bad romance

by ghostiie

Summary:

Jotaro doesn't like someone. He never liked someone. He doesn't need to like someone.

Jotaro also doesn't have friends. He never had a friend. He doesn't need a friend.

Kakyoin ruins both of that for him in the span of one week.

---
thx 4 300+ kudos lmaooo yall wild

Chapter 1

Jotaro Kujo liked the rooftop. He savored the quietness that came with it because nobody was allowed up on the roof. He stared at and admired the cherry blossom trees, watching as their petals elegantly floated in the air. Whenever he had the chance, he'd go up there. 

 

Today was like any other day. He was going to spend his lunch on the roof alone, which was how he liked it. Except, when he opened the door leading to it, he saw someone sitting against the railing, reading a book.

 

It was most likely a guy, from what Jotaro could see. He had vibrant red hair, along with what Jotaro had to say was the strangest curl of hair he'd ever seen. He was pretty muscular, Jotaro could see even with his green uniform covering him up, yet he wasn't bulging with them like Jotaro (which sounds conceited now that he's thinking about it).

 

He surely would've stood out in a crowd with his height, only being a few inches shorter than Jotaro, who overlooked everyone in his school, even the adults. It was odd that Jotaro had never seen this guy before.

 

Too odd. What did he want from Jotaro? There'd be no other reason for him to come up on the roof other than to see him. His first guess was some punk who wanted to pick a fight with him, the usual, but he looked like a goody-two-shoes, someone who wouldn't be looking for a fight.

 

His second guess was someone from the student council. He fit the bill, plus they'd been harassing him nonstop about him fighting people as if he didn't hear the same thing from the teachers and principal.

 

Jotaro pulled at the bill of his hat, already dreading having to confront someone. He just wanted to eat in peace, was it too much to ask for? As Jotaro walked towards the student council member, he noticed him holding a bento. That's weird, wouldn't he just leave it in his classroom?

 

"Hey, I thought I told your dumbass president to leave me alone." 

 

He gave Jotaro a look as if he asked the stupidest question he'd ever heard before looking back down at his book, dismissing him. This irked Jotaro even further. He didn't want to force him to leave, but he supposed he'd have to mess him up a little bit, just to scare him away.

 

"Not only do I not know what you're talking about, but I also do not care. Kindly leave me be." his voice, although sounding polite, had an edge to it, almost daring Jotaro to disrupt him again. And, well, predictably, Jotaro dared.

 

Even though this guy wasn't a part of the student council, he was still pissing him off. "Get the hell out of here, then," Jotaro growled, looking down at the stranger. He snapped his book shut, getting up to his feet to meet Jotaro's face.

 

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but students aren't allowed to be up at the rooftop without special permission, which I have. So it really should be you getting out." he snidely remarked. Jotaro didn't break eye contact, shoving his clenched fists in his pockets.

 

... Who the hell has lavender colored eyes? It may be inappropriate to think about his eyes, but those eyes were all he could see. Cold, closed-off, egotistic eyes staring back at him. He wasn't used to anyone looking at him like that so boldly.

 

And it got on his nerves.

 

"I'm only gonna tell you this once, but I despise arrogant assholes like you the most," Jotaro stated, taking one of his fists out of his pockets and raising it at the other. He cocked an eyebrow and glanced at Jotaro's fists, visibly unimpressed.

 

"Are you going to punch me?" he asked, his taunting tone dripping from his mouth like honey. Now that Jotaro looks at him even more, he's got a wide mouth, almost like a frog. An annoying, self-important frog that didn't know when to shut the fuck up.

 

And to nobody's surprise, Jotaro punched someone who's name he didn't even know.

 

---

 

"I just can't believe you got into a fight, Nori. What were you thinking?" the school nurse scolded the two of them, giving the red-head an ice pack. He rested it on his left eye, he and Jotaro seated only a few feet away from each other.

 

Jotaro had to give it to this 'Nori' guy, he fully expected him to either pass out when he punched him. Even Jotaro had to admit that he went a little overboard with how hard his punch was. But he didn't assume he'd fight back. He was strong, stronger than Jotaro had anticipated

 

The nurse went to Jotaro, a clean rag in hand. He took it, tossing the bloodied rag in his hand and brought it up to his nose. 'Nori' had landed a couple of good punches on him, and their fight would've escalated even more if a teacher hadn't accidentally stumbled upon them.

 

"I can't be surprised that you got into a fight, JoJo. But why with Nori? What was the reason, hm?" the nurse started intensely questioning him. Jotaro didn't answer, preferably choosing to stare at the squeaky clean white tiled floor. The nurse sighed at this, shaking her head.

 

"Rest up, okay? After school, you're both going to the principals' office."

 

Good grief, all Jotaro wanted to do was eat lunch, but now he was probably going to get suspended, which didn't sound half as bad. Jotaro lied down on the cot, pulling the covers up and wrapping it around his body. He snuck a glance at frog-guy, who was sitting on the cot, reading a book.

 

What a weirdo, were Jotaro's last thoughts before he turned away, drifting to sleep.

 

---

 

All of a sudden, Jotaro felt a heavy object slam down on his stomach, ripping him from his dreamless slumber. He quickly jolted up, nearly bumping heads with... whatever his name was. He knew Nori was a nickname for him, but there'd be no way Jotaro would call him that. He'll just settle for frog-guy.

 

"School's over. Get up." he curtly told him, the ice pack now wrapped with gauze around his eye. Jotaro glanced down at his abdomen to see a book pushed against it. Dickhead. He's lucky Jotaro just wanted to go home.

 

Once Jotaro got up from the cot, they walked down the eerily quiet halls. Everyone had either gone home or were at their clubs, leaving Jotaro and frog-guy together. He outright refused to look at Jotaro as they walked, distracting himself by reading his book again.

 

Jotaro hoped he would trip and fall, but he didn't.

 

When they reached the principals' office, frog-guy knocked on the door, the noise echoing across the hallway.

 

"Come in." a voice called out. He slid open the door, and they sat down on the two chairs positioned in front of the principals' desk, where he was waiting. Jotaro, still not looking at frog-guy, looked at the golden nameplate on the desk.

 

'Ryuunosuke Tanaka'

 

Tacky.

 

"Jotaro, Noriaki. What brings you to my office?" he asked. Jotaro suppressed the urge to scoff. He knew full well why they were here, it didn't take a genius to guess what happened. He expected frog-guy, Noriaki, to explain and blame Jotaro like the suck-up he was, but...

 

He stayed silent, staring blankly at Principal Tanaka. Was Jotaro going to have to do it? 

 

The ticking of the clock on the wall answered his question. Frog-guy wasn't talking, and Principal Tanaka wasn't going to let them go unless one of them spoke, Jotaro knew from past experiences.

