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*Click*
A sound permeates through your room, drawing you from your slumber. Rubbing the sleep from your eyes, you push your covers away and sit up, eyes scanning the blurry room for the source of the noise. When you don’t find anything- partially due to the lack of lighting- you take one last glance before falling back, letting your head hit your pillow and closing your eyes. It’s much too early to wake up, you shouldn’t let a small noise like that get to you. Maybe it was just a branch tapping your window, or something falling in another room?
As you drift off, your half-asleep mind already slipping back into unconsciousness, a sudden force tumbles on top of you, clinging to your body and making you shoot up in surprise. Your forehead connects with...something, causing the figure on top of you to recoil, wincing in pain. Squinting, you try to make out more than just a vague outline of the person sitting before you. It’s still too dark, and everything’s too smudged to see properly.
“Heeey, that was mean! Do you always hit people in the morning?” For a moment, you stare dumbfoundedly, brain foggy as it decides if it should be asleep or awake. Then you realize who it is, you recognize the voice speaking to you. One of your closest friends, Kokichi, stares at you from where he sits on your bed, fully clothed in casual attire and rubbing his chin.
Reaching out a finger, you poke his cheek, just to check if he’s real or not. When your fingertip meets flesh and garners an indignant squawk about how you’re ignoring him, you conclude that you are not dreaming. Kokichi has climbed through your window and is now sitting on your bed.
Pushing your covers away, you step onto the floor beneath you, the hardwood pricking at your bare feet with its cold surface. Forgetting how much of a mess you must look, wearing only your nightclothes and with hair tousled from hours of tossing and turning, you shoot the boy an accusatory glance. “Dude...what are you doing here? It’s like...waaaay early in the morning.”
“Did you forget? You said you were gonna come to the carnival with me, remember!? You said that you’d do aaaanything for me since today is my birthday, so I forced you to promise to come with me!” He pouts, crossing his arms and puffing out his cheeks like a child who’s been told they can’t have another scoop of ice cream.
You do vaguely remember telling him you’d go to the carnival with him, being so desperate for him to stop pestering you about it that you’d eventually just given in. None of your other classmates wanted to go, either outright stating so or claiming that they were tied up in other affairs. But why is he here now?
Walking over to your wall to close your window, which you check while doing so to make sure that it is indeed still nighttime, you slide it back into place and flip the locks. “Yeah...but isn’t that supposed to be...” You pause, yawning. “later? I don’t think it will open for a while.”
He shakes his head, moving to stand beside you near the window. “Who said anything about it opening? We’re going, c’mon!” Resting a hand on your shoulder, he shakes it until you pry your eyes away from the stars outside and meet his eyes. They glow with excitement, only accentuated by the wide, innocent smile he displays.
“Isn’t that illegal? We could get arrested, that’s a pretty bad way to spend a birthday.” You try to reason with Kokichi, but he refuses to listen to your logic.
Rolling his eyes, he brings a hand to flick you across the forehead. “No, duh. It’s my birthday today, remember? For twenty-four hours, I am officially above the law. Let’s go make the most of it, c’mon! We’ve already wasted so much time, and I even waited until four instead of coming at midnight which was my original plan! I’m so courteous, now you’re morally obligated to be nice back!”
Sighing, you realize this isn’t an argument you’re going to win. Maybe if you tried, but you’re too tired to expend any more energy trying to convince him not to go through with this stupid plan. “That...isn’t how it works. But fine, I’ll tag along. If we get arrested, that’s on you. Now get out of here so I can do my hair and put on some actual clothes, please.”
“Aww, I can’t stay and watch you change?”
“No.”
“Fine! You’re so mean!” He huffs, pivoting away and storming out of the room. He turns on the lights in the process, thankfully to a setting dim enough where it doesn’t completely burn your retinas. Truly a blessing in disguise, that light switch that lets you choose how bright you want the lights.
Now alone in your dimly lit bedroom, you tiptoe across the floor towards your dresser, taking out a plain black t-shirt and comfortable shorts to match. You want to be as unrecognizable as possible in case you’re being recorded, a worry Kokichi either doesn’t share or simply hasn’t considered. For some reason, he always insists on wearing that stupid, unfashionable, bright white outfit wherever he goes.
It’s stupid, but it adds to his charm.
Moving over to your mirror, you ignore the sight of a faint blush on your cheeks as you run a hairbrush through your hair, working the tangles out until it’s done presentably. Sneaking a breath mint into your pocket to take on the way there just in case anything happens, you grab a pair of athletic shoes and head downstairs to see what kind of chaos Kokichi is stirring up within your house.
