Haru's brain was buzzing with caffeine, mental exhaustion, and discomposure. Doing his best to keep the conversation aggravatingly bland in a desperate attempt to steer clear of any potentially embarrassing verbal spasms, he asked Nagisa innocuous questions about his car, how long he's lived in the area, and he—cringing—even mentioned how unseasonably warm it's been. They eventually settled into a silence that had Haru glancing anxiously around the car.
"Do you have any music or anything?" he student finally questioned, realizing they still had a few miles left to drive. He couldn't make any more small talk; it was killing him.
"I do!" the blond answered happily, reaching over Haru to open his glove compartment and extract an iPod. He set it on the younger man's knee, "play whatever you like! The chord is…uh…oh, never mind, I slammed it in the door yesterday and I forgot to buy a new one. Sorry, Haru-chan."
Sigh "It's fine." Haru leaned his head against the window to appreciate the coolness of the glass on his temple.
"Do you have a girlfriend?"
"What!" the male jolted at the suddenness of the question, "um, no I don't."
"Boyfriend?"
"No…I—I don't." Lord save me."uh…why?"
" Mmh.."The graduate student seemed to consider Haru's question for a moment, creating an atmosphere that made Haru want to claw his way out the window.
"How do you know Levi?"
"Huh!?" What the fuck?"How…do you know that I know Levi?"
"Your phone, silly." The man smiled, glancing momentarily from the road to observe his startled passenger. "I saw his name in your contacts when I added mine. His last name is Ackerman, so it was at the top."
Haru's mind blanked. "We um. He…I…he was my cognitive psych professor." He forced out quickly.
"Uh huh," Nagisa giggled, "do you have all of your former professors' phone numbers?"
"So what if I do?" the student snapped.
"Then I would say you're either really into school, or really slutty, especially if they all look like Levi."
The younger male gaped at the driver, burning with a mixture of shock and dread.
"Do you kn-er, excuse me!? What the fuck are you trying to say?"
The blond's sly smile never faltered, "I don't know, what do you think I'm trying to say?"
Haru just stared, dumbly, his eyebrows furrowed.
"Oh my god, Haru-chan, relax. I'm just teasing you." He reached over to squeeze the vexed student's knee, unconcerned by the noticeable recoil, "There are literally, like, four whole reasons why you might have his number, I didn't really mean anything by it."
The passenger visibly exhaled and turned away, rubbing his eyes tiredly, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to get so defensive."
"I know," replied the blond, placing both hands on the steering wheel. "So you aren't in a relationship." He stated. "I guess that means I can't use you, then."
"Okay, now what does thatmean!" Haru bristled again.
"You really need to work on that defensive attitude of yours, Haru-chan." Nagisa laughed.
"Maybe you need to work on your...vulgar and suggestive comments!" Did I seriously just use the word 'vulgar?' I'm such a tool.
"I don't think I'm the one framing them suggestively, Haaaaru-chan."
"I—ugh! What! Okay, seriously, what do you mean you can't use me?"
"I only meant," he paused, and flashed the student a grin, "that I wouldn't be able to use you as a participant. In a study. Is that okay?"
"Oh for fuck's sake." Haru slouched in his seat. "You are…exhausting."
"Want to test that statement?"
Jesus fucking Christ. Wait."Hey wait, a study? I thought you were working on something about goals and resources…why would my relationship status exclude me from the sample?"
"Oh yeah, that's my advisor's research, but I have a few ideas of my own. I'm still in the preliminary stages, though. I turn here, right?"
"Um yeah. So what are your own ideas?" Haru perked up, interested; his heart rate slowing.
Nagisa hummed thoughtfully for a moment; evidently unsure if he should share his intentions with the curious male.
"Never mind," the student added quickly, "I understand if you're not ready to talk about it. My apartment is up here on the left. The yellow building"
"Thanks Haru-chan. I'll definitely tell you about it soon, though. I promise."
He pulled to the side of the road and brought the car to a smooth stop. Haru opened the door and gathered the backpack at his feet; he glanced sideways at the small blond, who had turned his body in the driver's seat to watch him exit the car.
"Well," Haru began, "it was nice to meet you and tha-"
"Haru, wait!" Nagisa gasped, catching the student's wrist as he leaned to exit the car.
He wordlessly glanced down at the small hand gripping him. "I—" Haru opened his mouth and closed it again, words escaping him; his brain frozen. "Yeah…?" he finally whispered, hoping the older male couldn't detect the waver in his voice, or the fact that his breath hitched when he found himself staring up at the man's magenta eyes, dark from the dim light of the car.
The blond stared into Haru's frozen face, seemingly searching for something in particular; his face fixed with his signature impish smile.
"What—" Haru started hoarsely; he cleared his throat, "what are you doing?"
Shining eyes blinked and Nagisa released the younger male's hand, "an experiment." He beamed, placing his delicate fingers softly back on the steering wheel. "Goodnight Haru-chan."
"Um yeah. Thanks for the ride." Haru managed with a slight scowl, a mix of irritated confusion and...something else impeding his ability to be polite. He stepped out onto the street and forcefully slammed the door without looking back. He heard the car pull away as his long strides took him across the street and to the stoop of his apartment building. It wasn't until he tried sliding the key into the lock that he acknowledged how violently his hands were shaking; his body high from an accelerated heart rate.
I shouldn't have had coffee this late.
He slid the key into the lock and turned it quietly; it was only 10pm, plus it was a Friday, so he knew Makoto would probably be up playing the new Fallout game that his brother bought him for his birthday, but Haru wasn't in the mood for any more human interaction. Especially interactions involving groveling and militant apologizing.
I guess I have to go to Rei's tomorrow to check the damage.He thought, lamenting the fate of his car.
He sighed, quietly slipping through the door to the foyer and shutting it behind him. An unexpected silence greeted him as he toed off his shoes and hung up his keys. Relief spread through his chest as he figured that Makoto had gone to bed early, he probably passed out from the overwhelming guilt. It's got to be exhausting ruining your friend's life.He melodramatically fumed as he tripped over some of what looked to be and item from of his roommate's nearby laundry basket.
Oh good, he's even trying to kill me.
He padded through the kitchen to the cabinet in search of a bottle of some garbage wine that Rin had left behind last week; he had a fight with his girlfriend—at least what Rin considered to be a fight, Haru wouldn't label a mild disagreement about curtains as a fight—and begged to spend the night on their couch in exchange for two bottles of pinot noir, which turned into one after Rin decided he needed a glass or 3, and spent the rest of the night sobbing into Makoto's chest. As much as he enjoyed his emotional friend's theatrics, right now wished that he had left behind something a bit stronger. Haru didn't often drink, but after the strange night he had, I just need something to counter the caffeine, he chose to forego a glass and took a large gulp straight from the bottle.
"mhm…st..p"
Haru stilled as a muted sound caught his ears. There was no light shining from the living room, so he didn't think his roommate was awake, Maybe he fell asleep on the couch,the male concluded, slightly perturbed that he might have to rouse his friend if he wanted to drink his wine in front of some shitty movie on Netflix. Maybe he could sneak by and spend the rest of the night alone in his room, drinking bad wine with his laptop and watching—
"..ah…a"
Another sound emanated from the darkened room, and Haru decided to be a hero and rescue Makoto—who was prone to night terrors—from whatever dream was causing him to moan in his sleep. He sighed again, and paced across the large kitchen to the living room with his bottle in hand and—
A terrified scream tore through the apartment