Secret Hideout

4

Nothing can change. Everything is fine as it is. It has to be. If it wasn't, Kuboyasu wasn't sure he could handle it.

But what if...

No. It can't. There's nothing there.

Nothing.

Another normal day. School was boring, as usual. His friends were there, as usual. Kaidou was there, as usual. School came and went. It was a blur of insignificance.

"Come on, Aren! We can finish today!

A swirl of color. In other words, significance.

"I'm coming!"

More chatter. Meaningless, wonderful small talk.

Nothing unusual.

Nothing weird.

Nothing special.

They had finished the roof fairly quickly. It wasn't hard, it was just sheets and cardboard.

"I have a surprise!" Kaidou blurted out.

"Really? What do you mean?"

"I found something really cool, that I wanted to save for the last day! Come on!"

Kaidou grabbed Kuboyasu's hand and ran.

There it is again.

"Ta-da!"

It was a pile of garbage. Literally. As Kuboyasu looked closer, he realized it was furniture. Old, neglected furniture. He tilted his head in confusion.

"I thought we could clean it off, and use some! A lot of people illegally dump their furniture here, so it's free for us to use! Most of it's in decent condition, so we have a lot of options."

"What do you think?"

...

Kuboyasu smiled.

"I love it! We can use that sofa, and that desk, and there's an old rug we can use for the floor-"

"I know! And we can put up posters, and I have a beanbag chair I can bring, and we can make an alarm system, so we can hear when our enemies are tracking us!'

They excitedly carried as much as they could to their fort. The pile wasn't very far from the fort, but it was a bit heavy for only two people. They had successfully moved enough furniture to make it look like a little house.

Just enough room for two.

There was still time. They ran to Kuboyasu's house and got a couple motorcycle posters, some string, and a lot of empty cans.

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

There. It was finally done. Finally complete.

"Wow!"

Kaidou ran around their little fort. He was elated that it looked so cool. At least in his eyes. It had furniture, and a roof, and posters. There was even a string that would alert for intruders. Not that there would ever be any.

His eyes gleamed. It fit perfectly into his fantasy. Good thing Kuboyasu was there to share it.

"It's perfect! It looks so cool!"

Kuboyasu laughed.

"Yeah, too bad we'll have to wait until tomorrow to hang out in it. It's getting dark."

Kaidou looked at the sky and gasped.

"Shoot! My mom's going to kill me if I'm not home soon! I'll see you tomorrow!"

Kaidou ran off and waved.

"Bye!" Kuboyasu yelled.

He started to make his way home. It was quiet later in the day. But his thoughts weren't.

This feeling...

It was getting stronger every day.

It made him feel dizzy. Like if he was being dropped from a tall building.

In the best way possible.

It was like flying and falling at the same time.

And he was falling hard.

Falling in...

No.

Not that.

Anything but that.

But why not?

Maybe...

He felt the same way?

If only he knew.

It makes no sense...

But it's wonderful.

Should he stop it?

Or let it take over?

What would happen then?

Is this...

Please, no, it can't...

But...

It is...

This is...

Is this... What it feels like...

To fall in love?

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

Alright then.

Morning. His alarm clock. His stupid alarm clock. School... School is annoying. But...

Kaidou.

School was a blur. It didn't matter. It was just another eight hours of waiting. Agonizing waiting.

It was over soon enough, but it still took too long.

The small talk. He lived for the meaningless chatter.

Nothing unusual.

Nothing weird.

Nothing special.

Maybe...

Something should change.

Again with the staring.

At Kaidou.

At his ceiling.

Just another day of perfect company.

If... He told him...

Would he care?

Would he hate him?

Would he... Avoid him?

What if he left? What if he pretended he never existed? Their friendship...

Gone... Just like that.

Maybe he needed help. Outside help. Because...

He couldn't handle this on his own.

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

"Aiura?"

She looked up from her desk.

"Kuboyasu? Did you need something?"

He gulped and rubbed his neck.

"Do you think you could... Answer some questions?"