Just Maybe
The six days had passed by slower than expected. Yuuichirou let out a sigh as he had to start tutoring Mikaela tomorrow and he wasn’t up for the challenge honestly. He wasn’t prepared to face the bad boy again, not as a nerd. He didn’t want to spill his secret, to reveal his other life. If Mikaela found out then the whole school will know and might pester him about it, they might bully him, and girls would probably try to take advantage of him. Yuuichirou just didn’t want any of that, he made his choice to keep his two lives separate. He was never going to merge them for anyone aside from his family.
“Say hi to the camera Yuu-san” A girl around his height, probably shorter, said, brushing her bangs to her side as she extended her other arm out, phone in hand. Yuuichirou stared at the camera and flashed a smile, holding out a peace sign.
Yuuichirou chuckled after his aunt, Shinoa, took the picture, adding the caption ‘Nerd Duo’ in it. She had her lavender hair done in a high ponytail tied with a purple bow. Shinoa wore glasses as well, wearing an ordinary white button up shirt tucked in her black ruffled skirt, a magenta tie around her neck. The two of them looked like a stereotypical nerd couple, but they were friends, they were family. Although it was somewhat strange to some that Shinoa was Yuuichirou’s aunt, she was younger.
“Mahiru would’ve been so happy to know her precious son is a genius” Shinoa giggled as she pinched Yuuichirou’s cheek. “Not to mention he’s short like Auntie Shinoa~”
“I’m only 5 feet… I’m still growing, geez”
“Well the clock is ticking! The deadline for your height is at 25!”
“Time’s ticking for you too” Yuuichirou smirked.
“You know it’s unfair that we’re the only short ones in the family”
“True that, I blame Guren for being a shitty dad”
Shinoa chuckled, “Hey at least Shinya stepped in and tried to provide you the nutrients for you to grow”
“Ah… but alas… It was too late”
“Hey short duo for the win fam”
The two laughed, walking down the streets together as they were on their way to Yuuichirou’s home. Shinoa lived with the rest of her half-brothers and annoying father, but on occasions she would stay at the Ichinose household. Yuuichirou was one of the main reasons she stayed there for a long sleepover, the two mostly spent time studying and playing videogames together like the geeks they were sometimes. It wasn’t much of a surprise for the two to spend time together a lot, they grew up alongside each other.
“Why didn’t you take your car today?” Shinoa questioned as she tapped her fingers on the screen of her phone, messaging someone.
Yuuichirou sighed, his green eyes glued to his phone, reading an e-book. “Guren grounded me for this party six days ago… Ferid told him I drank some beer and now I have to walk” he grumbled, “But thanks for you know accompanying me”
The maroon eyed girl smiled, “No problem, you know I always got you fam”
“Now that’s not the worse part… He’s making me tutor the school bad boy Mikaela fucking Tepes” Yuuichirou groaned.
“The Mikaela Tepes?”
“Yes him… and thing is…” Yuuichirou’s cheeks heated up quickly, “…I guess you can say we hit it off at the party… well him and you know my other life…”
“Oh shit…” Shinoa patted Yuuichirou’s back, “It’s okay fam. You’ll just need to keep your double life under wraps. Remember never merge them together for other people, you’ll regret it”
“I know…”
“Hey look on the bright side… oh wait there is no bright side” Shinoa mumbled before smiling, “Look if anything, just know that I always got your back sometimes, not like 24/7 that’s like too much bro”
“You’re the best you know”
“I know I’m the best~” Shinoa giggled as she wrapped her arms around Yuuichirou’s neck from behind. “Give your auntie a piggy back ride will ya’?”
Yuuichirou let out a sigh as he put his phone away, nodding faintly as he complied with her request, “Your panties will show though”
“I have shorts underneath idiot” Shinoa rolled her eyes as she lightly jumped, hooking her legs around her nephew’s waist, tightening her grip on his neck. Yuuichirou choked slightly before taking a hold of her legs, leaning forward to lessen the weight on his back and to make sure she won’t end up falling in the process. Shinoa rested her head against the top Yuuichirou’s head, reaching over with one hand to move her glasses up so they wouldn’t bother her as she took a nap.
The young male smiled as he heard Shinoa emit small snores. Like him, Shinoa was a genius, well she was at a higher level than Yuuichirou and she spent more time studying to keep her level of smartest at the top. It was only natural for her to be like this, she was a Hiiragi after all, but even if she was a Hiiragi, she differed from her brothers. Both Shinoa and Yuuichirou were also equal in another way, they had a double life. Both Shinoa and Yuuichirou were social butterflies and rebels in hiding under the guise of loner looking nerds sometimes.
