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"AAAARGH!!"
You frantically turn your head around to face the loud noise to be met with the sight of an annoying boy running towards you, passerby's staring at him as he runs past groups of people--still yelling, at times you wonder if he's oblivious to the world around him. It's Tsukasa, your neighbor and good friend since you two were children.
as you stop and idle by the crosswalk you think about the past, you two used to go to school hand in hand on days like this in middle school, but starting around highschool he would take longer to get ready causing him to be frequently late (or at least panting like a dog after making it to class mere minutes before the bell.) so you just started going alone.
you sigh, 'if he's gonna chase after me like this, i feel better running off anyway.' but you still wasted time and let him catch up to you.
"Haaahhh………" the blond is leaning on a pole to avoid falling, still attempting to catch his breath as his backpack falls of his shoulder, a cute keychain plushie of a pegasus swinging back and forth from his bags zipper.
"Saki had forgotten to remind me of the time…" he huffs out through pants. "BUT I caught you this time!!" he says triumphantly, pointing at you while looking fairly proud of himself, you can't help but find it slightly endearing.
"Maybe but only because I decided to stop and wait for you." you tease him.
"YOU SAY THAT AS IF YOU WERE THINKING ABOUT IGNORING ME!?" his cheeks were puffed with anger, you could take him anything but seriously.
"Well if people stare at you for acting….rambunctious i don't want them to think we're a couple or something" you sighed
You see his shoulders slump, "fine, fine" he pouts.
"But you did wait for me, after all–" his face turns smug "not even you can be mean to a future star such as my self!" his laugh sounds like something you could describe as a guffaw, and you mean that in the most loving way.
"Whatever you say, Tsukasa…" you let him have his moment.
The two of you proceed to cross the street together and make your way towards school. the streets now become increasingly speckled with students making their daily commute.
"Hm..by the way, [PLAYER], have you decided on a club to join yet?"
"A club?" a sigh escapes you just as the words do "I've told you already, I'm not really interested in joining any clubs…so no, i haven't really been looking"
Tsukasa raises his eyebrow, a frown on his face "That's not true! You told me you would join a club this year!!"
"did I?"
it's definitely possible that you did, in one of many conversations between you and him where you dismissively go along with whatever he's talking about. Tsukasa tends to worry a little too much about you, even though he only has one little sister, he practically treats all of his friends like their his younger siblings, and you are not excluded from that. But you're fine with just being average, with okay grades and a few close friends. And then spending all your free time on this one rhythm game you've been hooked on.
"mhm!!!" Tsukasa nods his head, extremely animated like he always is. "As your bestfriend, I'm worried you won't learn how to socialize or have any skills before college. Your happiness is really important to me, you know!" he crosses his arms dramatically. "And I know you're happy now but I'd die at the thought of you becoming a neet in a few years because you're not used to the real world!"
He turns his head to look directly at you. Bright orange eyes meet yours "You trust me, right? Please don't make me keep worrying about you"
it took you by surprise at first, this was so out of character for him. He really was worried about this…"Alright, Tsukasa, I'll look for a club today at school" you give him a smile, he returns it with an even brighter one.
and now he's talking about something else, the noise gets drained out in your head and you wonder. Why and how do you let yourself get bossed around by a ditzy blond? More than that you're surprised you relented to him.
You suppose seeing him worry so much about you makes you wanna ease his mind at least a little bit–even if he does exaggerate everything in his head..
— ♡ —
The day had been as ordinary as ever in Kamiyama High-School. It was the final period and there's about a few minutes left. you don't bother to listen to the teacher, english has been your least favorite period anyway.
'clubs...' you remind yourself as you sketch little doodles onto your notebook. oh, Tsukasa had asked you to look for a club to join.
You sigh as you turn to face out the window, 'the theatre club interests you. the anime club also piqued your interest as much as you hated to admit.'
"[PLAYER]!!" You practically jump out of your seat as the two hands land on your desk, you look up to a familiar face. "oAH- Tsukasa..!" 'Was I gone for that long? and how did I not hear the bell? or all the other students leaving? I might have to get this checked out…' you wonder as you scratch your head, that's when you remember about the boy in front of you.
