pretty boy | saiouma & oumami

iv

shuichi saihara anxiously paces back and forth, keeping his eyes darted on the pavement floor. he’s been thinking too much.

where’s kokichi? it's been nearly ten minutes since the bell rang, what's taking him so long? was he held back? what if kokichi doesn't show up? what if he lied to him?

he shakes his head, letting out a sigh. what is he thinking? no way, kokichi wouldn't lie. he wouldn't lie to him. hopefully.

but what if he did?! what if kokichi only said he'd hang with him so he'd leave him alone? god, shuichi hates overthinking. he wishes his brain had an off switch so he could stop thinking temporarily. some peace and quiet in his head would be nice.

the remainder of some students pass by him, one of them, a girl with wavy shoulder-length hair gives him a wave as she walks up to him.

"you okay?"

shuichi freezes, jolting backwards before clearing his throat and pulling his hat down. "y-yeah, i'm just waiting for someone.", he says, rocking in place as his toes lift him up and down. "he was supposed to meet me here ten minutes ago, i-i'm just worried.."

he? does kokichi go by he/him pronouns? shuichi doesn't know, he'll have to ask them later.

"don't worry. i'm sure your friend is fine, maybe he's being held up or something.", she assumes, shrugging shortly after. "if you want, i can accompany you until they arrive."

"th-that would be nice, thanks."

"great!", the blonde exclaims, clasping her hands together. within that second, she moved like an animated character and it lowkey scares shuichi. "i'm kaede, kaede akamatsu."

shuichi stares at her hand briefly before shaking it loosely. "i'm shuichi.", he says, releasing his grip as his hand finds its way back to his side while keeping his distance from her. "i recognize you, you were valedictorian in eighth grade."

kaede's cheeks flush red ear to ear. "is that how everyone remembers me?", she asks dejectedly with a frown. shuichi steps back, not knowing how to react as a sweatdrop rolls down his cheek. he hasn’t talked to anyone in forever, he isolated himself from everyone for so long that his social life was thrown out the window.

"i-i'm sorry? i mean, i saw you rehearsing in the music room during lunch once. y-you're extremely talented.", shuichi quickly adds on and the compliment makes kaede smile.

"wow - uh - thank you.", she answers, her cheeks now tinted a shade of rose pink. "i - uh - i saw you do slam poetry once."

that brought back a suppressed memory shuichi tried to forget about. he’s now in spain but the s is silent. "what.", he's forcing a smile, but he's not feeling joyful, he’s more irritated than happy. i'm tired and i don't know how to describe it but he looks like this emoji; 😀.

"you were trying out for the team, right?"

shuichi bites his upper lip, it's weird because no one bites their upper lip and he's surprised someone remembered. he feels his shoulders relax, suddenly feeling comfortable in kaede’s presence. he shuffles close to her, now standing next to her as they hang near the corner of the school wall. "y-yeah, i was.", his response came out more as a question. "i-i didn't do well, my piece wasn't great."

"ugh. shut up shuichi, i think you were amazing! you should've been put on the slam team.", she continues, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "i'm sorry to hear you didn't make it. but if it makes you feel any better, i thought your poem was extraordinary. i could relate to it, you know? i preferred the way you spoke over the words itself, the way you raised your voice to emphasize certain words really expressed true emotion and - oh wow - i loved it."