Odd Jobs

Chapter 8 - Library Lecture

"Oh, sweet Mika~", Ferid purred as he walked up to the bar. It was around 5AM, and all the customers had finally left. "We need to have a little chat."

This was it, Mika thought. He's getting fired.

"W-What for?", he asked his boss.

"Well, you haven't been covering that many shifts lately. Also, a whiskey please." Mika nodded, and poured him a glass whilst listening to what he had to say. "So I'm getting a little worried in terms to rent. You mention you barely make enough to get by, but you decline more shifts? I fail to wrap my head around it, sweet boy."

"I would definitely cover more shifts if I could, but, my exams are starting soon. And I want to pour as much effort into them as I can."

"Ah, yes, I see. You're sure it doesn't have to do with your little boyfriend that Crowley told me about? What was his name, Yuu?" The blonde felt his heart pick up pace, and his stomach acidic once more. It felt gross hearing Ferid pronounce his name. Yuu was too good for that.

"He's just a friend. I don't have a boyfriend."

"Hmm, alright~! I'll stick with your story of exams, in that case. Let me know if that little friend of yours ever needs a job!" Mika glared at Ferid. If looks could kill, he'd have to go under the radar for the rest of his life. "I'm only teasing you. But in all seriousness.", he paused. "Your rent is late, Mika dear. What's your solution?"

"W-Well... We had to pay a tuition fee this month, so I didn't have enough spare for rent... Uhm, I could-"

"Sweetheart. Look at me, let's come to an agreement." Mika looked up at Ferid. "I'll cut the rent for this month, but only if you agree to take the Friday shifts again." The blonde sighed, eventually nodding.

"Alright. Thank you for the offer, Ferid."

"It was my pleasure, Mika." Ferid got up from his barstool, and Mika was left alone at the main area of the club. He sighed, resting his head in his hands. This was gonna be an incredibly stressfull and messy period. Judging by the amount of work he had, he'd have to neglect his building friendship with Yuu again. He wasn't in the mood for another argument. It had been pretty awkward after their first one in the bathroom, which had actually evolved in another argument when they had gotten back from Subway. That one went a little more rough, with Yuu ending up crying on his bed and Mika crying in the bathroom. When he came out of the bathroom, the ravenette had tried to convince him he was already asleep. That was a lie, though. The blonde could hear his little and quiet sobs. Needless to say, Mika sat down next to him, and attempted to talk things through. It felt like talking to a wall. Eventually, he would lie down next to Yuu, wrapping his arm around him. He'd muttered a quiet apology. When they woke up the next morning, they were both under the covers, fully cuddling. It seemed that Yuu had woken up in the middle of the night, and got Mika comfortable.

The blonde's heart raced in his chest. What was this feeling? Was he really starting to fall for the black haired boy? He knew it was trouble. He wasn't out to Yuu, and the other was straight. It was a recipe for disaster. And yet, Mika couldn't help the bubbly feeling he felt in his stomach. But he shouldn't. So he ignored it. If he ignored it, it would fade. Mika stored away all of the drinks in the fridge, and went back to the dressing room.

~~

Yuu's eyes skimmed over the book, trying their best to pick up on any information. He was seated in the library of the school, studying for the upcoming test of his physiologicals class. He felt a slight tap on his shoulder. He looked up, seeing a face he hadn't interacted with in a while.

"Need some help?", Akane said as she sat down next to him.

"I can manage, I think. It's a lot of study work.", Yuu said as he bit the back of his pencil. He felt a little weird, sitting next to his friend's ex girlfriend.

"It's nice to see you again, Yuu. It's been a long time since we talked.", she said.

"Y-Yeah."

"You're uncomfortable because of whatever Mika told you, huh?", she said as she rested her head in the palm of her hand.

"Whatever Mika told me? I assume you'd know what he told me, considering you're the one that screwed him over."

"Funny enough, I don't know. What did he tell you?" Yuu frowned, leaning back in his chair.

"That you slept with someone else." Akane smiled.

"Right. That's a new one."

"A new one? What, you trying to imply he lied?" He began to get quite mad. His friend's ex shows up out of nowhere, makes small talk, and begins to say said friend lied to him? The situation was fucked in all measures. "If you're gonna say he's the one that cheated on you, I'm leaving."

"Don't worry, Yuu-chan, there was no cheating. I don't think I'm in the right to tell you the truth about the situation, though. You might see the poor guy in a whole new light."

"What do you mean?"

"You might hate him."

"I could never-!", Yuu shouted as he stood up. It earned him some glares from the other students in the library. He sat back down, and toned down his volume. "I could never hate Mika. Even though we've only known eachother for a couple of months, he means so much to me.", Yuu said as he stared at his hands, clutching his lap. "Please, Akane... Tell me." She sighed, leaning back in her chair.

"I caused the split between Mika and his family. When we broke up, he entrusted me with a secret. I thought it was perfectly normal and fine, so I mentioned it to his parents. Apparently, they weren't that cool with it. When I left, and Mika got home, they kicked him out, mentioning he wasn't their son anymore..."

"Jesus... But, hold on, I'm a little confused. Mika said to me his parents were dead?"

"Dead to him, yeah. They haven't talked to him since he was 17."

"Whoa... that's four years... What could be so bad you kick your kid out of the house...?"

"That's something to ask Mika. I feel like I already betrayed him a lot by telling you this." Yuu stared in front of him, his mind running rampant with possibilities. Did Mika hurt someone? Kill someone? Something worse? Did he just fail his math test? "You're thinking hard."

"I want to know."

"Then ask him." Yuu nodded. "And, I wanted to ask you... If you'd maybe like to grab a drink with me sometime?"

"I-I don't know. You're cute, but you're also Mika's ex. And there is no way I could ever do him dirty like that."

"That's okay, I get that. Wouldn't want to get inbetween your little romance~!", Akane smiled.

"R-Romance?" A small blush crept to the boy's face. "N-No, there's nothing between Mika and I. I'm straight, pretty sure he is too."

"Oh please, you're all over eachother all the time. And..." She sounded a teed bit hurt. "I've seen the way he looks at you. He used to look at me like that.", Akane said as she walked away, leaving Yuu to his blush and study work. He was so confused. The way Mika looked at him...? As far as he knew, he looks at him the way he looks at Mika. There wasn't anything special to it.

Right?