The Boys of Summer: Revamped and Edited for Proper Reading Pleasure!
Complete
Rating: PG-13
Characters/Pairings: Takeru, Daisuke, Yamato, Taichi, Hikari, Ken (Taikeru, Daito)
Summary: Old summary - What do you get when you put four boys together for a whole summer? A lot of chaos! With the beach, the pineapples, the banana nut muffins, and the really hot Bishounens, anything could happen.
New Summary – Takeru gets stuck reuniting with his long-lost brother for four weeks. Can he tolerate Yamato's crazy roomates or will he miss the opportunity of becoming a 'boy of summer?'
A/N: So here's the long delayed and much late reinstallment of chapter three. There have been some changes in the script, including character ages and the fact that Hikari is now re-related to Tai. I don't know why I originally made them not related. Don't ask. Oh, and Takeru's sexuality is now determined. Somewhat. You'll see. Enjoy!
CHAPTER THREE
Takeru POV
Okay, so maybe I was being a bit of a prick. Alright, I was a complete jackass. But I had every right to be one, right? Not that it really mattered. It seemed that my new, quote unquote, roommates had their own ways of getting you to do what they wanted.
Not to mention, they had a seriously screwed up way of achieving my, albeit reluctance and muttered complaints, acquiescence. That Daisuke kid was starting to worry me. Was I living with a bunch of guys who smoke the pipe? Deal the Mary Jane? Roll the blunt? Was I going to have to frisk them for drugs?
Scratch that idea. There would be absolutely no frisking. For one, frisking Yamato would be almost-incest. For two, frisking Daisuke might cause some crazy to rub off on me. And for three, frisking Taichi might encourage the idiotic lug to try something that may scar me for life.
Shaking these thoughts out of my head (and assuring myself that, no, these guys aren't chronic stoners, so stop imagining Jay and Silent Bob), I slipped out of my boxers, into my trunks, threw on a tee shirt from my messily half-unpacked pile of clothes, swiped some yen from my backpack and walked out of the room.
Daisuke was leaning against the wall outside my door. He was sporting the summer-tan-even-though-summer-has-barely-started look. No shirt, all trunks and skin. And he didn't look all that bad. You know, if you were into that type of thing.
Which, I guess, I was. The whole boy thing, I mean. Except, not Daisuke in particular. A little too intense on the frenzied side for me. Besides, my track record with guys wasn't so swell. Or so existing at all. Cause Jacques totally didn't count. Just a little side note: never, ever date the French foreign exchange student, no matter how hot his accent.
"Sweetness. Ready to head on outters?"
I shrugged and let the brunette take the lead. We headed towards the front door, Daisuke swiping another banana nut muffin from the kitchen as we walked past. Opening the door, Daisuke waved at Yamato and Taichi, who were watching Instant Star, and called out, "Keru and me are goin' to the beach. Be back round 3-ish. Hasta."
All I saw was a nod from Taichi and a wave of the hand from Yamato before Daisuke gripped my right forearm with his spare hand, using the other to maneuver the door (muffin shoved into his mouth), and dragged me out of the apartment. As we walked out into the sunshine I glanced at my watch.
12:05. Four hours to go. Ouch.
Regular POV
When the door slammed shut and the pitter patter of the two boys' feet disappeared, Yamato and Taichi quickly turned to each other.
"500 says he comes back corrupted."
"1000 if he comes back insane."
Back to Takeru POV
We walked for what seemed seconds. They weren't lying last night when they said that they lived real close to the beach. All we had to do was cross the street from the apartment complex, walk down this grassy little hill and BAM! The sand, the water, the crowds.
Daisuke immediately began waving and smiling as people left and right greeted him, approached him, tossed Frisbees to him (which he enthusiastically returned). He maneuvered around the beachies like a King of the People. Little kids, girls in bikinis, old guys with sailor hats on (weird, I know), really attractive teenage guys with fit arms, flat chests, messy hair…
Ah, yeah. Um. So.
Anyways, it wasn't hard to miss that everyone wanted Daisuke's attention.
"Hey Daisuke!"
"Daisuke, over here!"
"What's up, dude?"
"Hi Dai." Oh, he sure did respond to that voice. He abruptly made a U-turn towards a brunette babe in a red bikini that stood waving in our direction.
"It's about time you emerge from the depths. Where have you been? Hopefully not praying upon unsuspecting homeless people who just want to be the next Japan Idol."
Daisuke tasseled her shoulder length hair and grinned playfully. "Very funny Kari. You know quite well that that old fogie was completely unhinged."
I walked up to the two of them slowly, apprehensive about knowing anybody more than I had to. Unfortunately, Daisuke had different plans (not surprising, though, really). He grabbed me by the arm and pulled me up beside him.