The relationship between the two were unbreakable, they had each other’s back. Yuuichirou smiled just knowing that, hell, their bond could actually be mistaken for a romantic relationship and sometimes the two didn’t even bothering correcting people. Sometimes as their other life, they’d act as a couple only to avoid being bothered by any desperate people, especially at parties. Shinoa was the reason he was transferring schools, she was attending the school Yuuichirou wanted to go to, but he was late on applying. Knowing that she was there along with their friends made Yuuichirou enroll early this time and now his dream school was close, once this school year was over.
Yuuichirou sighed, Hiding from Mikaela is going to be hard now that I think about it… he thought. It was going to be tough, especially when he liked the guy. His love was really only for that other side of Mikaela, the nerd, Mika. That boy was attractive in appearance, intelligence, and personality wise. Yuuichirou just couldn’t help to blush, faintly feeling Mikaela’s lips over his own. The memory of the moment they kissed still vivid in his mind…
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Once the next day arrived, Yuuichirou was a groaning mess, he didn’t want to go to school, he didn’t want to leave his bed, and he didn’t want to tutor Mikaela. No matter how much he liked the guy, he just couldn’t come to terms with the bad boy side of him, also the boy was rude to him! He just wasn’t prepared to face that challenge yet, the young male wanted some more time at least to mentally prepare himself to deal with the boy that will most likely act like a moron.
“Daaaaad” Yuuichirou groaned as he dragged his feet along the corridor floors, following his father closely. Guren had just left a meeting and Yuuichirou was waiting for him out the door. Like the good father this man was, he ignored his very own flesh and blood. “DAD!”
Guren let out a huff as he stopped in his tracks, causing the short boy to crash into him and yelp in the process. “What?”
Yuuichirou rubbed his face, having removed his glasses that ended up being pressed further onto his face when he bumped into his father. “I don’t want to tutor fucking Mikaela! Why didn’t you get someone else!” he shouted in frustration, “Dad please, I’m begging you, I don’t want this!”
“Look you’re the smartest kid out here and since you know your boyfriend, this was the best option”
“He’s not my boyfriend!” Yuuichirou whined, stomping one foot onto the floor as he crossed his arms up to his chest like a stubborn child.
Guren chuckled as he turned to face the boy, patting his head since he didn’t want to mess his son’s hair. “Keep telling yourself that”
“Dad!”
The man sighed and pulled Yuuichirou into an embrace, kissing the top of his head, “Just do this for me… my job is to make sure that each student passes with at least the acceptable passing grade” he mumbled, “It’s just for the remainder of the school year, you do this then I won’t bother you”
“Really?”
“Haha, no”
“Asshole”
“I try” Guren said with a shrug, a smirk spreading across his face. “Now since you’re here, help me sort some shit out in the office. Shinya’s coming by also”
“Oh cool mom’s coming to visit!”
“Stepdad”
“Mom” Yuuichirou corrected.
“By law he’s your stepfather”
“And by heart he’s my mother”
“…”
“…”
Guren was about to say something, but he decided to remain quiet. Yuuichirou smiled in victory and followed his father whom began to walk down the halls again. The man didn’t say anything because he really didn’t want to force Yuuichirou into calling Shinya a stepfather rather than mother. Yuuichirou’s real mom, Mahiru, died while giving birth to him and it wasn’t until the boy was six that Shinya stepped in and filled in the role for a mother. Yuuichirou knew about Mahiru, he knew she was a lovely woman and that he would’ve loved her, to call her mom instead of Shinya, but there were some complications that happened after he was born.
The purple eyed male wasn’t really there for his son throughout his childhood, he just mourned at the loss of his future wife at the time. He neglected his son and it almost had serious consequences… but luckily, Shinya saw the predicament. He took care of Yuuichirou as a babysitter at first before the two grew a close bond together, eventually leading to Shinya having Yuuichirou call him ‘mom’ instead of something else. Yuuichirou knew Shinya was male, he knew about his real mother because the rest of the Hiiragi aside from Shinya and Shinoa blamed him for the death of Mahiru.
“…Dad…” Yuuichirou called out, holding onto the sleeves of his father’s shirt. Guren stared down at his son with a raised brow. “…If you’re making me tutor at least let un-ground me…”
Guren sighed, “Fine, but I expect Mikaela’s grades to improve. If I see that he hasn’t improved at all then you can kiss your car goodbye”
“What if he’s not even bothering to raise his grades? Like what if he does it on purpose?”