 

"A fight..." Jotaro mumbled. Principal Tanaka hummed, shuffling around a few papers on his desk. Jotaro caught one with frog-guy's name.

 

'Noriaki Kakyoin'

 

Huh, his last name's Kakyoin. It was better than frog-guy.

 

"I'm surprised you would attack an honor student like Noriaki." Principal Tanaka squinted at Jotaro. He crossed his arms, not denying anything.

 

"Are you gonna suspend me?" he impatiently asked. It's all he cared about if he's fully honest. Being suspended was like having an extra vacation day to him. Principal Tanaka shook his head.

 

"The fact that this isn't the first time you've fought someone should be enough expel you, Jotaro. But I'm not going to do that. Two months of afterschool cleaning. If you skip even one day, it'll be an extra month, and it'll affect your testing grades at the end of the year."

 

Wait, two months?! Can he even do that? What the hell? And he'd have to come to school? That's sort of overkill. And he just finished his final exams... His vacation's in two weeks! He can't do this, right?

 

"Principal Tanaka." Kakyoin suddenly spoke up. Jotaro saw Kakyoin quickly look at him in the corner of his eye.

 

"I was the one who caused the fight. He was defending himself, so I should be getting the punishment."

 

Jotaro's eyes widened as he whipped his head towards Kakyoin. He kept a calm look, keeping his eyes straight ahead, his voice steady and clear. Principal Tanaka blinked, a tense silence looming over them.

 

"Noriaki, it just doesn't seem like you to do something like this." Principal Tanaka nervously choked out. Kakyoin shook his head.

 

"Are you suggesting that I'm lying about this, sir? I sure hope not. So either give me the punishment or drop it."

 

Jotaro couldn't believe what he was hearing. How could he have someone so easily wrapped around his fingers? And more importantly, why would he defend Jotaro? Why would he lie to the principal like that?

 

... Noriaki Kakyoin, huh? He's a surprising guy. Jotaro might've judged him too quickly.

 

---

 

In the end, Principal Tanaka couldn't agree to give Kakyoin the two months of cleaning up classrooms, and Kakyoin was too stubborn to not leave without receiving the proper repercussions, so they both agreed on him and Jotaro receiving two weeks. 

 

Jotaro, to say the least, was fascinated. Intrigued. His heart was beating a mile per minute as he was watching Kakyoin negotiate with the principal. It was like watching a talented lawyer in a courtroom, he captivated Jotaro, and he couldn't tear his eyes away from Kakyoin, even after they finished up their meeting and stepped out into the hall.

 

"Hey..." Jotaro was speechless, not knowing how to thank Kakyoin. It was painfully simple, just two words needed. Kakyoin could've left scot-free, leaving Jotaro high and dry to deal with the cleaning by himself.

 

"I didn't do it for you to thank me." Kakyoin stopped him from any further discussion. Jotaro pulled down his hat, covering the ever-growing red on his cheeks. He felt like a bumbling idiot compared to Kakyoin. An unfamiliar and uncomfortable feeling for Jotaro.

 

Kakyoin exhaled, his square and straight shoulders finally relaxing. His hair curl gracefully flowed with his movement. Jotaro could only watch.

 

"See you tomorrow." was all Kakyoin said to him before walking down the hall and out the door. Jotaro considered following and saying something, anything to show his appreciation.

 

But all Jotaro did was nod, his feet deeply rooted on the ground.

 

---

 

While Jotaro normally finished his homework rather quickly, today he took longer than usual. What made it worse was the majority of his homework was biology, one of his best subjects. His mother, Holly, noticed instantly that something was off when he didn't come over when it was dinner, which resulted in her quietly tip-toeing into Jotaro's room, a plate in hand.

 

Jotaro hadn't noticed her entrance. He hadn't even heard her call his name. It was pathetic for him to dwell on Kakyoin's actions, but he struggled to understand why Kakyoin lied for him, why Kakyoin sacrificed weeks of his time to just be in a bunch of classrooms with Jotaro, a guy he met only a few hours ago. They fought each other, his nose still ached, and he was almost a hundred percent sure Kakyoin had a black eye.

 

Kakyoin was irritating, stuck-up, aloof, snarky, and had an unapproachable aura to him. Yet... Jotaro wanted to know more about him. Nobody did something like this just for the fun of it.

 

"Jotaro, do you wanna take a break now?" Holly gleefully questioned. Jotaro flinched in his chair, his desk wobbling at the sudden movement.

 

"Don't you know how to knock, you bitch?" he shouted at her. Holly smiled, setting down a plate of Jotaro's desk.

 

"Be sure to eat, okay? I don't want my little angel to go hungry!" she gave Jotaro a quick peck on the cheek before leaving his room. Jotaro leaned back in his chair, picking up the plate of food.

 

He mentally thanked his mother for delivering it to her. Anything she cooked was always delicious, even compared to restaurants. He ate the entire plate in a few minutes. It was a good distraction for him, but now he should start focusing on his homework. 

 

Yeah.

 

His homework...

 

---

 

Jotaro got to class earlier than he's ever been. His teacher commented on this, commending him. It didn't matter, he was on a mission: find out information about Kakyoin!

 

He approached the first person he saw, which was a girl sitting on her desk.

 

"Hey. Do you know Noriaki Kakyoin?"

 

The girl blushed, not expecting Jotaro to talk to her. Jotaro felt a dozen stares behind his back, and he tried his best to roll it off. He just needs to ask a few people

 

"Kakyoin? Yeah, he's the smartest guy in this school! He always gets the top scores in tests, plus he's good at everything."

 

"He's okay, I guess. He's kinda scary, you know?"

 

"Kakyoin's nice. I kinda feel like he looks down on everyone, though."

 

"He always hangs by himself. The loner type, I guess."

 

"Nori's cute! And not to mention he's a genius. But he's kind of a loser, ya feel? He just looks annoyed most of the time."

 

"Who?"

 

Jotaro wanted to ask more people, but then the bell rang. Everyone started filing to their desks, and he had to sit back down in his chair.

 

It was weird to come to class so early. Jotaro was used to coming at least half an hour late, and he had to say, this was the most boring thing he's ever had to sit through. He fell asleep when the teacher started explaining calculus concepts, only waking up to do his worksheets before going back to sleep again. He liked it better when he could do his work at home. The work was easy for him, and if he didn't understand (which was rarely) he could just ask his mom for help.

 

And finally, it was break time. He only had twenty minutes to himself, so he decided to go outside to smoke. Going to the rooftop was the first thing he thought about doing, but he decided against it. Wouldn't it be awkward if he saw Kakyoin up there? There'd be nothing for him to say.

 

Jotaro pulled out a carton of cigarettes and a lighter before quickly putting them away. The nurse told him he shouldn't smoke, due to his broken nose. God, school was starting to feel like a drag. Easy topics, easy worksheets, and annoying teachers and students. He wanted to ditch school so badly, but Kakyoin probably wouldn't enjoy being left to clean by himself. Plus, he looked like the type of student who went to cram school along with fifty other after school activities.

