Author's Note: Finally! A longer update! I was going to write a sex scene at the end of this, but I don't want people to think I'm just writing this story JUST so I can keep churning out hentai. I mean, not that there's anything wrong with that. If anything, that's one big reason why you perverts keep coming back for more. For shame!

Bone Deep: You have me rolling on the floor laughing! Hello, Bone Deep's friends! Hope you enjoy my stories! :)

Jefcat: Now I'm blushing. I can't believe a certified gay guy is reading my garbage, LOL! I sure hope that my descriptions of sex between two males are at least semi-realistic. Then again, anime is never realistic, haha!

For those who might be unaware, the first chapter of my newest KenSou fanfic, "The Lessons Of Summer", is up and ready! I won't update that one until this fanfic is completed.

Enjoy!

"I can't say,
Can't say if I'd only had my way,
Like a moth inside a flame,
All my choices had been made."

- Raised By Swans

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Sanosuke and I go way back.

He moved into Kyoto when we were both just kids. It feels like forever. That's about how long our friendship lasted. Because Aoshi is older than me, I followed him around until Sano moved in, and soon it became the three of us. Yahiko and the others joined us not too long afterwards. With Sanosuke and I, we always hung out together during school, and after school hours, too. I don't remember much about my biological parents, and Sanosuke didn't wanted me to be reminded of it. His parents would sometimes feel like my parents because of all of our sleepovers at each others' houses. We were inseparable, him and I. I saw the worst of his bruises because of his abusive household; he saw the worst of my crying sessions because of Hiko's drinking. We always promised each other, that no matter what happens to us, or where the wind will blow us to, when it was time to grow up, go to college, find a job, and getting married.. that we will always stay in touch, and always try to stay in each others' lives.

He promised.

So did I.

And I wonder if tonight.. after what I just said.. that we will still be friends.

POW!

I cry out as I am punched right across the face by Sanosuke, landing on my ass. A flash of liquid heat is felt all over my face. I quickly realize that he got my nose pretty good. Blood starts to trickle and gush out from my nose, and I hold it. I'm holding back the tears inside my eyes. It hurts so much, and I can barely breathe from the panic I feel. But I deserve that. I really do. I would want someone to do that to someone else, if I knew that they were hiding such a big secret like that from me. Especially when it concerns the safety and feelings of Kaoru Kamiya. Doubly especially since she doesn't deserve something this disgusting in her life. The disgusting thing being, of course, getting cheated on by the guy you thought you could trust. Trusting him with your entire heart, body, and spirit. I definitely deserve to get my ass beaten to a pulp, at this point. It's what anyone else would've deserved. I'm a no good fucking asshole. A fucking asshole, just like my father, who abandoned my mom, and..

"Please. Tell me you're fucking with me. Please! Just say it!" Sano growls, but I can hear it. The pain in his voice. I hear it. I wince.

Then I sputter out, "N-no! It is true! It's.. It's all fucking true! I fucked him!"

Sanosuke grabs me by my jacket to haul me up clumsily and in haste. Once he has me standing on my two feet again, he hits me with his fist, right on the bridge of my nose. More blood gushes out. More pain and more suffering. And to be honest, it's nothing like I've ever experienced it before. I've gotten into a few horrible fights with other boys back then. It is what it is, in the world of male aggression and testosterone. And I needed to get hit a few times to even the karmic score, anyway. But it still hurts like fuck. I hate it! But still, I deserved that, and more! God knows I'm going to face more punishment when I tell the others about the truth. My stomach churns at that thought. Fuck. I'm really gonna end up without any friends anymore, will I?

...

Maybe it's what I deserve.

"You.. You lied to us..!" Sanosuke bites back a dry sob, "But more importantly.. you fucking lied.. to the one girl who was always there for you.. You fucking idiot.. You absolute, goddamn fucking retard! How can you do this to Kaoru?! To all of us?! To.. me?"

I am looking at him from behind my bangs, trying to catch my breath, the bottom half of my face completely drenched in blood. I am not going to wake up looking pretty tomorrow, that's for sure. At this rate, this slumber party is already ruined. But there really was just no way of hiding it in for much longer. I had to tell Sanosuke first, before I can come out to all the others. Maybe one day he'll appreciate being told first. He was my childhood friend, and that's never going to change. But for now.. For now, I think he just needs to get all of his anger out on me. It's only normal to feel like that. I am limp in his grasp, evading his eyes.

"Don't you have anything else to say?!"

I let my head drop in defeat, "I'm sorry.."

"Yeah, right! You're 'sorry!' I don't believe you, Shinta! The Kenshin I know would never be this fucking cruel and selfish! You might've been a pompous dick, but you always gave us the truth, even when it hurts! Now look at you, running around and hiding shit from us! What're you gonna say to Yahiko when I throw your ass out on the living room carpet?!"

"Let's find out..!" I start crying, shaking all over, "I don't care anymore!"

The world falls quiet, and a hush of wind blows over us gently. Though now my entire face feels hot and wet with blood, sweat, and tears.. My heart is a cold, bone dry well with an endless hole going nowhere. Who am I kidding. I am going to lose all of my friends. I'm going to lose everything. It's all thanks to my own reckless behavior. I don't have the right to blame Soujiro for any of this; It was me who kept on escalating this secret affair between us. It was me who said yes to Soujiro's offer. I could've just left the party early before he trapped me in his backyard to give me a blowjob; I couldn't kept ignoring him at school, no matter how much expensive shit he got for my friends, or how sweet his promises felt in my ear over getting good grades and sweet sex. I should've said no to anything he tried to propositioned me. I should've told everyone how I felt, even if they didn't wanted to believe me at first. I should've tried harder. I shouldn't have blocked that girl who knew Soujiro personally on Facebook; I should've talked to her more, and got more dirty details over him to ruin him with. I should've told Hiko what was happening and why he got that job!

