07 Looks
"You sure this is okay?" A dirty blond haired muttered as he glanced outside the window. Through his glasses, his trained observing brown eyes watched the back of a female figure slowly walking towards the front gate, carrying two bags along with her; one dangling by her side, the other one on her back. His short dirty blond hair lays flat on his head as the bangs swayed right ways. "Hyuuga is alone at the gate, just so you know," he added, eyes not leaving the retreating figure of the oddly colored haired girl.
"Rather than that, Tobita," a spiky blonde haired waved his hand dismissively in the air as he placed his chin on his desk, staring at the phone screen his other hand was holding in front of his face. "We have another important matter here," he continued, "you guys sure this is the right place that she mentioned?" He motioned for his phone. "Cus this doesn't look like right."
A pair of slit eyes brown haired snickered. "Damn right it doesn't sound right." He didn't look up from his phone. He tried to pay his full attention on the game he was playing and it looked like he nearly won. He drew his fingers on his phone screen and deliberately tapped the poor screen forcefully a few times while biting his lower lips, concentrating. He then furrowed his brows when his avatar got hit despite his effort of avoiding it. "What kind of people would name their shop Tamago? It doesn't sound right from the start," he mumbled.
Looking at his disinterested friend over the current issue at hand right now by his side, Koko frowned. He straightened up his back and smack Kitsu's hands, disrupting his game. Kitsu cursed, "Fuck man, don't touch me!" He then slammed his fingers on the screen harder than before and his furrows gotten deeper. "If I lost this game, imma slam your head on the table, Yome. I'm not joking here, man," he threatened with a hiss, eyes glued on the screen.
A blonde haired with blue eyes laughed. "Don't irritate him, Yome. It's online ranked so he can't pause. I don't wanna watch WWE live in front of me here later on." He shook his head when he saw Koko scoffed. He placed his bag on his desk and leaned back on his seat. "So? What did you found when you googled the place?"
"Oh right," Koko unlocked his phone again after it had dimmed and locked by itself before. He showed Ruka the screen. "It's a bar." He dragged his finger and swapped to the next picture where it showed the entrance of the place with a small handmade name plate hanging on the door. "It's opened only recently. Just last week I think."
Ruka nodded his head in understanding as he looked at the pictures. "No wonder I've never heard of the place before." He looked at other landmarks around the shop. "Ah that's why we didn't see the shop last week either even when we always passed by the shoplots near the station," he realized and added, "It's down back in the alley next to that famous pastry shop." And since none of them guys favored sweet things, they did not go near the pastry shop before, he mentally added. Hence the reason they had never went down the alley next to it. "So, what's the problem here then?"
Koko blinked. Did these people not hear what he had said? "It's a bar," he reminded in an as-matter-of-fact tone like he had not previously mentioned that statement before. "And we're all underage." He gave this 'Duh' face to his friends.
Yuu quirked an eyebrow and taunted, "Says a person who spiked the drinks at Shouda's party few years ago." The corner of his lips curled up and he turned away in attempt to regain control of his facial features.
Koko's mouth sagged into a frown upon remembering of the whole stupid incident. He sighed and buried his face on the table. "Don't remind me of that, Tobita. Ugh I was already drunk by the time I realized what I was doing." He then shuddered remembering the aftermath of his idiotic acts; which involved a certain pissed off raven haired female. "Imai came chasing me down the day after and in my hungover state, I only remembered begging for my life after that. As stupid as I am, I don't want to mess with her again." He turned his head around and gave Ruka a look. "Your wife scared me shitless at that time."
"She sometimes scared me too," Ruka admitted honestly with a shrug but then he smiled softly and muttered with his eyes looking warm, "Either ways, I'm hooked, man. There's no way out of this already." He widely grins like he had won the most treasured world cup ever.
Koko made an extra effort to openly roll his eyes at his friend's love statement. Upon hearing that, Kitsu scoffed as he put down his phone. He had won the game and his rank has leveled up too; he's overall content for now. He stretched his body around and popped his knuckles before planted his chin on his palm and stared at his blonde friend. "You're whipped for the girl, that's what you are, idiot Nogi."
"Well, I found that admirable," Yuu commented with a warm smile. He glanced outside the window again and found that Mikan Sakura was already at the gate, talking to Hyuuga. He's quite curious of them two, if he had to admit. His gaze lingered a second longer upon the two when they looked so normal conversing to each other on god knows what. He would rather like to know what they were talking about. He didn't particularly like being nosy and he wasn't one to begin with. However, Natsume Hyuuga and Mikan Sakura's current state of relationship is what interest him—and most likely the rest of the school as well—the most at this current time. He's intrigued even. Their relationship's odd progress was interesting right from the start, since their development suddenly existed out of nowhere and nobody were able to figure out their history.
