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“Hey!” Takeuchi wrapped his arm around Hirose.
“Get off of him.” Takeuchi was hit over the head with his homework page by Mukai.
Class was over and school was out. That meant walking home with Hirose! Or so Nakamura hoped. If the goons would get out of the way.
He grumbled from his seat as he watched Takeuchi get way too close to Hirose.
“Who wants to karaoke? The goon shouted loudly. Hirose awkwardly laughed, scooting away from his grasp. Mukai just sighed
“No one wants to do that, dude.” He responded. “We have hella homework today.”
“W-Well then lets go on the weekend! When there’s no school!”
“Sure,” Hirose spoke up. “I’m free this weekend.”
“Well I guess I might as well join you, then.” Mukai added.
“What!” Takeuchi blurted. “Don’t just say that you’ll go only because Hirose’s coming!”
Kekeke
This was perfect. Karaoke with Hirose. Nakamura smirked to himself. If I can go with them, I can impress Hirose with my singing ability. I’ll aim straight for his heart with a song that’s sure to blow him out of the water! Maybe something by Aquapet…
Now. The whole ordeal of actually being invited. He didn’t want to look like a loser going up to them and asking to join. How lame would that be??
He waited until the perfect chance to strike. He would text Hirose tonight, and ask if he was doing anything this weekend. It was the perfect plan!! Hirose would obviously invite Nakamura then, since they were friends now. That was unless, Hirose would rather hang out with his other friends…
He tried not to think about that.
Nakamura put his things in his bag and readied to leave, when he was stopped by Hirose himself.
“Hey, Nakamura!” Hirose leaned on his desk.
“Hirose?” Nakamura’s heart skipped.
He’s so closee!!
“Do you wanna come to karaoke this weekend?”
Huh? He was really asking him??
“Uh. Uhm.” Nakamura stumbled over himself. “Yeah! I would love to, Hirose!”
“Great!” He responded cheerfully. “I’ll see you Saturday. I’ll text you the details.” He pointed at his phone and then walked away, leaving Nakamura in stunned silence.
~
The night before, Nakamura’s room was a mess. There were clothes all over the floor. What kind of casual clothes would Hirose like? He didn’t want to look out of place among all of Hirose’s friends either.
Ughh what do people even wear when they go out??”
He was stewing, sitting on the floor surrounded by shirts and pants, when his phone went off. He rushed over.
It was the group chat Hirose had created.
Takeuchi: I can’t make it tomorrow guys. I’m sick :(
Mukai: … I’m busy. So I can't go either.
This must be divine intervention.
So the gods graced Nakamura with a date.
Just the two of us??
He went to bed that night thinking only of how great their day together would be. And when he woke up, he realized his one crucial mistake. He hadn’t memorized a single song.
No way.
Nakamura wasn’t as hip with music and pop culture as everyone else his age was. He only knew a few earworms that he would listen to on repeat. Sure, he wanted to get into Aquapet, it being Hirose’s favorite and all, but he just hadn’t actually gotten around to it. And he had been so busy with schoolwork this week that he didn’t have time to research at all.
He decided he would cram all that he could in the few hours he had before they were supposed to meet up.
Unsuccessful. That was the only word to describe it.
He got to the karaoke place seven minutes early. At least he was punctual.
But apparently not as punctual as Hirose who was already there, waiting for him. He waved Nakamura over and they went in. Nakamura’s palms were sweaty and they were glued inside his pockets. He sat down inside the booth.
Hirose sat right next to him.
He thought he might die and go to heaven right there. Or maybe he was already in heaven.
“So!” Hirose started. “Who should go first? Or do you want to get some snacks before we start singing?”
“Uh- maybe we could get snacks? Or drinks?” Nakamura felt parched. He didn’t know if he would be able to sing at all, he was so nervous.
“Okay, sounds good!” Hirose picked up the tablet that was on the table in front of them and started tapping away. He leaned in closer.
Nakamura thought he might actually die. For real this time. Hirose’s hair was tickling his face.
“So, what are you gonna get?” He was holding the tablet up so that they could both see the options.
“Uhmmm- a coffee? Maybe? And uh- some potato chips.”
“Really coffee? At this time of day?”
In Nakamura’s opinion it wasn’t that late to be drinking coffee, but it was just one of the things he gravitated toward. He didn’t really like sodas or anything.
“It’s never too late,” was all he said in reply.
Hirose thought about that for a second, and then cheerfully responded, “I guess so!”
