Chapter 10.

Yanagi says he has something to talk to them about, so the band meets up with Yanagi and Yukimura after school. Jackal kisses Aiko good-bye, wishing her luck on her studying, before the band and the two boys head the opposite way to a cheap diner. The restaurant smells like fried food that will kill them in a matter of seconds. They sit in the largest booth and order milkshakes and copious amounts of food while they wait for Kato to show up.

"So what do you need to tell us about, Yanagi-senpai?" Urayama asks with milkshake over his face. Yukimura laughs softly and hands him a napkin. "Oh, thanks!"

"We'll wait for Kato," Yanagi says.

"She just walked in the door," Urayama says.

When he finishes the last word, Kato slides into the booth next to Urayama, stealing Marui's milkshake and Jackal's fries. Marui shouts and Jackal rolls his eyes; he's used to this sort of treatment from Marui and her. Kato looks at Yanagi expectedly, then frowns and looks at the rest of the table.

"Where's Hat?" Kato asks. "Isn't he a parasite that's always with you two?"

"He's at kendo club," Yukimura says. "I can let him know you missed him."

"For the love of all that is good and holy, Girly, don't even joke about something that gross."

Yukimura smiles in response. His smile has always bothered her. She always thought it was fake. Back when they first met through Yanagi, and later began hanging out because she was roped into Marui and Jackal's band, she saw more and more of that smile. It bothered her when her depression was untreated more than now, but sometimes it makes her uneasy. It makes her second guess whether they're friends, and that leads to a downward spiral of negative thoughts.

Kato taps a beat with her foot, pushing the bad thoughts away. She shoves fries into her mouth.

"Since you're all here, I think I can show you know." Yanagi reaches for his bag under the table, pulling his laptop from his bag, and after several seconds of typing, he turns the screen to show them a twitter account called ZtH_official.

"Please tell me this is a joke," Kato says.

"Two hundred fifty seven followers?" Jackal reads. "When did you make this?"

"Earlier this week," Yanagi answers.

Marui takes the laptop from Yanagi and reads over what posts have been made. Contact info for the band, info about their CDs and where to buy them, and who does what in the band. It's basic so far, which makes the follower count even more impressive.

"Also, we're printing another three hundred CDs," Yukimura adds kindly. "Plus another one hundred of the old ones."

"Yes, I forgot to mention that," Yanagi says. "Akaya's friends have sold out at their schools, and newer fans want the old CDs. Kato also mentioned something about selling more at her school."

Kato nods. "Yeah. Some girls in my chem class are bugging me for them and I'm out of copies."

Yukimura smiles and reverts topics. "It was my idea—the twitter account, I mean."

"Technically, it was Krewella's," Yanagi says. "She complains quite a bit about how the band doesn't have a website. This was much easier."

Yukimura goes on, "I thought Marui could post lyrics, and you could post videos of practices or older songs you've done over the years. I know that I have a few videos of you on my phone from junior high that may be worth sharing. I thought it would be nice since the fan base is growing."

"I like it," Urayama says. "Kenta and I make videos together all the time but have no way to share them." Oyama nods in agreement.

"I think my dad has some of our older shows and practices on a flash drive somewhere," Jackal says. "Marui, don't you have that box under your bed with old lyrics and videos?"

Marui doesn't like to think about that box. He nods and blows a bubble.

Yanagi waits for them all to finish, then says, "I posted contact information, and someone has gotten in touch with me about doing an interview with you. The woman is a university student majoring in communications who's doing an internship with Jaeger Bombs."

"First the Circus, now Jaeger Bombs?" Jackal says, grinning at Yanagi and Yukimura. "You guys are good. You have to let us pay you."

"Are you serious, Bowl?" Kato asks. "Because if you're fucking with me, I will fuck you up."

Jaeger Bombs is a magazine for rock, pop punk, and indie bands. It's not a name brand magazine, but it has a large fan base and circulates around most of the region. Kato gets the issue every month. She's learned about half the bands on her iPod from Jaeger Bombs.

"Nothing is official," Yukimura says. "But we're working on it. We'll let you know."

Urayama is bouncing in his seat. Kato doesn't even seem put off that nothing is official, like just the idea is enough to keep her happy for a year. Marui grins and blows a bubble, finally at a loss of words. Maybe Jackal has a point. They should pay these guys.

"This is fucking awesome and all, but I'm starving and am gonna get some food," Kato says. She gets out of the booth. Urayama slides out after her, following her up to get another strawberry milkshake.

