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It was sometime past 2am when Nene called him.
Kou jolted awake to the sound of his favourite rock song blaring out at an ear-splitting volume. It took him a groggy moment to realise it was his phone ringing, and when he finally did, panic set in. Frantically, he fumbled around in the darkness in an attempt to find his phone, hoping that neither Teru or Tiara would wake up amidst the noise. Finally he found it placed on his nightstand, unplugged it, (nearly knocking off his table lamp in his haste) and brought it to his face, squinting.
The phone light was unbearably bright. Cursing under his breath, the blond blinked at the harsh brightness, barely making out a “Senpai” on the caller ID. His brows furrowed. Jamming his thumb at the green icon to answer, he pushed the phone to his ear.
“Hello?” He slurred, rubbing his eyes and wiping his face with his hand. Kou was a deep sleeper, and despite the momentary adrenaline, he was already starting to feel sleepy again.
The voice on the other end was uncharacteristically meek and quiet. “Kou-kun?”
A hiccup, then a sniffle.
Now that woke the boy up.
“Senpai? ‘Zat you? Something wrong?” Kou rasped into the phone. He reached for the table lamp’s switch, and its dim light spilled over the room.
“Yeah, it’s me. I’m so sorry to bother you so late,” a snivelling croak. “I, uh, I couldn’t fall asleep.”
“Mm?” Nene’s voice was getting quieter, and Kou strained to listen to her.
“Some stuff happened… today,” her voice was barely above a whisper now. “And I— he...”
“He? Your boyfriend?”
There was silence on the other end. Kou assumed it meant a yes. He muttered another curse under his breath. “Senpai?”
Her voice returned at a louder volume, now a little more nasally. “It’s kinda hard to explain over the phone. I know it’s… it’s kinda selfish of me, but is it okay if we can meet…?”
The moon was glowing a faint yellow when he parted the blinds of his window with one hand. It was a cloudless summer night, and the sky was pitch-black.
“Yeah,” Kou murmured into his phone, pulling himself away from the window. “I’ll be there in 20 minutes.”
There was a small noise of affirmation, and then a click as she hung up.
Kou staggered out of bed, kicking off his blanket and throwing on a sweater and some jeans, shoving his phone into his jeans pocket. He snuck into the bathroom, washing his face and gurgling his mouth, grabbing his wallet on the way out. And a coat, after a moment of consideration. It could get cold out.
He kicked the stand off his motorcycle, giving his dark house one last glance before taking off, with only the moon and streetlights illuminating his path.
As promised, he came to a stop right outside her apartment in almost exactly 20 minutes. Nene was waiting for him, sitting on the fourth step of the staircase. She perked up when he hopped off his bike and came over to her.
“Sorry for calling you out so late,” she shuffled her feet and kept her head down. Under the streetlight, he could see the tear stains on her face and her dishevelled hair. Kou frowned, resisting the urge to reach out and touch her face, to provide any bit of comfort he could.
Instead, he offered her his brightest smile. “No problem, Senpai! I’ll come whenever you call, y’know?”
“Literally,” Nene giggled, and lifted her face. The remnants of eyeliner ink was smeared at the corner of her eye, he noticed.
“Literally,” he confirmed. “...Wanna go somewhere?”
Nene nodded slowly. “That... would be nice.”
The blond boy grinned at her. They hopped onto his bike and he gave her his helmet, driving at a leisurely pace away from her apartment, along streets, past darkened shops. The cluster of houses and apartments thinned out as they drove, and the sounds of the rushing ocean waves grew increasingly loud.
In spite of the empty road, Kou focused hard on driving. Nene was warm, her arms around his torso and cheek pressed into his side. It was almost like she was a child, clutching onto him forlornly. Kou scowled at the thought of her cause for tears. He had the impression that her boyfriend was a good guy, but it looked like he was sorely mistaken.
He tightened his grasp on the handles of his motorcycle, anger slowly ebbing away. His cheeks warmed as he reminded himself of the situation he was in again. His Senpai was snuggled up to his back, the winds howling past them and drowning out all other sounds.
It looked like his little crush hadn’t died down, even after years of brushing it under the carpet.