"Since Nogi here has always been the loyal one since day one out of all of us," he continued while looking outside the window. He silently raised his eyebrows in bewilderment when he saw a silver-haired lad suddenly spun around when he had neared the front gate and changed his direction heading back towards the school ground. He was in a rush too. Yuu viewed the whole thing questioningly.
"Nonetheless, you're no better than us in that department, Tobita," Koko countered with a slight irritation like Yuu had somehow insulted him on his love life. He knew he had a horrible one, that's why he's bitter about it.
"I won't refute that." Yuu turned his head around and grinned with shrewdness, acting like he had not just witnessed a weird family drama outside the window of his class from the third floor. He pulled himself from the window and pulled a chair next to Ruka before sitting down. "So what's the issue with the place? Sakura recommended it so I think it's fine."
"Ah I think I could guess what Yome is trying to say here," Kitsu cut in. "Despite his stupid act, spiking the drink last time," he grinned cunningly as he provoked Koko and heard his constant complaint at the back in respond, telling him to stop reminding him of the horrible incident. "It's a bar and we're underage so we can't simply enter the premise as simple as that." He paused and tilted his head a little, thinking. "Is Sakura fully aware that that egg is a bar?"
Koko smacked Kitsu's leg. "Say the name properly, Akeshi. It's Tamago."
"It's the same thing, man." Kitsu rolled his eyes as he rubbed his leg. "Anyways, she's telling us to go ahead first since she has something to do with Horan but can we enter the place just like that since we're underage?" He paused again when a thought suddenly popped inside his mind. "Wait, if she recommends a bar, does that mean Sakura also drinks?"
Koko shook his head. "I doubt it man. Imai went berserk," he paused and looked at Ruka before hastily added, "no offense to your wife," and continued "after she found out about the drink that I spiked since it got Sakura drunk. Sakura can't hold her liquor it seems."
"Then why a bar?" Kitsu's shoulders sagged against his seat, thinking hard like he's trying to solve why world war I happen in the first place. "We could always go to a family restaurant like we did before or McDonalds." He then mumbled under his breath of how he likes the Big Mac and how good it tasted.
Ruka, who had returned his attention back to the phone, now continued swiping the photos relating to the place he found on Google. His finger halted and he blinked, now staring at this one particular photo. "Seems like she and Horan know the people there," he announced. He turned the phone around and showed his friends the photo. On screen was a group photo of six to seven people with both Sakura and Horan together infront of the store. Narumi Anjou was there as well. A look of surprise passed his friends' faces.
Ruka heaved a sigh as he remembered what a certain silvered haired boy told him regarding his two brothers. Nevermind that, he had also met the person himself, Persona. Till this day, he still had time digesting the fact that Rei Serio is the other eldest brother because everything looked so surreal. In addition to their characters as siblings that don't match up to each other. He placed the phone on the table and picked up his bag. "Now that it settles, let's get going then."
Koko picked up his phone and pocketed it, not before he pushed the lock button. He looked at the watch and muttered, "but it's still early though?" Nonetheless, he went back to his seat to pick up his bag. The rest of the guys followed suit.
"Let's just go to the konbini first." He felt like drinking something cold. Really cold.
As he waited at the door, he looked at Kitsu who was still packing his bag. He had the furthest seat compared to them all; almost close to the front rows. Koko who joined him at the door, seeing him, he snickered. "You sure you're good with your seat, man?" He teased.
"Don't bring it up again, Yome," he barked. He picked up his bag. As he headed towards the door, he continuously glared at his friend. "I dug my own grave, I know so stop pushing it, man."
Yuu chuckled. "I kinda understand why you said you're doomed either ways." He remembered the scene few hours ago where Kitsu raised his hand and voluntarily offered Horan to switch their seats together. "But I never took you as someone who has inferiority complex over their looks."
Kitsu clicked his tongue in irritation. "Shut up, Tobita." He sighed. "if you have my face, you would be thinking the same thing too." He suddenly felt his vein throbbing at his temple. "What the hell is wrong with today's seat shuffling?" He spat out, jaw clenching. "I had the worse luck today, I'm telling you!" He stuck out his chin defiantly and wrinkled his nose. "You have no idea how tortured both my mind and my emotion during the first 5 minutes after the seat change." He then frowned when he recalled it.
