The Break Up Plan (BoyxBoy)

A Perfect Life

Rin Hamada smells distinctly of cinnamon, musk, and pine. And I can tell because my face is currently buried in his neck.

Few things in life are truly perfect. The snowflake that falls into your palm. The mist over a park in the early morning. That moment when you win a game of UNO with a plus 4 card so you cause pain even in your exit. But my friendship with Rin is perfect.

Take this morning for example:

By 8:10 I was walking into Emmett High School, saying hi to the people that partnered up with me for projects and wished me happy birthday on Facebook. At 8:15, I got to Rin's locker and found him there, waiting for me because he always gets to school before I do. His parents are too strict and he's too much of a do-gooder to ever chance it.

I saw Rin first. He had on blue jeans, a white t-shirt, and a muted brown plaid shirt thrown over top. An outfit exclusive to "boys next door" like him. His black hair was parted down the center, slightly curled as it fell over his brows.

Then he turned and caught my eye and his full mouth opened into the widest of smiles.

Both of us had convenient glow ups right before freshman year, but Rin's was just a bit more glowy. Half the time, I found some girl waiting around to try to talk to him.

Like the straggler I saw today, clutching one backpack strap tightly as she flirted. But as soon as I came, their conversation stopped. Because Rin is my best friend, he knew that our friendship mattered more than random girls. And we both agreed that relationships are a waste of time.

"Why should I waste my time paying for boring dates and showing off a girl I'll forget in five years?" was my go to explanation for why I wasn't dating. And Rin always nodded along because he agreed. Because we're best friends.

With a couple more words, the girl was on her way just in time for Rin to throw his arm around me. I was dragged into his body, face shoved into his neck, while he gave me a noogie.

Luckily, my curly hair could handle the disturbance. Rin always told me I was lucky to have it. It was thick brown curls that I never put product into. Hair that always flopped out of my way when I was doing homework. I got the sides and back of my head shaved so it was just the bundle of curls up top. He said my hair was trendy, a real girl magnet for when I eventually wanted to find one.

I'd grabbed Rin's far shoulder so I didn't trip when he pulled me in and could feel his muscles rippling under my touch. I always wondered how he'd gotten so toned when he never joined a school sport but he never revealed his secrets. Rin's efforts to mess up my hair, efforts that always failed, slowed and I got another deep inhale of his scent.

Rin always smelled good in the mornings. The same way he always got here before me and always shooed off new girls trying to flirt the second he saw me. Some things just worked and the two of us worked.

Like how it worked for me to not fully inhale again until he let go of me. I always get a little tingly when I get close to him like this. It was the natural chemistry that came with being best friends. So not breathing in a lot was for the best.

Rin released me with a laugh, his straight white teeth blinding me with their shine. I wondered if any of his nearby admirers saw it too. It felt like the entire bustling hallway halted for a moment, eager to get a look.

"You look terrible, Elly," my best friend, the asshole, grinned.

His dark brown eyes looked black most of the time and those eyes were trailing me up and down. I bit the inside of my cheek, trying not to tug at my shirt. I was all too aware of the fact that my eye bags were so dark they'd turned plaid.