It's all just a dare! (Akeshu/Shuake)

12 Feeling regretful?

Goro was so exhausted from the beach, he had almost instantly fallen asleep last night. He didn't even have time to recount the activities of the day before he slipped into a deep sleep. When he woke up the next morning however, his brain started going through the events of the day. It... wasn't bad. He enjoyed his time with the group, more so with Ren than anyone else. He assumed he succeeded in what he attempted to do at the beach. He flustered Ren countless times, made him blush and look away. However, it didn't come without its downsides. He didn't mean to spill his heart out to Haru or to Ren, regardless of how brief it was. Honestly though, that wasn't the main thing concerning him, it was what he said to Ren during their walk, but Ren didn't hear. When their walk was almost finished, Goro had stopped Ren so he could say something before they returned to the group. What Ren didn't know was that what he heard Goro say wasn't what he intended. He only heard the brunette the second time, saying he couldn't hear him. Goro had gone timid because of one thing and one thing only. He was confessing to Ren. It was only brief, an "I love you" from Goro, but Ren didn't hear it. Goro knew it was a mistake, Ren not hearing him was a sign that he should just keep it to himself. He knew he was foolish for trying to confess to Ren, it'd mean he would lose. So when Ren asked him to repeat himself, he simply lied and acted like it was nothing.

He was so caught up in the moment when they were walking that Goro didn't think about the consequences of his actions if Ren actually heard him. The competition would be over, he'd be a loser, Ren would win, and their fake dating would be gone. He was too infatuated with Ren to be logical at that point. Thank god that by sheer luck, Ren didn't hear him. He didn't want to lose Ren. He didn't want the dating to be over. He assumed Ren didn't feel the same way, that right after this he'd go back to whatever girl he was pursuing before break started. He felt a twinge of pain in his chest. That's right, Ren always got with different people, he was quite the casanova, impressing and wooing people day and night. Was Goro just one of Ren's flings? Another temporary person in Ren's life, the only difference being that they knew each other before. His mood soured, he didn't want to be just a temporary person in Ren's romantic life, he wanted more. He wanted to stay with him, he wanted to take care of Ren and have Ren take care of him.

He groggily got out of bed, his mood only improving slightly when his first cup of coffee started to brew. He went back to his room and got dressed, realizing he hadn't checked his phone yet today. He grabbed his phone and skimmed through his notifications while heading out to grab his coffee. News updates, notifications on social media, and then a flurry of messages from the group, as well as separate messages from Ann and Ren. The groups messages were nothing but them sharing their excitement from the beach, discussing they should do something similar again. Goro quickly sent a message, agreeing to that. He decided to check his messages from Ann first.

Ann: So? Anything good happen with Ren yesterday??

Goro: Nothing terribly exciting sadly, but we did hold hands and walk together at sunset. I have to say your scheme earlier in the day was quite clever. That's when I invited him for the walk later.

Ann: Look at you go! Anything else?

Goro: I called him Ren Ren and it made him freak out, in a positive way though. Nothing else though, I wanted to stay subtle.

Ann: Omg that's so cute Goro!! Of course he'd freak out you never call him that!

Ann: Subtle is nice, but he's also really stupid and oblivious to anyone's advances unless they're explicit ;)

Goro: I don't know what you intend to imply by that but I'm only playing it safe for the time being. I need to observe his feelings towards me a bit longer.

Ann teased Goro for using terms like "observe" when talking about love, annoying him in the process. The two shared a bit of chit chat until Goro decided to check his messages from Ren. He grew a little nervous, then figured it couldn't be anything bad, nothing terrible had happened yesterday. He started to sip his coffee, which was cool enough now.