You find him sitting at your kitchen table, two plates sitting beside him as he cuts two large pieces off of a birthday cake, frosted in a black and white checkerboard pattern with the words “Happy Birthday” written on top in pastel purple. He looks up at you upon your arrival, smiling widely and licking the knife he’d used to cut the cake, somehow already having frosting on his nose.
Despite how he’s tarnishing the cake you’d made for him, you find it difficult to fight the smile overtaking your face.
“Hey! I...that was supposed to be for later!” Snapping out of your trance, you rush into the kitchen and look at what he’s done, the huge chunks of the cake gone and placed on plates that sit right next to each other. Accompanying each is a glass, one filled with a purple, carbonated beverage and the other containing (favorite juice).
He puts the lid back on the cake, moving it back into the fridge with ease. “Yeah, but we’re here now, riiiight? We can just have more later if we still want some, but we’ve got to eat up before we go! Can’t explore an abandoned carnival on an empty stomach!”
“Alright, fine. It isn’t a very healthy breakfast...but since it’s for your birthday, I guess it’s okay. And the carnival won’t be abandoned, it’s still setting up. We might encounter some employees there, so you might want to change out of that...outfit.” You gesture towards the hideously adorable attire he dons, and he backs up in shock. Laying a hand on his chest, he does his best to look offended.
“(Name)! I cannot believe you would insult my amazing sense of fashion! On my birthday no less! And what do you propose I change into, hmm? Some of your clothes?”
Looking away to avoid meeting his eyes as you realize that there are no other options, you nod. “Well...if you wanted to. O-Or you could go in that...doesn’t really matter.”
“Hmm...I think I’ll take you up on that offer! Lemme just look for something real quick! Don’t start eating until I’m back, okay?” With that, he races off into your bedroom, hopefully going to find something reasonable to wear on your excursion.
Tapping your fingers against the table, you wait for him to come back. What’s taking him so long? Oh geez, is he looking through all of your clothes? There are some things in there you’d rather him not find...ugh. Please come back soon, Kokichi.
Thankfully, you hear his footsteps rapidly approaching and he shows up in your doorway moments later, striking a fancy pose to show off the clothes he’s put on. He wears a black, long-sleeved shirt that dips just low enough to expose his collar bone, and a pair of slightly lighter gray sweatpants. He even stole a pair of your socks, fluffy ones with cats on them. It looks comfortable, and straight-up adorable on him.
Tearing your eyes away from the outfit and meeting his gaze, you see him smirking at your reaction to the outfit. Sighing in embarrassment, you wave him over and sit down in front of your cake, taking a swig of juice before you dig in. It isn’t chocolate- the cake mix was vanilla which you dyed purple to fulfill his love of the color- but the sweetness of the cake will likely still ruin the liquid’s taste by the time you’re done with both of them.
Halfway through the consumption of your sugary treat, you feel Kokichi’s finger drag across your cheek, leaving behind a trail of something gooey. Bringing your finger up to wipe a bit off, you look at what’s been smudged on your face to find a smear of black and white frosting. You smirk at Kokichi’s antics, revolting against the snickering boy by sticking your finger in the frosting of your cake and smearing it onto his forehead, writing the letter “L” for all to see.
Not expecting that at all, he rushes to the nearest bathroom to see what you’ve disgraced his countenance with. You can hear him gasp as he realizes what you’ve done, already his fake sobs fill the air.
“Y-You’re so mean! I can’t believe you’d call me a...a loser! On my own birthday! I’ve been betrayed by my one true love!” He whines, face buried in his hands when you find him sitting in the empty bathtub.
Washing your hands and wiping the frosting off your face, you wet a washcloth and do the same to the letter on his forehead. You ignore the last comment, more likely there as a way to fluster and guilt-trip you rather than an actual confession of feelings. “Aww, c’mon. You aren’t a loser, you know I love you. The cake’s pretty much gone, do you want to go finish your Panta before we head out?”
He too ignores your statement of love, most likely chalking it up to playful, friendly flirting instead of what it truly is. At the mention of his favorite soda his head perks up, and he jumps right up, hitting his head on the shelf you have hanging from the showerhead and crying out in pain. Giving him an exasperated look, you kiss the top of his head where he’d hit it and send him off, saying you’ll be right there.
While Kokichi finishes up his Panta, you take your breath mint and run some water over your face, preparing yourself for the exciting hangout you’re bound to have. It’s almost like a date...you’d love it if he considered this a date. But he probably doesn’t, so you’d best suck it up and enjoy your place in the friend zone. Try not to mess anything up so you can stay friends, that’s all you have to do.