 

... Speaking of Kakyoin, Jotaro hasn't even seen him in the halls at all today. Not that he was looking for him specifically, but he expected to see him in the morning. Maybe he should ask what classroom he's in.

 

He'll see Kakyoin up on the rooftop, right?

 

---

 

Lunch. Finally. He had to sit through two entire class periods, one of them being art. Art sucks, it's the harsh truth. His hands couldn't properly grip the paintbrushes, and he never understood the meaning being the paintings the teacher would show. He saw it as just paint on a canvas, nothing special.

 

Jotaro opened the roof door, seeing a familiar figure leaning on the railing, just like yesterday. He made his way over to Kakyoin, sitting next to him on the floor.

 

Kakyoin closed his book when Jotaro sat down, giving him a simple nod of acknowledgment.

 

"What's with the shades?" Jotaro asked, now that he could see Kakyoin's face. He slid his sunglasses down, showing a fairly large bruise on his left eye. Jotaro winced, looking away in guilt. He was right about him giving Kakyoin a black eye.

 

"Sorry."

 

"At least I can cover mine up." Kakyoin slid back up and gestured to Jotaro's bandaged up nose. It was rare for Jotaro to get injured during a one-on-one fight, most of them coming from group fights from the typical punks that would hang around, looking for someone to pick on.

 

"Yeah. Thanks for... uh, yesterday." Jotaro stumbled over his words like a dense child. Kakyoin shrugged, opening up his bento and taking out his chopsticks.

 

"As I said before, I didn't do it for you to thank me," he told Jotaro. 

 

"But you're welcome." Kakyoin quietly added, a sly smile growing on his lips. Jotaro smiled back, albeit his being smaller and lasting for only a few seconds. Kakyoin took a bite of his sushi before looking up at Jotaro.

 

"I don't think we've ever met. Your name is Jotaro... Kunio?"

 

"Kujo." Jotaro corrected him. Kakyoin nodded.

 

"My apologies. I'm Nori-"

 

"Noriaki Kakyoin. I know."

 

Kakyoin furrowed his eyebrows in confusion before giving him another smile. "I didn't think you knew my name."

 

"Don't be so surprised." Jotaro simply said, watching Kakyoin eat another bite of sushi and reopened his book.

 

"What's that book about?" he asked, feeling unnecessarily chatty. Kakyoin scooted closer to Jotaro, showing the book cover.

 

"Common Sense, it's by Thomas Paine. We're required to read this for my world history class."

 

Okay, he and Kakyoin had completely different classes, then. Jotaro took Japanese history, and judging by how try-hard Kakyoin was, he would be in mostly advanced classes. That still didn't explain why Jotaro wouldn't see him around school.

 

"It's a short book, only forty-nine pages. It's very interesting, though. American history interests me."

 

"Really? Tell me about it."

 

Jotaro really couldn't give two shits about American history, that's why he didn't take it as a class. He wouldn't care if anyone else were talking about some stupid British dudes to him, but Kakyoin somehow made him want to listen. Maybe it was his voice, or maybe it was the way he articulated himself. Whenever Kakyoin spoke like this, it didn't sound condescending or overbearing.

 

 

... Why is he getting so into the way Kakyoin spoke? He never thought about it for other people before.

 

 

"And that's when Thomas Paine wrote this book." Kakyoin finished up his mini-lesson with Jotaro. At that time the bell rang, signaling that lunch was over.

 

"Huh." 

 

"Say, what class do you have last?" Kakyoin asked as they were putting away their bento boxes.

 

"Biology. Why do you wanna know?"

 

"With Ms. Yamamoto?"

 

"Yeah."

 

"Alright. I'll drop by your class after school, and then we can get started with cleaning. See you, Jotaro." Kakyoin bid him goodbye when they reached the bottom of the stairs. His next class would be P.E, while Kakyoin had music. He went in the opposite direction, while Jotaro went down a different staircase going to the gym, which was in a separate building.

 

---

 

He's mentioned this before, but biology really is his favorite subject. Sure, subjects like math, chemistry, and physics were simple and he liked them, there was something about biology that he loved. 

 

But he'd like for this class to speed up. He just wanted to hurry up and see Kak-- CLEAN! He wanted to hurry up and clean. And go home. Yeah. Nothing else.

 

He peaked at the clock. Ten minutes left. And what they're learning is easy. He learned this last year! (Macromolecules, if you were wondering.) Sleeping was a possibility, but he had already slept this morning, and P.E got him too worked out to sleep. He could just get up and ditch, but what would the point of leaving class be if you're just going to come back once it ended?

 

Jotaro looked out the window next to him. Sitting in the back of the class had its perks, especially the view he got of the front of the school.

 

"Looks like you have five minutes left of class." Jotaro heard the teacher say. "That should be just enough time for you all to take a pop quiz."

 

Everyone in class groaned. Jotaro remained disinterested, still staring out the window. A pop quiz was the last thing he wanted, even if he knew the topic well enough.

 

"Hey, hey. You guys shouldn't be complaining! It's only a couple of questions, and if you paid attention during class, it'll be an easy A."

 

This made the class calm down a little, and the teacher selected a student to pass around the papers.

 

Good grief. There were ten questions, and Jotaro finished them right when the bell rang. Half of the class went over to the teacher's desk, turning in their papers to her desk. Jotaro stayed in his seat, opting to wait for Kakyoin first and turn in his paper while he was leaving.

 

Jotaro then heard the door slide open. Speak of the devil, it was him. The remaining people in the class looked at Kakyoin before looking back down at their papers. Jotaro got up from his seat, putting his sheet on the desk and making his way to Kakyoin.

 

"Hello, Jotaro." Kakyoin greeted him. Jotaro grunted.

 

---

 

"I was given a list of places we're going to have to clean, along with a few other chores." Kakyoin pulled out a neatly folded sheet of paper from his pocket. Jotaro peered over Kakyoin's shoulders, reading over the chicken scratches on the paper. Who the hell wrote this, and how can Kakyoin even read it?

 

"Whatever." he shrugged, pretending that he didn't care, and not that he was having a mental breakdown.

 

"We can go to the science lab. I believe the chemistry class from the last period had an experiment. We can clean up the test tubes there."

 

"Good grief, let's go then."

 

Chapter 2

"We made some pretty good progress, Jotaro. We finished up almost all of the classroom on the second floor." Kakyoin crossed off another section of the paper. Jotaro huffed, leaning against the wall and momentarily taking off his hat to fan himself off. Running from room to room for the past three hours was more physically taxing than Jotaro thought. 

 

"It's six right now. You should be heading home." Kakyoin pulled up his sleeve to check his watch. Jotaro looked up curiously at Kakyoin.