I should've been honest right from the start. Now look at me.

I'm losing it..

".. Hey," Sanosuke now speaks in a softer tone, "Come on, Ken, stop.. stop crying. Stop it. Look, I'm.. I'm sorry, alright? I'm sorry for hitting you. And for breaking your nose, too. I'm just so.. I just can't believe what I'm hearing, that's all. I just can't believe that something like this would happen to us."

I continue to weep silently to myself.

"But I guess.." Sanosuke sighs deeply, ".. I guess.. I guess I was right. About you and Soujiro, I mean."

I look at him, blinking my tears away, stunned, "W-what..?"

He looks at the ground, looking ashamed all of sudden, "N-nothing. It's just.. Well.. When you and Soujiro started hanging a lot together without the rest of us, Yahiko and I.. Well, I mean, he kinda started it! Yahiko thought it was weird at first, but didn't really put the pieces together until I kinda figured that something weird was going on. We kinda just.. Had these strange conspiracies or whatever, that you two were getting it on or something. But then we would laugh it off and think, nah! Kenshin? Mister-Gets-All-The-Ladies-He-Wants? With Soujiro Seta, of all people? Soujiro, whom Kenshin hates with every cell of his being? Nuh uh. Couldn't be. It just couldn't be. But.. Fuck.. I guess, it's like that saying: Where there's smoke, there's fire."

I look right at him for a few moments, and then replied: "Yeah. I guess.. You already knew, then."

He winces, "Yeah. Yeah."

".. So."

"So."

"Let's.. go back inside, and tell Yahiko."

"Yeah. You owe it to him."

I do.

I owe it to everyone now.

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"Oh, hey! You guys are ba.. What the fuck?!"

"Yahiko. Calm down. Please." Sano steps in front of me after we walk inside the mansion again and into the living room, where Yahiko and Soujiro had remained the entire time. I must look like a right mess.

"Calm down? Calm down!? Kenshin's face is busted wide open! Did you guys had a fucking fight or something?!" Yahiko is damn near yelling now, and Soujiro is staring at me with a pale complexion. I evade his eyes and I hear him make a sound, probably covering his mouth now in shock of what I've done. I guess I should have waited till the entire group was together. But well, one thing lead to another, and you know how it goes.

"He has to tell you something. Something important."

"It better fucking be, with all that mess!"

"H-hey, guys, let's just.. let's just calm down―" Soujiro is cut off from Yahiko.

"―Dude, seriously?" Yahiko turns to him angrily, "I like you and all, but right now? Shut the fuck up!"

"Alright, that's enough!" I spat and brush shoulders with Sanosuke to walk towards the dark haired teenager, "Don't talk to him like that! Sanosuke punched me in the face for a damn good reason, and I'll tell you what it is if you just calm your ass down!"

"How can I calm down when you're bleeding all over the floor like that!" Yahiko points downward and I let my eyes follow to see that he's right; there are droplets of bright red blood on Soujiro's most expensive hardwood flooring.

Soujiro walks over to me quickly, "I'll help you wash up. And then we can all talk."

My eyes flick up just in time to see an expression on Sanosuke's face that I have seen only once before: A look of pure and unadulterated disgust over Soujiro. My stomach flips. The only time he's ever looked like that, was when he and I saw those gay prostitutes hanging around in our sketchy neighborhood. Does he know that he's making that face right now? Is he aware of his own aversion over Soujiro and I right now? Does he hate people like Soujiro for something he can't control? Does he hate.. I gulp.. Does he hate people like me, too?

My nightmares really are coming true. The big eye from my previous nightmare now makes sense. I'm being judged by the one person who used to take up the majority of my lifetime, like that evil eye took up the entire skies in my dream.

While Sanosuke and Yahiko hang out downstairs to try to get each other to calm down, Soujiro leads me into his private bathroom to clean up my face. Since the bridge of my nose is pretty much broken, Soujiro could only offer me endless napkins to hold it up my nose. He had me out of my shirt and gave me one of his own from his closet, since I am staying over, anyway.

"I guess it's not going to stop bleeding." Soujiro sighs, sitting on the edge of the sink and watching me as I am sitting on the floor and tilting my head back, "We gotta get you to the emergency room."

I scoff, "Please. For a bleeding nose?"

"Your nose is broken. He got you pretty good."

"Yeah, well. I deserved it."

"Kenshin, I love you. But you're an idiot. You should have waited."

"I know."

"What were you thinking? How did things lead up to this?"

"I don't know. I guess I just couldn't hold it in anymore. I hate lying to my friends like this. I guess something told me to just.. confess everything tonight."

Silence. God, my face is killing me.

"Are we.. really going to tell Yahiko tonight, too?"

"Duh. Sanosuke probably already told him, so I guess we don't have to."

"Jesus Christ, Kenshin!" Soujiro pushes himself off from the sink and rubs his forehead exasperatedly, "You should've fucking told me you were going to blow up like this! We had a plan and you promised we would stick it out together!"

I toss the bloodied napkin on the floor, "Yeah, okay, I'm the fucking asshole! Not like this whole thing didn't started because of you blowing me at your house party all that time ago!"

