"Job offer? Ritsu, what are you talking about?" asked Kei who was confused beyond reason.
"Starting tomorrow, I'm going to be an official engineer of Akro companies!" said Ritsu proudly.
"Engineer? What happened to you wanting to being a pilot?" Kei frowned and looked at Ritsu up and down, trying to find anything out of the ordinary. 498Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡktpcwsrzJu
“Yeah, I'm an engineer now. Anything wrong with that?”
Kei shook his head and blinked, “No, it’s just that I thought your dream was to become a pilot.” Ritsu’s always been so smart.
Laughing sheepishly, Ritsu rubbed the back of his neck, “Things change I guess. By the way, I have a favor to ask.”
"No." Kei said plainly, crossing his arms and huffing. "Whatever it is, if you're here, that means something went wrong and you need my help to fix it."
"But Kei, I really need your help, otherwise I'm going to be homeless for today!" Ritsu yelled falling to his knees in front of his childhood friend.
"Homeless?" Kei struggled as Ritsu latched his hands onto his legs, "What are you talking about 'homeless'? Let go, Ritsu!"
"Kei, please, please, please! I don't know anybody else here, you're the only option that I got! I need you to let me stay inside of your dorm room, just for tonight!" he bowed down and pressed his head against the ground.
"Ritsu, get up!" Kei looked around and saw a few people were starting to stare at their direction, and immediately flushed. "Ritsu, I don't even know if the dorm allows that at all!"
“It’s just one night! The people offering me a job had a hotel ready for me, but I arrived a day early before my reservation and now I have no place to stay.” Ritsu said still bowing.
Kei grabbed Ritsu's arms and forced him to stand up, “How did you even know which college I was going to?” he asked trying to be quiet, his hands holding onto Ritsu's arms with a death grip.
Ritsu grinned and brought his phone close to Kei's face, "Well, after my desperation, I seemed to recall your cousin talking about how you were able to make it to America. With a couple of asking here and there, I was able to get your address!" he showed Kei the messages and winked.
To make things sure, Kei read every single word, and yes. That really was his cousin. If that was the case now he wouldn't be able to say no. Kei groaned and massaged his temples. "Fine, you can stay, but for only one night."
Ritsu jumped and wrapped his arm around Keis's shoulders and yelled, "Thanks, Kei! I owe you big time now! Man, if you didn't say yes I would probably have to sleep on the streets, and my stuff would all get stolen."
"Right..." said Kei who was already starting to regret his decision.
"Don't worry, Kei. It would be like I'm not there at all!" Ritsu grinned, "Now come on, show me to your dorm room, I wanna see what it looks like." he yelled as he dragged Kei inside of the building. Once inside, Ritsu was running around excitedly, "Wow this place is small!"
"Kei?"
Turning around, Kei saw Teff standing behind the two of them with a confused expression on his face. In his hand was a plastic bag, most probably filled with take-out. He had probably cut class.
Kei watched as his emotions switched from confusion, to surprise. "IT'S ANOTHER ASIAN!" of all the things to say, why did he have to yell out that one?
Ritsu raised an eyebrow and adjusted his glasses, “Asian? Who’s this, Kei?”
The ginger-haired student tilted his head, and asked, “You know him, Kei?”
Well, it’s time to introduce them to each other he guessed, “Ritsu, this is my friend Teff. I met him in this school. Teff, this is my childhood friend Ritsu. I’ve been with him since third grade.”
Whistling, Teff directed his gaze to Ritsu, “That’s a long time. You must know a lot of embarrassing stories about Kei.” He said grinning evilly.
Ritsu nodded and said excitedly, “Yeah I do! Wanna hear some?” he was inching closer to Teff about to reveal all of Kei’s forbidden past.
Panicking, Kei grabbed Ritsu’s arm and pulled him away before he was able to say anything else, “Come on, Ritsu, aren’t you going to sleep in my room? Go get your luggage and put it there.”
Sleeping in Kei’s room? That was the first Teff’s heard of it. “What do you mean he’s sleeping at your place?” Teff was now interested.
Now things were starting to get a bit complicated, causing Kei to outwardly groan in annoyance, “He has nowhere else to sleep for today, so I’m lending him a hand.”