 

"And you?"

 

Kakyoin twirled his bang in his hair, gesturing to the clutter of cleaning supplies they took out from the supply closet. "I'll put these away."

 

Leaving Kakyoin alone to clean up would be an asshole move, plus the supply closet was on the first floor. But he also wanted to go home.

 

Would it be so bad to leave Kakyoin by himself?

 

... Not that he cares. Jotaro doesn't care! He kept on telling himself this as he pushed himself off the wall. He took one last glance at Kakyoin, who was gathering the brooms they took out. He's probably as tired as Jotaro was, maybe even more. And what if he takes so long that he misses the next train to his house? He shouldn't be forced to spend extra time outside while Jotaro was comfortably in his own home.

 

"Good grief. Don't be stupid, it'll take forever for you to get all that down two flights of stairs." Jotaro grumbled as he picked up a discarded soap bottle and several dirty rags. Jotaro didn't turn around, but he could feel Kakyoin's eyes bore into him. Don't make eye contact, don't make eye contact, don't make eye contact.

 

"Hmph. Suit yourself."

 

---

 

It took an entire hour for the two of them to finish putting away all of the cleaning supplies. Kakyoin slammed the closet door shut before looking at Jotaro, who was sitting on the floor. How the hell was he not sweating? Fucking weird.

 

And also cool...

 

"I'm exhausted... Do you want anything from the vending machine?" he asked. Jotaro wiped a drop of sweat that fell from his eyebrow and gave him a nod. 

 

Kakyoin went out and rounded the corner. Jotaro checked the clock up on the wall. Six, almost seven o'clock. His mom would be making dinner. What type of dinner would Kakyoin have? He wondered if his parents were strict. It would suck if they were, considering he got in trouble defending Jotaro.

 

"I'm back. Catch." Kakyoin came back while Jotaro was mid-thought and tossed the can towards him. He quickly snapped back to attention, his hand snatching the airborne bottle of soda. He looked at the label. Coca-Cola.

 

Muttering a quiet thank you, he opened up the can, taking a small sip. "What'd you get?" he asked Kakyoin.

 

"Peach soda."

 

"Ah. Thought you would've gotten cherry."

 

"May I ask why?"

 

"Cuz... your earrings." he pointed to Kakyoin's cherry-like earrings. Kakyoin touched them and chuckled, toying around with it.

 

"You're right. They're my favorite fruit. The vending machine ran out of cherry soda, so I got second best." he said, joining Jotaro and sitting next to him. He wondered if they were the only people still at school since they ran into most of the sports clubs leaving. A small part of him hoped so.

 

"This wasn't half bad, you know." he heard Kakyoin say. Jotaro raised his eyebrows at him, taking a sip of his coke.

 

"Really."

 

"Mhm. You're not a bad guy, even if you did punch me in the face."

 

Jotaro snorted at this. He had to admit, Kakyoin wasn't the worst, either. He's a decent person, a little weird, but decent. Funny how he deemed him a stuck up student council guy.

 

"Okay, now it's getting late." Kakyoin looked down at his watch, seeing the time. Jotaro inched closer to look at it, even though there was a clock on the wall...

 

He's right. It's a quarter past seven. Kakyoin got up first and offered a hand to Jotaro. "I'm going to assume you take the subway home, right?"

 

Jotaro nodded and took his hand, hoisting himself up. Jesus, his hands are like grabbing ice. It's literally July, how can someone's hands be so cold?

 

"Why the hell are your hands so cold?" he bluntly asked. Kakyoin, visibly stunned by what he said, rubbed his hands together. 

 

"I guess they are."

 

A beat.

 

"Did you know that having cold hands is a body's natural response to regulating one's body temperature? It usually isn't a cause for concern unless it persists and a color change takes place. That usually means you have a problem with the nerves or blood circulation or a problem with tissue damage in your hands or fingers."

 

Interesting. Of course, Kakyoin would know this type of stuff.

 

"And so it's natural for you?"

 

Kakyoin paused, looking back at his hands. "No visible color change. So yes! Although I'm just generalizing. A proper visit to the doctor would only tell."

 

He and Kakyoin walked down the hall and out of the front door. Before leaving, Kakyoin pulled out a key from his pocket, locking the doors behind him. Jotaro looked at the key in his hand in interest.

 

"You have a key to the front door?"

 

"A key to the entire school. Principal Tanaka gave it to me. It looks like being an honor student has its perks."

 

A key to the entire school? Well, it was probably a good thing Kakyoin had the key. God knows what Jotaro would do with that, along with no supervision. 

 

---

 

They continued to the train station, Jotaro throwing away both of their cans into the recycling bin when they reached it.

 

"My ride's coming in ten minutes. What about you?" Kakyoin asked, looking down the train tunnel.

 

"Three."

 

He nodded, going into his school bag to pull out his book. Wait, it's a different one this time! Kakyoin noticed Jotaro's staring and turned the book cover towards him.

 

"This book's called The Edge of the Sea, by Rachel Carson. I believe this was made in... 1955."

 

"Sea?"

 

"That's correct. I have several books by this author. She was a marine biologist. I originally bought this book as a sort of reference for whenever I felt like sketching, but I ended up being entranced by the writing."

 

Marine biology? That sounds... kind of cool.

 

"Here, you should read it. It's very informative about marine life. The illustrations were done by Robert W. Hines, who was a wildlife artist. So it's extremely accurate." Kakyoin slid the book into Jotaro's hands. "Call it a hunch, but I feel that you like this kind of stuff."

 

Jotaro looked at the book in his hands. He wouldn't say he's the type of person that reads for fun or gets excited over books, but... he's kind of looking forward to reading it.

 

"Thanks." he flipped through the pages. At that moment, the subway could be heard from a distance, and in a few seconds, it screeched past them, the noise stopping once the train had reached a halt. Kakyoin's bang flew wildly against his face, which he ignored, instead watching intently as Jotaro skimmed through the pages. He doesn't have that much homework today, just the usual math drills, and kanji. He'll spend half an hour on it, max. Then he'll have the rest of the night to read.

 

"Guess this is where I go. Thanks again for... this." he shook the book in his hand. Kakyoin gave him a thumbs up before going off to sit down on a bench. Jotaro joined the crowd of people wanting to get inside. He ducked down a little as he entered.

 

Damn, even though he thought he got in early, everybody still managed to fill all of the seats, leaving Jotaro to stand. Nothing he wasn't used to, though. He might as well get started on the book Kakyoin gave him.

 

---

 

To say that Jotaro liked the book would be the understatement of the century. He's never reviewed a book before, he found them pretentious, but if he had to, he'd give this book five stars. Even more than five stars! 

