Joker returns // Sk8 the Infinity x male ff //

24.

Ichiro pov.

Since then, a few days have passed and I have withdrawn a little to be able to finally conclude. Just then I came into Mr. Oka's store where I saw Reki in front of me, who was resting his head depressedly on the counter. "Mr. Oka, why don't you talk to him too? He just doesn't listen to me at all" he says desperately and I sigh. Langa still hasn't been persuaded to let go of the beef against Adam. "I can go back to work tomorrow, my father said" Reki immediately lifts his head and looks at me. Mr. Oka nods and types something into his laptop. "How are you?" asks Reki slightly concerned, after all, I have not been participating in conversations or generally doing little with them at school lately. Knowing neither exactly why, but I think they could guess. I nod with a smile and sit down at a free place in the store, while Reki disappears to the back of the camp. After a short while, Langa also comes and starts cleaning. Meanwhile, he is watching me very closely, which normally didn't bother me, but today it was like he urgently had something to say. So I look up from my phone, which I had taken out when Reki went into storage, and look up at Langa, who then quickly averts his gaze from me and continues cleaning elsewhere. "Reki is late" he starts. I was about to answer and say that he is in camp but I am interrupted by Mr. Oka. "YES, I sent him on a trip to the S - compound for one thing" confused I look at him, his gaze passing Langa. There stood Reki looking at him pleadingly, whereupon the drops of sweat could already be seen on Oka. Sighing he turns back to us "I heard you want to skate against Adam" For the first time my body showed no reaction as the name was spoken. I see Langa stop sweeping and lookup. "Did you hear about Reki and Ichiro?" I smirk slightly "He doesn't need to hear that from us, at the S there's no more talk of anything else" I report, Oka, nodding in agreement and leaning down. When he comes back up he has a helmet and knee and elbow pads in his hand and puts them down on the counter. Langa looks at them for a while and after a short silence declines to wear them. "Don't need it." I immediately look up at him, which he of course notices and turns away from me again. He's clearly avoiding my gaze. I wonder if it's because of my past with Adam. Sighing, I watch the spectacle of Oka trying to turn them on him anyway. "But they look impractical. I'm sure I'll be faster without them" When I hear this sentence I widen my eyes. Without realizing it I jumped up and look at Langa with wide eyes. He wants to win it. He is fascinated by Adam "This can't be true..." I mutter so that only I understand and look at Langa who looks at me startled by my jump. I pull my hair back "I'll go. I still have a date with Joe" with that I pass Langa and go outside, where I could get some fresh air. Since I hadn't lied I went, admittedly early, to Joe's restaurant. 

"You're here early? I thought you were going to work" he said as I entered his restaurant. "I was. It just happened faster than I expected" I shrug and he realizes I just don't want to talk about it. "Did you manage to lock up?" I look up at him and nod. Now a quick aside why am I so short? What was the author thinking? I sit down on one of the chairs in the kitchen and watch Joe make us both dinner. As soon as I open my mouth to ask if I can help, Joe interrupts me and says he'd rather not put me in the kitchen until he's made sure I can cook in mine. Pouting, I look at him and cross my arms "I'm good at cooking" I mumble which he hears, and starts laughing. "You can invite me to your house next time and cook me something- " "Forget it, then I would have to explain to my dad why I know you and then I couldn't keep S a secret anymore, unfortunately. As you know, I'm a terrible liar when it comes to my family" I laugh and he smiles. He knows I'm right and starts to pout. When the food is ready we sit down at one of the tables and start to enjoy it.