Kou didn’t want to think about it.
They stopped by a well-lit 7-11. The bell jingled cheerily as they entered, and Nene cast Kou a befuddled expression.
“You’ll get hungry,” he said pointedly. “I’ll pay.”
Their real destination was only a couple buildings down. Kou parked at the side of the road, hopping off his bike. Nene followed shortly, unclipping his helmet from her head.
It was quiet now, save for the unmistakable sounds of waves sloshing over sand. The smell of salt water lingered over the area.
“The beach...?”
“Yeah!” Kou ventured down some concrete steps until his track shoes crunched down on sand. The ocean waves roared, lulled by the gravity of the moon. “It’s really nice here, y’know? Especially when it’s at night and no one’s here.”
He stepped back up the staircase and paused under a flickering street lamp, sitting down on the concrete. The blond patted the space next to him.
Hesitantly, Nene huddled down next to him. They sat in comfortable silence for some time as Kou rummaged through the snacks they had bought, producing some drinks from the plastic bag. He handed Nene her peach juice.
“Sorry again, for calling you out earlier on... you were sleeping.”
“I told you, Senpai, it’s not a bother to me. You don’t have to keep on apologising.” Kou pulled out two steaming meat buns wrapped in paper from the plastic bag, offering one up to Nene. She took it gratefully. “So what happened?”
“Okay,” Nene sniffled, wiping a hand over her eyes. A pregnant pause, then with her voice cracking, “Um... My boyfriend broke up with me.”
“Eh?!”
In his shock Kou dropped the plastic bag. It fell onto his lap, a pack of m&ms falling out of it and onto the ground. Nene picked it up and passed it to Kou.
“He said he lost interest in me,” Nene laughed, though her face looked anything but happy. “That he... didn’t like me anymore, and he really only dated me because he pitied my fat ankles. And the fact that I wasn’t that cute to begin with.”
A surge of fury rushed through Kou. “That’s not true!”
“I thought you’d say that,” Nene smiled bitterly.
“Because it’s the truth,” Kou gritted his teeth. “I’ll punch a hole into that bastard the next time I see him!”
Nene gazed at him briefly, then turned to look at the ocean waves crashing onto the shore.
“It’s not entirely untrue though, don’t you think?”
“Not at all!”
“Huh?”
Kou took a hold of Nene’s hands, clutching them between his hands.
“Senpai,” he started earnestly, looking into her crimson irises with as much sincerity as he could muster, “Believe me when I say you’re super pretty! And you have a really, really cute smile, and your ankles may be thick but they aren’t ugly! They’re all a part of what makes you Senpai, and I’m really glad they are!”
Nene’s face was awash with bashfulness at this point, averting Kou’s eyes. “Um, Kou-kun, personal space...”
Only then did Kou realise how much he had leaned in during his passionate speech. He jerked back, relinquishing his grip on her hands and realising belatedly, that her fingers were freezing. She was only wearing a thin sweater and shorts, after all.
“S-sorry!”
Shaking her head, Nene chuckled. “It’s okay! And… thank you for the encouragement, Kou-kun… but to be honest I don’t really know if I can believe in myself and my appearance like that right now…”
A quiet came over the both of them. Nene was shaking like a leaf in a storm, he realised. Kou removed his coat hastily, and brought it around the girl’s shoulders. She flinched at his touch, startled.
“You’re gonna catch a cold like that,” Kou said gently. “Amane and Mitsuba won’t ever let me off the hook if they know you got sick ‘cause of me.”
“They wouldn’t,” Nene agreed.
Actually , Kou mused, now that I think about it, why did Senpai specifically call me out?
He was about to ask when Nene spoke up again, as if reading his mind.
“Speaking of those two, Amane was going stargazing tonight, and Mitsuba hardly ever sleeps regularly, so I didn’t want to call him. Aoi-chan is busy with her university projects, so… I really only had you to call.”
“I’m glad I woke up, then.” Unwrapping the pack of m&ms, Kou popped one of the chocolate goodies into his mouth. It was sweet. “Y’know, if you can’t believe in yourself, maybe you could believe in me, Senpai.”
