Chapter Text
Nakamura let out a yawn as the principal's speech went on and on. He had lost track of what was being said and had completely let the voice turn to mush in his mind. He turned his focus back to the front just in time to see the prettiest boy he had ever laid eyes on, flash a brilliant smile and a wave towards his direction. Nakamura was stunned, his heart fluttered and he could feel his face begin to warm up.
Then much to his surprise he managed to lock eyes with the beautiful stranger. The boy’s wide brown eyes looked into his. They stared at each other for what felt like fleeting seconds. Their contact only being broken by the other giving him a small smile and a wave. Nakamura shyly returned the wave as he felt the drumming in his chest accelerate. Could this be what people called love at first sight!!
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The entrance ceremony went on and on. Hirose could feel himself start to get drowsy. He had overslept and arrived with only a second to spare, not having my time to greet any of his friends. Lazily he began to look around the crowded room. Once he turned around he spotted a familiar face, Todoroki. He waved towards him and wondered how many people ended up applying to Hoshimi High. His eyes lowered, reaching the boy in front of Todorki.
Hirose could feel his heart skip a beat, his hand remained in the air as he froze, his eyes locking with the stranger. His eyes slightly widened and his face flushed at the other's intense stare. The boy had jet black hair that rested slightly above his deep eyes. . The boy had a mysterious and cool air around him that made Hirose want to know more.
In a daze he gave the stranger a shy smile and wave. Hoping the other didn’t find the encounter odd. Quickly but hesitantly he turned around. Through the rest of the assembly he resisted the urge to turn around to catch another glimpse of the mysterious stranger.
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Hirose stared at the board in front of him but his focus was elsewhere. It had been a couple of days and he had made zero progress towards approaching the other. When he noticed they were in the same class he was ecstatic. The feeling was short lived when Hirose had ended up towards the front and Nakamura had ended up somewhere in the back. Now he was left with the task of coming up with a plan on how to approach.
He began to scribble in his notebook as he thought. Usually, he would always just walk up to others and say hi. But in this case that was too forward, too casual. He was getting nervous from the idea alone.
The sound of pencil to paper and chalk filled the room as the teacher explained the current topic. With everyone’s attention elsewhere Hirose took this as his chance to quickly take a glimpse towards Nakamura’s direction. The other appeared to be deep in thought. With long elegant fingers he quickly and neatly jotted down the teacher's words. Hirose's gaze lingered, — maybe he could ask him to eat lunch together. He quickly turned back towards the front. He was getting over zealous! That was even more direct!
He looked towards the board again. It might as well have been written in a different language, Hirose hadn’t been paying attention and was completely lost. That’s what he gets! He sighed and began to doodle again. His eyes widened—that’s it! He could try to ask Nakamura for help! The perfect excuse!
Whenever Nakamura was called to answer a question he always got it right. He could picture it now, after Nakamura helped him Hirose would treat him to a meal to show him how much he appreciated the help, and he would say, “If it’s no trouble can I ask you for help from time to time” and Nakamura would say, “Feel free I always have time for you.” Heh Heh. Now the only issue was, Nakamura always left the classroom right when the bell rang for Hirose to catch up to him he would have to hurry.
He began to count the seconds to the rhythmically slow ticking of the classroom clock. He wished he could start packing now but he would have to be patient.
The dismissal bell finally rang after five agonizing boring minutes and Hirose scrambled to his feet. He was about to leave but then he felt an arm on his shoulder.
“Man today’s class was a drag!” Takeuchi complained “Did you understand anything?”
Crap! He had completely forgotten his friends had invited him to hang out and he couldn’t just ditch them now! His eyes followed as Nakamura disappeared into the hallway. “Nope, not at all,” he sighed.
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Hirose had gotten awfully lucky this morning, his Aquapet CD had arrived early, he found a 100 yen coin, and he actually got to school on time. All these lucky coincidences had to be a sign!
