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“Shit, it’s 5:03!” Rindou almost jumps out of his skin. His date with Haruchiyo starts at 5:30, and he COULD NOT be late. A lot of their friends had given Haruchiyo the nickname ‘the doctor’ because if you were fifteen minutes late, you missed your appointment. Rindou was used to being late, whether it be because Ran slept in until 2pm (a frequent occurrence) or just out of sheer laziness on his part, but he could not miss this date.
It was hard for him to believe it was even happening. Haruchiyo Akashi? The person who he thought he hated up until 48 hours ago. The person who gave him evil eyes from across the classroom. The person who had apparently been fantasising about him this whole time. Maybe those evil eyes were just Haru’s fucked-up way of checking Rindou out.
Rindou finished getting changed out of his uniform and into some nice jeans, but he didn’t know what shirt he should wear. How formal was this? It’s just the Cozy Corner, but it’s also a first date. He chucked his Metallica t-shirt across the room, figuring that was a bit much. Shit. The only proper shirts he owned were from his school uniform.
“Ran, I’m invading your wardrobe,” Rindou says, opening his brother's door.
“Okay,” Ran sighed, used to his antics, “just make sure you give it back.”
Rindou finally settled on a black shirt with a white leaf pattern on it. It seemed like the right balance of fun and serious.
“It’s quarter past, by the way,” Ran says.
“What??”
Rindou almost forgot to put on his shoes as he clambered out of the house and ran into town. He was paranoid about the droplets of sweat on his forehead ruining his mascara or staining his glasses. He slowed down when he got to the street with the Cozy Corner on it. He checked his phone. 5:28pm. He used the sleeve of his jumper to wipe his forehead and calmly walked down the street as if he wasn’t just running like an Olympian to get there.
It was kind of awkward, approaching someone standing outside a building. Not knowing if you should fasten your pace to get there sooner. Awkwardly looking at the other person as you walk even closer. At what point do you say hello? Should you give them a quick wave to show you’re acknowledging them? Well, that’s what Rindou did. He gave a wave to Haruchiyo, who slightly smiled and nodded in response. Haru shuffled his feet. Perhaps he was unsure about what to do in this situation too. Should he meet Rindou halfway? Should he just stand there? At what point should he say hello? There was enough awkward tension in the air to suggest that this was true.
“Hi,” Rindou finally says, smiling sheepishly for the first time in his life.
“Hi,” Haruchiyo says, opening the door. “After you.”
“Thanks.”
They walk into the café and are greeted by a familiar face. “Oh hi Rindou, hi Haru!” says Emma, a smile beaming across her cheeks.
“Hi,” Haruchiyo said. “Do you work here?”
“No, I just wear this uniform for fun. It’s like cosplay.” Emma grins. “I’m joking, of course. I do work here! Are you two on a date?”
“Yes,” Haruchiyo says, Rindou standing behind him awkwardly.
“Oh cool! I’ll get you two a table then. Just flag me down when you want to order.”
“Okay, cool.”
The two of them sit down at a booth table. They’d usually have to sit at a smaller table, but the café was almost empty. This made Rindou nervous. Maybe Emma would hear their entire conversation. Maybe she’d make fun of him to her friends. Maybe she’d tell the entire school about what he says.
“Sooooo…” Rindou says, trailing his thoughts off.
“I heard you joined the Drama Club?”
“Oh yeah! I haven’t been to any meetings yet, but we’re doing Heathers the musical, I’m looking forward to it”
“Cool, I’ll be auditioning soon, I really like Heathers,” Haruchiyo grins.
“You like musicals?”
He smiles warmly. “Yeah, my little sibling, Senju, got me into them, it started with Beetlejuice, and I’ve been watching them since.”
“I’ve only heard ‘Say My Name', is it any good?”
“Yeah, I seriously recommend it.”
"Maybe we can watch it together some time," Rindou smiles, "I assume the bootleg is on YouTube."
"Of course. But it's definitely a slime tutorial and not at all a bootleg."
Rindou laughs. "So who do you want to be in Heathers?"
"I'm sure you can tell, but I'm quite shy, so nothing too big."
"That's what she said."
"Shut up," Haruchiyo smiles, and silence fills the room for a beat.
"Maybe you could be one of the gay dads?"
“Yeah maybe!” Haruchiyo chuckles, "’That was one hell of a fishing trip’ is my favourite line.”
"Maybe we can go on a fishing trip sometime," Rindou winks, and Haruchiyo blushes.
