Collegebound

Dinner

Yuya smiled happily as he finished decorating his bedroom. He had set up some posters of his dad's magic show above his desk, and all of his precious plushies were sitting on his pillow. Fortunately Yugo didn't seem to be judging him for bringing twenty-seven plushies to college with him. What? You're never too old for plushies!

Yugo was admiring Yuya's posters. "Hey, you're a fan of Sakaki Yusho, too?" he asked. Yuya nodded, "Yeah, he's actually my dad!"

Yugo's eyes widened at that. "No way! Oh my god, I'm a HUGE fan! Your dad is SO cool! I've always wanted to go to one of his shows, but I never had the chance! Or the funds. But I watch all his performances on TV!"

Yuya smiled. He always liked hearing fans praising his dad. "Well, maybe I'll take you to one of his shows sometime! He lets me bring up to three friends to his shows for free when I go. I always bring my best friend Yuto, and usually two other friends too. I used to bring Yuzu, but... well... we're not friends anymore..."

Yugo lit up excitedly at the thought of being able to attend one of Sakaki Yusho's magic shows, and he started bouncing on his heels. "I would LOVE to go!" he squealed. Yuya giggled at his enthusiasm. He was about to reply when the two of them suddenly heard a knock at the dorm's front door. Yugo blinked in confusion. "Were you expecting a visitor?"

"It might be Yuto," Yuya said, walking towards the door. "We agreed to meet up once we were settled in." He opened the door and sure enough, it was his eggplant-haired bestie. "Hi, Yuto! How are you doing?"

"Hi, Yuya!" Yuto said, smiling warmly at his best friend. "I'm doing pretty good! How about you?"

"I'm doing great!" Yuya said. "Hey, Yugo, c'mere! This is Yuto, my best friend! Yuto, this is Yugo, my new roommate!"

"Nice to meet you!" Yugo said, bouncing around. Yuto nodded, "Likewise. Hey, so, my new roommate left for a bit, so do you guys want to go to the dining hall together for dinner?"

"Sure!" Yuya said, and Yugo nodded eagerly. "Let's go!"

The three of them headed off to the dining hall. It was already packed by the time they arrived. They grabbed some food and began looking for a place to sit together. Unfortunately it seemed that every table was already taken. The only available space was a single table with one cabbage-haired young man sitting at it.

Yuya walked up to the cabbage-head, giving him a charming smile when he looked up. "Hey, do you mind if we sit here with you? Everywhere else is full."

The cabbage-head was silent for a moment, his purple eyes fixed on Yuya's smile. After a moment, he seemed to shake himself and said, "Yeah, sure, go ahead."

Yuya sat down next to the cabbage-head, as Yuto and Yugo sat down across from them. "I'm Yuya! This is Yuto and that's Yugo! What's your name?"

The cabbage-head was silent for another moment, before answering, "Yuri. My name's Yuri."

"It's nice to meet you!" Yuya said cheerfully. Yuri looked at him for a while, then muttered, "Why couldn't you have been my roommate instead?"

"Cuz he's my roommate," Yugo said. Yuto raised an eyebrow, "Is your roommate bad?"

Yuri furiously stabbed a cucumber slice in his salad with his fork. "UGH! He's horrible! I've only known him for two hours, and he's already killed one of my potted plants, spilled soda all over my computer, trampled on three of my books, and I caught him snooping through my belongings when I came back from the bathroom! I swear if he does one more thing I'm going to lose it!"

Yuya gently patted Yuri's shoulder comfortingly, and Yuri sighed. "I'm this close to retaliating. I promised myself I wouldn't lash out at people who antagonize me as an adult, but it is so hard not to when I have to deal with that jerk!"

"He does sound like a jerk," Yuto said. "You might be able to request a roommate change if things get worse."

"Yeah, well, that costs money," Yuri said bitterly. "Money that I don't have."

Yuya patted Yuri's shoulder some more, and he seemed to slowly calm down. Yugo swallowed his bite of taco and changed the subject, "So, what do you all like to do for fun?"

"I like to read and garden," Yuri said, smiling a little at the thought of his hobbies.

"I like to paint and cook," Yuto said.

"I like dancing and practicing gymnastics and doing magic tricks!" Yuya said happily. Yuri raised an eyebrow, but before he could say anything Yugo spoke, "Oh, yeah! You said Sakaki Yusho's your dad, right?"

"Yeah!" Yuya nodded. Yuri's eyes widened. "Wait, for real? Oh my god, no wonder you look familiar! You volunteered to help him with that vanishing box magic trick at one of his shows!"

Yuya grinned and nodded. He remembered that particular show. It had been a few weeks after his and Yuto's friendship with Yuzu had ended, and Yusho had picked Yuya for a magic trick in an attempt to cheer him up.

Yuri looked at Yuya appreciatively. He could already tell that the tomato would be one of his most treasured friends.