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“Hirose! C’mon! We’ll be late for the movie!” a voice called out from a few meters away.
“I’m gonna have to pass this time!” the young man responded back to the call.
Mukai looked at Takeuchi and spoke with a sigh. “I told you he wouldn’t come. He’s been skipping on us pretty much every time. Let’s just leave him.”
Takeuchi shrugged and, with that, the two friends ran off from the school.
On the other hand, however, Hirose happily made his way over to a certain black-haired individual. Nakamura and him had gotten back from the school trip a week or so ago and they had been close ever since. The declaration of friendship that had been made that day had only served to strengthen the two boys’ bond.
“Nakamura! You wanna go ride bikes with me? I know you ride your bike to school every day, so I brought mine this time.”
Nakamura almost leaped out of his chair. No matter how many times Hirose asked him to hang out, it always made his heart seem like it was about to burst. Nakamura felt it strongly beating through his chest, acknowledging his nervous hesitancy. All he could do was nod, his long black bangs covering his bright red face.
“Perfect! Let’s go then.”
Hirose smiled. The same smile as always, yet it still caused Nakamura’s heart to melt. He followed his friend to the back of the school to where the bikes were stored. The two unlocked their bikes and walked them to the entrance of the school.
“Why don’t we ride to the nearby park?” Nakamura suggested.
“Oh, great idea!” Hirose responded.
The two boys rode their bikes through the park and gazed at the cherry blossom trees that were just now beginning to bloom. They rode through the park for a while before deciding to take a quick break to rest on one of the benches.
Nakamura looked down at his hands while sitting on the bench. “I’m sorry if it’s boring hanging out with me. I’m not exactly the best with words.”
Even though Nakamura had researched every single one of Hirose’s interests, he hadn’t found the time or courage to bring them up.
“You’re not boring at all. In fact, out of all my friends, I enjoy talking to you the most. You’re so easy to open up to,” Hirose said with a wide smile. “It’s really refreshing.”
A blush spread across Nakamura's face. He couldn’t comprehend what he was hearing. He always knew Hirose was nice, but this was especially loving.
After a few moments of silence, Nakamura lifted his head up from his lap to look over at Hirose. Upon doing so, he was startled by Hirose’s face right up next to his. His welcoming smile flooded his vision and captured his attention. He let out a small squeak in surprise. Hirose leaned closer as a blush was already overtaking Nakamura’s shocked face. Abruptly, Hirose plucked a cherry blossom petal from the top of Nakamura’s head and leaned back.
“Haha, there you go.”
The boy was too stunned to speak.
“How about one more ride down the path?” Hirose suggested.
They rode down the path once more, just like they had before. However, this time Nakamura only kept his gaze on Hirose. He was mesmerized by the boy’s chestnut hair and calm smile. The flower petals falling around him only enhanced the scene. Nakamura was unable to tear his eyes away.
Not looking where he was going, Nakamura ran over a large rock on the road. Suddenly, he was knocked off his bike by its force and tumbled to the ground. A short gasp escaped his mouth.
Hirose quickly came to a stop and abandoned his bike as he ran over to his friend. He got down on one knee to take a look at Nakamura’s injuries.
“Are you okay?! Nothing’s broken is it?”
Nakamura only shook his head. He was too caught off guard by Hirose.
“My house is right nearby. I can take a look at your injuries there. Can you walk okay?”
“I’m really fi-–“ Nakamura stopped. If he went along with this, he would be able to go to Hirose’s house.
“It hurts a little… but I should be able to walk.”
Hirose nodded. He wrapped his strong arm around Nakamura’s torso and helped him get up. Hirose was oblivious, but Nakamura felt as though he was in heaven. However, the moment didn’t last long. Hirose let go and went to go get his bike. After scowling for a moment, Nakamura did the same. The two then started walking to Hirose’s house.
Upon arriving and putting the bikes away, Hirose grabbed Nakamura by the hand and led him inside. They took off their shoes and then made their way to the bathroom. Nakamura sat down while Hirose put together everything he needed. He kneeled down and then rolled up Nakamura’s pant leg. Nakamura watched as his friend tended to his wounds. It felt almost like a dream come true.
“I’m so glad that it’s not too bad. I was really worried about you, y’know? How’d you even wipe out in the first place?”
“Ah, well… I got distracted and ran over a rock.”
“Distracted? By what?” Hirose innocently questioned. His eyes screamed that he was oblivious to Nakamura’s feelings.
Nakamura obviously didn’t have the guts to admit that it was Hirose that had distracted him. Instead, he just replied with a simple “nothing.”
“There you go.” The same gentle fingers that had applied gauze to Nakamura’s knee gracefully picked up the supplies. Nakamura couldn’t keep his eyes off of them. “You’re all patched up,” Hirose finished.