"Don't start blaming me for this!" Soujiro whips around and walks towards me while pointing at himself for emphasis, and then points it right back at me, "You shouldn't blame me for something you ended up liking so much! If you hated it that much, you wouldn't have accepted my offer in being your fuck buddy!"

I struggle to get up from the floor, glaring at him, "God, you're such a fucking bitch, you know that? A no good, stuck up rich bitch!"

"You know what?" His eyes flashes internal pain, "I'm not going to take this verbal abuse. You have a lot of explaining to do to Yahiko downstairs, and I have to get you to the hospital. Stop being an asshole for once in your life!"

"I'll stop being an asshole when you stop.." I can feel my eyes darting and floating around, trying to think of something. But I couldn't, so I give up with a glower, "You know what, never mind! I'll go fucking downstairs now. You can just piss here."

He looks taken back and beyond hurt. It feels like a punch to my stomach, seeing him like that. I cross my arms, then uncross them, and let my eyes scan all over the floor, where there are more drops of red blood. Goddamn. Soujiro's right. Sano really did get my nose pretty good. I don't know how I'm going to explain this to our friends tomorrow at the movie theater. Maybe we should make up some story about a psycho who was trying to rob us at gunpoint, and we had to barely escape from him. That could work. Well, if we lied to our friends once before.. I sigh. Jesus. How many more web of lies are we going to create just to save our own asses? Are we really that terrible to the people closest to us?

I look at Soujiro, who looks smaller than before, eyes downcast and everything. I sigh, my form softening and I mumble loud enough so that he can hear me, "I'm sorry. I really have to work on my anger. I shouldn't take things out on you like this. You're the one I love and.. I have to respect you and not put you down like this. You're so special to me, Soujiro. I'm terrified over losing my friends, but.. It's nothing compared to losing you. I'm so sorry. Do you forgive me?"

Soujiro lets out a lone tear and smiles with a sigh, "You dumb idiot. Of course I forgive you. I love you."

"I'd kiss you but my face feels like it got clobbered by a giant fucking bear." I could barely chuckle before I whine in pain.

"Yeah, don't.. don't move your face so much," Soujiro hisses in discomfort by the sight of my face, and instead he just hugs me simply, "We have got to stick with this together instead of apart, okay? Just listen to me and what I have to tell you. Let me come with you. I just don't want you to do anything else to warrant another beating. Let's take on all the angry bears together, instead of apart."

I scoff, "I can't promise you that I won't get my ass handed back to me ever again. But sure, I promise. Now let's go."

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Soujiro, Yahiko, Sano and I are now standing in the living room again, and I just finished admitting what was it that Sano and I discussed outside. Yahiko had to sit down on the couch and just stare at the floor, not knowing what to say. Sano just stood by with his arms crossed and looking beyond crushed over all of this. Soujiro just keeps biting his nail quietly to himself, obviously scared shitless out of his mind of what will happen next. And meanwhile, I'm just standing there, in the center of my own destruction. My entire world as I know it, everything I cherished and loved, going up into flames and scorched into nothing. I never felt so alone and petrified as I do tonight. Never thought in a million years that our friendship will go through something as devastating at this. Nothing will ever be the same again.

I wonder what my biological father had to say, if he were to see all of this. What he'd think of his only son now.

Finally, Yahiko starts to speak after a really long time of silence, "I think.. I think I want to go home now."

"Yahiko.." Soujiro says softly, trying to blink his tears away.

"Yeah. I'll take us both home, Yahiko," Sanosuke walks off to get both of their duffel bags in another sitting area of the mansion nearby, "I think the best thing we can all do now, is have some space between us."

"Yeah.." Yahiko whispers to himself, his eyes still on the floor.

Have you ever wanted to cry so hard, you feel sick?

"You don't..!" Soujiro suddenly sobs out loud, "You guys.. you don't hate us now.. do you?"

Sanosuke comes back with said duffel bags, not responding to Soujiro's questions. My throat feels tight and dry. I'm not holding napkins near my nose, though the bleeding has thankfully lightened up. I still have to go to the hospital, though. Yahiko stands up with a slight wobble, obviously an emotional wreck over my confession still. Soujiro watches helplessly as they both walk towards the front door, not looking or saying anything to us meanwhile.

"W-what, that's it?! You guys are just going to fucking stop talking to us?!" Soujiro hurries up to block their way out, standing between them and the front door of the mansion stubbornly, "It's not like Kenshin and I are proud at what we did!"

"Soujiro. Stop it. Please." I have my hands up, ready to hold someone back if a brawl breaks out.

But Soujiro continues, "I don't get you two! You wanted Kenshin to be fucking honest with you, but now that you people got exactly what you wanted from him, you're just gonna walk on out of here?!"

"Soujiro, that's enough. We just need time." Sanosuke takes a warning step forward, but Soujiro refuses to budge from his spot.

Yahiko just stands there with his eyes downcast, not knowing what to say.

"We'll talk about this some other time. I don't know if you're still going to continue with that movie thing with the others. But if you do.. Don't expect us to be there." Sanosuke glares at Soujiro straight on, making the latter glare right back.

It almost looks like Soujiro is going to take a good swing at Sanosuke's face, just for saying that. But thankfully, he doesn't.

"Fine. If that's how you want it," Soujiro whips around to rip the door open, and points his finger outside, "Get out! I won't stop you!"

I open my mouth to say something, then I close it right back. As much as I want to plead for them to stay.. For once, I think I'm standing strong with Soujiro. Though I can understand both Sanosuke's and Yahiko's shock over this, to have them just walk out on us without caring to at least offer something in return.. I think I am a little hurt just as much as Soujiro is. I mean, we've all been friends for such a long time, and now they're going to act like we're full of germs just because we are in a homosexual relationship together? I hate to admit this as a time like this, but Soujiro's right. I'm kinda glad that they're leaving now.

