prompt 1 by rinji pt. 1

[aibamods]

Title: Defying the Stars
Rating: PG-13
Pairings: Sakuraiba, Ohmiya, Ohba (past)
Summary: Aiba, an accidental horoscope writer tries to capture the heart of science teacher, Sakurai Sho, by tampering with the fortune-telling of Sho’s zodiac sign.
A/N: *Story is based on Prompt 1 of the Aiba Exchange Fanfic* Hello there! It took a very, very long while to get this done but fortunately, we’ve finally come here to this very moment. First, I’d like to thank the people who have supported me and told me to never give up write this despite my struggle to cope with my schedule. Next, I’d like to thank my dear beta-reader, who had fun reading this mess (and was an avid reader of my other fics; at this point, I think we’re soulmates LOL). And lastly, to the mods who were very patient and considerate of me, despite my short-comings (if this fic does get published on the Exchange page). Merry Christmas and enjoy!
 

“I quit my job yesterday.” Aiba said and managed to lighten the burden in his chest. He watched Jun staring at him blankly, with coffee nearly overflowing from the cup on the table. Jun, thankfully, got back to his senses just before the coffee spilled out.

“Come again?” Jun said.

“I quit my job as a personal manager yesterday.”

“What?” Jun exclaimed.

“Yeah, I knew you’d react that way.”

“Of course, anyone would! Aiba, you could’ve talk to me about it beforehand!” Jun raised his voice and caused the other customers around to stare at them. Aiba gestured him to tone his voice down. Jun took a deep breath, and began to talk at a slow pace. “Why on earth would you quit?”

“Remember when you took me to the hospital a few months ago?” Aiba said. “Well, the doctor said the reason I fainted was because of stress and lack of sleep. Workload had gotten too heavy lately, and so I quit.”

Jun buried his face in his hands. “I’m fine, Jun.” Aiba assured him. “You don’t need to worry about me or anything. In fact, I already applied for a new job.”

“Oh, yeah?” Jun looked up at him. “And what’s that?”

“An article writer for a magazine.” Aiba managed a smile, hoping it would cheer up Jun. But the younger man wasn’t at all convinced.

“As much as I know your love for writing, Aiba, you’re <i>insane</i>.” 

“Hey, come on, this is my chance to do what I’ve always wanted to do! If you were able to have your own café business, then I can make my dream of being a writer come true too. You understand, right Jun?”

Jun shook his head side to side. “You really have lost your mind. It’s no wonder why you and Ohno broke up.”

“Could you stop the Ohno thing?” Aiba snapped. “That was a long time ago.”

“A year ago, you mean.”

Every time someone would mention Ohno, it would send Aiba downhill. He was, after all, at fault for their break up, for another reason that is. “Whatever. What’s done is done. Speaking of which, why don’t you get a boyfriend yourself? I bet a lot of men would find you gorgeous; I could introduce you to some acquaintances of mine if you want.”

Jun tugged a smirk on his face. “No thanks, I’m not that interested.” Jun said. “And for your information, I’m very hard to please when it comes to having romantic relationships.”

“You got some high standards?” Aiba asked.

Jun averted his eyes, looking elsewhere. “You could say that.”

Aiba flicked his wrist to look at his watch. “Oh well, I better go.” He said and stood up from his seat. “I don’t want to be late for my interview. See you later, I guess?”

“Yeah, see you. Here.” Jun hands him his cup of coffee. And Aiba felt tingling sensation as he felt the cup’s warm base within the palms of his hands, which matched his excitement of a new frontier that awaited him. “Good luck.” Jun said.

“Thanks, as always.”

“Alright, class is dismissed! You may go have your lunch break!”

“Goodbye Sakurai-sensei!” The students, all at once, rushed out of the classroom. Sho could hear their footsteps echoing throughout the hallway as he also went out. “Sakurai-sensei!” High-pitched voices rang in Sho’s ears. As he turned around, he found two girls in front of him and one of them seemed to be holding a magazine in their hand.

“Yes?” He said.

“Sensei, could we ask you a question?” The first girl, with a ribbon tied around her ponytail, said.

“Well, you’re already asking one.” He chuckled. “What is it?”

“Is it true that you and Ninomiya-sensei are friends?”

Sho blinked at them and for a moment, he wondered why they ask such a thing out of the blue. “Why, yes, we are friends.” He answered.

“Just friends?”

“Yes.”

“Like <i>really</i> close friends?”

“Yes, Ninomiya-sensei and I are friends.” Sho said, rather irritated, but the gentle look on his face remained unchanged. “Why do you ask?”

The girl with the ponytail and the other girl looked at each other, eye to eye, and briefly giggled. “Well, we figured the reason why you and Ninomiya-sensei are close.” The girl with the magazine said.

“Okay, and what reason would that be?”

“Well, sensei, it says here that: Aquarius and Gemini are a perfect match! Just like you and Ninomiya-sensei!”

Sho’s smile remained on his face, but on the inside, he cringed as he heard the words come out from the student’s mouth. “Well, that’s a nice coincidence.” He said.

“The real question is, is it really just a coincidence?” The other girl said with a sly smile.

“You know, girls, you shouldn’t be into stuff like that. Those things are <i>completely</i> unreliable.”

“Oh, we know, sensei,” Ponytail said. “We just do it for fun. Right, Mina?”

Mina nodded in response. “Yup.”

“Alright.” Sho said. “Anyway, sensei needs to go now.”

“Okay,” they said. “Bye, Sensei!” They then ran away while laughing.

Once they were gone, Sho’s expression had soured. <i>‘Me? And Nino?’</i> He almost wanted to throw up. Sure, they were good friends but, other than the fact that neither of them had any romantic attraction towards the other, Nino was a conceited and careless man. And from time to time, Sho wondered how he end up getting stuck with him.

Sho made his way to the computer lab and entered it. He went straight to the end of the room, to where Nino’s cubicle was, and low and behold, sat a sleeping and snoring Nino. He was lying against his chair, his head nearly hanging at the edge. Sho rolled his eyes, and went to pat his shoulder. Nino flashed his eyes wide-open.

“Wakey-wakey.” Sho greeted. “Slacking off again, aren’t you?”

Nino groaned. “Oh God, what time is it already?”

“Lunch time.”

Nino slowly stretched his arms and his back, and Sho could clearly hear Nino’s bones make a crack. “Turns out having a lot of vacant time wasn’t such a good idea.” Nino said.

“Hey, look at the bright side, at least you get some sleep. I can barely keep up with my schedule; almost every hour I have a class.”

Nino went out of his cubicle and now stood side by side with Sho. “By the way,” Sho said. “The girls are at it again.”

Nino’s face went all wrinkled with disgust. “Really?” He said, and Sho nodded. “God, what’s with kids these days? Ugh, it’s so annoying.”

Sho laughed. “Guess we have to keep our distance from each other for a while, right?”

“Just because of that? No way.” Nino said. “We’ve known each other for five years, I’m not gonna let that happen.”

“How loyal.”

They stepped outside of the room and they laid their eyes upon the school garden. Small white fences surrounded the small garden which was the home of a bunch of bright green bushes, each having their own tiny flowers of various colors sprouting from it. In the middle there was a bench and a small stone table which, usually, students may use as a study area or sometimes, rarely, as a romantic rendezvous. But for the teachers, it was mainly a gossiping area. Because the garden was far away from any of the school buildings, the small garden was a perfect place for them to rant, to cry, or to just talk about other affairs which teachers never had the guts to bring it up.

Sho’s mind was about to drift away, when he heard Nino cry out loud. “Shit.” Nino said.

Sho blinked and turned to Nino. “What?” Nino then pointed out a figure from a distance. 