The man grinned as he placed his hands on the teen’s shoulder, leaning close to his face. “Well you’re going to put those martial arts classes to good use”
“You’re seriously encouraging me to solve a situation through violence?”
“Yup”
“But you’re the school principal”
“And a damn corrupt badass one I am!”
Yuuichirou stifled his laugh, “Won’t you get fired”
“I’ll let you take the blame obviously”
“How rude!”
Guren chuckled as he pinched his son’s cheeks, “Take a joke brat. I wouldn’t want to ruin your future anyways, it already is!"
“You’re so mean”
“I know” Guren cackled, “Come on, the bells going to ring”
“Fine” Yuuichirou grumbled.
The walk to the office wasn’t really far. Yuuichirou followed his father closely, trying to keep up but his short legs prevented him from walking in a fast pace like Guren. He let out a string of curses under his breath as he occasionally had to run over to Guren to shorten the distance between them. It was just really difficult to keep up and Yuuichirou hated the fact he had short legs. Guren made it all better when he broke into a fit of laughter, purposely walking faster just so Yuuichirou had to run.
“DAD!”
“I wonder where Yuuichirou went…”
“I hate you!”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The office was silent. Yuuichirou was spinning around in his father’s swivel chair, some random paperwork in his hands. He went through some student files, his hands on Mikaela’s. Yuuichirou eyed the records, a brow raised to see the illegal acts Mikaela had committed. The records had a list of Mikaela’s grades over the past years as well, it had all his contacting information, and there were some notes attached to these records, most likely Guren made them.
Yuuichirou giggled before tossing it at the desk and stopping the chair from spinning any longer. The nerd leaned forward, his elbows on the wooden surface, his hands against his cheeks, supporting his head… and now he was bored. He let out an exaggerated groan, letting his eyes flutter shut, not caring if his glasses were askew. Guren had left him alone to attend yet again another meeting, but that was good actually since the man wouldn’t be able to bother the boy about how short he was.
A small knock on the door quickly caught the short teen’s attention. He sat up straight, fixing up his glasses as he was about to get off the chair quickly, but whoever was on the other side decided to just walk in without being permitted. Green eyes met up with bright soft blue eyes. Instantly, Yuuichirou stood up from the chair and ran towards the tall male.
“Mom I’m so glad you’re here!” Yuuichirou hugged Shinya tightly, smiling from ear to ear as he felt Shinya’s arms wrap around him. Shinya let out an angelic giggle that made Yuuichirou’s heart swell with joy knowing that it was a genuine one.
Shinya rubbed his stepson’s back, a small warm smile on his lips. “We see each other at home every day and you’re here hugging me like if I just came back from a war” he said, “Geez I feel so loved!”
“Of course you should!” Yuuichirou pulled away, grinning at the silver haired male. “So how did the photo-shoot go!”
“Splendid like always! You know they were asking for you”
“H-huh? Really… which one of me?”
“Yuu”
Yuuichirou’s cheeks were dusted in pink, he tilted his head slightly in confusion, “Why? Is it because I went to visit you without your prior knowledge?”
Shinya merely shrugged, “Well all I know is that my manager mentioned your name, something about this parental magazine thing. I think they’re doing a cover about gay parents you know” he placed a hand over his chin, giving it a thought. “…I think they want to get a picture of you with me and you know interview us? But then again that’ll only jeopardize your double life”
“…Well no one here really knows you’re my stepdad… well mom in our family, but yeah…” Yuuichirou mumbled, rubbing the nape of his neck. “I’d be willing to do it as long as they don’t put my real name”
“It’s up to you, I’d tell them to put your name down as Yuu Amane just to keep your secret on a hush” Shinya smiled as he went over to go take a seat at one of the chairs as he was getting tired of standing. Yuuichirou followed, doing the same as his stepfather. “Your other life will most likely get more attention and everyone will begin to suspect a connection between you, and your other life”
Yuuichirou sighed, “You’re right... but I’m kind of Instagram famous as Yuu Amane” he chuckled, “I’m surprised no one suspects me to be him”
“Well as my son you’re an adorable nerd, as Yuu Amane you’re practically everyone’s dream guy” Shinya poked Yuuichirou’s nose lightly, letting out a soft chuckle, his blue eyes lighting up. “I’d prefer my son to be with me on the cover, but I’d rather be selfish and hog him up along with Guren”
“Along with dad? Yeah right, you’ll hog me away from him too” Yuuichirou giggled.