Soujiro slams the door shut after they both walked out and he starts sobbing furiously in his hands, and I carefully walk on over to him to wrap my arms around him.

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"What did we do wrong?"

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Later on that same night, Soujiro drives me to the nearest hospital. He actually stayed in the waiting room while I was being looked at. I told him to go the fuck home, but he refused. I acted peeved at that, but deep down, I'm flattered he wanted to stay by for me. The bridge of my nose, as it turns out, is broken. Just as I suspected. So, along with a couple of stitches to close up the skin around the area, they gave me what I jokingly refer to as a nose cast. Hours later, we were back home at Soujiro's place. Both of my eyes are already taking on a blackish purple tint, and it just makes Soujiro want to cry again, as a cruel reminder of what had happened. He feels so bad for me, that he ran me a hot bath, which fills me up with so much fucking guilt. Why do I always have to go and ruin everything?

I got in the water when it is ready and I lean my cheek against the edge of the porcelain tub, "Please join me, Soujiro."

He smiles sadly at me, now on the floor and running his fingers along the water, "I shouldn't."

"Why not?"

"I caused this. All of this. This is all my fault. I made your friends go away. With my own.. filth."

"You're not to blame, Soujiro. I'm the one who ran my mouth without thinking. I'm the fucking idiot. Not you. Now please. Please join me. I have a broken nose and two black eyes now, so I should be compensated."

He chuckles, "Oh, Kenshin. Alright, sure."

Soon he is lying on top of my body as I snuggle up with him. This is so nice, after that horrible shit show. Nobody has texted or called us after those guys left, so I doubt they told anyone about this. They're probably way too embarrassed to do so. Well, good. Imagine how the fuck we feel. Sometimes I'll hear Soujiro whimper and weep into the crane of my neck, and I'd rub his back or through his hair to comfort him. Those morons. I hate it when people make my lover like this cry. I sigh, just letting the hot water melt the stress from my body and his tears away.

Afterwards, the clock strikes midnight, and we're both beat. We went into Soujiro's bedroom and I climb into his bed while he texts his father that everything is fine and dandy at the mansion. God, that must be so weird to text your dad like that before getting into bed with your gay partner. He then places our phones on the chargers before coming into bed with me, cuddling into my arms.

"Does your face hurt?" He asks in the dark.

"They gave me really strong painkillers, so no, not really. They gave me extra, so I'll be fine."

"Good.." He kisses my neck, "I'm so sorry."

"For what?"

"For all that's happened tonight. I'm sorry. This is awful. I shouldn't have yelled at you like that. I guess I'm just upset at how they reacted. I.. Expected better from them, to be honest."

I'm quiet for a moment before nodding, "Yeah. I agree."

I just have to wonder how tomorrow will go when we see all the others. Will it go just as badly as tonight? Will they still want to talk to us and be our friends despite the shit I've committed against Kaoru? I deflate. No. Of course they wouldn't. If Sano and Yahiko both easily walked away from us like that, then the others will surely behave the same way. What with Kaoru arguably being the most innocent of us all combined, they will surely take her side and shield her from the likes of me and Soujiro. Which isn't so much of a bad thing; Kaoru deserves to have great friends who will stick up for her. That's not what upsets me. What upsets me is that they probably won't come back with their 'We just need our space' thing and actually leave us for good.

All that will be left in my life.. is Soujiro..

I suddenly remember what Soujiro had once told me before: "Because your friends will abandon us, and all we'll have is each other. Does that sound reasonable or healthy to you?"

That's right. He told me that after I confessed that I am in love with him under the school bleachers, after I heard that he asked out that other bitch to the winter formal dance. He had warned me that something like this would happen. He warned me that if we were to take our relationship to public status, it would mean social isolation. It would mean that we would lose the people we love the most. But I was stubborn and loved him too much to care about the consequences. And though I know the worst have yet to come, at the same time.. I don't regret telling Sanosuke or Yahiko the truth. In a way, some weight is lifted from my spirit, and I feel lighter now. I hate having to carry around so many secrets like that to myself. Maybe that's selfish of me. Maybe my love for Soujiro, and desperately wanting to be with him against the wishes of other people, are all selfish. But I honestly don't care. I'm happy when I have Soujiro, here in my arms.

With abandon, I kiss his cheek and whisper, "I love you."

"W-what?" I bet Soujiro's face would glow red in the dark if we were both cartoon characters.

"Nothing. I just love you. I think.. things got a little out of hand tonight. It could've gone better, I think, if it weren't for my big fat mouth, ha ha. But at the same time.. It's funny, really. I thought that it could've gone way worse and everybody would storm off, and the friendships would be obliterated as well as our relationship. But.. It didn't. I don't know if those two are going to come back into our lives and be our friends like before, but maybe they won't abandon us completely. And you didn't leave me at all, Soujiro. And neither did I to you, though it would be easy to do so, with all that's happened. But I couldn't leave you, Soujiro. I don't care what's going to happen tomorrow with our other friends.. If they all leave us.. I still won't leave you. You are so important to me, and this relationship we have isn't just based on simple transactions. It's becoming something more. I can feel it. Can you feel it too, Soujiro?"

Soujiro hesitates, and I can swear I can feel him tearing up, "Kenshin.."

I smile, snuggling my face into his soft hair, "I love you, Soujiro. I won't leave you for the world. I promise."

