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Straight hair.
Straight A's.
Straight forward.
That was the mentality Junpei Yoshino had the moment he moved from Kawasaki to Sendai after telling his mom about the incident involving his now-disbanded Film Appreciation Club. That time at Satozakura High School changed him for the worse, leaving him physically and mentally scarred with little hints in the form of long, chin-length hair, a thin, pale body, and a slouched posture.
So in an attempt to start over with a clean slate, Junpei repeated those three things in his head. Straight hair. Straight A's. Straight forward. Don't do anything weird to stand out. Luckily the students at Sugisawa High were far more accepting of the Film Appreciation Club, so he was able to restart it with bigger success, even becoming the club president. He made sure to show up to the club room once school was done to retain his perfect clean slate.
Even after this mild accomplishment, Junpei didn't want to screw things up out of accident. If his club friends invited him out to karaoke, he made sure to not go crazy and didn't really take part in singing. It wasn't like he could sing along to his favorite tunes, since they were mostly iconic instrumental pieces from his favorite horror movies. And if those same friends asked how he was doing, he wouldn't really have much to say.
Aside from the bullying at his old high school, Junpei had a very typical life. His parents divorced when he was in elementary school and his mom often spoiled him whenever she could. Sometimes he would ask himself what he did to get so far, especially after moving out of that toxic environment of a school. Overall, things were very mundane, which was much-needed.
That is, until a certain commotion happened after school...
According to passing rumors, a fierce disagreement between the Occult Research Club and the track team broke out because of a supposed problematic freshman. The freshman in question kept on refusing to join track and field, preferring to research various ghost activities. Eventually things got heated to the point when the freshman was challenged to a shot-put challenge by Coach Takagi, the track and field supervisor.
So much like other students, Junpei decided to check out the shot-put challenge. Naturally Takagi went first and showed off to the growing crowd. But the brunette couldn't care less. He just wanted to see what all the hype was about.
"Hey, so, can I throw it however I want?" the problematic freshman asked.
Takagi nodded in response. "For this challenge, you can throw however you want," he explained. "After all, I know this event isn't your strong suit. You probably never even-"
WHEEEEEEEEE!
Takagi finally shut up when the problematic student threw the shot-put ball at one of the football nets, denting it in the process. One of the other students went to check on the distance.
"Uh... About thirty meters, I guess."
"Yes!" the problematic student cheered as he fist pumped. "I crushed it!"
Junpei was at a loss for words. He thought this pink-haired boy was some kind of wimp. But he threw that shot-put ball like it was a baseball. The brunette stood in silence as other students left, yet he watched as this unusually strong boy rejoined his friends in casual conversation. Then it hit him.
This boy had a very bright smile.
Junpei let out a small gasp as he felt unusual tightness in his heart. What was that all about? Why did he suddenly feel a little funny?
Was this...love?
He forced himself to shake away the thought. Nope. No way that was love. It would be too strange to feel that way towards another guy, especially for someone as perfect as Junpei Yoshino. He couldn't risk falling into that pit of bullying again. Thinking that way gave him countless bruises, a swallowed cockroach, ripped movie posters, broken DVDs, and ten cigarette burn marks on his forehead (which made him clutch his face through his thick bangs). He worked hard to cast aside that past so he wouldn't let history repeat. He just had to remember his mental mantra.
Straight hair.
Straight A's.
Straight forward.
Straight boy.
That's what Junpei was. A perfect boy who was also club president. There was no way he could have such thoughts.
...Right?
Months passed since that fateful shot-put challenge. Since then, Junpei learned more about the rebellious pinkette that couldn't escape his mind. His name was Yuji Itadori and he was really interested in Jennifer Lawrence movies. He was also super athletic, but he preferred to hang out at the Occult Research Club to help his friends.
Speaking of clubs, instead of having a relaxing summer, Junpei found out the Occult Research and Film Appreciation clubs were going to take part in a joint trip to Kyoto. While Yuji and his friends visited shrines and potential haunting spots, the Film Appreciation Club stopped by various studios, especially Uzumasa.
But the more interesting things happened on the first night of the joint trip. Both clubs were staying in a local inn. After all the students were bathed and wearing cozy yukatas, they gathered in the communal dining area for a hot seafood meal. But as some cruel twist of fate, Junpei just so happened to be sitting next to Yuji. Aside from that, he genuinely had fun socializing with his classmates, all while enjoying delicious food and drinks. And right now, a fun little story was shared by the pinkette.
"So Takeshi..." Yuji continued. "He's all full of confidence and he yells, 'This is the larva of a weird species! It might even be poisonous! Get back, don't touch it!' So then, of course, I picked it up and it turned out to be a konjac noodle from lunch!"
Junpei wasn't laughing, but he couldn't help but smile slightly. Yuji had such a strong charisma that drew him in...but in a more platonic way. This was the most exciting night the brunette ever had, even with Yuji's enticing grins. Time passed and soon the students started to do movie character impersonations. Junpei was a little reluctant to take part due to knowing his best impersonation wouldn't make sense for those who never saw the Human Earthworm movies. So he chose to sit back and watch the others having fun. When it was Yuji's turn, he took a sip of cola from his cup before picking up a nearby green onion and holding it up horizontally.
"Look at what I have created!" the pinkette exclaimed. "I have made fire! I...have made fire!"
What happened next was totally unexpected. A soft, raspy sound emerged from Junpei's throat as he moved his hand towards his mouth. He was actually laughing. He didn't notice the very few gazes towards him until he finally calmed down. Feeling mortified, he lowered his hand and instinctively hunched over as he muttered a quick 'sorry'.
"Did you actually apologize for laughing?" Yuji asked as he moved closer to the brunette. He sounded amused as he spoke.
