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The loud ting of the bell echoed in Nakamura's mind for the past five minutes as he walked home from the salon. The panicked voice of the hairdresser repeats in his head every time he takes a step down the snowy path. What's supposed to be a quick and simple trim of his bangs suddenly became a disaster the moment he noticed the amount of hair being chopped off from his head on the floor.
Nakamura's initial reaction was a mix of panic and embarrassment when he was left with an unrecognizable, ultra-short, “bad-boy” haircut that he only ever sees in mangas! But he can’t do anything about it now, can he? All he could do was blame his stupid self for letting the hairdresser take control since he was too shy to speak up his request properly.
His new haircut felt really strange. There were no more strands of hair obscuring his view of sight and no more poking at his eyes every time he moved. But at the same time, Nakamura's starting to get conscious of his forehead. It's not that his forehead is large enough to be made fun of, he is just not used to it being revealed to the fresh air after months of hiding underneath his hair.
The initial embarrassment faded into the background once he calmed down. His hair would grow back again anyway. He placed back up the hood onto his head since he really did not want people seeing his hair…
Now, all Nakamura could think about is how would Hirose react?
Nakamura placed his thumb and index finger on his chin as he began to imagine what Hirose's reaction would be like the next day? Would he laugh at the ridiculous cut? Would he compliment the hair and possibly compliment Nakamura himself too?!
Or perhaps, Hirose is into the “bad boy” types and would ultimately fall in love with him because of his new haircut?! Nakamura came to that silly conclusion when Hirose showed interest in Otogiri-sensei, especially when he pulled out a stick to smoke.
Just the thought of Hirose complimenting his hair had elicited a giggle and a goofy grin on the boy’s face.
Fortunately, Nakamura is well aware that Hirose only admires and looks up to their teacher despite his not-so impressive attributes for someone to be looked up to. Though, he still couldn't help but get jealous whenever Hirose pays too much attention to Otogiri-sensei!
As Nakamura continued to daydream, his eyes were practically closed as he walked back home— which really is something one should not do, especially since the roads are now slippery because of the weather.
“Maybe Hirose would even touch my hair-” Nakamura muttered to himself as he turned to a corner when he suddenly bumped onto something, or rather someone.
Nakamura immediately snapped out of his trance and furrowed his eyebrows, “You should watch where you're going next tim…e..” His voice faded as he realized who he bumped into.
There, standing right before him is none other than the perverted weirdo! Kisei Matsumura! Didn't they just see each other the previous day at the mall?!
Nakamura was already bugged because of how his hair had turned out despite his fantasies, and now Matsumura is here!
“You watch where you're going next time, Nakamura!” The taller boy replied as he brushed off his coat, his eyes then immediately landing on Nakamura's eyes despite the hem of the hoodie obscuring the top part of his face. Something is off.
That response made Nakamura clench his fists, a big part of him was pissed off at the sight of Matsumura, but another was him being wary and conscious on why the perv is staring at his face like that.
“Oh, shut up! You were the one who was staring like a fool on your cellphone!” As usual, Nakamura didn't back down, not when it came to him. The boy glared at Matsumura, his eyes practically drilling holes into the taller boy's skull.
Nakamura was of course expecting a bite back. A sharp remark or even a huff of annoyance to his reply, unfortunately none came.
Why is this perv acting weirder than usual?!
It was also strange to Matsumura.
Of course, he was starting to get pissed when the shorter boy decided to throw the blame on him again. But there was an itch he couldn't scratch the moment he saw the hoodie on Nakamura's head.
Is he hiding something?
After a whole minute of standing there like an idiot in the cold, waiting for Matsumura’s response. Nakamura ultimately lets out a huff out loud. Fine! He'll also ignore him and let him experience how it feels.
But what happened next was something Nakamura's imaginative and delusional brain didn't even think of.
Matsumura’s hand reached over to him. Nakamura automatically flinched and almost ducked his head down to avoid the incoming impact, expecting a punch from the taller boy for his rude behavior and sudden accusation but instead… he felt a hand on top of his head.
Is Matsumura going to pull my hair instead?!
Nakamura began to panic as the thought settled into his mind, already ready to fight back when suddenly Matsumura's hand pulled the hoodie off of his head instead, leaving him speechless and baffled.
“What the heck are you doing?!” Nakamura sputtered as he brought the hoodie back on and took a step away from Matsumura. God damnit, he really is a perverted weirdo!
Matsumura pulled his hand away, confused as to why he even did that in the first place. At least the itch he had earlier has been satisfied.
When he pulled the hood away from the shorter boy's head, he had expected a ridiculous and embarrassing looking cut. Something to tease Nakamura about and piss him off once again. He can't help it. Riling Nakamura is a tad bit better than poking fun at Hirose. Nakamura reacted like his family was being mauled by a monster, his facial expressions were much more… sheepish and flustered compared to Hirose.
Wait. Is he comparing this guy to Hirose? No, no. Hirose is better than anyone. In fact, he is the best.
But when he saw the new hair on Nakamura even for a quick moment, his heart did a traitorous little flip. He didn't expect it to look good on him.
The first time Matsumura saw Nakamura on his way to pick up Hirose a few months ago, the first thing he immediately noticed about him was his hair. They were practically swallowing his eyes on how long it was. It reminded him of a cat with overgrown fur. At first, Matsumura didn't know why that was the first thing that popped into his mind, but as he spent a whole day bickering and showing off to him, he now associates Nakamura with a cat.