"I thought I would catch you coming out of the classroom but I saw you just sitting here and spacing out, so I decided I would come in!" he explains, like that explained anything whatsoever…
"You don't need to wait up for me if it's going to make you late for your own club" Tsukasa blinks as if he's confused by your statement before he clears his throat,
"Well, I thought you may have needed some encouragement so I thought I would invite you to my club!" he boasts, striking one of his poses with his eyes closed and his hand dramatically reaching out.
"...Tsukasa"
he peaks one eye open to look at you "Yes?"
"…..There is no way I am joining your club."
Tsukasa's shoulders droop at your answer, but you can't really take it back. Tsukasa was the vice president of the literature club. Not that you were aware that he had any interest in literature, you were surprised to find out he was literate. In fact, your 99% sure he only did it because he would find it fun to start a new club, since according to him he was the first person to show interest after the one who proposed the club, which then allowed him to inherit the title 'vice president'.
That said, your interest in literature was guaranteed to be far lesser than his.
"Yeah. Do you think I'd fit in with the theater club?"
Tsukasa was never one for boundaries, "C'MON PLEASE!!--" you barely catch yourself (and him) as he crashes into you. "Why do you care so much anyway?" you ask as you try to pry him off of you.
At your question he slacks and you can tell that he's thinking about how to answer this properly, "er, I may have told the club..that I would bring a new member.." he answers, his face slightly flushed. And for once he was speaking in a normal amount of decibels. "And Akito brought pancakes and everything already…" his eyes were on anything but you, like a really guilt-ridden puppy.
"don't make promises you can't keep," you hum. but…you can't help but think, is Tsukasa that much of an airhead or was he cunning enough to have planned this through. at this point you already knew, you let out a long sigh.
"Fine…I'll stop by for pancakes, okay?"
there's practically little stars in Tsukasa's eyes "HAHAH, I KNEW YOU WOULD JOIN IF I ASKED!! AS EXPECTED OF A STAR LIKE ME!", at least he was happy.
— ♡ —
And thus today marks the day you sold your soul for a few pancakes.
You follow Tsukasa through the school as he rambles on about how excited the club members would be to meet you, he drags you to stairs leading up to the area with the clubs, as you slightly pant while trying to keep up with him while climbing stairs. luckily he waits for you near the door of what you assume is to his club.
In ordinary Tsukasa-fashion, with high energy, he swings the classroom door open.
"EVERYONE!! THE NEW MEMBER IS HERE!!!!"
"I told you, don't call me a 'new member–" you blink as once you actually end up in the classroom you take a good look at the members of the club. "...eh?"
"Welcome to the literature club, it's a pleasure meeting you. Tsukasa-Senpai always says nice things about you," a boy with half n half hair greets you, he seemed polite.
"Weirdo #3's here? way to keep killing the atmosphere." a ginger spoke.
"Oya, [PLAYER] what a nice surprise! welcome to the club" bright purple hair with blue streaks, the infamous Kamishiro, also the president of the literature club.
"..."
all words escape you, this club . . .
is full of cute boys!!!
"What are you looking at? If you have something to say, say it." the ginger practically looks down at you despite only being a few inches taller.
"sorry?" you blink, still semi-confused and dazed.
"Akito…." whispers the two toned blue haired boy. The boy with the sour attitude, whose name is apparently Akito, is one you don't recognize, so you assume he's probably a first year student. Oh, and he was the one that Tsukasa mentioned brought the pancakes-!
"He's just like that, don't worry!" Tsukasa attempts to whisper into your ear, but you're completely sure that this boy has no clue how to whisper in any way but show-whispering.
Tsukasa then turns to face the other boys, introducing them. "Anyway! This is Akito!" Akito merely grumbles something under his breath. "And this is Touya, the smartest in the club!!" Tsukasa points toward the taller blue boy.
"Tsukasa-Senpai…don't say things like that…" Touya, who appears to be much more mature and timid, seems to have a hard time dealing with the energy of Tsukasa and Akito, despite that it seems obvious that he likes them both.
"Ah, well..it's nice to meet both of you!" you give a small smile, though very awkward.
