Fukase flipped through the song book, searching for a familiar title or artist. Oliver seemed adamant that they all had to sing, but Fukase would probably fake a sore throat to get out of it. He wasn't that enthusiastic about singing in public, and only went along with the idea because Oliver had suggested it so excitedly. Oliver had even convinced Flower to call off their horror movie plans.

The karaoke café was old fashioned and obviously built with a more traditional café in mind, based on the single stage crammed in the far corner. However, the food more than made up for the cramped environment.

They had ordered a large pizza to share, half Hawaiian and half pepperoni and bacon. It was probably the best pizza in town, which made Piko seem even weirder. He never touched his plate, much less the food. He didn't even order a soda like the rest of them. He said he didn't need to eat, and Fukase tried to ignore the tingle of annoyance on the back of his neck. There was something about this Piko person that was very... off.

Firstly, his white hair had a strange, choppy cut like he was trying too hard to be stylish. And he kept stealing glances at Oliver, like he was expecting him to do something or say something. Fukase found himself getting more and more annoyed. His feet kept hitting against Piko's skateboard, which the guy had slipped under the table when they first arrived.

Annoying, annoying, annoying.

"I invited my friend Piko because Flower's boyfriend couldn't come," said Oliver as they were waiting outside in the cold several minutes earlier.

"Where is your boyfriend anyway?" Fukase had asked Flower

"Don't worry, he drops out of existence every now and then." She waved her hand nonchalantly. "Probably on some wilderness sabbatical or whatever. It's normal for him."

"Are you sure you even have a boyfriend?" Oliver joked. "We never get to see him."

"Watch it," Flower warned.

Now the four of them were inside and squeezed into a small booth. Flower stole the seat next to Fukase (petty revenge) and across the table from them sat Oliver and his friend, the aforementioned Piko. When Oliver had invited this guy Fukase had never heard of along, he didn't know what to think.

"So, what school do you go to?" Flower asked. Once again her style seemed to be changing. Her wayfarers had been dumped in favor of round wire glasses paired with an absurdly large coat. Maybe she was trying Bohemian fashion this week?

"It's a small private school up north. You've probably never heard of it." Even the way Piko spoke was annoying. He threw out his words like they were nothing, like he knew he could be saying so many other, more important things.

"Oh, it's like that, is it?" Fukase muttered, munching on a slice of pizza.

Flower pressed on. "My mom and I lived up north before we moved. Try me."

"It's called St. James's," Piko said.

"Oh. Actually I haven't heard of it." Flower's tone was somewhat disappointed.

"Which saint is that?" Fukase asked.

Piko grinned at him and said, "The younger one."

"So are we gonna sing or what?" interrupted Oliver, slapping the songbook. "This is filled with golden oldies. I bet there isn't a single page with a song you haven't heard of."

He was completely ignored.

"I really like your contacts," Flower said, indicating Piko's oddly colored eyes. "Where did you get them?"

"An anime convention. They're supposed to be for a Vocaloid cosplay, but I think they're cool so I wear them a lot. You know, like a trademark."

"Vocaloid? I've never heard of that anime before."

"Yeah." Piko smirked. "You wouldn't."

"Not like that's surprising, cuz I don't watch anime," Flower added with a shrug and sipped her soda.

"Does that ever hurt your eyes?" Fukase asked. "Wearing colored contacts all the time."

"Dude, I can put my finger in my eye without feeling anything. I'm a robot. Wanna see?"

"No thank you." Fukase pulled at his bangs.

"How do you guys know each other?" Flower asked, gesturing at both Piko and Oliver.

"We went to the same middle school. Right, Piko?" Oliver nudged him with his elbow.

"I'm not actually his friend," Piko said, shrugging. "I don't even know why he invited me, I barely know him."

"Haha! Ha, oh Piko, you have the silliest sense of humor!" Oliver, smiling with his eyebrows scrunched together, gave the most forced laugh Fukase had ever heard. Okay, this was very weird. "Now who wants to sing?"

He was ignored again.

"So, tell me about you, Fukase." Piko leaned forward. His breath was much too minty, like he gobbled up breath mints like a hypochondriac popped pills. "How'd you meet Oliver?"

Fukase wavered. "You know, school..."

"Kase, come sing this song with me!" Oliver shoved the book across the table, jabbing his finger at the page.

"Oh, um..." Fukase started to sweat. His excuses for not singing flew from his head now that it was time to use them.

"I love that song!" Flower exclaimed, inadvertently rescuing him. "Can I sing with you instead?"

"Yeah. Of course," Fukase said and Oliver agreed.

Oliver winked as he stood. "Don't think you're getting out of this just yet, Kase."

They went to put in their song number, and Piko slouched closer to Fukase. Fukase caught that minty stench again.

"You really like him, huh?" With the tilt of his head and the lilt in his voice, Piko's words were more mocking than they had any right to be.

