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“I can’t believe this. Next week our senpai are graduating, which will make us third years, which means I’m one year closer to graduating high school without ever having dated anyone.”
“You make it sound like a prerequisite.”
“It basically is. How the hell am I supposed to impress anyone in college if girls find out I’ve never kissed anyone?” Tashiro groans, slumping his head down against his knees that his arms currently encircle. “I need to find a way to kiss someone before I graduate. Even if it’s not like a super big date, just being able to say I’ve done that feels important.”
“You shouldn’t approach it like that, Tashiro. Girls won’t like it if you approach them and tell them they’re just practice for college,” says Kuresawa with a subtle lift to his lips.
The third member of the group finally picks his head up from the string of text messages he’s exchanging with his boyfriend a floor above. “You know, I read a manga a few weeks back where the protagonist never kissed anyone before and they also didn’t want to end high school never having kissed anyone yet, so their friend helped them practice kissing. Then they ended up kissing a lot as ‘practice’ until eventually one of them confessed to the other one saying that they wanted to keep kissing each other instead of trying to kiss someone else and they started dating. That’s a strategy you could use, since you might even get a date out of it, too.”
Tashiro lifts his head up to scrutinize his friend’s expression. “Was it a BL?”
Miyano hesitates before answering. “That’s not important.”
“I’m not trying to have a BL relationship like you.”
“It was just a suggestion,” Miyano offers up before his tone shifts, sharpening, “And just because we’re – that – that doesn’t mean we have a BL relationship!”
“So, how would you define a BL relationship, Miyano?” Kuresawa asks with genuine curiosity. The sort of look he wears on his face while cataloging the information for later to share with his girlfriend.
Stupid girlfriend-having idiot.
“Well, sure, it’s two boys or men but it’s – that’s not the point here.”
Tashiro sighs defeatedly. This conversation truly will get him nowhere with his two beloved friends. “It’s just not fair. Both of you got to meet your significant others through school. I missed the mark when I was in middle school, and I didn’t even consider this would be a problem if I went to an all boy’s school!”
“It’s not too late to get a new part-time job. It doesn’t seem like your work at the bathhouse is going to bring in a lot of girls your way.”
“Going into third year? I’m barely passing as it is!”
“Who’s fault is that?”
“Shut up, Kuresawa. Besides, I like my job at the bathhouse.”
Kuresawa smiles before looking at Miyano, who looks up at the ceiling in thought. Hopefully no thoughts relating to BL this time, though there could be no guarantee with most of the smallest frame of reference.
“You know, the Disciplinary President – Hanzawa-senpai might be someone to talk to,” Miyano says before moving his line of vision back to the level of his two friends. “He seems to like giving advice when it comes to love. He always had something to say to me before I returned Sasaki’s confession.”
Of course, what do you even know Miyano – you were lucky enough to get confessed to first. Stupid boyfriend-haver.
“The Ping Pong Captain? I don’t know, sometimes he gives me the chills,” Tashiro confesses, “Like, I feel like somehow he always seems to show up whenever I least expect – “
“ Taaashiiiro-kun .”
It’s a good thing that Tashiro is sitting on the floor directly, because had he been in a chair he would have come crashing down hard with how horribly he jumps at that voice. Sure enough, when he looks towards the landing above them on the staircase, Hanzawa stares down at him with a flat smile. “Senpai! We weren’t just talking about you!”
“Very slick,” Kuresawa says, barely quiet enough for their upperclassman not to hear from the staircase above.
“ Shut up !” he hisses back at his friend before darting his eyes towards his senpai descending the stairs towards them. “Wh-what is it, senpai?”
“I need to talk to you later about your new position as captain,” Hanzawa says, in that off-putting sing-song voice. “Can you stop by the third year hall before you leave for the day?”
“That’s great you’re looking for him, Hanzawa-senpai, because Tashiro actually needs advice from you.”
“Oh, is that true?”
Tashiro glares a thousand daggers into Kuresawa. I am going to break your fingers so you can’t ever text your girlfriend again.
Through gritted teeth aimed at his classmate, he responds to Hanzawa, “We’ll see if we have time for that.”
Hanzawa stops just a few steps above them, leaning against the handrail as he scrutinizes the situation, making note of the calm smile on Kuresawa’s face, the subtle fear on Miyano’s, and the absolute fury on Tashiro’s. The latter of the kouhai notices a faint sparkle in the blue eyes he hardly ever gets a good look at – blue eyes he couldn’t help but admit are dreamy enough to sometimes decrease his unnerving aura.
“Well, I look forward to being of service to you later, Tashiro-kun.”
Tashiro swears he catches a quick wink from Hanzawa before the older boy turns back up the stairs
*
A brief text from his boyfriend informs Miyano that Sasaki has to wait in his classroom a little longer to help with some of the final moments of cleaning before the third years are free of their duties for good. He’d been outside of the school, all set to depart for the train the second Sasaki arrived, so it takes him a moment to switch back to his indoor shoes to make his way upstairs. Not that he had to go back inside, necessarily, but if Sasaki has to remain inside, he rather hover close by – it’s not as if there’s any fear of what Sasaki may be doing during that time, but rather a restlessness to spend time with the older boy. After all, there’s not much time left in school together. He needs to squeeze out as much quality time while they still wander the same halls.
