Love is Not Extinct
Chapter 04: Club Niji Hikari
Yamaguchi was excited. It wasn't often that Tsukishima agreed to go out to a place as crowded as a club. Sure, he went out with his other friends and had fun, but it wasn't the same as hanging out with Tsukishima. They had been best friends since they had met in elementary school.
Their group stood outside, waiting in line to get into the club; the beat from the music inside was loud enough to be heard outside. Yamaguchi looked up at Tsukishima who stood next to him. He wore a pair of black jeans and a white t-shirt with the black print of a tyrannosaurus skeleton on the front. The shirt had been a gift from Yamaguchi a few years ago for Christmas and it made him happy to see he still wore it.
Tsukishima looked away from Yamaguchi's phone which he held in his hand and looked down at the slightly shorter male with a raised brow. He had given his own phone to Haruhisa when they had dropped him off at the Sawamura home. Yamaguchi had told Tsukishima he could keep his phone on him in case Haruhisa needed to contact him; the boy knew that it was the best number to text if he needed anything.
"What?" Tsukishima asked as their group finally made it inside the club and could take off their coats as they waited in the shorter line to pay for entrance and get their wrist bands.
"Nothing." Yamaguchi smiled as he slipped out of his coat and Tsukishima looked down at his shirt, almost as if he had forgotten what he was wearing, before looking back at Yamaguchi. "Of course, I do. It's my favorite shirt," he started very matter-of-factly.
Yamaguchi was grateful that the lighting inside the club was darker, and with the constant changing colors he was sure his friend couldn't see him blush at the comment.
"Did you get fashion advice from Asahi?"
"Huh?" Yamaguchi looked down at his outfit – faded blue jeans, and an off-white t-shirt under a steel blue vest which was left unbuttoned. "Does it look weird?" He was anxious to know the answer.
"No," he replied simply as their group stepped up to the counter. "You look good."
Once again Yamaguchi was extremely thankful for the club lighting to hide his very red cheeks.
"Welcome to Niji Hikari!" the front desk employee greeted as she flipped her bright blonde and pink hair behind her shoulder. "Once you've paid here, step over to the wristband booth and pick your color, and you'll be able to enter the club." She motioned to the other employee, a man with dark spiky hair and multiple piercings in his ears, who was handing out wristbands to patrons before allowing them to enter the club.
On the wall behind him was a large board with a title written in blocky text and vibrant, rainbow colors that read:
CHOOSE YOUR COLOR!
Beneath the title was a paragraph explaining the clubs wrist bands followed by a list of what each color meant:
Choose your wristband color based on your preference in partners. Don't forget to always have your wristband visible for others to see!
Blue – Interested in men
Green – Interested in men but open to other partners
Yellow – Bisexual
Orange – Interested in women but open to other partners
Red – Interested in women
Purple – Asexual
Black – In a relationship
White – Open for anything!
Nishinoya was the first to go up to the counter. He wore one of his favorite clubbing outfits – a pair of dark green, skinny jeans with distressed holes in the knees and thighs, a clean pair of white converse shoes, and a white tank top with black bold lettering that read: 'Rolling Thunder'. He paid for both his and Asumane's entrance fee, despite the taller man's protests, and walked over to get their wrist bands.
"Two blue wristbands."
You didn't have to be able to see the color of Azumane's cheeks to know he was blushing. But they all also knew that Azumane was grateful to Nishinoya for his boldness because, unlike Nishinoya, he was terribly shy and reserved. He would have been too embarrassed to do this himself.
The employee looked at Azumane to confirm that he did in fact want a blue wristband. Azumane nodded in confirmation, tucking a strand of his long brown hair behind his ear, and scrunching up the sleeves of his grey V-neck shirt, held out his right arm for the employee to put the band on. Then both men made their way into the club.
Kinoshita and Narita followed next, both requesting a red wristband, followed by Ennoshita who requested a black wristband.
"You and Aihara are getting pretty serious then, huh?" Sugawara smiled, coming up behind Ennoshita after paying for his entrance. "Blue please," he said to the club employee.