“The man couldn’t take care of you for six years, shouldn’t be a surprise actually” Shinya smiled, leaning back against the seat, his eyes locked on Yuuichirou. He gazed at the boy, his smile growing wide as memories of the past flooded his mind. To Shinya, the short teen would always be his precious child even if they weren’t blood related. “You can’t blame your dad though… he tried…”
The short teen sighed, “Yeah…”
Shinya ran his fingers through his flawless silver hair. “…The important thing is that he’s trying now and that we both love you even when we’re being total assholes”
“Guren is an asshole, you’re awesome”
“You’re right I am pretty awesome for a mother”
The two continued to talk for the remaining minutes of the school day. Yuuichirou smiled more than usual, enjoying the occasional inside jokes they shared. Times like this, Yuuichirou never felt so happy. Times like this he would merge his two lives into one all because of his family. His family were the only ones who knew the true Yuuichirou. The true Yuuichirou that was a combination of a moody nerd and a laid back socializing rebel.
“So what—”
“Let go of me!!”
Both Shinya and Yuuichirou blinked, looking over at the door instantly. The office door slammed wide open and Mikaela was pushed forward, a short pink haired young woman standing behind him, dusting her hands off. She entered the office along with Guren who was face palming. The short young woman let out a sigh, red eyes glaring up at Mikaela. “You’re getting tutored whether you like it or not!”
“I’d rather die than spend time with a fucking nerd!” Mikaela shouted.
“Don’t you dare raise your tone on me Mika! You’re a Tepes and a Tepes excels at anything!”
Mikaela scowled, “Well I don't give a damn!”
“Oh my god is that you Krul!?” Shinya stood up, his eyes lighting up. Krul looked up at the man and smiled, walking over to him.
“Shinya? I haven’t seen you ever since…Mahiru... uh… but oh my god! How’s the modeling career!”
Shinya smiled, “It’s doing great! Are you planning on joining? I can help you, you know!”
“I’d love that, but I can’t with this stubborn brat” Krul sighed.
The tall blonde teen grumbled, crossing his arms up to his chest. He gazed at the office door that was being blocked off by Guren, there was no chance of escape. He didn’t want to be tutored, he was smart, but no one really knew. Mikaela hated this, he just wanted to be at home to probably smoke a blunt and watch as the day went by. The past week has been a total bore, he didn’t want to go to school anymore, but Krul wasn’t giving him much of an option.
Mikaela looked over at Yuuichirou, the short teen wasn’t looking at anybody, his head hung low as both Shinya and Krul spoke. Guren took a step forward, making Mikaela just move further into the office, heading to stand behind Yuuichirou. The raven haired man went to his desk, staring at the two teens, ignoring the conversation between Shinya and Krul on the side as well.
The two young teens obviously wanted to escape this situation, Mikaela didn’t want to be tutor and Yuuichirou didn’t want to tutor! They haven’t had any consent to this, they were forced to do this! It just didn’t seem fair to the two, but they couldn’t do anything about it. Mikaela took his seat beside Yuuichirou, letting his eyes fall close as he leaned back, grumbling some incoherent words. Yuuichirou gazed at the tall boy and rolled his eyes.
“You guys really hate this don’t you?” Guren grumbled.
“Obviously” The two said in unison and glared at each other.
Yuuichirou stood up, “I can’t deal with a mental moron like him!”
“And I can’t be seen with a short stack like him! It’ll only ruin my reputation!”
The short teen growled, hating how Mikaela had this reputation he was keeping. He wanted the smart Mikaela, not this… this guy! Yuuichirou clenched his hands into fist, eyes burning in anger behind his glasses. “Is reputation seriously that important to you! Tch! You’ll end up alone for the rest of your life! No one would want to go out with someone like you!”
“Aw that’s cute… like you could do any better!”
“I know I can! Mark my words!”
“I’ll be sure to hold that against you when you fail!”
Yuuichirou cursed himself mentally, knowing he was going to fail because he truly liked this boy, well the intelligent one. The nerd's cheeks turned a dark shade of red, averting his gaze, not noticing the way Mikaela became flustered by his expression. Mikaela averted his gaze as well, hating how he had a weakness for green eyes and Yuuichirou’s eyes were just killing him internally with the way they glowed.
“Talk about sexual tension” Guren mumbled.
“Sexual tension with this guy! No thanks!” The two young teens shouted in once again unison.
