TITLE: Painful Interjections
PART: Side Story 3 to Who Says College is Easy?
PAIRING: Akutsu Jin x Shishido Ryou
GENRE: Shounen-ai (Humour/ Continuation/ Angst / Romance)
DISCLAIMERS: The series I'm referring to does not belong to me… only this weird story does.
NOTES: Blah or Blah is for emphasis. /Blah/ is for conversations over the phone or flashbacks (if any). /Blah/ is for the conscience or whatever inner voice there is talking. Blah is for thoughts or random Japanese words. Some of these words are footnoted at the end of every page (I'm beginning to understand the need for footnotes in fiction. Thank you dear friend, you know who you are. XD).
Side Story 3 (Part Six): CHANGES SCHMANGES – PUHLEAZE!
"You must be kidding me!"
Ohtori hung his head. "No, Shishido-san, I'm serious." The apologetic note in his voice was enough to make the initial anger in Shishido's heart dissipate. Sighing, he sat back down on the plush sofa of the coffee shop. Wordlessly, he took hold of one of the chintz cushions and hugged it tightly. There was slight comfort in doing so, and from the way things were progressing, he needed it as much as he needed another espresso shot.
"Shishido-san... I'm sorry."
Ohtori was as apologetic as he sounded, that, he was sure of. And with the way he was shaking him gently, he knew he was very apologetic indeed. But the disappointment was there... he couldn't discount that. It felt heavy, like a burden of sorts. It was unfair of him to impose, and he was very willing to do so, yet, seeing the sadness in Ohtori's eyes were enough to make him think otherwise. It would be worse to see forced will every single day after all.
"I know. It's okay." He mumbled, mouth curving up into a smile." I can survive by my own anyway."
Oh, Shishido had tons of dreams, almost all involving him, his best friend, his purple-obsessed flatmate, his former captain – and tennis. However, none seemed to be able to ever come true after Ohtori's announcement.
"I'm really sorry, Shishido-san..." Ohtori intoned. "I want to improve my skills in violin, and tennis will get in my way. I need to get better so I can achieve my dreams..."
Shishido decided that he hated Ohtori when he talked of dreams and futures the way he did now... as if there was desperation there, a sort of desperation that was laced in his words, and that alone made him feel guiltier than he did more in his whole life. He felt useless in a way... like he had been with his best friend for years now and he had been one of the causes for his unhappiness and dissatisfaction.
What horrible friend he was.
He shook his head and smiled back wanly. "Really, it's fine." He murmured, patting Ohtori on the shoulder almost comfortingly. He did not know why he was the one doing it when it was obvious that it was him who needed it the most. "No biggie."
Ohtori's concern was still evident, and he was openly showing it. It felt like pity on Shishido's part, but he knew he shouldn't think that way, as much as his pride was dictating him to. "But you don't look fine..."
Shishido sighed in a show of mock exasperation. Forcing himself to smile, he swatted the younger boy playfully on the chest. "I am fine, idiot. I just need a bit more time to digest what you've just said."
Probably just a little more than a lot... if that's possible.
X o X o X
"You must be kidding me!"
Sengoku levelled him with a particularly acid glare. "I'm afraid not." He retorted, crossing his arms across his chest in supplication. The authoritative note in his voice irked Akutsu even more. Glaring back, he took a menacing step forward. It was totally unfair for Sengoku to impose such thing, and it was totally uncalled for. He clenched his fists, seething. There was slight comfort in seeing the shorter redhead take a small step back, but it was not enough.
"Stop saying such weird things! I am the one living this life, not you, so fuck off!"
"I thought I was your friend."
Sengoku was as livid as he sounded, that Akutsu was sure of. The slight way he was shaking was the proof of it. Akutsu just couldn't understand it – at all. It was such an idiotic thing to demand from him. How could he live without talking to his best friend and eating the same best friend's sushi few times a week? Why was he forbidden to talk to anyone of his acquaintance? How ridiculous was that?
Friend?
What horrible friend Sengoku was then!
"No." Akutsu said firmly. "This is my life and I'll do what I want with it." His words were unusually calm, and it scared him a bit, how peaceful he was being in such a terrible situation as this. "I live only by my own rules, nothing else."
Sengoku regarded him with uncanny superiority. "I am your only friend, Jin." He declared, eyes lighting up as a smile entered his face. "No one really wants to be friends with you for all the trouble you give them... I'm the only one who can keep up, after all."
He could recognise an insult when he heard one. Seething, he gave him the finger and stalked away.
Friend, yeah right? If you were my friend, then I'd rather go mingle with my enemies!
