【Unusual】|Chapter Seven

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It was late in the afternoon when Kaneki had called Hide over to Anteiku. The cafe was yet to open its doors so it was nice and tranquil. Kaneki waited for Hide's arrival with a cup of coffee set on the table by his right hand.He could feel the heat slowly making its way pass his pale cold hand.His eyes cast over the cup before he lifted a finger to gently rub against the rim of the cup and with half-lidded eyes his finger was at a halt.From the finger he put on the rim of the cup his eyes travelled upwards to scan the face of a familiar face.

"Hide..,"Kankei identified the grinning face.His thoughts were smoothly flowing through his mind,his heartbeat slowed its pace and his half-lidded eyes were given life as a soft look clouded over his eyes.

"Yo,Kaneki."Hide softly spoke with a face that brightened.He swung an arm over Kaneki and furrowed his eyebrows whilst still grinning."Haha,we haven't seen each other for a while!What's up?Talked to (NAME) yet?~"

Kaneki's eyes widened upon hearing the name but soon softened his eyes gradually.His voice was gentle and endearing as he replied,"Yes...We've talked and caught up with things I guess.However,that's not what I wanted to talk about entirely."

"Entirely?"Hide rose a brow with curiosity."What do you mean by that?"

"Well,it is about (NAME)..."

"I knew it!"Hide interrupted.

"However!I wanted to talk about something more serious..."

"Oh..."

A concerned expression washed over Hide's face as he stared at his best friend with a consolidating facial expression. Kaneki hesitated before speaking,

"I....I think it might be better if i stayed away from her."Hide was surprised by Kaneki's sudden words.Instead of questioning Kaneki of his choices he continued to listen.

"I think that if we get closer we will end up starting something more...dangerous...and forbidden..I believe that I will only harm her in the end...I want to remain as we are and not dare to go further or push any limits..."

Hide put both his hands on Kaneki's shoulders and with a strong grip he shook him.

"Hide!Wait!What are you doing?!"Kaneki panicked seeing such a serious face take over Hide's face.

"Get a grip man!You can't do that to her!You know she will just blame herself.You'll make her feel inadequate!What's up with you?!"

"Wha-"Kaneki was caught of guard when Hide cupped both his cheeks within his palms and stared straight into the depths of his eyes.He was about to say a few more wise words before the front door burst open to reveal a lone figure standing beneath the doorway.Their heads turned to face the figure that entered the cafe. Kaneki stuttered as he spoke,

"I'm sorry but we're not open ye-"

"What are you two doing?"He was cut off almost immediately.

"(NAME)?!W-What are you doing here?"

"Oh,I just happened to be passing by just when your little 'scene' started to unfold in front of me.So,you're not going in for a kiss?"(NAME) casually said with a sly smirk.

"We weren't going to kiss!"The pair shouted out in unison with red embarrassed faces.(NAME) let out a laugh,

"I know,I know~"

They grabbed a seat and rested their chin on the palm of their dominant hand and said with an alluring voice,

"So,what were you two talking about?~"The two fell silent and exchanged worried looks.

"Are you two okay..?"Hide watched as Kaneki rose a finger to scratch the side of his cheek with but was immediately slapped on the back of his hand by Hide.He also managed to prevent Kaneki spouting out a long chain of lies in the process.

"That hurt Hide!"Kaneki whined slightly gently rubbing the back of his hand that had just been slapped.He frowned at the sight of his reddening hand that gradually became more red due to the shockingly strong impact Hide caused.Mentally,Hide had apologised to Kaneki as he was only able to shoot him a quick look of remorse.Silent,(NAME) could only stare at the two and decided to stay quiet due to their strange behaviour.Suddenly,they stood up with quite an annoyed expression after they had took a glance at their phone.Their hands were both on the table before they secured the straps of their bag.

"I'll be going now.Talk to you later you two,"They were nearly about to leave when Kaneki grabbed their hand that was closest to him in panic.

"Wait!"(NAME) whipped their head back with a face full of confusion.

"Kaneki?Are you alright....?You're looking a little red...,"Their voice was full of concern as they placed a hand on his forehead which caused his head to be slightly pushed back.His heart rate began to increase as well as his temperature.

"Woah,sorry,did I make it worse?"They staggered back and retracted their hand in a blink of an eye.Their eyebrows were knitted together as they stared back at Kaneki.On the other hand,Hide was still watching in surprise from his friend's bold action.

"Well,I-I really have to go right now."As soon as those words left their mouth a deep crease along their forehead formed.A mixture of concern and worry was washed across their face."Sorry,"They had already left the cafe before Kaneki could process what was happening in front of him.

Rapid footsteps had echoed throughout the streets as the heel of their shoes constantly created a thudding noise against the ground.Their heavy pants increased as their legs slowly started to give out.They rushed towards their penthouse and tapped their feet impatiently as they waited for the elevator to reach their floor,also managing to draw in attention from others around them.Finally,they reached their door and slowly let it creak open.They tossed their bag aside and collapsed onto the sofa before reaching out for their phone that was resting inside their pocket.

'You have received 1 new message!'

The small printed words had appeared on the screen and although they were able to read this there was no reply sent that night.

They had seemed to have passed out from exhaustion at that moment.Their lifeless-like body was sprawled cross the sofa in an awkward position which had cause them to raise an arm up in the air as they rested on part of it too.A soft snore could be heard from them as they slept peacefully for many endless hours.During those hours,many phone calls had been directed towards their phone left unanswered.

A single message was left printed onto the gleaming screen of the phone,that was carelessly dropped onto the floor,

'I'm really sorry. You're mad right?You already found out...,right?I'm sorry I couldn't be more honest with you.Please,forgive me...(NAME).'



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