Chapter 2 - Hate at first sight?

Part 5/6

When Ren and Kai jumped out of the bus and into a huge crowd of people wearing basically the same thing, Ren immediately felt overwhelmed. Most of them were wearing the same red jersey that Kai had on. He suddenly felt highlighted with his different clothes. But that was not what bothered him.

“Where are we supposed to go?” he asked, completely lost and a bit nervous at the large number of people surrounding them.

“I don’t know. I’ll text Niko so we can decide on where to meet,” Kai answered, pushing his way through the crowd.

Ren followed him, getting annoyed every single time someone bumped into him. He hated crowded places. Why would anyone enjoy being in such a cramped space when they could be at peace in their own home without anyone pushing them around like a toy? Not that he was against parties and gatherings, but everyone had a limit. And this situation here was exceeding his own.

Focus on the cheddar fries, he thought to himself.

They eventually made it inside the stadium grounds. As most people were already walking towards the bleachers, the food area was a little congested. There were a lot of stalls lined up, most of them selling the same stuff: drinks, chicken skewers, popcorn, corn dogs, and one of the reasons he was there.

“Hey, I’m gonna buy my fries. You want something?” he asked Kai, who was already looking at his phone again.

“Nah, I’m good. Gonna try to find them. Don’t go too far.”

Ren nodded and made his way to the nearest stall with cheddar fries. There was a long line to buy them, probably because it was not that common to find it in Japan. However, all the other stalls were also super busy, so he’d just have to be patient. Ren became addicted to them when he lived in Australia, so he knew it was worth the wait. Sighing, he took his place after the last person in the queue. When he went to reach for his phone, he remembered it was still with Kai.

“Shit,” Ren mumbled, scanning the crowd in search of his friend. 

He spotted the wavy raven hair from a further distance than before. Must be looking for Niko. As he was too far for Ren to call him, there was nothing left to do but cross his arms and wait. Luckily, the line wasn’t taking too long to move. When he was halfway to the cashier, someone jumped onto him out of nowhere, throwing an arm around his shoulders.

“What the—” he started, ready to push the person away, when he was met with big round caramel eyes. “What the fuck, Niko!” Ren groaned, trying to calm his startled heart.

Niko was looking at him with a huge smile, seeming all too amused at his prank.

“Easy there, Ren!” he said in a teasing tone. “Why so scared?”

Ren rolled his eyes. Niko just laughed and let him go. 

“Idiot. Where’s Kai?”

“Over there with Yuki.” Niko made a short gesture with his head and Ren’s gaze followed it. The only thing he could see, though, was the back of Kai’s head.

“Where’s this Yuki asshole? I can only see your boyfriend.”

It was Niko’s turn to roll his eyes. “Yuki’s a tiny person,” he said, chuckling at himself as though it was an internal joke. “Anyway.” He fully turned to Ren and became serious. “You’re going to behave yourself, right?”

Huffing, Ren turned forward, thankful that there were only two other people in front of him now. “Save the speech, your boyfriend already pestered me all the way here.”

From the corner of his eye, he saw Niko raise an eyebrow and cross his arms. “It seems to me like it was you who spent the whole afternoon pestering him.”

At that moment, Ren finally approached the cashier, asking for his cheddar fries and a cup of coke. After paying, he went to the line in front of the counter where the attendants were frantically giving people their orders. Niko followed him closely.

“I’m serious, Ren. You gotta at least give him a chance. I can’t take Kai being so anxious anymore,” Niko pressed.

“Look.” Ren took a deep breath. “Kai says I’m taking things out of proportion here, but it seems like it’s the two of you who think I’m gonna murder the guy or something.” 

Niko raised his eyebrow again, as if asking a silent Aren’t you? Ren just ignored him. 

“I just wanna see what his deal is and make sure he knows someone’s watching if he even considers messing with the two of you.”

“Oh, and that’s not taking things out of proportion?” Niko mocked. “You’re not our mom, so just drop the role,” he said, blunter than Ren had ever witnessed. “You know very well what having friends means to Kai, how he’s not been used to it for a very long time,” he repeated Kai’s earlier words to Ren. “So, yeah, it’s very important to him that you two get along.”

Ren took a step forward when the line moved.

“Don’t worry, Niko. I won’t fight him as soon as we meet,” he assured, although Niko’s face said that wasn’t very encouraging. “I’m just gonna evaluate him and see what his business is with you, as I said. At most, I’ll just keep quiet the whole time, okay?”