The food came quicker than Nakamura expected, and he was grateful, because he didn’t know how much longer he could take sitting in silence alone with Hirose. Why wasn’t he saying anything??
Hirose had actually ordered a few things, which made Nakamura curious about his appetite. Well, he’s a guy, so.
“This is apparently new on their menu,” Hirose pointed at a bag of something that looked like chips. “And I’ve never had it before, so I thought we could try it together!” He then added, “If you want.”
“O- Oh, sure!” Nakamura said. He’s so thoughtful!!!!
They ate their own food for a few minutes, and Hirose tried to talk to him.
“So, do you like chips?”
“Um, I guess…”
“Ah so you’re just okay with them? What kind of food do you like?”
What was this, 20 questions?
“Oh like, uhm, takoyaki?”
“OCTOPUS?”
“Yeah?” Nakamura blinked at him.
“I thought you loved them? You eat them too?”
“It’s the circle of life…”
“I mean, I guess you’re right… Does not make it any less gruesome though.” Hirose faked a cringe.
And then suddenly he picked up the tablet and started queuing songs.
Already??? Nakamura didn’t know what he was supposed to sing at all. This guy, it looked like he really knew his stuff, as for him, he was grasping at straws.
There’s nothing left for me… He accepted his fate. He would just sing what he did know.
“Hey, you put some on here too!” Hirose leaned in again to show him the tablet. His hand grazed Nakamura’s. He jumped.
BE NORMAL OH MY GOD
He tried to act like nothing just happened but Hirose definitely noticed. He didn’t say anything, though.
Nakamura took a quick glance at some of the songs that were already put in, and recognized, like, one. But wasn’t that a love song?? He didn’t know if he could handle Hirose’s surely angelic voice singing sweet nothings to him and only him. He just stared at the screen. What was he supposed to put?
He picked some random ones that seemed familiar enough. It wasn’t late enough in the game to unleash his finishing move (The only romantic song he knew). He queued that one last.
Hirose’s voice.. Well. no matter how it sounded, Nakamura loved it. He clapped along as Hirose belted out some English words that he was sure neither of them really understood that well. He only got some of it. He was surprised Hirose could even sing that.
And then the next song came.
And the next.
And despite the few times Hirose invited Nakamura to sing a song, or join in with him, he refused. He was glued to his seat. Until he was inevitably forced to pick up the microphone. It was a song he chose, so he had to sing it.
He wasn’t very confident, but regardless he decided to go for it. After all, this was his chance to tell Hirose how he really felt! (with minimal consequences).
The song started playing without him. He rushed to pick up the microphone, and despite his whole body screaming at him to run away, he started to sing.
He didn’t focus on the fact that Hirose’s eyes were boring holes into him. He barely noticed that Hirose wasn’t reacting at all. At first, Nakamura was so focused on trying to get the words right that he couldn’t even hear how he sounded. But eventually the music took him away, and he was singing along with every ounce of passion he could. This kind of thing is really fun!
He could feel sweat running down his neck and his stomach arguing with him, but he managed the whole song. When the music cut, he finally looked back to see Hirose’s face break into a smile.
“You’re… way better at this than me!” The lighting made his face look pink. Almost unnoticeably hesitating, he grabbed Nakamura’s hand and pulled him down to sit next to him. “Come on, let’s order some more drinks, I’m so thirsty!” He tugged at the collar of his shirt and Nakamura realized it was kind of warm. Hirose was actually sweating.
This time they just got water. While they waited, Nakamura finally realized that Hirose had just grabbed his hand. This guy is really touchy with his friends! He felt so blessed. His heart started beating faster and he chugged the last sip of his coffee. The water couldn’t arrive soon enough.
Hirose was just browsing songs on the tablet and Nakamura was genuinely curious. He leaned over to see the screen, not even realizing how close he was getting.
Hirose jumped back. His pink face turned red.
“DUDE,” he yelped. “You scared me!” He rubbed the back of his neck and grumbled. Nakamura flushed.
“I’m- Sorry. I didn’t mean to get in your space like that.” Awesome, now Hirose definitely thought he was a freak.
But Hirose didn’t respond. Instead his head was in his hands.
SHIT. I REALLY MESSED IT UP THIS TIME HUH?
“Hirose?” He reached out his hand to tap his shoulder, before putting it back down. Nakamura wanted to make sure he was okay, first of all, but he also didn’t want to get too close anymore. He didn’t need to confirm his creep status.
He heard a muffled “One second,” from Hirose, and breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe everything was okay?
Suddenly Hirose jolted upright, and he smiled at Nakamura.
