꧁ LIFE and DEATH ꧂

PAINT

You know me~ a smidge of implied lemon, and a little fluff! (Plus two bonus scenes!) 

"You walk your paint-covered self out that door, and don't come back!"

Amane finished whipping himself off with the rag and leaned his head in between his knees. "God, I think I'm going to throw up."

"What's wrong?" Mei asked, her paintbrush dashing across her canvas.

In his moment of despair, Amane had called his closest friends and asked to meet at Shijima's art studio. Even though she worked as an art teacher, the 19-year-old couldn't seem to stop drawing. Or painting. Or sculpting. Or--

"Yashiro hates me, and she kicked me out of the house," Amane explained, depressed.

"You have been living with her for two years, without rent," Mitsuba reminded him. The pinkette had quickly become a famous photographer, and he didn't hesitate to rub it in. But today, Mitsuba was being kinder-- maybe because his boyfriend was there.

"Senpai likes grand romantic gestures, so you might wanna try that," Kou suggested, casting a quick glance at Mitsuba. "It worked for--"

"If the next words out of your mouth are 'me', then I'll hit you," Mitsuba said, crossing his arms over his chest. Kou stifled a smile.

It was an overly-told story, how Kou had gotten Mitsuba to go out with him. But now wasn't the time for stories.

"Any more ideas?" Amane asked, still hunched over.

"You could do it with Nene-chan!"

Amane's head shot up. "W-what?"

"Who's idea was it to invite Tsukasa?" Shijima complained. Amane paled.

"I was stressed, alright?" he said defensively. "I just invited--"

"Sorry we're late!" Aoi said, skipping through the door. Akane was right behind her.

"I'm only here because Ao-chan's here," the boy claimed defensively, pushing his glasses up his nose. "I don't know why you all want to help Hanako--"

"Will you please drop the nickname?" Amane pleaded. Akane hmpfed.

"You shouldn't have taken that dare," Mitsuba says, jumping into the conversation.

Back in 9th grade, Amane had taken a dare to go into the girl's bathroom. He ended up finding Nene, who was trying to wash her hands. Jumping to conclusion about what he was doing in the girl's bathroom, Nene had slapped him. Amane had bruises on his forehead that had lasted for a week.

Now, Akane refused to let Amane forget it, nicknaming him 'Hanako', after the bathroom ghost.

"Guys, I'm serious!" Amane exclaimed, standing quickly. "How do I get Yashiro to not hate me?"

"Like I said, you could--"

"Shut up, Tsukasa!"

The younger ravenette smirks. "Mh-hm, suuuure."

"What?" Amane asked in anger and disbelief. "I didn't even say anything!"

"Maybe you should explain why you're covered in paint," Aoi gently urged. Amane nodded.

It was more than obvious why the purple-haired woman had gone into teaching; she was sweet, and good with people.

"Yashiro was in the middle of painting the house," Amane muttered.

"Hmm?" Aoi said, showing that she couldn't hear him.

"Yashiro was painting the house and I knocked over every single bucket." He told the group. "And now the walls are ruined."