Hirose rolled Nakamura’s pant leg back down and stepped away. He then held out a hand to help Nakamura get up. Nakamura gladly took it, another blush adorning his face. The two left the bathroom and went back to the entrance of the house. Nakamura began putting his shoes back on, a small squeak resonating through the room as the shoes brushed against the floor.
“I had a lot of fun, thanks for hanging out with me.”
“Yeah, of co–-“ Nakamura was suddenly cut off by another voice.
“Aiki? Did you just get home?”
“Ah, Sis!” Hirose replied. “Yeah, I did.”
Hirose’s sister entered the room and walked up to the two boys. Even if she did look nearly identical to Hirose, he couldn’t help but feel bitterness towards her for cutting their moment short.
“Oh? Why didn’t you tell me you had a friend over?”
“We were just stopping by. He’s going on his way now.”
“Oh, that’s a shame,” she said while placing a questioning hand on her chin “Hey, wait. Do I know you from somewhere?”
Nakamura gulped as Hirose’s sister moved her face closer to his own. She squinted before finally realizing.
“Right! Weren’t you in the play with Aiki?”
Nakamura nodded.
“Right, right! You were the homeless man that Aiki held in his arms?” she teased. “Wasn’t that a sweet scene? Didn’t Aiki make the cutest girl?”
Nakamura turned red and looked away while nodding. Hirose in turn blushed a little bit but from embarrassment instead.
“Don’t bring it up! Can’t you see how red he is?” Hirose exclaimed while pointing at Nakamura to emphasize his frustration. The streched hand found it’s way to Nakamura’s shoulder. His embrassment quickly turned to shock at the contact. “Look, Nakamura,” Hirose continued, “I understand. I wanted to hide the fact that I was in the play from my friends. The whole thing was just pretty embarrassing.”
“But Hirose, you were amazing...” Nakamura said shyly.
“Ehh? No, no, stop that.” Hirose smiled. For a moment, he felt his heart thump loudly.
“You know he’s right, Aiki.”
“Oh, c’mon! Not you too..”
Nakamura smiled and laughed softly.
“Well, I better get going now.”
“Aww…so soon?” Hirose’s sister responded.
“It’s been a long day,” Hirose reasoned. “Don’t bother him anymore,” he threatened, giving his sister a deep glare.
“Alright fine, but you gotta tell me your name before you leave.”
“Nakamura Okuto.”
“Well, it was very nice meeting you, Nakamura.”
Nakamura nodded and then left.
“He’s a cute kid.”
“Sis!” Hirose yelled, annoyed.
————
The next day at school Hirose spent a lot of time thinking. He had a lot of things on his mind: why he keeps skipping out on his friends, why he wants to spend more time with Nakamura, and why his heart had thumped like it did the day before.
Why have I been avoiding my friends? It never used to be like this. Not since Nakamura. Am I avoiding them because he told me it was okay to? No… it’s not that I’m avoiding them. I just prefer spending time with Nakamura is all. But why is that?
Of course I would want to get closer to Nakamura. He’s a great guy after all. He’s kind, easy to talk to, funny even when he doesn’t intend to be, considerate, and cute. Wait… cute? No clue where that came from… though I do admit that seeing the way he talks about octopi and gets so excited over them is pretty sweet.
Hirose continued to think over everything. No matter what he tried, the thought would always lead back to Nakamura. It was almost as if he were obsessed with him.
Why would such a cool guy like Nakamura want to be friends with me anyway?
Hirose began to recall the moments he had spent with Nakamura previously. He remembered how he had saved him from the bullies and how he had gone out of his way to listen to Hirose’s complaints. Images of Nakamura and his warm, comforting smile filled his memory. It was the kind of smile that drew you in and filled you with happiness the moment you experienced it. Upon remembering it, Hirose felt his own heart thump once more. Shocked by it, he suddenly came back to reality and looked around the classroom. Everyone was doing the regular. Hirose let out a sigh and placed his hand over his heart.
Does my heart normally beat this fast?
Hirose shook off the feeling and went back to focusing on class. The day went by slowly, but that wasn’t anything Hirose wasn’t used to. After the school bell rung and everyone had left, Hirose made his way to the faculty office. He opened the door with a creak and went inside. He looked around for his teacher but had no luck. Instead, he set his eyes on the manga that somebody had previously lost. He looked down at it and stared intently at the cover, remembering what his friends had said about it.
Is it really possible for two boys to be in love?
As soon as the thought crossed his mind, the face of his dear friend popped into his head.
Let’s just take a look…
Hirose began to reach down for the book when suddenly the door opened. He quickly pulled his hand away and turned towards the door. It was his teacher: Otogiri-Sensei.
“Ah, Hirose, what’re you doing here?”
“Oh! I wanted to see if I could look back at the photos from the school trip.”
“Sure, the camera is right over here,” he pointed. “I’ll grab it for you. Just remember to return it.”
“Thank you!”