 

Sure, he was only on page forty-six, but the pure imagery, the vivid details that were typed onto the book made Jotaro feel as if he was there himself. Every time the author would describe the color of the sea, he felt as he was the one experiencing this! The way she described the setting of a sleepy beach, with seagulls perched on rocks and the small, dingy snails that would move over said rocks, covered with lush, green infinitesimal plants made him feel like he was the one watching them.

 

Jotaro read the book throughout the train ride, to his walk home, even during dinner. His mother wasn't as doting as she was today, giving him space to read which he appreciated (even if he felt a little attention-starved afterward).

 

God damn. He's never been so into a book before. He learned of creatures he didn't even know existed, like that there was a difference between a rough periwinkle and a flat periwinkle.

 

"Jotaro, sweetie. Isn't it getting a little late? You haven't even done your homework, have you?" Holly poked her head in. Jotaro was hunched over his chair, having been reading since eight. He'll do his homework at school, he just had to finish this one chapter after school.

 

"Don't stay up too late! Mommy's going to bed. Love yoouu~!" Holly blew a kiss towards Jotaro. He scowled.

 

"Quit treating me like some fucking kid!"

 

"Okay~!" Holly slid his door close, leaving Jotaro alone. He'll read one more page. One more! Then he'll go to bed.

 

---

 

Jotaro's alarm clock took him out of his sleep. He jerked his head up, looking around in a daze, seeing the open book in front of him. He fell asleep on his desk, mid-reading!

 

At least his mom gave him a blanket...

 

Jotaro rubbed his eyes, looking at the time. Five A.M. If he rushes with getting ready, he'll have extra time to himself. He could do the homework he was supposed to do.

 

Or... he could read a few pages of the book Kakyoin gave him...

 

As he said before, he'll just finish his homework during class.

 

---

 

He bumped into a few people as he was walking to school. It was annoying, but he hoped that he could run into Kakyoin while he was walking. No sign of him, even as he approached the school and made his way into his classroom.

 

When he sat down in his chair, that was when he finally put away the book. Now he has to do his work. At least it's Friday, he has the entire weekend to read.

 

As he stared at the equations in front of him, Jotaro's mind wandered to the book.

 

He remembered one of the passages mentioning Florida and how their marine life was so... well, lively. He originally didn't have much interest in America, but now he's really thinking about moving there. Maybe buy a beach house or something. And... he kind of really wants to become a marine biologist?! Like that Rachel Carson woman, he wanted to find out more about the sea. There could be thousands, millions of species that haven't been discovered yet.

 

Jotaro wanted to discover one. He wanted to write about the ocean, about the things he saw. God, he's getting ahead of himself, but he seriously had to thank Kakyoin, and maybe even tell him about it.

 

He should've asked about where he goes in the morning. Or about his classes, really. All he knows is that he has music as his second to last class on A days. Today's a B day, and he has no idea where Kakyoin is. It's a shame that the only time they get to spend together is after school, but it's probably for the better. Fewer people around to annoy him.

 

"Everyone, to your seats." the teacher announced when he came into the room. The sound of footsteps thumping against the floor filled the room, the occasional nearly-tardy student coming in as everyone rushed to their chairs. The teacher started writing on the chalkboard.

 

"Today, we will be writing an essay. You're all seniors, so you should be thinking about the college you want to go to. That's what our topic will be about."

 

A student raised her hand. The teacher called on her and she stood up. "Mr. Sato, does the essay have to be in English? And why are we doing essays when the break is a week away?"

 

Several students voiced their agreements on her last statement.

 

"This is an English class, I shouldn't have to explain any further. But I'll give you guys the benefit of the doubt and make the minimum paragraphs be three instead of five, so this should be relatively straightforward."

 

The student sat back down, and the teacher continued talking. "Okay, Keiko will be giving you all papers for some outlining. Your first paragraph will be about what you'd like to major in, the second should be what college you're attending, and your third paragraph should be about why you chose said college."

 

Normally Jotaro would agree with everyone's complaints (because who in their right mind would like to write an essay in English?) But he could use this as practice.

 

---

 

The rooftop was littered with cherry blossoms, much more than usual. It was a particularly windy day, which was strange but didn't stop Jotaro and Kakyoin from going up there to eat.

 

"I wanna become a marine biologist." he suddenly blurted out.

 

"Mmph?" Kakyoin, mouth full of rice, looked up from his bento in surprise.

 

"Yeah."

 

Kakyoin swallowed his food before resuming. "Was it because of the book I gave you?" he asked, pointing at the book in Jotaro's hands. He nodded.

 

"Yeah. I like it," he said, sliding down from the wall he was leaning against, laying down on the floor. Kakyoin peered curiously at him.

 

"... You said you had more books by her, right?"

 

"I do. Would you like for me to bring them on Monday?"

 

"... Yeah. That'd be cool."

 

"No problem~." Kakyoin put his bento next to him, laying down with Jotaro.

 

"Hey. Where do you go before class starts?" he asked, brushing away the cherry blossoms that flew onto his face.

 

"Hmm?" Kakyoin glanced amusedly at Jotaro. "Why do you want to know? It's nothing special."

 

He's keeping it a secret? Cool, that's cool. Jotaro took out his book, using it to cover the blinding sun that shone in his face. 

 

"What're you gonna do when you graduate?" he asked after a few minutes of silence. Kakyoin didn't respond.

 

"I don't know," he admitted, his eyes focussed on the sky. Jotaro turned his head towards him.

 

"You got any hobbies?"

 

"Painting, music, reading, the usual. And I guess... video games. I can't imagine myself having a job centered around it, though."

 

"Artist?"

 

"I'd rather not. Painting is something I do for fun."

 

"Composer?"

 

"... Same as painting"

 

"What about an author? You like books, so maybe you can write some."

 

Kakyoin chuckled, raising himself from the floor. "I'll keep that in mind, I suppose." he nudged his nearly empty bento to Jotaro, offering it to him. Jotaro took out his chopsticks and took a few pieces of fish.

 

"Where else are we supposed to clean?" he asked as he ate.

 

"Well, today I was thinking about doing the bottom floor this time, considering what happened yesterday. We can start with the art room first and work down there."

 

"Good grief. I swear the next time I see Principal Tanaka I'll kick his ass. So damn annoying." Jotaro sighed, finishing up the last piece of fish.

 

"At least he didn't make us work during our break. Tell you what, we'll clean up three rooms today and leave early."

 

"Fuck yeah. Stick it to that old geezer."

 

---

 

The art room was a mess. It looked as if a tornado had gone off in the room. Kakyoin grimaced as he stepped over an already painted canvas laying facedown on the ground, picking it up and setting it back on the easel.

 

"Good freakin' grief," he whispered to himself, reaching out to the paint-splattered wall. Art students are... something.

 

"I'll go get some mops. Maybe we'll just stop here and go home when we finish." Kakyoin turned his heels around and went out to the hallway.

 

If we finish.

