Can I Love You ? (Kazuscara)

Chapter IV

Scaramouche looked closer at the man who made him wait for so long.

Instead of his usual low ponytail, Kazuha wore his hair untied, with only a part of it tied in a bun, the whole hairstyle giving out a casual vibe. The suit he wore, though, was perfectly adjusted. His red tie was perfectly tied but his shirt wasn't buttoned up to the top. 

The whole outfit really suited him and Scaramouche couldn't help but stare at him for some time.

But he had to get out of his thoughts when Kazuha, after quickly greeting the fans cheering for him, caught his hand to go inside.

The dark-haired young man didn't want to cause trouble so he didn't say anything and only smiled, but when he was sure nobody watched, he gave Kazuha a very angry look, but only got a smile back.

This made Scaramouche even angrier. He thought Kazuha was at least a little scared of him ! He had a hard time understanding the young man.

"- Hehe, sorry I'm late !

- ...I noticed that.

- Anyways, would you accompany me to greet some important people and look like I'm interested in them ?

- I already did that for a whole hour before you got here, but I guess I don't have any other choice...

- Nice !"

The light-haired man then dragged Scaramouche along with him. They talked with people who seemed very surprised to see them together.

"- Wow, I didn't know you were friends !" said a random producer (Scaramouche didn't even try to remember his name)."

Kazuha giggled, completely at ease with his role of an innocent, young and dumb man who just made his first friend.

"- Yeah, we met some time ago, and we immediately got along ! Scaramouche is a really nice guy, no wonder he has so much fans !"

The producer and the people around laughed too, while the dark-haired man was mentally cursing Kazuha. He was overacting, people would find out at some time !

But when he turned to Kazuha again, he was already talking with someone else, laughing with them like he knew them for ages. He had a champagne flute in his hand that was already almost empty.

"That boy is getting way too comfortable..."  thought Scaramouche. "He's definitely going to make a mistake at some point... I can't let that happen ! I need to talk to him about that !"

Scaramouche then went to Kazuha and took the second flute he just took from his hand.

" - Um, Kazuha, I need your help to, uh... button my shirt again ! I can't do it alone, haha..."

Everyone turned to him at the moment he realized his excuse was extremely bad. But Kazuha nodded and followed him. It was hard to tell if this was because he understood what Scaramouche really wanted or just because of the alcohol.

As they walked away, Scaramouche could feel people's gaze on them, and he could hear their whispers too.

"Maybe I shouldn't have chosen this excuse..."

When the two men were far enough from the crowd, Scaramouche searched for an empty room where they would be unbothered. He eventually found a storage room.

He pushed Kazuha inside and entered too. The lightbulb wasn't really working so the luminosity was very low.

When he was assured they were alone, Scaramouche turned to Kazuha.

Despite the poor light, he could see his red cheeks as he was smiling widely.

"He only drank a flute, is he that much of a lightweight ?"

He shrugged and went closer to Kazuha.

"- Hey, Kaedehara, you dumbass, could you stop playing that poor, stupid boy in public ! You're way too obvious !"

Kazuha only chuckled, and got his face closer to Scaramouche's.

"- Oooh~ so you're saying you don't find me poor and stupid ? How nice of you, Scaramouche~"

The dark-haired man stepped back, unsettled by this sudden behavior. Was that really because of alcohol ?

"- T-That's not my question ! If you keep acting like that, our fake friendship will be discovered in no time !"

Kazuha laughed and got closer to Scaramouche again, too close for the older boy, who felt his face heat a little.

"- You know, Scara~ , everyone sees me like that already... You said it yourself, remember ?"

The dark-haired man blushed even more at the nickname and tried to step back, but he realized he couldn't as Kazuha was holding his purple tie.

"- L-let go of me, dumbass !

- Oh~ still calling me that, huh... You're a real tsundere, you know ?

- ...What are you trying to do, Kaedehara ?"

Kazuha was smiling widely, and got his face even closer, to the point both men were staring into each other's eyes.

Scaramouche widened his when he saw that Kazuha's eyes were sparkling with intelligence. He was definitely in his normal state, or at least was just a little bit dizzy from alcohol. He was just playing with him in all consciousness !

"- I am not trying to do anything, I just want you to understand why I am acting like that in public. Like you told me before, people only see me as a spoiled rich kid, too dumb to even understand how does real life work... For them, I am but a puppet they can use to make money by manipulating me... So why should I prove them wrong ? Looking weak is the best way I can make them drop their guard, and take them by surprise ! Don't you think ?"

Kazuha's eyes were staring deep into Scaramouche's and that made the older panic. Did he discover his plan to manipulate him ? If not, why was he saying all that ? Why was he telling him his strategy if he knew what Scaramouche's plan was ? Just what was that man thinking ?

"I can't understand him... Why did I choose to manipulate him ? This will definitely be more complicated than I thought... Nothing about him is like I imagined, his intelligence, his good acting, his understanding of the world around him... His beauty... He has taken me aback on all these points..."

"- Why... Are you telling all this to me...? We aren't real friends, you know !"

Kazuha finally stepped back when he heard Scaramouche's words, but he still had a smile on his face.

"- Hmm... Maybe I forgot about that... You are so convincing in your role after all ! Or maybe I didn't... Who knows ?"

Scaramouche was at a loss for words. This man was so different from the one he met some days ago ! How was he able of hiding his true nature that much ? But... Which one was his true nature ? When was he actually playing a role ?

As Scaramouche was standing here, asking himself a thousand questions, Kazuha only chuckled and left the room silently. When he realized he was alone and that the light-haired man left without telling him, Scaramouche quickly left too.

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Hi ! Sorry for the quite long absence, and for the short chapter... I don't really have any excuses, if not the fact I lacked motivation and inspiration to write ^^'

I might also not be able to publish a lot during the upcoming month, but I'll do my best !

I hope I'll see you soon, until then, take care of yourselves <3

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Published : July 24th 2022

Words : 1208