Chapter four! Yay! Not long to go before this is done!
I personally do not enjoy this chapter. It's a bit scattered. As is the next. Though I do like the last chapter quite a bit. I suppose that will give you something to look forward to.
/
Piko awakens two days later to the sound of his insanely obnoxious ringtone blaring two feet from his head. He had forgotten Miku changed it to an irritatingly upbeat pop song that makes him feel like shoving a spike through his ears. He has a raging headache from a fair bit of alcohol last night and is kicking himself mentally for getting so hammered as he picks up the phone to answer the call.
"Hello?" he greets groggily, not even bothering to read the contact name. Even if he had, the number would not be familiar as he had never wanted to save it to his phone, anyway.
"Hello. You sound like hell," comes the reply and it takes Piko a full seven seconds of silence to recognize the voice.
"Oh. Hey, Gumo," Piko's voice falls to a more sullen note. "Why are you calling so early?"
"It's at least ten," a rather amused reply sounds from the speakers. "Did I wake you up?"
"No, I'm talking to you in my sleep," Piko mutters. "What do you want?" It's all he can do to keep from burying his head under his pillows. God, his head hurts.
"I was thinking I'd invite you out. But you don't really sound up to it," Gumo sounds worried himself. No doubt he doesn't really think someone as young as Piko should be getting drunk, no matter what day it is. "Isn't today your day off?"
"Why do you think I let myself drink so much yesterday?" Piko groans. It may be his imagination, but he swears he hears Gumo laughing.
"Because you're an idiot," it's a fond response, which is odd. Doesn't Gumo know Piko hates him?
"Probably," he admits.
"Why don't I call you tomorrow? We can hang out after you get off work," Gumo says.
Piko's brain still hasn't woken up yet, it seems, because he goes on to say, "Sure, yeah. Bye." It's only when he wakes up a few hours later that he realizes what he agreed to. But calling up to explain would be a rude thing to do. I can spend a few hours with him, Piko decides. If anything, I can test my patience. Or how well I can hide a body.
That last thought makes him snicker to himself as he eats a sandwich he made for a late lunch and Rei shoots him a concerned look.
/
The next day, Gumo calls up again, more around six and well after Piko has woken up. With a sigh and a groan (it's more of a mix between the two), Piko answers the call.
"Well, I guess you're awake, then. How about that." Gumo is teasing, Piko is completely sure of it. He'd be more annoyed if he wasn't marveling at the other's stupidity. He's really quite blind if he can't recognize barely-concealed hatred.
"Amazing," Piko agrees half-heartedly. "What do you want?"
"Right to the chase. Alright," Gumo replies. "Why don' we go out and do something? Just the two of us?"
"Are you asking me on a date?" Piko asks. "Because one, I think you have a girlfriend, and two, I like girls. Sorry."
Gumo laughs. "Well, I guess I could've phrased that better. No, we'd just be hanging out as friends, idiot. Like you said, I have a girlfriend."
"Why?"
"Because you happen to be friends with my girlfriend and I don't actually have friends."
Fair enough. "How do you not have friends?"
"I guess I'm just too perfect for them," Gumo laughs but Piko swears it's filled with discomfort and pain. No doubt Gumo has a story of his own to share. Everyone Piko knows has a messed up past. That doesn't mean he's at all interested in what Gumo's kept hidden from them.
"Right. Keep telling yourself that," Piko mutters. "Fine, then. Did you actually have something planned?"
"You like music?" Piko can hear the grin in his voice and hopes to whoever might be listening that whatever Gumo's got planned doesn't end in humiliation or pain. Then again, Gumo is significantly more responsible (and boring) than Piko, so he figures he's safe.
As it happens, Gumo invites Piko to a bar where a local band is playing. The music is decent enough; a little less wild than his preferred style (though his secret poison is Mozart, if you can believe it) and the temptation to get a bit tipsy is almost overwhelming, but compared to the horror show he had playing in his head earlier, it all goes fairly well. He manages to get along with Gumo for the next few hours and ends up having a pleasant conversation with an insanely scary-looking punk-rocker. She's really attractive though, he decides, and continues to talk (and flirt a fair bit) for a while before Piko figures he'd better get home and go to bed.
All in all, he enjoys himself. So maybe, maybe, he'll find it in his heart to let Gumo alone and focus on other things.
Maybe he should ask the rocker chick out. She was a pleasant person, despite her terrifying demeanor. After all, he's gotten nowhere with Rin and he wouldn't for a while; not while she has Gumo.
Of course, Gumo just has to press his luck and ask Piko to hang out once again. They return to the bar again, where Piko meets up with Sonika the punk-rocker with spiked green hair and has another nice night. Gumo smiles and laughs and also seems to enjoy himself.
Soon enough, it's become a regular thing, and Piko can't help but feel that his hatred for Gumo had ebbed significantly. While he no longer wants to throw the other boy off a bridge, he probably wouldn't push his out of the way of an oncoming car. Unless Rin happened to be with them at the time. To Piko, this is a change worthy of recognition. He tells Rui, who seems impressed, as she herself knows firsthand of Piko's stubbornness and general dislike of pretty much any other human being (save for those few people previously mentioned).
She brings up an interesting point, though. What motives does Gumo have? Is he eliminating a threat or creating a friendship? It's hard to tell, especially since Piko himself doesn't quite know which he expects anymore. Gumo doesn't seem the type to have hidden motives, but it just doesn't feel right to think that all Gumo wants is to be friends. What are they, ten?
This regular thing of theirs ends up getting him a girlfriend for the first time since Rui, almost two and a half years ago. Sonika's nice enough, with a brilliant, whip-sharp wit and an interesting sense of humor. Plus, she's gorgeous. Maybe Piko just has a type. Rui looks a bit scary, too.
And it's good, for a while. He gets along with Gumo. Eventually, he even enjoys his company.
That is, until everything goes to hell.
/
Review if you want. Unless you don't want to. Which is fine, too. Though the author really does appreciate feedback.