Sho went a step forward to take a closer look. The man was roaming around the small garden with his camera and taking pictures of probably the little critters that lived there. The man is actually a new teacher in the school and Sho heard that the man was a full-time professional photographer who had a fairly good career for a few years. And for the past few months, this man has been on Nino’s radar and there isn’t a day when Nino would not talk to this person ever.

“Again?” Sho said.

“Come on, you’ve got to admit he’s pretty too.” Nino nudged him.

Sho sighed. “Nino, we talked about this last time. You can’t hit on Ohno! It’s against the rules to date a co-worker.”

“Hey, as long as the higher-ups don’t know about it, anything’s fine, right?”

Sho rolled his eyes. “Well, aren’t you a role model.”

“Heh, you’re just jealous because you’re still a virgin.”

As he heard those words from Nino’s mouth, Sho’s jaw had dropped and he glared at Nino. “You take that back.” Sho said, his face now beaming red.

“What, am I wrong?” Nino taunted him.

“I’ve put up with your jokes for five years, but now you’ve gone too far!” Sho proceeded to pinch Nino’s cheeks and forcefully stretched them. Nino paid back by getting a hold of Sho’s nose and slowly started to pull it. Both of them screamed in pain, and as they let go of each other, Sho went over Nino and wrapped his arm around Nino’s head. Nino cried out as he began to run around, forcing himself and Sho to spin and lose balance. And they lay on the ground, with their heads side by side and their eyes shut, gasping for air.

“You two seem to be having fun.” They heard a voice out of the blue.

The two of them opened their eyes, and found Ohno looking down at them. As they realized Ohno’s presence, they immediately stood up and patted their own clothes to remove the dirt which was stuck on to it. “Good morning, Sakurai.” Ohno greeted.

“Good morning.”

Ohno then turned to Nino. “Morning, Nino.”

“Good morning.” He said with a wide grin.

“You seem to be in high spirits lately.”

Nino chuckled. “Of course, it’s always a lovely day as long as I get to see you.”

Sho glared at Nino, and cleared his throat. “I’m so sorry about my friend here,” He said to Ohno. “He’s a little, you know…“ He twirled his finger beside his head.

“It’s okay.” Ohno said. “I’m used to it.”

Nino lunged forward. “So, Ohno, would you like me to accompany you to lunch today?”

“I’m still quite full so I’ll be skipping lunch. Maybe next time.” Ohno smiled and then went away.

Nino’s gaze was still glued to Ohno as he left. “He said next time.” He told Sho with a grin.

“You should really stop doing that.”

“Doing what?”

“The pick-up lines, it’s embarrassing.”

“Yeah right, as if our ‘wrestling match’ earlier wasn’t more embarrassing.”

Sho just shook his head in disagreement and went off. “Oh come on, lighten up, will you?” Nino said and followed him. “I bet if there’s someone you like, you’d probably do the same. Oh wait, no, you’re actually the type who’d wait around instead, aren’t I right?”

“Finding a lover is not my top priority.”

“Yeah, right.” Nino rolled his eyes. “Last year, you secretly bought a love charm during our school field trip; you think I didn’t see that? Look, if you’re so desperate, at least make an effort! Stop relying on those things and just dive in!”

 “Alright, first of all, I don’t rely on them. And like I said, not my priority! There are much more important things to do than finding romance in life.”

“Well, aren’t you a role model.” Nino mimicked his words from earlier. And Sho’s face beamed red again, but this time, it wasn’t because he was mad. Romance was indeed not the first thing in Sho’s mind. But the idea of it had brought up a long forgotten memory of Sho’s past and all Sho could do was look down to his feet, trying to keep steady his beating heart.

“I’m sorry, what?” Aiba said, with his last word echoing through the room. The room was the office of a wrinkly old man named Kagoshima, a man who would eventually be his boss if he’d passed the interview. And he did, rather quickly. The interview was short to the point that his mere presence was enough for him to get hired. Aiba was overjoyed at first, until he figured out the truth.

“Horoscope writer.” The old man said as he lit up his cigarette with a lighter. “You’ll be our new horoscope writer, just like you wanted.” Kagoshima then blew out a cloud of smoke. The dreadful scent of it had filled up the room, and Aiba, of course, didn’t like it.

“You must be mistaken; I applied to be an article writer.”

“Yes, you did.  And you’ll be assigned for the horoscope article of our magazine.”

“That’s not fair,” Aiba raised his voice, and was nearly shouting. “That part wasn’t specified on the ad. Shouldn’t you people hire an astrologist yourselves?”

“Look, kid, do you want the job or not? If you want to be a writer so badly, why don’t you just take it as it is?”

Aiba slumped onto his chair, frustrated. He thought that things would be easier but it all turned out to be the opposite. “But I don’t know anything about astrology.”

“Then learn it, kid! All you gotta do is just look at the night sky and watch the stars and planets, until that brain of yours finally comes up with something.”

“But what if I don’t get it accurately? I can’t become an expert in just a few days.”

 “Nah, don’t sweat it. Folks these days would believe just about anything. I mean, look at the tabloids! Why do you think they’re such big hits? What the press wants is something that sells, doesn’t matter if it’s true or not. Spice things up a bit! Go crazy!” The old man then put out the cigarette butt. “Anyway, like I said earlier, you’re gonna start this week in advance. Send your work through e-mail every Friday, as simple as that.”

Aiba’s brows furrowed down, his enclosed frown had concealed his gritting teeth. “Hey, kid, I get that look on your face. Been there, done that. But that’s the reality!” The old man laughed. “I know it sounds harsh but, sometimes, people just only hear what they wanna hear, you know?”

Aiba forced a smile on his face and tried to laugh along with Kagoshima. And soon he felt his diaphragm gone sore because of it. 

“You know what?” Kagoshima said. “How ‘bout I give you a year, and then after that, you can pick any position you like. Well, depending on your performance, that is.” With Kagoshima’s casual way of speaking, the offer was tempting. Aiba felt torn apart at that moment; he could just find another magazine in need of writers or any news about a writing contest like he did before in high school, but he just quit his previous job and he didn’t want to keep himself hanging.

“It’s your choice, Aiba-san.” Kagoshima said. “So, do we have a deal?”

“Sorry, sir, we don’t really have any astrology book here.”

 “You’ve got to be kidding me.” Aiba said under his breath. He had been looking the whole afternoon to find at least one. “Anywhere else I could find them?” He asked the bookstore cashier.

“Hey boss!” The cashier yelled.

“What?” A loud voice came out from the back door.

“This guy’s looking for astrology books, you know where?”

“Maybe at that crazy lady’s shop down the street?”

“Oh yeah,” He then said, in awe. “I remember that weird place.”

“Crazy lady?”Aiba’s forehead wrinkled.

“Oh, yeah, that shop’s got all sorts of things going on.” The cashier said. “One day they do palm-reading; the next, tarot cards, and so on. And sometimes they’d even have yoga classes in the morning. Trust me, my mom goes there once in a while and would even drag me into it.”

“Well, thanks for the information, I guess.”

“No problem.” The cashier then gave a toothed grin.

And so Aiba went out of the bookstore and travelled to the said place. As he reached what seemed to be the said “crazy lady’s shop”, he paused and stood in front of the doorway. Aiba scratched his head since the place looked more like a house rather than a shop. He found a blackboard sign right beside the door. “Essences”, it read. Its handwriting was very swirly and fluid, and at the bottom of it was what seemed to be a stylized drawing of a sun with a face which resembled ones from the poker cards.

Without a second thought, Aiba pushed the door and stepped inside, in an instant, he sworn he had smelled lavenders, but the first thing that caught his eye were the paper cranes which hanged from the ceiling. And, looking around, indeed, the bookstore cashier’s words were true. The place did have all sorts of things in every corner of the shop: vinyl records, bohemian accessories, and various knickknacks which were displayed on a long table. It was a mess, a beautiful mess. Every object in the room screamed for his attention, Aiba didn’t know where to start. But he remembered why he came here in the first place, and so his eyes were then fixated on the bookshelves on the wall.