"Takeru, this is a good friend of mine, Hikari. Kari, this is Yamato's brother, Takeru. He's spending the summer with us."
The pretty girl (pretty in that way that didn't remind you that she was a girl, making it easier to feel attracted to her. A girl who didn't define herself through her womanhood, but through her inner self – which I had a feeling wasn't very girly. She was pretty in a way that made me unsure of myself and yet completely sure of who I thought I was.) smiled sweetly at me. "Welcome to Odaiba! When did you get in?"
"Yesterday."
"Awsome! And Dai's already pulling you to the beach, huh? Tsk, I'm so not surprised Daisuke."
I turned to Daisuke and caught him quickly trying to pull an innocent act. "What? I have no idea what you're talkin' about! This conversation is completely above my head. What have I ever done in the past that would ever make you think my motives are anything but pure and innocent?"
Hikari laughed. "And are you and Tai still at poor Yama's place?"
"What do you mean, 'still?'"
"Well, you've been there for weeks."
"Well, dude, for your information, not that it's any of your information, we're keeping 'poor Yama' company while his neglectful, heartless, irresponsible father's out on business. 'Kay dude?"
"'Kay dude, whatever you say."
"Hey there Hikari, don't be stealing my words, 'kay dude?"
"'Kay dude."
Daisuke growled, trying to stifle the smile fighting to break across his face. "Stop that!"
They continued to playfully bicker while I was forced to take the third wheel. What did I do to deserve this? I thought to myself. Was this what the rest of the summer was going to be like? Forced to be dragged around by a crazy brunette who likes to introduce me to random strangers? Forced to be more confused than ever over my gender preferences, thanks to the strangely alluring bikini-girl Hikari? Forced to listen to silly repartees between an idiot and a hottie?
Well, I guess I didn't mind the whole hottie factor too much.
Regular POV
"Well, fine. But please try to tone down the whole plan you've concocted."
"And which plan is this? The one where I reveal that deep dark secret of yours? The one involving the spit-swapping experience you experienced way back in the day last May? With that dude who, what's it called, could do Calculus? Without a calculator?"
"You know Daisuke, I hold no shame in the fact that I have a penchant for nerdy guys. You should try it some time. Holding no shame, I mean. Instead of hanging around and pestering the ones you're interested in. Hoping that maybe that person will take your many unsubtle hints and sweep you into their arms and float away on a surfboard for two."
"Oh, that plan! Yea, that's totally in action. Except for the action part, cause, you see, I'm not getting any. Yet."
"Back to what I said, regarding holding no shame?"
"I'm sorry, I couldn't hear you. I was too busy imagining you getting it on with some neo maxi zoom dweebie. Do mathematical equations turn you on? Oh, Hikari, I wish I were your derivative so I could lie tangent to your curves!"
"Har har. You're absolutely hilarious."
"Kinda like your face, right?"
"Bye Dai."
"Buh bye Kari!"
Hikari laughed as she turned and walked away. Instantly, three guys left a nearby pick-up volleyball game to follow her. Daisuke chuckled at the sight. Sighing, he turned to Takeru who, although standing, looked to be almost asleep. A quick slap to the back cured all chances of rest for the blonde, though.
"Sorry man. Hikari and I? We go back to the sandbox days. Although there wasn't a sandbox. The beach was technically our sandbox. Best sandbox ever. But anyways. That was Hikari. She's actually my cousin."
Takeru shook his tingling leg, trying to stimulate blood flow back to his foot, and trailed behind as Daisuke began to walk towards a row of food stands. "Hungry? Good, me too."
"Cousin? How many of those have you got?"
As Dais ordered, paid, waited and received two ice cream cones, he explained. "Only two. Taichi and Hikari Yagami. Here you go, dude. Enjoy."
Takeru received the melting ice cream and followed Daisuke to a small table that lied oh-so conveniently beside the sidewalk.
"That girl was Taichi's sister? No way."
"Yes way. I've known the Yagamis my whole life. They're practically family, which it totally funny cause they now are family. Ha!"
They sat in silence for a while, slowly licking and slurping the vanilla heaven while the hot sun blared down on them.
"So," Daisuke began as he started to nibble on the cookie cone. "How old are you?"
Between slurps, Takeru replied, "Fifteen."
"When's your birthday?"
"October."
Daisuke's face beamed with amusement. "Really? And I thought you were younger than me. I'm fifteen, too, but I'll turn sixteen in December."
Takeru nodded his head, watching in horror as Daisuke crammed the rest of his cone down his throat. Staring hungrily at Takeru's disintegrating cone, Daisuke asked, "You want that?" Without argument, Takeru thrust it to Daisuke. For some strange and unknown reason Takeru's appetite had diminished.