“Believe in you?” Cocking her head to the side, Nene sent a inquisitive look his way.
“Take my word for it! About what you’re like, I mean. After all, I—,”
I like you , he thought, but the words died in his throat.
“— have known you since you were in high school.”
“I…” Nene cracked a small, watery grin. She rubbed furiously at her wet, glassy eyes, making a thoughtful noise. “Alright, in that case, I guess I’ll take your word for it… Kou-kun.”
Kou rummaged in his pocket, but came up short. He cursed his forgetfulness for not bringing some tissue at least. Instead he reached for Nene’s face, wiping away a stray tear with the edge of his sweater sleeve.
“That bastard didn’t deserve you anyway, Senpai,” he announced, standing up. “Right?”
“I guess,” Nene replied half-heartedly.
“Right!”
“Actually... maybe you’re right. He was sort of a jerk, looking back.”
Nene purses her lips, then took a big bite of her meat bun, swallowed it and stood up next to Kou. “You know what? I’m glad we broke up.”
“Yeah! Go for it, Senpai!”
“Okay!”
Nene turned to the open ocean, an indignant look in her wet eyes, and a growing beam on her lips. “I hope my ex rots in hell!”
“Yeah! Wait, Senpai, huh—?!”
The girl burst into peals of laughter, doubling over at Kou’s dumbfounded face.
She flopped back onto the concrete steps, and this time she was the one to pat the space next to her. Kou obeyed obediently.
“Thanks for talking to me, Kou-kun," Nene took another bite of her meat bun. “I feel better now. I’m really glad I have a friend like you around.”
Kou warmed at her words, though the salty sea winds chilled his skin. “Anything for you.”
They finished up their meat buns, licking their fingers clean, and it was near 5am when Kou dropped Nene off at her apartment.
“Thanks again,” Nene hugged Kou. Her messy hair smelled like the sea, and of meat buns. Kou couldn’t help but chuckle. “No problem!”
Nene let go of him, holding him at arms length, before she suddenly reached up for his face, grasping it in both hands and landing a kiss on his cheek. She pulled away a second after, face burning red.
“Really, I mean it,” she said, finally releasing him. She waved goodbye, disappearing into the apartment complex.
Kou blinked. Stunned, he brought a hand to his cheek, still feeling the warmth and the softness of her lips against his skin. His heart rate must’ve skyrocketed, because adrenaline was pumping through his veins and he could barely feel anything as he sped off on his motorcycle, diving into his bed and still feeling the warmth.
Stupidly, he grinned into his bedsheets, reliving the moment she smiled at him cutely, taking his face into her hands—
And eventually his heart slowed as exhaustion took a hold of his body. The blond fell asleep dreaming of the ocean at midnight, and his crush.
Bonus:
“Your boyfriend dumped you!?” Aoi near-yelled, her voice riding a crescendo. “When? What happened? Why didn’t you tell me?”
Her best friend shushed her, face growing red from embarrassment. “Indoor voice, Aoi-chan!”
Aoi pardoned herself, lowering her volume. They were at the newest cafe in the neighbourhood, sipping on milk tea and waiting for some cakes to arrive. “Still, why didn’t you tell me earlier?”
“You were busy with your projects,” Nene answered shyly. “I wouldn’t dare bother you with my boy problems.”
Sighing, Aoi glanced at the girl sitting across the table. “Nene-chan, I told you before that it doesn’t matter if I’m busy or not, I’m your best friend and you can always confide in me when you’re upset.”
“I wasn’t upset, though.”
“You weren’t?” Her eyebrows shot up to her hairline.
“Yeah,” Nene hesitated, her face turning pink, reluctance obvious. “I talked to… another friend, and he helped me through it.”
Aoi widened her eyes and leaned in, her interest suddenly piqued. “He?”
“It’s not anything romantic!” Flustered, Nene was waving her hands around wildly. Aoi watched, the corners of her lips raised playfully.
“Uh huh, Nene-chan.”
“I mean it!”
Aoi laughed at her friend’s fervent denials. She knew Nene better than the girl thought. All she hoped for was to catch a glimpse of this new ‘friend’. Maybe this time, he would be the right one for her best friend.