Title:Friends (Part 13/16)
Pairings:OhnoxNino, NinoxArashi
Genre:Fluff, AU, Friendship, Romance
Rating:PG-13 (for language)
Disclaimer:I own nothing but the plot
Word Count:969
Summary:It's Nino's first day back to school and already people began paying attention to him unlike the past.

Turns out, what he felt was real as he took small glances to his left, right, behind, and the front of him. They were all looking at him as if he was alien that came in rather unannounced. Nino was determined to run away since he felt he wasn’t that ready after all. However, a familiar hand grabbed his.

“Shall we go?”

Nino almost jumped, but he realized who it was. Despite the disgusted stares from other students, Nino smiled anyways, glad that Satoshi was right there when he was about to bail. As long as he was besides him, school wouldn’t be so bad after all.

Well, that was what he thought until first period came.

Their homeroom/English teacher, who had kindly noticed him and welcomed him back, was going on about things Nino couldn’t understand. He realized by then how long he has been gone from school that everything was just mumbo jumbo to him. By the time it was lunch, he was utterly lost and confused.

“How’s your first day?” He heard Satoshi ask him as he grabbed a chair and sat besides his desk.

“Horrible,” was what came out of his mouth, “Really horrible.”

“Heh,” Satoshi chuckled. “Don’t worry about it, I’ll help you out.”

Nino sighed in relief as he leaned his head on the table. “Thanks... I wouldn’t know what to do without you.”

“That’s why I--”

“Yo! O-chan!”

Both he and Satoshi looked up as a student with chocolate-colored hair bounced towards them. “Wanna-- Oh~” The student raised his eyebrows playfully, “Is that him? The Ninomiya Kazunari.”

Satoshi sighed, turning his attention back to Nino. He gave him an apologetic look as if the student was a bad omen. “This is Aiba Masaki,” Satoshi introduced him to the student that decided to sit in between them. “And yes, this is he.”

Nino backed away a bit, not liking the way the student was zooming in on him. It was uncomfortable for him since this is his first (or second, but he’s not Satoshi so he counted as the first student) time having a student who actually saw and acknowledged him. However, he couldn’t back out because if he did, he would fall.

“I’ve heard so much about you~” The student breathed excitedly, “I never thought you were this good-looking!”

Nino blushed. This was his first time as well being called good-looking by a student. “T-thanks...” He mumbled nervously as he fiddled with his fingers under the desk.

“Hey,” Satoshi snapped. “Watch what you’re saying around my boyfriend while I’m still here.”

“Whoops, sorry,” the student immediately apologized with a sheepish grin. “The others are waiting though. You gonna come?”

‘Others?’ Nino questioned in his thoughts. ‘.There are more people like this guy?’

Satoshi shook his head as if he read his thoughts. “Don’t worry. They are nothing like Aiba. They know a lot about personal space.”

As Nino sighed in relief, he heard the bouncy student pout and whine.

Since he was together with Satoshi, though, that would mean he has to meet his friends whether he liked it or not. It’s not that there was something wrong with meeting people, but he was afraid that they will not notice him. He considered this thought for a few minutes before he realized that Aiba Masaki actually noticed him. ‘So it won’t be that bad right?’ As long as it’s Satoshi, it’s fine. As he exhaled, he allowed Satoshi to grab his hand before heading to the school cafeteria.

He was immediately greeted by two more students as he and Satoshi both sat down. While he was too busy being scared out of his wits, the four were already at it talking about stuff that Nino couldn’t hear through his trembling. But that all went away as a hand soothed his under the table, and the others began talking to him all at once.

The student with thick eyebrows and a fine face was the first to talk to him. “I’m Matsumoto Jun, or MatsuJun if you prefer.”

“Ninomiya Ka... Kazunari...” He mumbled quietly, refusing to give eye contact with the student. “It’s nice to meet you...”

“Ne! Meet Sho-chan!” He heard Aiba yell from across the table. “He--”

“I can do it myself,” The person called Sho-chan cut the student off, “Sakurai Sho.”

It was as if the whole table was made up of beautiful boys. Firstly, Satoshi was the prettiest of them all. Then came Matsumoto Jun, Sakurai Sho, and Aiba Masaki. Not only was Satoshi rich, but it looks like he made fine friends as well.

“Ninomiya Kazunari,” he muttered under his breath. “N... Nice to meet you...”

“So, are you really together with Ohno-san?” Jun questioned him in a way that made it difficult for him to answer; he nodded anyways.

“I see.” He said nothing more after that, making Nino feel like the latter was made at him. However, a smile plastered on his lips as soon as he began talking to the bouncy student besides him.

Just then, he heard a cough and his head turned towards Sho. “Welcome to the table, Ninomiya-san.”

“Thank you...”

“See,” Satoshi was the last to talk as the other three went on about their own business. “They aren’t that bad.”

Nino shrugged, still unsure about Jun. “Is Matsumoto-san mad at me?”

“No,” Satoshi chuckled lightly, “He just has this cool aura.”

Now that the doubt was cleared away, he sighed in relief. Shortly after, he began to join their conversation as if they were friends in the past. Throughout lunch, though, Satoshi held his hand letting him know that he wasn’t alone anymore.

So school wasn’t that bad after all; the school lectures and homework was.

END