Regularly Irregular

CHAPTER 2 - Catching Up

You set a coffee down in front of Kakyoin, throwing him a warm smile before sitting in your own seat. Jotaro scoffed at his lack of a drink, standing up curtly and making his way to the counter to order something. You stuck your tongue out when his back was to you, silently mocking him as Kakyoin tried to hide a chuckle.

"Ahh, I should've figured you two wouldn't get along right away. You're both so stubborn and closed off, it only makes sense," the red haired boy sighed, taking a sip of his coffee.

"I just don't like people that think they're hot shit because they have a fan club," you leaned back in your chair, taking a sip of your own coffee as well. 

School had ended a few hours ago, and you insisted on taking Kakyoin out for coffee to catch up with him, not knowing that Jotaro would be tagging along as well. You wanted him to tell you everything about his trip, and just why he was gone for so long. Part of you was also slightly worried that something had happened, as he now sported scars across both of his eyes and you could have sworn you caught him limping every now and then. However, you didn't want to pry too much in the school building, it was probably better to give the poor boy some time to adjust back to his regular schedule.

"So, how was your trip?"

Kakyoin seemed disturbed by your question, choking a bit on his drink. At that moment Jotaro had returned to the table with a drink of his own. He shot you an accusing glance before taking his seat next to Kakyoin. The broody boy whispered something in your friend's ear, but Kakyoin just waved him off, assuring he was okay. You felt left out watching their interaction. It seemed so intimate, like the two of them were in their own little world. A rush of annoyance spread throughout your body.

"Ya, what'd you say to him?"

"None of your business." Jotaro's answers were always short, even when talking to Kakyoin. It seemed that was his thing: being an annoying asshole.

"It's nothing, Y/n."

Kakyoin's interference was enough to console you, bringing a small smile back to your face as you happily sipped away at your drink. If Kakyoin didn't want to tell you now, you'd get it out of him eventually; you were best friends after all, he wouldn't keep a secret from you for long. For now, you felt satisfied just being in his presence again, knowing he was safe and sound and by your side again.

"Oh! Remember how I told you about my math teacher, and that one day he showed up with lipstick stains in his shirt?"

Kakyoin hummed in response, seemingly more relaxed now that the subject was changed away from his trip.

"So it turns out that him and one of the gym teachers were actually having some kind of fling right, but that's not all. The gym teacher ended up breaking things off with him because she already had a boyfriend, and she was pregnant with his kid! Isn't that crazy!? My math teacher got so depressed that he didn't teach us anything for almost an entire week! I felt bad for the poor dude, but there was no way I was about to complain about having a new free period."

You used wild hand motions as you talked, trying to express just how strange the story was to the fullest. Kakyoin followed your movements with attentive eyes, taking in everything you said and responding with matching facial expressions. At the end he wore one of shock, speechless and unknowing of what to say.

"Yare, Yare. Do you ever shut up?" Jotaro butted in, ruining the good mood you were trying so hard to keep up.

Kakyoin shot him a dirty look, knowing that even though he was friends with the taller, his comments were unnecessary. You felt your face heat up in anger as you did everything you could to control the irresistible urge to just climb over the table and sucker punch Jotaro. You clenched and unclenched your fists, trying to calm yourself down and not look like a total jack ass in front of Kakyoin. 

"Ya know," you smiled tightly, making it obvious that it was fake. "I only wanted to catch up with Kakyoin. I had no idea who you were before today, and I didn't exactly invite you along. You have no right to complain if you're the one who insisted on placing yourself in this situation."

Jotaro raised his gaze to look at you. His stare was cold at first, but after a while it felt like he wasn't even looking at you anymore. Even though he was staring directly into your eyes, it was as though he was looking somewhere far behind you, like he wasn't present in that moment. It was as if he, himself was not quite sure if he was real or not. You nodded your head towards the boy, silently asking Kakyoin what was wrong with him. He turned to face his friend, the cherry earring he always wore bobbing in the air and reflecting some of the sunlight from the window behind you. 

When Kakyoin saw the look on Jotaro's face, he frowned. He shook his friend gently, like if he put too much force into it the latter would fall apart completely. Jotaro's gaze seemed to return to reality, the spaced out facial expression now becoming the same stoic one he seemed always wear.

Though the interaction was small and short, you were almost certain by now that something had happened during their trip. Part of you worried about what it was, assuming the worst. Did they get into a big fight, or maybe even a car accident? Even if that were the case, why did Kakyoin seem to be the only one that had any remnants of injuries? There was something the two boys in front of you were hiding, and it made you feel sick. 

The other half of you was upset, angry even. To hell with waiting for him to talk, Kakyoin was supposed to be your best friend, the person you were closest too, he shouldn't be holding something back. All you ever wanted to do was make him smile and be someone he could rely on. So why was he hiding something from you? Something that seemed pretty important at that. 

You sighed again, hanging your head low as you stared at the table. You gave yourself a second to think before raising your head again, looking only at Kakyoin. You pushed your chair back, standing up and flattening your skirt. You snatched your school bag off the floor, taking the last few sips of your coffee before tossing it into a nearby trashcan.

"Well, it was nice catching up with you. I should probably be getting home now, no point in staying here if there's nothing to talk about."

"Wait, Y/n," Kakyoin stood up as well, reading the passive agressiveness in your tone. He reached out to you slightly, but eventually retracting his hand. You looked at him from the corner of your eye, noticing that Jotaro was also eyeing him with a threatening glare.

"Text me when you decide you actually wanna have a conversation without some random dude telling you what you can and can't say."

You waved to your friend, refusing to spare Jotaro a glance as you left the cafe. You tightly gripped the straps of your bag as you walked down the sidewalks that led to your house. Whatever was going on with your friend, you knew you would never get it out of him with Jotaro around. You figured the dark teen was forcing Kakyoin to keep something a secret, but maybe if you could just get him alone he would tell you exactly what happened.

Then again, maybe your earlier thinking was right, and it was just too soon for him to want to talk about anything. Even if not much happened on his trip, he was probably exhausted. He was gone for 50 days in a foreign country, somewhere in Africa from what he had told you. The culture differences must have been hard on him, and it was rude of you to force information out of him. He would talk to you when he was ready, Kakyoin always came to you if something bothered him.

You just hoped that part of him hadn't changed while he was away.

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AHH I feel like this is dumb and I have so many ideas of things I want to happen but I don't want them to happen until later so I have to try and think of things to fill the space for now that will add to the plot.