Obsession (Ayano x Budo)

Chapter 20

Once again, he was alone.

Budo slid the house key into the lock and turned. With a sharp, metallic click, the front door swung open and revealed the empty house standing before him. All that awaited him was a lonely weekend by himself... until Monday, when he could see his angel again.

As he entered, he shivered, feeling like a ghost had sent its breath down his spine. Immediately his eyes noticed the wide-open living room window and he pursed his lips. Budo, you idiot he thought to himself as he strode forward. His feet thudded on the carpet in a heavy, dulled quality as he moved. With a strong heave, he pulled down the window and swiftly locked it into place.

It was still cold, and, save for the sound of wind whistling softly in outside, it was absolutely silent in the small house as Budo stood still. I won't see my parents for who knows how long, he thought grimly. All at once, he was struck with a sense of isolation. He didn't let it sink in. Shaking it off, he walked to the coffee table and grabbed the heater controller, pressing down the button on the controller until the heating was turned up max. He was greeted with a warm blast of air that drove away the chill hanging in the room, however it failed to do so with the bitter cold deep within his bones.

Rubbing his arms, he turned on the coffee machine and waited until he could hear the machine quake loudly into action. A part of him was grateful to have some noise. He put his frozen-stiff hands in his pockets started walking down the passage while he waited for the coffee to brew. He may as well go to his room and grab a blanket to take back into the living room.

Thud. Thud. Thud. Every step sent reverberations through the wooden floorboards as he strode down the dark passage. He stared at his own feet as he walked slowly forward. Budo's stomach slowly began growing into a tight knot, a feeling of anxiety to which Budo was all to well accustomed. What's up with me today? This is the same way I felt before I left the house. Budo sighed tiredly and, half-focused, found himself now outside his room. His hand reached out to turn his bedroom's door knob. The hand brushed clean through air. His head popped up, eyes jumping up from the floor. What?

That's when he realized that his room door was open and that he'd left the light on. "Geez, again Budo?" he began to scold himself under his breath, but as soon as his foot stepped past the doorway, he felt something.

Instinct took over as his whole body jerked into a stop, his limbs frozen into pillars by some indiscernible force. Adrenalin was suddenly pumping hotly through the veins of his throat, his ears and head. Even with such energy surging through him, he couldn't move.

Budo's mind caught up with his body, and he could sense it then - the familiar buzz of her presence. It was all in his room, strong, and it was causing electricity to crack under his skin like some chemical reaction. Budo's heartbeat became more erratic as he realized what this meant:

She was here.

Budo didn't pause to think why, could only elate in the occasion. He was not alone. She was right here, even when absent. He wanted to laugh.

The rope of tension that had bound Budo inro place released him, and he took a step further into his room, wanting only to be enveloped by her arms. Immediately he was struck by the smell of her. He could almost taste the delicate, lingering wisps of her sweet body that had been in his room. But, and he grew a little frustrated, it was weak.

As if if their own accord, his eyes swung over to the open closet. Without knowing what he was doing, his feet took him there, each step bring him to a stronger smell of Ayano, until he found himself climbing into the closet. Budo held his breath as he closed the cupboard doors behind him, shutting himself into darkness of the tiny, cramped closet. He gave himself a second to mentally prepare, staring at the shadow-blackened doors of the closet, and then released the air from his lungs.

Budo immediately dragged in a deep, slow sniff, and he felt the smell go straight to his head. It made him dizzy with its intense concentration. In the depths of his mind, Budo realized that Ayano must have spent a lot of time in his cupboard.

Her scent was overwhelmingly powerful in the small, closed space, leaving him incapable of thought, and yet not crudely forceful. It was a refined scent. With each breath, he imagined her as a beautiful white snake, slithering like silk over him, dominating his body, reigning over his senses as she assumed complete attention. At this very moment, it left him incapable of focusing on anything else but on her beautiful smell, and the way his body was frenzying like fireworks because of it. His eyes shut involuntarily. He wanted more.

He wanted to preserve this smell forever. His body craved it like a drug. It was a delicious insanity, which he finally understood could be sated by only her presence, not Taro's, not his parents. Buso wanted to laugh at his own foolishness - he could go on as many trips with Taro as he wanted, joke with him and help him, but in the end, it wouldn't do sh*t to have him as a friend.

All Budo wanted right now was for Ayano to be in his arms, for him to feel the divine warmth of her close skin to break through his loneliness. An emotion flashed through him. Restlessness. And with it, followed a deep, decisive anger.

I am so sick and tired of being cold and alone. I can't wait for her anymore. She'll have to love me if-

A loud ring broke through his train of thought. Budo was brought out of his internal debate by the vibrating of his phone in his jacket pocket. The smell of her was soured by his mood, and he couldn't enjoy it. Climbing out of the dark cupboard, Budo took out the phone irritably. Without looking at the who was calling, he flipped open his phone and placed it to his ear.

"Yeah?" he answered, his cold tone doing nothing to disguise the anger beneath.

"It's Taro," came a weak voice whispering, barely audible.