Teff’s ears perked and his eyes started to sparkle, “Can I sleep there too? It’d be like a sleepover between friends!” he was basically rocking on his heels. He brought an arm around Kei to his left, while Ritsu was with Kei to his right.
Kei was starting to feel a bit suffocated right next to these two giant monsters, “UGH! Why are you guys so tall!?” Kei has always been the shortest amongst his peers, his height only reaching up to both of their shoulders. “No, Teff. You can’t sleep in my dorm room.”
You can see Teff’s deflating spirit right there, “But why…?”
“Kei, stay up with me.”
He jerked his head to face behind him. She was standing in front of the window. Her hair reflecting the faint glow of the moon and the faint breeze caressing her skin.
Ignore her. Ignore her. Ignore her. Kei needed to get his meds, it was about time he drank his night dosage. He sped up to the bathroom to grab the bottle of medicine that he had forgotten to bring with him and started to fill the glass with water.
“You’re always staying up, but back then you were always lecturing me to sleep early.” Her voice was still there. His grip on the sink tightened and he shut his eyes trying to ignore her. “I was always annoyed with your reason. Hmph. Even with sleep I get pimples.”
Kei needed to have them right now. He made a move to open the bottle, but interrupted when he felt her hug him from behind. His body started to shake from her touch, and Kei found it hard to swallow. The glass in front of him had already started to overflow with water, and he made no move to turn off the faucet. Kei opened his eyes and saw hers sparkling with delight.
No.
Kei turned off the water flow, popped a pill in his mouth, and swallowed with the help of water. This wasn’t real. She’s just a fake. It’ll disappear soon.
“Kei! Why do you always do this!? You’re always leaving me alone! Why!” her voice echoed around his head as if multiple beings were speaking at the same time.
He dropped down on the wet floor, closed his eyes, and covered his ears. Go away. Go away. Go away. Go away.
“You’re ignoring me! Stop it! STOP IT! I’m right here! You never listen to me! NEVER! Kei! Kei! Kei!!! Look at me! Open your eyes!”
The real her wouldn’t say these things. The real her wouldn’t do this to him. The real her wasn’t like this. The real her wasn’t here. If she wasn’t here, then why wouldn’t her voice go away? Why was it always like this? Why wouldn’t she just leave?
“Kei! Kei!”
Ignore her. Ignore her. Ignore her. Close your eyes. Never open them. Close your eyes. Never open them. Just close them. Close. Don’t look at her.
He heard something in the background. What was that? Crying? Why would she be crying? Oh, wait… that wasn't her. That was him. Kei was crying his eyes out.
“Crying again? That’s what you always do, isn’t it? You always cry! You never do anything right! You always think that you’re the one who has it bad! Do you think that you’re the only one in this world who is hurting? Are you that selfish? Is that who you are? SCUM.”
Kei curled up on the cold and wet floor, his hands covering his ears and eyes still closed shut. Nonetheless, tears still managed to find their way out. He was quite the pathetic sight. A sobbing mess. His body had started to shake unnaturally, and his heart was beating so fast that he was no longer able to take it.
Ah… he was so tired of this. When will it end?
It didn’t take long but… He finally fell unconscious.
Shaking his head, Kei forced Ritsu to start picking up his bags, “You just can’t. Come on, Ritsu.”
Teff watched the two of them scurry along up the stairs towards Kei’s room, wondering why he wouldn’t allow him to come along. It was just one night. Unless… Teff went wide eyed at the thought. Was Kei gay all along? No, no, no. That can’t be. They were just friends. Childhood friends.
He needed to finish eating his fried chicken. Teff went to his own dorm room and continued his meal with thoughts that just refused to leave his mind, how could it? He just found out that his anti-social Asian best friend had another jolly friend, a friend that has been with him since third grade.
“Woo hoo! I get the bed!”
“No, you’re not. You’re sleeping on the floor.”
Ritsu pouted, “Why can’t we both just sleep in there together like when we were kids?”
Kei tied his hair into a small ponytail and sighed, “I still have some studying to do, so you better not touch my bed.”
“Kei, I didn’t bring a mattress with me. Do you have one?”
Oh yeah, mattresses. Kei turned around and adjusted his bangs by a bit, trying to think. He also didn’t have an extra mattress with him, after all the dorm was designed not have any roommates.
