A/N: Okay, another chapter. This might come off as slow, but I finally decided it is need for transition's sake. Things should get a more serious next chapter and on, but I make no guarantees as I have difficulty writing seriously or angst or whatever people would call it. By the way, excuse me if the writingends up not beingthat goodas this chapter was written in a much more sloppy manner. Anyways, read and enjoy.
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Count on Me
Ring…Ring…Ring…"Hello?"
"Hey, Choutarou, could I come over for a while?"
Choutarou grabbed his cell phone. He had just finished his math homework when his phone went off.
"What? Yeah, sure. Let me just ask really quick."
"'Kay..oof…"
"What's Shishido-san doing? It sounds like he's struggling with something."
Choutarou carried his phone into the living room downstairs.
"Is it okay if Shishido-san comes over for a while?"
"Why?"
He had to pause. He honestly did not know why his upperclassman wanted to come over.
"I have some homework problems I'm not sure of and he's coming over to help me."
"Sure."
"Thank you!"
Choutarou picked up his cell phone again.
"Yeah, it's fine if you come over. When are you coming?"
"Heh, heh…I'm already here. Uhh…Could you hurry up and open your room window?"
"Right…"
"What's Shishido-san doing at my window…Why can't he use the door?…"Choutarou walked back upstairs into his room and began to open the window. When it was opened a crack, two hands quickly grabbed the ledge. He then quickly opened the window up all the way and looked outside.
"There are easier ways to getting places then scaling the side of a house, Shishido-san."
"…Ha…Whoa!"
Shishido lost his footing and was about to fall down but Choutarou reached down and grabbed his hand.
"I guess my long reach has other uses…Though lifting my senpai through…the window…was not one of the first reasons…There!"
Shishido finally made his way through the window and was sprawled out on the floor panting.
"Thanks…How 'bout we keep this to ourselves?"
"If that's what Shishido-san wants…"
Choutarou patted Shishido on the shoulder and smiled. The other boy could only sigh.
"Anyways…How's it going?"
"Fine…Anou, Shishido-san…Why didn't you use the door?"
Shishido gave him an exasperated sideways glance and fixed his cap.
"It's too conspicuous…What?"
Choutarou just stared at the older boy. In his mind it made no sense. He looked questioningly at Shishido.
"Yes, doorways do tend to be more conspicuous than the second floor window…Though maybe in your case it wasn't."
He smiled at Shishido. He could not help but poke some fun at the nonsensical things Shishido was saying.
Shishido sighed.
"I really shouldn't be out but I wanted out so I decided to come here but if I went through the door my brother might see me on his way home and tell my parents and then get me in trouble so I went through your window."
Choutarou smiled at his rambling.
"That's one of the longest run-ons I have ever heard. But Shishido-san, why aren't you allowed outside?"
"I got grounded for the weekend because I missed practice."
"So not even his parents knew?…Then what was he doing?"Shishido glanced sideways in embarrassment. He then quickly pulled himself together and stood up.
"So what are you doing?"
"Math…You have to help on a few things so I won't be lying…I told my parents you were coming over to help with some math."
Shishido scratched his head and gave Choutarou a lop-sided grin.
"Not sure how much I'll be able to help, but sure."
Even though Choutarou knew how to do every problem, he let Shishido look at some of them and point out a few things. After a short while, Choutarou decided that Shishido did come and help out therefore doing exactly what he told his parents.
"Is that all? Can't believe I actually forgot how to do some of those problems after one year…Oh well, they say you forget 80 of what you learn."
"Shishdo-san is just making excuses?"
"What? No. It's true!"
Choutarou laughed at him. Shishidoalos laughed and sat down on Choutarou's bed.
"So is that all you do on the weekends? Just do homework?"
Choutarou began to collect the papers on his desk and put them back into his book bag.
"Pretty much though I do go out for a little bit sometimes."
"Right! I should give Shishido-san his gift…Where is it…Oh right."
He walked over to his closet and reached for the top shelf. He carefully brought the object down and examined it.
"Whatcha got there?"
"Just a little something."
He turned around and held out the bear he had just made earlier that day. He held it in front of Shishido who just looked at it for a while.
"This is for you, Shishido-san."
Shishido gingerly grabbed it from Choutarou and began to inspect it. The first thing he noticed was the silver chain cross hanging around its neck.
"Hey, thanks! You know…It reminds me of you. Is it supposed to?"
"Umm…Yeah. I know its silly and all, but I thought it was kind of fun plus it's also thanks for practicing with me and helping me fix my serve and all and because you're going to be graduating even though I'll still be able to see you and all but still I just wanted to get it for you."
This time Shishido was able to smile at the other person rambling.
"I may be good at run-ons, but you're no slouch either…But really, thanks…I like it…a lot."
Choutarou smiled in embarrassment and in relief that Shishido seemed to appreciate the gesture. He sat down beside Shishido and they both sat there a few moments in silence. Finally, the elder of the two gently tucked the bear under his arm and stood up.
"I know, how 'bout we go to the street courts and play some tennis? I'm sure there's going to be somebody we can play with."
Choutarou looked up at Shishido and smiled.
"Sure. That sounds fun…But what about hiding from your punishment?"
"Forget that. This whole thing put me in the mood to play tennis and I don't care if I get in more trouble for it. Alright grab your stuff and let's go!"
He quickly ruffled Choutarou's hair and walked towards the door. Choutarou quickly grabbed his tennis bag in the corner of his room and followed Shishido downstairs.
"I'm finished with all my homework! I'm going to go practice some tennis."
"Alright, have fun."
When both of them stepped outdoors, Choutarou noticed that Shishido did not have his tennis bag with him.
"Shishido-san, where's your tennis bag?"
Shishido motioned to the side of the house and walked over some bushes and began looking around.