He could feel it! Today would be the day they become friends! He waited with bated breath as the lunch bell rang. The sound of footsteps crowded the room as his classmates scattered towards the exits. Did everyone decide to eat outside today?! No matter, he sprung to his feet. Hirose kept his eyes on Nakamura, careful not to lose him in the crowd. He moved around carefully as he made his way to the door.
He let out a sigh of relief he was out! He peered towards the hall. Nakamura hadn’t gotten far yet. Once the crowd began to clear out, he had to basically jog to keep up with Nakamura who could be surprisingly fast at times. Hirose kept his distance waiting for the perfect moment to make his move. Slowly the gap between the two began to close. Hirose froze when they came to a stop. They were so close that if he stretched out his arm his fingers would graze Nakamura’s back.
They were outside in front of a vending machine. A small breeze ran through his hair, the smell of fresh grass filling his nose. Hirose bit his lip and he clasped his sweaty hand. The serenity of the scene was promptly disturbed by Nakamura reaching towards his pocket. The sudden movement made Hirose's confidence come crumbling down like a tower of cards. His heart beat rang echoing in his ears. He scrambled backwards towards the nearest wall wanting to hide.
He crouched down covering his crimson face with his hands. He quickly smacked his face with his hands, snap out of it! He had to compose himself, he got back on his feet and peeped from the wall watching as Nakamura put a coin in the vending machine. Even buying a drink he looked cool! He could feel his legs begin to feel wobbly. He gulped. Come on go! No one else was around, Nakamura and him were alone, now was his chance. Or, maybe he should try again another day. No, he shook his head. Today was the day! He didn't spend all lunch following him for nothing.
“Oh, hey Hirose!” A familiar voice called.
Hirose jumped, he felt like a bucket of ice water had just been dropped on him. “Oomori! W-weren’t you helping out your club?”
“I just came to grab a drink, are you getting something too?” Oomori said as he began to walk towards the vending machine. Hirose was about to stop him before he realized that Nakamura had already left.
“Thanks for lending me your CD,” Oomori said as he put his coins in. “I’ll buy yours”
“Thanks…” was the only word Hirose was able to muster.
As he walked to class he reflected on today's events. He was so determined to “accidentally” bump into Nakamura only to actually bump into one of his friends. Maybe following Nakamura around like a lost puppy wasn’t such a good idea.
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So far, Hirose’s plans to become friends with Nakamura had been total failures. Ugh! Why was it so hard! It was time, time to take a more direct approach. He had rejected the idea before trying to play it cool — but as time passed he started to become more desperate. At this rate they would graduate before they ever became friends!
He laid on his bed staring at the ceiling. He could ask for a pen? No, they sat too far apart! He could buy an “extra” snack, and give it to him but he had no idea what foods he liked! He should try something more simple. He could try saying good morning? They were in the same class so it won’t be that odd right. Plus he was social enough that Nakamura wouldn’t dig too much into him randomly saying good morning!
Now the hard part was getting to school early. Nakamura was typically at school super early. He only knew this because one time he had gotten to school early with Oomori and he was sure they were the first ones there but Nakamura was also there along with some of their other classmates. Nakamura was always super prepared! He grabbed his phone and set two alarms just in case one didn't ring.
The next day, Hirose woke up before the morning sun rose. He got ready so fast he believed he set a world record. He smirked to himself so far so good! He grabbed his bag from his bed and began to make his way down stairs.
“You’re up early,” his sister had teased as she took a sip from her tea.
“I just woke up early today sis! That's it!” He quickly replied as he dashed out the house. He could swear he heard her laugh but he didn’t have time to dwell on it. He had to get to school before Nakamura!
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Once he arrived at school it dawned on him that he really didn’t think this through. Once he changed his shoes he quickly hid behind the shoe lockers, he couldn’t risk being seen by the teachers. Now the issue was how should he go about saying good morning. Should he call out to him, tap him on the shoulder, or just wave and hope he notices. Should he just casually walk up to him at the shoe locker or wait until Nakamura is in class but Nakamura sits all the way in the back. And what should he say after? Should he say anything?