Marui takes back his milkshake and Jackal's fries, but doesn't give them to Jackal.

"Dude," Jackal says.

"What?" Marui says. "I'm hungry."

"And I thought Niou stopped stealing your snacks," Yukimura says.

It's true. A week or two ago, Marui's snacks stopped disappearing around the same time Niou broke up with Yagyuu. Marui never caught Niou in the act, but this is the same Niou who was able to pick Marui's pocket and put his number on Marui's phone, all without Marui realizing. Marui doesn't assume anything about what Niou Masaharu is capable of at this point. Marui texted him last night about it, but Niou denied the entire thing.

"Yeah, but I'm still hungry," Marui says. "I'm a growing boy."

Jackal rolls his eyes.

They eat, laughing at bad jokes, and talk more about the interview Yanagi mentioned. Kato complains about her lab partner who refuses to do their fair share of work, and Yanagi brings up universities. Marui jumps in, tosses fries at Urayama when he gets too excited over the interview, and downs another milkshake.

An hour passes and Kato swears when her phone buzzes. "Holy mother fucking shit fuck."

"Well, then," Yukimura says, smiling.

"What's wrong?" Oyama asks.

"I was supposed to see Krewella ten minutes ago; she just texted me asking if I died," Kato says. "Apparently she found this ten year old brat, some kind of prodigy or something—she's teaching him drums. She's showing me a new timpani she got, then the three of us are gonna have a jam session."

"You should record a video and post it online," Yanagi says.

"You really aren't gonna let this whole twitter thing go, are you, Bowl?" Kato laughs. She grabs her school bag and stands. "I'll see you guys tomorrow for practice."

"We'll talk about getting you a supply of CDs to sell later in the week," Yanagi says.

Kato nods and heads out, flashing them a peace sign when she turns her back to them.

.

Urayama and Oyama go to meet up with Kirihara, Yukimura and Yanagi go to Sanada's to hang out and study, Jackal's goes to his family restaurant for his shift, and Marui goes to Ren's. He sits outside of her house on the curb, waiting for her to come home from her afternoon volleyball practice. While he waits, he chews on his gum and texts Niou. His phone buzzes with a new message and he smiles, quick to reply.

who does the violin in the acoustic of neverland?

Urayama.

the guitar player?

And keyboard.
Oyama is main guitar.

what else can he play?

Ukelele, cello, and something else.
I think he's learning percussion from Kato.

hot damn

Did you seriously just say that?

yeah

Marui grins stupidly at his phone. He's so distracted by his pointless conversation with Niou that he doesn't see Ren approach. He doesn't notice her until she's leaned down behind him, her lips pressed against his ear, and says, "Your booty call has arrived."

Marui tilts his head to the side and kisses her without hesitation. It feels natural and he knows where her lips are from every thinkable angle. Her hair is still wet from her after practice shower, and she doesn't have make up on, and her lips are dryer than usual. He feels her hand thread into his hair and gently tug him back.

"Let's go inside," she says. "I don't want my neighbors asking my mom if I have a boyfriend. That will lead to way too many questions that I don't want to answer."

Marui jumps to his feet, shoves his phone into his pocket, and follows her inside and upstairs to her bedroom. She locks her door even though her parents don't come home until later, and drops her bag on the floor next to his. She runs a hand through her damp hair, somehow makes it look like the hottest thing in the world, and smiles at him. He swallows thickly, blood running hotter than before, and approaches.

Marui puts his hands on her hips and kisses her deeply. Her arms wrap around his neck, her skin hot against his neck, and raises to the tips of her toes to kiss him. They kiss and laugh and move to the bed, stripping their outermost layers as they go until she's straddling him in her underwear and kissing his neck.

His head spins at the feeling of her breasts pressed against his chest, and how her muscled thighs feel against his hips, how she plants herself right over his groin because she knows it drives him crazy. How many times have they done this? Marui doesn't know and neither does his body. Ren's body is familiar to his and his body knows what to do before his mind does.

Her skin is hot, her mouth is hotter. His hand cups the back of her head as she moves down his body with purpose. She kisses his nipples playfully and he says, "Yours are better."

Ren sits up, resting on his stomach and tossing her hair over her shoulder. "You're right," she agrees, and reaches down to twist her sports bra over her head, leaving her in cotton underwear. The fabric feels wet against his stomach. He fingers at the elastic waist, teasing, before sliding his hands up her sides to cup her breasts. She sighs when he fondles them, hums when he flicks at the nipples, and moans when he sits up to kiss them.

