Secret Hideout

2

Beep... Beep... Beep...

Kubuyasu groaned. He slapped his hand down on his alarm clock. It was time for school. Kubuyasu never especially enjoyed school. He had to wake up early, keep up his image, and learn stuff he was never going to use. It was annoying.

But now he had friends. Even if he still didn't like waking up at the crack of dawn, he did like seeing his friends. His closest friend was Kaidou.

He had found out on his own that he used to be a delinquent.

And he didn't care. He was his friend, just the same.

And he loved it. He loved being his friend. He loved listening to him go on and on about his powers, even though they both knew it was fake. He simply loved his company. He liked having someone who knew his past and accepted him.

But most of all, he was happy Kaidou wasn't afraid of him.

But then...

What was this feeling? It was certainly different than it used to be.  Could it be? No, not that. Anything but that. This odd feeling would linger throughout the day. With Kaidou's presence, it felt stronger. Kubuyasu didn't know if he liked this feeling or not. It was difficult to process. It was like nothing he'd ever felt before.

Just thinking about it made his head hurt.

So he didn't. He stayed away from it. It was easier.

***************************************************************

"Hey Aren!"

It was Kaidou.

And that feeling.

"Hi."

They both sat down.

Kaidou knew something was wrong. But he didn't have the guts to bring it up. He felt too nervous.

He wished he had asked sooner.

Class was a bit awkward. Kaidou kept glancing at Kubuyasu, trying to figure out what was wrong. A couple times, he thought he had seen him, and freaked out a bit.

Kubuyasu only noticed once. It made him happy to see that he cared, but it faded quickly as he told himself that he was looking at someone else.

At P.E., they played dodgeball. Kaidou was the first to throw the ball. It only went a few meters in front of him before tumbling onto the floor.

"Hey Shun! You throw like a girl!"

Kubuyasu regretted his words immediately as he saw Kaidou wince.

"Y-yeah, sorry..."

Seeing him fake a smile hurt him.

'What? Why did I say that? Why am I so stupid!? I probably hurt his feelings! No, he doesn't care about me.'

...

'I shouldn't have said that."

He heard a few snickers from his classmates. There was that feeling again. He wanted to punch them.

And himself.

He looked back at Kaidou.

'Is...'

'Is he crying?'

Kubuyasu almost felt like crying himself. He never would, of course.

Kaidou saw that Kubuyasu was looking at him. He gasped and wiped his face. He couldn't make him think he was weak. Not his best friend.

The group walked home together as usual, but after a few blocks, Kubuyasu pulled Kaidou away from the rest of the group. Everyone else waved goodbye and kept walking.

It was uncomfortably silent.

...

"Shun, I..."

The words almost hurt as they came out.

"I... I'm sorry. For what I said earlier."

...

"I'm... Not sure why I said that. But it was wrong, and I'm sorry."

"It's okay. I'm fine."

Kaidou had been teased for his physical attributes many times, but for some reason, it hurt more coming from Kubuyasu.

He trusts him so much that if he said it, it must be true.

It had become quiet once again.

"So, how about we work on the secret hideout?"

Kubuyasu wasn't looking foward to building it, but he would've done anything to cheer up his friend.

Anything.

Kaidou beamed.

"Sure! After all, we're an easy target if we don't have a place to plot our attacks!"

Kaidou did ninja-like moves in the air. Kubuyasu laughed. He loved seeing him happy.

They half-ran to their spot. Kaidou clapped his hands together.

"So, I was thinking for the walls, we could put up logs, and kind of cover up the sides? Then we could put some cardboard for the floor? But maybe we could do that a bit later. I always pass by these big logs when I go for a walk, but they're too heavy to lift on my own. Do you think you could help?"

Kubuyasu smiled at his excitement.

"Yeah, I think we can do that."

"Great! Come on, I'll show you where!"

Kubuyasu followed him into the trees. The log was a bit bigger than expected, but he could handle it. Though it was a bit awkward to carry.

Their height difference didn't help. Kubuyasu was half a foot taller than Kaidou, so he had to hold it mid-air so that he could rest it on his shoulder. They took about ten to the spot. Some were farther than others, so it took a while.

It was even more tiring than yesterday.

When they finished, they stood them up and tied them into a circle with some rope Kaidou had prepared.

This time, by the time they finished, it was dark.

"Wow, it's actually starting to look like a house now!"

Kaidou smiled.

"Yes! You just had to be patient!"

"Yeah yeah, I get it. Same time tomorrow?"

"Same time tomorrow.

They both walked home and said their goodbyes.

Kubuyasu walked into his house and put his bag in his room. He threw himself onto his bed.

He was actually excited for tomorrow.