Coming Out on Top
Chapter Two: Peeping Tom
Kenma's mind went blank. Properly blank. He had to move, he couldn't just stand there!? Yet his legs felt like two metal poles, completely detached from his body, as if he was a scarecrow, cursed to stare and stare at what was happening before him.
The guy's golden eyes starred back at him as he continued to pounded into the drama club girl, now with more enthusiasm. With the sweaty girl clinging to him, he dragged his tongue, slowly, sensually, up the side of her neck, then winked down at the blushing Kenma.
That one wink sent Kenma's legs into a frantic frenzy and he was suddenly sprinting back to the safety of the oak tree like a rabbit hearing a gunshot. He threw himself into the shadows, his knees hitting the ground and sinking into the cold dirt.
He knelt there, still as a statue, praying that the outside light would go off again.
After a minute of painfully holding his breath, it finally went out.
His heart was hammering so loudly in his chest that he thought maybe he was actually having a heart attack, but quickly decided he was just drunk instead. Yes, he was drunk. He could definitely use that as an excuse if he ever ran into that guy again, oh god- what if he ran into that guy again?
Kenma wracked his brain. He'd never seen him at school before, so hopefully he wouldn't ever see him again. But he could think about that later, because in that moment he was in danger of another rogue hedgehog setting off the outdoor lights again. Now, how the fuck was he going to escape?
He contemplated ringing Yachi and telling her to go on without him and sleeping outside all night under the tree. The grass looked mossy and comfy, it wouldn't be that bad. He might freeze to death, but that would be better than getting caught a second time.
Feeling a little woozy, he opened his phone to text Yachi. Ringing was way too risky; he didn't want to make any noise whatsoever. As a precaution, he anxiously slid his phone into silent mode and brought up Yachi's contact. He stared down at the screen, finding the keyboard swimming in his vision. He screwed one eye shut and tried his hardest to hit the right letters.
Hey-
He really didn't know what to say.
I'm stuck behind a tree?
No.
Delete.
Hey! Thanks for waiting but I've found my own way home, I'll text you when I get in.
Kenma read it back to himself twice checking for drunken typos, and finally sent it. Before he could jam his phone back in his pocket it had already buzzed three times with Yachi's replies.
She obviously would have questions, but he couldn't explain himself. He just could not.
Meanwhile the girl in the bedroom was still screaming, and to Kenma's horror he heard her, um, finish. Her voice hit a crescendo, then there was silence. The desk stopped hitting the wall. From his spot behind the tree Kenma heard muffled voices and movement, the silence
More minutes passed. More silence. Maybe the coast was clear, maybe this was his chance to run. He stood up and looked out through the dark to the back garden wall. Maybe he could jump over it and into the next door neighbour's place then get away from there.
Even from the distance, the wall looked to be twice the height of himself, but Kenma was desperate.
Feeling like he was walking across a minefield he left the safety of the oak tree and walked out to the back wall, still hidden from the view of the bedroom.
He heard a soft click and froze, but realised that the garden had become darker, the bedroom light having been turned off. That was only a slight relief, he wasn't out of the woods yet.
Upon reaching the fence Kenma found that it was indeed twice his height. There were only three skinny horizontal planks of wood half way up each metre that he could maybe cling to and climb up.
He gripped one of the support beams and vaulted upwards, but quickly found his feet back on the ground, having not come even CLOSE to the first horizontal plank.
He was about to jump up and try again, but someone behind him cleared their throat.
Kenma's pulse leapt into overdrive and he whipped right around. There, leaning up against the oak tree was the guy from inside, his arms crossed, his grin visible even in the dark.
"If it isn't the Peeping Tom," he drawled. "You know I have a front door?"
Kenma could play dead. He could just hit the dirt, the guy would call an ambulance, it would all be over.
"Well?" The guy continued, waiting for an answer. Kenma noted that he was in clothes now. Loose track pants and a thin t-shirt. The image of him butt naked continued to flash in his mind. Butt naked and licking that girl.
