[Multi-chapter] Rumors (6/7)
Chapter 6
Ohno stared at Nino’s back, not knowing what to do.
He had been hoping that Nino would stop him. Something like “don’t go there, you won’t be happy” or “you promised me, so ignore that boy and come to my house already!”. But he didn’t.
Instead, Nino smiled and told him to go. Ohno stared at the closed door after Nino had gone, completely lost in his thoughts. What am I waiting for? Somehow he regretted his decision. Perhaps it was better to turn him down, and then go home with Nino?
Nino’s voice still lingered in his mind. His tone was distant - Nino had called him “Ohno-san”…he must be angry with me for not keeping my promise! And this was what bothered him the most. He was already used to the nickname Nino had given him. The first time Nino said it, it surprised him and he stared unblinkingly at Nino. The younger boy had blushed slightly under his gaze. Nino then retorted defensively “What? Can’t I call you Ohchan? It’s friendlier this way!”. Ohno had chuckled at Nino’s embarrassment and pretended to shrug indifferently “No one has called me this before…” “Then I’ll be the first one” Nino cut in stubbornly. “Yeah, right.” He had smiled and accepted it cheerfully “It’s nice. Call me ‘Ohchan’ then”.
Ohno closed his eyes, recalling the feeling of Nino’s embrace. He had never felt like that ever since he broke up with his boyfriend - peaceful and surrounded by a soothing warmness - and he hadn’t wanted Nino to let go. He had hoped for them to stay embraced for a little longer.
But, Nino had left. And it was his fault.
Ohno raised his head and looked at the sky. If it was blue with sunlight shining through the fluffy clouds and gentle winds caressing their faces when he was with Nino, he could only describe the sky now as gloomy grey with dark clouds looming overhead, ominously suggesting the arrival of an imminent storm. Ohno dugged his hand into his pocket and fished out his cell phone. He hesitated to cancel the date. Is it even a date? Finally, he still shoved his cell phone back into his pocket and left the terrace. The biting wind was starting to get to him and he felt numb from his face down; his hands were icy as he clenched them tightly. He was half hoping that the cold would numb his emotions as well.
He didn’t succeed though.
For the rest of class, Ohno couldn’t concentrate on his tasks. He stared at the paper, his hand grasping onto the pencil tightly, the numbers dancing in front of his eyes, but the solution of the problem didn’t come out.
When the bell rang signaling the end of class, Ohno collected all his stuff hurriedly and shoved it carelessly into his bag. He flung it over his shoulder and rushed out of class as quickly as possible, making some of his classmates stare at him curiously. He headed for Nino’s classroom; his footsteps quickened when he thought of the younger boy. They would usually wait for each other and would walk to the bus station together - it happened that they took the same train but would alight at different destinations. However as Ohno couldn’t go with Nino that day, he wanted to say goodbye before leaving. He saw Aiba standing outside the classroom chatting exuberantly with some classmates whose names Ohno didn’t know, and ran up to him.
“Aiba-chan?” Ohno was breathless. Aiba looked at him curiously.
“Why are you in such a hurry, Ohno-san?” Aiba asked and waved goodbye with his classmates.Ohno looked around worriedly as he saw no sign of Nino, and as if Aiba understood what was going on, he answered Ohno before the older boy could ask.
“Nino has gone home.”
“What?” Ohno couldn’t hide frustration.
“He rushed home immediately after the bell rang. I don’t know why he’s in a hurry!” Aiba shrugged and eyed Ohno quietly. Ohno sighed and lowered his bag, a sense of abandonment overcame him. He was about to leave after muttering a goodbye when he heard Aiba, “What happened?”
Ohno turned and stared at Aiba, obviously confused.
“What happened just now? He was spacing out a little in class,” Aiba said thoughtfully. “And he was very annoyed with me after lunch, which is unusual.”
“I don’t know,” Ohno lied. “I should go now. Thanks, Aiba-chan. Goodbye.”
And he walked away hurriedly, frustration saddling his heart so much that he nearly forgot his date. He took out his phone when it vibrated - It was a call from his ex-boyfriend. Ohno pushed the answer button and started running towards the school gate.