"I.. I love you too, Kenshin," Soujiro moves his face upward for his lips to meet mines, sighing happily.

We made love that night. I don't want to get into it, because it wouldn't be fair to the memory. All I can tell you, is that it was the sweetest, slowest, and yet emotionally driven sex I have ever had. I was a sweet lover with Kaoru, but it felt lacking in something deep, something arbitrary and undefined. I found that in Soujiro, though, that night. I never heard him weep like that while I was rocking myself into him, savoring his entire body with my kisses and suckling, and how his body rippled in pleasure during his orgasms was intense. For the first time in our relationship.. We really joined together and became one. Not just in body, but in spirit, too. I know it's fun sometimes to just let loose, and have crazy passionate sex. But just for tonight? I actually enjoyed taking my time with Soujiro; Touching him, tasting him, and thrusting into him at a slower pace so that he can feel every inch of me in his body. We slept soundly afterward, totally exhausted, but so happy at the same time.

This I promise to you, Soujiro. I won't leave you.

Ever.

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The next day, as the sun goes down and the feeling of night comes alive, Soujiro and I wait at the local movie theaters for our friends to arrive. It's about twenty minutes until show time, so we have some time to spare. I have spent the entire morning and afternoon with Soujiro, role playing on how we are going to come out together to our friends, and what to expect from tonight. We talk about best case scenarios, having realistic expectations, and preparing for the worst. Soujiro would get slight tremors in his hands and I would catch one of his eyes twitching from all the anxiety, but I always tell him to just calm down and that everything will be alright. It doesn't do much for his nervousness, but he always looks so happy when I say that. I guess that's what's most important: having emotional support.

"Do you think they'll show up?" Soujiro asks as we sit in one of the small restaurant styled tables that are settled near the ticket booth and concession stand, drinking a large soda.

"Who? Sano and Yahiko?"

"Yeah."

"I don't know. Did they text you?"

"No. Did they text you?"

"Nah." I deflate, frowning.

"Well," Soujiro perks up, "If they don't arrive, at least.. at least the others will.. Right?"

"Yeah." I smile, but still feeling a bit unsure.

Maybe I am worrying over nothing. There's no way Sano or Yahiko would go and blab everything to everyone when things are still so raw from last night. They're probably too humiliated to say shit right now. So there's probably nothing to be suspicious about. I mean, Kaoru sent me some texts today and she seemed cheerful enough, so I know that everything will be okay. At least, until the grand confession time comes. But until then, we'll have fun tonight. Soujiro and I waited and chat for maybe ten minutes, and soon, our visitors arrive: Aoshi, Misao, Kaoru, and Megumi, waves and walk over to us excitedly. I exhale, relieved. I'm so glad they're here. But I'm also hurt that Sanosuke and Yahiko are not among them.

As soon as they came closer, though, and saw what was on my face, the girls freaked out. They kept asking me who the fuck did that to my nose, what happened, how did it happened, where is the motherfucker so they can beat them (Calm down, Megumi.), were the cops called (No, Kaoru, thank God.), do the other guys know (The other guys were responsible for this nose cast, Misao.), and if it hurts. (Yes, Aoshi, you dick.) They fretted over me for a while, but as I make up a story about how Soujiro and I almost got mugged near my neighborhood and we couldn't tell who it was, they seemed to have calmed down a bit. They still looked very worried, save for maybe Aoshi, who seems suddenly more standoffish than usual. I frown at that, but decide to just ignore it, for everyone else's sake. And especially for Soujiro, who has high hopes for tonight.

"Did we kept you guys waiting?" Kaoru walks on over to me and I welcome her into my arms, "I'm sorry! We got a little lost on the way here!"

"It's fine. You're on time." I smile at her.

"I couldn't reach those two idiots, so I don't know where Sanosuke or Yahiko are." Megumi sighs bitterly with a roll of her eyes, "They better have a good excuse the next time I see those fuckers."

I gulp dryly. You'll find out sooner than you think.

"Whatever, all they do is scream and shout and it's nice for just us to hang out tonight!" Misao beams at her date dreamily, "Right, Aoshi?"

Aoshi only replies with a small "hmph" and looks away, but it still made her squeal with joy.

"Kenshin," Kaoru blushes, "It feels like.. a really long time, since we've seen each other. I didn't want to bother you, but.. I really do miss you a lot."

I can feel my face reddening, but not because of flattery. But because I know Soujiro is literally right there next to me, watching us. I smile back awkwardly, "Y-yeah. I miss you, too! I'm glad we can all hang out tonight."

"This movie better be worth the money." Aoshi cuts in dryly, "I'm only paying for Misao's ticket and food, so the rest of you should fend for yourselves."

At any other time, I'd be right in his face and coping an attitude. But just for tonight, I'm reeling everything in and just want to be on my best behavior. Maybe as a form of pre-damage control? I don't know, but I just look at Kaoru and say, "That's fine. I'll pay for my stuff and Kaoru's stuff."

"And I'll pay after you, Miss Megumi!" Soujiro walks on over and offers her his elbow so she can wrap her arms around it.

"Finally, a gentleman!" Megumi smiles smugly to herself, having bagged the rich guy for tonight. It's only for tonight, so I don't mind.

