Sleep Tight, My Dear Kusuo

6. There's Still Hope for Peace, Right?

Saiki woke up to what was probably a thousand notifications on his phone. It was all within the last ten minutes since he had only fallen asleep twenty minutes before. He opened the phone and saw a bunch of messages from Atsuki that were asking him to hang out. The last message read something along the lines of "You don't really have a choice this time."

Saiki didn't want to know what that meant. Hell, the term ended just two days ago. Couldn't he at least attempt to sleep in? Let alone breathe. Good grief. Either way, Saiki didn't take it seriously, turning off his ringer and rolling onto his stomach. He closed his eyes again, sinking into the pillows. The moment he let himself think he had a second of peace, the door was rudely opened.

"Good morning!" Atsuki sang. Saiki lifted his head just enough to send a glare to Atsuki. Atsuki stayed smiling, tapping the surfboard that he was holding under his arm. Like that bastard hadn't just barged into Saiki's home. "Hold on, you sleep with your glasses on?"

Saiki countered the question, "...How did you get in?"

"I just told your mom that I was a friend. I didn't charm her or anything."

You definitely did...

"Alright," Atsuki clapped. "Up on your feet now. We're going to the beach."

"The beach...?" Saiki rubbed his neck. He really didn't want to get up, and the beach was the last thing on his mind right now.

...Well, there was one thing he could try.

Saiki slowly moved to a sitting position. "...I didn't get a lot of sleep last night. So I'm staying home."

Atsuki put a hand to his chin, seemingly in his thoughts for a moment before opening his mouth. "Nah. Just for today, I'm gonna be selfish." He smiled again. "You do know what day it is, don't you?"

I know all too well...

With that, Atsuki had managed to pull Saiki out of bed, (with the kind help of Saiki's mother) and began dragging him out the house. Saiki was still very pissed, not running on much sleep and having very little energy in the first place. Don't worry, Atsuki would fix that later.

Atsuki closed the gate and turned around to the brooding Saiki. He gave the boy a smile. "It'll be fun. You'll be able to relax."

"I doubt that." Saiki replied.

Saiki was proven right when a loud voice called out to them.

"Hey! Pals!" Nendou greeted happily. Coincidentally, (Or not?) he was holding a surfboard too.

"Hey. You're off to the beach as well?" Atsuki pointed at Nendou's surfboard.

"Yeah! I was thinking about bringing my buddy Saiki along!"

So I had no choice in the first place...

And that's how Saiki ended up at the beach with Nendou, Atsuki, and Kaidou. Saiki's not sure why Kaidou tagged along, but he couldn't care enough. He figured he would be fine as long as he was left alone to read his book under the shade of the umbrella. Atsuki seemed excited though, immediately stripping his shirt off as soon as everyone finished setting up.

"Not gonna get in the water?" Atsuki questioned when he tossed his shirt on the blanket.

"I'd rather read."

"Aww, how cute. Well, enjoy yourself." Atsuki saluted before taking his surfboard and running to the ocean. Saiki's eyes remained on Atsuki for another second before he looked over at Nendou and Kaidou.