Komaeda let Hinata lean on his shoulder as the two hobbled towards the bus stop.
"Oh my goodness!" They both looked to see, of course, Naegi running towards them. He immediately hooked himself under Hinata's other shoulder. "What happened?"
"Just some jerks, not got enough going on in their lives so they decide to try and ruin my afternoon." Hinata said, keeping his tone light. He didn't want to worry Naegi or further worry Komaeda.
"It was my fault." Komaeda cried. "They attacked him because we had lunch together."
"No they attacked me because they're horrible people who can't mind their own business. It's none of their business who I choose to be friends with." He bore his eyes into Komaeda, trying to convey just how much he meant those words. Komaeda didn't say anything; he couldn't hold Hinata's stare though and left his eyes flitter away.
"So should we head to the school nurse or something?" Naegi asked.
"No, to Komaeda's house." Hinata said.
"That's good then, we get the same bus." Said Naegi, smiling. The three boys stumbled ungracefully to the bus stop. None of them were oblivious to the stares and sniggers they were getting. The 'new kid', the 'school's biggest loser' and the 'creepy weirdo' swaying with their arms around each other. They certainly made for quite a sight and word was already going around about the beat down earlier. The three of them tried to ignore it. Naegi struck up a conversation and Hinata was grateful for the distraction. Komaeda kept quiet though, even with the two making their best effort to include him. He just continued to stare at the ground. There were no tears forming in his eyes but he still somehow managed to look seconds away from crying. It was only when the bus finally pulled up that he raised his head. Hinata watched forlornly, wishing there was something he could do to reassure Komaeda everything was okay. His words didn't seem to be enough though.
I guess it will take more than just a few nice words to undo what years or torment has ingrained into him… He thought.
"Hey Hinata isn't it?" A disgusting familiar voice asked. All three boys looked over at Enoshima, standing with her sister and a nasty smirk on her face. That's right. They'd all completely forgotten the two of them take this bus home too.
"Yes." He said, trying to keep calm.
"Those look like some nasty bruises, you have one of your episodes Komaeda?" Said boy flinched at her words.
"Just shut up!" Hinata hissed.
"Uh, come on everyone, let's not fight…" Naegi said, raising his hands defensively.
Fortunately they were saved from further conflict by the arrival of the bus. Enoshima and Ikusaba got on first. Naegi and Komaeda had to help Hinata climb on. His left leg hurt to stand on, he knew it couldn't be broken but thought it possible he might have pulled or sprained something. The three of them sat at the front of the bus, less chance of anyone tripping them as they got off. Komaeda sat next to Hinata and Naegi sat opposite them on the isle.
"My stop's the last one." Said Komaeda. He looked down, feeling guilty Hinata would have to suffer longer in pain because his house was so far away. Hinata seemed to sense what he was thinking and placed a comforting hand on his arm.
"None of this was your fault." Hopefully repeating it would get it through his strange friend's thick skull.
"It's always my fault…" He mumbled miserably.
"That's not true." Naegi cut in, both Komaeda and Hinata turned to him sharply, so absorbed in their own little world they'd forgotten he was there. "It's not your fault some people in school are cruel."
"Yeah, that's just high school." Hinata sighed sarcastically. The three of them laughed, it felt good to have friends, something each of them was sorely starved of.
They laughed and joked around the rest of the bus ride. For once each lonely boy felt accepted. Until their moment was broken by the queen of cruelty herself. While walking past to get off at her stop, Enoshima stole a strawberry milk out of some poor kid's hand and dumped it over Naegi's head. He gasped in shock from the cold liquid hitting his head. It soaked through his hair and down into his signature hoodie.
"What was that for?!" Hinata cried, standing up abruptly. The rest of the bus patrons laughed their heads off like the cruel sheep they were.
"Just reminding Naegi of his place. Can't have you feeling happy too often." She gripped the back of Naegi's hair and spat the cruel words into his face.
"Back off." Hinata said, standing up and shoving his body between Enoshima and Naegi.
"Hinata…" Komaeda whimpered.
"Enough."
All parties turned and saw the bus driver glaring at them down his thick grey moustache.
"You're not hanging around your lockers anymore, this is a bus, I have a schedule to keep now those of you getting off move it!"