We all went to the ticket booth and the concession stand to get our stuff before heading down to the viewing room. I sit next to Kaoru, obviously. Soujiro sits next to me on my other side, next to Megumi on his other side. Aoshi and Misao sit together and next to Megumi. Sano and Yahiko have yet to shown up or contacted us, so we all assume that they aren't going to be here after all. My chest hurts so much just thinking about that. Fuck those two. I gave them my entire life and my friendship, and for them to just up and leave us like this for one mistake.. is just ridiculous. I know I'm completely in the wrong here, but.. Still. I fume secretly on the inside, but I try not to let it show. I don't want to worry the others or cause Kaoru any discomfort, knowing I'm going to blast her heart into pieces after the movie is over. I feel sick, knowing that. God. As Aoshi had said earlier before.. This movie better be worth the money.

I focus on the movie while holding Kaoru's hand.

When really.. All I want to do right now.. is to just be with Soujiro.

I hate this so much.

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"What a crap movie." Megumi puffs out a long string of smoke.

"Yeah. What a dud." Kaoru rubs her hands on her forearms.

We're now outside after the movie ended. I should've known that the movie would end badly. The director who made the film was failing miserably in his last few movies, but I didn't think he'd bomb this one, too. I guess I should've seen it coming. We all decided to have a smoking break until we decide what to do next. The night is still young, and Soujiro told me in secret that maybe we should treat them out for something sweet. Like milkshakes, or hot chocolate. I agreed to that idea. Maybe it'll cushion the blow for what I will tell them later on.

"Hey, um!" I chuckle nervously, scratching the side of my face with a finger, "W-why don't we, erm. Check out this one joint nearby? I read the reviews on it, apparently it's a weird American styled burger place where you can get stuff like milkshakes and other treats!"

"Oooh, really?! We should go! Can we, Aoshi, can we, huh, huh, huh?!" Misao is jumping up and down like a little kid, which made Megumi grimace.

Aoshi rolls his eyes and sighs, "Fine."

"I'll pay! For everyone! You don't even have to worry about picking up the tab!" Soujiro jumps into the conversation, appearing just as jittery as I am.

Megumi's eyebrow arches, "Are you two okay? You seem skittish ever since we arrived for the movie."

"Yeah..?" Misao also looks at us both with confusion in her eyes, "Are you guys okay?"

"Never better!" I say through a bitter smile.

They all blink in union, stumped.

"Good, because I'm posting my fancy hot chocolate picture on Snapchat to bug Sanosuke since he abandoned us!" Megumi chuckles evilly to herself.

"Then let's go." Aoshi steps on his cigarette with his boot.

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We arrive to the burger joint. It's Westernized style and has a 1950's flair to it. Neon lights, copies of autographed portraits, a retro styled juke box playing oldies music, the works. I really like it. Soujiro seems to dig the vibe, too. He looks so cute when he smiles and looks around in a dreamy manner. Gah, Soujiro! I can't wait.. I really can't. I can't wait till we're both out of this place. You and me, we're gonna do so many great things together, I just know it! So what if things will turn ugly this weekend? As long as we have each other, we can take on any curve balls that life tries to throw at us. The girls ordered these fancy ass hot chocolates with whipped cream and sprinkles, cookie bits, chocolate syrup, cinnamon powder, skittles or M&M's sprinkled on top.. If you can think it, it's on their drinks. Soujiro didn't felt particularly hungry, so he settles for a small hot cocoa with nothing on top. The same goes for me. I wish we can drink from the same cup. Or even from the same straw. Aoshi just has water, much to Misao's annoyance.

When all of this is over.. Will Soujiro and I be able to find other good friends, again?

"Look how cute this filter looks! Come closer so that I can get your face in!" Megumi gushes as Misao and Kaoru sit closer together to get a selfie in it.

"Cheeeeese!" Misao sticks her tongue out and Kaoru giggles.

"We look just like rabbits!" Kaoru throws in a peace sign with her hand before Megumi hits the shutter button on her phone.

"Got'eem!" Megumi laughs and they all huddle together to inspect the photo, "This is so going on all of our walls. Oh my God, let's have the boys take a picture together as rabbits!"

"Drop dead." Aoshi simply states, though he did not say it too coldly or hatefully. Still, Misao looks peeved at hearing that.

"You meanie!" She throws a raspberry at him with her tongue, "Kenshin, Soujiro, what about you two?"

"Do I look like I want to be humiliated?" I ask her in a deadpan tone, and Soujiro just chuckles awkwardly.

"Yeah, I don't feel like being made fun of at school for taking such a, um.. silly picture." Soujiro shrugs with his hands.

"Aw, come on! How about this, just a picture for our eyes only! Just for us girls! Pweeeeaaaaase?" Misao takes a hold of my arm and shakes it like the rightful idiot she is.

I look at Soujiro uneasily, but he just grins just as uneasily in return. There's no way out of this for us, is there? Well, fine. Let's get this over with. Shit will hit the fan later on tonight, anyway, so might as well give them what they want. We take Megumi's phone and hold it up over our faces, the camera detecting our faces and immediately both of our expressions reverts to two cutesy rabbits from the filter. I roll my eyes. I couldn't help but laugh though, and so did Soujiro. We take the picture for them and hand it back to the girls, where they squeal and giggle over the picture together. I sigh, looking at them. There goes the folks I've known for so many years. The friends I love so much, with every fiber of my being.

The friends I am going to ruin when tonight is over.

After we were done drinking and chatting, Soujiro pays the waitress and we all leave. We walk back towards the parking lot of the movie theaters to get to our cars. Misao then asks all of us if we should do something else, but Kaoru says she's starting to feel sleepy. Megumi pretends to be so wired up that she wants the night to continue, though Aoshi doesn't seem keen on the idea. Soujiro and I look at each other. I want to stay over at his place again, since tomorrow will be Sunday and Hiko is going to be doing extra work at his job, anyway. Soujiro then places his hand on my shoulder, gazing into my eyes, as if telling me: It's time we say something. It's now or never. And I bite the inside of my cheek, feeling nauseous. But he's right. It is time to say something.