"We're dating," Fukase said, on edge.

"Right. Are you a pedo?"

Fukase was so surprised his mouth opened and nothing came out. He sputtered for a moment while Piko chuckled, then he exclaimed, "He's one year younger than me! Not even a year. Eleven months."

"Riiiiiight." Piko drew out the word, showing Fukase exactly what he thought.

Fukase calmed himself down. He's just messing around. Don't let him get under your skin. We're both seniors in high school, it's not like I'm a 30-year-old dating a preteen!

"I know you don't love him," Piko said.

Alright, so much for calm. Fukase clenched his fists and grit his teeth. This jerk was asking to be decked right here and now.

Piko raised an eyebrow at his reaction. "At least not in the way you think," he continued. "This isn't why Oliver brought me here, but I can't help it. You're pretty pathetic, you know that? I thought you were vaguely cool before, but now..." He shook his head. "You're kind of a coward."

"What do you mean 'before'?" Fukase demanded. If he had met such an infuriating person in the past, he would've definitely remembered.

"You know what I'm talking about." Piko's scowl hardened. "You know. Deep down, you remember everything. Stop being so stupid and remember."

"Don't call me stupid."

"I can call you anything I like, you made a kid cry. And if there's any kind of person I hate, it's guys who make kids cry."

Fukase's anger was subverted by sheer confusion. He felt like he had been hit by a football on a baseball diamond. "What on earth are you talking about? I never made anyone cry."

Fukase jumped when Piko started to clap, calling towards the stage, "You guys are great singers! You could make something outta that."

Fukase whipped towards the stage and saw Flower and Oliver walking back to the table. Crap. He missed Oliver singing. He hadn't heard anything over the roaring in his ears and Piko's taunting voice. Flower took a playful bow, but Oliver looked almost upset. Was he disappointed that Fukase didn't pay attention? No, Oliver wasn't like that. Then what was it?

"Now you've gotta go next," Oliver said, taking back the seat next to Fukase and leaving Flower to sit with Piko, which Fukase silently appreciated. "Want me to help you pick a song?"

"Actually, I don't really want to sing," said Fukase, abandoning his contrived excuses. My mood has been completely ruined.

"C'mon! It'll be fun if we go up together." Oliver beamed, and Fukase couldn't help but smile back. Under the table, Oliver slipped his hand into Fukase's. At least Piko couldn't ruin this.

"You know, I'd love to see Fukase sing, but I need to go now." Piko checked the time on his phone, an old flip model that looked like it could crack a window. "Oliver, walk with me outside?"

Okay, scratch that.

"Sure." Oliver immediately stood as Piko grabbed his skateboard. He held the battered-looking board under one arm.

Fukase bit the inside of his cheek. He would offer to go with them if he didn't know he would get shot down. Piko's glare had said more than enough.

As they left, Flower hit Fukase's shoulder lightly with the back of her manicured hand.

"What's up, man?" she said.

"Am I the only one who's suspicious or do you feel this too?"

"I understand the feeling, but—"

"Would it be terribly 'crazy jealous boyfriend' if I follow them?"

"No comment there, but I won't stop you if you do. I got some weird vibes from that Piko guy." She swept some crumbs off the table. "No promises that I won't judge, though. Ollie's your SO, you should trust him."

"I do trust him." Fukase stood before he could change his mind "It's Piko I don't trust."

He made his way to the café's side door.

This was a misunderstanding. It had to be. Just him overthinking. He had been worrying about Oliver so much lately, and...

He wanted to be back at the table with Flower, but some unseeable influence forced him forward.

As he picked his way through the cramped alley between the karaoke café and the shoe shop next to it, he made a deal with himself. He would look and listen and not jump to conclusions and think about this rationally, reasonably, and with a cool head. Yes. Of course. He just didn't want Piko to interrogate Oliver and say baseless things to him. Fukase wasn't the strange one. Piko was.

Right?

With his back against the wall, Fukase peeked around the corner to see Oliver and Piko standing near the front doors, talking. He inched closer and caught the tail end of their conversation.

"I don't get it," Piko was saying. "Why don't you just come out and tell them?"

Rationally! Reasonably! Cool head!

"That's what Ia did and she disappeared!" Oliver seemed upset. "Help me find one of those devices she used. I have an idea."

Piko put up his hands. "Yo, being the rebel was Ia's thing, not mine."

"Why not? You reached out to me first."

"Only because I stumbled into your storyline by chance. That's not my fault. If it was my choice I would stay as far away as possible from you MCs."

Ia? Devices? Rebel? Storyline? MC? What could that stand for? A million thoughts and questions bounced around Fukase's head and he had no idea what any of them meant.

"Then why are you even here now? To make fun of us?" Oliver suddenly looked unsure. He lowered his voice and rubbed his arm. "I don't understand. Are we... Are we not friends?"