"Bunta," she says, holding the back of his head as he licks, nips and sucks at her nipples and the soft curve under her breast. She ruts into his groin, her hips moving and building a rhythm. "Touch me."

He reaches down, rubbing his fingers over her underwear.

"You're going to be the death of me," he says. He slides his hand beneath her underwear, feeling coarse hair and sinful heat, and teases her clit. She tilts his head back to kiss him. He moans, "Fuck, you're really wet."

"Then do something about it, Bunta."

The way she says his name drives him crazy. He wonders how his name would sound coming out of Niou's mouth. He kisses her again to push that thought away.

He dips his fingers into her, curling them just right as he flicks his thumb over her clit. The angle is awkward and it hurts his wrist when he moves his hand and fingers, but it's worth it to hear her moan, broken and ragged with pleasure. He loves watching her reach her peak, loves going down on her and feeling her thighs hold his head in place, loves watching her come.

"Just like that," she says. "Fuck, Bunta, don't stop."

"I don't plan to," he replies with a cocky grin.

He knows just where to touch her to drive her insane. He doesn't tease and he doesn't wait. He curls his fingers up inside of her and presses down on her clit with his thumb, rubbing in firm circles that make her body shake and muscles tense everywhere. She clutches at his fingers but he doesn't stop moving them. Her hips roll against his, and he uses his other hand to gently still her, rubbing his thumb along her jutting hip bone.

He kisses her, pressing his tongue against hers. She keens into his mouth, hips rocking against his hand as she squeezes and releases around his fingers. She moans and whines and gasps, panting when her orgasm has finished and he pulls his fingers from the confines of her underwear. Instead of wiping them clean on the sheets, he sucks on his fingers until they're wet with spit instead of her.

"You know, I've heard a lot of guys hate going down on girls," Ren says hotly against his cheek. She pecks his cheek as he runs his hands up and down her sides, occasionally brushing her breasts. She shakes slightly, oversensitive.

"Those guys don't know what they're missing," he replies, smiling. She rolls her eyes, turns to kiss him on the mouth, and pushes her weight against him until he falls back against the pillows.

He kisses her until he loses track of time, until she isn't shake with the after waves of her orgasm. Her hair seems to knot around his fingers.

She crawls down his body, kissing his chest and stopping at the waist of his underwear. She grins up at him, face flushed and lips wet, and tugs down his boxers. He raises his hips to help. She frowns for a moment when she sees his length, half-hard against his thigh. She doesn't frown for long, though, and takes his erection in her hand, working it up and down with a confident grip. The glide isn't as smooth without the usual pre-cum.

"Do you want me to use lube?" she asks, looking up at him. "Doesn't this hurt? Or I could grab a condom and blow you."

"No, this is fine."

Marui turns his face into her pillow, adjusting his hips as she keeps working him. He can smell her on her pillow and sheets, and it makes him dizzy. Her hand is firm and strong, and it has gotten him off countless times just like this, but something is wrong and it isn't the lack of desire. He wants this. He wants her. He just wishes her hand were larger, her fingers slimmer and longer.

"Bunta?" she says, stopping, thumb brushing his balls and rubbing the base of his cock. "You're limp."

Marui props himself up on his elbows. Ren's breasts are hanging against her chest, and he can see a stain in her underwear, and his fingers still smell like her. But she doesn't smell like pot and male brand soap, and she doesn't have large hands like Niou, and her jawline is softer than the face in his head. Her brown eyes look at him and it feels wrong. This feels wrong.

"Sorry, I just —" Marui falls back down into the pillows and covers his face with his hands to hide his embarrassment.

Ren releases him completely and comes to kneel next to him. She gently guides his hands away from his face and he looks at her.

"What's wrong?" she asks. "Getting me off usually turns you on."

"I know," he says, groaning because he even tasted her and that's usually enough to get him hard without any physical contact. "And it's not you. You're beautiful, Ren, and so damn sexy right now, but I'm just not in the mood."

"You were when you were getting me off." Ren frowns. "What's on your mind? You haven't been this strung up since we first got together."

There's no judgement in her voice, just concern and friendly curiosity. She isn't teasing him because he can't get it up, and she isn't disappointed. It reminds him of their first few times together, when he had never been with anyone and had no idea how to get her off. She was always so kind. That's what he loves about her.