“Hello.” Aiba turned to his side and saw a woman who had the greyest eyes Aiba had ever seen. He was sceptic at first, thinking they were only contact lenses, but as he looked closer to it, the thought faded away. She wore a white long dress and a grey long knitted coat over it. She also wore a flower headdress similar to the displayed ones. “Welcome to our shop,” the young lady said. “How may I help you?” She asked.

“I heard that you have astrology books.” Aiba said.

“Astrology? Oh, yes, we do have some!” She quickly went to browse the bookshelves and took out a few books and gave them to Aiba. “This book covers all the basics things you need to know about astrology.” She said as she held out to Aiba the first book. “A highly recommended book I must say.” She added. “This one here,” she held out the second one. “It’s a sort of manual, but it has a lot of pictures and diagrams, so I’m sure this will help out a lot.”

Aiba looked alternately at the books and at the woman. Her cheerfulness and beaming energy had caught him off guard. In fact, he would like to admit it was hypnotizing, and before he knew it, he already had followed her to the counter and purchased the books.

 “Thank you for coming, have a nice day!” The young lady waved her hand as Aiba went out.

Aiba was once again standing in front of the doorway and he looked down to the two books inside the clear plastic bag he held. Oddly enough, the woman wasn’t <i>crazy</i> at all. But the look in her eyes when he saw them had a surreal vibe which he couldn’t explain.

Aiba looked ahead and across the shop was a convenience store. He figured that he should go there and buy a nice cold drink and shake off what had happened earlier out of his mind. He crossed the street and went inside. He took a bottle of water and was about to head to the cashier, but he stopped and spotted the rows of magazines on display and found Mikadzuki Magazine among them. He picked one of the copies out, holding it tightly in his hand and sighed. Jun would be madder at him right now, if he knew, and Aiba didn’t want to admit he was wrong. He closed his eyes and listened to the background music coming from the speakers as he tried to calm himself down.

Aiba felt someone come up near to where he was and by instinct, he whirled around and with his opened eyes looked at the person next to him. It felt as if time had stood still when Aiba, in a second, recognized who the man was. The man was also checking out the magazines and was oblivious of Aiba’s presence. He still looked the same after so many years, except his hair was cut short and was now black, instead of a light brown like how Aiba remembered it.

Aiba casually tapped him on his shoulder. “Sakurai,” he said.

Sakurai’s eyes flicked towards him. It took them a while for either of them to say something, and Aiba couldn’t help but be amused by the hint of surprise on Sho’s face. “Aiba?” Sho said.

Aiba chucked as he heard his name. “Wow, you actually remembered me.”

“Of course,” He said with a smile. “How could I forget?”

Aiba remembered the last time he and Sho saw each other. It was during their high school graduation day; Aiba remembered how Sho and his other classmates went up on that stage to get their medals. Sho had always been a top student since the 7th grade, and Aiba found it remarkable that his grades never wavered. 

There was no questioning how Sho did manage that since Aiba would often see Sho studying in the library. On the other hand, Aiba would frequently go there and read books. Though, they weren’t very close, they had talked to each other in class a few times and became good friends.

After the graduation ceremony, they had signed each other’s yearbooks. Aiba didn’t really think much of it and write a message for Sho, but Sho had given him one to his surprise. “Keep smiling”, it said.

“So, how have you been?” Sho asked.

“I’ve been well. And you?”

Sho chuckled. “I would say the same. Do you work near here?”

“Oh, not really, I just happened to pass by this place.”

“I see. I just came from work, a few blocks away from here. I’m currently a science teacher.”

“Oh, that’s nice.”

“Believe me, it’s stressful.”

Aiba laughed. “Yeah, I get what you mean.”

“Still reading books, huh?” Sho pointed out the bag of books he was holding.

“Well, yeah, it’s been a while actually.” Aiba said. “I haven’t read any books since I became a personal manager...” He stopped. Aiba wasn’t ready to say that he had already quit that job and was now a mere horoscope writer in a magazine industry.

“I see.” Sho nodded. “Um, may I take a look?”

Aiba felt his throat go dry. “Yeah, sure.” His trembling fingers took out the astrology manual and handed it to Sho.

“Oh, wow.” Sho’s eyes widened. “You’re into astrology?”

“I guess. Just recently.” Aiba watched Sho swiftly flipping the pages and he felt his knees had started to buckle.

“Well, the truth is, I too have been into astrology lately.” Sho said, and hearing those words had calmed Aiba’s heart down.

“I don’t think it’s that surprising, coming from you. You are a science major after all.” Aiba said.

Sho chuckled. “Yes, but that’s not the reason why I got into it.”

“Okay. What’s the reason then?”

At once, Sho’s smile had faded and he pondered on the question for a long time. “For advice.” He managed to say.

“Advice?”

“Life advice, sort of. I don’t fully believe in it, but I just want to check if things are going my way, you know what I mean?”

Aiba nodded. “I get it.”

“By the way, are you going to buy that?” Sho asked. Aiba had already forgotten the copy of Mikadzuki which he held in his hand.

“Oh, no, I—I actually already have this copy.” Aiba quickly put it back on the shelf. “It’s a really good magazine, that’s all. It’s filled with a lot of short stories of various genres…” Aiba watched as Sho took the magazine out again and looked at it with interest. “I also heard their horoscope readings are good.” Aiba added.

“Really?” Sho looked up at him. 

Panic had bottled up within Aiba’s chest. “Yeah.”

“Well, I’ll buy it.” Sho said and Aiba’s heart had skipped a beat as he heard it.

“Y-you will?”

“Why not? If it’s something you recommend, then it must be nice. You have good taste after all, Aiba.”

Aiba felt his heart constantly thumping out in his chest. He feared that every sound it made would be heard by the man in front of him. “Thanks.” Aiba said. “By the way, do you want to exchange numbers?”

“Yeah, sure.”

They both took out their phones and typed in each other’s numbers. “Here you go,” Sho said as he gave Aiba’s phone back. “What’s your sign by the way?”

“Capricorn.” Aiba said. “What about yours?”

“I’m Aquarius, the water-bearer.” Sho’s smile shined brightly in Aiba’s eyes. “It was nice meeting you again, Aiba.”

Aiba’s gaze followed Sho as he went to the counter to buy the magazine. And even when Sho was out of his sight as he went out, he was still looking. 

That night, Aiba had his eyes stuck on his computer. The books were deemed not enough for him to understand the vastness of astrology. He read numerous articles and videos which explained astrology but he still couldn’t wrap it around his head. A knock on the door broke his attention from the screen and Aiba quickly rushed to open the door.

“Oh, Jun, thank goodness you’re here!” Aiba took Jun in his arms and tightly embraced him.

“Easy, easy…” Jun chuckled, gently pushing Aiba away. “You’re probably gonna squeeze out my guts or something.”

“Sorry.”

“Anyway, why did you call?”

“Well, I need a little help…” Aiba gestured to his room, and Jun followed.

“What is this?” Jun said, as he picked up one of the books Aiba left placed on his bed and read out the title. “Astrology for Beginners…”

“Jun, I can explain—“

“Horoscopes, really?” Jun exclaimed. “This is what I was talking about in the first place, Aiba! You shouldn’t have had quit immediately.”

“Alright, fine! You were right.” Aiba said. “I’m sorry. I don’t want you to keep worrying about me anymore.”

Jun sighed. “So, is this going to be your job for the rest of your life? Being a horoscope writer?”

“It’s not. My boss said that after a year, I’ll be given a promotion if all goes well.”

“Really?” Jun raised a brow. “You trust the guy?”

