Chapter Text
Nakamura was certain God made him for shits and giggles.
It's been three days since he found out Hirose and Hanna are dating. Three days of trying to be happy for them. The keyword being "trying" as he has consistently bawled his eyes out every night since. He thanks his past self for choosing this hairstyle. Covering his puffy eyes has never been easier!
As he mentally high-fived himself he noticed his crush enter the class. Hanna was right by his side, wishing him a good day before rushing off to her own classroom. Hirose smiled at her as she ran off. Those big brown eyes creasing up. They rolled when his friends 'oooo'd at him. Cheeks dusted a light pink hue as he shoved a hand in his pocket. Even when annoyed he looked so pretty. Nakamura could never win.
Barely a minute later, Mr. Otogori had begun the class. Nakamura went through the motions, glancing continuously at Hirose. He looked happy, didn't he?
As if by clockwork, Nakamura began with his philosophical monologues about happiness and peace in all of the two minutes since class began.
And he wondered why he was God's favourite fool.
Nakamura was snapped out of his thoughts when Hirose turned to look at him. Startled, Nakamura straightened up. Why was Hirose looking at him? Momentarily, his hopes soared. "Nakamura!" and were promptly crushed without mercy. Mr. Otogori had called his name. And if the mortifying amount of eyes on him was anything to go by, it was not the first time he had done so. Nakamura swiftly stood up straight, knocking his chair out behind him. "Here!" he squeaked, voice cracking.
The room buzzed from the embarrassing display. Some of the boys were laughing at him while the girls were reminded of how dumb boys were for the nth time that day. Mr. Otogori was, overall, fairly disappointed. And just like that, Nakamura lost a little bit of his totally not made-up dignity before 9 a.m. A noteworthy achievement for the shy boy.
"You can sit down," Mr. Otogori hummed. Nakamura sat down robotically, almost forgetting to pick up his chair beforehand. Before his head could begin taking the express route to the 7th circle of anxiety hell, someone standing next to Mr. Otogori drew his attention. "Your seat is behind his," Mr. Otogori turned to that person with a smile. "Everyone, be sure to give Sasaki a warm welcome," their professor addressed the class. Nakamura couldn’t hear him though. His attention now laser-focused on this new face.
Sasaki beamed at the class and oh lord, Nakamura was certain he just saw the gates of heaven. Sasaki was nothing short of unfairly handsome. He was tall. With a lean body and long legs. A sharp jaw and clear skin. With a straight nose and full brows, he looked like he could be the main love interest in a BL manga. Saski's eyes took the shape of crescent moons as he smiled, a singular beauty spot beside his right eye, the singular star on his face. His frizzy hair was longer in the back, the fringe tastefully feathered to still see his eyes as he bowed. "It's a pleasure to meet you all," he said and oh God even his voice was smooth as honey.
It was painfully clear to see how half the class had already fallen in love. All the girls were staring at him with dreamy eyes. The guys were split 50/50 between thinking the new guy was cool to thinking him as a threat. Nakamura, paradoxically, was both. He hated the guy for being so good-looking. He was handsome enough to even be at Hirose’s level. But having too nice of a smile to hate him fully. Ah, the age-old struggle of a homosexual. To be with him or become him, as Shakespeare probably said once. Nakamura, admittedly, was barely passing English but hey, it’s the thought that counts. And boy was Nakamura thinking. How could he possibly compete with him? A boy this pretty even Hirose might-
Oh.
Wait, that's right.
Nakamura paused his gay panic/seething session to look over to Hirose.
He has a girlfriend.
Nakamura spent that day much like every other. Paying attention in class while occasionally looking at Hirose. By the time lunch rolled around, Nakamura had calmed down considerably. His thoughts were no longer consumed by the possibilities this new boy rose. But instead with Hirose and his girlfriend, and how happy they always looked. As per usual, Hanna had dropped by as soon as the bell rang. Nakamura observed her as she made her way over to Hirose. Her smile was bright. The flower clip she always wore complimented her lighter brown eyes nicely. She was perfect. No doubt more than enough for Hirose. For whenever she approached, Hirose seemed to glow. Nakamura felt content. At peace even as he watched them. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes for a moment, collecting himself. It was another peaceful day, wasn’t it?