Kenma's face reddened in the dark. He knew the guy couldn't see it, but he still felt absolutely mortified.
"Well…. I…." the drunk Kenma managed to stammer. "I thought given the circumstances… I should try the back fence?"
The dark-haired guy's grin widened at that, and Kenma wondered why he wasn't getting the shit kicked out of him yet. That's what people did right, when they caught people peeping at them? He must be angry, right?
The guy kicked off the tree and walked towards him. Kenma braced for impact. He hoped he wouldn't slug him in the face, his stomach would be fine, just not the face.
No such punch flew his way. Instead, he found a hand being extended out towards him.
"I'm Kuroo," The guy said, his words lightly slurring, unfocused. And he was smiling too much. It became clear to Kenma that this guy was pretty drunk himself. "Just transferred to Karasuno for my final yearr. This is my place, if you were wondering—"
Great. They went to the same school.
And he was the rich boy? He did look rich, in a strange way. Maybe it was because he was objectively good looking and tall. "Oh… I'm uh, Kenma," Kenma replied, gingerly taking his hand, the hand that had just been all over those two naked girls. Embarrassed at the memory, he took a half step back and cast his eyes to the ground. "I'm really sorry, I don't usually- ah… look through windows? But I kinda left my jacket in there."
"Your jacket?" Kuroo echoed, gazing down at him or maybe straight through him. Yes, he was very drunk. Drunker than Kenma. Kenma wondered how he'd even managed to creep up on him.
"Yeah, it's in that room," Kenma said.
"Your jacket is in my room," Kuroo pondered with difficulty.
"Yes my jacket is in your room," Kenma repeated patiently.
Finally it dawned on the guy and he made to grab Kenma's wrist. "Ohhh you should've just said! Let's go get it!" He began pulling Kenma back towards the house.
"Hey- wait a sec-!" Kenma exclaimed.
"Whoa!" Kuroo laughed, his shoulder suddenly colliding with the oak tree. "Tree came outta nowhere- oh wait. Shit." Kenma watched as he collapsed against the tree, seemingly out of breath.
Kenma grabbed his shoulder. "Hey- Are you okay?"
The senior gave him a breathy smile. "I- wow actually maybe not it's all just hit me."
Kenma's stomach dropped. "What's just hit you?"
"Before the cops came the guys were handing out pills and- hah. Fuck." He clutched his forehead to stop the dizzness. "Can you help me inside?"
Kenma's first instinct was no. He didn't want to be anywhere alone in a house with this guy. That would just be plain dumb. He was a complete stranger. Kenma didn't trust him as far as he could kick him. Kuroo immediately understood his silence.
"Look I don't care that you saw me fucking tho-" he whined. "Fuck- I feel like I'm gonna vom."
Kenma took pity on him and slid an arm around his waist, hoping he wouldn't be vomited on for being a good person. "Let's get you inside."
.oo
After a short hobble across the lawn, up a set of steps and through a sliding glass door (dammit, why did they have doors that looked like walls!? This WHOLE situation could have been avoided altogether!) they finally got inside. And for Kenma, who had little upper body strength and usually ditched P.E class this was no easy feat. By the time they got into Kuroo's room and and collapsed down onto the bed, both teens were sweating and puffed.
"Thanks," Kuroo managed to say, weakly squirming up the dark comforter to lay his head on a perfectly fluffed pillow. "My hero,"
"No problem," Kenma said mostly out of politeness. He sincerely hoped he'd never have to see this guy again. This night had been a complete disaster, he wanted to go home and pretend it never happened "I'd better get going-"
He'd attempted to lift himself off the bed when Kuroo's warm hand reached out and latched onto his wrist again. Kenma looked down at him, and found he had his eyes screwed shut, a damp sweat on his forehead, glistening in the light of the bedside lamp. When he spoke his voice was quiet, a touch desperate, definitely embarrassed. "Could you, ah, stay a while, please? I think it's… I think it's getting worse."
Kenma's heartstrings pulled.