“I'll give you a spare blanket. Sleep on the floor and freeze."
Ritsu whined and flopped onto the ground right next to him, "Why are you so evil now..." he lied on the ground and starting to make loud noises of fake crying. "I'm going to keep doing this until you give me a proper place to sleep in." and the noises kept on coming.
Kei hated the noise. "Ritsu..." a groan, "Ritsu, stop it." a meowing noise, "Ritsu, I mean it." what was up with the barking, "RITSU you can sleep on my bed just STOP!"
Ritsu jumped onto his bed and yelled, “Alright!” then he started to roll around the sheets.
“You’re messing up the sheets!”
“You’re such a neat-o. Here, I just adjust them a bit and boom! All clean.” Ritsu grinned and posed on top of his bed.
Kei groaned and looked away from his temporary roommate to begin studying. Both he and Ritsu have been friends for a very long time, the both of them had spent the majority of their childhood together. Now he couldn’t say that they were the best of friends, but time allowed them to get to know each other thoroughly.
When he had started having it in his head, its voice in his ears, and have it become his hallucination, Ritsu was one of the people who helped him throughout his first years of mental instability. Kei was lucky to have so many nice friends.
Growing up, Kei wasn’t that well off compared to the other children and had to work extra hard as a result. Some had fancy lunch boxes and big houses, while he wondered if he would be able to eat lunch and come home to a wooden shack.
“Kei.”
His grip on his pen grew tighter, and he refused to look behind him. Kei knew it was there.
“Kei, Ritsu’s here! I remember Ritsu. It’s been so long.”
It wouldn’t be able to do anything to Ritsu; after all, she was just his burden. Kei stood up from his place to get his meds. It was about time, and he had to hurry before it got worse.
“Kei?” muttered Ritsu who sounded like he was at the brink of falling asleep. His droopy eyes following him to the bathroom.
Kei’s hands were starting to shake as he opened his mirror cabinet, but he was still able to get his bottle of medication. Open, open, open.
“Kei… You can’t replace me. You’ll never get rid of me. I was your first, and you know what they say: First loves never disappear.”
Its pale hand smoothed over his, causing him to look behind him in panic. It used a bright smile using her lips and spoke words using her tongue. At its sudden touch, Kei dropped his pills into his sink, a jolt of shock controlling his movements.
Kei fell to his knees and held his hands close to his chest, feeling as if he was about to go into hyperventilation. His meds. He lost his meds. He needed his meds.
“Whoopsies! Sorry, Kei. Look at the bright side, I get to be with you far longer this time.”
He covered his ears and shut his eyes, yelling, “Get out! Get out!” he didn’t want its voice. His heart was beating, and he could still hear its whispers right next to his ear.
“Kei. Don’t be like that. You know very well that you love seeing me every day, I mean how could you not?”
Get out. Get out. Get out. Stop! Stop it, please! Kei curled up on the floor making sure to never open his eyes because he knew that if he saw it he wouldn’t be able to take it.
“Don’t cover your ears! Kei— “
“Kei!?” Ritsu burst into the bathroom in a panic, his eyes darting to the floor where Kei was lying down, “Kei! What happened? Where is your medication?!” he picked up his shaking body and cradled him in his arms.
Ritsu. Ritsu was here. Kei opened his eyes to look around and saw it standing right behind Ritsu waving her hand and smiling. He sucked in sharp breaths and held onto Ritsu’s sleeves like he was his life force. “Th-they f-f-fell. H-help me R-Rits-su!” his body wouldn’t stop shaking. He needed his meds.
Ritsu held Kei close, “Close your eyes, Kei. Shh… breathe! Do you have any extra bottles?”
“T-Teff!” was all Kei could choke out.
“Teff, Teff, Teff.” Ritsu picked Kei up with little struggle, surprised by how little he weighed. Has this guy been eating at all? He approached the bed and tried to put him down, “Just stay here for a while, okay? I’ll get your cellphone.”
He was about to let go of Kei, and just when his fingers were slipping away Kei could feel its ghost-like touches. “D-don’t l-l-let go!”
“Alright.” Ritsu didn’t give it a second thought and kept one arm around Kei. The other searching through his bag that was luckily placed right next to the bed.
