„So…you two are dating now? For real??” Toru’s voice sounded a little stiff while posing this question but his expression didn’t show what he really thought about the news he just heard. A few weeks ago the press started with the rumour that ONE OK ROCK’s vocalist was going out with Perfume’s A~chan and now out of the blue Taka told him that it actually became true a few days ago. The leader was seriously puzzled because as far as he knew the two have been only good friends but the vocalist said from the very beginning that he wasn’t interested in her in any romantic way. Somehow that turned out to have changed by now.

“Well, seems like it. We’ve been in the cinema the day before yesterday and – even though it sounds really cliché – she got scared because of one scene and clung to me through the rest of the movie. When we left she suddenly grabbed my hand and before I knew what happened she confessed to me. I told her I like her a lot but that I’m not sure if that’s enough but…we decided it’s at least worth a try and maybe it’ll work out. I mean, she’s really cute and we get along pretty well. That’s quite good, isn’t it?”

Taka scratched the back of his head in a flustered manner and grinned shyly at the younger male whose expression was still unreadable. Toru nodded out of reflex but to be honest, he absolutely disliked what he just heard. Sure, he was glad the elder found someone as sweet as A~chan and she was such a wonderful girl but still…The leader couldn’t help feeling irritated.

“Toru, seriously, what’s up? I thought you’d be at least a little happy for me but somehow I get the feeling that it bothers you in some way.” The brunette tilted his head in obvious confusion while lifting a hand to put it softly on the younger’s upper arm. Taka might always say about himself that he couldn’t get anything right except for singing but he was so damn sharp when it came to other person’s feelings, it was almost creepy. Toru always thought he was good at hiding what he really felt when he wanted to but the smaller male managed to prove him wrong every time.

“It’s nothing, really. That’s just a little abrupt and I didn’t expect you’d tell me such a thing suddenly. Of course I wish you the best of luck.” It sounded so wrong in his own ears but it seemed to not be the same for his friend because Taka now smiled again and suddenly pulled him in a short hug. The guitarist lifted his eyebrows in slight confusion but he returned the embrace gently before bringing a small distance between their bodies again.

“Thank you. That’s what I wanted to hear.” Taka laughed softly and patted the guitarist’s shoulder, before a yawn slipped his fine shaped lips. He definitely had too little time to sleep lately. It was already past midnight anyway because they ended band practice only half an hour ago and Taka decided afterwards to tell his best friend about the new situation. He had already felt bad for not immediately telling their leader because from the beginning they’ve been pretty close and talked about everything. So only a few days of not telling Toru about his new relationship felt as if he was betraying the other in some way. Now that it was out he was more relaxed. Especially because all of this had a much deeper meaning and telling the younger about it had been priority for A~chan’s weird plan to work out…or not. The vocalist highly doubted all of this would do any good but arguing about it with the girl didn’t bring him anywhere. She was convinced of her supposedly brilliant idea and he was given no other option as to agree.

“You seem tired and it’s late already, I guess we should call it a day.” Toru got up from the comfy couch while making this suggestion and he didn’t expect his friend to disagree. The vocalist nodded slowly even though he seemed to be somewhere else with his thoughts and got up a moment later. The leader was about to ask what was on the other’s mind but somehow he got the feeling he wouldn’t get a useful answer anyway. He also wanted to get home quickly and as much as he enjoyed the shorter male’s company, he really preferred being on his own now. The guitarist couldn’t grasp what this weird feeling in his heart right know was but he knew it wasn’t supposed to be there. The two musicians got their stuff and left the band room together, the leader locking the door before they headed out of the tall building. It was summer, the rainy season ended only a week ago and the air felt hot and humid even in the middle of the night. Inside they had a decent temperature thanks to the air conditioner but now the heat of the day hit them and the vocalist let out an almost inaudible sigh. Most of the way they walked in silence and there was only a short conversation about the result of today’s band practice, nothing more. Because the two of them lived pretty close to each other it took a while until their ways parted and thanks to the slightly strange atmosphere none of them minded it very much. Normally they often ended up standing at the crossroad without being able to end one of their random discussions or one of them simply dropped by the other’s place. Today none of both options occurred and the two young males only said goodbye with a short hug before parting.

