Day 7: Change
"You cut your hair."
Kou starts, banging his head on the shoe locker. He winces, dropping the white indoor shoes on the floor in his haste to hold the back of his head tenderly. "No shit," he mutters, sending an icy glare Kominato's way as he steps into his shoes.
The blond boy seems undeterred, walks over to his best friend and slaps his hands down the sides of his face for a closer inspection, turning it this way and that. Gone is his shaggy half-perm; the sides are closely shaven, exposing his ears and emphasizing the slope of his jaw. His fringe hangs neatly above his eyebrows and over his forehead for the first time in years. Kou colors at the proximity.
"What the fu—geroff mm!" Kou exclaims, shoving him roughly away. "Dude, what's gotten into you?"
He brushes himself off, still disbelieving. "You cut your hair," he states simply.
Kou rubs a hand over his face in exasperation. "Your perceptual skills are astounding, Kominato, but your vocabulary? Not so much," he drawls as he hefts his school bag over his shoulder. He heads down the corridor, not waiting for him to follow.
"So why'd you do it?" Kominato persists, easily falling into step beside him.
Kou looks at him from the corners of his eyes, weighing his options. If he lies and tells him that the hair gets into his eyes or some other lame excuse, the guy will probably keep pestering him about it like the nosy little shit he is (he swears that's a term of endearment, if guys do that kind of thing) until he cracks. Or maybe until Kou breaks his nose.
Then and there, he decides that he doesn't want to be friendless for the rest of junior year and gives in.
"It's for Yoshioka."
He speaks so quietly that Kominato almost misses it—almost. In an instant, enlightenment dawns in his eyes while his whole face flushes bright red like he's embarrassed. Kou leaves him alone to his epiphany.
They walk in amiable silence for about five seconds before the blond bursts, "You love her."
Kou punches him in the shoulder in reply.
"No, seriously, Kou, I'm so proud of you! Although I question your methods 'cause you can't just win back her heart by cutting your hair and trying to be the cool and refreshing Tanaka-kun, now I see that you're finally stepping up your game since you're so whip—"
"Don't say it."
"But Kou, you—"
"I said, don't say it!"
"Say what?"
They whip their heads towards the source of the voice; Kominato blurts out a quick "Nothing!", covers his mouth with a hand, and actually giggles before sidling off into the classroom, leaving the pair alone. Kou is livid, muttering a string of curses in his head as he faces the girl with trepidation.
Yoshioka looks perfect as always. Hell, she can wear nothing but a potato sack for all that matters and he'll still think she's the prettiest girl he's ever seen. He watches the way her hazel eyes widen, sees the almost imperceptible pink in the apples of her cheeks as she takes in the change in his appearance. She cocks her head to the side.
He tugs on his bangs self-consciously, suddenly feeling stupid. So he cut his hair. It doesn't mean she'll drop her boyfriend (he spits out the "title" in distaste—mentally, of course) in favor of him just because he looks exactly like her first love. 'Well, technically, I am her first love, but what the hell—!" His internal monologue falls short when Yoshioka echoes Kominato's earlier statement.
"You cut your hair."
He bites back a snarky remark because this is Yoshioka he's dealing with. The beating of his heart intensifies, the lub-dub, lub-dub, lub-dub booming like a bass drum in his ears, and he swears that she can't possibly not know that this—this ridiculous haircut, the first of many changes—is all for her.
There is a pause before Yoshioka realizes that she's been staring, and she squeaks, "Y-you… you look good!" and promptly turns on her heel, rushing to her seat and dipping her head into her arms.
Kou hiccups, shell-shocked; in his periphery, he sees Kominato give him a thumbs-up. Classmates notice him standing in the doorway and comment on the change. "Looking sharp, Mabuchi!" or "Wow, Mabuchi-kun, it really suits you!" says peers whose names he can't really remember right now because his heart rate still hasn't slowed, and 'What was that? What on earth was that?!'
He mumbles a quiet thanks and makes his way to his desk, feeling more than one pair of eyes bear down his back.
Halfway through homeroom, the ruckus over his haircut dies down. Nonetheless, Kou doesn't miss the way Yoshioka peeks at him curiously, averts her eyes when he catches her gaze, and looks back again, twisting her hair around her chin in a roundabout way that makes him want to jump up and kiss her, and he thinks that maybe, just maybe, cutting his hair wasn't such a bad idea after all.