Aiba shrugged. “I don’t have any other choice, do I?”

“Okay, okay. So, how are you going to pull this off then?”

“Well…” Aiba tilted his head side to side. “I’m not exactly sure.”

Jun groaned. “Come on, you got yourself into this, you’ve gotta do something!”

“I don’t know, alright!” Aiba then retreated to his laptop on his desk. “I tried earlier and thought I could finally write, but it’s not working at all…” He smacked his face flat on his desk a few times before Jun went to him and told him to stop.

“Hey, I don’t wanna bring you to the hospital again.” Jun said. “You know what, let me help you practice.” He grabbed a chair and sat next to Aiba. “What does it say about Virgo on business?”

“What?”

“Oh, come on, just do it!”

Aiba looked at the astrology chart he looked up on his laptop. “Uh, along the line of ‘Keep it up’ I guess.”

“Don’t just guess!” Jun nudged him.

“Ugh, most of the descriptions here look the same to me! Purely motivational ones… Life advices, a friend of mine told me.” Aiba remembered Sho’s words, and indeed, Aiba needed an advice right now.

“Alright, why don’t we just try something else?”

Aiba licked his lips as he pondered. “You wanna try love?” He said.

“Yeah, alright, let’s go with that.”

Aiba looked at the chart again, and tried his best to form out the words. “Ah…”

“What did it say?” Jun said.

“Well, it says you’ve got a hard luck on love.” Aiba said. “It’s telling you that you’ve probably have been too clingy lately, especially to someone who doesn’t return your affection or is unaware of it. Think more for yourself and move on…” Aiba chuckled. “Wow, sounds pretty harsh, don’t you think so?” He looked towards Jun only to find his seat now empty.

“Jun?” He turned his seat around and saw Jun was now standing by the door, and had just put on his coat.

“I gotta go.” He said.

“But, why all of a sudden?” Aiba asked.

“I just remembered that I need to do something important.”

“Okay.” Aiba managed to smile.

“Good night.” Jun said and closed the door.

Aiba was alone again in his room and all he could do was look at the chart in front of him. <i>Love…</i> He started to type in the search bar of his browser. “Love compatibility…” He then pressed enter. Numerous links to websites appeared and Aiba clicked on one of them. As soon as the website had loaded, it instructed him to put his and his partner’s zodiac sign. And so he selected his sign, Capricorn, and for the other, he picked Aquarius.

Aiba bit his lip and waited patiently for the results to come out. As the white webpage started to gain its color back again, Aiba moved closer to the screen and once it was done, Aiba all but frowned.

<i>”Tough luck! You and your partner are not an easy match.”</i> 

Aiba’s chest had grown heavy as he read it. He slumped back on his chair and brought his hands to mess up his hair as he groaned. This was already the third time he made sure what the manual said was true. There was a love chart in the books but like everything else, it all said the same thing: Capricorn and Aquarius can’t be together at all.

Aiba didn’t want to fully believe in it, not even the whole thing, but for some reason, it getting onto his nerves. Ever since they met again earlier, Aiba could only think about Sho. Although, he had never felt this way towards Sho back then, or maybe, he only realized now.

It was also the same back then in fact, Sho, who was focused on studying, remained oblivious of Aiba, who observed him from afar. Aiba had imagined a few times before that he would approach Sho there and then, and engage in a deep conversation with him, but he never had the guts to do it.

It wasn’t because Sho was out of his league or to Aiba he was, at least. But it was unlikely that someone like Sho, who was admired by all during that time, would be enjoying the company of someone who wasn’t that much of an extrovert. That time, Aiba thought if there were only a way to bridge the gap between them, so he could know more about Sho…

Suddenly, Aiba had come up with an idea. A crazy one.

At first, he only thought of it as a joke, but the thought started to linger, and he began to shake his head. <i>No, no, no…</i> He couldn’t—shouldn’t ever do that.

<i>”People just only hear what they wanna hear, you know?”</i>

It was tempting for Aiba to think how much power he actually had on his hands. And combined with the rekindled desire within, it was a force Aiba couldn’t reckon with.

Aiba found his hands hovered on top of the keyboard.

And he began to type…

***

Ohno munched up a large portion of his homemade sandwich. Not only because he was hungry, which he really was, but he also needed an excuse for him not to talk to the person in front of him.

Ninomiya—Nino—Kazunari.

It’s not that he didn’t like Nino or that he wasn’t attracted to him at all, he was flattered that Nino had such confidence to just approach him at his lunch table and eat with him like he’d said so. And Nino was rambling on and on about games and other things, his voice blending in with other voices and noises in the school cafeteria. And within a moment, Ohno had finished up his sandwich, where only a wrap of tissue was left present on the palm of his hands.

He swallowed, and began to speak. “Nino,” He said.

“Yes?” The younger man looked at him with wonder.

“I don’t want to burst your bubble, but aren’t you going a bit too far?”

Nino blinked.

“It’s risky, you know; if you keep on going like this.”

“Don’t worry about it too much.”

“Don’t you?”

“Worried? Why should I?” Nino chuckled. “I’m not…”

Ohno shook his head and stood up. He felt Nino’s eyes on him as he walked away and out of the cafeteria. “Ohno!” Nino rushed to follow him.

Ohno was going up the staircase, on his way to the faculty, when he heard Nino’s footsteps echoing throughout the hallway below. “Hey,” Nino said. “What’s the matter? You’re scared ‘cause I’m gonna lose my job if I get caught flirting with you?”

Ohno whirled around, looking at him. “Both of us will lose our jobs if we get caught.”

“Get caught or not, I don’t care. I like you, and I’d like to know everything about you… And probably see every part of you.”

Ohno rolled his eyes. It was as if he were looking at a man who still had a mentality of a child who thinks he could get anything he wanted. “A youngster like you should better think twice before hitting an old man like me.” He said.

Nino chuckled. “You’re just 3 years older than me. It’s not a big deal.”

Ohno sighed. “That’s what they all say. You know, the last time I dated a younger man, he also said the same thing. But in the end, he tells me that I’m too carefree, to the point he couldn’t handle it anymore. And I don’t think you’d like to commit the same mistake he made, now would you?”

“I don’t mind if I do.” Nino went up step by step closer to Ohno. “Just gotta figure out where the guy went wrong then.” He went toward him until the noses were just a few inches away from each other. Ohno backed away but his back eventually had hit the wall and he had nowhere else to go.

And now, Nino was looming over him. “You free tonight?” Nino asked, his voice nearly a whisper. “I know a good restaurant a few stations away. It’s not too far from here, but far enough for us not to get caught. What do you say?”

Ohno tried to look anywhere else from Nino’s eyes. “I have to check some test papers…”

However, the young man’s intense gaze never faltered. “What about tomorrow?” Nino cocked his head to one side. “7 o’ clock, would you go?”

“Yeah,” Ohno managed to say. “Tomorrow at 7’s fine.” And it seemed Nino was going to go in for a kiss, so Ohno shut his eyes, thinking about the worse. But he heard a soft chuckle, and found that Nino backed away.

“Tomorrow at 7 it is.” Nino said and gave a smile.

Ohno let out a sigh of relief. “You’re not fair.”

 “I know.”

The school bell rang out and Ohno quickly went up the stairs, fleeing from Nino while he had a chance.

The school garden wasn’t always Sho’s favorite place to go for privacy. Usually, he would go to the computer labs and, if Nino were present, he would turn on one of the computers and play some music as he did other things like doing paper works or creating visual presentations. But this was now a different case, because what he’ll be doing has nothing to do with the school at all. After he had made sure that the coast was clear, Sho sat on the bench and, from a paper bag, had pulled out the magazine which Aiba had recommended to him. He was fascinated with the first one he bought at the convenience store, which led to him buying the latest issue this morning before he went to school. He quickly took off the plastic and began to browse the pages until he had come across the horoscope section.

