Romantic Killer But I Made It Gay

Part 38

I swing Ichiro around on my finger, humming lightly to myself. Today was actually fun, the first time I've been out with friends in a while. Sure, Emi and I hang out sometimes, but that's more like hanging out with my sister than a friend. We usually just play video games or talk anyway. I don't know if I've ever been to the mall with a friend, actually.

I smile to myself and, in my distraction, I swing Ichiro too hard and he flies off my finger, clattering to the ground. At the same time as I do, Kazuki leans to pick it up and our heads collide, much like the first time I met him.

"Ah!" I stumble back, rubbing my bruised forehead and Kazuki grabs my charm off the ground, dusting it off.

"How many times are we gonna run into each other?" I joke. "Maybe one of us should call to pick up whatever I drop."

"Or maybe you shouldn't drop things so much," he counters, handing me the charm. I'm surprised to not feel a chill when our fingers brush each other. I feel like, with today, I've grown close enough to Kazuki to feel comfortable around him. I'm glad. That's the first step toward a good friendship.

"Haru! Kazuki!" We turn to see Junta riding up the hill behind us, waving. He stops a few feet from me with a surprised expression. "Haru, you're all fancy. What's the occasion? I've never seen you without a bed head."

"So you admit it's a bed head," I grumble, smiling.

"You really never have dressed up, huh?" Kazuki asks, raising an eyebrow.

"What do you think?" I ask Junta, deciding to ignore him. Junta flushes, his eyes racing for someplace safe to land and eventually settling on the paved ground.

"You look...nice."

I feel a wave of guilt wash through my mind and I look away, my happy mood gone. It's all my fault he feels this way. All because I pressed play on some stupid game.

"Thanks."

"So what's the occasion? he asks again.

"We went shopping for summer clothes," I explain guiltily. "Sorry I didn't—"

"What?" Junta's eyes shoot up to mine, his lips wobbling. "But you never go clothes shopping! You've never even gone with me!"

Kazuki winces when Junta's accusing gaze falls on him. "Don't look at me like that, please."

"We got Taiyaki, so you can have some of that," I offer, trying to cheer the poor boy up.

"Really?" He lights up, forgetting his previous mood. "Thanks, guys!"

"Are you sure? I'm going to make dinner soon," Kazuki warns.

"I can fit both easy!" he assures him. "I'm really hungry from practice anyway."

"Okay then, if you're sure."

"Oh yeah," Junta adds, pulling out his phone. "Did Emi send you that text about the new show she recommends too?"

I check my phone and found the message he's talking about. "She says it's a "zombie mystery romance depressing comedy show." What the hell does that mean?"

"Should we watch it?" Kazuki looks less than thrilled about Emi's description.

I nod. "Anything from her is good, I promise. She's just really bad at describing things."

"I see." He turns and starts walking and Junta and I follow him back to the house, where we drop our things and collapse on the couch. I grab the remote and flip through the apps until I find the show she was talking about, which is indeed described as a "zombie mystery romance depressing comedy show."

"It doesn't look so bad," I try to convince Kazuki, who sighs.

"We don't have anything else to do, so it's fine."

We settle down and I turn on the show. It begins with the protagonist living her normal life, until she uncovers secrets leading her to believe her town is infested with zombies by night and they're slowly killing more and more people. She doesn't want to act on it, but when they come after her parents she has no choice. She makes her way to the graveyard one night and sees the zombies roaming about, but when they see her they...

The episode ends and we all groan. I turn to Kazuki.

"What did you think?"

He checks his watch. "We have time for one more."

I grin. "Of course."

But as the zombies corner the protagonist, Junta stiffens.

"H-Haru..."

"What?" I hiss, annoyed he's interrupting the show. He points below the TV and I follow his gaze, freezing when I see what he's looking at. A roach, a huge one, is crawling out from behind it, toward us.

"Kazuki!" I yell, rushing to pause the show.

He flinches at the sudden interruption, growling, "What?"

"R-R-R..."

"Roach!" Junta finishes for me.

"Where?" he grabs the nearest newspaper, rolling it up into a weapon.

Junta and I point to it and he runs at it, raising the newspaper, but it's a speedy one, and even with the element of surprise on our side, it runs under the couch.

"Hayami!" Kazuki calls to Junta. "Lift the couch!"

Junta shakes his head frantically, pulling his legs up into the cushions. I guess he's just as afraid of roaches as I am.

"You bunch of cowards!" Kazuki smacks a fist onto the couch, scaring the roach out from under it. "And you call yourselves men?"

"Just catch it!" I yell, tired of his insults. He growls, raising his newspaper and smacking the roach into the air with its force for it to land dead on the floor.

For a second we sit or stand in silence, all of us panting from the adrenaline. Then Kazuki tosses the roach in the trash can, along with the newspaper, and starts into the kitchen.

"I'm going to wash some dishes."

"Wh—right now?" I ask, confused. But I guess if washing dishes helps him calm down I shouldn't judge.

"Haru..." Junta whimpers, his face in a couch pillow, "I'm sorry I'm so useless. I couldn't even catch a single roach for you. He's right; how can I call myself a man?"

"Hey," I try to console him, "not just anyone can stand up to a fearsome roach. And you caught the thief, remember? You've been super helpful."

"Really?" he sniffles, looking up at me pitifully.

"Of course!" I slowly back away, fearing another romantic moment. "I-I'm gonna go help Kazuki with the dishes now." With that I turn the other way and rush to the kitchen, almost running into Kazuki.

"Slow down," he complains, scraping the last of the food from one plate into the trash. "You have a habit of running into people, especially if those people are me."

I laugh, no comeback for that one. "Thanks, though."

"For what?"

"For catching that roach. I don't know what I would've done if you weren't here."

He sighs, although his smile betrays him. "You really have to get over that. You can't run to the park every time there's a roach in your house."

I feel my face heat, and I grab the nearest plate, turning on the sink. "I wasn't planning to."