When He Fell

Abeno and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (+Game Night)

(AN - Haha, heeeey😅 So, idk if you noticed, but this is quite late! There's no excuse, but I will offer explanations lol. The end of the school year was rolling around soon after the last chapter was published, and I had lots to do. Good news - I got a 5 on my AP test! Bad news - I forgot this existed🙃 I will no longer be promising a schedule, but I don't plan on abandoning this, even if I do take very lengthy breaks! Also, I had written myself into a metaphorical slump, as I realized I really didn't want to write the game night. Slight change of plans, hope you don't mind!)

Abeno was tired. Well, he was usually tired, but this was different. The game night had gone on for a horrendous amount of time—at least to Abeno—with very few perks. Initially, he had felt a sense of hope at the thought that he and Ashiya would be partners. At the end of the night, however, this only ended with Abeno being disappointed. There were precisely two (2) moments that he could think of that meant anything regarding Ashiya.
The first had happened during the initial game, when Ashiya had ended up with Abeno's name on the card on his head. They had started with some basic questions about personality ("Hmm, is this person grumpy, Abeno~?" "No, idiot, he's just tired!"). Abeno knew the exact moment that Ashiya realized who's name was on his head because of the smirk that spread across Ashiya's face. It was so out of place on him that it left Abeno slightly dazed. He made sure to catalogue that expression in his mental Ashiya Index as he prepared for Ashiya to announce the name. The answer never came, though. Instead, Ashiya, with a sly quirk of his lips, asked "Is his best friend Ashiya?" Abeno felt heat rise up his face as he attempted to remain cool. Emotional matters, even as shallow as this, we're not something he was used to. As he went to deny this and keep up his cooly detached image, Abeno looked up and met Ashiya's eye. When he opened his mouth, instead of the defensive spiel he had expected, only a quiet mumble of agreement came out. He watched as Ashiya's eyes widened and his shock became apparent. Abeno almost thought that Ashiya was blushing, but he quickly wrote that off as wishful thinking. The shock was quickly shaken off, replaced with a look of confidence as Ashiya finally told the room that the name was Abeno's.
The second event was less substantial, but still something that stuck out in Abeno's mind. Towards the end of the night, Ashiya looked increasingly sleepy. It was obvious that he was going to fall asleep at any moment (possibly even standing up, an alarmed part of Abeno's brain warned). They were all back at their seats at the table when Ashiya leaned over to Abeno. He was aware of every movement that Ashiya made as he moved his face closer and entered Abeno's space. His nerve endings felt hypersensitive as Ashiya's breath brushed his ear, whispering that he wanted to go home. Ashiya lingered there for a moment (simply because he was drowsy, Abeno reminded himself) and then slowly moved back, eyes half lidded. Abeno quickly excused them after that, dropping off Ashiya at his home with the Mononokean.
Don't misunderstand him. Abeno didn't hate the game night. He didn't hate spending time with what he supposed were his friends. It was just irritating, especially since he couldn't catch up on the sleep he missed the night before in class, not now that Ashiya was clearly happy he was awake.
On the subject of Ashiya, Abeno was beginning to worry about him. Class was set to begin just ten minutes from now, and Ashiya had been nowhere to be seen that morning. Normally, Ashiya made it a point to be in class by at least fifteen minutes prior to the start. He would use this time to ask Abeno questions about their schedule for the day, or just to talk to his friends. It was possible Ashiya was taking a sick day, but he hadn't appeared sick the night before. Abeno knew that he would never skip just because he was tired, that was exactly what he was always nagging Abeno about. Abeno wasn't worried. He wasn't. Possibly...concerned.
However, the sense of something being wrong was only exasperated as Ashiya entered the room. He was clearly flustered, and it seemed like he was holding...a letter. In an envelope. With a heart on it. Abeno was not the most experienced with typical high school traditions, but he wasn't stupid. He knew the tell-tale signs of a confession. Abeno felt his heart freeze for a beat before picking up speed. He felt a crushing sense of surety that Ashiya was going to accept the confession. After all, why wouldn't he? It wasn't as if there was anything holding him back. And she was a girl. Probably cute. Probably with dark hair and dark eyes. Probably nothing like Abeno. Abeno felt distant from the scene, from Ashiya, from his own body. He knew vaguely that he had been watching Ashiya too intently, that he needed to look away, or control his expression, or something. But he didn't. He watched Ashiya walk closer, only half noting the concern on his face. It's over, he thought.
And all at once, Abeno returned to reality. Ashiya was now seated at his desk, poking him on the shoulder.
"Abeno? Are you alright? Do you need to go to the nurse?" Ashiya asked, his voice washing over Abeno. It calmed him for a second, until he thought of how this concern, this voice wouldn't just be for him much longer. Not if Ashiya accepted the confession. He felt an uncharacteristic wave of jealousy wash over him.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Guess I'm just worn out from the party," Abeno eventually whispered. He put his head down on his desk to hide his expression. "You know I'm not a social butterfly."
"Heh, that's true! But you did great last night! A-plus socialization; you didn't yell once," Ashiya said with a wink at Abeno. It made his heart clench.
"Glad you enjoyed it, because I'm not going to another party willingly ever again."
"Aww, Abeno! You need to have more fun~"
"Class is starting, if you could all look up at the board," the professor said as he stood at the front of the classroom.
As Ashiya turned around, Abeno snuck a peek at his desk. The letter was nowhere to be seen. Abeno felt his spirits sink even further as he realized what was happening. Ashiya had been confessed to, and he was hiding it from him.
Abeno was tired.