Shinya glared at his dear husband, “Don’t encourage them!” he snarled, walking up to Yuuichirou and wrapping his arms around his precious son, blue eyes narrowing down at the blonde haired teen. “If you so much as lay a finger on my boy I will chop all your fingers off one by one and watch you struggle from the pain before I force you to clean up the mess of blood with your filthy tongue!”
“…”
“…”
Krul broke the silence with a giggle as she walked over to her brother, patting his back. “He’s true to his words you know, so you better remember” she smiled, “Guess it’s a motherly thing”
Mikaela raised a brow, “…But he’s a guy…”
“Boy don’t test me!” Shinya growled, hugging Yuuichirou tighter, squeezing the life out of him.
“Seriously don’t…” Guren sighed, “Shinya you’re going to kill him…”
“Oops” The sliver haired male released his son and Yuuichirou instantly collapsed onto his knees, gasping for breath. Mikaela snickered as the short boy struggled to get the oxygen back in his lungs. Deciding to be kind for this one time, he held his hand out to Yuuichirou.
Yuuichirou eyed the hand before taking Mikaela’s hand, being lifted back up on his feet. “You guys should head out now” Guren spoke up.
“I’ll come pick you up at five Mika” Krul kissed her brother’s cheek. “Be good”
“I left some curry in the fridge for you guys to eat alright” Shinya said with a smile, giving Yuuichirou one more tight squeeze, glaring at Mikaela to get his threat through to the boy.
Mikaela gulped and began to walk to the door, Yuuichirou following close behind, “Bye mom, by dad” Yuuichirou waved at his parents, flashing them a small smile before he left the office with the bad boy.
The two didn’t speak to each other, they stayed silent as they made their way down the school corridors. The people that were still in the school shot them some confused looks, wondering why the two were together. Yuuichirou kept his eyes glued to the floor, fumbling with his hands, still feeling Mikaela’s hand over his own. Pink tainted his cheeks, his heart accelerating as he remembered how much of a genius and sweetheart Mikaela seemed at the party. He hoped he could see that side of Mikaela again, but he’d doubt it.
Yuuichirou wasn’t going to have a chance to go to his other life, not with Mikaela being around… He could only hope that one day, he could tell Mikaela, but not now. Now was not the time, Mikaela didn’t know him, only Yuuichirou did and he hated the fact that he did because it pained him to see how cruel Mikaela could truly be, it was all because of that reputation. Maybe it was best if Mikaela didn’t find out.
A short awkward cough caught Yuuichirou’s attention, noticing the bad boy stop for a short few seconds. “Y-you have… nice eyes…” Mikaela mumbled, putting his hands inside the pockets of his skinny leather jeans. “…Just wanted to get that out of my chest…”
The short boy was dumbfounded, his heart skipping a beat at the compliment. Mikaela glanced at him over his shoulder, blushing when he saw Yuuichirou’s, sweet, beautiful smile that really brought out the color of those emerald like eyes. “Thank you, I like your eyes too, they remind me of the sky and the ocean”
“…Geez what a flirt short stack”
“I’m not even trying to, but think what you want” Yuuichirou rolled his eyes, chuckling softly, “Hey since we don’t want to do this tutoring thing, I have a plan”
Mikaela smirked, blue eyes staring down at Yuuichirou with a glint of curiosity. “Oh do tell”
“When we get to my place, you can do whatever you want that won’t destroy the house. You can play my videogames if you like, or use my computer for anything, but tell me what you’re going to search please” Yuuichirou crossed his arms up to his chest and stood in front of the tall boy, gazing up at him. “I’ll do my own thing”
“Wow, goody two-shoes is being a rebel, I’m surprised”
“I got it from my mom”
The tall teen smiled faintly, “Well it’s good to know that you agree that this total tutoring is bullshit. You got yourself a deal Yuuichirou” he patted the short boy’s head, “I’m probably going to end up getting bored”
Yuuichirou shook his head, smacking Mikaela’s hand away from his head, “You won’t”
“I'm trusting you, if it’s boring then you owe me” Mikaela grinned, “By that, I mean we do what I want”
“Sure whatever floats your boat, let’s just go”
“Aye, aye captain”
Maybe this wasn’t going to be such a bad thing. Maybe there was hope that Mikaela might be kind to Yuuichirou’s nerd life. Maybe, just maybe, Yuuichirou might willingly reveal his other life to Mikaela in hopes that tall teen would do the same. For now, Yuuichirou just had to act as if he barely knew the guy, he just can’t let his love for the intelligent Mikaela get to his head. Hopefully, they would become friends by the end of this, or maybe… become more than just friends…