From merely looking at him, the junior could tell he was out of his league. Kuroo was a good-looking, popular senior guy. So rich he could throw a massive house party for all his friends, and so attractive that two girls coerced him into a threesome. Yet here he was, clutching at Kenma's wrist, like a scared child. He'd never seen a popular person look like this.
So… Human.
The thought made Kenma feel a little sad.
"Yeah, sure," Kenma replied, quietly, and he moved to lay down next to the senior on the bed. Kuroo's hand immediately softened, his whole body seeming to relax. The blonde felt guilty that he'd even considered leaving.
"How are you feeling now?" He asked, starring up at the ceiling.
"The room's spinning," Kuroo murmured.
Kenma turned his head to look at him. "Your eyes are shut."
The senior cracked a smile. "My brain's spinning then." Silence fell over the pair, then; "Can you talk to me more? I think that's helping. It's taking my mind off it."
"What do you want to talk about?"
"I dunno. Anything."
Kenma smiled back up at the ceiling. "You know it's hard to start a conversation when someone tells you to just start talking."
Silence fell between them again, long enough for Kenma to chance a peak back over to the senior, and was surprised when their hazel eyes met. "You smiled." Kuroo mused, his cheek smushed up against his pillow. "You're pretty cute."
Kenma looked back at the ceiling and frowned. Lev popped into his head again and he felt that now-familiar pang in his chest. Lev had called him cute before, a lot.
"You don't like me." Kuroo said, pulling him out of his Lev-thoughts. It caught him off-guard.
"No, it's not that, sorry, I had a shit night," he apologised. The bed shifted next to him as Kuroo heavily rolled onto his side to face him.
"Wha happened?" He asked, his eyebrows raised in drunken concern. If Kenma wasn't feeling so miserable he might have laughed at the dumb expression on his face.
He starred straight ahead. "Nothing. My ex-boyfriend was here." The words fell clunky in his mouth. They didn't feel right to say. 'My Ex-boyfriend.' If he'd said that sentence earlier in the day he probably would have burst into tears. The alcohol mingled with tiredness seemed to be creating a tear-shield. The blonde didn't feel much of anything.
"Ahhhh that's shit." Kuroo confirmed, eloquently. He looked up at Kenma with his dark hair falling in his eyes "You want to talk about it?"
Kenma shook his head.
Kuroo continued to scrutinise him, then suddenly a thought jumped into his drugged up mind. "Wait!" He said, his hand slapping down on the top of the bedspread. "That was you the other day!" What? "At school, you were like sobbing by the lockers." Kenma winced. He'd been caught. "Was that about your ex too?"
"That would have been after he broke up with me, right after," Kenma said, feeling his mouth move but not quite registering what he was saying. It was easier that way.
"Oh. Sorry." Kuroo offered. Kenma nodded at the weak apology. "It's pretty brave of you coming to the party tonight, did you know he'd be here?"
"Yeah, but I didn't come here for him." Sort of. It wasn't a complete lie.
Kuroo then jumped to what Kenma considered to be the most implausible conclusion. "You were looking for a rebound?"
"No!" Kenma exclaimed. "I came here for my friends- To hang out with my friends."
Kuroo proceeded to jump to an even bigger conclusion. "Are you a virgin?"
"What?"
Kuroo laid there patiently, waiting for an answer. Kenma began to lightly sweat. Why were they even talking about this!? Did Kuroo do this with everyone-? Did he have a habit of delving into people's personal lives when he'd only just met them?!
He was still waiting for an answer. Kenma sucked in a breath. And in his smallest voice-
"We did it… One time."
"And then he dumped you," Kuroo nodded, stabbing a metaphorical knife through Kenma's heart. Because, after all, he'd hit the nail on the head. Wounded, all he could do was lay there and take it. And Kuroo, drunkenly wouldn't stop giving it. "Now see, that's the rule, after bad sex you give it a week to not hurt the other person's feelings," he abruptly stopped talking seeing the look on Kenma's face. "I'm not saying it was bad sex just that maybe you two weren't compatible."