So seeing Nakamura without hair all around his face was definitely surprising. Did Nakamura look so good before that he had to hide his beauty underneath his hair? This isn't fair, Matsumura wanted to see Nakamura without the hood again, but he won't pry further.
Matsumura smiled a tad bit, which came out as an arrogant smirk to Nakamura instead.
“Why are you hiding your hair?” He asked, leaning forward as to tease the shorter boy.
Nakamura immediately became furious when he saw that smile on his face. This is exactly why he did not want to be around this weirdo!
“Can't a guy wear a hoodie?” Nakamura immediately replied, fixing his hood with an indignant huff as he continued to glare at Matsumura. Curse him and his perfectly styled hair!
“Of course, you can. Personally, I think it looks good. The hair fits you, Nakamura.”
What?
Was Nakamura going deaf or did this perverted weirdo just complimented him?
For a split second, Nakamura was about to believe the compliment but then he glanced at Matsumura’s smile.
Ah, of course. He's making fun of me. Of course, I have a horrendous cut, why would he compliment me?
“Lie better next time.” Nakamura replied, albeit a little bitterly. He's getting made fun of again. It was always like this. He'd think somebody is genuinely giving him a flattering comment only to realize it was a joke. So why would Matsumura be any different?
Matsumura could immediately tell something was up, well, to be honest. There was also something that bothered Nakamura every time the boy saw him.
The taller boy cleared his throat, awkwardly scratching his neck as he tried to approach him once again.
“I'm telling the truth. It brings out your eyes, Nakamura.” The weirdo, Matsumura suddenly said.
Nakamura physically had to stop himself from freaking out and running away when he heard the clarification coming out of the other boy's mouth. Since when did Nakamura allow this weirdo to compliment him?!
The shorter boy crossed his arms, turning his head away with an indignant and stubborn huff. “Trying to get on my good side now, huh? I'm still not returning those pictures of Hirose! In your dreams!” Nakamura declared despite his heart stupidly raising at a mere compliment from someone other than Hirose.
What's happening? Why is his heart doing that stupid doki doki that only happens when he's around his beloved Hirose? Why is he suppressing a grin that's threatening to form on his mouth just because of that simple sentence! Is he being bewitched by Matsumura? That must be it! Nakamura's heart only beats Hirose!
Yet despite his mind going haywire, Nakamura discreetly glanced at the boy in front of him, assessing Matsumura from head to toe.
That was the first time someone genuinely said something nice to him. It has been so long that he could barely remember who said it and when.
Well, actually, he does remember. It was Hirose who last complimented him. How could he forget? Ever since that day on their field trip, he has been repeating the exact words Hirose said to him. But somehow, being complimented by this… weirdo sparked confusing feelings for the poor boy.
Perhaps it's due to the fact that he rarely gets to receive kind words that the provider genuinely means. He has gotten so used to backhanded compliments that when someone other than Hirose gave it to him, it made his heart flutter stupidly.
Matsumura was about to respond at the jab when suddenly the boy dismissed him.
“I'm running late, excuse me, I'll see you around.” Nakamura declared, offering a slight bow towards the taller boy and practically running away from Matsumura.
Stupid, stupid, stupid! You're so stupid, Nakamura! Why is he running away?! Nakamura wanted to hear more compliments from that weirdo despite him trying to look like he's disregarding Matsumura’s words even if he doesn't want to admit it to himself.
As the shorter boy left in a hurry, Matsumura stood there. That must be one of Nakamura's defense mechanisms. Watching the retreating back of Nakamura. And even from afar, Matsumura swears he can see a faint tint of red on the tips of Nakamura’s ear. Now, he doesn't know whether it's from the cold weather or for some other reason but Matsumura is sure that Nakamura didn't have the flush until he complimented him.
Surprisingly, the thought of making Nakamura flush sparked a slight smile on his lips.
Huh.
Matsumura wants to see the boy blush even more because of his advances and not because of Hirose, the boy's crush. Yes, Matsumura knew and noticed the moment he saw Nakamura stuttering like a fool around his bestfriend.
Matsumura went home slightly satisfied and a plan forming in his mind.
As soon as Nakamura was sure he was far enough, he slowed his running down. Ultimately, halting to catch his breath. Running in this weather is not for the weak! After a few minutes, he managed to make his heart calm down. Fixing his posture, he found himself beside some sort of an abandoned store, a large window on the wall with fading stickers that wrote the words “Pet Treats” in bold, large letters.
Nakamura stared at his reflection. The hoodie hiding his hair, his sticky sweat sticking on every part of his jacket, his face flushed both because of the weather and that weirdo.
But, his focus was entirely on his head.
“I'm telling the truth. It brings out your eyes.” The sentence kept pestering his mind, the same way Hirose’s words got stuck in his brain. How can a simple hair cut bring his eyes out? Matsumura is spitting such useless and stupid words.
He peeled off the hoodie of his head, revealing the hair cut he deemed horrendous before encountering Matsumura. Nakamura ran a hand through his now soft hair.
He's getting used to this cut.
Nakamura then walked home with his hoodie off and a stupid small grin that he has been trying to repress for the past minute.