Emma suddenly appears at their table, "Are you ready to order?"
Haruchiyo turns his blushing face away from her and Rindou giggles. "Give us five minutes," he said and she smiled and walked away.
“You dick,” Haruchiyo says, a blush still on his face.
“I don’t get why you’re blushing, I just like fishing.”
“Shut up,” Haruchiyo laughs. “Look at the menu, what do you want to order?”
“I’ll have the cheesecake since you recommended it. I trust your taste if you’re into someone like me.”
Haruchiyo smiles, “Do you want to know the story of when I first came here?
“Go on.”
“It was a date with my ex, you know, Mucho?”
“You dated him?”
“Yeah, in year 8, it was a strange time.”
“You can say that again,” Rindou laughs.
“Anyway,” he continues, “he wanted to get to know me better, so he brought me here and ordered me a cheesecake, and it was like really awkward because I didn’t eat it and said ‘I don’t like cheese, but I’ll try it.’”
“You numpty,” Rindou chuckles. “Cheesecake tastes nothing like cheese!”
“Well I know that now! Kind of a misleading name, though.” Both boys laugh.
Emma appears again, “You ready to order?”
“Yes,” Haruchiyo says, “two cheesecakes, please.”
“Cool! Anything else?”
“I’ll have a strawberry milkshake, please.” Rindou says.
“Make that two,” Haruchiyo says.
“Wait, actually why don’t we just get two straws?”
“Sure,” Haruchiyo says, “one milkshake with two straws.”
“Oh my god, you guys are so cuteee,” Emma says through her smile, “so two cheesecakes and one strawberry milkshake with two straws.”
“Yeah,” Rindou says.
“So why strawberry?” Haruchiyo asks when Emma is out of earshot.
“I love pink, always have,” Rindou says. “Maybe it explains why I like you so much. Your hair is beautiful.”
“Thank you,” Haruchiyo says, a slight smile on his face. “I like your hair too. The blue streaks are really pretty.”
“You’re just pretty in general,” Rindou replies.
“Yeah, sure,” Haruchiyo says, gesturing to the two diamond-shaped scars at the ends of his lips.
“They don’t make you any less pretty, dumbass.”
“Really?” Haruchiyo asks, and Rindou nods. He hesitates. “Why haven’t you asked about them yet?”
“I don’t know, there’s other things to talk about, I guess,” Rindou says. “Why? Did you want me to?”
“No, it’s just usually the first thing people ask about me.”
“That’s dumb,” Rindou says. “The first thing I notice about you is those lashes. Like damn, how do you get them so thick?”
“It’s just genetics I guess, Senju has them too,” Haruchiyo says. “So you really don’t wanna know about the scars? Like how I got them?”
“I’d quite like to hear the story if you wanna share, but I’m not pressed,” says Rindou, “whatever makes you comfortable.”
“I don’t mind sharing, it’s not a big deal. I was out biking with Mikey and Keisuke and I fell over the handlebars into a ditch and it ripped up my face. It’s all fine now though.”
“Shit that really sucks,” Rindou says, “at least your scars look sick though. If anything, they emphasise your looks.”
Haruchiyo smiles, “Thanks, Rindou. You’re really sweet.”
“Alright, here you go,” Emma says, placing their cheesecakes in front of them. She places the strawberry milkshake with two straws in between them. “Have fun you two! Just call me over if you need any assistance.”
“Okay,” Haruchiyo says.
They hadn't been eating for two minutes before Rindou got cheesecake all over his mouth and even on his nose.
"You numpty," Haruchiyo says, passing Rindou a tissue.
"What can I say? It's delicious." Rindou smiled.
"That was well fun, thanks for taking me out," Rindou says, turning to smile at Haruchiyo.
"No problem. I had a great time."
Rindou crosses his arms. "It's kinda chilly now, innit?"
"I wasn't sure if giving this was too forward but…" he pulls a wrapped present out of his backpack, "I got you this."
"You already paid for the meal! You're spoiling me," Rindou says, unwrapping it to reveal a pink hoodie. He puts it on and smiles, feeling warmer now.
"Happy Birthday, Rindou."
"Thank you. I'm gonna wear this all the time," he and Haruchiyo both smile.
Haruchiyo hesitates before asking, "Can I hold your hand?" Rindou nods. They walked to Rindou's house hand-in-hand, said their goodbyes, and can’t wait to see each other again at school.