NO, THAT'S WRONG! ~~Naegami~~

Chapter 9: Go Bother Someone Else

He couldn't let Naegi see him like this. He couldn't let himself he weak. He wasn't weak. He had to be strong. He was strong. Stronger than feelings, stronger than friendship, stronger than love. He felt the walls that Naegi had slowly been knocking down reinforce themselves in steel.
   "Uhh... Byakuya are you ok?" sounded Naegi's weedy, thin voice. The sound of it grated on Byakuya's eardrums.
   "I wasn't aware we were on a first name basis, Naegi." he responded sharply.
   "O-oh... Sorry, Togami. Are you ok though?" Byakuya hadn't realised how spineless and weak Naegi was until now.
   "It doesn't concern you. Why are you speaking to me like we're equals, anyway." Naegi looked quizzically up at Byakuya- he clearly thought they'd become friends.
   "Uhhh, Togami this isn't funny. Cut it out."
   "I wholeheartedly agree. Do you find it amusing to delude yourself into thinking that we're friends? It's pitiful, honestly."
   "W-what? T-togami, I don't get it. We were just-"
   "Stop talking." Byakuya said sternly. "And get the hell out of my room. Next time your shrunken brain needs help with its homework, go find someone else to bother. Why not that Maizono girl? You clearly have a debilitating crush on her."
   Byakuya almost felt bad for Naegi. The poor kid looked like he was about to burst into tears. He has a lot to learn, thought Byakuya. The green-eyed boy looked down at the floor and rushed out, but not before releasing an ungodly sound of misery and despair. Byakuya suspected he'd be hearing that noise for years to come. But at least Naegi had left, and hopefully his rude manner had driven him off for good. It was better that way, wasn't it?

***

Makoto ran out of Togami's room, but couldn't manage to contain a cracked, pathetic wail. What a child Togami must think him, crying like that. Actually, Makoto probably wasn't in a place to judge what Byakuya- no, sorry, Togami- thought of him. He had so badly misjudged their relationship, and asking about that message must have been the last straw. But, even so, a few questions lingered in Makoto's mind. If Togami hated him so, why did he ask Makoto to stay in the first place? Why did he even let Makoto into his room in the first place? And- this might be the most pertinent question- was the kindness Togami had shown previously just fake? Makoto truly didn't know what he would do if the answer to that question turned out to be yes. Togami has made fun of him for having a crush on Maizono. You have no idea, Makoto had thought. But, if none of it had been real, then were his feelings fake too? And the question he kept coming back to was Why? Why had Togami shown him that kindness in the first place? And why had he, after seeing that message, decided to drop the act?

~~~

He didn't get any sleep that night. He had tried, heaven knows that he tried, but his mind was running too fast for him to power off like that. So he had lain there, soaking his pillow with tears, and silently thanking whomever decided to make the rooms soundproof for not letting the other's heat his cries.

   Seven o'clock rolled around, and Makoto begrudgingly lifted himself out of bed. Try as he might, he couldn't find anything to get excited about for the coming day. Even the bright red of his walls seemed more reserved, muted than normal, as he left his room and made his way to the dining hall. When he got there, he sat down at his usual table without looking at anybody else, which drew more than a few concerned glances. Asahina, Fujisaki, even Ishimaru came over to ask if he was alright, but Makoto waved them off. He didn't want to deal with words right now, and he definitely didn't want to talk about it.
 
   The day came and went. Makoto barely noticed the time passing, but simultaneously felt like each second dragged on for hours. Nothing interested him. He couldn't get invested in analysing poetry, or testing for starch, or even drawing. Maths was especially tough, considering who sat next to him. The blonde boy, however, was doing a stellar job of ignoring him, making Makoto feel even more useless than before. He trudged back to his room after lessons had finished to do the mountains of homework he'd been set. He was just finishing up his practical write-up when he heard his doorbell ringing.

   He shouldn't have, but he let himself consider the possibility that he was at the door. And, as one's brain is wont to do when one hopes for something, he fully expected the person at the door to be someone else.
   "Geez, Makoto, don't look at me like that." Asahina said, looking mock hurt. "I'm not that much of a disappointment, am I?" Makoto realised his face must have visibly fallen when he realised who it was.
   "Sorry, no you're not, it's just that... never mind. What were you here for anyway?" Makoto responded monotonously.
   "Way to sound upbeat. Me and Enoshima were just thinking that we should throw a Class 78 party to celebrate our first days at Hope's Peak! Would you be interested in coming or no? I get that you're kinda... well, I actually don't know what's up with you right now but you seem to be going through something, so I'd understand if you didn't wanna come, but let me know if you're interested, kay?" Asahina said brightly as she walked away. Makoto didn't really feel like going. After all, he didn't want to spend time with anyone except Togami, and there was no way- even if by some miracle Togami would attend that party- that the blonde would ever let that happen. It was just a waste of time to go there, anyway. It's not like he was going to enjoy himself or anything. It would be nice to maybe speak to some of the other people that he didn't know well, like Fujisaki or Celeste, but was that really a good enough reason to go? After all, even if Togami wasn't at the party, Makoto would still feel the shadow of disappointment looming over him.

   Go bother someone else...

   Maybe he would. Maybe he didn't have to let Togami ruin his school life. It wasn't Makoto's fault that he happened to see that text anyway. So what if Togami didn't want to be friends with him? There were 14 other students- and that was just in his class. He would get to know them instead. He ran out of his dorm to find Asahina. He nearly collided with her as he turned the corner.
   "Whoa! Where's the fire, Makoto?"
   "That party you were talking about. I'll be there."

Word count without A/N: 1148

A/N: Damnnnn it's been a whileeee and a halffff since I've updated this one. FINALLY I finished the 'helping with homework' segment of this fic. Funnnn fact: these past 3 (or 4? Idk I have no memory to speak of) chapters were all supposed to be one thing, but it got suuuuuuppppppeeeerrrr long each time which is why I've split it up. It's also why these chapters are kinda short compared to my other ones. But hey, now that that 2 hour period is FINALLY over and done with, I can get on to the main plot stuff. Yep, this has all been setup. The next few chapters are when the story really gets going. Or not. Idk I might just be had at writingggg. As always, thanks so much for reading this stupid fic it means so muchhhh to me you don't even knowwww. Also be sure to tell me how I can improve in comments and suchlike! Alr peace
—Winter