 

Jotaro decided to walk around, evaluating the mess they had to clean up. What the hell were they doing here? Having a party? What type of artist leaves their work laying so carelessly on the ground? Even someone as artistically-lacking as Jotaro knew there’d be no way someone would treat their work like that.

 

"Hold it, Kujo!" a voice demanded him the moment he bent down to pick up another strewn canvas. He didn't have to turn around to know who it was (or more... where they're from).

 

"Good grief. I thought that talk I gave you last month scared you away."

 

The student council president stayed put, his tone accusatory. "I heard you were given cleaning duties for the next two weeks. I also heard you brought down Kakyoin with you!"

 

This guy has no idea what he's talking about, does he? Jotaro refused to turn around. Just hearing that geeky-ass president's voice made his blood boil.

 

"What. I didn't even do anythi--"

 

"Save your excuses! I refuse to let such an exceptional student like Kakyoin give into your delinquent tendencies! And I'll be sure to report to the principal about you wreaking havoc in the art room!"

 

"What, you got a boner for Kakyoin? Don't bring him up into your stupid theories, asshat."

 

The council president sputtered, clearly at a loss for words. If he knew what was good for him, he'd stay quiet.

 

He didn't stay fucking quiet.

 

 "I... You... The principal will hear about this! And when he does, he'll have you work even more! And I'll even have him force you to leave Kakyoin alo--"

 

"SHUT THE HELL UP! You're fucking annoying!" Jotaro finally snapped, whirling his body around to meet the pompous little shit. Furiously marching over to him, Jotaro prepared himself to beat the living daylight of this guy. Sure, he'd get in even more trouble for getting into another fight, and knowing that the president would exaggerate to the principal just to make Jotaro look even worse crossed his mind, but his anger quickly chased the thought away.

 

Just one punch, get a good punch in, and reap the consequences later. He just needs to think of a snappy one-liner to say.

 

"Take this to the principals' office." Jotaro snarled at the other, readying his fist.

 

"Hey, hey! What's going on here?" a hand suddenly clamped down on the council president's shoulder. He flinched before turning around.

 

"Kakyoin! I thought you left!" he tried to inch away from Kakyoin and his iron-clad grip. 

 

"Ah, it seems that I forgot your name."

 

"It's Hach--"

 

"I didn't ask. To what do we owe the pleasure?"

 

The council president shifted awkwardly, refusing to meet Kakyoin's ice-cold stare that was hidden behind his sunglasses. "I-I... You see, I was just patrolling, and I saw Kujo here, so..." he trailed away from his sentence.

 

"Well, I already heard everything, so don't rush yourself. Do you think I'm incapable of defending myself? Do you see yourself as my bodyguard?"

 

"No! Of course not! Haha! I just wanted to make sure he wasn't bothering you or anything."

 

"With all due respect, you need to screw off," Kakyoin said, his voice void of any geniality. He kept his hand on the president's shoulder for an extra second before withdrawing it. The president quickly ran off in the opposite direction.

 

"How tiresome," Kakyoin grumbled under his breath. Jotaro would agree, but the beating of his heart was a little distracting. God damn, it's getting kind of hot, isn't it? That must explain why his face is heating up, too.

 

"I could've handled it myself." Jotaro pulled down his hat in a feeble attempt to hide his face. Kakyoin scoffed, rolling his eyes.

 

"You were about to punch him."

 

"What? You're sticking up for that guy?"

 

"I wouldn't dream of it. I was going to say that you should just wait until graduation to punch him. That way the school can't do anything to punish you. Obviously ."

 

... He had a point. Pummeling that dictator-like president into the dirt would be the best going-away present he'd ever receive, but next March felt like years away.

 

"Anyways! Get started on mopping, Jotaro." Kakyoin tossed an already-wet mop towards him. It squelched when Jotaro pushed it to the paint-covered floor. He didn't move it at all.

 

"What, you don't know how to mop?"

 

"Shut up."

 

He's never mopped before.

 

---

 

"It's eight o'clock! That art room was more difficult than I imagined." Kakyoin stretched his arms as he and Jotaro walked down to the subway station. Jotaro kept to himself, his eyes focussed heavily on the concrete they walked on.

 

"Hey, Jotaro. You look like you have something on your mind." 

 

He brought his gaze to Kakyoin's curious one. He struggled with what he would say. The truth is... he wanted Kakyoin's number. Just to update him with the book! But Jotaro never asked for someone's number before... he didn't want to seem weird or anything.

 

"... Hungry." he fibbed.

 

"You're hungry? There's a convenience store right across from us, and we have enough time for a short detour."

 

Jotaro mentally chided himself as they entered the store. He's not even god damn hungry, but he allowed himself to pick out a bar of dark chocolate from the candy section. Kakyoin had bought a bag of cherries.

 

"Do you have money? I don't mind paying if you don't." Kakyoin asked when the cashier said the total. Jotaro shook his head, going into his pocket and taking out a couple of crinkled bills.

 

Now's the perfect timing, right? All he has to do is casually bring up exchanging numbers. Just say it! Say it!

 

"Kmm..." Jotaro tried bringing Kakyoin's attention by saying his name, only to cover himself up by clearing his throat. Kakyoin, unfortunately, didn't hear, being too busy trying to open the bag of cherries. Jotaro unwrapped his chocolate bar, biting down on it as his brain raced.

 

They left the store to settle down on a nearby bench, a comfortable stillness between them. Now would be a great time to ask for Kakyoin's number!

 

"Hey..." Jotaro looked up from the half-eaten chocolate bar in his hand, only to see Kakyoin rolling a cherry around his tongue. Kakyoin paused, raising an eyebrow at him.

 

"What? Do you want one?"

 

Jotaro hoped that the look on his face wasn't one of disgust. It was a little weird, but also surprisingly endearing? He nodded, taking a cherry from the bag and popping it in his mouth.

 

"Did you know that the term cherry came from the Latin term cerasum, which is where the name Cerasus came from, the city where the cherry was first exported to Europe?"

 

"It's a good cherry," he commented before spitting out the pit onto the grass. Kakyoin grinned at him, slightly slouching down in his seat.

 

"So, what're your plans for the weekend?"

 

Jotaro shrugged. To be completely honest, he doesn't do anything on the weekends. He has nobody to hang out with, so he spends most of his time in his room.

 

"Not doing anything? Then... We could go out on Saturday. I'll even give you the books early."

 

Spending his boring, lonesome Saturday with Kakyoin? Friends usually do things like hanging out when there wasn't any school. Does that mean Kakyoin considers them friends? Friends... Jotaro's unfamiliar with the term. Maybe that explains the rapid heartbeat he gets whenever he thinks about Kakyoin! The way his face seemingly heats up, the tightness in his stomach, it made so much more sense now!