Otogiri handed the camera to him and then Hirose left.
Hirose soon arrived at home and flopped down onto the bed. He took the camera from out of his pocket and turned it on with a click. After the camera hummed to show it was on, Hirose opened the photo gallery. Right there on the screen was the photo that teach had taken of Hirose and Nakamura. Seeing the photo once more brought a smile to his face.
Wasn’t Nakamura the one who took most of the photos during the trip? I’m a little curious about what he took photos of…
Hirose flipped through the photos. There was an octopus on one, a picture of food on another, but the vast majority of photos were ones of him.
What is this..? Why would Nakamura take so many photos of me?
He thought for a moment before finally reaching the conclusion.
…Does Nakamura like me? No, no, no, that’s impossible! We’re both guys after all. Although…
Hirose felt his heart beat begin to speed up as he kept thinking about it. He was confused and a little scared at the same time.
I like girls… I’m not interested in men, but if it were him…
“Aughh!! I should not be thinking this!”
He grabbed the camera and turned it off amd quickly placed it into his bag. He didn’t want to think about this anymore.
————
The next day was a gloomy one. It had been raining all day and it didn't seem like it was going to let up. Luckily, Hirose didn’t have school today. However, being holed up in his room wasn’t his idea of a good time. Hirose decided he would go somewhere else instead. Besides, if he was in his room all day with nothing to do, then he would start thinking about Nakamura again. He didn’t want to think about that right now.
He hurried outside of his house carrying an umbrella. He rushed to the shopping district and began to look around when, suddenly, a certain building caught his eye. It was the aquarium. Hirose beamed as he looked at the entrance. The aquarium reminded him of his friend.
Hirose decided to go inside. Maybe he would even learn about octopi. He could always ask Nakamura about it but, to be completely honest, he was a little nervous to. He was unsure why though. He loved to listen to Nakamura’s little rants about his favorite animal.
He walked in and made his way over to the octopus section when something caught his eye. There was already someone there, sitting on a bench and looking at the unique sea creatures. Eventually, the figure noticed Hirose’s staring.
“Hirose?” Nakamura’s voice rose slightly in pitch.
Hirose gave an awkward smile. “Nakamura..! didn’t expect to see you here.”
There was an awkward silence between them. As the silence grew, Hirose’s bottled up emotions became louder. Enough was enough. Finally, Hirose walked over to Nakamura with a determined look.
“Can we talk?”
Nakamura gulped and nervously nodded. “Of course,” he accepted apprehensively.
Hirose sat down next to Nakamura. His eyes shifted right and left as he looked for any signs of people. His gaze then directed back at Nakamura. He breathed in and out, trying to clear his head.
“Do you like me? Be honest.”
Nakamura was completely caught off guard by the question. “L-Like you? O-Of course I do! We’re friends after all. Who wouldn’t like you?”
Hirose furrowed his brow, a little annoyed. He was confused and all he wanted was answers, not more questions. He brought his face closer to Nakamura’s and spoke again.
“You know that’s not what I mean. Do you like me?”
Nakamura looked down nervously, carefully thinking of his response. His head then bobbed back up.
“I do.” Hirose’s eyes widened. He had come to this conclusion but it was still shocking to hear. He opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by Nakamura. “I really, really like you. I have for a long time,” he confessed while twiddling his fingers tensely. He couldn’t quite make eye contact with Hirose yet. “If you’re not comfortable with me then I understand.”
“Not comfortable? I’d never be uncomfortable around you, Nakamura.”
As Hirose said this, he gently moved his hand and placed it over Nakamura’s. He could feel Nakamura jump ever so slightly.
“I think…I might like you too.”
Nakamura’s eyes widened upon hearing this. His cheeks turned a soft pink as well.
“Things are really confusing for me right now, so please be patient with me. I just can’t stop thinking about you… and if you’ll let me, I want to experience all kinds of things with you.”
“Hirose, I’m no expert…but I feel the same way. I’ll help and support you in any way that I can. Let’s figure things out together.”
Hirose blushed while his expression changed into a shy smile.
“I’d like that very much,” he said with gleaming eyes as his heart sped up with the confession.
Nakamura felt his heart beat in his chest. Wanting to show his affection, he moved his head closer. Hirose, in turn, did the same. Hirose felt as Nakamura’s lips touched against his. It was a brief and awkward kiss, but he knew it would get better with time. At this moment, it was the best kiss he could ask for.
Nakamura then pulled away and suddenly spoke up, “Ah! I’m sorry! I should’ve asked..! I-“
“Nakamura.”
He turned back to Hirose and had no time to react before Hirose kissed him again. Nakamura suddenly tensed up at the sudden contact, but slowly relaxed after a few seconds.
For this moment, it felt as though they were the only two in the world. Nothing could come in between them, and it would stay that way. This was a dream that neither of them would wake up from. Finally, they weren’t alone anymore.