Sorry if this chapter is kinda boring... I felt it was, when I wrote it. It also feels really rushed through the most important parts... so I'm sorry.

Anyone else looking forward to Eurovision tomorrow?

Disclaimer.

Love All, Trust A Few, Do Wrong To None

Shion lets out a breathy sigh, lilac eyes dull and half-lidded as he gazes absently out of the window. Today, it feels like an effort to even move, let alone take coherent, legible notes. He isn't exactly well-known for his handwriting in the first place.

Every time Nezumi and he make eye contact - and even when they don't - Shion gets an intensely uncomfortable feeling in his gut that makes him feel almost as if he's skydiving on a bloated stomach. It's irritating and inconvenient to deal with, and ends up making most of their conversations very awkward; although that might partly be due to Nezumi's recent strange behaviour. One moment Shion thinks they're nearly friends, and the next Nezumi's giving him the cold shoulder and refusing to utter more than the bare minimum of words to him.

The unpredictability doesn't exactly help calm Shion's nerves.

It's just becoming so difficult to talk to him! he thinks with exaperation. Maybe I'll talk to Safu about it. She's a practical person; she might know what to do.

"Tell him."

Shion chokes on his drink. He gapes at her. "What, just go up to him and say it?" he says, his face the picture of shock and disbelief, with just a hint of panic. At her casual nod, he shakes his head forcefully. "No. No, I can't."

Safu relaxes further into her slouch, sprawled across her desk with her chin on her arms. "Why not? Tell Nezumi you feel weird and nervous when you're with him, and things will sort themselves out."

"How, exactly, will humiliating myself sort things out?"

"Well..." The brunette casts a sidelong glance out of the window. "Either he'll tell you he feels the same way, and then you can work through whatever these feelings are together... Or, he'll offer a possible explanation for why you're feeling this way." She pauses, and meets her best friend's worried stare. "Or, you know, he'll tell you you're a freak and never talk to you again."

Shion doesn't flinch when Safu reaches across the small desk to close his mouth, which had been hanging open in horror. In fact, he continues to stare blankly and wide-eyed at her for a good few seconds before he responds. "But if he never talks to me again, then how-"

She cuts him off. "If there's no contact between you, these feelings will gradually decrease in intensity until you've forgotten he even exists."

Shion opens his mouth to reply, then shuts it again with a weak noise of protest. He looks away, taking his time to absorb the view of the small, empty Geography classroom they're currently dining in, and trying his very best to avoid the conversation he really wishes he hadn't started.

After an awkwardly extended silence, Safu finally says, "I'm not surprised, you know."

Shion blinks, his attention once more drawn back to her. "About what?"

"About..." She trails off quietly, before restarting in a quieter tone. "About this." She gestures vaguely to him. "About how you feel."

Shion isn't afraid to admit he's a little stunned at the admittance, because he himself had been very surprised - among other things, like confused, scared, and oddly defiant - when he'd realised that his feelings towards Nezumi aren't normal. He's still confused, in fact, but judging by the expression on Safu's face, it seems she has a deeper idea of what's going on.

Still, Shion doesn't ask. He isn't sure he wants to know.

He wanders the halls, unsure of where he's going. To be honest, he isn't quite sure why he isn't in World History right now - Shion isn't a fan of ditching class. But it wasn't as if he was actually absorbing any knowledge in his lessons today anyway. His attention span is currently pathetic at best. He'd realised he probably needed a break when he caught himself writing Nezumi's name in the margin of his Ecology notes.

Still, now that he's finally free from the claustrophobic setting, Shion finds he has little to do. This is his last lesson of the day, so he supposes if he's going to cut class he might as well go home; it's this thought that sets his feet walking faster, but it is a different thought entirely which finds him outside his classroom, waiting anxiously for the class to end.

Nezumi's in that classroom, he thinks. He's probably forgetting to take notes again.

Shion slaps himself lightly on the forehead. What are you even doing here? Weren't you skipping class five minutes ago? Weren't you going to go home early so you could go grocery shopping with Mama? Now look, you're standing directly outside the class you're ditching - you're a sitting duck, a walking detention magnet.

Shion inhales deeply, letting out the breath slowly and evenly. You're here because you think that talking to Nezumi about some of your issues with him will help clear the air.

Read: Barging into his private life because you're curious.