Enoshima looked at Hinata challengingly, flicking one of her strawberry pigtails behind her shoulder. He held her gaze but shifted to let her pass. She and her sister sauntered off the bus with their heads held high, proud of the little scene Enoshima had just caused.
"Sit down." The bus driver glared at Hinata. He edged himself back onto his seat beside Komaeda but kept his legs hanging over into the walkway of the bus. The bus driver pursed his lips but at this point he just wanted to get on and finish his trip for the day. He was regretting taking the school route. Why did high school kids have to create so much drama on one quick bus loop? He slid back into his seat and pulled away from the kerb, on to the next stop.
"You okay?" Hinata asked Naegi. He leaned forward and placed his hand over Naegi's knee. Naegi turned and smiled at him, thick pink goop dripping down his forehead.
"Yeah, it's not a big deal." His voice wavered, betraying him. Hinata's face fell. In this moment Naegi really reminded him of Komaeda. Why couldn't they admit they were both hurting? Admit they needed help? Needed a friend? That the way Enoshima and others were treating them was wrong? "Oh, we've reached my stop." Naegi got up as the bus hissed slightly, lowering itself to let people off. Naegi bowed lightly to Hinata and Komaeda. "Thanks for everything guys. And, uh, thanks for standing up for me back there Hinata.
"Don't mention it. You know—" Hinata was about to get into a bit of a tirade about injustice but was interrupted by the other students wanting to disembark, were it not for Naegi standing in the way, along with Hinata's legs. Naegi gave a hesitant wave to his friends and moved up the front to the doors. Hinata swung his legs back around out of the way.
"Hey kid." A soft yet gruff voice mumbled as Naegi was disembarking. He turned to see the bus driver looking at him with concern. "I was gonna snack on this when my shift was over, but you look like you could really use it right now." He scrambled through his pockets as he spoke and eventually produced a medium sized galaxy bar.
"Oh I couldn't, but thank you." Naegi said.
"Please, you'd be doing me a favour, last thing I really need is more chocolate." He chuckled. Naegi blushed and hesitantly took the galaxy. He cradled it close to his chest like a precious gem and finally hopped off the bus. Hinata and Komaeda leaned over to wave out the window as the bus pulled away. Naegi did his best to smile at them, receiving a nice cheer-up gift had made him feel a little better but there was still a sense of shame in his disposition. It made Hinata's blood boil. He and Komaeda sat in silence the rest of the ride. It was another three stops before they finally made it to the last one, by then they were the only two still there.
"Have a good night kids." The driver said, waving as they both jumped down onto the pavement.
"Thanks." Hinata replied, waving politely. The bus closed its doors and drove off down the street. Hinata glanced around and almost fell over when he saw where they were. No wonder it was the last stop on the bus. They were in Behler, the fanciest, most prestigious suburb in town. Only the richest of the rich lived here. He was currently stood on the cleanest, most gum and crack-free pavement he'd ever seen in his life. The road looked like it had just been laid yesterday. All around were mansions, mini mansions, villas. All with the most incredible features. Electronic gates, fountains, statues, neatly trimmed hedges, colour co-ordinated gardens. From the corner of his eye he could seem Komaeda blushing a neat pink beside him.
"I uh…" He stammered. "My house is this way." He said lamely, walking south up the road. Hinata followed a few steps behind, taking in his surroundings. This was like a whole new world to him. Nothing at all like the small suburban house his family lived in. The two boys walked for a couple of minutes until Komaeda finally stopped in front of a big black gate. Behind it was a large field of grass with a large circle dead centre, covered over by small stones for people and cars to walk and drive up to the house. Well, house probably wasn't the correct term. The mansion at least four stories high and of varying shapes and sizes, slanted roofs and full glass walls here and there. It was all incredibly modern. Komaeda scanned a small tag from the wallet chain he wore against a disc shaped keypad next to the gate and they automatically opened. Komaeda slipped inside silently, keeping his head down. He had been the one to suggest they come here but now he was realising how embarrassing it was for Hinata to see the very extravagant house he lived in. There was no way he wasn't judging him. The two boys walked up the path to the big double doors of the mansion. Komaeda opened one of them and held it for Hinata. Hinata stepped into the main hall and couldn't help but spin around in awe. He stared up at the high ceiling. It's a very modern mansion, the grand staircase leading to the landing is made of glass and winds in an odd diagonal direction. The house had an ocean theme it seemed. There was a large painting of a beach with a setting sun on the horizon taking up an entire wall just off a corridor and above the staircase on the landing he could see another picture, this one of a starfish. There were some sideboards around decorated with shells and pebbles. He looked down at Komaeda and saw that he was focusing strongly on his shoes but was blushing very heavily. He must have felt embarrassed by having such a lavish home.
