*:･ﾟYou Bet I Stare ･ﾟ:*

CHAPTER 18 - always forever

KOU
—❁—

"SOUSUKE!" I yell whisper up to the window, trying my best not to wake any of the people that lived closer to the ground. I awkwardly stand there as I wait to see if there's a response, then I go back to tossing little pebbles and stones that I collected on my way here. After a few more failed tries, I step back and charge my throw before aiming at Mitsubas window. The small stone flies up, and eventually meets the window pretty hard—the sound being louder than the others had been. "MITSU! OPEN THE WINDOW!" I yell whisper again, staring up at the window before sighing.

Is he seriously already asleep? It isn't even 9 pm..

I then bend over, reaching for another pebble as I hear a window open. "Stop throwing rocks at my window!" Mitsuba whispers loudly down to me, then I hear him gasp. "GO AWAY! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT FROM ME!" I look up at him, my eyebrows raising. "Wha—" I get a confused expression on my face. "YOU'RE TRESPASSING! DON'T MAKE ME CALL THAT COPS, I HAVE A GUN!" Mitsuba whispers loudly. "CALM DOWN, ITS JUST ME! KOU!" I whisper yell up to him. Then he eventually realizes who I am. "Kou! What the hell are you doing out here?! It's late!!" He bends over the window a bit, whispering to me. "Can I come in?" I step closer to the building as I whisper back up to him. "I don't know if the lobby door is still unlocked! But you didn't answer my question!" He exclaims softly. "It's cold out here!" I put my hands in my jacket pockets, exclaiming back up to him. "I know it is! Just let me inside and I'll explain all that to you!" Mitsuba looks back inside his house before looking back down at me. "Okay! Let me go down and let you in from the lobby!" I nod as I watch him close the window. I then quickly retrieve his gifts that I got for him, since I made sure I had them hidden from his view from the window so that the surprise wouldn't be ruined.

I rush over to the lobby, squinting as I put my hands on the glass door so I can see Mitsuba coming more easily. Soon enough I see him rushing down the last set of stairs, wearing his pajamas with a jacket thrown on top of his shirt, his hair falling out of the small ponytail that he had it tied up in. I step back as he unlocks the lobby door from the inside, opening it as he looks at me. "Why are you here so late! Shouldn't you be home?" I shake my head, "Don't worry, Teru knows I'm over here." Mitsuba tucks some of his hair behind his ear. "Right.." his eyebrow was raised as he looked up at me. "Just.. come in before you catch a cold." He steps out of the way so I can come inside, then he locks the lobby door with the resident key he has. "I wanted to bring you something that I put together, and I couldn't wait until tomorrow.." I follow Mitsuba back up to his apartment. "So you thought that waking me up by throwing rocks at my window was a better alternative?" He looks up at me as we walk down the hall to his door. I couldn't help but notice that he sounded a bit ticked off that I woke him up. "Hey, I know you're probably pissed at me for waking you up—but you won't be pissed here in a minu-" Mitsuba puts a finger on my lip, cutting me off as he slowly opens the front door back into his house. We both quietly sneak in before slipping our shoes off, then Mitsuba leads me to his room. I made sure to be extra quiet, since his mom had no idea that he was sneaking company in.

I set his gifts on his desk, then I sit down in his desk chair, spinning around in a circle as he takes his jacket off. "So.. explain your reasoning for coming here again—" He looks at me, and I stop myself from spinning around. "Oh-" A smile appears on my face. "It's because I wanted to get you this!" I grab Sousukes gift, holding it out to him. His eyebrows raise as he looks at it, then he grabs the box from me. "If you don't mind me asking.." I look up at him as he looks at me. "What is this for exactly..?" My shoulders shrug, "I just felt like getting you a little something.. y'know—" I begin to feel the back of my neck tensing up, and my face begins to feel light and tingly. "I just.. figured you'd like it.." My hand rubs the back of my neck as I turn the chair away a bit, and Mitsuba looks up at me from the little homemade card that I made him. "I-I know I don't have the best penmanship in the world, but.. I still tried my best to make it special for you—" I begin to move the chair back and forth, not looking at Mitsuba. He was really quiet, and I couldn't tell if it was because he thought it was pathetic and was brewing up some insults to throw my way, or if he was genuinely just too speechless to get words out.