Junpei didn't know how to respond, especially with Yuji's overly friendly gesture. His first instinct was to say sorry again, but that would be too repetitive. So instead, he silently tried to pretend the pinkette wasn't so close to him. That seemed to backfire when without warning, a hand reached out and moved his bangs away from his right eye, tucking the dark brown locks behind his ear. Normally Junpei would hate it when other people touch his hair, but when he looked upwards and saw Yuji slowly withdrawing his hand, he didn't seem all that bothered.
His face felt warm, unaware of the pink tint appearing on his cheeks.
His eyelashes fluttered slightly before he finally closed his eyes.
His body moved out of instinct.
He leaned forward.
He felt the soft plushness of another person's lips on his own.
And then, silence.
Junpei forcefully pulled back as he heard a small smacking sound from his lips, his eyes opening in genuine panic. Looking around, he could see every single one of his classmates staring at him in shock. But Yuji...
Was that disgust on his face?
Before anything else could happen, Junpei quickly stood up and left the room as fast as he could.
Once Junpei was sure he was a good distance away from the communal dining area, he sat at a small wooden bench and attempted to calm down. But after a single deep breath, a memory appeared in his head.
"Hey guys, this creep was totally staring at my boobs!"
Tears poured out in an instant. That was common for him back at Kawasaki. Girls accused him of staring when he couldn't care less about how they look. There were some occasions when he would get pummeled by guys who claimed to defend the accusers, which would only end poorly when he tried to explain that he felt absolutely nothing towards those coal-hearted female classmates.
He couldn't let that happened to him at his new school.
He couldn't risk backtracking into that dark place.
He had to fix it the only way how. Calm down, go back, and act like the whole thing never happened. Just go back to denying how he felt about the pinkette. It was easier to admit he was confused about his feelings and that was why the impulsive kiss happened. Plus Yuji was already interested in girls. There was no way...
...he...
...would...
...
...
...
The tears only fell harder as Junpei buried his face in his hand, the abrupt movement causing his bangs to fall in front of his face once more. The loud sobs emerging from his throat was inescapable. There was no way he could actually deny it much longer. He felt so repulsive and ugly knowing he tarnished his perfect reputation. He knew the other students would start jeering at him the moment he rejoined. Maybe he could convince his mom to transfer schools aga-
"Junpei?"
He dared not to look up, recognizing that voice as Yuji's. Out of all the students attending the joint trip, <b>he</b> was the last one he wanted to see. So without even bothering to look up, he averted his gaze away from the pinkette. But it seemed he estimated the area incorrectly because he heard a small gasp.
"What are you doing out here?" Yuji asked.
"L... Leave me alone..." Junpei begged.
Yuji didn't move. "Not until you-"
"JUST GO!" Junpei shouted, his voice cracking with sorrow as he finally looked up. His bangs were parted to expose both eyes and a few of his burn scars, revealing how vulnerable he was at the moment. He tried to say more, but his continued sobs left him speechless.
And yet, even after showing this vulnerable side, Yuji stayed put. He reached forward to gently grab Junpei's hands, cradling them with his own. The brunette was too drained to pull back, so he had no choice but to keep crying.
Keep crying...until there were no more tears left to shed.
Eventually Junpei finally calmed down, but his face was still streaked with tears. Yet Yuji didn't release his grip. So left with no other options, Junpei decided to stop running and face whatever would happen next.
"You wanna talk?" Yuji checked.
Junpei slowly nodded. "...Why are you here?" he asked.
"You kissed me and ran out of the room," Yuji recalled. "I was kinda wondering why that happened."
Junpei tensed up a bit. How was he going to get out of this? He never really explained his preference towards other guys. At least, not without people accusing him of being a horny pervert who will flirt with anyone or anything he see. It wasn't like that at all. He just so happened to enjoy wieners over melons.
It was also unfortunate that the current wiener he fancied belonged to the pink-haired boy sitting next to him.
So he didn't have much of a choice.
"You were...sitting close to me," Junpei finally answered as he tried to hide the truth. "And everyone was having a good time. I think I got..." His hands trembled. "...carried away." Hopefully that was enough to get Yuji off his ba-
"Are you gay?"
Hearing those three words come out of Yuji's mouth created newfound panic. This was it. The moment Junpei looses his perfect reputation. Yuji will tell everyone from both clubs about the brunette's attraction to other guys and they will end up repeating the cycle of bullying from his old school. The mere thought of that happening made his body tense up as he waited for the inevitable laugh to kick in and-
Feel a strong pair of hands gently squeeze his own?
"Itadori...?" Junpei muttered.
"It's okay if you like guys," Yuji reassured.
That one sentence changed panic to confusion. "You don't think I'm a...pervert?" Junpei checked.
"Nah," Yuji replied. "Besides, being ordinary's kind of overrated. You should be happy doing whatever you want."
More words of kindness, all of which felt so unfamiliar to Junpei. He looked at the pinkette in awe. Those simple words made him feel alive once more. But why was that? How was he not disgusted by this reveal, just like so many others he met in the past?
"No."
That single bold thought pushed aside all those negative questions. Junpei wasn't sure why, but maybe this was a good time to try and change. Be brave and kind. Accept the ugliness he tried to ignore for far too long. This was his choice to change his mind. So before he could relapse, he decided to genuinely smile.
"Thank you," Junpei spoke.
Yuji responded with a light chuckle. "You feeling better?" he checked.
"A little," Junpei admitted.
"Well it's somethin'," Yuji said. He got to his feet and dragged Junpei off the wooden bench as well. "C'mon. Let's go rejoin the others."
"Sure," Junpei agreed, his gentle smile staying put. Even if it was clear Yuji might not return his feelings, at least he was able to kick off a good friendship. And who knows? Maybe the other students in the Occult Research and Film Appreciation clubs will be just as kind as well.