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“It’s been a while, Satoshi.” Sho greeted him with a bright smile that Ohno used to love, but now it seemed bitter and uncomfortable. It was saddening, especially since they had been friends for years, and then the sudden breakup made them feel awkward around each other. Ohno hated this, and he really wanted everything to be like before, when they had yet to break up. Perhaps it would be better if we didn’t fall for each other, Ohno decided.
“Yeah…” He answered flatly, surprised by his own cold voice. He saw Sho’s worried face and tried to smile to elevate the mood, “How’re you doing?”
“Good, I think.” Sho smiled and opened the car door to let Ohno in, “How ’bout you?”
“Pretty good…” Ohno shrugged and got into the familiar car. They had ridden in that car together for countless times, however this time it didn’t have the usual cozy and welcoming feeling. Instead, Ohno just wanted to get out and return home. However, Sho’s smile held him back; he could never resist Sho’s requests whenever he smiled at him like that.
They didn’t make any conversation throughout the whole ride to the small restaurant. Sho must’ve booked a table, Ohno knew it when he saw the guy talking to the server who then led them to their table. Sho had always been like this - an instinct (almost like an obligation) to take care of that people around him. That was the reason why Ohno had fallen in love with him. When he was beside Sho, he felt safe and protected.
“How’s your new school?” Sho folded his arms and leaned forward, his eyes focused on Ohno, making him feel embarrassed.
“It’s… good, I think,” Ohno stammered as he thought about Nino and the times that they had spent together. It really was nice, and he didn’t lie.
“You know what, Satoshi?” Sho bit his lips, then reached for Ohno’s hand. Ohno was startled and he stared at Sho questioningly.
“I thought you transferred schools because you didn’t want to see me again.”
Ohno swallowed hard. Sho was right, that was his original intention. But when Sho showed up at his new school, Ohno felt that the transfer was meaningless. He had ran away, but Sho would always reappear in his life when he thought he could finally be over him. It’s unfair, Ohno thought bitterly, and took his hand back.
Sho sighed.
“I’m sorry,” Sho murmured “I mean, Satoshi, we’re together for such a long time, you know that I couldn’t bear to lie to you.”
“I know.” Ohno lifted his head and look at Sho in the eyes. There was seriousness in his voice that prevented Sho from talking further and looked at Ohno.
“I know you just want the best for me,” Ohno’s throat went dry, “And I really appreciate that.”
Sho looked worried, but Ohno continued.
“I will try my best, Sho.” Ohno frowned, “We are walking on different paths now, and we just can’t do everything together like before…”
“But,” Sho pleaded, “We’re still best friends, aren’t we? I don’t want that to destroy our relationship. You’ll always be my best friend.”
“Yes…” Ohno nodded quietly, feeling hollow. He was already too tired to feel anything anymore. “We’re still friends.”
“Thank you, Satoshi.” Sho hid his face behind his palms, and sighed in relief - his smile made Ohno feel he had done the right thing. Sho was still grinning like an idiot when he looked at Ohno, his eyes sparkling hopefully.
“So, do you want to come back? I mean, you don’t need to transfer back right now, but when you graduate, will you come back to Tokyo? You could hold an exhibition with all your art stuff and I’ll be the one who make an interview of the famous Ohno Satoshi!!”
“Eh?” was all Ohno could say at that moment, his eyes widening at Sho’s sudden suggestion. He didn’t have the heart to extinguish Sho’s excitement about a bright future that they could have together. Ohno had never thought that he could go back to those days, to be with Sho again. Except that this time, he would only be Sho’s best friend and would look at him be with another guy…
Ohno stared at the patterns of the tablecloth absent-mindedly. Back to those days? Back to Tokyo? Back to Sho…?
What about Nino?
The question suddenly popped in his mind. What about him? He winced when he realized what he was thinking about.
What about his school here? And the memories with Nino? What about Nino?
Ohno’s mind whirled in confusion and he shut his eyes tightly.
“What’s wrong?” Sho asked when he saw Ohno’s crestfallen face.
“Well…” Ohno opened his eyes slowly, “I need time to think about it, okay? You know, my life is a little confused these days, and I… I still haven’t thought about coming back yet.”
