A Moment Too Soon (Yaoi boyxboy)

Yuuichi

Nowaki had stopped by the stairs again. This time, I saw it coming and I stopped with him. He looked desperate for something, but I didn't know what. I watched as his face darkened slightly, and then he looked upwards. There was the slightest pause before he suddenly reached out, grabbed me, and pulled my forward. I nearly tripped going up every step because he was pulling me along so quickly.

I didn't know why he was bringing me with, but I didn't pull away. I didn't say anything either. It was clear that he didn't want to go to the lunchroom. I could see that when we were standing in the classroom. He held back his objection though, most likely because he knew he could just escape up the stairs easily. That's exactly what he was doing now...except he brought me with him.

When the doors up top swung open, the bright light hit my eyes and I covered them with my free hand. He stopped and we stood there catching our breath. Nowaki's hand had slipped from my arm to my hand, and he was still clutching it. When he realized it, he pulled his hand from mine and looked away, blushing.

"Sorry..." He muttered.

"It's fine." I chuckled and looked around. The roof was large, and empty. There was nothing up here to sit on or anything. I watched as Nowaki walked over to a spot next to a wall and plopped down. I followed and stood in front of him. He stayed quiet and I looked next to him. Cautiously, I asked,

"Where should I sit?" My words brought a strange look to his face. I thought he was going to tell me to just sit anywhere, but he pointed to the spot on his left. I was slightly confused, since there was more space on his right, but I didn't argue. Then it suddenly hit me that the other spot might have been where Kida use to sit. I could understand that. He moved over slightly for me, and I sat down. It was quiet for a minute.

"Sorry I drug you up here." He apologized. I laughed and looked at him.

"Why? It's not bad. It's nice and quiet, at least." I said. He nodded and then sighed. Being up here was making him sad. I could see it in his eyes. Desperately, I searched for something to keep his mind off of it.

"So, did you not bring a lunch today?" I asked him. He shook his head. "That isn't good, Nowaki. You should really eat lunch...here." I dug through my bag and pulled mine out. He watched me take my sandwich and pull out half of it. When I held it out to him, he said,

"You don't have to do that. It's fine." Still, I held it out.

"No, it's not good for you to skip meals. I don't mind sharing, really." I said. He hesitated, but finally took it from my hands. I smiled when he did, and he looked down.

"Thanks..." He sighed. I took the other half out and started to eat it. He began to eat his too, which made me feel a little better. He still looked down though, so I continued to wrack my brain for things to say. Unfortunately, I couldn't come up with anything that wasn't small talk. We sat in the silence for a moment, until I blurted something I hadn't really meant to.

"Why don't we hang out sometime?" I asked. Even though I was the one asking him, I felt my face start to burn. I hadn't meant for it to come out in actual words. It was just a thought.

"What?" He looked at me with an unreadable expression.

"Uh..." I wasn't sure if he wanted me to repeat, or if he was just surprised. I couldn't come up with an answer, and I felt the urge to turn my face away and say never mind. He must have read my expression and realized what was happening, because his face softened a little and he said,

"Hang out?" He looked like he was taking it into consideration. "...when?"

"Oh...j-just whenever." The amount of relief I was feeling that he didn't say no was impossible to describe. My accidental blurt turned into something good. Thank goodness it didn't end terribly. He looked out across the rooftop and I waited for him to speak again. He began to nod.

"...sure. Yeah, we can hang out sometime." He glanced at me, and then froze. I couldn't wipe the smile off of my face, which is probably why he was staring at me.

"Awesome." I replied. "I'm looking forward to it then."

"Me too..." He nearly stuttered as he stared. I could see a whisper of pink on his cheeks as his eyes gazed upon me. I was right when I said Nowaki was attractive...I just wanted to see him smile now.