The Accompanist

Chapter 25: Definitely Not a Couple

Boutarou didn't realize that he fell asleep until he regained consciousness to the backs of his eyelids. As he skimmed his tongue across the the bumpy roof of his dry mouth, an ear-splitting dual-toned metallic ring pierced through the air above his head. He groaned and tilted his gaze upward. The phone seemed like it was lightyears away.

Sayaka was comfortably sleeping, her head leaned against his chest, her fingers curled into a lose fist on his leg. He was so comfortable... And warm... And exhausted from nearly having a panic attack. But Shiki was probably on the other end of the line with important news about his family...

Just when he was about to pry himself away, the bathroom door opened. And he decided to let Isuke get it instead.

Before picking up the phone, the half-dressed natural blonde rolled his eyes at him. "Hello? Yes... Oh. Good. He's tailing them? Perfect. Clown McBurger? At 9:30? You what?!"

Sayaka inhaled sharply, Isuke's raised voice likely the cause of her sudden consciousness.

Boutarou wanted to stand up to listen... But he knew Isuke would tell him once the conversation was over. He focused on his breathing, gently placing his hand over Sayaka's eyes to ensure that if she did wake up, Isuke wouldn't scar her for life.

She always seemed to get terribly embarrassed at public pools, beaches and the like. The first time she woke him up at his house for school and he sat up to reveal he was topless, he could have sworn her face turned as red as a tomato. Might as well spare her the trauma of seeing another shirtless male...

"...No," said Isuke into the phone, "he just woke up. You talked to him earlier?"

Boutarou glanced up for answers, but Isuke only shook his head. It seemed as though he wasn't getting any info until the conversation was at its end.

Sayaka should have pried herself away from him by now and made some comment about his hand over her eyes being a nuisance, or at least asked him what was going on. But instead, she nuzzled closer with a small contented hum and hooked her fingers into the fabric of his t-shirt.

He tried to ignore the blush that crept up into his face and focus on the contents of the conversation, but at that moment, Isuke hung up the phone.

"And you said you weren't a couple."

"Look, I can explain--"

"You're covering her eyes. What, is a guy without a shirt that rare of a sight? It's not like I'm in boxers. Geez."

"But she doesn't--"

"More importantly, your family is currently at Chiho's," said Isuke with a tint of annoyance to his voice.

Boutarou breathed a sigh of relief. They were safe...

"It's too risky to have you all in one place... I'm going to go meet with Shiki around 5:30 tonight. But until then, I have classes I need to attend to."

"Are you sure it's safe for you to go back to school? They saw your face too, didn't they?"

Isuke scratched the back of his head. "Mom is there, and so is Chiho's dad. The guys that saw me are probably in the hospital. It'd be more fishy if I didn't show up to school, especially since I've been hanging around you.  That being said, you can't go back is because it's dangerous to leave Sayaka here by herself. That, and you don't have your brown contacts. They're definitely looking for you. Do you still have that pistol?"

Boutarou nodded.

"Good. If anyone comes, try to hide in the bathroom... There's an emergency button wired to the top inside of the cabinet. Press it, and someone will come save you. Shiki is on his way with some stuff for you guys. Clothes, Sayaka's bass, and a keyboard since practice is all you seemed to do before this anyway.. Don't get too comfortable while I'm gone."