Exiting the bathroom, you find Kokichi gone from the kitchen, having moved your eating utensils and plates into the sink for you to wash upon your return. Looking around for the boy, you eventually find him standing by your front door, bouncing on the balls of his feet as he awaits your arrival. Once you’re there, he ushers you to follow him as he unlocks your door and opens it, letting the humid night air drift inside. You shiver upon exiting, more from the oddity of going outside so early than from cold. Locking your door behind you, you set off together into the summer night, bound for the closed carnival.
Neither of you speaks as you start down the sidewalk, your shoes tapping against the concrete providing the only sounds keeping the night from silence. It’s eerie to be outside with so little noise, when not even the birds are awake, chirping songs to bid welcome to the morning sun. Such quiet would be more frightening during the daytime, but accompanied by the moon’s mellow glow and the stars twinkling high above, it’s almost relaxing.
The sound of a rushing river greets your ears, signifying that you’re about halfway to your destination. You just need to proceed a little farther, and you’ll find yourselves at the carnival before most of the employees have even awoken. Some might already be there, though. You should tread lightly, just in case.
Your hand brushes against Kokichi’s as you walk, causing you to flinch away. Heat rushes to your cheeks, thankfully concealed by the night’s darkness, at the soft contact. Barely a touch, like the landing of a graceful butterfly onto a flower petal. And yet you’re blushing fiercely, head averted to the ground so your hair shields your face, providing a curtain between him and what he’s bound to make fun of if he notices.
“We’re here! (Name), we’re here! C’mon, let’s go!” Kokichi whisper-shouts, grabbing and tugging at your hand as he rushes toward the carnival grounds. He leads you over to the fence placed around the perimeter, made up of flimsy wire that’s purposefully designed to scare off deviants like you. Unsure of what to do, you look to the boy you’re accompanying to find him already scurrying up the fence, climbing it with ease. Reaching the top, he sends you a wink jumps down, landing gracefully balanced on his feet.
He stares for a moment, and you realize he wants you to follow. “Oh! Wait...you want me to climb the fence? Uhh…”
“Hmm? Does (Name) not know how to hop a fence? Aww, and here I thought you were a criminal mastermind…” Kokichi pouts, fueling you with a sudden rush of courage. You can do this, you can climb the fence too.
Grabbing onto it with both hands, you hold on for dear life as you pick your feet up off the ground, gradually scaling upwards until you reach the top, nearly losing your footing as you search for somewhere to put it. Now at the top, you make the mistake of looking down, seeing the world below you at an uncomfortably high distance. Arms wobbly, you realize that you’re going to have to jump down...you have to let go…
Looking over to where Kokichi stands, you see him offer you a small smile, one of encouragement, you hope. Maybe he’s thinking about how foolish you’ll look when you descend, he’ll never tell you if you ask. Trying to cast your negative thoughts aside, you release one hand from the fence, then a foot. You breathe in, tensing your body as you prepare.
Then you jump, springing off the fence as your stomach lurches. You only free fall for a moment until you hit the ground, landing unsteadily on your feet. Kokichi is there in an instant, hand on your shoulder to help stabilize you after your fall. A small, sweet act of kindness that brings a warm feeling to blossom forth in your chest, of appreciation and affection.
“Alrighty then! We’re at the carnival, birthday boy, what’re you planning to do now?” Throwing your arms behind your shoulders languidly, as though you hadn’t just been forced to jump a fence, you look to the boy in question for an answer. Kokichi places a hand on his chin, tapping his cheek with a finger a few times before springing up, pointing in a direction and beginning to take off.
You follow, curious as to where he’s taking you. “Let’s go this way! The stalls are over here, right? Maybe we can steal some cotton candy or popcorn while nobody’s there! Hurry up, slowpoke!” Shaking your head in exasperation, you increase your pace to a jog to keep up.
“Dude, you realize that if nobody’s there, there’s probably not going to be any food there yet. Wouldn’t they be bringing the food in when the people who run the stalls get here?” He turns back to you and shrugs before continuing, not stopping once more for even a second until you’re standing within a row of stalls, surrounded by colorfully covered stands packed with displays. Some have games, others are devoid of anything, not yet set up.
Kokichi sets his sight on one, already having pre-packaged popcorn lined up in neat rows along the shelf. Expending no efforts in trying to be sneaky, he hops right over the stand table, bumping into the cash register as he struggles to reach for the popcorn. Turning back to you, you shiver at the wicked grin he gives.