He found Kei’s cellphone in one of the pockets and turned it on, noticing that it didn’t have a lock. Searching for Teff’s name in the contacts wasn’t hard since there were only fifteen contacts at most.
Ritsu waited for Teff to pick up, hoping that the other had yet to fall asleep. “Pick up, pick up.” Kei wouldn’t stop quivering in his arm, and he was pretty sure he would have red scratches on his skin tomorrow.
From the other side of the phone line, he could hear a groggy voice say, “Yeah, this is Stephen. What’s up?”
“Teff, do you have Kei’s extra bottle of medication!?”
“Asian dude?! Uh, yeah I have them!”
“Bring it here right now!”
“O-okay, going there right now!”
A few minutes later you could hear urgent knocking on the door. Ritsu slowly pulled himself away from Kei, “It’ll only be a second, okay?”
“N-no! No! R-Ritsu!”
Ritsu opened the door as fast as he could and saw Teff still in his boxers. He was holding the bottle of meds in his hands.
Teff looked over his shoulder and saw Kei shivering, “Kei!”
“His meds, Teff!” yelled Ritsu, his hands waiting for the bottle to be given to him.
Teff nodded and handed Ritsu the bottle, "I'm going to get him a glass of water." he ran into the bathroom and filled the glass he found on the sink.
Bottle in hand, Ritsu returned to holding Kei. “It’s okay, it’s okay…” he whispered. The moment he was within arm's reach, Kei's hands gripped onto his arms. "Shhhh..." Yep, it was painful. For a short guy, he still had a lot of strength in him.
Teff rushed back inside of the room holding a glass of water carefully, "Kei, here's some water." he made sure it didn't spill when he made it to the bed. "Dude, the pills."
“I’m going to give you one, okay?” Ritsu dropped one pill into Kei’s mouth while Teff helped pour the water inside of his mouth. Kei choked and started coughing, but Ritsu patted his back, “Slowly, Kei. Slowly.”
"Just a little longer, okay? The pill will take effect," assured Teff from his place right next to Ritsu.
From the corner of his eye, Teff glanced at Ritsu, who was handling everything so calmly. He guessed that this wasn't the first time he had seen Kei in this sort of position.
For a long time, Teff had thought that he was the only one who was able to see Kei in his weakened state, but he probably already knew back in his mind that it was impossible. Right in front of him was proof. Here was a guy who knew exactly what to do whenever Kei was in this sort of situation.
It took a little more than thirty minutes, but he Kei was finally going limp. He watched as Ritsu uncomfortably tugged his arm away slowly from beneath Kei's back. The medicine was already starting to show its effect. Kei was breathing normally and his shaking had stopped. In no time he was asleep.
Sighing, Ritsu slowly moved Kei in a sleeping position on his bed and wiped his own forehead, “Phew. Hadn’t done that in a while, I guess I’m a little rusty.”
Teff smiled tiredly and nodded, "Nice to see that someone else knows how to take care of him."
Ritsu grinned in return, "I'm surprised. I thought that you wouldn't know how."
"Is it my face that makes me underestimate me?" Teff joked.
"You know, whenever Kei is alone that's when he starts seeing it again. Maybe it's because he hadn't had his meds earlier or something, but it gets worse if he doesn't handle things right. I was about to fall asleep... it's a good thing I didn't."
"Hey, dude, it's alright."
“Thanks for your help, Teff. You can go back to your own dorm.” Ritsu sighed and rubbed his forehead.
Teff nodded, stood up with a sigh, and went for the door, “Take care of him.”
“I will. goodnight.”
“Goodnight.” And with that Teff closed the door.
Ritsu lied down right next to Kei and listened to his breathing. He had already forgotten what happened during the night. With this reminder it made him feel guilty in having to leave Kei alone tomorrow because there was no one to keep him company.
A hitch was heard in Kei’s breathing, and Ritsu said, “You’re pretending to be asleep, aren’t you?”
“Yeah.” A response.
“Kei, I think you should sleep in the hotel with me.”
“What?”
“I think it’s for the best. It’s closer to your college than you think, and if you’re with me then you would be able to sleep better at night.”
“…”
“What do you think?”
“I’ll… I’ll think about it in the morning.”
“Alright then. Goodnight, Kei.”
“G’night.”
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