?

Constructive Criticism? (Won't take offense). No flames though!

Lastly, the rating will be going up to M next chapter; just a head's up!