"And it sounds like you already met Rui!" Tsukasa cuts in.
"That's correct, Tsukasa-kun fufu" Rui places a hand on Tsukasa's shoulder, and then faces you "it's great to see you again [PLAYER]", he smiles warmly at you.
You did know each other–you two rarely talked but you were in the same class with him last year. Before he became friends with Tsukasa, Rui barely talked with anyone. And you had never thought of talking to him then, but now… “You too, Rui.” you manage to let out without stuttering despite your nervousness.
“Come sit down [PLAYER]! we made room for you at the table, you can either sit beside yours truly! or Rui!!” Tsukasa’s hand rests on your shoulder as he guides you. A few steps in and he stops. “OH! I’LL GET THE PANCAKES!!”
“I brought them, I’ll be getting them.”
“ah…sorry! I got too excited…” there's a light red dusting Tsukasa’s face as he scratches his neck.
“Then how about I make some tea,” Touya hums with a smile on his face, but you don't fail to catch the flash of fear in the other 3 boys’ faces….should you be worried too..?
— ♡ —
The boys have a few desks arranged to form a table. As Tsukasa mentioned, it's been widened so that there is one space next to Rui and one space next to Tsukasa. Akito and Touya walk over to the corner of the room, where Akito grabs a wrapped tray and Touya opens the closet.
Still feeling awkward and a bit out of place, you take a seat next to Tsukasa, you feel just a bit more at home with the familiarity of having him near you.
Akito hums a tune as he walks in with a tray in hand, he places it as the others gather around…
about a dozen pancakes, soft whip cream on top and an assortment of berries decorating on top.
“Who would've thought Shinonome-kun made these…they look delicious!” Rui laughs as he reaches out with a fork. “Haha! I wouldn't have known you were good at baking, Akito!” Tsukasa smiles as he does the same.
you look at Akito and you see his cheeks just slightly redden at the compliments. The ginger clears his throats “well, just hurry and take a bite”
Tsukasa stabs a pancake with his fork before practically shoving half of it down his throat…you don't question how a boy as small as him can do that. you don't wanna particularly know. “AKITO, THIS IS DELICIOUS!” he talks with his mouth full and in a single bite has already managed to get icing smeared on his face.
You stare down at the pancake in front of you, meddling with the fork in your hand looking for the best angle to get just the perfect amount of whip-cream, berries and actual pancake.
Akito stays quiet, you see him taking quick glances at you. Was he…waiting for you to take a bite?
you bite down. The whip cream was sweet and full of flavour–had he made this himself? “This is really good. Thank you, Akito” You manage to say through small bites, this was really really good!
“Why are you thanking me? ‘S not like I made them for you or anything” Akito murmurs, and wait. this sounds familiar, have you heard this before..?
“Eh? I thought you technically did, Tsukasa said–” the ginger cuts you off “That doesn't mean I made it exactly for you, idiot.”
“Alright, alright….” You don't bother trying to argue again his weird logic and dismiss the conversation.
That's when Touya marches in with a tea set in his hands. He carefully places a teacup in front of the 5 of you before setting down the teapot next to the cupcake tray
“I know this club is run by Tsukasa and Rui but…how do you keep a whole tea set in a classroom?” You say, swirling the tea in your hand, looking at Touya.
He makes a noise of confusion before answering; “oh! don't worry, the teachers gave us permission! After all, a hot cup of tea helps you enjoy a good book,” he smiles before taking his seat in between Akito and Tsukasa.
“Ah…i guess so” you don't bother questioning the weird tendencies of the club members at this point. That's when Rui laughs, “Oh, don't get intimidated by Aoyagi-kun! he's just trying to impress you”
Touya looks embarrassed at the older boy's words, “eh…that's not…” he turns away fiddling with his hands “you know what i mean…”
“yeah i believe you,” you feel slightly bad for him “Tea and reading might not be a pastime for me, but I at least enjoy tea."
“I'm glad…” Touya faintly smiles to himself in relief.
Rui raises an eyebrow before turning his attention to you and smiling. “So what made you consider the literature club?”
