A Table For One~Kagehina

She Was Probably Worried

When Tobio asked Shouyou to take photos of the volleyball club, Shouyou was elated.

Tobio hadn't even seen what Shouyou could do but Tobio entrusted Shouyou to do a good job.

Sure, it was extremely stressful to think about, but it was also somewhat blissful. Just thinking about how much Tobio must have faith in Shouyou to know he'd be able to pull it off.

Shouyou spent the rest of the day taking photos of various plants and animals outside. He wanted to make sure his skills were on point for the next day.

When he arrived at school, he wore his camera around his neck as he cheerfully walked to his first class. Some kids even questioned Shouyou about the camera, making for good conversation about Shouyou's hobbies.

It all seemed to fall apart after school, when three boys approached Shouyou not far from the nearby volleyball court.

Of course, Shouyou recognized them. They had been teasing and knocking Shouyou around for years.

They took pride in diminishing any and all happiness Shouyou outwardly showed.

Yeah, he actually used to be happy, shocker.

But he was small, and they were big bulky type boys who's personalities seemed to revolve around the gym.

Everyone knew Shouyou was an easy target, especially in middle school, and Shouyou not so eagerly waited for the moment when someone would take advantage of that.

But when they did, Shouyou realized he was far from ready.

And it never stopped. It was continuous all through middle and it even resurfaced in high school.

The world seemed so small for a while, Shouyou didn't know how to avoid the boys as they worked to make his own life a living hell.

That was, until he met his boyfriend.

He was there for Shouyou whenever he needed a shoulder to cry on. And he was there to help Shouyou stand back up when Shouyou had a particularly rough day.

It seemed like nothing would tear the two apart. That was until he introvert Shouyou to his friends.

There they stood before him, holding back laughs at the fact that their friend could be dating such a small, pathetic loser like Shouyou.

And they were right, because it didn't take long for Shouyou to get the whole "it's not you it's me" speech.

After that, it all got worse. Shouyou tried to cloud the memories, but they were all to vivid, and they always occurred, there was nothing to cover them up with.

So when he was able to find someone as compassionate and caring as Tobio, Shouyou made sure to to everything in his favor to keep these things away.

But Shouyou was too fragile, no matter how much that thought tasted like metal in his mouth.

It was easy for him to break, and it felt so good being able to talk to someone about his feelings again.

No matter what, it felt like Tobio would stay with Shouyou, through thick or thin.

Even so, however, Shouyou knew not to trust a book by its cover, and he maintained his secrets until they would spill out like a flood of emotions.

He still prided himself in keeping these secrets, it felt good not making Tobio worry.

But perhaps that ended up having the opposite effect.

When they threw his camera onto the ground, Shouyou knew it was over.

The one thing Tobio had entrusted into Shouyou was ruined, and it was all his fault.

So, he went to the only place he could think of, his happy place, a place of childhood memories that made him feel like maybe everything would be okay in the end, because everything was always okay when he was there.

He sat and cried for a while on the swing-set, watching the sun set in the horizon and the stars approach the now night sky.

Shouyou didn't want everything to fall apart.

His only friend.

It couldn't end like this.

No, he wouldn't let it end like this.

So he shot Tobio a text, asking to meet.

He contemplated what he would say, running through his words in his mind as he came up with a story that could pose as believable if not thought about too much.

When Tobio arrived after a few minutes, Shouyou put his plan into action.

He couldn't lose Tobio.

He wouldn't lose Tobio.

Not after all he'd done.

Not after everything he did.

Shouyou didn't even realize he was crying until halfway through their conversation.

His only thoughts were Tobio.

Tobio.

Tobio.

Tobio.

Please don't leave me.

I need you.

Shouyou ran on autopilot throughout the rest of the conversation, he didn't even know what he was saying anymore, it was all a blur.

After a few minutes, Shouyou stood up and off of the swing-set, and made his way back to his moms.

She was probably worried.