28 DAYS [MakoHaru]

eleven → 12/12

Chapter Eleven: December 12th

The loud slam of Rei's locker snaps Makoto out of what feels like the millionth time he's spaced out today.

"Makoto-senpai, are you feeling alright?" Rei asks worriedly when Makoto jumps at the loud noise. "You look awfully pale."

Makoto rubs his temples and lets out an exhausted sigh. Since his evening spent with Haruka, he hasn't been able to get much sleep. No, I'm not alright, he thinks with disdain. Not in the slightest. "I'm okay. Rei, can I ask you something?"

"Does it have to do with Haruka Nanase?" Rei guesses, pushing up his glasses higher on his nose.

Makoto feels himself grow anxious at the mention of his name. "Yeah," he says quietly. "How'd you know?"

"Just a theory."

"Well," Makoto sighs once again, "I'm not sure how to explain this, but I have a weird feeling that there is something about Haruka that I don't know."

The statement in itself is completely true; Makoto hardly knows anything about the boy. He is lucky he knows five things, but it is the fifth thing Haruka told him that is driving him insane.

You used to call me Haru.

"That would make sense, considering you've just started to become friends," Rei says slowly, not catching on to what Makoto is suggesting. "Care to explain what you mean?"

Makoto then launches into his story about how he went home with Haruka that Wednesday afternoon, and doesn't leave a single detail out. He babbles about his family, how they went to the park, got caught in the blizzard, and how he got Haruka to tell him five things about himself. "...And the fifth thing he said was, 'you used to call me Haru.' And I still can't figure out what he means by that! Not to mention he fell asleep right after, so I couldn't ask him... But knowing Haruka, he wouldn't have told me anyway."

Rei seems to be unfazed by Makoto's nonsensical babbling, and he's listening intently to every spoken word. "Hmmm," He hums, tapping his chin. "How interesting. Did you know him in the past?"

"I don't think so," Makoto shakes his head. "At least, not that I can remember." He groans in frustration, slamming his forehead on the locker, sending a wave of pain through his skull. "This is frustrating."

"What's frustrating?" A bubbly voice asks, drawing nearer to the two.

"Ah, Nagisa-kun," Rei greets the small blonde. "Good afternoon."

"Hi, Nagisa," Makoto mumbles, still face-to-face with the cold metal locker. "How's your day going?"

"Probably a lot better than yours, judging by that look on your face," Nagisa jokes. "What's going on?"

"Makoto-senpai is worried about Nanase-senpai," Rei answers for Makoto before he can get the chance.

"Did he do something?" Nagisa demands, sounding slightly uspet. Makoto knows he doesn't trust Haruka at all, not to mention thinks he's a freak, but the last thing Makoto wanted was to get into another argument with Nagisa about him. It just wasn't worth breaking their five-year friendship over.

"Kinda..." Makoto responds lamely, unsure if he even wants to tell Nagisa what's going on. Nagisa is notorious at Iwatobi High for being a huge blabbermouth; loving to hear about any gossip he can get his hands on. It wasn't like he didn't trust Nagisa; no, Makoto just figured Rei would help him handle the situation more pragmatically. Rei is a very levelheaded guy. Surely he could think of a reasonable solution for this predicament.

"This is what happens when you talk to Nanase, you know," Nagisa crosses his arms, narrowing his eyes ever so slightly. "I tried to warn you that he's not trustworthy. And yet you went to go talk to him anyways."