 

Jotaro... wants to be Kakyoin's friend! He's never felt so compelled to be so close to someone, but this must be his internal longing for one. And Kakyoin never annoyed him, excluding when they first met...

 

"Where?" he asked. Kakyoin hummed, tapping his chin thoughtfully.

 

"We could always go to the cafe. If you give me your number, we can talk about it more." Kakyoin nonchalantly suggested. Jotaro quickly turned his head away, hiding his gradually reddening face.

 

"Sure. I don't care," he said, caring a lot more than he should.

 

---

 

So Jotaro had gotten through one hurdle, getting Kakyoin's number. The next one was calling him. He wanted to call Kakyoin as soon as he got home, but that would seem desperate. And Jotaro isn't desperate.

 

"Jotaro! Are you waiting for someone's call?" Holly suddenly poked her head into the living room, where Jotaro was sitting in the armchair and keenly eyeing the landline that sat on the side table.

 

"Mind your damn business."

 

"Okay! I'm going out to the store to buy some vegetables for dinner! Stay safe, honey! Mommy loves you!"

 

Jotaro didn't react, staying still until he heard the front door close behind his mother. His hand hovered over the phone, considering whether he should call or not.

 

This has to be the most challenging and mentally taxing thing he's ever experienced. Call or don't call? What if Kakyoin's waiting for him to call first?

 

After pondering about it for a while, he decided to swallow his nerves and call first. He picked up the phone. All he has to do is pick up the phone, dial his number, and wait! No big deal. No big deal...

 

His hand faltered over the dial, and he glanced at a scrap of paper on the side table that had Kakyoin's number. Taking a deep breath, he pushed in the numbers.

 

And he waited... and waited...

 

"Hello?" Kakyoin answered after a few seconds.

 

"Hey."

 

"Jotaro! I was actually about to call you."

 

So far, so good. They're having a nice, semi-awkward conversation. All Jotaro has to do is keep the conversation .

 

"Anyway, we can either go to the cafe or the arcade. Any preferences?" Kakyoin got straight to the point. Truthfully, he didn't care where they went. An arcade would be fun, except he's not a big video game player. The most he's even played was Pac-Man for twenty minutes.

 

"Which cafe?" Jotaro asked.

 

"Well, I'm sure you don't want to go to one of those themed cafes, so I did a little research and I found a regular one that I think you'd like. It's not crowded or loud, we'd practically be the only people there."

 

"Sounds good. What time?"

 

"We can meet at the subway station at ten."

 

"'kay."

 

"Great!" Jotaro heard some voices in the background, what he assumed to be his mother calling him. "Ah, sorry to cut this short, but I have to go. See you later."

 

"Bye..."

 

And Kakyoin hung up. Putting down the phone, Jotaro slumped down in the chair. He breathed a sigh of relief. He didn't look desperate at all! He played it cool! And now he's hanging out with Kakyoin! Yes!

 

... He got way too excited over this. But it's his first time going anywhere with someone that wasn't family. Should he get to the subway early? Right on time? A few minutes late? Why is he overthinking this so much?

 

Maybe reading a little bit would calm his nerves.

 

Jotaro got up and went over to his room, where his bookbag was laying on the floor. He took out the book and flopped down on his futon, opening it and flipping to his bookmarked page. He was almost finished with it, which felt kind of bittersweet in an odd way. Sure, he's gotten a little too attached to a book, but in his defense, it was a good one. Kakyoin did have good taste.

 

---

 

"So, did you get your call, honey?" Holly asked as they sat at the dinner table. Jotaro nodded, too busy relishing in the sheer deliciousness of his mother's cooking.

 

"Who was it?"

 

"Someone from school," he said through a mouthful of meat. Holly giggled, her giddiness making Jotaro suspicious.

 

"A girl from your school?" she prodded. Jotaro suddenly understood what she was hinting at. Gross.

 

"No."

 

"A boy! Well, what was the call about?"

 

"Stop being nosy, you bitch." Jotaro didn't want to talk more. His mom would just make things weird for him. As if he wasn't feeling weird enough about Kakyoin. 

 

"Okay!"

 

Notes:

every time i write on impulse it's mainly bc of lady gaga. bro her songs give me so many ideas it's scary... hence the title lmaoo but anyway! jotaro is small brain dummy who doesn't know what love is.

um, would u guys be disappointed if i told u guys i wrote this entire series in like one night. the sole thing stopping me from uploading the whole thing is the fact that i added stupid authors notes in the middle of the paragraphs. oh and spelling and pacing issues but mainly the notes.

i remember i had to read the edge of the sea in like 7th or 8th grade for some dumb gifted & talented assignment. the book was great! didn't want to become a marine biologist straight out, but it made me wanna learn how to swim again (a mistake)

i hated gt though it sucked ass and i wasn't even gifted or talented and that's on onika maraj xo

no beta this chapter bc i was too lazy to ask. i used google docs to double-check which speaks volumes about who i am as a person. :)

Chapter 3

Notes:

um slight jojolion and MAJOR stone ocean spoilers in the notes.

Jotaro took a deep breath as he restlessly tapped his foot, trying his best to ignore the menacing anxiety that rose in his chest. It's sad. He, Jotaro Kujo, feeling anxious? He'd laugh if he found it at all funny.

 

 He came to the subway at ten exactly, but why the hell is it so crowded here? With all of these people around, it made it even harder to find Kakyoin, considering how easily he seemed to blend in despite his flowy, silky smooth red hair, his lean yet muscular body, his ridiculously broad and sturdy shoulders...

 

Um... What was he thinking about again? Something something, find Kakyoin.

 

Speaking of Kakyoin, he wondered what he was wearing. Jotaro, being an indecisive idiot, decided on wearing his school uniform, too nervous to change anything up. Why would he wear his uniform in a casual setting?

 

Because it's the only type of clothing he's comfortable in.

 

He's going to look like a complete idiot. He's now considering which would be worse, being seen as the violent delinquent everyone else makes him out to be, or an anti-social moron who never spoke to people apart of his age group outside of school?

 

The second option. Which is ironically what he is.

 

"Jotaro, there you are!" he then heard Kakyoin call out to him. And to Jotaro's surprise, he too was in his uniform.

 

Thank God.

 

"The subway station is pretty crowded..." Kakyoin looked around at the mass of people, a hint of disappointment in his eyes. He then shrugged his shoulders, turning back to Jotaro. The subway then arrived, a crowd of people almost instantly gathering to it.

 

"Shall we?" Kakyoin gestured to the opening doors. 

 

Luckily, unlike last time, there were some seats left on. Jotaro and Kakyoin quickly claimed them before anyone else could. A few minutes passed until the subway finally left the station.

 

---

 

The two teens walked down the sidewalk, passing by several clothing stores and cafes. Several people had stopped to stare at them, which annoyed Jotaro to no end. He should be used to it by now, but it somehow never failed to anger Jotaro. Kakyoin looked calm and collected, not paying any mind to people's obvious gawking.