Before he could continue to spiral, Nakamura walked into the school and towards the shoe locker. Hirose felt frozen as a nauseating feeling overcame him; he wasn't expecting the other to be here so soon! He didn't have time to react as Nakamura quickly began to make his way to the classroom. It was now or never! He snapped out of his state of shock. He trailed slightly behind Nakamura and his heart rate sped up as he got closer and closer. He was about to reach out to him but Nakamura turned the corner to walk into the classroom. Hirose stood, his hand barely extended. He couldn’t do it and once again he watched as Nakamura walked away. He defeatedly walked towards his seat and began to take out his textbook.
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Hirose sat in the mostly empty classroom tapping his pencil on his notebook. Why was this so hard? He thought to himself usually he would be able to just walk up and start a conversation but when it came to Nakamura he was unable to work up the confidence to do so. It was so unlike him and he didn’t like it. He hated to admit but he now understood what his friends meant it was hard to approach girls.
It had already been a month and they hadn’t even become friends. Though it wasn’t a total waste he had managed to learn some things like how Nakamura was usually by himself. Which would be useful if he could work up the courage to talk to him! He sighed getting worked up over it wouldn’t help him right now.
“Hirose, let's head home!” Takeuchi called out.
Right had agreed to walk home with his friends today. “Give me like one sec!” He laughed apologetically.
“Staying late again?” Takeuchi asked.
In his effort to make a plan last night he had sort of completely forgotten about his homework.
Hirose looked at his notebook and began to write. While he was working he had dropped his eraser. As he went to pick it up he noticed that along with some others who had also stayed back Nakamura was also there! Not all hope was lost!
His friends called out to him again — who was he kidding, all his previous attempts had failed, he sighed as he finished up his work. He turned to grab his bag only to be greeted with a close up of Nakamura's face! He wasn't expecting the other to be there! His eyes darted around Nakamura as he felt the heat in his face rise at the closeness. This was it, come on say something! As he was about to speak, Nakamura suddenly ran off. Hirose didn’t know what else to do and just stood there for a while. What did that mean! Why did he run off screaming! He turned to look behind him, maybe there was something behind him like a bug or something and that freaked Nakamura out. That had to be it right?!
Who was he kidding! Nakamura ran off at the sight of him. Did Nakamura hate him? Hirose grabbed his things and slowly walked out of the classroom feeling defeated. He wasn't expecting them to be best friends right away but he wasn’t expecting the other to be so repulsed by him either.
“Hey Hirose, you dropped something!” He heard a girl’s voice behind him which was then followed by a loud slam.
He turned around at the noise. Nakamura had slammed his shoe down on his handkerchief. Hirose's eyes followed as Nakamura robotically lifted up his now dirty handkerchief off the floor and stiffly handed it to him.
“Hey, you dropped this,” his face was tense as he uttered his words, “Take it.” He extended his arm.
The classroom felt tense, the silence only being broken by his classmate saying “So why did you step on it?”
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While walking home with his friends his mind replayed the moment in his mind over and over. He debated if Nakamura hated him or not. He picked up his handkerchief but he also stepped on it and ran off screaming earlier.
“Earth to Hirose! Dude did you hear anything I said?” Takeuchi waved his arm in front of Hirose’s face.
“Sorry I’m a little tired today,” Hirose said, rubbing the back of his neck.
“You stay up late again?" Mukai added.
“Yeah,” Hirose laughed.
“Whatever man, like I was saying, after trying again I managed to beat the boss!” Takeuchi continued.
“Woah really? Nice!” Hirose said.
“Yeah, i hate to say it but you guys were right I just had to keep trying!” Takeuchi continued.
“See we told you, but you just wouldn’t stop complaining” Mukai remarked.
“Whatever man!” Takeuchi gave him a playful shove.
Hirose shook his head out of his thoughts. Now wasn’t the time to be negative, at the very least they had finally interacted. He would still have a bunch of chances to talk to Nakamura and like Takeuchi he would just have to try again plus now that the ice was broken it would be easier! He was determined, they will become friends before the end of the year!
