Boys For Hire!!

Chapter 14: Contract

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Hey guys thanks for all the comments and votes, really makes my day to see all of them like omg. AlsooOO a couple readers have submitted fanart to me (which I appreciate and LOVE by the way you're all so talented <3) and I've also had an offer from a reader for a manga version to be made of this novel, which I'm super excited for!

Just please remember I love writing, but sometimes real life gets in the way so I'm unable or am too busy to update. I will always set a goal to have at LEAST one update every month, so please bare with me~!

Ok end of Author's Update and onto the chapter...

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I scream but it seems like nobody can hear me. The sound of thumping and pounding fills my ears, half from the fight but half from the headache I'm having.

"Fucking twatt."

"Look in the mirror, asshole."

"Are you from the second grade?"

In terror, I grab onto the princely figure of the Boy For Rent group. "S-stop them...! Please I don't want them to fight!" Only half of my words are understandable as I jut them out through harsh sobs. The guy himself, scared and terrified, stands frozen. When I look over to Katsumi and the remaining Boy For Rent, I see the same expressions.

When I hear another thud from the fighting duo, I click my tongue and rub my eyes, the bittersweet sting of relief and throbbing overcoming my vision. Running to others for help has never been my style anyway.

"And you call yourselves men." Step by step, I nervously make my way over to Shintaro and Ichirou, planning on shoving one of them away. I take a breath in, and decide on who to part.

"Ichirou, that's enough." I cling onto the arm of the well-muscled fighter and tug him harshly away from the Boy For Hire. "I don't need you starting fights for me, I'm not a damsel in distress and I'm not the type of girl to fall for the knight in shining armour. If I was a damsel, I would've pushed you off the tower by now."

Ichirou grits his teeth. "You were crying over this asshole for god's sakes."

"Only better to drown you all with. Now go home, I don't need you here." I fold my arms in a huff, only to receive a wounded expression back from the Boy For Rent.

"Guys, let's go." The four opposition leave with mixed expressions. I'm careful not to let mine drop, when I see Ichirou glance back at me with sad eyes. When I turn around, I meet the bloodshot eyes of Shintaro, who has bruises forming over his jawline and a couple scratches around his collarbones.

"Are you okay?" I approach him steadily, lifting my hand to brush my fingers over his bruised cheekbones. I sigh. "Who am I kidding," I puff my left cheek. "You look like shit."

"Is that what you say to a man who just came back from a fight for you?" Shintaro chuckles a bit. "But then again what other response could I expect from a woman who threatened to drown us in her tears."

When I smile, he attempts to painfully smile back at me.

"Shintaro." I shakily draw a breath and clutch onto his arm. "Do you see a future with me?" He blinks once, then twice, and then looks past me as if trying to avoid my stare. "Just answer the question." Awkwardly, my voice cracks mid-sentence as I speak. I lower my voice even further so the other Boys For Hire can't hear what I'm about to say. "I want to know, that maybe one day, I'd even have the slightest chance of wearing a dramatically expensive white dress, in a cheesy-ass ceremony with raining flower petals and a bunch of jealous girls watching me walking down the aisle to the most gorgeous man in the world."

To my shame, I already knew what the answer was going to be.

"We've been through this before, please don't make me say it again." He responds tiredly and my eyes droop. Almost immediately, I feel the protective barrier that surrounds by head seal up, and I clam myself shut.

I let go of my grip on his arm, and I let my body slump. "Hahaha, thanks for clearing that up for me Shin. It's finally comin' all together." I can feel my eyes welling up but as hard as it is, I force myself to smile.

"Shin...!? What do you think your-!"

"I just... I don't want to do this anymore. In the end, we both just get hurt." I shake my head. "Get real and grow up, we'd just never work." I let his cold hand slide out of mine, and I push myself away from him.

"Thank you for loving me Shintaro."

***

I walk through the baker's alley with heavy footsteps. The cold air hits my hands, running goose bumps up my arm as chills run through my spine.

Once again, I've crushed my own heart with my own hands. "Why do I always fall in love with the wrong boy...?!" I scold myself.

"Falling in love is such a pain isn't it."

I whip around at the sound of someone's voice behind me.

"Wouldn't it just be easier if you just had to fake it and not make it?"

I squint through the darkness, and I stumble when I recognise who it is. "Your from the Boys For Hire business. You picked up the boys when I was in the infirmary-"

"Your sharp, that's good." The man smirks as me, his eyes staring under a pair of dark sunglasses. He wears a regular business suit and a fedora to match, almost exactly the same as the style he was wearing the day he picked up the Boys For Hire. "I heard from a little bird that you'd finally realised the nothingness of your little play-relationship with the playboy."

I clench my teeth. "Unless you get to the fucking point asap, I'll start working on my peri peri chicken recipes for when I get my hands on your little birds."

"A contract." He nods.

My mind seems to only semi-process the words. "Your not... Your not offering what I think you are, are you?" I question nervously.

"Oh, I'm fully serious." He pulls a piece of paper from his pocket, and unravels it. He slowly approaches me and carefully hands me the piece of paper. I quickly snatch it from him and run my eyes over it in disbelief. I shake my head vigorously and shove it back, unwilling.

"As if I'd ever do it, I have morals."

"Think about it Chiseki." He shoves his hands in his pockets. "Glorious pay, respectable clientele, an insured future." When I shake my head again, he hits the nail in the head with his next line. "You'd never have to have your heart broken ever again." I stand unmoving. He slowly pulls out the contract yet again, and slides it into my hand. "Do think about it." He says before walking away, the street lamps illuminating the back of his suit. I look down at the contract, surprised at myself when I actually give myself the chance to think about it. When I'm about to rip up the piece of paper, the man stops once again turning back to look at me.

"For the record," He nods down at the contract. "I think you'd make a great Girl For Hire."