Suddenly, Sho felt something poke him on his side and he shrieked. He turned around and found a laughing Nino behind him. “Will you stop doing that?” Sho exclaimed.

“Couldn’t help it.” Nino said. “Anyway, guess who has a date tomorrow!”

“No way, you asked Ohno out?”

Nino nodded.

“Wow, you’re scary.”

Nino narrowed his eyes. “What’s that supposed to mean? Also, what on earth are you reading?”

“Nothing.” Sho held the magazine close to his chest, fearing Nino would read it.

“If you’ve actually brought an adult magazine in the campus, I’m calling you a hypocrite from now on.” 

“Idiot. You really think I would be crazy enough to do that?”

“Well, by the way you’re reacting, it looks like you are.” Nino snatched the magazine out of Sho’s hands and began to read out loud. “Weekly Horoscope Readings by [Hoshino Nick]… Well, that’s weird name.” Nino remarked. “And I thought you said you didn’t rely in these things.”

Sho snatched the magazine back. “For the last time, I don’t!” He went back to sit on the bench and continued reading.

 “So, what does the stars and the planets tell us this time?”

“Well, it says that Gemini should stop being a fucking dick and mind his own business.” Nino then raised his brow. “…And on the bright side,” Sho continued. “It also says a great change will come into his life this week.”

“I hope that last part is true.” Nino said.

“Don’t get your hopes up by thinking its Ohno.”

“Whatever. What about yours, Mr Aquarius?”

“Mine? Um…”

“You should be fully aware of your surroundings,” Sho began reading. “You may miss out on opportunities that may just be right around the corner. If you’re currently seeking for love, always remind yourself that…” He came to a pause and brought the magazine closer to his face, reading the last line over and over in his head.

“That what?” Nino asked.

Sho brought the magazine onto his lap. “…A second encounter with the familiar is a whole new experience.”

Nino burst out with laughter.

“What’s so funny?” Sho asked.

“I don’t know, I thought that last part just sounded a bit, well… <i>sexy</i>?”

“Geez, how more perverted could your mind get?”

Nino shrugged in response. “Maybe on Thursday I’ll give you my answer to that.” He winked, and Sho just shook his head.

“You can do this, Masaki.” Aiba muttered. “You can do this…” He stood nearby the school gates. He figured that this was the place where Sho worked; it was in fact the only school near the convenience store. Many students walked out of the campus and Aiba was getting worried that the school guard might find him suspicious and shoo him away. Aiba then retreated to a front of a small bakery next to the school and waited there instead. A group of schoolgirls went out of the bakery with yakisoba bread in their hands.

“Sakurai-sensei was so handsome in class today!” One of them squealed.

“Yeah, he seemed to be in a very good mood today.” Another girl said.

“You think he’s got a girlfriend?”

They all then giggled. “Who knows?” They said. At that moment, Aiba felt like he wanted to sink down into the Earth.

And like it was all on cue, Aiba found, unmistakably, Sakurai Sho walking out of the school gate. At once, Aiba felt his heart beat rapidly in his chest and managed to take a few steps forward towards him. But, Aiba stopped his tracks as he found (what he assumed to be) another male teacher running to Sho and seeing them walk together made Aiba feel as if something were pinching him. It wasn’t only a painful one, but an irritating one, like being bitten by a fireant.

Aiba thought of walking away, but he couldn’t look away from Sho. It was too late for Aiba to look back to his front, because he got hit by the bike of the bakery’s deliveryman and dropped down to the ground on his back. “I’m so sorry!” The deliveryman cried out and went to Aiba’s aid. “I’m terribly sorry! Are you alright, Sir?”

“Yeah,” Aiba managed to utter. “I’m alright…” He then groaned in pain as he sat up.

 “Aiba?” He heard Sho’s voice and found him approaching them along with his friend.

“Sakurai-san…” Aiba said.

“Oh my, are you alright?” Sho offered him a hand, and Aiba held onto him to get back up on his feet.

“You know this guy?” Sho’s companion asked.

“He’s a friend.” Sho said. “I didn’t expect to see you so soon.”

“Me either. Uh, who’s your friend?” Aiba asked.

“Oh, this is—“

“Ninomiya Kazunari, pleasure to meet you.” He then held out his hand towards Aiba and they shook hands.

“Aiba Masaki.”

“Anyway, what brings you here all of a sudden?” Sho asked him.

“Oh…” Aiba fiddled his hair. “I just happened to pass by again.” He then chuckled.

Aiba watched the two throw suspicious looks at him, especially Ninomiya, who had his thick eyebrows smashed together in the middle of his forehead.

“Well, since you’re here, would you like to come and eat with us, Aiba?” Sho said.

“Eh?” Aiba gaped at them.

“What?” Nino exclaimed. “No way.”

“Why not? Don’t be so rude.”

“Just because I’m treating you, doesn’t mean you can invite someone else to join in. I only brought enough money for the two of us.”

“It’s alright. I can pay my food for myself.”

“If that’s the case,” Nino said. “Then you’re welcome to join us.” Sho rolled his eyes, and Aiba tried to keep in his laughter. 

And before they left, the deliveryman came back out from the bakery to catch up to them and apologized to Aiba and offered freshly baked yakisoba bread.

The three sat side by side, with Aiba beside Sho, and Sho beside Nino. They were at a food stall, eating some skewers and bowls of ramen. While eating, they talked over various things. Nino went buzzing with questions, from basic to personal ones, and Aiba would answer them politely.

“So, you guys were classmates before?” Nino asked.

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“Huh, no wonder you two seem pretty close.”

“We’re not close.” Sho remarked. “Just acquaintances.”

“Right…” Nino taunted him. “Acquaintances, he says.” Sho nudged him with his elbow.

“I was socially-awkward back then,” Aiba said to Nino. “And so Sakurai-san and I rarely ever get to talk, since he was really popular in school.”

Nino’s eyes went wide open and went leaning towards Aiba’s direction. “He was?” Nino took a quick look at Sho, who was taken aback at such a reaction. “Um, are we sure we’re talking about the same Sakurai Sho here?”

“Yes, we are.” Sho said.

“I guess, it seems hard for Nino-san to believe you were popular before, Sakurai-san.” Aiba chuckled.

“Well, you should see how Sakurai is in school, Aiba-san.” Nino remarked. “If what you say is true, then maybe some of Sho’s charms had already worn out.”

“How so?”

“Sho here’s always a bit of a loner. You can even consider me as his only friend in school.”

“You’re not my only friend, liar.”

“Well, to me, I don’t think much has changed.” Aiba said. “You’re still as charming as ever, Sakurai-san.”

Once again, the two shot weird looks at him and there was awkwardness between the three of them. Nino started to cough, rather unnaturally, and Sho went to drink his glass of beer. “I’m gonna go to the bathroom.” Nino said. “You guys don’t mind waiting?”

“Yeah, sure, go ahead.” Sho said.

Nino stood up from his seat and left the two alone. Aiba looked down to his hands which held his glass of water.

“Charming, huh?” Sho said and chuckled. “Did you just say that to flatter me?”

“Yes.” Aiba said, but he couldn’t look at Sho in the eye. “But, I genuinely think you are.”

“That’s nice.” Aiba could hear Sho smile. “Thank you.”

“Do you have a girlfriend, Sakurai?”

“Why do you ask?”

“Well, uh, of course, since you were very popular back then in high school, I kind of thought you might have had a girlfriend…”

Sho gave out a hearty laugh, which had caught Aiba off guard. “I’ve been single my entire life.” Sho said.

“What?”

“You heard me.”

“No way. Why?”