“Heeey~ (Name), could you be the coolest friend ever and stand riiiiight here for a minute? It’d mean the world to me if you did and you have to bend to my will since I’m the birthday boy~” He coos, practically taunting you as you walk to the side of the stall and lift the covering, stepping under it so you don’t have to hop over the table. Sighing, you face him with your arms crossed, already knowing what he’s going to demand but wanting to stall as long as possible.
Kokichi says nothing, he simply stands behind you and propels himself up onto your shoulders, reaching up to grab two containers of popcorn as you wrap your hands around his calves, holding him tightly to make sure he doesn’t fall. Not only would that cause a huge racket, but he’d definitely get injured and might also take you down with him in the process. You don’t want to be sent to the emergency room and the police department if you can help it.
He doesn’t get down once your loot has been stolen, contentedly humming as he holds the popcorn in one hand and threads his fingers through your hair with the other. He pulls on the strands, not enough to hurt, but enough to draw your attention. “Onward, loyal steed! To the Ferris wheel!” Rolling your eyes, you move the stall’s table to get out, snickering as Kokichi hits his head on the scaffolding used to hold up the covering.
Moving the table back as Kokichi huffs and whines about your cruelty for trying to give him a concussion on his birthday, you look around for the Ferris wheel. It isn’t difficult to find, sticking out in the skyline like a sore thumb even without the bright lights it displays while turned on.
Your back starts to ache after a while as you carry him, but it doesn’t seem like he’ll be getting down anytime soon. He’s ripped open his container of popcorn, digging into the bag and chewing loudly, the crumbs from his snack inevitably falling into your hair and on the ground you pass as you walk. You grimace at the thought of the buttery, salty textures you’ll have to wash out of your hair later, but you suppose it’s fine for now. This is something you’re doing for him, after all, and it’s unlikely that anyone else cares enough to indulge his wishes of chaos today.
Of course, the others will wish him a happy birthday when they see him, Kaede will offer to play him a tune on the piano, and maybe if he’s lucky a few of them will be available to hang out later on once they’re done with whatever commitment they’ve made for the day. But nobody’s going to seriously spend time with him like this, truly caring about making him happy and letting him enjoy the day without grumbling complaints under their breath or feeling annoyance shred at their already fragile patience with the boy.
You should know all too well, the tell-tale agitation he keeps beside him, spread with effortless lies and cruel quips. But beneath all of that is someone else, someone who isn’t malicious or anything he tries so hard to masquerade as. He’s nice, genuine, deep down on a side that you’ve only caught sparing glimpses of during moments of fault.
Unfortunately, it’s been enough for you to build quite the attraction towards him, wanting to help him better express that side of himself more often. You wonder what you could do to make him happier, more open, how you could make him more comfortable. You want that for him, so you’re going to do your best to make today the most special it can be!
“Hey, (Name)! Careful, you’re about to walk face-first into the pole! Normally it’d be really funny to watch you do it while you’re being all spacey and stuff, but it’ll hurt me too and you’ve already caused me enough injury for one day! Watch where you’re going, you gotta be more careful with your passengers!” A whiny voice cuts through your thoughts, evaporating them like spilled water on a hot summer’s day. You blink, he’s right. You were about to walk right into a pole, a metal pole belonging to the outside structure of the Ferris wheel.
Leaning forward, you allow Kokichi to slide off your back and stand back on the ground. Still carrying two packets of popcorn, he shoves them both into your hands and climbs over the outside structure of the wheel, beginning to look for a way to climb the actual Ferris wheel itself. “Kokichi!” You hiss, realizing what he’s about to do. “Stop! You’ll get hurt!”
“I’ll be fine, silly! Just watch my popcorn for me and enjoy the show, ‘kay?” Finding somewhere to securely begin, he starts up the wheel like a goat up a mountain, climbing with intimidating precision as he goes higher, and higher, and higher. You open your bag of popcorn and place a few kernels of the salty snack in your mouth, chewing anxiously as you watch the ascension.
The metal creaks as he reaches the third car up, emitting an ear-splitting shriek that anyone within the carnival’s radius definitely heard. You shoot Kokichi a look of concern, only to see him staring off into the distance, wide-eyed. A shout rings out, an angry voice that neither of you possesses. He looks down at you, genuine fear evident in his expression.
The voice gets closer, closer. Knowing what you have to do, you throw the bags of popcorn aside and extend your arms, curling and uncurling your fingers to gesture for Kokichi to let go. To trust you, to let gravity take him down into your arms. You’ll catch him, and you’ll run.