X o X o X
Shishido was enjoying his afternoon snack when someone plopped noisily down beside him. He knew who it was. He scowled, dragging his plate out of reach. He was having the best cafeteria salad he had ever tasted his whole life, and no one – NO ONE – was EVER going to take a plateful of the stuff away from him!
"Don't be so stingy!" Kurobane Harukaze grumbled. "I need food, after all that jazz about liabilities and obligations. Honestly now, why the hell did I take accounting anyway?" He pawed at the plateful of greens once again, missing it completely as another set of hands laid claim to the precious commodity.
Now it was Shishido's turn to grumble. "KEIGO, unhand my snack, dammit! Go get yourself one!" he lunged for it, standing up as he did, only to snatch air... and to fall flat down on his face, knees entangled on the butt-wide bench he was formerly sitting on. "Argh!" He intoned in annoyance, picking himself up and taking another swipe at the salad. Unfortunately, Atobe was already munching on it.
"Ah, this is the freshest one I've ever seen the cafeteria ever served!" Atobe said thoughtfully, munching on the stolen grub and staring up as if in complete bliss. "How much did you pay for it?"
Shishido watched in dismay as his former captain continued his assault on his food. He's so damn rich, why the hell is he eating my food? He thought crossly, giving up at last. He figured that Atobe already had his saliva all over it, and he didn't want to catch on the guy's "Ore-sama Bug" anyway, so he sat down, crossed his arms across his chest and sulked.
"No fair!" Kurobane groaned. "I'm the one who needs food! I'm hungry. My brain is hungry. If I don't get anything now, I'm gonna die!" He threw his hands up in the air in frustration.
"Hn." Atobe countered, still munching. "Well I got it first, so deal."
"Will you stop arguing? THAT is MINE!"
"WAS yours. It's mind now because your reflexes are slow." Atobe said a matter-of-factly.
Now that was offensive. "I am not slow!" Shishido protested. "I was just... preoccupied." He finished softly, the memory of the tragic lunchtime still fresh in his mind.
"You're still thinking about Ohtori's rejection over the tennis partnership." Atobe said, sitting right beside him. Now he was uncomfortable. Shishido was seated between two inquisitive jerks that made him lose his source of comfort – food – and he felt like his heart was palpitating for all the ruffling his feathers received so far. Could his day get anymore worse?
"He rejected him?" Kurobane asked, clueless. "But I thought they were partners? Friends even?"
"Well, that's what I thought too, but then, when this guy called me up dejectedly after lunch about it, I was surprised as well. Ohtori wanted to pursue his career further, so it seemed. After all, he loves his violin..."
"Oh wow... the guy plays the violin? I tried to learn how to play hat thing but it didn't agree with me one bit! That's amazing! So, that means he has to take care of his hands, right?"
"Obviously."
Shishido's irk was soaring to higher levels. There was only the sound of the their voices that was penetrating into his system. He was seeing red. "Teme..." He started, standing up. "Shut up, both of you! Stop talking as if I'm not here dammit!"
He was ignored.
If there was something he did not like, it was when people ignore him.
He got out of his seat and leant forward to grab a hold of his soda and his glass of iced water. With deliberate intent, he placed the glasses, one over each gossiping head, and poured.
And as he watched the cascade of liquid flow on both unsuspecting heads, the anger in him was somehow alleviated. His pride was okay now... and the part of him that was still craving his precious salad.
However, he still had to sort out the fact...
That he still felt empty inside.
X o X o X
It so happened that Shishido went back home with leafy vegetables decorating his hair and salad dressing splattered on his face. Just imagine the horror Mizuki, the neat freak, felt when the front door opened to show him in.
"Oh my lord!" He exclaimed. "What happened to you? Are you okay?"
Shishido gave him a baleful look. "Do I look like I'm okay?" he asked sarcastically, slamming the door close.
"Actually, you always don't look okay, but today, you seem to be more than not-okay, if you know what I mean..." Mizuki said thoughtfully. He shook his head and a look of concern crossed his face again. "So, care to tell me what happened?"
Sighing, Shishido started unbuttoning his shirt. "I got dumped, figuratively and literally."
His flatmate raised his brows in question.
"I don't get it."
He took his shirt off and crumpled it into a messy ball before stalking off to where the washing machine was. "I was dumped as a doubles partner, dumped on the ground by Bane-san, and then Keigo dumped a plateful of salad on me!" He called out in annoyance.
Mizuki was aghast. "But why?"
"Apparently, I wasn't messed up enough."
X o X o X
Akutsu had been thinking for quite a while now.
Why was Sengoku acting as if he owned him? He felt like he was missing the point of all that transpired between them two... all the conversations, the jokes, the bickering... the laughter...
