Lock and Key | Naegami

Chapter 4 - Friends

'I absolutely hate you with every inch of my being,' Byakuya glared at the screen, obviously annoyed. He did the dances as little as possible, barely moving the rest of his body while his right hand copied the dancer.

I, on the other hand, was jumping around, trying to copy the dance as accurately as possible. I know it wouldn't get me any more points, but it's fun..!

'This is better than being bored, isn't it?' I asked as the song finished.

Byakuya begrudgingly nodded. 'I suppose so. But I'm only doing this because Monokuma said he'd get us food afterwards. I'm practically starving.'

'I highly doubt that,' I giggled, 'But I'm hungry too. Okay, what song now?'

I scrolled through the limited options Monokuma gave us, before stopping on Toxic.

'How about this one?' I asked.

'Sure.. but after this, we're stopping for food.'

Monokuma had set up a strange points system, where, depending on how well you dance, you get a certain amount of points. The more points you earn, the more food you get.

'Hey kids, new rule!' Monokuma appeared on the screen as I was about to start the song, 'If you don't get at least three stars, you face punishment!'

'Heh, I guess you can't get away with doing the bare minimum now, can you?' I asked Byakuya.

He groaned. 'I hate you.'

As the song started, Byakuya begrudgingly followed the dancers. He was surprisingly good at it when he tried.

'With the taste of your lips i'm on a ride~!' I sang along to the lyrics as I danced, a smile on my face.

To my surprise, I heard Byakuya do something I never thought he would be able to do: laugh.

I looked at him in surprise, before smirking. 'Sing along! Pleaseee~?'

Byakuya saw my face out of the corner of his eyes and sighed. 'I'm addicted to you, don't you know that you're toxic,' he half-said, half-sang in a monotone.

I couldn't help but laugh at his poor effort at singing, and noticed him smile as well. As the song ended, I sat down on a desk to catch my breath. He did the same.

'You know, Byakuya, you're a lot less of an asshole now I've gotten to know you.'

'Wow, thanks for the compliment, Makoto,' he said sarcastically, 'But... you're... less irritating.'

'Friends?' I asked, extending my hand out. I knew I was slightly pushing it, but...

Byakuya stayed silent, before finally speaking up, shaking my hand. 'I don't have friends. However, I do consider you my acquaintance.'

I smiled, taking my hand away. 'Hey, why are you so nice to me?'

'What do you mean, plebeian?' Byakuya scoffed.

'Ah, there you are. I was about to say, you were acting too nice for the real Byakuya.'

'When you're going to be trapped with someone for God knows how long, it's better to be on their good side,' Byakuya explained, avoiding eye contact, 'However, if I were stuck with someone such as that Fukawa idiot, I'd have to refrain from strangling her.'

'Heh, her obsession with you is kinda creepy..'

'At least she now knows that I'll never like her, or any girl for that matter,' he said.

'O-Oh, yeah,' I said, taken aback from him openly addressing his sexuality.

'You seemed like someone I could talk to without being judged,' Byakuya said slowly, answering my question before I could even ask it, 'I'm not used to talking to anyone about.. almost anything aside from business deals.'

'Well, you'll just have to practice with me!' I smiled, 'That's what fr- acquaintances are for!'.I quickly corrected myself.

'...I suppose it wouldn't hurt being friends,' Byakuya sighed after some thought, 'I'm going to regret this, aren't I..?'

'Like you said, we may be trapped here for some time, so it's good we're friends!' I said.

Byakuya smiled at me. Wait what, he can smile?

But of course, our moment was ruined.

'Okay lovebirds, do you want food or not?'

*****

'Hey, Byakuya?'

'Yes?'

I was lying on the mattress, and Byakuya was on the desk-bed. 'Aren't you uncomfortable up there?

'We both slept here last night, you would know it's uncomfortable,' Byakuya sighed.

'...Do you want to sleep with me?'

'Excuse me?!' Byakuya sat up, looking at me with an unreadable expression.

I felt my face go red. 'W-Wait, no-! I didn't mean it like th-that! I meant.. do you want to sleep on the mattress with me?'

'...It's small.'

'Well, so am I!' I sat up as well, looking at him, 'We can both fit!'

'...Fine,' Byakuya reluctantly stood up, and lay down next to me. Due to the size of the mattress, our shoulders were touching, and even so, I was about to fall onto the floor.

I rolled onto my side to make more room and closed my eyes.

*****

'Wakey wakey gays! Ahem I mean guys.'

I buried my head into something soft, not wanting to get up. 'H..uh..?'

My face heated up as I realised that my arms were wrapped around Byakuya, and my head was resting on his chest. Before I could move away, I felt him move. I quickly pretended to be asleep to protect myself from embarrassment.

To my surprise, Byakuya noticed our position, and slowly wrapped his arms around me. If it was even possible, my face got even redder.

I tried not to move, but Byakuya's hair tickled my nose, making me sneeze.

He immediately moved away from me and tried to get out of the bed, but I grabbed his hand and somehow managed to pull him back down.

'N-Naegi, what are you doing-!?'

'We didn't get to sleep until late because Monokuma still needed to bring the mattress, so why don't we go back to sleep?' I pulled Byakuya down next to me and snuggled into him.

He froze for a few seconds, before hugging me back. It wasn't long before I fell asleep.