Potions Lovers | Yandere!Male x Reader

Chapter 17 - Fever Pitch

When you arrived at Kenji's house, your plans of studying with everyone were put on hold due to Nao's injuries needing to be taken care of. It was nothing serious—just some small scratches, all self-inflicted from when he fell into a bush whilst running from the cats. Nao wasn't quite sure what stung more: the scratches that were currently being wiped with alcohol, or the devastating blow his pride took today.

You and Ren leaned your necks back against the couch to observe Yumi and Nao who were in the guest bathroom. Yumi was seated on top of the sink balancing a first aid kit in her lap and Nao leaned down so she could clean a small scratch on the side of his neck. It was almost jarring to witness Yumi act so nondestructively. She was the last person you'd expect to know first-aid, but you were pleasantly surprised to be proven wrong.

The two of them were speaking softly enough that you couldn't hear them, but you had a feeling Yumi was teasing him based on her giggling and how red the back of Nao's neck was getting. When she started cleaning the other small scratch behind his neck, he turned around with a heavy sigh. He had his arms crossed stiffly during the whole process and when he noticed two pairs of curious eyes on him, his expression morphed into a mix of fury and shame.

"Enjoying it?" you silently mouthed with an infuriating smirk. He shot you a murderous glare before slamming the bathroom door closed with his foot so he wouldn't have to look at you and Ren anymore. Once the door shut, you bit your lip to stifle your laughter, and Ren covered his mouth with his fist, only to end up snorting loudly, sending you two into a fit of giggles.

When his shoulder knocked against yours, you glanced down, suddenly hyper aware of your thigh brushing against his own. Was it just you, or was he sitting even closer to you than before? You were sandwiched between him and the couch's armrest, so you couldn't escape if you wanted to, which was fine; space was the last thing you wanted from him.

Ren draped his arm over the back of the couch behind your head, and you regarded him with a knowing look. "What's that look for?" he asked, turning himself slightly sideways so he could face you. You mirrored his movements, studying the self-satisfied smirk on his face that hadn't disappeared since the whole cat fiasco occurred.

"You know what it's for. I heard you commanding those cats to attack Nao," you said quietly since Kenji was playing with his graphing calculator on the other couch, just a couple feet away. Your gaze dropped to Ren's lips for a moment when his canines were exposed by his grin.

Ren tilted his head slightly letting his bangs fall over his red eyes. "Hm? I'm not sure I know what you mean." He played innocent and you let him because you were distracted by how he busied himself with curling the long strands of your (h/c) hair around his lithe fingers. His eyes darted towards Kenji for a second and your lungs stopped working when he leaned closer to your ear. "I'm sure they attacked Nao for a good reason. Maybe they sensed something off about him like they do with Kenji?" he suggested, but from the tone of his voice, it was clear he already knew the answer. He just needed you to know too.

And you did. Of course you knew what Nao was really like, but Ren didn't need to learn that just yet.

"Well, unless the cats can tell me what that specific something is, I'll have to keep trusting Nao in the meantime," you said, watching as your hair slipped through his fingers when he pulled back from you.

His smile twitched. "I see."

Kenji, who was discreetly watching and listening, had to pick his jaw up from the floor. This was abnormal. Finding out that Ren could speak and act like this near a girl was like learning that cats had the secret ability to fly this whole time. It shouldn't be possible, he thought.