Here goes nothing.

"Um.. Guys?" I start, my hands already forming into grips, "Soujiro and I.. have to tell you something."

"Huh?" Megumi puts her hands on her hips.

"What is it, Kenshin?" Kaoru blinks at us, hanging onto her car keys expectantly.

I try to say something, but the words won't come out. Aoshi scoffs, "This better be good."

"Come on, guys, hurry up, I'm starting to feel all sweaty from the hot chocolate!" Misao fans herself with her hand.

Goddammit! Will you all just shut the ever loving fuck up and let me finish?!

Soujiro comes to my rescue with awkward sputtering, "I-it's just..! We! Um.. We, um.. Kenshin and I.. We.."

They all look at us with deeply confusing expressions on their faces. Come on, Soujiro, say something!

Soujiro shuts his eyes and his face reddens, "We.. Kaoru.. I'm so sorry.. But.. Kenshin, and I.. We.. We are intimate t-together, and.."

I look at Kaoru's face as it starts to pale in deep shock, and everyone else look absolutely appalled. Intimate, Soujiro said. They're not stupid. They know exactly what he means with that word. I take a step back and so did Soujiro, both of us wanting to throw up at this point. Aoshi looks on with a hint of surprise in his eyes too, which is a look I am not used to, coming from him. But, he knew something about this before, doesn't he? He knew that Soujiro had feelings for me, and that he suspected that we were seeing each other in secrecy. I guess maybe he's more shocked that we had the balls to confess sooner than he thought. I bet he's also wondering if we're going to out him too, as being the witness of a private affair.

I finally gather the courage to fill in the blanks, "Yeah. Soujiro and I are together. We're sorry and we hate ourselves for hiding this from you guys.."

Nobody knows what to say for the next several moments. Megumi and Misao both look down on Kaoru who is now slowly crouching down on her knees and placing her hands on the sides of her head. I can't see Kaoru's face from where I'm standing, but she's barely making any sound despite her shoulders flinching. Megumi looked at Kaoru with a hand over her mouth, and Misao crouches down to see if she could comfort Kaoru in way possible, but seems perplexed on how to do that. I think she's crying but I can't be sure. Aoshi turns back to look at us and says, "I think you two should go."

Soujiro exhales shakily, "Fine. Let's go, Ken―"

"―Hold up!" Megumi looks back at us with explosive anger, "You two aren't going any-fucking-where until you fucking explain to us how the hell all of this happened!"

"Yeah!" Misao shoots up from where she was crouching, "What the fuck, you guys?!"

Kaoru continues to just sit there in silence, though her shoulders have stopped shaking and she stares at the ground in a seemingly dissociative state.

"It.." I shut my eyes again, gulping down what felt like a large rock down my throat, "It happened at that house party at Soujiro's place, the first time he invited all of us over. He propositioned me for sex, and I.. I didn't rejected him because.. I liked it. I liked how it felt."

"So you started all of this. This is all your fault." Megumi is shooting venom from her eyes at Soujiro now, "You did this!"

I step in front of Soujiro defensively, "Yeah, but I could've stopped it, only I didn't. S-so don't go pointing fingers at just him! Blame me, instead! I'm.. I'm the one who fucking cheated on Kaoru!"

Now we can hear Kaoru heaving and sobbing into her hands, and it's the saddest sound I have ever heard coming from a human being before. She sounds so broken, and helpless. Megumi looks like she's ready to beat the shit out of me. Misao just doesn't know who to look at anymore, and looks absolutely gutted.

"What were you thinking when you two were fucking each other?!" Megumi marches on over to where I am and grabs me by the shirt collar to scream into my face, "Did you stopped to think about how much this would hurt Kaoru?! Or any of us?"

I grab her hands and seethe, "You think?!"

She looks shocked for one hot second, and then the next, she walks forward to forcefully push my back against the brick wall of the movie theater establishment, "I oughta kicked the fucking shit outta of you, do you hear me?! Is this why Sano and Yahiko weren't here with us tonight?! Do they know?!"

"Yes!" I am losing my breath, and I think I'm starting to hyperventilate, "Please, stop.. I'm going to.."

"No! Don't beg when I'm not finished with you! Sano was the one who broke your nose, wasn't it? Well, let me knock that thing off your nose, you son of a bitch!" Megumi lets go of my shirt with one hand to hover it above both of us, and I flinch, expecting to get hit.

But just when it's about to come down hard, Aoshi immediately takes her hand in his fist, and she balks at him. He only gives her a steel cold glare in return. Megumi is growling while I am afraid of making any sudden movement. The last thing I want is for her to hit me in the face (again), or for Aoshi to end up hurting her anymore than what is necessary. I'm not a fan of violence against women, after all. Fuck.

"Let go of me, Aoshi," Megumi warns, "This man hurt one of our best friends and like hell am I going to let him get away with that unscathed!"

"We can do this like adults, or we can do this the hard way," Aoshi speaks in a frighteningly even tone, considering the mess we are all in right now, "Don't make me choose. I'm already this close to hurting someone and I am not ashamed to admit that."

"Aoshi!" Soujiro cries out as he rushes over to where we are.

Megumi snaps from over her shoulder at Soujiro, "Don't you dare come any closer, you piece of shit! Kenshin was right about you! You don't belong here! You don't belong with us! You're not our friend! All you were this entire time was a no good, fucking snake!"

