Boys For Hire!!

Chapter 17: Who You Really Are

I sniff around myself curiously through  the window of the car. "Yo, this car smells like a tennis ball."

"Could you not compare my ride to sports equipment?" The prince laughs at me from my side. I stare over at my front door, the driver from before and.... Shintaro's father had entered my house to talk to my mother, giving Shintaro and I some time alone. I shuffle my hands in my pockets, feeling heat rising to my face and hearing my heart beating in my chest. The cold evening air is filled with silence. How annoying...

"Jeez you could cut the tension with the dull blade of my self esteem." I fold my arms and lean on the roof of Shintaro's car, placing my chin on my wrists.

I hear him sigh. "What did you expect? The slow motion beach scenes you see in movies?"

Something like that.

The silence continues into long stretched seconds, before something strikes me. I bounce myself off the side of the car and shove my hands in my pockets. "How's Katsu? And Naozumi and Naoyuki? They weren't there the night you fought with Ichi. I miss them..." I drift off, being honest. To my expense.

Shintaro turns to me with a sour expression on his face. "Miss them?" I feel a tight grip on my upper arm, and I stumble trying to regain balance as Shintaro pulls me towards him. "Why would you miss them?" I observe is eyebrows crease and I feel a twinge in my heart.

"Because Shintaro," I grip his arm with my left hand as tightly as he grips mine. "Their my friends."

"I bet those Boys For Rent's are your friends too, huh." He spits at me. "Shit-!"

I step on his foot as hard as I can, gripping his arm even tighter when he tries to move. "Don't even go there Shintaro." I step off his foot and loosen my grip on him. He stares at me through his long blonde fringe with honest eyes. "I know you don't mean it." My eyes linger around his pinky finger which seems to be having a bit of a seizure. Sighing, I turn my face away from him trying to divert my disappointed expression.

"Hey... Arian?"

"What is it?" After a few moments of dead silence, only the sound of rusting leaves in the atmosphere, Shintaro goes to ask me a question. My heart pounds as I wait for it, but I already half know what it's going to be.

"Can we... Take a break...?"

As I'm processing his words, I taste a coppery substance in my mouth. Relaxing my jaw, I release my tongue from my nervous bite. I lower my head and clench my left fist. "You came all the way here to tell me that?" 

He shakes his head. "In all truth, my father came here to collect your mother's final instalment for your Boys For Hire program with us-"

I don't let him finish as I push past him, making my way hastily towards the  front door in attempts to shield myself from the shame of actually thinking Shintaro would come all this way for me alone. I feel him grab my wrist and I struggle as hard as I can.

"I'm trying to become a better boyfriend for you Arian! To available-!"

"Available!?!" I scream at him. "And boyfriend?! HA!! A real boyfriend, Shintaro, shouldn't date others for a job. I shouldn't have to walk to school and see my boyfriend," I point to him sarcastically. "dating some other girl and think its all fine and dandy. I shouldn't have to go and see you, then find that the next minute when you drop my ass your going to date another girl!" I turn around but he still holds be with a killer grip. "Let me go!!" I struggle until I don't have the energy, then slump my back over tiredly. "Stop filling me with empty promises... Stop building a tower you know you can't keep upright..."

Finally, Shintaro lets me go and I feel myself topple forwards, only to fall into strong arms.

"You shouldn't make ladies cry you know. Your a sorry excuse for a prince character." I look up and stare into strong purple eyes.

"Aki-"

"I know I'm a sorry excuse." Shintaro hangs his head, cutting off my sentence to Akihiko, who's got me wrapped in his arms keeping me upright.

"Shintaro." I hear a deep and heavy voice from the door. I look over and see Shintaro's father and his body guard getting ready to leave. His father looks between me and Akihiko to Shintaro. "Well, this is an interesting scene... I expect an interesting story for the ride home Shintaro." Shintaro's father looks at me in disdain as he continues his way to the fancy car, yanking Shintaro inside so I don't even have time to say good bye. The bodyguard dressed in black makes his way to the drivers seat, and I distantly wave as they reverse out the driveway and speed off.

I hear a small cough from above me while I'm in my thought. "Uh, Chiseki?" I realise I'm still leaning on Akihiko.

"Oh!! Sorry!" I immediately separate myself form the tall prince and straighten myself up. "Thanks... For helping me back then..." I give him a friendly smile like I always do, until I hear a snort in disgust.

"Your thankful huh?" I'm taken aback at the tone in Akihiko's voice. It's like his complete persona did a 180 as I look at the sour expression on his face. "Why's that?"

I try to remain calm and neutral. "Because we're friends...? And you helped me?"

"Friends?"

He laughs sarcastically at me and I feel the urge to snap back, until...

"You shoulda' thought about saying that, before you pushed my little brother off a roof."

And with that, the Prince whipped around, and slammed the front door behind him. My head pangs at a realisation, as dozens of thoughts run through my head. One how ever, dominates my mind.

"Could he be...?"