Shion sighs and settles himself a little further down the corridor to wait for class to end. Here, the teacher won't see him, but he has a good enough view of the door to keep an eye out for Nezumi.

Twenty agonising minutes later, the first students begin to trickle down the corridor. Their density quickly increases to the point where Shion considers calling crowd control, and eventually his own classroom door swings open noisily, the loud slam as it hits the wall drowned out by the students.

Nezumi is the last to leave the classroom, and by this point the home-time rush has died back down into just the meagre few who were let out of class late.

"Nezumi." Shion sidesteps into the middle of the corridor, blocking Nezumi's path and stopping him in his tracks.

Nezumi eyes him with an unreadable expression. "What?" he says curtly.

Why did you lie about going to prison?

Shion wants to say the words, but they won't leave his mouth. He stands just inches away from the taller man, staring into his stormy eyes with faltering determination for thirty seconds before he gives up and turns away, making to leave.

... At least, Shion's brain is pretty sure that's what he told his body to do. But for some reason, he finds himself pinned roughly to the lockers, the padlock digging into his back barely registered as his mind is too busy screaming NezumiNezumiNezumi because he is pushing Shion up against the cold metal, one hand gripping his wrist, pinning it to the locker and one gripping his collar.

"Either talk to me or don't talk to me, Shion. Make up your fucking mind," he spits venemously, and Shion shivers. The usually cold slate irises are aflame, burning with anger and unadulterated emotion as they glare directly into Shion's wide violet eyes. His mouth is twisted in a ferocious half-snarl.

For the first time since meeting him, Shion is afraid of Nezumi.

"I am sick to death of you - one moment you act like I'm your best friend and the next you treat me like a piece of shit on the sole of your shoe! How am I supposed to react to that, huh? Tell me!" he growls, reiterating his words with a painful shove against the lockers. He doesn't let go of Shion's collar, and the cool hand against Shion's wrist becomes painfully tight. "Tell me what I'm supposed to do, because I have no fucking clue! You're so confusing!"

The grips on his collar tightens, and Shion panics. He belatedly realises he's holding his schoolbag in his free hand. Summoning all of his strength, he blindly swings the loaded bag at the taller man. As soon as he reliquishes his grip just a little, Shion worms out of the trap and stumbles away, not daring to look back as he sprints down the corridor.

Nezumi's words ring in his ears - You're so confusing! - and he shouts back wildly, "That's my line!"

He doesn't hang around to see Nezumi's reaction.

I can't believe I did that. Shion sighs, wincing slightly at the memory. He isn't particularly strong, but - contrary to popular belief - he isn't a total wimp. Plus, his schoolbag is always heaviest on Tuesdays. What a way to try to be friends, huh? Shout at him and hit him with my bag. Like an old lady.

Shion almost laughs at the last thought. Almost.

But at that very moment, Nezumi decides to make his entrance. The door is pushed open timidly and it seems almost no one notices as the dark-haired man stealthily slinks to his seat.

Except, it's not his seat. No, Nezumi's seat is directly to Shion's right. The chair Nezumi is slouched sullenly in is in the back right corner of the classroom, about five seats away.

Shion stares at him blatantly, pretty sure that Nezumi would be able to tell whether he was staring or not no matter how subtle he was. The taller man is relaxed into his typical slouch - no, that's not right. He's slouching, but he is obviously far from relaxed. His shoulders are stiff and his jaw is set, eyes half-lidded with bubbling anger as he fumes silently to himself. He appears to be deeply interested in the posters for next week's Music Cup on the noticeboard beside him, but Shion is ninety percent certain the man hasn't even realised what he's glaring daggers at. It's as if his face is deliberately turned away from Shion...

Lavender eyes widen. Even through the dark lenses he can clearly see the smudge of a bruise on Nezumi's jawline where his schoolbag had made contact the day previously. I didn't realise I hit him that hard. Shion frowns in guilt and turns away. Must've been the adrenaline rush.

The door opens loudly as Safu strides through it, shrouded in an air of importance. She begins to make a determined beeline for Shion, but backtracks none-too-subtly as she notices her dark-haired classmate's appearance. His usually sleek hair is pulled back into a ragged bun, the odd strand falling haphazardly over his face and shoulders. There are dark circles beneath dull eyes and his lips are set thinly and are quite pale - as is the rest of his face, for that matter. And if that isn't enough to convince his classmates that something's up - Nezumi isn't exactly known for his fashion sense, but the blue jumper has a coffee stain and is oversized in all the wrong places, and what kind of self-respecting student wears tracksuit bottoms to class?

