Suspicious Minds

Crazy Noisy Bizarre Heart

The next morning at the Higashikata residence, all seemed to be well, or so Tomoko thought, regarding her son.

"Hey Josuke, you don't want to be late for school!" She nagged. "What are you--?!"

The woman was cut off as she heard what sounded like humming. It was coming from the bathroom. She raised an eyebrow as her nagging ceased, making her way over to the bathroom.

"Josuke, are you alright in there?"

The mother pressed her ear to the doorway to listen in, hearing the bars of When Doves Cry by Prince. Slowly opening the door, she was greeted by the sight of her son tending to his pompadour. What caught her eye was that he had a sort of a strange dreamy look on his face. Tomoko didn't know why but she could tell that something was beginning to trouble her son.

"Josuke?"

The pompadour teen turned to see his mother before his look changed and began to panic, looking freaked out. "M-M-M-M-MOM?!"

Tomoko raised an eyebrow. "Are you feeling okay? For some reason, you seem to be acting strange." Her concern reached a level of extreme. "You've not caught that fever again, have you?!"

Josuke was now feeling awfully embarrassed. "Ummm...well..."

He couldn't say any more as Tomoko placed her hand upon his forehead, careful to not mess her son's pomp. Relief washed over her as his temperature was normal, giving the all clear. "Hmm, your temperature's fine. That's a relief." Removing her hand, she got straight to business. "You get yourself ready now. Your friends are waiting for you."

Josuke shrugged it off as he prepared himself. "O-Okay! Umm...thanks, Mom, see you later."

He went out the front door, ready for another day of school, as usual. Even his friends and fellow Stand users would accompany him. He greeted Okuyasu and Koichi but upon turning to Mirai, his cheeks began to burn a shade of red as his timidness and embarrassment made themselves known upon seeing her smile. Both Okuyasu and Koichi exchanged looks of confusion.

They were determined to get to the bottom of this, no matter what.

~~~

A long week passed by and somehow, Josuke couldn't help but feel something was wrong. He didn't know why and how this happened but the pompadour teen was still becoming timid and embarrassed whenever Mirai was near. Every time he saw her smile, hear her laughter or humming or feel her soft hand, he felt as if his heart was starting to run a marathon, his cheeks would flush red and heavy sweats would pour down him like rain.

Koichi and Okuyasu were starting to become concerned for Josuke. His change in personality whenever Mirai's around, left them puzzled. It had certainly been long since she moved to their hometown and somehow he was under her spell.

~~~

One day in school, Koichi felt that it was time to tell Josuke the truth on why he had been acting strange. Okuyasu agreed with him. He just had to find out how his best friend was feeling. It was only after class and Mirai had gone off with Yukako and Mitsuki, meaning this was great timing and a perfect opportunity.

"Hey, Josuke. Okuyasu and I need to speak with you for a moment."

"Huh?" Josuke perked at hearing Koichi, snapping out of his blushing state. "Ummmm, yeah, sure thing."

The trio wandered around the school to look for a place to talk in private. They were not ones to trust anyone around the school, be it a normal student or a Stand user. Finding an empty classroom, they gathered inside and sat near a window. Once they were settled, Koichi cleared his throat, before beginning to speak.