“um…” you were afraid that you'd get asked this question. Something tells you that you shouldn't tell Rui that you were practically dragged here by Tsukasa. “Well, I haven't joined any clubs yet, and Tsukasa seemed really happy here, so..."
Rui laughs, “oya, don't be so embarrassed~ we’ll make sure to make you feel right at home! as president of the club it's my responsibility to do so”
Tsukasa laughs as he pulls Rui closer to him, “Rui really is a great club-president!” Touya nods at the blond’s words.
“I'm surprised there aren't more people here,” you're not. “it must be hard to start a new club”
Rui nods “you could put it that way, Not many people are very interested in putting out all the effort to start something brand new..." he looks away, looking at the ground "You have to work hard to convince people that you're both fun and worthwhile." then he looks at all 4 of his club-mates, a glint of determination in his eyes “But it makes school events, like the festival, that much more important~ I'm confident that we can do a lot”
“YEAH!!” Tsukasa grabs Rui by the arm, clinging onto him as the other boy laughs. Touya laughs lightly, “We’ll do our best”. “Hell yeah we will!” Akito joins in.
Everyone enthusiastically agrees. Such different boys, all interested in the same goal...Must've been such a weird fate for all of them to run into each other. You find yourself enjoying the idea of hanging out with them.Though you still don't really know if you can keep up with their level of enthusiasm about literature….
Touya claps his hand quietly, trying to fill in the empty noise “[PLAYER], what kinda things do you read?”
“Oh well ah….” considering you barely read anything outside of your school textbooks, you don't have a good answer to this whatsoever. “....comic books” you mutter quietly, half jokingly.
you notice Akito’s head perk up, looks like he wants to say something but he doesn't. Touya sighs “Not much of a reader I suppose…”
“Well, that can always change!” you spoke without fully thinking after seeing the sad smile on Touya’s face. “Anyway what about you, Touya?”
Touya traces the rim of his teacup with his fingers. “My favorites are usually novels that build deep and complex fantasy worlds. The level of creativity and craftsmanship behind them is amazing to me. And telling a good story in such a foreign world is equally impressive.” he goes on, a twinkle in his eyes. He seemed so reserved and timid since the moment you walked in, but it's obvious how dear he holds this hobby.
“But you know, I like a lot of things. Stories with deep psychological elements usually immerse me as well. Isn't it amazing how a writer can so deliberately take advantage of your own lack of imagination to completely throw you through a loop?" Touya smiles softly, enjoying the moments of getting to talk about something he enjoys. “Anyway, I've been reading a lot of horror lately…”
“ah…i read a horror book once” you desperately grasp at something you can relate to at least a minimal level. At this rate, Touya might as well be having a conversation with a rock.
“Really? I wouldn't have expected that, Aoyagi-kun. For someone who tends to be as gentle and caring as you…” Rui joins in.
“I guess you could say that…but if a story makes me think, or takes me to another world, then I really can't put it down. Surreal horror is often very successful at changing the way you look at the world, if only for a brief moment” Touya awkwardly fiddles with his hands as he continues speaking
“eh….i hate horror” Tsukasa groans. And Touya nods understandingly “oh? why's that, Tsukasa-senpai?” “Well I just…!” Tsukasa’s eyes meet yours for a split second “nevermind…”
Rui smiles at the blonde, “oh, you like to write about cute fantasy things, correct, Tsukasa-kun?” Tsukasa practically jumps in his seat. “W-WHAT!? WHAT GIVES YOU THAT IDEA!?”
Rui fiddles with his pocket, taking out a piece of paper “You left a piece of scrap paper behind last club meeting. It looked like you were working on a poem called--"
Tsukasa grabs at Rui, pawing at him, like a really non threatening kitten, not really affecting the taller boy in anyway “DON’T SAY IT OUT LOUD!! AND GIVE THAT BACK!!” Rui laughs, “fine fine~” The taller boy gives him the paper, which the blond quickly stuff into his own pocket.
“Tsukasa, you write your own poems now?” this wasn't something you remember him doing in the past, or at least he hadn't mentioned it before.
“Well…Sometimes I do!”