He looks at her, and he thinks of white hair, of facial piercings, of a deep throated laugh that makes him think in rose colored glasses.

"There's a guy," he says, smiling at the thoughts in his head. "Niou."

"The new kid? The one who broke up with Yagyuu?"

"Yeah."

"If you're asking for a threesome, I'd be up for that," Ren says. Her breasts move with her shrug. "I've always wondered how you'd look with another guy."

Marui almost laughs. "No," he says. "I'm not asking for that. I think I like him… A lot."

"Tell me about him." Ren moves his hair out of his face, gently touching his face with light lingering touches, and he wants to reach up and return her touch but he doesn't. She says, "Besides that he's a hot jackass."

Marui finally laughs, any tension he had leaving his body. He remembers calling Niou that on his first day.

"He gets my music, really gets it," Marui says. "Sometimes he'll give me his headphones during lunch so we can listen to music together, and he listens to these great bands I've never heard of. He's got all these piercings in his ears and face, and I sometimes I think that he forgets he's taken them out because he'll feel his ears or go to adjust them when there's nothing there."

Marui turns onto his side, pressing half his face into a pillow and wishing it smelled like him. "And he smells like spice and smoke," Marui goes on. "We got high together in detention together. I think he smokes when he gets anxious. He smiles a lot when he smokes. And his voice. God, Ren, his voice."

"Is it nice?"

"It's a perfect pitch. He can say my lyrics and it sounds like he's singing. It's that nice." Ren smiles, continuing to play with his hair. He says, "He's smart, too. He got a better grade than me on the last test. He finishes before everyone else and just sits in his chair until someone else is done. And you know how I said he was stealing my snacks?"

"Yeah."

"He stopped about two weeks ago. I wonder if he likes sweets, or if he did it to piss me off. I texted him and asked the other day, and he denied the whole thing. Did I ever tell you that he picked my pocket when we were high and put his number in my phone? He texts me about music and stupid shit, and we pass notes in class about how boring lecture is. He's so damn funny—smart funny, you know what I mean?"

"He sounds awesome," Ren says.

He is, Marui thinks. Ren doesn't say anything else, waiting for him to say something, because it's obvious that there's more he has to say and it's not about Niou anymore. This is more serious than love-sick teenage girl small talk.

"I was so happy when I found out he broke up with Yagyuu, because it means he'll date a guy and he's single," Marui says. He swallows. It sticks in his throat. Suddenly he knows what he needs to do. "So I don't think we should see each other anymore. Not like this, at least."

Part of Marui wants her to say something, to say something that will make him give up on Niou and stay with her. Ren has been there for nearly two years now, longer than anyone else he's ever been involved with, and he loves her. He doesn't love her romantically, but he may be able to, if she wants him to. He'd do anything for her after what she's done for him.

She smiles in a way that makes his chest tight.

"Okay," she says, and it's like a damn has broken inside Marui. He smiles, relieved, and she goes on without pause, "So long as I can still booty call you for homework help, or to order pizza on Friday nights."

"I'd like that."

Ren smiles like the sun. It's cheesy, but true. She bends down, her hair falling like a curtain, and kisses his cheek slowly for several long seconds. Marui closes his eyes and breathes in her apple shampoo; he can imagine the scent of her missing cherry lipgloss. She pulls back, still smiling, and reaches over him for her bra.

"Wanna watch a movie together?" Ren asks. She grabs his underwear, tossing them onto his face. "I'm avoiding my homework."

"Sure." Marui takes the boxers off his face, tugging them on. She gets out of bed and he watches as she gets dressed in front of him for what will probably be the last time. He hugs a pillow, watching her walk around the room, and smiles.

They dress and watch an indie movie and talk about university. Ren wants to go into physical education, maybe major in exercise science and coach volleyball. Marui tells her about his plans to major in cinematography, and talks about he's been wanting to learn how to write score music for movies. Marui is on a long winded speech when he gets a text from Niou.

did you die or something?
you never replied

Marui gets the biggest, dumbest smile.

Sorry. Something came up.
What were we talking about?
Oh yeah. You said hot damn like a loser.

Marui holds his phone in his hands, waiting for Niou to respond, and looks to Ren, who asks for help on her homework. His phone buzzes quicker than he was expecting and he grins. Ren rolls her eyes.

He's more than okay with this, and he knows that she is too.