-

The next morning came quicker than expected, at least that’s what it felt like for the bandleader who fell asleep only two or three hours before the alarm went off. Cursing he fumbled for the alarm-clock on the nightstand and after managing to shut it up he let out a long yawn. Toru slept too little, therefore thought too much and it was more than too early to get up. Still, he somehow managed to get out of bed even though his body immediately longed for sinking back onto the comfy mattress. He was the bandleader so he was supposed to be in-time and kick the other’s butts for complaining about the early hours. Sure, it wasn’t that rare for the guitarist to be late himself or to complain or be lazy but when he had to be reliable, he definitely was. So the blonde got up, went into the bathroom and after dropping his clothes to the floor directly entered the shower cubicle to finally wake up properly. After a short but nicely warm shower he felt at least a little better even though his mind still seemed to be slightly off but he tried to ignore this fact. Why did he think and care so much about Taka suddenly being in a relationship? Was it even the relationship that got him into this state of mind? Maybe he was only irritated because it took the vocalist so long to tell him. That must be it! That was the only logical explanation. Any other reason would make him seem jealous and that was definitely wrong. The bandleader shook his head about his messed up thinking and grabbed his stuff after putting on some decent clothes. He didn’t bother to dry his hair and left his small flat after he made sure he had some money on him to buy a cup of coffee on his way to work.

About an hour after leaving his house Toru finally arrived at their workplace, silently cursing because he just burned his tongue with the still hot coffee and to his surprise when he arrived on the right floor there was already someone waiting in front of the practice room. Stepping closer the leader noticed it was no one else than the smaller vocalist who beamed happily at him when he noticed his blonde friend. The guitarist warily smiled back but didn’t really feel like putting on a good mood when he was feeling quite down. Normally he would be glad to have Taka around and to not wait all by himself until every band member arrived but now he suddenly felt like going straight back home and cuddle up in his comfy bed. Seeing the elder brought back all the thinking about their talk yesterday and he preferred this topic to stay out of his mind.

“Toru? Are you okay? You look tired.” The curly haired male looked at him with a worried expression in his deep brown orbs and tilted his head in an almost cute manner. Toru barely suppressed a sigh and shook his head softly while unlocking the door so they could enter the practice room instead of loitering around in the hallway. Taka closed the door and jumped onto the couch next to where his friend sat and scooted a bit closer while crossing his legs. His knees faintly touched Toru’s right upper thigh and the blonde lifted an eyebrow, looking at the energetic being from the corner of his eye.

“Come on, what’s up? Tell me what’s bothering you. I noticed something must be going on because you acted so weird yesterday.” The vocalist nudged his friend’s leg with his index finger and showed a cute pout on his fine features. Even if Taka’s actions seemed pretty playful, the younger knew his friend was worried about him and mentally slapped himself for being so weird.

“Nothing is bothering me or at least nothing serious. It’s okay, really. This is just a mood so don’t you worry about me.” Toru tried to show a reassuring smile and ruffled the others dark locks before turning back to grab his cup with the coffee. By now there was no risk to burn his tongue again so the guitarist drank most of the coffee before placing it back on the low table. Before he could lean back, though, the slender blonde unexpectedly felt two arms wrap around him and a warm body gently pressed against his own. Taka’s head rested against his chest near the right shoulder and his face was hidden by the dark curls.

“Why are you acting like such an idiot? It’s not ‘nothing’ if you’re wandering around with such an expression written all over your face. Maybe the other’s won’t notice but I know you well enough to tell the difference between ‘nothing’ and ‘something serious’.” The leader had to admit he was a little taken aback by his friend’s sharp conclusion and it seemed like the shorter male could estimate the situation much better than himself. Toru told himself it wasn’t serious but somehow he knew it wasn’t just a mood. There was some kind of feeling that had been buried deep inside his heart for a while already and now it suddenly broke free. He also had a vague idea of what exactly this was about but Toru didn’t dare to even think about it. He wasn’t supposed to feel this way and he definitely wouldn’t dare to ruin everything through it.

“You might be right…but it doesn’t matter. It’s something for me to solve and I’m not gonna whine about it. Please just accept that, okay? I promise I’ll talk to you if I need an advice or anything…” A low grumbling showed Taka’s disapproval but he didn’t ask any further and just stayed in his current position. His arms tightened a little but the leader found himself enjoying the unusual closeness and finally hugged the vocalist back, rested one hand on the dark locks. He couldn’t resist digging the fingertips into the surprisingly soft curls and a soft sigh of the elder revealed that he also seemed to savour this moment. Only when they heard footsteps in the hallway drawing closer, they brought a normal distance between their bodies and both watched the door until it opened and the other two band members entered the room together.

“What’s with the two of you? Are you up to something or why are you sitting there like well-behaved children? You’re neither children nor well-behaved so that means something is going on.” Tomoya tilted his head in mistrust before he started to grin widely and just shook his head. Ryota already toddled over to his bass and started preparing it for practice and the drummer also went to his instrument. Toru directed a short glance to his shorter friend who simply shrugged with a small grin on his fine shaped lips. The next moment Taka already jumped off the couch and crossed the room to grab his microphone. The blonde followed his friends shortly after to get his guitar ready and they soon started today’s band practice.

-to be continued-