"I tried climbing with it on but that didn't go so well. Therefore, I left if on the ground somewhere…Ah! Here it is."
He bent down and tugged his bag onto his shoulder. Shishido came next to Choutarou and they began to walk again. They continued to walk and talk about tennis and the team's eccentric captain until they arrived at the courts.
The lights were turned on and there were still some people hanging around. Choutarou and Shishido walked up the stairs and looked around for an open court. As they were looking, a couple of guys from another school approached them.
"Hey you! You with the teddy bear!"
Shishido whipped around to face the speaker. Choutarou glanced down and noticed that Shishido was still holding the stuffed animal.
"You guys looking to play some tennis? How 'bout it? Just a simple match, you two versus us."
"Though you might want to put down your little friend there or he might get dirty."
Choutarou gently yet forcefully placed a hand on Shishido's shoulder and directed him to one of the benches.
"Yeah, listen to your senpai."
Choutarou glanced at Shishido. He remained stiff and unmoving and was clearly holding his breath. They obviously mistook Choutarou as the older one as he was a bit taller than Shishido.
"Now, Shishido-san…"
"I'm fine…Everything's…fine."
He went about getting out his racquet and began shifting the strings. Choutarou followed suit and watched their opponents. The other two stood confidently and were obviously making fun of them.
"They're not going to be a challenge, but still keep up your guard and break them with your serve."
"Right, Shishido-san."
"Even if he gets upset, he still remains objective about it. I'm glad he didn't get too upset though. He's right, this will be easy, and I'll show him up close how I've improved."
"You guys ready?"
Shishido turned and faced the opponents balancing his racquet on the tip of his finger. Now he was smirking at them. Choutarou stood behind him with his racquet resting on his shoulder.
"How about we let them serve first, Shishido-san."
"Sounds good. So let's get this game started, gentlemen."
The other two boys consented and the four got in their positions. As agreed upon, the challengers served first. Choutarou received first and easily returned the ball.
"After playing with Mukahi-san and Oshitari-san, returning this kind of serve is easy."
The first game was over in a matter of moments with Shishido and Choutarou gaining the first game. They passed by their opponents as they switched sides.
"You guys just got lucky. That's all."
Shishido balanced the racquet on his finger again and did not even glance at them.
"Way un-cool."
Choutarou smiled at Shishido's catch phrase. He had to agree though since making excuses like that was disgraceful.
"All right, time to show them your serve."
"Right."
He walked to the baseline and began bouncing the ball. He caught the ball and then tossed it high up in the air while bringing his racquet over his shoulder.
"Ikyuu…Nyuu…Kon!"
Choutarou put all his strength behind the serve. The guy receiving did not even move. All he could do was look behind him and notice the ball was now behind him.
"What the-"
Shishido turned to face Choutarou. He gave him a thumbs up.
"Great. Now do it one more time!"
"Ikyuu…Nyuu…Kon!"
He served for the second time with the same result. It did not take long before the game was over. Shishido walked up to Choutarou and patted him on the back.
"Impressive, you've gotten more control."
Choutarou smiled at him and nodded.
"Thank you, Shishido-san."
It was their opponents turn to serve again. Choutarou glanced over at them and noticed that they were huddled together rapidly talking about something.
"Good. Seems like my serve was enough to rattle them…This should be even easier now."
He easily returned the serve again but then noticed a change in their playing style. They were aiming all their shots at Shishido and trying to keep the ball away from Choutarou.
"Guess they're desperate or something."
Unfortunately, their tactic failed as they did not realize that Shishido had a tenacity about him that made him able to return any type of shot.
"He might not have a special or flashy move, but Shishido-san is so determined that he can play with the best."
Despite their best efforts, Shishido and Choutarou took the game again. They continued to play, Choutarou winning aces with his serve and Shishido returning everything with his hard work and determination, and soon the set was over with Choutarou and Shishido six games to love.
"Good game."
"Whatever…"
Choutarou watched the now defeated pair sulk away. He shook his head at their attitude. Shishido came up beside him and sighed.
"Way un-cool."
Choutarou turned toward Shishido and smiled.
"That was fun. I'm glad we came out here."
"Yeah, me too."
Shishido looked down at his watch and noticed the time.
"It's that late already?…I guess I better go…I bet my parents are waiting right at the door for me…"
"I'm sorry, Shishido-san."
"What? It's not your fault…Besides, I had fun, especially when those guys totally freaked out after seeing your serve. Well, I better be going…Oh yeah, thanks again for the bear. It's…cute."
Choutarou smiled and packed up his things. He said good-bye to Shishido and began to walk home.
"That was fun…Shishido-san got to see how good my serve is…He's always happy to play with me and he always compliments my serve…I wonder if that's really all he cares about…No…Well…Why do I keep thinking about these things? It doesn't matter, right? Point is, Shishido-san is a great doubles partner…I wonder if he really did like the bear?…It's hard to tell with him…He seemed to like it…Once again, why am I thinking about Shishido-san and what he thinks about everything?…I don't get it…I need to stop worrying about these things…Right…Now, about that paper I have to write…"
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A/N: Alrighty, the chapter is finally over. Oh, right, some people asked me about names so here it goes. Ootori is the last name while Choutarou is the first name. The reason I do not refer to him as Ootori is that the story is supposed to be more from his perspective so I wanted it to seem more personal, therefore I used his first name. As far as the other names go, I refer to them as they are commonly known and I have the characters call each other how they normally would. To clarify, Shishido usually refers to everybody by their last name, no honorific. The exception would be Ootori, whom he calls him by his first name. Ootori refers to everbody by their last name with the honorific suffix –san so he comes off as more formal and polite. There you go. Names in a nutshell. Anyways, read, review, send more questions or whatever. Have a nice day!