Sho sighed. “I don’t know.” He rested his head on his hands. “I just don’t. I might’ve been a popular back then but I have no idea how to really handle people. I mean, I have no problem socializing or anything like that, I just don’t know how to have a deeper connection with them.”

“I understand. So, are you looking for a girlfriend then?”

“Not really. I don’t prioritize that kind of stuff. It’s not that I don’t want a lover, it would be nice if I had one, but since I’m not good in making connections, what’s the point?” Sho then turned towards Aiba. “I’m a very lonely person, aren’t I?” He said with a smile.

Aiba didn’t know how to react to that. Sho’s smile wasn’t enough to convince him otherwise about how lonely Sho actually was in his personal life. But, before Aiba could jump in, he wanted to, at least, make sure that he had a chance…

“Sakurai,” Aiba said. “There’s something I’ve wanted to ask.”

“What is it?” Sho said and had his lips on his drink.

“Have you ever thought of dating men?”

Sho coughed, putting down his glass. “C- Come again?”

“Have you ever thought of dating men?” Aiba repeated.

Sho opened his mouth, but no words came out, and abruptly it had turn into a thin line. Aiba then heard a click of a tongue from him. “I’m sorry.” Aiba said.

“No, no, don’t say that.” Sho waved his hand. “You have nothing to be sorry about.”

“So, have you?”

Sho’s fingers clenched onto his glass mug and sighed. “Yeah, I have.” He said. “What about you?”

“I’ve dated some men before, but I’m currently single.”

“Oh…”

And they were consumed by the silence again. All Aiba could hear was the sound of his heart beating louder and louder. His mind was scrambled into a sudden panic which was concealed behind his blank expression. Aiba tried to focus on his memory of Sho at the library, the times he could’ve walked to him, with a smile, and say the things he wanted to tell Sho. Or the time during graduation day, when he could’ve wrote a message on Sho’s yearbook. He should’ve wrote what he had thought; how cool he was whenever he recited in class, how equally kind he was to everyone, and how hardworking he was when it came to both academics and club activities.

Aiba didn’t want to lose another chance again. Not anymore.

“Will you go out with me, Sakurai-san?”

Sho’s eyes flicked towards him, and Aiba could feel the heat filling up his cheeks. He couldn’t decipher Sho’s rather calm expression. At that moment, he was ready to give up; he already had taken all the risks. The only thing left was whatever Sho’s answer would be.

“I—“ Sho started to speak up, but the sound of footsteps approaching had interfered. Both of them whirled around to find that Nino had already come back.

“Hey, sorry if I took a long while,” He said. “Hope you guys didn’t get bored while I was away.”

Aiba shook his head. “Not at all.”

“Anyway, it’s getting late. We should probably go home quickly, right Sho?” He said with a smile. Sho all but stared at Nino wide-eyed. “By the way, it was nice meeting you, Aiba.”

“You too, Nino.”

Aiba said his farewells to the two teachers, though Sho had remained unresponsive, and they went their separate ways. 

Aiba sat on bench and waited for the bus to arrive. The day has ended with nothing accomplished, nothing gained. Aiba looked up and stared at the florescent lights above him, letting the light pierce his eyes. And as he was beginning to lose hope, he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. It was probably Jun, the worrier, or maybe his boss, or maybe his mom, who’s going to scold him for exhausting himself. But when he held up his phone to his face and looked at the screen, Aiba nearly screamed. <b><i>A message from Sakurai Sho.</i></b>

Aiba quickly opened the message and read Sho’s text. As he finished reading, Aiba couldn’t help smile from ear to ear and let out a deep breath.

<i>‘I’d love to.’</i>

“I knew it.” Nino exclaimed as they walked back on their way home. “I <i>knew</i> it would happen. I was hiding at the corner watching you guys, and just like that, it happened!”

“Oh, shut up, will you?” Sho grumbled and put his phone back into his pocket.

“It looks like love’s your top priority after all.”

Sho went to pinch Nino’s ear and had no intention of letting go, until Nino’s voice run out.

***

It was already 5:45pm, and Aiba couldn’t help but grow worried as time passed. He stood in front of the movie theatre, waiting for Sho to arrive. Only fifteen minutes more and the movie will start, and Aiba didn’t want to miss anything when he went to watch a movie. And, coincidentally, he found Sho running towards him. “Hey, sorry, I’m late.” Sho said and panted. “I had to finish all my assignments before coming here.”

“It’s alright.” Aiba said. “I already bought the tickets, so we can go straight inside.”

“I see.”

Aiba scanned Sho from head to toe. He wore a white tee with a jersey jacket, paired with camouflage pants and sneakers. “Nice outfit.” Aiba said.

“Is it?” Sho beamed. “I couldn’t really figure out what to wear. I thought it was too casual at first, but I went with it.”

Aiba simply nodded, but he agreed it looked too casual compared to what he was wearing: a dress shirt with a red knitted sweater, dark blue jeans, and loafers. “Yours looks nice too.” Sho said.

Aiba smiled. “Thanks.”

There was still a sense of awkwardness between them, even after they had entered the theatre. They didn’t get the time to talk or to even think of buying food since the movie started as soon as they sat down. They both had absorbed themselves in the movie, though, at least, from time to time, Aiba got a chance to glance at Sho’s defined profile while watching.

 “Wasn’t that amazing?” Aiba said as they walked out of the theatre. “Especially that part near the end. Right, Sho?”

“It was alright, I guess.” Sho tilted his head to the side. “I just think there are too many plot holes.”

“But you gotta admit that it’s a great movie.”

Sho shook his head. “No, it was pretty mediocre if you ask me.”

Aiba blew a raspberry. “No way,” he said. “You only think that because you <i>just don’t get it…</i>”

Sho didn’t give any response and they walked on aimlessly without talking. As the silence grew longer, Aiba couldn’t shake off the feeling of guilt. “I’m sorry.” Aiba said. “I think I went too far…” He turned to where Sho was supposed to be but he was no longer there. “Sho?” Aiba whirled around in circles and he saw Sho checking out a small kiosk which sold various jewelleries. Aiba went towards him, and following where Sho’s gaze aimed at, he saw beaded bracelets of various colors.

“I’ll buy one for you if you like.” Aiba said.

“Don’t.” Sho said. “It looks too expensive.”

“It’s fine. Which one do you like?”

 Sho then bit his lip and looked down to his feet. “The pink one.” He said, and Aiba caught his ears turning red.

“Alright.” Aiba said. He also picked out a bracelet for himself along with Sho’s and paid for it.

 “Here you go.” Aiba put on the pink bracelet on Sho’s wrist. “Does it fit?”

Sho brought his wrist closer and gazed at the elegant bracelet. “Yeah, it fits perfectly.” He said and smiled.

“That’s good.” Aiba chuckled. “What do you think about mine? Pretty cool, huh?” He held up his wrist for Sho to see. It was a bracelet with each bead having various shades of green.

“Thank you.” Sho said.

Hearing those words had warmed up Aiba’s heart and his face had formed a grin. It was already late at night, and the mall was already closing. The crowds of people had left earlier after the movie ended, and the two of them were, in fact, one of the few who were left to leave the place. Though Aiba didn’t feel like leaving just yet, and neither did Sho, who slowly went near him. Aiba knew what it meant—what he wanted—so Aiba slightly tilted his head and let Sho huddle closer to him, until the tip of their shoes touched…

Aiba’s phone suddenly rang and he let out a groan. Sho then backed away, probably in embarrassment, as Aiba took out his phone and answered it. “Hello?” Aiba said.

<i>“Hey, where are you?”</i> Jun’s voice buzzed in his ear. <i>I’ve been trying to contact you earlier; I need a little help here at the café.”</i>

“Uh, Jun, I’m not exactly near the café right now.” Aiba said.

<i>“Either way, could you come by?”</i>

“I’ll be there, probably later.”

