Worlds Apart

10

Shouta hated having to spend time at his mother's annoying dinner parties. He especially hated it when it involved the Fukukados. It wasn't that he particularly disliked them all. They seemed like a nice enough family - nice enough compared to some other people he knew - but it was more the fact that they were trying to force him and Emi together. Maybe he wouldn't hate her as much if he wasn't constantly being pushed towards her. It was annoying.

But he didn't have much of a choice when it came to it, so he just sat back in the armchair, hoping that if he didn't make any noise, by some miracle he might be able to turn invisible and be left alone for once. That was all he wanted and somehow that seemed to be too much already.

Instead he had to sit here and listen and nod along to the conversation that was happening, even though he had no idea what was currently going on with it. He could feel Emi's eyes on him. Why did she have to stare at him so much? It was really annoying. She knew damn well that he wasn't interested in her in the slightest, so why was she even trying so hard? Surely, there were tons of other boys out there she'd have a chance with. Why did it have to be him of all people?

Another thing that really annoyed him was how weird the makeup felt on his bruise. It felt sticky and greasy and itchy. He wanted to touch it, but he was too scared to mess it up, so he just suffered in silence, while he felt Emi's eyes on his face. He wasn't even sure whether she was staring because the bruise was still showing or because she was Emi. Why couldn't she just stop?

Shouta sighed quietly to himself, hoping that no one had heard that. He knew that Y/N was in the house right now, as well. His mother had gotten all the staff to work overtime and help out in the kitchen and with cleaning. The place was literally radiating perfection, but Shouta didn't care much for that.

He'd be enjoying all this way more if he could just hang out with Y/N instead. He wouldn't even care if she was yelling at him about something, it would still be preferable to this. But even if she was standing right in this room, he wouldn't be able to talk to her. His mother would freak out.

Anyone he usually associated with would freak out about that, except for maybe Oboro and Hizashi. And Hizashi's parents, they seemed more relaxed than most other wealthy parents. Shouta liked being around them, even though their household was loud and messy and chaotic.

But at least they had cats in the house. Going over to Hizashi's place just to spend some time with the cats was one of Shouta's favourite things to do. He would have cats himself, if his mother let him, but she didn't like any animals. So pets weren't allowed in the house, which meant no cat for Shouta.

"Hey, Shou, you look like something's on your mind." Emi's voice suddenly snapped him out of his thoughts. He shot her a glare. Why did she have to draw attention to him like that? He could have sat back and just been alone with his thoughts in this room full of people, but she had to call him out like that, huh?

"I was just zoning out." he muttered, his mother shooting him a lethal glare. He couldn't really think of anything better to say, even if he had wanted to. Emi looked at him for a second too long, before she started chuckling, which made it even more awkward. But that was just how Emi always acted.

Shouta would have done anything if he could only escape right about now. But there was no way out. No excuse would do. He could only temporarily escape, if he pretended he had to go to the bathroom, which he already quite frequently did, so it was getting kind of suspicious.

"You're so funny, Shou! But seriously, what were you thinking about?" she wanted to know. Shouta had no idea what to say to it. He hadn't really thought of anything he could share with the rest of the room. Then again, everything could set off his mother in an instant, so nothing was really safe.