Cute… Hinata thought, then immediately blushed himself. Where had that come from?! "So uh… Which way to your room?" Hinata asked, hoping to distract both of them from their embarrassment.
"This way." Komaeda said, stumbling past Hinata and up the large staircase. Hinata shook his head fondly and followed on. Komaeda led him to the landing and down a corridor to the left. He stopped and opened the third door they passed and opened it. Considering the rest of the house, the room was pretty minimalist. Komaeda had a white double bed, a desk with a computer and a side table with a small television. There was a large door and window opening onto a small balcony as they walked in the room and the opposite wall seemed to be a built in wardrobe. There were no photos, posters or decorations of any kind. He did however have a large bookshelf to the right of his bed, stuffed so full he had to stack books on top of the natural rows of books. Hinata smiled. This was very Komaeda.
"Uh… so if you wanna like, make yourself comfortable I'll go get the first aid kit." Komaeda said, stumbling awkwardly out of the room. Hinata smiled softly.
Cute. He thought, then stopped and blushed. Where had that come from? He shook the thoughts from his head and decided to distract himself by reading the book titles on Komaeda's shelf. He tried to see if there was a particular genre Komaeda was interested in but the shelf was packed with every type of book you could think of. He had classics such as H. G. Wells, Charles Dickens, George Orwell, William Shakespeare, H. P. Lovecraft, Arthur Conan Doyle. Collections of poems. Popular teen series like the Hunger Games, Twilight, Skulduggery Pleasant, Harry Potter. There were horror stories, romance stories, mystery stories, science fiction and fantasy, history books, science books. He even noticed some of the spine texts were in other languages, though he couldn't read what they said. He looked on in awe. Nagito must really like reading. And reading everything.
"Found it." Said Komaeda, coming back into the room carrying a big while case. It kind of reminded Hinata of the shape of his father's tool box. Komaeda placed it on his desk and opened it up. "Were you looking at my bookshelf?" He asked, smirking. Hinata blushed. He didn't know why, it's not like he'd been caught doing anything scandalous. It was just something about the way Komaeda asked.
"Yeah… I can see you read a lot."
Komaeda giggled. Not laughed. Not chuckled. Giggled. "I love to read. I mean, I also watch tv sometimes but there's no greater feeling than sitting in the park and reading a good book I think. The feel of the lush grass under my feet, the warm sun on my face, the cool breeze… As I'm whisked away into a new world." Komaeda spread his arms smiling. Hinata laughed fondly at his antics. Komaeda blushed and shrunk in on himself. They smiled shyly at each other.
"Anyway… If you sit on the bed I can treat your injuries for you." Komaeda said. Hinata suddenly remembered why he was there in the first place. He was enjoying watching Komaeda talk about books he'd forgotten. He sat down on Komaeda's double bed and Komaeda came over with some disinfectant and bandages.
"Thanks Komaeda." Hinata smiled. Komaeda blushed for about the hundredth time since they'd got there but smiled softly. He was scarily good at cleaning up wounds. Hinata was expertly bandaged up in only a few minutes. Hinata looked over at the digital clock on Komaeda's desk. 15:45. He decided to text his parents and see if he could keep Komaeda company for a while longer.
"Would you want to stay for dinner?" Komaeda asked nervously, as though reading his mind. "I mean I'd understand if you didn't no one wants to be around tra— me, for very long." He stumbled, still struggling with Hinata's insistence that Komaeda not refer to himself as the trash he knew he was.
Hinata looked down at his phone as his mother sent a message to say she was happy to hear he had made a friend and was socialising in the evening for once. Hinata rolled his eyes. She offered to come pick him up around seven and asked for the address.
"I'd love to." Hinata smiled. He texted his mother Komaeda's address and put his phone away. "Will your aunt mind?"