<i>“Alright. I’ll wait right here.”</i>

“Okay, bye.” He then put down the phone.

“A friend of yours?” Sho asked.

“Yeah, he wants me to help him out with something.” Aiba said. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine.” He said. “Can I come with you?”

“You would?”

“Why not? I’d like to meet your friend.” He said with a smile.

“Alright.”

The two of them then walked to Jun’s café. Aiba immediately spotted Jun in front of the café and Jun’s face had lit up as soon as he saw him. “Aiba!” He cried out. “Thank goodness you’re here.” Jun then ran and embraced him. “The light-up sign that I purchased just arrived, but it’s not working. You know how to fix it?”

“Well, I’ll try.” Aiba said.

“Oh, hello.” Jun said as he realized Sho’s presence.

“Hello.” Sho greeted.

“Oh, Jun, this is Sakurai Sho.” Aiba said. “He was a classmate of mine during high school, and we just started dating recently.”

“Oh…” Jun chuckled. “Well, that’s lovely.”

“It’s nice to meet you.” Sho said.

“Nice to meet you too. I’m Matsumoto Jun, by the way. Would you like to go inside and have some coffee?”

“Oh, no thank you. I’ll be going ahead anyway. I just wanted to walk Aiba back to his home.”

“I see.” Jun nodded.

“You sure you’ll be fine going home alone? Don’t you want me to walk you back to the train station?” Aiba said.

Sho shook his head. “I’m used to it.”

“Alright, take care.”

“Bye.”

“Bye.”

Aiba watched Sho walk away from them and he whirled around to find Jun staring at him. “So, you were on a date today, huh?” Jun said. “Well, no wonder you didn’t answer.”

“Yeah.”

“So, did it go well?”

Aiba all but sighed. “Well, I hope it was enough…”

Sho went to the computer lab and reached for the doorknob, but when he twisted it, it wouldn’t open. Sho scratched his head, wondering why the door would be locked; when Nino would always leave it open until five. He decided to knock on the door, however there was no response. Sho knocked on the door again, frustrated, but no one came to open the door. Sho sighed and went to put his ear on the door to hear if there were anyone inside. He closed his eyes to focus, and soon he heard footsteps approaching. Sho quickly backed away from the door and it swung open. However, to Sho’s surprise, it wasn’t Nino.

“Oh, good afternoon, Sakurai-san.” Ohno greeted.

“Good afternoon…” Sho noticed that Ohno’s hair looked messy. His collar of his shirt, too, was uneven and his tie wasn’t adjusted properly.

Ohno chuckled, his cheeks burning brightly. “Yeah, I was just about to leave anyway.” He said. “Nino’s in his quarters.”

“Alright, thanks.”

Ohno bowed his head and stepped out of the room. For a while, Sho watched him try to fix his hair as he walked away. Sho went straight ahead to Nino’s cubicle. He found Nino sitting on his chair as always, but at least this time, he was wide awake. Though his hair wasn’t as messy as Ohno’s, Nino was busy fixing his tie and some buttons on his shirt were unfastened. “A teacher’s supposed to be teaching, not flirting with other teachers.” Sho said.

“Yeah, says the man who’s crazy about this Aiba Masaki guy.” Nino said.

“I’m not crazy.”

“Okay, so what happened during your date?” Nino asked.

“You explain yourself first,” Sho said, but Nino just glared at him and had his arms crossed. Sho rolled his eyes. “Fine, since you asked,” Sho said. “We went on a movie date, he bought me a bracelet, and I walked him home.”

“And?”

“That was it.”

“Not even a kiss?”

Sho sighed. “Supposedly, yes. But someone got in the way.”

“Now you know how <i>I</i> feel.”

“How on earth was I supposed to know earlier?” Sho exclaimed.

“Anyway, don’t be so hard on yourself. Not all first dates go smoothly, you’ll be fine.” Nino said as he had finished fastening the buttons on his shirt.

“Yeah, but for how long? What if he loses interest?”

“Hey, hey, relax…” Nino proceeded to place his hand on Sho’s shoulder but Sho brushed it off.

“Hey, don’t touch me with your dirty hands.” He said.

“It’s clean.” Nino said and showed his palm of his hands. “We didn’t go <i>that</i> far, pervert.” He then sticks his tongue out. “Anyway, stop worrying about such things, alright?” Nino said and patted Sho’s back.

Sho then nodded. “So, what did you guys exactly do earlier?” He asked.

Nino narrowed his eyes and shook his head.

“Come on, tell me!”

“Figure it out yourself, idiot.”

Aiba had his eyes focused on the screen once again. Since the first reading was a success, his confidence had boosted up since that day. After their first date, however, it looked like his luck had run out. And, coincidently, that <i>was</i> Capricorn’s reading last time. Aiba knew that this time he had to take precautions; he didn’t want his next date to be another lacklustre. Words and ideas kept popping up in his mind while he went on writing: about where to go, when, and what should be said in the reading for Aquarius—for Sho. He wanted to make sure that Sho would be convinced that he is the one for him, and only him, making it all seem like it was meant to be. A smile formed on Aiba’s lips as he imagined how much Sho will be having soon.

Aiba then heard a knock from his front door. “Come in!” Aiba yelled, and the door swung open.

“Hey, don’t just leave your door unlocked.” Jun said as he walked into Aiba’s bedroom. “What if someone comes in without you knowing?”

“Well, you’re the only one who comes here anyway.” Aiba said. “No one else.”

“Yet.” Jun said. “Anyway, I bought some dinner for you, wanna eat already?”

“Oh, yes.” Aiba stood up from his seat. “Let me just set up the table.” He went to the corner of his room and grabbed hold of his foldable table and placed it in the center of the room. “There you go.” Aiba said. “So, what’s for dinner, tonight?”

Jun was standing in front of his desk and appeared to be reading something. “Jun?” Aiba walked towards him and he finds his notepad in Jun’s hands.

“What is all of this?” Jun said.

“T-that’s nothing,” Aiba attempted to grab the notepad but Jun dodged his attack. At that point, Aiba could only watch Jun carefully read each page of all the schemes and all the planned drafts of the fake readings he had just written down.

“Aiba, what on earth?” Jun said, and shoved the notepad to Aiba’s chest. “What’s gotten into that head of yours this time, huh?”

Aiba shut his eyes and groaned. “Jun, please…” He said.

“Come on, you’ve already been into enough trouble. You can’t just…”

“Make fake horoscope readings…” Aiba helped finished Jun’s sentence.

“Not just that!” Jun then brought his hands over Aiba’s shoulders. “You <i>can’t</i> lie. What if your boss finds out?”

“That won’t be a problem. He doesn’t care about accuracy; he just wants a good and entertaining article.”

“Yeah, an article full of filthy lies is what he wants. Aiba, you’ve been writing since you were in high school! You know better than that scumbag boss of yours!”

“I know it’s wrong, but what choice do I have?”

“Alright, fine, but what about Sho, huh? What do you think he’d feel about all of this?”

“That’s not a problem either. He doesn’t know… He doesn’t know about my job as a writer.”

Jun brought his hands over his head and paced back and forth around the room. His hands went sliding down until it was over his cheeks and he groaned. “Why, why?” He cried out. “Why has it all come to this?”

“Jun, please, calm down—“

“How could I?” He exclaimed. “Isn’t what you’re doing a crime? Why are you even doing it? And to believe someone like you wanted to be a writer...” Jun then bent down on his knees and sat down on the floor, with his hands covering his face.

“I’m sorry…” Aiba said, his eyes had gotten watery. “I just wanted to be closer to Sho, that’s why. He believes in horoscopes, and if he finds out that we’re not compatible then…”

Jun looked up at him, removing his hands from his face. Aiba couldn’t help but let the tears fall down from his face as he realized the gravity of the situation.

