Mute

Chapter 3

After a while of waiting, a waitress came up to them. Hizashi grinned, waving.

"Heyyy! Long time no see, 'Yuko!" He turned to Shouta, gesturing to her. "Fuyuko's the best in the biz', ain't that right?"

She gave a quick smile. "It's good to see you too, Zashi! Glad to see that you're doing okay!" Fuyuko pulled out a notepad, looking towards the two, signalling she was ready to write what they wanted.

Shouta ordered a beer along with a questionably large amount of food that warranted a quizzical glance from Hizashi.

Hizashi leaned over, covering his mouth with his hand, loudly whispering. "Dude, it took you a solid minute to list all that!"

"For someone so worried about what I'm thinking by coming here, you judge a lot."

Hizashi rubbed the back of his neck, chuckling. "I'd offer to pay for ya, but that's gotta cost my whole life savings!"

"Are you going to order or not?"

"Yeah, yeah! Gimme a minute!" He stroked his moustache as he read, then set it aside. "I'll take the fried chicken and a beer, keep 'em comin'!" He gave a circular gesture with his finger as he said that, handing Fuyuko a card from his wallet. "Keep that with you, ya dig?"

Keep 'em comin?

If he does this every night, does he not even go home after?

"I take it you want me to drive us home, then?"

Hizashi looked at him with a hopeful smile. "If ya want to, then sure! Better than sleepin' in the car all night, yo!" He searched around in his pocket, tossing his keys across the table to Shouta.

Shouta raised an eyebrow in concern.

Better than driving drunk, I suppose.

"Nobody takes you home?"

Hizashi shook his head, gesturing to the group he usually hung with.

"They ain't in the right condition either, man!" He pointed to his van by the window.

"I got all I need in there anyway, hair gel, breath mints, the whole shebang! You're always welcome to stay in the car with me for the night if ya wanna drink more than one beer, Shou!"

He shrugged, slouching in the chair.

"No promises."

Fuyuko came back with their drinks and Hizashi's chicken, letting Shouta know that his food order may take a while. He nodded a thanks and chugged the beer he was handed, slamming the glass down on the table as he finished. Hizashi was taking more time with his, watching Shouta with an amused expression, then picking up his own pace to match.

"Nothin' better to calm ya nerves, eh Shou? It's like heaven!"

Hizashi sighed, relaxing more in his seat and waiting for his next drink to arrive as he ate his own meal. He took his phone and silenced it, placing it in the hidden inside pocket of his jacket.

It didn't take long, and Hizashi chugged the next one, continuing to emulate how Shouta had drank his.

"Feel free to order more, yo! I'll cover some for ya, just don't completely obliterate my wallet!" He laughed, shoving his empty glasses against the wall.

"I can pay for my own."

"Suit yaself, man! I gotcha drinks if you want, just lemme know!"

Shouta's food arrived a few minutes later. He sat in silence as he ate, Hizashi making a few lighthearted comments about it and how sad his poor wallet must be, as if he wasn't practically buying his weights worth in alcohol.

Shouta watched in silence as Hizashi rambled about whatever topic came to his mind. By this point his friend had downed about six or seven beers, which somehow made him talk more than he already did. It was increasingly difficult for Shouta to tone him out.

Hizashi got up from his seat after a while, moving to the same side of the table as Shouta, taking some of the food he hadn't eaten and was practically laying on him with how clingy he was. Besides the increase in talking, he was still acting almost completely like himself.

He's only going to get more needy as the night continues, isn't he.

He was still going on and on enthusiastically about some incident regarding his Put Your Hands Up Radio show, making wide-ranged gestures with his arms, repeatedly smacking him by accident, along with the walls, glasses and plates.

Shouta grabbed the hand closest to himself and put it on the table, holding it there. "Watch your arms before you break something."

Hizashi's face went a little red, giving an awkward grin before letting out an obnoxiously loud laugh.

"Awwww, you're holdin' my hand, yo! How sweet!"

Shouta stared at him, dumbfounded for a second, letting go of Hizashi's hand.

"Got any personal feelins' that ya wanna get out, Shou?" He started snickering to himself, hugging Shouta. "Don't be shy!"

He groaned, attempting to shake Hizashi's hug off and failing. The empty glasses got picked up by Fuyuko, who likely noticed the repeated smacks as they were talking. She set down a new filled glass for Hizashi, leaving with a polite nod.

Is he being serious in this accusation or more drunk than I thought? Or both.

"I will not hesitate to take you home, Zashi. Cut this out."

Hizashi put his hands up, backing off with a closed-eye smile.

"No, thank you!"

He reached for the next beer that was on the table, taking a bit more time with this one.

"Y'know you're allowed to talk about ya feelings with me, Shou!" He looked at him seriously, his eyes gentle.

"I'll leave that to you."

"Ugghhhh! It's like talkin' to a wall with you!"

"You act surprised every time we have this conversation."

"One day!" He winked, finishing his drink. "One day, you'll cave in! I'm far too great of a friend for you not to!" he said, clearly being sarcastic.

"You're full of it."

Hizashi pointed to himself with his thumb, a smug expression on his face. "But I'm right!"

Shouta closed his eyes and leaned back in the seat. "I'm going to sleep. Wake me up when you're done."

"Shouta Aizawa, the life of the party, everyone!"

At that, Shouta passed out, snoring heavily a few minutes later, leaving Hizashi to be by himself.