When Jiroh and Otori approached the other three, they saw Gakuto arguing with a very pink Shishido.
"Typical…" Jiroh yawned and turned to Oshitari. "Ne, I'm hungry…"
In a normal case, Oshitari would promptly take out a candy bar for the sleepy boy, but this time, he just stood, staring at Shishido and Gakuto.
Why?
They were being nice to each other.
Well, maybe not perfectly nice, but they certainly didn't seem like they were killing each other as they normally did. Gakuto was whispering into Shishido's ear, which was strange enough. What was more, Gakuto was grinning and looked like he might burst into laughter at any moment. Oshitari might've been imagining it, but to him, it looked like Shishido was turning a deeper shade of red with every passing second.
Oshitari was not the type to get jealous easily, but, as a fact, Gakuto wasn't this secretive, and it was really pissing him off.
"Gakuto, let's go." Oshitari grabbed his arm and pulled him away from Shishido. As Gakuto was being dragged along the path, Shishido felt the need to yell at him.
"Like you're doing any better?"
He had hit a nerve. Gakuto wriggled free of Oshitari's grip, and turned to face Shishido, looking ready to hit him. However, he just took Oshitari's hand and he started running down the path in the opposite direction.
"Gakuto? Gakuto…what's wrong?" Gakuto didn't answer; he just kept running until they finally stopped at the lake.
"It's pretty…isn't it pretty, Yuushi?"
…Okay, something was definitely upsetting Gakuto. It wasn't like him to enjoy looking at the lake, much less saying that it was pretty. This was the first time Oshitari had heard Gakuto use the word…and to use it twice in one sentence was just…uncalled for.
Oshitari disregarded this though, and just responded, "Yeah…really pretty…"
Gakuto looked up and stared at Oshitari for a while before starting to babble.
"Ne, Yuushi, isn't tennis fun?"
"Yeah…"
"Do you like playing doubles?"
"Yeah."
"Aren't we great at thinking of plans?"
"Yeah."
"Otori and Shishido would be great together, wouldn't they?"
"Yeah."
"Jiroh and Atobe are pretty cute together too, don't you think?"
"Yeah."
"Do you like me?"
Somehow…somehow, Oshitari knew that the question was coming. He'd been waiting for the question since the first day they met, imagining all the scenes in his head, daydreaming about it all the time. And yet, he wasn't prepared for it. In his mind, he had always known what to do, what to say, but now…
"…Yeah."
That was all he could say. Nothing fancy, nothing romantic, just one word.
Gakuto put his head on Oshitari's shoulder.
One word was enough for him.
For a while, the two of them didn't move, and just enjoyed each others' company. After some time, Gakuto finally lifted his head up off Oshitari, and they sat down to wait for everyone else.
---
"C'mon, Otori! I'll race you to the lake!" Jiroh hopped around a bit, waiting for a response.
"No, you can go on ahead, I'll be fine by myself."
"'Kay! Shishido…that's your name, right? Take care of Otori! Don't be mean!" Jiroh started skipping down the path before turning around again.
"Otori, if he tries to molest you or murder you or mug you or anything like that, just say no, 'kay? You don't have to be nice all the time! Got it?"
Otori and Shishido stared at Jiroh, but Otori eventually said yes, and Jiroh continued skipping down the path.
"Geez…what does he think I'm going to do…?"
Otori laughed a little bit at this and the pair started walking as Jiroh skipped out of sight.
It was quiet for a minute, but then Shishido decided that he would break the awkwardness between them. The silence was unbearable. You would think that someone who spent the whole day with Gakuto wouldn't mind it, but to Shishido, it felt weird when no one was talking.
"So…you and that hyper kid seem pretty close…"
"Eh? N-no, it's not like that!"
"…Huh?"
"Oh. Well…I mean…yeah, we're pretty good friends…his boyfriend was the one who suggested that I should come to America in the first place, and we've all known each other for a couple years now…"
Ooh, really? Shishido would have to thank his boyfriend later.
Well, he'd only have to thank him if the plan worked, but that's beside the point.
They kept walking…
…Another awkward silence.
Shishido ran a hand through his ponytail. "So…I've been wondering…"
"Yes?" Otori's heart started racing for no apparent reason.
"…Why do you always wear that cross necklace?" Oh…well, there was no reason for Otori to be disappointed, was there? What was he expecting, anyways? A proposal? Well, he'd have to wait quite a while for that, wouldn't he?
"I'm not sure why I wear it all the time. I guess I just like it. And…it reminds me of someone really special."
Shishido's heart sank.
"Really…? Who?"
"I don't know yet, but I'm sure I'll find someone soon. Jiroh said that to me."
Aha…that was kind of scary for a second, there…but it did answer the question of whether or not Otori had a girl or boyfriend yet.
When he mentioned Jiroh, Otori remembered the promise he made to him. Jiroh was expecting him to work everything out before he returned to Japan, and…
…Oh yeah, he had to go back to Japan in just…what, two weeks? Even if it turned out that they both liked each other, it would never work out with the distance.
But still, the promise…the promise to Jiroh, and the promise to himself…that he would make it work out somehow.
"Shishido-san?"
"Mm?"
"Can I ask you something?"
"Sure."
"And…do you promise you'll answer me?"
"Of course. Why wouldn't I?"
"Shishido-san, do you…" He paused. "Do you like-"
"There they are! Look! Oi, Otori! Shishido! Hurry up!"
"Coming, coming! Worry about yourself, shorty! Ah…what were you going to ask me?"
Otori slung his head in defeat, replying, "No, it was nothing".
"If you say so…hey, if something's wrong, just ask me, okay?"
"Yeah…okay."
As they neared the rest of the group, Otori put a hand to the cross hanging on his neck.
"No…nothing at all."
-xxxx-
A/N: Yay, I'm updating more again! Bleh…I should really start homework…but…it's…too…boring…sigh
Please look forward to the next chapter as well!