"So, that means that your brother was…" Daisuke counted off numbers on his fingers as he licked stray drops of ice cream off of them. "Just turned one when you were born. That's funny."
Unable to find any humor in the thought, Takeru shrugged his shoulders.
"Taichi was about one when Kari popped out, too, come to think of it. Tai just turned 16 about, oh, six months ago. Hikari just turned 15 herself, making her the youngest out of us all. Yamato's the oldest, with Tai in second place. That makes you third place, my friend. Damn, I hate being fourth."
Daisuke turned to lament his youth more clearly to Takeru, but stopped when he noticed that the blonde wasn't even really paying attention. Sighing, the brunette stood up and began to walk aimlessly around, shuffling his feet as he squished sand between his toes. Takeru remained on the bench, tapping his fingers against the wood as he continued to zone out. An uncomfortable silence settled between the two as Daisuke began to pace in circles and Takeru stayed seated.
"That girl was Taichi's sister?"
Halting his process of creating a rut in the sand with his feet, Daisuke jerked his head to look in Takeru's direction. The blonde had a contemplative look of disgust plastered on his face as he stared out into space.
Daisuke couldn't help but burst into outrageous laughter.
"What?"
"Oh, Keru. That's good stuff right there. Best thing I've heard all week."
Pretending to wipe away a tear, Daisuke walked up to Takeru and gripped his arm (for the umpteenth time that day, Takeru thought sourly).
"Hey," Daisuke proclaimed. "Let's go this a way." Practically dragging Takeru by the arm, Daisuke explained his rash action. "There's this store you should see, the most awesomely awesome store ever, dude! It's got all a guy could ever want out of a store, and yet even more in the back. I swear."
The two boys walked down the block (thankfully, Daisuke had released his grip on Takeru's arm), passing an assortment of beach-themed and styled shops. Once they had approached a store with an array of concert posters in the window display, Daisuke stopped.
"Here we are. Good ole Tunes R Us."
Takeru didn't have the chance to question the ludicrous name. Daisuke opened the door to the shop and walked in ever so casually. Takeru hesitated before entering the building as it emitted blaring music that would surely deafen the eardrums after two seconds.
"Dais!"
Takeru rolled his eyes. Of course someone in the store knew Daisuke. Everyone knew Daisuke. And so why did Takeru have to know Daisuke?
Trailing a finger along hangers draped with different shirts – band shirts, TV themed shirts, 90's nostalgia shirts, insulting-phrases shirts – Takeru walked deeper into the domain of the shop. Daisuke was at the front counter, greeting the cashier with much enthusiasm. "Hey Ken! What the hell are you doing here on a Saturday? You are such a loser!"
The blue haired employee smiled and chuckled lightly. Once Takeru had made his way to the counter, Ken turned to the blonde and asked, "How may I help you?"
Before Takeru could even begin to speak for himself, Daisuke stepped in. "Dude, he's with me. Ken, this is Takeru. Takeru, Ken. He's Yamato's lil' bro."
Ken smiled kindly at the blonde. "Yama's brother, huh?" He turned to Daisuke with a look of suspicion.
"What?! Why does everybody think that I've done something?"
"Because you probably have."
Ken turned to Takeru and rolled his eyes. "Excuse my moronic friend. I do hope he isn't bugging the ever living hell out of you. My condolences if so. Feel free to look around. A friend of Daisuke Motomiya is a friend of mine."
Takeru walked away, thumbing his way through the numerous racks of tee shirts and the endless supply of CDs, eyeing a few of them with interest. Daisuke and Ken stood at the counter, heads hunkered together as they muttered lowly.
Near the back corner of the store, Takeru picked up something that caught his eye and made his way back to the counter. Daisuke and Ken stopped their conversation as they watched Takeru place a green hat onto the counter.
"I'll take this."
Ken looked it over before saying, "That'll be 500 yen, my friend."
Takeru pulled the money out of his swimming trunk pocket and paid his new acquaintance.
"Keep the change."
Snapping his fingers suddenly, Daisuke poked at Takeru's wrist. "What time does your watch say?"
Securing his new hat snuggly upon his head, Takeru glanced down. "1:27."
"Awww man! Perfect timing! See ya Ken. Keru and me gotta go! Skatin' time."
For what seemed to be the umpteenth times infinity time, Daisuke yanked Takeru's arm and sprinted towards the door. Takeru braced himself as he tried to keep up with the energetic brunette, almost not seeing Ken wave them out.
When they were outside, Daisuke released his hold and began to jog down the street.
"This way! C'mon and follow! You'll see! It's totally wicked awesome!"
Takeru sighed and prepared himself for a good sprint. With a second thought, Takeru grabbed his new hat, turned it backwards, and shot off in pursuit of the runaway Daisuke.
This had better be good, Takeru thought.