different | pregame saiouma

3

at 4:30 pm

i was getting ready to go see my future boyfriend- or future- you wanna know what, i'm just gonna say boyfriend- and didn't know what to wear.

what do people wear to casual hangouts? is it even considered casual? shit. i thought before my phone buzzed. it was kaede again.

kaede: keebo and i are gonna go to a restaurant. do you wanna come?
shuichi: i've got plans, sorry
kaede: 🤨 what will you be doing?
shuichi: going to kokichi's house
kaede: THIS IS HAPPENING VERY QUICKLY
kaede: please don't forget about keebo and i

it was crazy of her to even think i'd forget about them; i had known them for so long and they thought a new love interest of mine was just gonna completely ruin us?

shuichi: kaede i'm not gonna do that...
kaede: ok, well have fun

i settled on wearing a light blue shirt that had diamond shapes on it with a white long-sleeve underneath, with black jeans. seemed to fit the occasion enough. i clicked on kokichi's contact and got the address.

my mother wasn't home again, so i left with no warning and walked to his house instead of riding my bike, as it was only a ten minute walk.

i arrived and knocked on the door but heard yelling. what was going on?.... i knocked again and no one came.

the sound was probably drowned out by the shouting. i checked my phone once more to make sure this was ouma's house, and it was....

i decided to attempt to see what was going on inside, and in the least creepy way possible i looked into the window.

my eyes widened because of what i saw. ouma was sitting on the floor whilst someone... who i guessed was his mother... yelled at him.

i tried to listen in but could only make out her saying something rude about him being trans and other things and telling him he was being stupid. kokichi didn't say anything back.

this was terrible to merely listen to. i felt really bad for the boy. i then saw and heard someone else in the room.

he was telling the mother to calm down, but she told him to shut up and went back to yelling. i really wanted to do something but was afraid i'd have to suffer too if i came in.

the screaming went on for a minute more before it was silent, apart from the father saying, 'i'm sorry.' and closing the door.

wait, which door?.... shit, they were coming outside!

as quick as i could, i ducked behind a window on the side of the house and hoped they wouldn't walk there, and luckily there was no sight of them.

the couple got in a car together before they left, and i stood there for a few seconds to give kokichi time to relax and to not seem weird by arriving right when they went away.

i knocked on the door for the third time today and it finally opened. he just looked surprised to see me.... no tears or anything. odd.

i waved at him and he let me in. he was wearing the same clothing he wore today at school. oh no, should i have just worn the same thing too?

i didn't worry about it too much, though. i was more concerned for ouma. 'i-i didn't expect you to be here so soon, sorry.' he chuckled.

'ah, sorry.' he slowly turned to look at me. was he a demon? this was creepy. 'wait, were you here before my parents left?' oh.

i questioned if i should lie or not.... maybe this could be my start to helping with his sadness; his parents had to be a key factor to it.

i decided to tell the truth. 'well, yeah...' his purple eyes got bigger. i looked down at the ground. 'fuck. i'm so sorry, you shouldn't have heard that..'

why was kokichi apologising? it wasn't his fault. 'hey, don't be sorry. please.' i took his hands in my own. 'i'm the one who needs to apologise, if anything.'

the boy raised an eyebrow, confused. '..for your mother saying those things about your gender identity and.. yeah.' i finished, frowning. 'i'm not really affected by it anymore.'

ah. maybe he was desensitised. that's really sad. 'well, i just wanted you to know you're just as much of a real boy as any boy is, and.... don't listen to your parents about you being stupid. you're not.'

kokichi smiled. 'thank you.' i nodded. i let go of his hands and he walked to the kitchen. the boy picked up what looked like the last panta in the fridge.

upon noticing it was the last one, i made a suggestion. 'do you wanna go to the shop with me?' i requested, watching him drink it.

'for what?' 'what do you think?' i playfully asked. he laughed, looking at the bottle. 'sure.' and with that, we locked the door behind us and walked to a petrol station together.