“It’s okay, Satoshi,” Sho smiled kindly “It’s okay. You still have time to contemplate. But I really hope that you’ll come back.”
Ohno nodded stiffly. He had always tended to do whatever Sho hoped, because it was worth it to see Sho’s bright smile.
But then again, his mind buzzed with a question that he still couldn’t understand why it bothered him so much.
What about Nino?
.
.
.
He wanted to meet Nino. Right now.
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Nino had played his game mindlessly for hours. When he defeated the final boss with an easy trick, he threw the controller away with a chuck. Boring, he concluded.
He lay down, resting his head on his arms, and stared at the ceiling.
Ohno was meeting his old boyfriend. What can they be talking about after breaking up? He felt so annoyed at the thought that he didn’t want to do anything for the rest of day. The game had been successful in distracting him for a while, but it ended too soon. Now that he was lying here with nothing to do, his mind started to wander to Ohno. He wondered what the older boy was doing. Would there be any chance that Ohno still love that boy so much that they would be back together? If so, he is such a naïve boy, Nino winced at the unpleasant thought and he shook his head violently to clear the image from his mind. He didn’t want it to come true, and he felt that if he continued thinking about it, it would definitely come true. He got up lazily, took some new clothes and entered the bathroom.
It was a long bath. Since he didn’t have anything to do, he decided to stay in the hot tub for nearly an hour until he finally felt dizzy. He was about to put on his t-shirt when he heard the door bell rang.
He stared at the clock. It was 10pm. His family had all gone for a vacation, leaving him alone at home. Who can it be? He barely had a visitor, because he had never given his address to anyone. Not that he wanted any guests, as he didn’t want to bother himself with cleaning the house for the guests.
“Who’s that?” He grunted, annoyed.
There was no answer, so he took the key and opened the door. Standing outside his door and smiling sheepishly at him was Ohno. Nino widened his eyes in shock. Ohno was staring at him and Nino felt his blood running to his face, heating up his cheeks. Then he realized that he had nothing on except a towel wrapping around his waist. He blushed deeply and quickly urshered Ohno in and he turned around to find his t-shirt.
“What are you doing here?”
“I want to meet you,” Ohno answered simply, not aware that he had just made Nino’s heart skipped a beat, and he turned around to take in his surroundings.
“You’re really messy,” Ohno commented, amused. He picked up one of Nino’s games. “This one is popular. I’ve seen it at my uncle’s store.”
“It’s too easy,” Nino shrugged, finally fully clothed and he threw the towel over his head, “I finished it after an hour.”
Ohno looked at him in surprise, and once again Nino couldn’t stop the loud thumping of his heart. He wondered if Ohno could hear it as well.
“You’re amazing,” Ohno commented with a smile. Nino scratched his head nervously.
“Thank you.”
“I’m terrible at this,” Ohno put it down and reached for the controller. “I’m not good at games.”
“Ohchan…” Nino hesitated. Ohno was acting strangely. “What’s wrong?”
Ohno didn’t look at Nino’s eyes. He sat down, put the game tapes and controller away, and stared into space.
“Is something wrong?” Nino asked again, worried. He sat down beside Ohno so that their shoulders bumped into each other. Nino nudged Ohno gently to call for his attention.
Ohno didn’t answer, but stayed like that for a while, and then finally looked at Nino with a slight smile. He leaned in to rest his head on Nino’s shoulder and shut his eyes.
“Nothing,” He murmured. “I just want to meet you, really.”
And those words brought back Nino’s smile as he patted Ohno’s head gently and wrapped his arms around Ohno’s waist. He leaned into Ohno, closed his eyes and breathed in Ohno’s soft scent, his heart fluttering at their closeness. No one said anything but it was so comfortable and peaceful that Nino wanted to stay like that forever.
And he finally realized what he really wanted.
He wanted to be with Ohno…
… Forever.
A/N: so, well, it's Sho-chan ne ^-^. Some of you guys took it right >___<. I'm so happy~ Finally, one more chapter to the end ^^! Hope you will enjoy reading it ne~!!