sweets ✧ r.kaji ˣ ʳᵉᵃᵈᵉʳ

38: i love you

you wanted to shrink into some kind of snail shell and never come out, but at the same time wanted to stay and judge some of the guys with your friends. decisions, decisions.

decision one was supported by the loud music, incessant chatter, and bright lights. it almost gave you a headache. on top of that, you were hungry as hell. this was supposed to be a celebration party where you eat yakiniku and chill and talk about the fight, but no one was cooking the meat. kaji and enomoto tried—to no avail. the serving time for raw fucking meat took so long, you wondered if they were still catching the damn cows to cut them up and serve them.

decision two was backed by the fact that some of the boys from the other sections were either idiots, cringe, or crazy. they screamed out weird things and others would laugh. the jokes weren't even funny. your judging besties akemi and kenichi gave you the "did you hear that?" side eye whenever someone did something questionable.

however, through all the ear-splitting music and blinding colors, you had a sudden realization. where's kaji?

you turned to enomoto and asked, "where did kaji go? i swear he was here just a minute ago..."

"hah?!" he yelled, unable to hear you.

"WHERE DID KAJI GO?!" you screamed loud enough to reach his ears through the music.

"I THINK HE WENT TO THE BATHRRROOM, BUT THAT WAS LIKE FIVE MINUTES AGO."

"OKAY, THANK YOU!" and then you put your thinking cap on. kaji didn't like noisy places that much—you knew that. he couldn't be camping out in the bathroom, could he? deciding to take the risk, you stood up and slithered all the way to the bathrooms area.

it seemed abandoned, but you weren't sure. calling out his name would make you sound like a creep or something. "kaji?" you whispered. "are you in there?" there was no reply, but it was probably because he wouldn't be able to hear you in the first place.

you gave up and went outside instead for freshness. it took you a bit to find the exit. here, the air was cool, much unlike the stuffy, human-y inside. it was kinda foggy.

you looked to the right, and there he was. like an angel, he stood underneath a warm orange streetlamp. the light illuminated his features like cracked glass shards of heaven peeking down to touch the boy's face. he had his headphones on. you wanted time to stop so that you could admire him forever.

your eyes met his. "whatcha listening to?"

"owl city," he replied softly. he put the headphones down to rest around his neck instead. "...isn't it nice here?" if the boy had any shock that you found him, he didn't show it at all.

you stood unmoving, letting the twilight air's whispers pass through your hair. "yeah. it's too crowded in there. but why are you here?"

"it was suffocating," he explained simply. "why are you here?"

"i looked for you. couldn't you have told someone before going out?" there was a slight concern in your tone. maybe it was because kaji's life was endangered that night that you valued him even more now. it felt bad, like you took him for granted.

"it's not like you have to worry about me," he mumbled, throwing his gaze downwards. his frame was awkward, like he was uncomfortable just standing there.

your eyes twinkled. hey, wait...isn't this a perfect time to confess? in the dark like this, with the light dim? "i do," you said, a plan in mind. just the thought of his reaction made you feel tingly. "kaji, you..."

he listened, but those bright blue eyes and that relentless stare almost made you choke on your words.

"on valentine's day, at the park. you told me that you thought of me as...a friend." the embarrassment started creeping up your neck, and you couldn't bear looking at the boy that made you go crazy, so you forced your eyes downwards instead. "and you know what?"