They had a seat shuffling today. No surprise in that because it happened every month. Well the joy in that was, Kitsu's luck was good at first; he drew a good number and got a good seat. Not exactly next to the window but the seat next to it. It was good enough since it's in the second row from the back too. And he got Ruka sitting diagonally behind him. He thought the sky was smiling down on him. As the process continued, Natsume got the seat directly behind him after that. He thought his luck was truly the best today and god was blessing him from above. He got two of his friends sitting close to him. He was expecting to fully enjoy the remaining of the semester in good mood.
But then when only a few seats were left, the one next to him which is next to the window, finally got its new owner. Him and his new seat partner were previously in the same circle of friends. So he was okay about it at first because he didn't think much yet of the whole thing but as five to seven minutes passed after the whole process of seat shuffling ended and class started, the whole thing finally registered in his mind and he suddenly became aware. Following that, he found himself tensed up and his mood abruptly turned sour. He mentally frowned. He just noticed how the whole picture of his surrounding looked like now. Imagining the whole thing inside his mind, he's emotionally scarred.
"I looked like a fried squid," Kitsu muttered under his breath as he covered his face with both of his palms. He felt dreadful remembering it. "Damn it, I never felt that low about my looks before." He snapped his attention and glared at Ruka. "It's all because of your genetics!" He huffed exasperatedly with a deadpan look on his face—which really, didn't match up at all. Ruka looked at him, blinking and confused at his accusation.
"Well I guess having Mikan Sakura as your new seat partner really blows out things for you," Koko snorted. "Both Hyuuga and Nogi at your back and Sakura next to you. If you were a ship, you'll be a sinking ship in a Bermuda Triangle of Visuals."
Kitsu gave Koko a dejected look with his downcast eyes. "You understand right, what I had to go through if I stayed in that seat?" All of a sudden, the air around him somehow became melancholy when his face showed a sad expression. Yuu had imagined Kitsu would definitely put a sad mournful song as his background right now if he could. "The whole picture is wrong. With me there, I had the tendency to think that I ruined the whole visual thing going on in that corner of our class."
He became conscious that he had somehow entered the frame of the good-looking ones when and if he sat there. He didn't hate it but at the same time, he didn't like it either because he knew he honestly felt like a fish out of water. He knew where he stood with his appearance. The three of them were the visuals and him sitting there was like a potato. Not even those sexy looking French fries in advertisement that got people drooling over but just… a potato. His self-confidence dropped immediately.
Hence the reason he voluntarily offered his seat to the new guy, Horan.
But then, Horan's former seat wasn't good at all. It's near to the front and it's far from where his friends sat. Kitsu knew he's screwed either ways. So he chose not to torture both his mind and emotion and went for the seat exchange. At least his new seat only tortured him mentally. Horan looked pleased with his new seat, Kitsu, on the other hand, wasn't.
They left the class and headed for the stairs. "I got it bad because of Sakura, y'know," Kitsu mumbled, still continuing his nonsense talk. He walked behind Ruka and Yuu with Koko beside him. "Hyuuga and Nogi are good looking, I'm fully aware of that from day one but I didn't feel bad about my looks before," he babbled on. "But then Sakura came back, serving looks; looking like she had just jumped in a pool of collagen like she just resigned from working with a Brazil modelling magazine or something like her looks feel sorta unreal, y'know what I'm saying?" He gave Koko this long stare that's telling him to agree with what he was saying and Koko did nod his head, despite not wanting to. He began taking out his earphone from his pocket and slowly put on in his right ear. The left one continued listening to Kitsu's never ending prattle.
"Right?" He continued walking and continued on, rambling. They were now out of the school building and heading towards the gate. "I was fine sitting near you three before. Sakura was nice looking before this, not too plain but just nice to one's eyes, but now, her beauty is oddly and strikingly eye-catching and her aura somehow had changed and that kinda hit me that she's extremely attractive. And sitting next to her scared me shitless." He was so focused on telling his story that his hand movements were all over the place. "And Horan too, he's another abnormal case. He's too good-looking that it's scary." Kitsu shook his head, thinking back to the first time he saw the new guy appearing in class. "Putting you four together, made us mere mortals look uglier than a bunch of gnomes."
Ruka laughed. "Don't you think you're aggregating the whole thing?" Cus they all think he did. Kitsu had his own charms. His looks weren't exactly in the handsomeness department but his charms did sparkle a few girls who were interested in him.
Only problem here is, he's too oblivious of the whole thing.
TBC.