He ascends the stairs, walking with a clear purpose and focus. However, that purpose and focus are interrupted by a familiar set of voices coming from one of the typically empty classrooms.
“So then, what is it you’re looking for advice on, Tashiro-kun?”
Miyano halts outside the door, instinctively pressing himself against a wall so as to not be seen as he tunes into the conversation.
“It’s – It’s nothing.”
“You’re blushing. Is it a lover’s quarrel? Are you looking for advice on how to woo some lucky someone?”
Miyano’s hand instinctively comes up to cover his mouth, eyes darting around the hall to scan for any other bystanders. It seems that he’s the only one here to overhear this conversation.
“No! No, it’s not – I’m not – I haven’t… There’s no one in particular. In fact, er – there’s no one at all.”
“Ah, I see.” The Disciplinary Committee president chuckles. “That’s it, isn’t it? Another member of the Lonely Hearts Club seeking out a way to find his true love?”
“You don’t have to say it like that.”
“Like what?”
“Like… so flowery or whatever. But, yeah, whatever, I guess.”
“Well, what’s the rush? Isn’t it best to just let fate pull the strings in situations of love?”
Should Miyano really be listening to this? It’s really a private matter, even if this is one of his best friends here. Perhaps he should continue on, but at this point it might be suspicious if the two people inside suddenly hear footsteps stomping away.
“I guess, but – It’s not…” Tashiro groans. “Fine, it’s embarrassing to say, but fine. I’ve never kissed anyone before and I’m worried that with how things are going that’s never going to happen before I graduate. I’m going to end up going to college and meeting a bunch of cute college girls and not know how to kiss any of them and look like an idiot.”
There’s a beat of silence, a silence so heavy Miyano fears even breathing in case the two people in the classroom hear him.
“Mm, I see.”
“You do?”
“Yes, I do. You’re overthinking this.”
“Thanks, you’re so helpful, Hanzawa-senpai.”
Hanzawa chuckles. “I understand some fears since you’re at an all boys school. Why don’t you try to do something extracurricular to meet girls? A part-time job.”
“Yeah, yeah. Heard that one before already, not an option.”
“Do you have any girls who are your friends right now?”
“No. All my friends from middle school were guys, too.”
“Maybe you could just ask a friend to show you how.”
“How to what?”
“Kiss.”
“I just told you, all my friends are – “
“I know.”
Miyano gasps, making a sound far too loud. There’s another pause in the conversation, causing his heart to race for fear that they heard him. However, after a long moment, the discussion continues.
“I can’t just ask a guy friend to do something like that… Besides, nearly all my friends are dating people now.”
“So, it’s the fear of asking that’s stopping you?”
“What do you mean?”
“If someone offered to help, what would you think of that?”
“I don’t understand.”
“Do you want help learning how to kiss?”
“Yes, I already told you – “
“Do you want help from me?”
“Isn’t that what you’re – “
“Do you want me to teach you how to kiss, Tashiro?”
Another excruciating pause. Miyano wishes he could shrink down to the size of a fly, just so he could sneak a look into the room without potentially outing himself. Working off the words alone is absolutely destroying him. All of this is too much for one fudanshi to handle. He has to tightly squeeze his hands against his mouth to assure no sounds of shock accidentally escape as his own personal drama CD ensues.
And I’ve been trying so hard not to make BL out of my friends. This isn’t fair.
“You’d… do that?”
I’m going to scream. I must be dreaming. There’s no way a conversation like this could actually be happening in my own school between two of my ‘straight’ peers. This is the start of something wild. The juiciness of it all – practice kissing, a senpai-kouhai relationship, kissing in the middle of a classroom – well, they haven’t kissed yet, but –
“If you want me to.”
Holy shit, Tashiro, say yes.
Miyano can feel his hands trembling.
“W-well, well, I…”
Say! Yes!
“Mm?”
“Do you promise not to tell anyone?”
I am going to faint. I am going to fall to the floor and bang my head on something. Maybe that will wake me up from whatever strange dream this is.
“Cross my heart and hope to die.”
“Alright. Then, um… Let’s do that. Can you, uh, close the door?”
That’s the final cue for Miyano. As he hears his senpai step towards the door he lingers beside, he inches away a few quiet steps before sprinting in the direction he came to hide in the staircase out of potential view.
About ten minutes later, Sasaki notices an odd observation as he makes his way out of the third year hall to meet his boyfriend. One of the classroom doors is closed. He swears he hears people whispering inside the room, but he doesn’t linger long enough to eavesdrop. Sasaki does, however, widen his eyes in surprise when he finds Miyano crouched down onto the landing of the staircase with a look of pure shock on his face.
Instinctively, he hastens his step towards his boyfriend. “Myaa-chan? What’s wrong? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
Miyano hardly has the wits about him to fully acknowledge Sasaki before the other wraps his arms around him in a concerned embrace. “I… I…”
“What? Did something happen to you?”
“I… Heard…”
“Myaa-chan, you’re scaring me.”
With dark eyes big enough to cover his whole face, Miyano stares up towards Sasaki. “I heard the
most
BL thing I’ve ever heard in my entire life.”