Boys For Hire!!

Chapter 7: Burn Me With You, Princess

I open the door to my darkened room and open the bottom drawer where my secret stash lies. I take out one of the packets and sniff it up.

"Ahhh, so good..." No it's not drugs. "Love Live themed bath bombs... It's been such a long time since I've bathed with Maki!!" I jump up and grab my towel, rushing out of my bedroom attempting to avoid certain people. But as always I fail.

"Rushing so soon, princess?" Shintaro gives me a smirk and grabs my waist so I'm pressed against his chest. "Were you coming to see me-"

"NO TIME SHINTARO."

I shove him into a wall. He stumbles for a bit then collapses onto the floor, speechless.

I rush up to the bathroom and lock the door frantically. "Hahh, we're finally alone, Maki-chan...!" I sniff the bath bomb again.

"Maki-chan? Were you referring to me?"

I whip around, face red. I clutch my Maki Nishikino bath bomb in my hand and back up against the wood frame of the white bathroom door.

"M-Masashi!?" I yell in horror, as I see a man lousily slouching in the bathtub, his head turned look at me as his long brown hair is strewn behind his shoulders. Water drips from his fringe as he pulls his hair to the side so it hangs behind his right ear.

"Never would've thought you were so daring, Arian." Masashi stares at me with cold eyes, he looks so different without...

I grab his cheeks and squeeze hard, finding it hard since he's all jawline and no chub. "Are you actually Masashi? Where are your glasses?"

"You think I have to have glasses to be myself!?" He face palms through the water and rips my hands away from his cheeks, keeping a tight grip on my right wrist. I try my hardest not to look down into the water below me. "Trying to resist, airhead?" He pulls me closer to him harshly, dragging his lips across my jawline and to my earlobe. "Unlike the others, I won't and will not be tempted by you." Before I know it, I'm wet, soggy and boiling to death.

"H-h-hot!!" Masashi's pulled me into his bath, which I swear was heated with the fires of hell. As I flail and struggle to get out of the bath, Masashi keeps me into the water. "M-Masashi, please, it's hurting!!" My skin heats up and starts becoming red, my head's spinning and throbbing.

"Then come here." Masashi presses my head against his chest, which is surprisingly cold. I push my cheek against his flesh, my body still being pushed under the water by his strong hands. My hands become painful, trying to prop myself up above his... body. We stay together like this for a minute before I get used to the temperature, but when I go to get up I'm hit with a wave of heat again and scream. "Oh shut up." I grit my teeth and glare at Masashi.

"Asshole."

"Spoilt princess."

"I'm not spoilt." I bite back. "You don't know anything about me."

"Arian Chiseki, otaku, first year high school student at Kings Academy for the gifted and talented. Lives with her mother. Murderer."

I bite my tongue so hard I can taste copper. "You... You...!"

"Let me guess, I'm evil? I'm scum? I'm not gonna play the chivalrous knight with you Arian, your more real than other girls that hire us. But still, I'm at your dispense."

His teeth grit at the last word, dispense. That's right... Boys For Hire is much sadder then most people think. Boys that don't even finish high school give up their lives and existences to work and make money by catering the needs of girls.

"Your a human, not a toy I can chuck and carry around. Value yourself a bit more." I roll my eyes at him. "You make it sound so bad, but yet, you yourself are the one who signed a contract to be a Boy For Hire. And hah, a chivalrous knight? You never were one from the start." I look up at him and smirk. "Without your act, what even are you, but an empty doll ready to serve?"

His eyes turn dark and lifeless, and I don't notice his hand sneak out of the water.

"H-Hahhh!" He grabs my neck and squeezes it tightly.

"Don't ever fucking say that we are just empty dolls, or do you just hate me? Would you say what you just said to the little brat?"

My blood boils hotter then the bath water. "Don't talk about Shiroi like that you asshole."

"Don't contradict your self, you murderer." We glare at each other for a few seconds, the steam heating the room just like our feelings.

***

I'm sitting next to Haruo watching the new episode of Sekko Boys, feet up and shovelling popcorn into my mouth hole.

"You've been growling all the episode, what happened?" Haruo asks me curiously and I growl.

"That stupid four eyes... My skin's so irritated because of him...!" I slam my fist onto the couch.

"Oh, did he shove you in scalding water or something?" I whip around as Haruo replies me. Does Masashi do this everyone!?

"How did you...!"

Haruo sighs. "Masashi does is to people who annoy him. Trust me, I learned that the hard way." He rubs the back of his neck.

"Why!? That's horrible!!"

"Haven't you noticed? Masashi's a stoic character, he doesn't know how to express feelings properly." The violinist lies back into the beige couch. "I don't know the whole story, but Masashi was also a foster kid, so we're on pretty understanding terms." I nod in agreement. Out of everyone, Masashi tolerates Haruo the most. "But unlike me, he went to an even worse home." Haruo's eyes darken and he falters. "The mother would often force him to do nothing but study, and the father... If Masashi disobeyed, the father would drown Masashi in a pool of scalding water."

I gasp, hands to my mouth. That's.... That's...!

I race down the stairs, ignoring Haruo's cries of surprise. I open the door to our balcony, which has a full, beautiful view of the night skies and it's mix of purples and blues. There I see, standing in the light of the outdoor LED's, Masashi.

"Masa...shi..."

I realise that he's shirtless, but my eye catches something even more significant.

"Those scars... Were they from the-"

"Boiling water. Did Haruo spill it? Imbecile."

I look down in regret, hanging my head low. "I'm... sorry. For calling you a doll. Y...You're real, your a person. I shouldn't of said what I-"

"No, your right. I am a doll, I hadn't realised it, thank you for-"

"Oh shut up!" I grab his face with both hands, eyeing the running scar that traced his neck to his left collarbone. "Your real, see this?" I grab his cheek as hard as I can and pinch. I watch as he winces. "That, that right there shows that your real. You have emotions idiot. Like how Haruo loves playing violin, or how Shiroi wants to protect everyone. That's not them playing their roles, it's who and what they want to be or do. Just ask yourself Masashi, who do you want to be?" I look him in the eye when I say this. His cold eyes soften momentarily.

"I want... To be normal for a change."

"Then I'll show you. What's it's like to be a normal kid. Better wake up early tomorrow yeah. And~" I open the balcony door and grin back at him. "You have to call me Chi-Senpai!!"

"Idiot, as if you'll wake up early." The corners of Masashi's mouth lift, and his face gains a pink tint to it. "C...Chi Senpai..."