Shion watches as Safu continues to drink in Nezumi's appalling state with a mixture of interest and horror. However, it appears her main focus is not on his appearance in general, but one specific detail.

"What happened?"

Shion cringes at the question, and cringes even more at the accompanying hand gesture towards the tall student's face.

Nezumi's wearied glare is redirected from the noticeboard to the short woman before him. "None of your business," he spits vehemently, perhaps a little more aggressively than is necessary.

Safu's eyebrows shoot up and she takes on an expression of vague annoyance, but she doesn't goad him further. Instead, she turns and hurries up to her best friend, clearly eager to hear the gossip. "Shion? Do you know about...?" She glances warily in Nezumi's direction, but he is once again attempting to intimidate the wall into non-existence.

Shion lets out a deep sigh and nods, raking a hand through silvery locks. "Yeah, I... I was kinda... the one who gave it to him."

"What?" Safu hisses, though more with shock than anything else. "I thought you were going to tell him how you feel, not beat him up!"

"Okay, okay!" Shion rasps, cursing inwardly when he notices his hand shaking as he cards it through his hair again. "I didn't go up to him with the intention of swinging my bag at him! He just..." Shion looks helplessly at his desk, as if it would provide him with all the answers.

"He just what? Did he start a fight?" Safu asks, but quickly answers herself with a shake of her head. "No, you're unscathed, and I doubt you have the skill to be able to land one on him in a fistfight anyway."

Shion ignores the unintentional jab. "No, I mean... Okay, I went up to him and I thought that maybe if I got him to answer some of my questions, it would sort out these mixed feelings. But in the end I thought it was just too personal, you know? If he doesn't want to tell me, I shouldn't force him to."

Safu drags up a chair to Shion's desk and slides into it, sitting opposite him. She nods, urging him to continue. "Yeah, and? So you decided not to tell him after all... But then how-" She waves a hand towards her own face.

"Well, Nezumi, he-" Shion bites his lip. "I'm not sure, but he suddenly just... flipped. He told me that..." He trails off into a pause, ivory brows knitting in deep thought as a small revelation hits him.

Hang on just a second.

"I was too scared to think about what he was saying at the time, considering I thought I was about to die and all," Shion begins again slowly, not quite sure whether he's overthinking this or whether he might have just begun to figure the dark-haired mystery out. "But actually... It was sort of contradictory. First he was acting like he hated me, and he practically told me that he did - but then he seemed less angry and just more frustrated. And confused."

"Confused?" Safu interrupts. "Shion, you don't threaten people just because you're confused."

"No, you don't get it. Nezumi said-" Shion suddenly glances over to the man in question, only just realising he's in the room. He hopes desperately that the taller man hasn't heard what they've said, and he lowers his voice. "He said to me, 'You're so confusing'."

Safu blinks. After a moment - during which Shion swears he can hear the cogs turning in her mind - she says abruptly, "Wait. What did he say just before that?"

"Huh?"

She sighs impatiently. "What did Nezumi say just before he said that you're confusing?"

"He said... something about not knowing what to do. What he's supposed to do." Shion nimbly pushes his glasses back up the bridge of his nose. "And also something about how I've been - what was it? - oh yeah, about treating him like a piece of shit," he finishes with an appropriate lump of guilt in his throat.

Safu makes a small humming noise in the back of her throat, and Shion raises an eyebrow, tapping short fingernails restlessly on the desk. "So he doesn't know what to do about your behaviour? Or he doesn't know how to react to it?"

"Uh-" Shion blinks, and clears his throat. "I don't know. He didn't specify. He was too busy half-choking me."

Safu tips her head to the side as she examines the man in front of her. Shion's discomfort increases tenfold under her scrutiny, and he unconsciously hunches lower in his seat in an attempt to make it appear that the linoleum flooring has gobbled him up as a late breakfast. "Shion," she finally says, somewhat apprehensively. "Are you okay? You seem jumpy, and restless, and your hands are shaking. You're usually so calm."