I finally gather the strength (and the guts) to lift my hands to yank myself from her grasp while Aoshi keeps his hold on Megumi. I stumble away from the duo and Soujiro joins me, holding my hand. Everyone looks on at our clasped hands and there's just no hiding it anymore: Soujiro and I really are lovers. Megumi's anger softens into devastation and she bites down a sob, eyes shut and tears streaming down her face.

"I can't believe you two." She hiccups, "I really.. I really didn't think you would hurt us like this, Kenshin."

I didn't reply, my heart bursting at the seams.

She takes in an uneasy breath, "I.. I have to go home. I don't.. I don't want to be here anymore. I don't want to be your friend anymore. I've had enough of life."

Aoshi is silent for a bit before replying, "Don't be like this. You are only hurting yourself more. I think it's best we all take some time apart."

I shut my eyes painfully. This shit again.

"F-fine." Soujiro says in a soft and equally devastated voice, "I'm fine with that.."

I hesitate, but nod even though no one is looking at me doing that, "Me too."

We were all quiet, unsure of what else to say. Because there really isn't anything else to say. We hurt Kaoru and now everyone wants to separate for a while. What else is there to add? We fucked up everyone's senior year with this shit. Soujiro shivers once and lets his own tears roll down his face, and I had to fight with every ounce of my being to not take his chin in my hand gently to kiss him. As Aoshi holds a crying Megumi in his arms, we turn around to walk on towards Soujiro's car to leave for the night. My eyes catches the sight of Misao still crouching on the ground, glomping her own body over Kaoru's small shaking frame. She is giving us both the death glare as we walk past them. If looks could kill, honestly.

What a horrible night.

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"Hey, son! Are you coming home tonight?"

"No, dad, I can't. I'm staying over at my friends again."

"I see. Do you need any money?"

"No."

".. What's wrong, Shinta?"

"It's.. It's nothing. I'm just tired."

"Alright, son. I just miss you, is all."

"I miss you too, dad."

"Ha ha, you know I'm just your stepdad, right?"

"No, dad. You really are my dad."

"Aw, shucks. Thank you. I really hope I see your face tomorrow. We can go out for pizza, if you want."

"That sounds great, dad. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Good night, son."

"Night, dad."

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"I can't help but overhear you and your dad. I'm.. So glad things are better between the two of you. Guess I did the right thing by having my dad in getting your dad a job, huh?" Soujiro smiles at me, his eyes completely red and dried out from all the crying.

We are now in his bedroom again, about an hour after that fucking disaster between us and our ex-friends. I stupidly checked my Facebook and saw that I've been blocked by Sanosuke, Yahiko, Megumi, Kaoru, Misao, and even Tsubame. I guess she and Yahiko are officially together and is just doing what any other normal girlfriend would do when something like this happens. Fuck. All the other dozens of friends on my contact list probably hadn't caught on the news yet, and I'm not blocked by them. Aoshi hasn't blocked me or Soujiro yet, since he is somewhat to blame for all of this. Damn, how will Misao react to that? Will she still love and trust him after his helping Soujiro out in getting close to me?

I smirk sleepily at the ceiling above us, "Yeah. Whoever said money doesn't make you happy is a fucking idiot."

Soujiro snuggles up to me and whimpers weakly, "I'm so sorry, Kenshin. About tonight. About all of this. I don't know how I'm going to face everyone at school on Monday. Are they going to ignore us? Avoid us?"

I shrug, sighing, "Probably. But there's nothing to do about it, but to accept it and give them their space. It's the least we could do."

"Yeah.."

"I think," I sniff, wrapping my arm around his frame to comfort him, "I think we should just focus on ourselves, you know? Like, we should just focus on getting the best damn grades possible, and get out of here when we graduate from high school. We should just leave Kyoto, altogether. Make a life for ourselves."

Soujiro smirks, shaking his head, "Oh, Kenshin. I'm still so.. scared. Of my father. Of what he'd do, or what other people would do to us, if the world knew about us."

"Fuck them. Fuck everyone."

We cuddle for a little while. And we try to talk about other things. Light hearted stuff. We don't want to think about Monday. We don't want to think about school, or being bullied, or disappointing our fathers. We just want to talk about the good side of life. We talk about things like the latest video games that will come out soon. We talk about childhood memories that makes us happy. We talk about what is it we really wanted to do after high school. What we want to do after college, in fact. I still tell Soujiro that he should give veterinarian school a chance. He tells me he thinks I'd make a wonderful teacher or professor of sorts. He tells me I'm smart and can articulate things about art and philosophy really well; I tell him that his heart is big enough to care for all the animals in the world. We talk about what our future home would be like.

"I think.." Soujiro frowns, us still lying in his bed, "I think I want to know what's on my father's laptop, after all."

"Hmm? Uh.." I laugh nervously, "W-what the hell was that for?"

"Well.. Aren't you curious? About what's on it? Maybe I can crack into it, somehow. Maybe there's something in his room that could give us a clue. There just has to be something there. Don't you want to know?"

"Soujiro," I sit up and look at him, "I don't think we should disappoint ourselves anymore tonight. We've had a rough weekend. We should do something fun, instead."

He looks up at me, confused, "Like what?"

I smile deviously at him. His eyes widen, and then his eyelids lower. He slowly sits up, inching his face closer to mines in order to kiss my lips. But before he does, I press two fingers against his lips. He blinks in confusion. I lean closer to whisper something into his ear.

"Karaoke. Night."

(To be continued.)