*:･ﾟYou Bet I Stare ･ﾟ:*

CHAPTER 22 - riptide

DC !!

KOU
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I look back around the tree again, still keeping my eyes on Yokoo and Satou. There was no way I could let them see me with Mitsuba, because as far as they know I've been sick at home all weekend, which explained why I kept rejecting their offer for me to come and hangout like we usually do every weekend. Even if me and Mitsuba rushed our way out of here, they would've been able to pick out my blonde hair—and Mitsubas pink shade of hair already catches people's eyes all the time. I squint as I look to the side, thinking for a second before looking back down at Mitsuba, "Sorry about this.. there's just some people over there that would be kind of upset if they saw me right now." I softly smile before looking back around the tree. The two were just talking as Yokoo kicked a soccer ball back and forth, since Satou wasn't all that much into soccer like Yokoo was. "It's okay I guess.. but you never told me why you shoved me against this tree." Mitsuba looks up at me, and I look down at him again. "Are you ashamed of me or something?" My eyebrows raise, "What? No! Not at all! It's just that—" He cuts me off. "You don't want the wrong people to know that you're into a guy?" I blink, to be fair that was also a pretty good reason to be hiding from Yokoo and Satou. I didn't know their views on this sorta thing, and I'd definitely never hear the end of it since Mitsuba is also in class with us. "Well.. not really that reason in particular, but it sounds better than me saying that I sort of lied to some people just so I could hangout with you over the weekend." A teasing smile comes to Mitsubas face, "I'm glad I was the priority, I'm definitely way more cuter than these people are anyways." He tries looking behind him again. "Speaking of, who exactly are we hiding from?" I put a hand on Mitsubas shoulder, and I use the other to point over at where Yokoo and Satou are.

"Hey, aren't those two guys in our class?" Mitsuba looks up at me. "I thought you were like.. best friends with them or something.." I sigh, "Yeah, I am—but.." I glance at Mitsuba for a second then look back over at Yokoo and Satou, my eyebrows narrowing slightly as I softly blush a bit. "I had my priorities set." I blink, hoping Mitsuba hadn't noticed the expression on my face as I tried to fight that flustered feeling that I could feel growing in my face and my chest. "We're gonna have to leave at some point or we're gonna miss the public transit, and then we'll have to wait even longer for another one to come to the stop." Mitsuba mutters, as I could tell he was growing impatient. He was right though, I couldn't risk being stuck at the bus stop with those two. I then sigh just as Mitsuba grabs my hand. "I know my way there, just keep up and we won't have to worry about them seeing us." My eyebrows raise as Mitsuba starts running through the park, dragging me behind him. I could only really think about how cold Mitsubas hands felt in contrast to my own hand, and how soft his hand felt as he clutched my hand with his fingers. I didn't even bother looking back to see if the two had noticed Mitsuba and I running through the park, but I didn't really care.

I was too busy staring at Mitsuba.

His loose strands of hair were blowing in the wind as we ran, and his backpack keychains were jingling about with every step he took. We soon enough make it to the stop and Mitsuba quickly looks at the digital screen they had at the stop, which conveniently showed a schedule of where the bus was expected to be and when it was meant to get here. It looked like we had just barely made it in time, with 4 minutes left to spare. I can't help but still watch from behind the bus stop, practically hiding behind Mitsuba at this point as he tries to map out how long it will take us to get to the next district that we need to head to. He then looks at me and he puts a hand on my lower cheek and grabs the opposite side of my chin, making me look at him. "Calm down, they aren't gonna see you, besides—" He puts a hand on my shoulder and turns my body towards the bus as it pulls up to the stop. "They'd probably see me and see how cute I am and wouldn't be able to help themselves." I watch him get a cheeky smile as he shrugs, pulling me up onto the bus. He scans his pass while I pay my small little fee, then Mitsuba ushers me to the back and he sits in the seat closest to the window while I sit right next to him in the seat beside the isle. I had never taken public transit before since I was just used to walking everywhere, but Mitsuba must travel all over the place since he got a pass just for the bus. "So how should we pass the 20 something minute ride there?" Mitsuba looks up at me, and I look back at him as he secures his backpack in his lap. "Uhh.. I mean—" I think for a second, "We could play a game or something?" He gasps as he holds his fist up, and my eyebrow raises as I do the same, then we play a game of rock paper scissors as the bus starts driving, then Mitsuba softly puts his fist on my face as he imitates a punch and I move my face to the side, playing along. "Why must you beat me up all the timeee.." I gripe as Mitsuba smiles, then he crosses his arms as he puts his head on my shoulder.