"Serious enough to be exclusive," Ennoshita replied with a smile. "I'm not in a rush but I think there is something there."
"Well congratulations!" Tanaka patted Ennoshia hard on the back as he and Kiyoko both got their black wrist bands and the small section of their group made their way into the club to join Nishinoya and Azumane.
The remaining four members of their group stepped up to the counter. Hinata walked up first, each of his steps almost a bounce because he was so full of energy. The orange shirt he wore almost made his hair not so obnoxiously bright.
"Yellow please." Hinata smiled brightly then looked at Yachi, who fumbled as she tried to pay the lady and bowed her head apologizing multiple times.
She held her wallet to her chest as she looked up at the board to pick the right color. She wore a white spaghetti strap shirt that changed colors every time the lights shifted, tucked into a sparkly, baby blue skirt that came down to her mid thighs. "Uh, can I have a blue wristband please?"
Tsukishima chuckled low behind Yamaguchi, which caused the brunette to look back at his friend curiously. "She can't do anything without getting flustered."
Yamaguchi looked over at Hinata and Yachi as they walked into the club together. "You're right." Yamaguchi laughed lightly. "It's funny to watch her get all flustered over everything."
Yamaguchi watched Tsukishima as he looked up at the board, reading the colors before requesting an orange band. It made Yamaguchi wonder how open his best friend really was. He had never seen the blonde show even the slightest interest in men. In all honesty, he hardly even showed a heavy interest in women. Tsukishima obviously preferred women, they would talk about them. And Yamaguchi remembered when Tsukishima met Akiyama, Harushia's mother. The two of them talked about her a lot since it was the first sexual partner Tsukishima had ever had and at the time Yamaguchi had no experience.
The memory of their high school years made Yamaguchi smile. The two of them had been attached at the hip since they had met in elementary school Tsukishima was always there for him. In elementary he stood up for him and protected him from bullies until Yamaguchi could be strong on his own. In middle school Tsukishima was his greatest support as Yamaguchi was struggling to come to terms with his own sexuality. Tsukishima hadn't even flinched when Yamaguchi came out to him. Yamaguchi had been so worried about telling his best friend, worried he would be grossed out and not want to be around him. Instead the blonde had just smirked at him and teased him about a boy in their gym class he had noticed Yamaguchi talked to a lot.
Yamaguchi had tried to tell him he didn't like anyone, but Tsukishima saw right through his lies. But he never pushed the subject, and Yamaguchi had never had the guts to tell the blond that he was the one that Yamaguchi had always been in love with. Especially once they started High School and Tsukishima got involved with girls.
But despite everything, one thing had never changed, Tsukishima was always by his side. And no matter what happened, as long as he could stay close to his friend, he would be happy.
"Oi, Yamaguchi." Tsukishima's voice startled Yamaguchi out of his thoughts as he looked back over at his friend. "Stop spacing out and grab your wrist band."
"Sorry Tsukki." He blushed, walking over to the counter, mumbling for a blue bang as he held his hand out.
Tsukishima put his hand on Yamaguchi's head, guiding him into the club. "Come on airhead," he said, releasing his grip as they walked through the crowd. "If I am going to make it through the night, I need to get myself a drink."
The club was packed. Colored lights danced on the bodies as they pressed and grinded against each other. The smell of sweat and alcohol filled the room as the body heat from the patrons radiated off the dance floor. Yamaguchi found it exciting but also overwhelming. Tsukishima on the other hand, walked through the people with a straight expression, looking bored as they made their way upstairs to the wrap-around balcony where Nishinoya had reserved a couple tables for their group.
"Whoo hoo!" Nishinoya said, jumping and pumping his fist in the air as he looked over the railing, down at the crowd, as Tsukishima and Yamaguchi arrived. "The club is jiving tonight! We are going to party hard!" Hinata and Tanaka joined in on his second howl of excitement.
Tsukishima just rolled his eyes, shaking his head. "Idiots." Yamaguchi smiled.