afraid (kubokai)

chapter ten

finally, after a complete emotional roller coaster of a week, it was the weekend.

after aren's father's attempt at keeping him on the low, he felt as if he needed to prove to the old man that he 'wasn't apart of his mess anymore.'

so, after a long day of pretending not to be head over heels in love with a boy who has a girlfriend, he almost skipped into his house doors and thanked fuck the week was over. he almost drooled at the smell of the house as he walked inside, the scent of a good steak flooding his senses completely.

it wasn't enough to make him forget about who was cooking it.

ugh, get out of this house.

"how was school?"

the boy wasn't up for small talk. he slung his school bag over one of the dining table chairs and simply replied with a blunt "fine" and almost stomped his way upstairs.

aren and shun weren't meeting up at the park today. not aren's decision. shun had explained that yumehara had begged him to help her do something, and before he could explain what she wanted help with, aren completely changed the subject.

as much as his heart yearned for him–aren found himself looking on the bright side. now a bond such as theirs could never be broken, not when aren had already determined two things; one, that shun was straight, and two; shun had feelings for someone else.

he picked up a notepad and pen and flicked through a modern history textbook. his father reminded him in the morning 'that school isn't as important as they say' and that 'you don't have to be such a try hard, a record like yours won't get you into any good jobs anyway.'

tch.  he tightened the grip on his pen and mentally noted to study harder. it's not like he had anything else to do, anyway.

only ten minutes into study and firm knocks were placed on his door. not even bothering to open it, the deep voice spoke.

"i need you to go to the supermarket and grab me some soy sauce. oh, and bread and milk. i used the rest of it last night."

aren frowned, leaning back into his chair. a ride on his motorbike wouldn't be such a bad idea right now. perhaps he could get himself a new manga to read on the way back, too.

"and why can't you get it?"

he didn't know why it was necessary to ask, since he already knew the answer.

"been drinking."

and you draw the line there in crimes you don't want to commit?

he would add 'a new bottle of sake' to the list, but to his disadvantage he was underage. back in his delinquent days, accessing alcohol was pretty easy. now, with the way he looks, there was no way an average looking boy could fool a shop owner.

too bad. he could really use some alcohol.

no, aren, you're not like that anymore.

moments later he was jumping onto his bike, sliding on a black leather jacket and reaching for his helmet. it had been quite a while since he'd used the thing. in fact, the last time he remembered using it was two months ago when he had picked up shun and taken him to a volleyball match.

he'd had the bike for as long as he could remember. it was his father's, who had kept it as soon as he bought himself a new one and eventually aren found himself hopping on top of it, taking him to places he'd never forget. then he had got his license.

the birds in the trees were no more, nor the sound of anything else but the engine. a little out of tune, it was, and aren mentally noted to himself to be more attentive to his prized possession.