afraid (kubokai)

chapter five

"i want you to teach me."

aren blinked.

"teach you?"

"remember the first day we met?" shun smiled slightly at the thought "i had asked you if you could teach me how to pull of that huge stunt of yours. and now i mean it, aren, will you teach me how to fight? i don't intend to be at your level, i just need to know enough to not be afraid."

aren had never taught anyone something like this before. well, he had coached a baseball team and lead multiple gangs, but this was a little different. he felt uneasy about the situation, but this not only could result in a very happy shun, but also a chance to spend even more time with him.

so, he had agreed. and nothing could make him feel happier than the sparkle in shun's eyes afterwards. in the end, could he really say no to him?

that boy is dangerous for me. he had told himself with a grin.

in the present, it was the very next day, and the final bell was about to ring. shun had wanted to start as soon as possible, and although aren had no idea where to start, he told him to wait for him after school so they could walk to the park. not that shun was going to walk home without him, anyway.

right on time, he shot up out of his desk, grabbed his bag and ran out of the classroom.

"class, before you leave, i ha- hey! mr kuboyasu!"

if you walk outside the gates of PK academy and take a left turn, there was a large pine tree, where above its thick roots lay a patch of soft and fluffy grass. aren was surprised that it was never occupied by other students already since it was within waiting area for school busses, but never complained. depending on who would get there first, shun or aren would be sitting there, waiting for the other. sometimes they would find each other in the halls and walk there together, waiting for nendou and saiki.

considering aren bolted out of the classroom as soon as school finished, he sat himself under the tree, waiting for his best friend to approach.

he'd always find his hand running through the grass. it was as soft as he imagined shun's hair would be. he'd study his hand, recognising new tiny cuts he had been oblivious to on his fingers and studying the patterns of his veins.

"you have nice hands, aren."

he hadn't realised how much he had spaced out until he had shot his head up towards a smiling shun. he smiled himself, staring back at his hand.

"bull. they're covered with these."

"you mean scars?" shun asked, "i think scars are cool. especially yours. they're like a silver-ish colour."

to stop any heat rising to his face, he shot himself up and faced the pathway. he had recognised the bus that came later on had come already, and glanced towards his watch.

3:18? time certainly flew by.

"sorry i was late, man, yumehara held me up."

yumehara.

"it's cool. what did she want?"

shun nervously pulled his arm towards the back of his neck. after a pause, he grinned confidently, exhaling a large breath of air.

"she asked to hang out after school tomorrow. said she needed some help with english, so now i'll be scoring a free milkshake."

oh, fucking great.

"you know our english was due already. she's just trying to come onto you." he had said this in a way as if he was trying to convince him not to go. shun raised an eyebrow.