He hesitates, looking from you to where he must be able to see the person, before making his choice. Letting go, time stops as you watch him fall, as you rush over and let him land in your arms. You don’t let him go, don’t let him stand up on his own as you start running, taking off in the direction you’d arrived in as you bolt for dear life.
This wasn’t supposed to happen. This wasn’t how you were supposed to spend his birthday.
You can hear your pursuer gaining on you as you clutch the boy in your arms tighter, nails digging into the fabric of his shirt as you will yourself to run faster, faster. The fence you’d arrived over draws near, and you practically throw the boy onto it as you make like a spider and climb, scaling it with a newfound urgency as Kokichi follows soon after. Whoever is chasing you reaches the fence, meeting your eyes for just a moment before shaking their head and walking off, brushing their hands on their uniform pants as they decide that two delinquents are too much of a bother for them to continue dealing with.
Putting some extra distance between you two and the carnival grounds, you collapse onto the ground and take a few deep breaths, lungs and legs burning from the effort you’d expended. Kokichi reacts less dramatically, though you can see by how he wobbles before collapsing beside you that he’s still discombobulated by the incident.
“Thank...thank goodness you’re okay. I got...so scared…” You huff, resting the back of your hand atop your forehead to wipe the sweat from your brows.
Kokichi looks over to you, head tilted. “Huh? There’s nothing to be scared of, silly! We’re fine, right? I run from the police all the time, this was nothing!”
“No! It wasn’t nothing, you idiot! You could’ve died falling from that Ferris wheel! We could’ve been sent to the police and subsequently to jail! Shut up about it not being a big deal, I was so worried!” You shout, startling the boy with the conviction in your tone. Your genuine agitation, a raw emotion he isn’t used to coaxing out of you. It isn’t like you at all to react so strongly to anything he says, no matter how hard he tries to coax it out of you.
He still doesn’t take you entirely seriously, and you decide that you need to confess. “Why? Everything turned out fine, riiiight?”
“Because I care about you, okay! We all care about you but...it’s a bit different in my case. Ugh, this is stupid. I’m not gonna beat around the bush, or do any of that awkward stuttery bullshit, alright? I. Like. You. A lot. Happy birthday, let’s go home.” Standing up, you turn around and face him, awaiting an answer. Whatever it may be, whatever he says next, you’ll accept it. No matter what.
His face blanks, visage entirely expressionless. Lips pressed into a firm line, he stands up and stares intently at your face, scrutinizing every feature to try and detect a lie. When he can’t find any, when he realizes your sincerity, he sighs in frustration.
Even then, he doubts it, still unsure of whether or not you’re trying to play a cruel prank on him. “Don’t you know I hate liars? You’re a liar, (Name)! I don’t wanna talk to a liar, this is getting boring. Goodbye.” Pivoting away, Kokichi begins to walk back in the direction you came from.
Placing a hand on his shoulder, you spin the boy around and grip him tightly, refusing to let him move. You hover your face right above his, feeling his warm breath fan against your face. “I’m not lying. Please, Kokichi. Don’t just...walk away. I won’t let you leave until you give me an answer. No lies, from either of us.”
He blinks, eternity passes. Time loses all meaning, your faces draw closer. Like two magnets, opposite sides attracting each other until they attach. He springs to life, closing the distance between you two and sealing his lips over yours, kissing with fervor as you move your arms from his shoulders to clasp around his neck, his resting comfortably on either side of your waist as you pull away. Your hands weigh each other down, anchoring yourselves down to where you stand as you pull away and your eyes lock together.
Tension runs thick between you, weaving around you and pulling you together, this time coaxing you to pull him into you, relaxing as he rests his chin on your shoulder. Positioning your head right beside his ear, your lips flutter over the hair curtaining his face as you whisper into his ear. “I’m sorry for shouting...I needed to tell you. It hurts to see you in danger like that...please don’t act so recklessly again. We all care about you, deeply, and would miss you incredibly if something were to happen. So...what do you say?”
His voice is quiet, response muffled by the skin of your t-shirt. “Hmm, no promises. But I suppose I could try...just for you. Thanks for giving me the best birthday present ever! Remember, you’ll have to top this one next year, or else!”
Giggling, you pull away and look into his eyes, clasping his hands together in yours. “Oh? Well, I suppose I’ll have to go all out. Especially since it’ll be our one-year anniversary together, too, perhaps?” Presenting the question, you wait.
He leans forward, pressing a kiss to your cheek and speaking his answer. “Yep! I’ll look forward to it every day, so you’d better not disappoint.”
Bringing a hand up to softly flick his forehead, you mirror his wide grin with one of your own. “As will I. Happy birthday, Kokichi.”