Every Moment Spent 【 KageHina 】

Chapter Three, i.

As promised, Shoyo had come to the foyer by the next day. He remained perched on a bench, fidgeting, the silent atmosphere somehow being manageable enough to make him squirm with discomfort. To distract himself, he chose to peer into the clock shown on his phone and noting the time every now and then.

"He's not here yet..." He mumbled underneath his breath, taking a moment to ponder on where Sugawara was since it is slightly unusual for him to be this late. He did consider on opting out of the part time job at some point, but after being reminded that he wanted repay the favors of his seniors, he chose to go against his initial thoughts.

Besides, he begins to nod as if it'd help to convince himself, he might need some extra moneyー not that the allowance permitted by his scholarship is not enough, but it may be more convenient for him.

Sighing, Shoyo decided to have some refreshments as he waited for his upperclassman. Taking out a box of bento from his bag, he placed it onto his lap and promptly opened the lid, a whiff of the aroma from the food taken in to which made his stomach grumble lowly. Luckily for him, no one was around to witness him in this state because he's pretty sure that it would have been embarrassing.

Or well, so did he think that no one was around.

"You."

Before he could dig in into his bento, he halted at the sound of the awfully familiar voice . Slowly but surely did he threw a glance to his side, eyes trailing from his meal to the intruder. Dark shoes, dark tracks, a dark coatー but the moment he registered the face of the intruder and recognized who it was, he felt a sense of deja vu washing over him.

"You can see me, can't you?" It was the being he had only come to know about. He stands there, proudly, with hands shoved into his pocket and his ever calculating gaze that seemed to be focusing and scrutinizing him. It had taken a bit while to figure out what was going on, and when he did, he was quick to turn his head away and tried to pretend that that boy was not there by tuning him out.

"Oi. Are you listening?"

But it was hard; it was difficult to ignore the loud ringings in his ear and especially when every fiber of his body, once again, was screaming for him to move. Yet he did not heed to his mind's instructions; he remained to be rooted to his spot, staying completely silent. No, Shoyo didn't dare to move even a single inch, he doesn't want to put himself at a risk, considering what happened the last time. In the end, he sits there on the bench, almost alike to a lifeless dummy as he mindlessly stared down at his lunch, his hunger forgotten and a familiar twist of gut taking its stead.

However, all common sense seemed to leave him when he sees one of his favorite treats being snatched away.

"Hey, what gives?! Don't just take other people's lunch as you'd like!" He shot up right onto the tip of his toes and bristled visibly at the other's face, the bento left to be forgotten.

"So, you can see me." The boy nonchalantly said, and it was this realization that made Shoyo stiffened. Crap, his lips pressed into a thin line and his eyes widenedー it was a set up and he's been caught. "Uh." He started, looking anywhere else but the other's gaze. "Wh-who said that?"

"Stop joking around." The stranger merely scowled in response, and Shoyo was quick to comply as he forced himself to meet him in the eye.

He was thrown into a panic mode, that itself should be understandable given how he's trembling at the moment. Shoyo never was one to be capable of handling his anxiety well, therefore, it was only natural that during the times like this, he felt incredibly nauseous and there was this need arising for him to empty his stomach as the situation progressed. Yet at the same time, Shoyo was also boldー in a cowardly kind of way. After all, he never was the type of person who'd back down so easily.