Niko frowned, dropping his arms to the sides of his body.

“That’s not what we want either!” he protested. “Kai wants to be able to do things as a group, not for you to be quiet!” He let out a tired breath. “How can you think so badly of someone without ever having met them?”

“Well, his history doesn’t help with his case, does it?”

Ren watched Niko’s shoulders hunching, as though giving up on the argument. “Just… think of Kai, alright? I really want him to be okay,” he pleaded.

Ren stared at his friend and softened at the look in his eyes. Forcing out a smile, he ruffled Niko’s hair, to which the boy groaned and slapped his hand.

“Why do you and Kai always do that?” he mumbled, fixing the messed up strands.

Chuckling, Ren shook his head. “Don’t worry, okay? I only wanna protect you guys ‘cause I want to see you happy.”

They reached the counter before Niko could reply. Ren gave his receipt to the attendant, who very quickly placed a large bowl of cheddar fries and the cup of coke in front of him. Ren licked his lips, mouth watering at the sight of the food.

“You look like a toddler right now.” He heard Niko saying with a chortle.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve eaten them, alright?!” Ren answered defensively, picking up his order. 

The fry container was so large, Niko helped Ren by taking the cup. The both of them turned to where Kai was so they could make their way there. When Ren raised his gaze, though, he froze in place. There was a boy clinging to Kai, one arm awkwardly hooked around his shoulders in a side hug. And he was the most beautiful thing Ren had ever laid his eyes on.

It wasn’t that he stood out in the crowd in terms of looks. At least not in a traditional way. But there was something about him that just made him… shine brighter than everyone around. The smile on his small, pink lips was so carefree and genuine, Ren felt utterly disarmed by it for a moment.

The boy must be around ten centimeters shorter than Ren, considering the difference in height between him and Kai. His baggy, colorful clothes made him look even shorter, which was adorable. His skin was a bit tanned, and infinite freckles painted his face, as though he had his own particular constellation plastered on him. They turned less and lighter down his neck, vanishing under his bright yellow shirt with a dinosaur printed on the front.

I wonder if the freckles continue down there as well, Ren thought, licking his lips.

What caught his attention the most, though, was the boy’s hair. It was so shiny and full, the voluminous bangs covering his entire forehead. From that position, Ren could not see his eyes very well. The hair also had the most unique color Ren had ever seen. It was a sort of bronde: most of it was medium brown, slightly turning a golden-blond on the tips. It looked so soft, Ren’s hands itched to touch it.

“Ren?” Niko’s voice made him blink repeatedly.

Without taking his eyes from the enticing boy, he simply asked, “You're seriously telling me Kai isn’t worried about that gorgeous guy flirting with you?”

“Gorgeous, huh?” Niko teased.

Ren looked at him nonchalantly. “I may not like him, but I have eyes.”

Niko smirked, then shrugged, looking at the pair while Kai shoved the boy aside with a chuckle. “Whatever, Kai looks way better.”

Ren cocked an eyebrow, glancing at Yuki from the corner of his eye. I could not agree less.

He felt Niko burning a hole in his face, and that’s what made him slowly come back to his senses. That guy was obviously Yuki, the asshole who must be trying to come between his best friends. There was no time nor space for him to be mesmerized by his looks. Especially when Ren could bet his entire savings that his personality must suck.

“Let’s go, before they kill each other,” Niko said, amused, and started walking towards them.

Ren allowed himself one last impressed look at Yuki before catching up with Niko. As they got closer, he heard Kai laughing at the boy beside him, who blushed furiously and yelled, “I can be serious!”

At that sound, Ren recalled the main reason why he was there, and his previous mistrust towards Yuki took over him. He felt himself scowling at the scene that unfolded before his eyes. 

Remember your goal here.

He kept his face twitched until they had covered a bit past half the way towards the pair. Then, Yuki started searching through the crowd. In what seemed to be slow motion, Ren watched as Yuki saw him. The expression on the beautiful face went from annoyed to amazed, while he slowly traced Ren up and down.

Kai commented something with a serious expression and it was like Yuki was taken out of a daydream. He turned his head to Kai, seeming confused, and then blushed. Ren felt his heart beating faster at the sight.

The closer they got, the harder it was to keep the scowl, but he managed it. When they were just ten feet away, however, Ren almost dropped it. Because now he could clearly see the almond-shaped eyes. They were of the darkest brown, the pupils mingling with it and turning almost invisible.

As they stared into Ren’s own, slightly widened and bottomless, Ren couldn’t look away.