Now slightly angry, the blonde almost got up and stormed out of the room altogether. He sat up, flustered, wanting to at least get the last word in. "And I thought a relationship was about more than just sex," he huffed, looking anywhere but at Kuroo. "Well, maybe I'm an idiot. But you should mind your own business."
The intoxicated senior seemed to register that he'd fucked up majorly and groped for his wrist again. "Wait! I don't think you're an idiot, I offended you, I'm sorry." Kenma stilled on the bed, and Kuroo couldn't help himself. "I'm just suggesting you're a little in-experienced."
"Oh, great." Kenma said, still wanting to leave. "You don't have a filter do you?" he levelled. "Like, you just say whatever you want, whenever you want?"
"Am I right though?" Kuroo asked, unable to drop it.
But Kenma didn't want to talk about it. "So how often do you have sex then?" he said, in an attempt to turn the tables on the annoying senior.
"Every day."
Kenma scoffed. "No way."
"Not if you're counting with myself." Kuroo grinned, dissolving into giggles at Kenma's disgusted look.
Kenma wished he'd just fall asleep already, but the senior had other plans. "Okay, let's do this," Kuroo sighed, as if he was taking on some huge burden, then began wriggling up the bed in an attempt to sit up. "I'm going to teach you how to have sex."
"No, you're not," Kenma chuckled. He could easily send him sailing onto the floor with one well placed kick, and he wasn't above it.
"Come on- come 'ere!" Kuroo extended his hands out in front of him, towards the ceiling and no one in particular. Kenma couldn't handle it any longer and proceeded to crack up laughing. It wasn't helped but the fact that Kuroo had lost control of his eye lids and was squinting everywhere out of tiredness. It wasn't the least bit attractive or seductive. It sure was funny though.
"You're pretty when you laugh," Kuroo smiled up at him, as if getting him to laugh had been the goal all along. The last bit of laughter bubbled up Kenma's throat then he laid back down on the soft bed, exhausted. He looked back at Kuroo and was surprised when the senior's hand came up to sweep his blonde hair back behind his ear, revealing his face underneath. "There, much better." Kuroo said, dreamily.
If he weren't so tired, Kenma would have been worried he was about to be kissed. But Kuroo didn't kiss him, and Kenma was glad because he didn't want to kiss him.
If he'd found Lev in the back garden he could be kissing him right now.
The blonde let his mind wander, and started to speak without realising. "I wish I'd had someone to teach me about it, sex and stuff. When it happened, I felt like I couldn't do anything right. You're right, if I'd been good at it, Lev wouldn't have broken up with me. Maybe if I get good at it, he might want me back," he was met with silence, and cast his eyes back to Kuroo. "Do you think he would-?"
He half expected to find the senior asleep. Instead, Kuroo was gazing at him in shock, his mouth wide open. "You… Actually want me to teach you how to have sex?"
WHAT!? "No no no no no no-" Kenma shook his head, quickly trying to clear his brain.
Kuroo grinned at the ceiling, still in shock, eyes open wide like he'd won the lottery. "Absolutely I'm in!" He hollered, then rolled over on the bed as if to go to sleep.
"Hey- no- wait!" Kenma pleaded, their conversation far from over.
Kuroo waved a hand at him dismissively. "I'm going to sleep now, but in the morning prepare yourself to get the sex lesson OF YOUR LIFE-!" He sent one righteous finger spiralling towards the ceiling, slammed his eyes shut and fell into an instantaneous deep sleep.
What… Had just happened?
Kenma starred at the back of his head. He lay there and starred and starred and starred. They were… Just drunk, right? They didn't actually know each other. This was ridiculous.
Figuring it was too late/early to go home, Kenma decided to sleep there and sneak out before Kuroo woke up in the morning. Hopefully Kuroo wouldn't remember anything, and if they ran into each other at school, they could pretend none of this had ever happened.
He tried to be optimistic as he too rolled over and to go to sleep. What a mess of a night.
He thought of Lev and shut his eyes.