When did everything change?
He knew Sengoku was the most altruistic of all the guys he, well, knew... okay, maybe of course not exactly the most, because there are Kawamura and Dan, but... he sighed, staring at his ceiling. He wanted to forget the possessiveness he felt emanating from him. It was disturbing, to say the least.
/"No one really wants to be friends with you for all the trouble you give them... I'm the only one who can keep up, after all."/
Were those words true? If it was, then he was useless then! No, he mustn't think that way. If he let himself be affected, then it meant that everything Sengoku said in spite were true...
Damn you Sengoku, what do you want from me?
X o X o X
After spilling his guts out to Mizuki, Shishido felt a little bit better. Maybe he wasn't such a hopeless case as he originally thought he was after all. The now-empty mug of he drank cocoa from was still sitting warmly in his hands. Mizuki was off to see Fuji now, and as per usual, he was left alone. He couldn't complain because he didn't have the right to. His friend cancelled his study group an hour ago just to listen to him whine about his problems.
If he did not shoo him out of the house in guilt, Mizuki would've cancelled on Fuji as well.
That would be horrible.
Sighing, he picked up his cellular phone and dialled the number he knew by heart. It was ringing, and after three consecutive rings, the other person picked up.
/"Hello?"/
"Choutarou." Shishido said as calmly as he could. "It's me."
/"Shishido-san?"/
"Yeah."
/"Oh, hi! I was just packing my stuff... I'll be getting out of the dorms here in Hyoutei next week... is something the matter Shishido-san? You sound... lonely."/
So, it shows even in my voce huh? He thought in amusement. What would Choutarou say if he knew the reason why? "Ah, no, it's nothing, just tired, that's all." He said in what he hoped was a reassuring tone. Ohtori had this keen ear for unvoiced cries for help... the last thing he needed was his best friend babying him.
/"Oh..."/
Shishido knew that Ohtori knew he was lying.
But that didn't matter.
It didn't matter at all.
X o X o X
"Bane-san... are you okay?"
The initial answer was a sound sneeze. It echoed inside the room (That was what it sounded like over the phone), making him wince. He forgot what Dabide once said about him... that he got colds easily. Now, since those two were in one flat...
Shishido shook his head weakly. He was the worst, really.
"No worries." Kurobane laughed... and then sneezed.
Shishido winced. "Are you sure?" He asked, voice stilted, a humongous thing stuck in his throat. "You sound like you're sick..."
"No, not exactly sick... more like having sniffles. I'll be better tomorrow, or so Dabide said, so don't worry – HEY!"
Confused, he could only blink. What was happening? It sounded as if a war was raging... and the phone was being pulled apart.
Then, silence.
"Uh... hello?" He said tentatively. He was getting worried. Was Kurobane dead? "Bane-san...?"
"Oi."
Uh-oh... That was definitely not he. "Uh... hi." He answered back, fidgeting. "Who –"
"Dabide-chan."
Dabide-chan? Now that was something you don't hear everyday. What's with the chan? "Dabide?"
"Dabide-chan."
Oookay... "Dabide-chan. Hi. What –"
"You gave Bane-san a cold!" Dabide intoned in sudden despair. "He's lying in bed – sick!"
But I thought... "What? I thought he's just having a case of the sniffles... Wait, I thought you said he's gonna be okay tomorrow?"
"He will... but..."
But?
"I'm frustrated!"
Shishido winced once more, more at the irritation in Dabide's voice than anything else – well, possibly the guilt eating him up at the thought of being the one who got a friend sick. If it was Atobe, he wouldn't have been working himself up, but that wasn't the case so... He closed his eyes and sighed. "I'm sorry." He said apologetically. "I didn't mean to, the tension was building up inside me then and –"
"IT'S OKAY! DON'T MIND HIM RYO!" He heard Kurobane yell in the background after a loud sneeze. "DON'T MIND HIM – OW! OI, DABIDE! I'M SUPPOSED TO BE SICK, DAMMIT! DON'T THROW THINGS AT ME!"
If it was any other circumstance, he might have laughed.
"I'm really sorry..."
"You should be." Dabide sighed on the other line. "I'm frustrated, and I can't get it off because I won't be getting any loving tonight!"
And Shishido was reduced to a twitching lump on the floor.
X o X o X
Akutsu was still wallowing in his disturbed thoughts when a sudden picture flashed in his mind.
Ano yaro... He growled inwardly.
Why that girly guy at a time like this?
X o X o X
It was midnight when the phone rang.
Shishido answered it groggily.
It was Fuji.
TSUZUKU
A/N: I am being evil. Okay, Real Life is being evil. . Sorry. ;;;