“I think that’s very impressive, why don't you share them sometimes?” you can see his face turn a few shades redder as he averts his eyes. “You…You wouldn't like them.”
Touya hums “I understand how Tsukasa-senpai feels. Sharing that level of writing takes more than just confidence. The truest form of writing is writing to oneself. You must be willing to open up to your readers, exposing your vulnerabilities and showing even the deepest reaches of your heart”
“do you have writing experience too, Aoyagi-kun?” Rui questions, “Maybe if you share some of your work, you can set an example and help Tsukasa-kun feel comfortable enough to share his”
“...”
“ah…seems it's the same for Touya,” you laugh.
You and the 4 boys sit in silence for a moment.
Before Rui speaks up. “I think I have an idea…” Tsukasa perks up, his head cocked to the side like a puppy. while Akito and Touya stare at their club leader quizzically.
He clasps his hands together “let's all go home and make a poem together!” Then the next time we meet, we’ll all share them with each other. Then everyone will be even!”
The other 3 stare as Rui’s words process in their heads. Tsukasa speaks up a few times to disagree but fails to argue. But you find this quite interesting, “yeah, let's do it!”
Rui smiles at your response “It seems our new member likes the idea~ it’ll make all of us get a little bit more comfortable with each other, and strengthen the bond of the club! isn't that right, [PLAYER]?”
Before you nod you remember something. “Hold on…there's one problem”
“Oh?”
Now that the conversation is back to the original topic of you joining the club, you bluntly come forth with what's been on your mind the entire time. “I never said I would join the club yet! Tsukasa might've convinced me to stop but I never made any decision. I still have other clubs to look at and…”
Your mind turns blank and you lose your train of thought as the dejected looks from all 4 of the boys set in. “....um”
Rui speaks first, he clears his throat “but–” Touya cuts him off, his eyes avoid yours “Oh I'm sorry, I thought…” Akito just crosses his arms and gives you a disappointed look. “[PLAYER]...” Tsukasa whispers, way too quiet compared to his usual outgoing self.
You audibly gulp, you have no defenses against them. How are you supposed to make a clear-headed decision when it's like this? That is, if writing poems is the price I need to pay in order to spend everyday with these boys. “Right…okay, I've made my decision then, I’ll join the literature club.”
one by one, the boys’ eyes light up.
“YEAHAHAH!! I'M GLAD !!!” Tsukasa immediately pulls you into a hug, excitedly jumping up and down. “H-Hey–” you attempt to fight for a second before giving in to the blond.
Touya lets out a soft laugh “You really did scare me for a moment” “Yeah, if you really just came for the pancakes, I'd be pissed.” Akito joins in.
“Then that makes it official,” Rui claps “Welcome to the literature club!” He says with a smile.
You awkwardly laugh, with Tsukasa still practically wrapped around you, “Ah…Thanks I guess”
“Then, I think with that, we can officially end today's meeting on a good note. Everyone remembers tonight's assignment; write a poem to bring to the next meeting, so we can all share" Rui’s eyes meet yours “[PLAYER], I look forward to see how you express yourself”
“Y-yeah…” Can you really impress four boys with, by the looks of it, completely different tastes? especially with your mediocre writing skills. You can already feel the anxiety swelling up in your chest.
Meanwhile, the 4 boys continue chit-chatting as Akito and Touya clean up their food.
“OH, [PLAYER]! since you're already here, do you want to walk home with me!?” Tsukasa’s voice drags you out of the anxiety-induced-trance you were in. Ah…that's right–in the past you and Tsukasa used to walk home together as well, that was before he had begun to stay after-school for his club. You sigh,
“Alright, might as well”
— ♡ —
With that the two of you depart the classroom and make your way home. Though, the whole way your mind wanders back and forth between the four boys;
Tsukasa,
Akito,
Touya,
And of course, Rui.
Would you grow to enjoy the decision of joining this club or will you soon begin to regret it? spending every day till graduation after school at the literature club…perhaps, you’ll grow close to one of the boys?
‘Alright! I'll just need to make the most of my circumstances, and I'm sure good fortune will find me.’ you wonder, determined to make the best of this 'And I guess that starts with writing a poem tonight...'