Now this was something Fukase recognized. He knew what Oliver was doing right away. He never saw it very often, but Oliver could play the victim like no one else he knew. Complete with trembling lips and teary eyes.

"Would you stop that?" To Fukase's surprise, the cool, collected Piko began to fidget uncomfortably.

"R-right. I'll stop bothering you." Oliver sniffed and meekly shuffled his feet. "I can... I can figure this out on my own. It's okay." He hid his face with his sleeve. "Maybe... M-maybe after a good CRY I'll figure out what to do."

Fukase swore Piko shrank and pinched and became a different person in a single moment. "Alright! I'll help you. But please don't cry. That's the one thing I can't take."

At least Piko wasn't a hypocrite.

"Do you promise?" Oliver peeked out from behind his arm. Fukase didn't want to think of all the things he would instantly agree to if Oliver tried this on him. He would never be able to say no.

"Yes, of course, I promise." Piko crossed his heart and winced. "Just don't cry. Oh God, don't start crying."

Oliver's eyes twinkled as he dropped his arm and act. "You bluster around and act so tough, but really you're just—"

"Alright! Fine. Let me get one thing straight first. You're only asking me for help because Ia isn't here."

"Well..." Oliver averted his gaze and tapped his fingers together.

"Don't even— Nevermind. It's all over your face." Piko waved his hand. "Of course. I know. Fine. You owe me. You owe me so much."

Fukase wracked his brain for a possible explanation for their conversation. Disbelief and confusion and the rampant repetition of someone tell me what's happening someone explain this flooded and cycled in his thoughts.

Piko pressed his hand to his forehead and let out a hiss of a controlled breath. "I guess the only thing to do is go grab her. She can help more than I can, that's for sure."

"Piko,

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"Who wants to sing next?" Oliver asked, stealing a sip from Fukase's soda. "No dinky showtunes, please."

"Me!" Flower made a fist and jerked her head in the direction of the café entrance. "That old couple just came in, think I can freak 'em out by performing some screamo?"

Oliver mimicked her, clenching his fist as well. "Do it!"

Fukase rubbed his eyes. For some reason, he couldn't believe they were talking about something so mundane when—Wait. He shook his head. What was he supposed to be thinking about?

"I never knew you sang screamo," Oliver said.

"I don't," Flower replied. "But I've got good lungs, so it can't be that hard, right?"

Fukase laughed and let himself forget his worries for a while.

The evening continued like normal, with Oliver and Flower cracking jokes at the other's expense almost constantly. Every time Flower made a dig at Fukase, Oliver would leap to his defense.

They spent another hour at the karaoke café before heading out to go their separate ways. Flower swore that she wouldn't be a third wheel for much longer, citing a blind date she had set up next week. Fukase asked Oliver if he wanted to walk home together, but Oliver waved him off.

"It's fine. That just means extra walking for you. Thanks for offering, though. Oh! Wait a second."

Oliver put up a hand and closed his eyes, seemingly trying to remember something.

"This might seem like a weird question," Oliver started, "But weren't we going somewhere sometime?"

"Going somewhere?" Fukase repeated as he pulled out his phone to check his reminders. "Oh yeah. It's Len and Rin's birthday party. Did you forget?"

"Did you forget?" Oliver deflected, looking away. Just a tiny movement of his head, and Fukase's anxieties returned tenfold.

Fukase forced out his next words so harshly he expected them to explode as soon as they passed his lips, but they only gently floated out on his visible breath.

"Are you... okay?"

"I had a lot of fun tonight. Are you okay?" Oliver faced him again with worry in his eyes. He placed his hand on Fukase's arm. "You seem a little on edge. Is everything alright?"

Fukase remained silent. He searched Oliver's expression, and could tell Oliver was doing the same as his brows drew together.

"You can talk to me. You know that." Oliver reached up to brush Fukase's bangs to the side. His hand lingered in the touch. "We're a team, you and me. That means we work together. We support each other."

No. This is wrong. I should be asking you. I should be helping you. I should be... I should be the one to...

"To be honest, I really wanted something to happen today, but it didn't," Oliver said softly. "But it's okay in the end. There's always another day tomorrow. If you want to talk about whatever's bothering you, I'll be here. Even if it's something crazy you think I won't believe." He gave a little laugh. "I've had more than my share of crazy things happening lately."

"Have you?" Fukase murmured.

"I'll explain later." Oliver leaned forward, then seemed to hesitate before kissing Fukase's cheek. "See you tomorrow, Kase."

"See you."

As soon as they parted, Fukase pressed his hand to his cheek. It wasn't like Oliver's normal kisses. Where there used to be a playful energy, there was nothing. An empty kiss.

Fukase shivered and pulled his jacket tighter.

A/N Thanks for 2k reads!