"Yeah, I'm okay, I just... Nezumi, yesterday, he was..." Shion's voice drops to a whisper, "really scary." At Safu's surprise, he adds, "You didn't see him, Safu. After that, it's not so difficult to imagine him in prison."

Safu purses her lips. "Not to dredge up bad memories, but that wasn't exactly the first time you've been in that sort of situation, Shion."

"I know." Shion turns away, half-covering his face with a slender palm. "But it's been a while since I have, and those bullies were always predictable. I could anticipate what they were going to do and so I usually managed to worm my way out of it before things got too serious. But Nezumi..." Shion sighs, and lilac eyes close. "I had no idea what was going to happen next. That was the scary part."

I should have guessed.

Nezumi hasn't turned up to World History, so Shion is sitting alone. It's the only class they really have together; they share a Music class, but they usually work in different groups now after their small spat over Shion's composing abilities, and homeroom can hardly be counted as a class. World History is their only time to properly interact.

That's why Shion isn't surprised when he doesn't turn up. Why would Nezumi want to talk to Shion after what happened?

The problem is, Shion wants to talk to Nezumi.

Maybe it's easier for me to let it go because I was the one who hit him. But then, he was also pretty violent, so that doesn't make sense...

Shion's brow furrows. What had the taller man even been talking about? 'You're so confusing' and 'either talk to me or don't talk to me'... Oh.

Oh.

The albino resists the sudden intense urge to whack himself in the face with his textbook. How could I have been such a moron? Here I am, getting all muddled about Nezumi and completely ignoring Nezumi himself. I've been so caught up in being confused that I've been a total jerk recently! No wonder he was angry; I've been so on and off with him recently. First I try to be friends, then I get confused and distance myself, then... Ugh, Shion, you idiot.

The scene from the previous afternoon replays itself like an old movie in his head, a crackle of white noise in the background as he attempts to analyze the situation and watch the movie simultaneously.

'Tell me what I'm supposed to do, because I have no fucking clue! You're so confusing!'

'That's my line!'

Lavender eyes narrow to slits and his vision sharpens. I'm not the only one with inconsistent behaviour. Perhaps Nezumi, for the same reason... No, no way. That's ridiculous, he wouldn't... about me...

Still, Shion can't quite squash the thought - or the unwelcome fluttery feelings in his stomach at the possibility - and it nips at his ears for a long time afterwards.

No, Shion. You're being really stupid about this. God, you're acting like some lovesick schoolgirl in a bad rom-com. He shakes his head firmly at the thought. Think about it logically. The likelihood that Nezumi is also having strange feelings like you are is reasonably small. Yes, you are probably the person he interacts with most at school, but that doesn't mean you're friends. It just means he hates you less than everyone else. Which is quite flattering, to be honest, coming from someone so... What's the word? How do I describe him? 'Cool'? 'Awe-inspiring'? 'Amazing'? No, not quite. It's not like he's particularly out of the ordinary. I'm just... drawn to him. He isn't someone who stands out, but he stands out to me. Or something. Sometimes, it feels like he- "Aaaugh!"

"Shit-"

Shion's eyes latch onto stormy grey ones, which widen slightly at the eye contact. There's a brief - but horribly awkward - silence as they stare at each other, both a little two stunned to attempt any sort of social intercourse.

"Nezumi..." The word dies on his tongue, and it comes out weedy and quiet. He tries again, this time slightly more confidently. "Nezumi, it's five o'clock."

The younger man seems to debate whether to reply or just leave, but after a moment he says, "I can tell the time, thanks."

Shion breaks the unbearably awkward eye contact, glancing down at Nezumi's shoes. They're tough, heavy biker boots. Figures.

"Why are you still at school?"

"I was studying... in the library," Shion says, and though it's the truth, it still feels sort of lame saying it out loud. "What about you?"

Nezumi shifts his weight to the other foot and looks away. There's an uncomfortable-looking grimace on his face, and Shion guesses he's reluctant to answer. Why? It can't be any more embarrassing than voluntary studying - "Poetry club."

Shion blinks, and almost asks Nezumi to repeat that, because it was so quiet - but no, Nezumi most definitely said 'poetry club'. "Oh. That's, uh... cool." Shion cringes at his own words, and clears his throat. "So, uh-"

"Yeah."

They simultaneously turn away from each other and walk away as quickly as possible, gathering up the remains of their shredded pride as they go.