“Oh, Jun,” Aiba bawled. “What should I do?” Jun stood up and went to embrace him, and Aiba quickly hugged him back. Jun whispered him to calm down and gently patted the back of his head.

“You’re going to be okay, alright?” Jun said. “I’m going to make sure of that.”

“Promise me you won’t tell anyone.” Aiba pleaded, looking into Jun’s eyes. “Please, Jun, for my sake…”

Jun sighed. “Promise.”

***

<i>Surprises await you this week! Just keep looking out for it for you might miss your only chance…</i>

Sho watched his students attentively from his desk. He witnessed how they scratched their heads, bit their nails (or maybe, the end of their pens), and look at the clock above him from time to time as they answered their quiz. And Sho couldn’t help but also sit on his chair impatiently. All he kept thinking about was Aiba and his longing for them to meet up again had grown as days passed. He wondered if Aiba had lost interest in him because of last time. After their date, Aiba hadn’t contacted him since and Sho couldn’t help but worry every time. He glanced at the pink bracelet worn on his wrist which he kept hidden inside his sleeve. Sho still remembered how his heart fluttered when Aiba had put on the bracelet for him. He quickly put his hand over his mouth when he nearly chuckled out loud at the mere thought of it.

Suddenly, Sho’s phone vibrated in his pocket. Sho took it out and looked at the screen and, to his surprise, he found a message from Aiba: <i>Hey, are you free today?</i>

Sho tried to calm his trembling heart as he typed in his reply. <i>Just have to finish my last class. Where and what time do you want us to meet?</i> He then pressed send. Sho only looked away from his phone for a moment, and his phone vibrated again. Sho’s eyes widened as he read the reply:

<i>Right now, in front of the school gate</i>

At that point, Sho had already forgotten where he was and squealed. He was then met with the stares of his students. Sho cleared his throat, “Sorry.” He said. “You now have only 10 minutes to finish the test…”

As soon as class had ended, Sho rushed out of the room and ran through the corridor faster than any of the students passing by. Nearing the school gates, he spots Aiba waiting there, just like he said he was. Sho then stopped and took a deep breath when he reached him. “Are you alright?” Aiba asked.

“Yeah…” Sho huffed. “Took you long enough.”

Aiba gently smiled. “Sorry, I had gotten a bit busy lately.”

Sho then tilted his head. “I didn’t know you had a car.”

Aiba, who had his lower body leaning against the car’s door, looked at the shiny black convertible behind him. “I don’t always use it. But since it’s a special occasion…” Aiba’s voice had drifted off and his eyes were on Sho who raised his eyebrows. “Do you wanna ride?” He said with a weird western accent to which Sho laughed at.

“Where to?” Sho asked.

“You’ll figure it out soon.”

Sho shook his head. “Well, aren’t you a man full of surprises...”

 “A science museum? Oh, give me a break.” Sho exclaimed.

Aiba had finished parking the car and went out of it. “You’re going to love it, I promise.” He said, and went to open the door for Sho to get out.

“I sure hope so.” Sho stepped out of the car.

They had arrived at the ticket booth. Thankfully, there weren’t much people falling in line. After all, they had arrived at the place during night time. “One ticket please.” Aiba said to the cashier. “Thank you.”

“One?” Sho said. “Why only one?”

Aiba blinked and offered the ticket. “For you.”

“But, what about—wait; you went first to this place before bringing me here, didn’t you?”

Aiba hummed. “You could say that.”

“You sly fox!” Sho nudged him and Aiba cracked a smile.

“What? I had to take some precautions.” He said, and showed the stamp mark on his wrist.

They went inside the museum and were greeted by life-sized replicas of dinosaur fossils and eerily realistic-looking animal sculptures. “Typical.” Sho said.

“You really are impatient, aren’t you?” Aiba replied.

“Just stating the facts.”

“Don’t worry, I’m not going to take you to all the sections of the place. In fact, there’s one place I only want to show you.” 

“Then take me there.”

“Alright, alright.” Aiba grabbed hold of Sho’s hand and led him there. Aiba didn’t immediately realize what he had done until Sho gestured to interlock their fingers. It had caught Aiba off guard, and he felt his cheeks had warmed up. During the first date, Sho didn’t seem to be the affectionate type, but Aiba guessed that Sho was starting to warm up to him.

They finally reached a small dome located near the center of the museum. Aiba slid the black curtains aside and the two of them entered the dome. Darkness was all around and the only light they had was the pathway of lights which illuminated the floor. They walked along the pathway until they had come across a table of buttons and switches.

“What’s all these?” Sho asked. But Aiba gave no answer and instead flipped one of the switches.

Suddenly, little dots of white light appeared on the ceiling and were constantly fading and reappearing. Aiba glanced at Sho who stared at them with awe. “They’re stars…” He said and chuckled.

 “Yes.” Aiba smiled. “They’re quite cute too, aren’t they?”

 “Yeah they’re pretty too.” Sho beamed. 

Although the scenery in front of them was mesmerizing, Aiba couldn’t help but just gaze at the man beside him. To Aiba, Sho was the only thing that shone the brightest among everything else. Seeing that beautiful smile on Sho’s face made his heart ache. “You can use the buttons to navigate the constellations.” Aiba said.

“Really?”

“Yeah, the name’s actually written below each button, though the text is quite small. I tried reading it earlier but my eyesight isn’t really the best.” Aiba then pressed one of the buttons, and one of the constellations remained brightly lit while all the others faded out.

“That’s The Big Dipper.” Sho said.

“Yup.”

“Could I try?”

“Yeah, sure.”

Sho pressed a few buttons and each constellation did the same like earlier. They saw Orion, Pegasus, and even Hercules shine against the vast black plane. “I wonder if they also have the zodiac’s here.” Sho said.

“Well, that’s exactly the point why I brought you here.” Aiba then gestured to the buttons on his side and pressed one of them. Sho looked up and found a triangular shaped constellation shining brightly above them. “That’s your sign, Capricorn.”

“Yup.” Aiba nodded. “Wanna do the honors to see yours?” He said, and Sho simply pressed the button for Aquarius.

The constellation then appeared right beside Capricorn, and soon both constellations simultaneously twinkled. It felt reassuring for Aiba to see their constellations next to each other, the same way he and Sho were right now. Unconsciously, Aiba looked to his side and found Sho looking back. Both of them quickly averted their eyes from the other. “Thank you for bringing me here.” Sho said.

“You’re welcome.” Aiba said. “I just thought it’d be easier than bringing you to my hometown and do real stargazing.”

“You’d do that?”

Aiba nodded.

Sho then chuckled. “That would be fun actually, going to your hometown. Maybe during summer vacation, we could go.”

“You would?”

“Why wouldn’t I? I want to know more about you too, you know. It doesn’t have to be all about me.”

“Well, I’m glad that you want to know more about me then.” Aiba felt the warmth on his cheeks again. He looked to his side, and Sho was still looking up at the <i>sky</i>, at the <i>stars</i>. He was lost in his own mind, and Aiba wondered what he was thinking about right now. He wanted to know what Sho really thought about him, and he couldn’t hold himself back any longer, so he gently placed his hand on Sho’s shoulder, causing Sho to turn and look towards him. As Aiba went closer, his other hand had flipped the switch and everything turned dark again.

Aiba’s heartbeat quickened when he felt Sho’s tender lips against his. His hands roamed to find Sho’s nape and caressed it. All of Aiba’s worries had started to fade away, and even more when he felt that warm embrace. He knew Sho was starting to feel at ease, letting Aiba take full lead. And as their chests had touched, Aiba felt not only the beating of his own heart, but also Sho’s. 

A tune coming from the outside reached their ears, signalling that the museum would close soon, but they weren’t bothered by it. After all, it could wait.

LINK TO PART 2