Chapter Text
Hajime rolled over, suddenly awfully aware of the time. Shit, I’m late again. He threw his charcoal-grey duvet onto the floor, making a mess of his otherwise tidy room. But he had more important things to worry about - a new student was joining Hope's Peak Academy, and Hajime had been tasked with showing him around the campus, and making sure he felt at home. It seemed reasonable that the school chose Hajime for the task, considering he wasn’t particularly outgoing but was well-liked and took part in enough extra-curricular activities for teachers to recognise his dedication to school.
As he left the warmth of his bed he thought about what the new student might be like, what he’d look like, his interests and hobbies. Maybe he’d even make a new friend, something he definitely did not have an abundance of. His classmates were kind, and he was well-acquainted with them - but not close enough to call them friends. He did have a best friend though; her name was Chiaki Nanami, they’d known each other since they were very young and had continued to hang out with each other when they found out they’d both be attending Hope’s Peak. They’d dated for a bit, but after a week or so they realised that they were better off as friends. Unfortunately, Hajime’s love life had been rather dreary, he hadn’t dated anyone since. The other half of the pairing had a very different experience, she was in a committed relationship with Sonia Nevermind, another girl in their school, and they were incredibly close - they'd even arranged to go to prom with each other.
Hajime’s train of thought was interrupted by a soft buzz coming from the phone settled on his bedside table. He tilted it slightly till the screen flashed and a notification appeared.
chiaki: gm hajime!!!
chiaki: sonia and i arent gonna b in maths cuz there’s a meeting for every1 on the hoco committee, i just thought id let u know! were not sure how long itll b but ill definitely c u at lunch!! ly
hajime: hii! yeah thats fine, i think ive got to show that new student around or smth today?? idk but yea ill see at lunch! ly2
He shoved his phone into the pocket of the black hoodie he’d just thrown on over a plain white t-shirt - it wasn’t a particularly nice outfit, but he didn’t have time to worry about how he looked. Quickly running a hand through his hair, he glanced into the mirror situated opposite his bed. Good enough. He grabbed his backpack from the bottom of his bed, flinching slightly from the unanticipated weight of his textbooks, and ran out of the door. Usually he would’ve acknowledged his parents as he left, but they were gone for the week; both of them worked in business and were needed for some meetings abroad - they figured Hajime was responsible enough to handle himself for a week, so they’d left Hajime to an empty, unsettling home.
Once he arrived at school, he rushed to his first lesson and was barely on time. Out of breath and already fed up with school, he slumped into one of the annoyingly uncomfortable chairs. He tried to make an effort to focus, but caught himself zoning out and thinking about the new student - he had essentially no idea about what he was going to be like, so his mind was flooded with assumptions and ideas about him. After a painstakingly long hour of checking the clock and awaiting the new students arrival, the clock finally hit 10:00 and Hajime excused himself from the class, picking up his excessively large backpack and awkwardly stumbling out of the room. As he walked through the familiar corridors he shuddered at the emptiness, wondering how he’d failed to notice some of the smaller aspects of Hope’s Peak. He took note of the way the way the paint on the walls had peeled slightly and the scuffs on the patterned linoleum flooring before remembering the purpose of his journey, and picked up his pace slightly.
He paused. Hajime had reached the Headmaster’s office, now all he had to do was-
The door swung open, startling him slightly, and he heard a voice say, “Hajime! Come on in.” He sourced the voice to his headteacher, who was at the door beside a boy. Hajime deduced that this boy was the new student. The teacher began explaining his role, and what elements of the school would be most beneficial to show him. But he couldn’t help but be captivated by the white-haired boy. Completely unaware of what the headteacher was saying, he fixated on the student in front of him - he was one of the prettiest people Hajime had ever seen; his fluffy, white hair covered a lot of his face, but his greyish-green eyes were what stood out the most to Hajime - he noticed the contrast between his irises and pale skin. His skin looked so soft. He couldn’t help but wonder what it would feel like to hold him close, to cup his face in his hands, to concentrate on nothing but the beauty and the warmth of the boy beside him. He was just so goddamn pretty.
“Does that sound alright Hajime?” the teacher questioned, snapping him out of his daydream.
Heat rose to his face, and he cleared his throat. “Uh- Umm. Yes, yeah. That sounds great.” he stuttered - failing to conceal his obvious embarrassment. He turned to the object of his affection, once again locking eyes with him. The taller boy shot him an effortlessly perfect smile, and Hajime grinned back attempting to mimic the gracefulness of the other student. Gesturing at the door, the headteacher prompted their departure, and both boys shuffled towards the exit as Hajime attempted to swiftly open the door and held tightly onto the doorknob, trying his hardest to combat his clammy hands.
They walked through the corridors in silence for what felt like forever until Hajime finally greeted the new student, “Um. Hi, by the way! I’m Hinata Hajime, it’s really nice to meet you!” He sounded surprisingly composed considering how flustered the taller boy’s presence made him.
“I’m Komaeda Nagito, and from the bottom of my heart, it’s a pleasure to meet you too.” Nagito replied, he spoke quietly but still very eloquently.
Hajime led Nagito around the school, doing his best to fully accommodate him. It seemed that the Nagito greatly appreciated this help, filling every clumsy silence with praise and expressions of gratitude. The brown-haired boy also noticed a distressing amount of self-depreciation coming from him, and made an effort to correct him since upon seeing Nagito he’d come to the conclusion that he was nothing but perfect. His cheeks flushed red again noticing that he’d spent the last minute staring at the taller boy, instead of doing what he was supposed to and leading him around.
Once Hajime had completed the tour he waved goodbye, and implicitly asked Nagito to have lunch with him - hoping to sound friendly, but not too hopeless, “Hey! Um, if you want to, Chiaki and I would be totally cool with you hanging out with us at lunch. I just figured that since you’re new here it might be nice to have someone to chat with! It’s totally cool if not, but I’d love to get to know you better!”
“That’s such a kind offer Hinata-kun, but I wouldn’t want to ruin your reputation by forcing you to sit with someone as lowly as myself!” he said breathily, before chuckling slightly. Hajime sighed and smiled back, unsure whether to take Nagito’s response seriously. He’s probably joking, right?