“Let’s do more songs!”
So they did.
After a good few, the queue was coming to a close. Nakamura had sung a couple, but he let Hirose have the spotlight. He was enjoying watching and listening along. The last song on their shuffle was the song he had recognized from earlier. It was one he Nakamura had listened to a few times before, so he at least knew the chorus.
But instead of standing up when the song started, Hirose sat down. He honestly did not look well, but again, Nakamura couldn’t tell if it was just the lighting. The intro started and his memory was jogged. It was a slow song. His heart began to beat faster. What’s with this atmosphere??
Hirose sang along, as one does a karaoke. His voice was smoother than it had been and less over the top enthusiastic. Nakamura could feel the warm room getting even warmer. And was it just him or was Hirose getting even closer? His instinct made him inch away slowly. But Hirose just kept getting closer. To the point that when the chorus began, he was on the edge of his seat. No seriously. What is happening?
Hirose began to stutter when the pace of the song picked up, and Nakamura couldn’t help but smile amid his very awkward seating situation. The song was catchy, and he remembered the words enough to hum along. He hummed the bass as Hirose sang. He was starting to lean back, getting further away again, but Nakamura realized he didn’t really want him to. Without thinking he reached for Hirose and grabbed his hand, and suddenly he stopped singing altogether. He just stared at him. The backing track continued to play but no sound came out of either’s mouth.
He had messed up again.
Nakamura immediately dropped his hand and shrunk back into himself, consequently falling out of the booth entirely. He landed on the floor with a thud, and the awkward silence continued as he lay there, cursing his stupid brain and wishing he was anywhere else. Hirose peered over the seat at him as the song drew to a close. And then it was totally quiet.
Nakamura’s eyes were closed. He pretended he was in a forest somewhere, with a running stream. He tried to focus on the sound of the water but that was interrupted by the sound of Hirose’s voice
“So. um,” he began. Nakamura peeked.
“That didn’t really go. Like I thought it would.” Nakamura didn’t understand.
“Huh?”
“I mean-” Hirose faltered. “I don’t know. I don’t know what I thought,” he admitted.
Nakamura was just plain confused. Hirose was acting weird. He sat up.
He was face to face with Hirose. They were an inch from each other. His face flushed. Hirose’s face flushed. They were both bright pink under the lights. Hirose turned away with a frustrated look on his face.
“The truth is… Nakamura. That Mukai and Takeuichi… well I actually told them not to come.”
What?
“But why? Now it’s just. You and me. Wouldn’t it be more fun with more people?”
“Well I wanted it to just be us. Like. um. Like a da-”
“You went that far just to hang out with me?”
“Hirose blanked.
“Uh. Oh I guess I did.” He was getting redder by the second.
Nakamura was almost too dense to realize what was going on when the last thing Hirose said finally processed in his head, and the words came tumbling out of his mouth.
“LIKE A DATE?”
Hirose shut down. He was now a different color entirely and steam was practically coming off of his head.
“Y- yes,” he admitted. He looked defeated.
Nakamura couldn’t believe it. A date? A DATE? Did he really just say that? And what did he mean by that? Like romantic? Like the two of them, together? Doing stuff couples do? Like that???? Nakamura was shutting down too.
Then he realized he had left Hirose hanging.
“So.” He looked at Hirose, who looked like he was trying not to blow up on the spot. “You. uh. Wanted to go on a date? With me?
“Um, yeah.”
“Like- uh- romantically?”
“Nakamura.” Suddenly he seemed mad. “What other kind of date is there?”
“Oh.”
“OH.”
Nakamura's brain was overheating.
So this really was- The whole time- and Hirose- LIKED HIM?
He was sure now that he had actually died and was now in an alternate universe or adjacent heaven-like realm.
But this was reality. And Hirose was there. Right in front of him. And he just confessed.
Nakamura didn’t know where to go from here. This was not in any book he had ever read. So his crush confessed to him. What now??
WAIT. He was so troubled by his own thoughts that he finally remembered he actually had to give a response. At the same time Hirose spoke.
“So. Is that okay?”
OF COURSE ITS OKAY
Nakamura squeaked out, “Yes. It’s okay.”
Finally the tension broke.
Hirose breathed. “I’m glad you said that.” He sat up and smiled, and then offered Nakamura, who was still on the floor, a hand to get up. When he took Hirose’s hand, he was pulled in close and immediately wrapped in a hug. Hirose whispered, “Thank you.”
Holy shit.
Was it gonna be like this all the time now?