Well, that’s apparently too boring for whatever evil thing was watching over Nakamura, for in the next second he almost leaped out of his seat. A pathetic yelp tumbled from his poor body as he momentarily spasmed from the coldness against the back of his neck. Nakamura quickly turned, about to give whatever that was a piece of his mind before pausing. “Huh?” he asked intelligently as he stared up at the boy before him.
"Nakamura, right?" Sasaki asked with a friendly smile. “Sorry about that, I wasn’t sure how else to get your attention,” he chuckled sheepishly.
The shy boy just nodded, a hand on his neck in an attempt to quell the coldness there. “I see,” he managed to whisper out.
Sasaki leaned in closer over his desk. “Say, want to go somewhere for lunch together? I was hoping to see a bit more of the school,” he chirped, looking at Nakamura with excitement. While Sasaki’s eyes were monolids, like Nakamura’s, they were far more expressive than the shy boy’s. Nakamura couldn’t pull himself away from them as he nodded dumbly. “Great! Let's go!” And with that Nakamura barely managed to snatch his own lunch before being dragged away by the transfer student.
What…just happened?
The following five minutes were spent repetitively. Sasaki would ask him what a room was, and Nakamura would answer curtly, and then spend a moment of silence before Sasaki asked about another room. Nakamura was very nervous. Extremely so. It’s not like he hasn’t been dragged around like this before. In fact, it’s happened a concerning number of times. But it’s never been by someone so…friendly? Mildly pushy, sure, but still friendly. And pretty, could not forget that. In fact, that’s likely why he was having such a hard time talking. Did he really want to appear better than he was in front of this boy?
Before long, they had ended up on the roof. Here, a fair amount of students had settled in to eat. Sasaki spotted a bench in the corner. “Let’s go there,” he suggested, already walking towards the spot. Nakamura followed, noting their height difference as they went. Sasaki was a few inches taller than he was. By no means the tallest person in school, but it was enough for Nakamura to clearly notice it. Sasaki settled down on the left of the bench, patting the space beside him as a gesture for Nakamura to sit down.
When he did he began unpacking his lunch. He was slowly getting lost in his own thoughts. He wondered how Hirose was doing. If the couple was being teased too much. Maybe Hirose’s friends were poking fun at him for letting Hanna feed him. Or maybe they were encouraging him to ask her out to one of those suspense movies Hirose liked.
“Do you like that boy?”
Huh?
Nakamura snapped his head up to Sasaki. The taller boy was smiling at him calmly. Long gone was that puppy dog excitement. He looked as though he had it all figured out. A detective seeking confirmation of the facts he had already gathered. “I-” Nakamura stuttered. What could he say to that? This boy was basically a stranger. He should deny it, right? “I don’t like boys!” he said, maybe a bit too loudly, others on the roof momentarily looking over. Wincing, Nakamura lowered his voice. “What makes you think I’m gay? I’m not gay. And I definitely don’t like Hirose. I-”
“Woah okay, slow down,” Sasaki laughed, waving a hand as Nakamura began rambling. “I’m not going to judge you for it,” he told him. “I mean, that would basically be betraying my own,” the boy hummed.
That caused Nakamura to pause. “What?”
“I like boys too,” Sasaki beamed. “And girls, actually,” he confessed.
Nakamura gawked at him. “Why…are you telling me this?” he asked, confused as to what possible motives this boy could have.
“Because I want to help,” Sasaki chirped, back to those puppy eyes brimming with excitement.
The shy boy frowned, “Huh? But I barely know who you are?”
Sasaki waved a hand. “I know, I know, but it could be a fun way to get to know each other too! And-” the taller leaned in closer, “-it’s painfully obvious you like him,” Sasaki giggled.
Nakamura sputtered, “What? No, it isn’t!”
“So you just stare at everyone like that?” Sasaki raised a playful brow at him.
“I-” Well, he got him there. “Whatever, and I don’t need your help,” Nakamura insisted. “Plus-” he looked down at his hands. Fingers curling around each other. “-he has a girlfriend”
“Oh, I think you’ve misunderstood me”
Nakamura looked up in surprise. “What do you-”
“I don’t want to help you get with him,” Sasaki grinned. “I want to help you get over him!” he declared.
Ah, the job of God’s fool sure was a tough one.