If tomorrow starts without you

The taste of sounds

[Back to present time.]

July 20th, 2019

It was past dusk, and Tendou had to head back home. He pulled his shattered phone out of his pocket and remembered he smashed it on the cold, wet ground earlier. The defeated boy sighed as he remembered that he had to walk all the way to his place, in the middle of the night. The adult noticed that he didn't have his umbrella anymore since he fell this morning. He must have left it there by accident. Life was not too congenial to the exhausted man. He lost the ability to care about almost anything since his family told him to live by himself. Thus, forcing him to find a roommate due to the lack of money. According to them, Tendou's appearance was so embarrassing that he could not go out and enjoy nice family dates. Just thinking about his past made him sick to his stomach. Tendou's house appeared in the unlighted neighbourhood. The front door slowly opened, making a high screeching sound. A grey-haired man was at the threshold, waiting for him with his arms crossed, as he scowled at him. He often acted as a mother would act to Tendou, despite being of the same age. Semi, however, seemed more mature. As he approached, Tendou looked at him with a guilty smile as if to say, "sorry, mom, I won't do it again."

It would be funny enough for Tendou to burst out laughing in his roommate's face. Unfortunately, the willowy man couldn't bring himself to say those words. He had to come up with an excuse and expeditiously. "Traffic was heavy tonight." Tendou giggled guiltily, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment as he closed his eyes. "You don't even drive, nor do you take the bus." Semi sighed, telling his roommate to get inside before he caught a cold. Once in the house, Semi put his right hand on Tendou's left shoulder and slightly pushed him towards one of the dining room's chairs. He stayed silent, hinting at his soaked roommate to explain himself. Pouting and looking away, Tendou sighed. He disliked the fact that Semi parented him since he informed the latter of the situation he had with his family. Tendou placed his right hand on the tablecloth as he folded his arm to push himself from the seat in an attempt to escape the awkward situation. But a pair of hands tugged on his forearm, causing him to sit back on the wooden, brown chair. Semi stood up to stop his tired roommate. Shocked, Tendou finally talked. "Oh my God, why do you act like I'm your kid?!" Semi frowned. "I didn't see you in chemistry class today. I looked everywhere in uni, but you were nowhere to be found! And now you come back home at nine in the freaking evening?! School ended five and a half hours ago." Semi swallowed his saliva before he continued to explain the reason why he scolded his roommate. He felt extremely anxious. "I was just worried about you. You're not alone, you know?" Tendou stood up to hug his concerned friend. He knew he cared for him.

Semi Eita. A gentleman who was rather empathetic with everyone he met. Tendou never really considered him his first friend; instead, he considered him like a brother. The first day he decided to open up and rant to his apprehensive roomie, he started being showered with affection. Semi's attitude seemed very forced. He wasn't used to people caring about him. The hug stopped as Tendou pulled himself out of Semi's arms. He smiled at his friend to comfort him, rubbing both of his hands on each of the latter's arms. He then explained that there was no reason to be worried.

Tendou talked about the strange fellow he met earlier. And that he evoked intriguing vibes. Semi chuckled as his anxiety began to vanish slowly. The man tapped Tendou's arm and suddenly had an idea. "Hey, 'wanna escape reality with me tonight?" Ushijima's face flashed in Tendou's mind as Semi pronounced those words. His sleepy eyes widened, and his mouth was agape before he asked: "What do you mean by that?"

"You'll see soon enough, come with me!" Semi grabbed Tendou's hand and brought him next to the couch, pushing his shoulders down to allow him to sit on the squishy sofa. Afterward, he sat on the mini glass table placed in front of the furniture while pulling a box with "mini papers" inside. His fingers opened it, revealing two tiny pieces of paper with a yellow smiley face on each of them. While taking one of them out, Semi gave himself a boost to stand up and walked towards the balcony. He opened the curtains. "You might want to go outside at some point." The puzzled face Tendou expressed started sweating as he had no idea what his roommate was about to give him. He sat next to Tendou, crossed his right leg on top of his left one, and took one of the small papers between his thumb and index finger. Sticking his tongue out, Semi told Tendou to do the same and place the smiley face on his tongue. Tendou looked at his roomie as he was astonished by his actions and repeated his movements at a slow pace. Nothing happened.