The Broken Shadow of You~||KazuScara||

Chapter 42

"How do you confess to someone?" Scaramouche asked.

"What...?" Tamaki responded.

"If someone confesses to you, how do you answer?" Scaramouche asked, with a serious expression.

"Uh... I don't know. If you like them, say yes. If you don't, say no. Easy as that." Tamaki answered, with a shrug.

"It's not that easy!" Scaramouche said, with some annoyance.

"Why? Do you have a crush?" Tamaki asked with a smirk.

"Yes? So what?" Scaramouche answered, face slightly red.

"Oho~" Tamaki snickered.

"Don't you dare fucking say anything." Scaramouche said.

"Hehe, I won't~! Now, why don't you tell me about this special someone who caught your eye?" Tamaki asked, with some genuine interest.

"Like what?" 

"Like how did they catch your eye? Someone so depressed as you who never gives a care about the world around him?" Tamaki said.

"Is that an insult?"

"Possibly."

"Fuck you."

"That's only for Kafka to do."

"I hate you."

"I love you too." 

"Anyway, just help me!" Scaramouche said, impatiently.

"Alright, calm down. So, someone confessed to you but you have no idea how to answer them?" Tamaki asked.

"Yeah."

"Well, do you like them? Romantically?"

"I think so..."

"Fuck you mean you think so?"

"I don't know! They're like the most annoying headcase to ever exist and sometimes I just want to punch their fucking lights out and choke them. But I enjoy being in their company a lot and they're really nice to me and I constantly crave their affection and every physical touch between us causes me to go crazy and I can't understand anything..."

Tamaki just watched Scaramouche pace around his dorm room, rambling on about his crush, with crossed arms with half-open eyes. After some minutes of more talking, Scaramouche fell onto the bed next to Tamaki, letting out an exasperated sound.

"So they're annoying but also the best person you've ever met?" Tamaki summed up Scaramouche's five minute rant.

"Pretty much." Scaramouche replied, voice slightly muffled since his face was pressed against the bed.

"Sounds like you like them to me." Tamaki said, simply. "Just go for it. What could happen?"

"I don't know if I'm ready for such commitment yet." Scaramouche said, sitting up. "There's so much going on in my life already, I don't know if I can really contribute anything to a relationship and a very serious one at that... I'd just end up being this pitiful burden for him..."

"Wait, him?" Tamaki said. Scaramouche hadn't exactly revealed the gender of his crush during the entire rant so it caught Tamaki by surprise to know it was a boy.

"Yes..." Scaramouche mumbled, feeling a bit nervous now.

"Oh!" Tamaki exclaimed, a grin on his face. "So, this 'he', huh? Interesting..."

"What do you mean..." Scaramouche said, feeling slightly tense now. Did Tamaki not agree with relationships between the same gender...?

"Nothing. I was just surprised for a moment. So, there's this guy you like and he confessed to you but you have no idea how to confess to him and you're worried about being a burden to him?" Tamaki said. 

Scaramouche nodded.

"Hm, I think you're just overreacting all of this." Tamaki said, with a shrug.

"Huh?" Scaramouche tilted his head to the side slightly, a little bit surprised and confused. Was he overthinking this?

"I mean, there must be a reason he likes you, right? Maybe he just doesn't care about all your negative qualities and only focuses on the positive ones that made him so attracted to you that he actually confessed to you. Have you ever thought about that?" Tamaki asked.

"Being wise doesn't suit you. You sound stupid and unsure."

"Can you leave me be? I'm trying here!"

"Anyway, what positive qualities? There's literally nothing to like about me! What could he even possibly like about me?!" Scaramouche said, with a demanding tone.

"Well, I can't really answer that." Tamaki said with a shrug. "Didn't you ask him?"

"Yes..." Scaramouche nodded.

"And?"

"He recited a whole ass essay."

"Well, that essay is your answer. There's so much to like about you, it seems." Tamaki said, with a giggle. He was certainly enjoying this little high school love conflict. 

"..." Scaramouche didn't answer. He was just mulling everything over in his head. Everything Kazuha told him a few nights ago and what Tamaki just told him now. He really wanted to say yes but something else was just stopping him. Did he really have time for a relationship? He has to manage Shoko and the entire house all by himself for the next few years at least until Shoko can take care of herself. And he doesn't want to affect Kazuha in any negative way when that day comes...

"You know, just think it over some more. No need to rush into this." Tamaki said, patting Scaramouche on the head. "Hey, would you like to hear something about my own romance life in high school?"

Now that really intrigued Scaramouche. This dense ass had a romantic life in high school? Seeing Scaramouche's interest piqued, Tamaki laughed and carried on.

"There was this guy in my class. His name was uhhh, Akio, I think. I don't remember since I last talked to him in the first year of high school. We've been classmates since 3rd grade until second year of high school. We barely talked after a small thing. He was always overly nice to me and always hung out by my side and always had this look in his eyes whenever he looked at me. I don't think I ever saw him without a smile when he was near me. I was always his main focus in everything. You could place us in a room full of hundred people shouting and he would still be able to hear my voice. Anyway, so, like, on Valetine's Days, he came up to me and took me to some alone space..."

"And?" Scaramouche pushed on, really interested in this now.

"And he gave me a box of chocolates and said something along the lines, 'I like you, Tamaki!'" Tamaki answered before stopping again, his face looking slightly embarrassed now.

"What did you say? Huh?" Scaramouche said, leaning forward slightly.

"Geez, you're really interested, huh..." Tamaki said, chuckling. "It's nothing honestly, I accepted the box and said 'thanks, I think you're a really cool friend too.' He wasn't the same to me after that.... I only realized last year what he meant...."

Scaramouche didn't say anything and just stared at Tamaki.

This man really was the most dense and oblivious dumb fuck Scaramouche had ever met.

"Wow." He finally got out.

"I know! Gods, I feel so bad!" Tamaki said, covering his face in his hands.

"You really are an idiot." Scaramouche said, simply.

"Thanks..."

"Anyway, thanks for the advice Tamaki, I'll go now." Scaramouche said, getting up. "You should hurry before you're late for your job."

"Oh yeah!" Tamaki said, springing up and running to his desk to fix his hair.

"Oh, and Tamaki?" Scaramouche said, opening the door.

"Hm?"

"Try being a bit more observant this time about the way people act around you. You never know if someone like Akio comes up." Scaramouche told him.

"Huh?" Tamaki turned confused to look at Scaramouche but the boy was already gone. "What the hell did he mean by that?"