Flower Boy {Shikadai X Inojin}

Chapter Nine

The walk to the bowling alley was surprisingly nice. It wasn't awkward like Shikadai expected and he was almost annoyed when they arrived at the designated building. Inojin talked a lot but it was cute. He reminded Shikadai of an excited puppy. He barely got a word in the entire walk but he weirdly didn't mind. Usually, that would piss him off but he was content. He learned a lot about the blonde in the span of ten minutes. Inojin was a year younger than him but was graduating a year before the Nara. It didn't surprise him that the blonde was smart. He seemed perfect. 

Shikadai also noted that their parents went to school together and weirdly hung out sometimes. He really couldn't care less but that just tells him that Inojin's mentioned him to his mother for some reason. It brought his anxiety back again. He wasn't going to let that ruin his night, not when Inojin was going to be only in his presence for the next hour. 

Shikadai wasn't lying when he said he was good at bowling but apparently Inojin wasn't lying either. Inojin was already kicking his ass and the game had just started. Shikadai can just make some bullshit lie about how he let the blonde win but something tells him that's not believable. 

Shikadai had a feeling this game was gonna last a while because after each round he's bowled so far, Inojin talked about random stuff for at least five minutes each time. If Shikadai could, he'd just say fuck the game and have the rest of the time to talk. 

Inojin took his third turn and Shikadai watched as he rolled another strike. The blonde turns around with a smirk on his face and Shikadai groans performatively. He wasn't annoyed that he was losing and it was worth it watching the other try to hide his excitement every time he got a strike. 

Shikadai stands up to take his turn, Inojin walking past as he walked forward. Shikadai almost dropped the bowling ball when fingers brush lightly against his. No way that was intentional. Either way, it didn't stop the blush from forming on his cheeks, and he made sure to stay facing forward as he made it to the lane. 

Shikadai goes to take his turn and two seconds after the ball hits the ground, it rolls right into the gutter. Shikadai just stares, not sure how to react. Maybe the hand touching was intentional. Maybe Inojin realized he has weird feelings for the blonde and now he's trying to throw Shikadai off his game. It would make sense but would he really stoop that low to win when he already was?

"It's my turn, Shika." Inojin's voice jumped Shikadai from his thoughts, the blonde standing next to him. That's not what he was focused on though. A nickname. Inojin is already calling him by a nickname. He's definitely fucking with him. Shikadai nods, turning to face the other, who was a lot closer than he anticipated. 

"Go for it," Shikadai says, his voice cracking mid-way through. Shikadai's eyes widen as he feels his face get hot. He just heads back to the table before he can embarrass himself anymore. 

It seemed like the second he sat down, Inojin was already on his way back. He didn't even try to stand up to take his turn because he knows Inojin is gonna keep him standing for a while if he gets up now. He didn't expect the blonde to sit down and just stare at him. Of course, the one time he stays sitting, Inojin ain't gonna talk.

Shikadai finally stands up, trying to forget that Inojin was there so he could hopefully get at least a fucking spare or something. At this point, hitting three pins would work for him. 

Shikadai takes a deep breath and just focuses as the ball leaves his fingers. He pauses, watching it glide down the lane. It connects to the pins, knocking all of them down in one hit. Shikadai grins when Inojin huffs behind him and he was glad the bowling alley was almost empty, the nearest people at least five lanes down.