"Oh she doesn't usually get home until really late…" Komaeda had sudden images in his head of seeing his drunk aunt, in a dress so short it practically showed half her ass, stumble through the door and collapse on the nearest sofa. Sometimes she didn't even make it to the sofa, just fell down in the front hall. Komaeda would carry her to her bed and tuck her in. He always made sure to leave a glass of water and painkillers on her bedside table for when she woke up.
"So then… What do you do for dinner?" Hinata asked.
"Well I just cook something." Koameda said, as though it were obvious.
"Really?" Komaeda was taken aback by how excited Hinata seemed. "That's so cool, I couldn't cook to save myself. You're amazing Komaeda." Komaeda blushed again but smiled this time too.
"Thank you."
The two of them went downstairs to the living room and Hinata was excited to discover Komaeda had a pretty sweet gaming system down there. The two proceeded to spend the next two hours destroying each other in various games. Although Komaeda won most of the time. Partly because they were his games but also because he always seemed to get lucky. Then Komaeda went to make their dinner while Hinata selected a movie for them to watch. The TV had pretty much every streaming platform you could think of. Komaeda and his aunt both had accounts on all of them but for some reason Komaeda's watchlists, recommended and watch again were blank on everything. It was as if he never used them. Eventually Hinata selected Ghostbusters. It was a pretty safe bet, a little funny, quirky, spooky with some cool action sequences for an older film. Komaeda came in carry two bowls of pasta with mixed seafood and a light red sauce Hinata guess was a mix of tomato, cream and various other things.
"Thanks," he said, taking his bowl. Komaeda settled into the sofa adjacent to the one Hinata was sitting on. Hinata found himself feeling disappointed, he wasn't sure why but he really wanted Komaeda to sit on the same sofa he was. He shrugged it off and pressed play on the movie. As the opening titles rolled he took his first forkful of spaghetti and a prawn and shoved it in his mouth.
"Mmm." He hummed, embarrassingly loudly. It was just so good. "This is amazing."
"Thank you." Komaeda smiled. The two of them settled into a comfortable silence, enjoying their food and the movie. This was really nice, Hinata felt.
Eventually the bowls were scrapped clean and the end credits were rolling, funky music playing. Hinata looked over to see Komaeda watching with a content smile, relaxed into the sofa. He seemed at peace, a stark contrast from how he was at school, always on edge.
"I uh… suppose you will need to go now." Komaeda said. He felt sad, he had been having such a good time just being with Hinata. He almost opened his mouth to ask Hinata to stay the night but he stopped himself. He didn't want Hinata to meet his aunt. The idea of Hinata seeing her stumble in late at night, drunk and confused, possibly not even dressed properly, it was embarrassing. Hinata checked his phone and saw his mother had texted to let him know she was waiting. It came through ten minutes ago, hopefully she wouldn't be too cross with him for having to wait. Komaeda walked him to the door. "Do you have all your stuff?" He asked.
"Yeah, and hey even if I don't you could just bring it to school for me tomorrow right." Hinata grinned. "Thanks for tonight, it was awesome."
"Of course." Komaeda nodded. "I uh… I look forward to seeing you at school tomorrow."
"Me too." Hinata said. They smiled at each other. As Hinata walked off down the path Komaeda stared after him with a million butterflies fluttering around in his stomach, his heart felt as though it was going to leap out of his chest. He took a few deep breaths and began to worry he might be getting sick until the truth hit him like ton of bricks. Oh… Oh no! He was in love with Hinata! He clutched at the doorframe to prevent himself from keeling over. No… No no no no no no no. This couldn't be happening. He couldn't fall in love with Hinata. His sexuality was one of the few things he wasn't made fun of for. Since everybody had already written off the idea that someone as creepy as him could ever be in a relationship they'd never questioned it, which was good because he was sure if people learned he was gay they'd just bully him for that too. What if Hinata hated him for it? Sure they were friends now but what would happen if he found out Komaeda felt more for him? Would he be disgusted? Probably, Komaeda decided, sliding down to the floor dejectedly. Hinata didn't strike him as the homophobic type so he wasn't worried about that, it was something he worried about with others in his school though. Still, the idea of him, Nagito Komaeda, being in love with him; Hinata would definitely be disgusted if he found out, then he'd have ruined the only friendship he'd ever had.
