Insecurities [Shota Aizawa x Hizashi Yamada]

Chapter 1

A/N: Hey, another Eraserhead- / Present Mic- related story xD

This story's going to be a bit shorter than what I've written. I've only got about three months to write even though I've already had an idea for this for a very long time xP. I'm only starting now because of a contest held by teckmonky at Tumblr / Instagram. Credit to them for the inspiration and motivation!

(Not yet submitted at the time of writing this.)

If you like Erasermic go check her out, her comics are awesome!

These characters are fun to write and I have a thing for long haired hot guys anyway :,)

Enjoy ❤️!

—<•>—

Shota chewed the end of his pen, reading an email. The light from the screen lit up his tired face in the dark room, bringing out the dark bags under his eyes.

He groaned, contemplating whether or not to set a deadline. The last time he had one for his work, he made it just in time but he might as well have been dead by then, at the end of his line.

He set down his pen to start typing a reply, but quickly gave up, not sure how to tell the company that he just... can't. He stared at his screen, hands resting on the keyboard.

"I sure suck at writing emails even though I'm a writer." Shota sighed. He heard meow in reply, and he looked down at his black cat.

Yes, yes you are, Shota believed the cat would have said if she could talk.

She was a rescue, found half-dead from starvation in a yard. The owner had been mistreating her, along with a dog that was trying to protect her. They were rescued, and the dog had been taken to a good home as Shota didn't exactly want a dog, unfortunately.

At first, the cat would usually hide from Shota and pop out at the most random times. It would startle him, especially when she'd just flash past as a ball of fur, pupils wide, ears flattened back, and tail puffed out. Because of that, Shota named her Boo. It was short for boop as well, as she would often poke her nose against his when she was in the affectionate mood.

It was hard to see her in the room, but her bright yellowish-green eyes seemed to glow and the dilated pupils stared back at him. He gave her a small smile. "You agree, hm?"

He shut down his computer, sighing again. As he walked to the cat's food and water bowl, she meowed and rubbed against his legs. Whether she was trying to trip him and kill him and devour his face or showing affection, Shota did not know. He poured some food and refilled her water bowl, anyhow.

"Wish I was you," Shota murmured, crouching down to pet her as she focused her attention to food. "Not a care in the world. Play, eat, sleep and repeat."

Boo looked up to him for only a second, as if asking why are you constantly talking to yourself? before turning her head back to food.

He watched as she ate, the only sound being the crunching of the pellets and his breathing. Lost in peaceful thought as he pet her, Boo's tail went up and smacked him in the face.

Shota sputtered, getting the bit of fur out of his mouth and chuckling a bit at himself. He stood up again and watched the cat for a moment longer. "No worries at all."

He walked to his living room next, wondering if he should grade papers or read.

It was a Friday night, and Toshinori hadn't called him about it. Being an assistant teacher meant more work, but Shota had to have a more reliable job. They were friends, anyway, and Toshinori had offered to put in a recommendation for him.

However, it was work on top of work, as if he was the student. Grading tests and literature was the only thing he could manage, but other than that, he was clueless. Helping students with whatever the heck math does, what happened in history, what the science-y word quantum meant, anything else, nope.

If random facts was a subject, he'd be fine. Being a nitpicking author, his search history would be filled with the strangest of things.

Shota glanced at the pile of papers he had and decided he would postpone in to Sunday night. Weekends were the days to rest.

He wanted to a good book from a shelf, sink into his couch, and indulge into the fantasy world where he could escape from life and its problems, at least for a little while. Sadly, life caught him before he could even execute his plan of escape.

The phone rang, making him jump a bit from the sudden noise in the quiet house. He reluctantly went to pick it up, almost tripping on the cat that appeared out of nowhere. She probably planned a murder by making him think she was focused on food.

"Hello?" Shota asked, petting Boo as she walked past him anyway.

"Hey, Shota." It was Toshinori. Shota groaned internally, but not because it was him. Did he jinx it? "Are you busy tomorrow night?"

Shota ruffled his hair. "Maybe. Why?"

He heard a hesitant breath on the other end. "Nemuri and I talked about getting together with our friends from high school again. It's been a while, don't you think?"

"No, who said I had friends?" Shota said dryly.

"Seriously, Sho?" There was a tone of worry in his voice. "You shouldn't stay stuck at home all the time."

"I don't, I go to school to help you."

"And that's your work. And then you go home and work. It's not good."

"For your information, I was just about to sit down and enjoy a book before you called." He glanced back at the couch, where his reading spot was occupied by Boo.

"It's been a long time since our group all got together to just hang out and have fun," Toshinori insisted.

Shota stared longingly towards the couch that looked so inviting, wishing he had the energy to deal with this. "When and where?"

"Tomorrow, 6 PM? We'll have dinner and go to the theater for a movie. We have tickets."

"Who's coming?"

"Me, Nemuri, and Tensei I believe."

"That's a lot," Shota muttered.

"You could get some inspiration for your story," Toshinori added. "We could help."

Shota thought for a moment, then sighed. It was something he and Toshinori rarely did; taking a break to relax and hang out. Work usual got in the way. He decided it wouldn't be too bad to spend time with him and others. "Fine."

"Great!" Toshinori's cheerful voice almost made Shota think it was worth it. "I'll see you tomorrow then?"

"Yeah. Just don't talk about my writing, please?"

"Of course." It was a less cheerful, but promising.

They exchanged goodbyes, and Shota hung up. His hand lingered on the phone, thinking about how much he was going to regret agreeing. He then sighed once more, and looked over to Boo.

She was watching him the whole time and she gave a slow blink at him.

"I shouldn't be procrastinating, right?" Shota said to her. He walked over and picked her up so that he could sit. She crawled on top of him and laid on his lap in the same position, her eyes barking into his.

No, no you shouldn't, Boo seemed to say. She started licking her paws.

"Well, it's only logical to socialize with people to write about socializing."