 

"Here it is," Kakyoin said, pointing up to a small cafe, squished between two bigger brand establishments. He opened the door for Jotaro, who stepped in, judging the interior.

 

Well, it's styling is certainly unique, he'll give it that. It's striped purple wallpaper was... flashy. And the tables had an unnervingly romantic theme to it, hearts being carved up the wooden table legs. At least Kakyoin was right about this place being empty.

 

"What're you craving today, JoJo?" Kakyoin asked, peering down at the display of sweets in front of them.

 

He stared at Kakyoin in surprise, not expecting him to use his nickname.

 

"I overheard some people calling you that. Do you hate it?"

 

"Those annoying girls call me JoJo. I hate when they do that," he muttered, tugging down at his hat. "But... if you wanna call me JoJo, I don't really care."

 

He cared. He cared so much that it was unbelievable. Jotaro heard lots of people around him call him JoJo, which he didn't pay much mind to. But Kakyoin calling him JoJo felt different. Bizarrely different. It was the usual rapid heartbeat, scarlet hued face, and sweaty palms for him. 

 

The signals of friendship are terrifying...

 

"I see." Kakyoin nodded his head, his bang bouncing with him, a growing smile on his lips. Not that Jotaro was looking at his lips. His mouth was just so wide he couldn't help but stare.

 

"Do you like tiramisu, JoJo?"

 

"Never tried it."

 

"Me either. Excuse me, may I have two tiramisus, if you please?" Kakyoin looked up and signaled to the worker, who was lazily flipping through a magazine a couple of feet away as they were talking. They got up and retrieved the orders, giving them to Kakyoin.

 

"Tiramisu is believed to have originated from Italy. More specifically Veneto." Kakyoin said as they sat down on the chairs. Kakyoin pushed a plate to Jotaro.

 

"Really." Jotaro took a bite out of it with his fork. A hint of mocha greeted him when he tasted it, along with the creamy richness and smooth milk chocolate that wasn't overbearingly sugary, but just enough to immensely satiate his sweet tooth. His expectations were greatly exceeded, the decor detouring him away from their cakes the first time he came in.

 

"Mhm. It's said that the name was inspired by the French dish Tiremesù ." Kakyoin did the same as Jotaro, taking his fork and having a small slice.

 

"How do you know this stuff?" 

 

"I like to be knowledgeable about things I'm not familiar with," he replied. "Did you also know what tiramisu is said to have aphrodisiac effects?" Kakyoin stabbed the spongy cake with his fork, waving a piece around before taking a bite. "They used to be sold at brothels," he added, looking down at Jotaro's now empty plate.

 

"You're done already?" he asked, slightly impressed. Jotaro shrugged his shoulders, pulling down the tip of his hat.

 

"It's alright, I guess," he said, trying to wave off how much he enjoyed it.

 

"Here, have a little of mine." Kakyoin offers. Jotaro expected him to give the plate to him, but instead, he extended his fork to Jotaro, the heavenly tiramisu on it.

 

Jotaro, having a one-set mind, immediately dove for it, only to pause while the fork was in his mouth to realize that Kakyoin was feeding him.

 

He jerked his head away, already feeling the rising temperature on his face. His palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms heavy. And seeing Kakyoin almost burst out laughing should bother him, but the sight of him looking so relaxed and lively made him feel... well, satisfied, in a type of way.

 

---

 

Once the two of them calmed down from the whole feeding tiramisu fiasco, Kakyoin decided to call it a day, but not before stopping by a bookstore on their way to the subway. They had a light conversation while they were walking, talking about whatever they wanted to talk about. Surprisingly, Jotaro spoke up more than two times, even beginning some topics himself.

 

He's never really felt this... comfortable around someone before. It was an alluring coziness that he felt whenever they were together. It's weird, but he felt like Kakyoin understood him. Like he could express himself without directly expressing himself with Kakyoin. They've only known each other for a few days, but he felt remarkably connected to the other teen.

 

"JoJo, here." Kakyoin returned from the checkout center, a small box in his hands. "I ordered some extra books in here, too. They're by different authors, but I hope that won't make much difference."

 

"Thanks." Jotaro accepted the box with both hands, a childish excitement slowly crawling upon him. "I'm almost done with the book you first gave me. Uh, do you want that back?"

 

"If you like it that much, then you should be the one keeping it," Kakyoin said, a smile on his face that made Jotaro's heart leap in his chest. He quickly used his hat to cover his face.

 

"We should get to the station. Unless... you have somewhere else in mind?" Kakyoin cast a sideways glance to Jotaro. He thought for a second, looking around the buildings for any new ideas. He spotted an ad for a supposed video game.

 

'Sumo Fighters IV!' 

 

"Hey, do you like sumo?" Jotaro asked. He nodded. "Do you maybe... want to..." Just say it! Just ask if he wanted to go to a sumo match! Kakyoin likes sumo, so he wouldn't have a problem with him asking.

 

But... what if he did? What if Kakyoin didn't want to go with him? He usually never overthinks anything. 

 

Kakyoin looked at him curiously, noticing that Jotaro had stopped talking. Jotaro struggled to get any words out, yet again.

 

"... Ssss..." he tried repeating what he said but failed. He felt like one of those shallow girls who'd try to confess to him. Jotaro looked back at the video game ad, trying to calm himself down.

 

Kakyoin's eyes followed where Jotaro was staring at. After seeing the ad, he snapped his fingers, connecting the pieces. "You wanted to go to a sumo match? I think that'd be great!" 

 

Jotaro nodded, thankful that Kakyoin managed to find out what he wanted to say. 

 

"I believe I saw an upcoming match next Friday night in the newspaper. We can go preorder tickets right now. I think it'll be a good way to start our break!"

 

Ah, a nice sumo match after cleaning the school for the whole midday really would be a good way to start the break. Especially with Kakyoin.

 

"Let's go order those tickets. Then we should be heading home."

 

---

 

"Jotaro!" his mother ran up to him once he entered the house. He sighed as she peppered him with kisses. He felt a little bad leaving and not telling her, but she'd ask too many questions. Questions he probably didn't have the answer to.

 

Wait... her eyes were red and teary. Was she crying? Who the hell made his mom cry?!

 

"What's with you?" he asked, ready to punch someone. Holly wiped away a stray tear, smiling nonchalantly. 

 

"It's nothing, honey! I was just watching a movie and it pulled on a few heartstrings."

 

Oh. His mom had started to get into the habit of watching sappy movies in her spare time, which Jotaro hated. The movies made no sense, plot-wise, and were just mindless romance. Gross. At least nobody hurt her...

 

"Do you want a snack? I can make something for you." she offered. Jotaro shook his head, the tiramisu already filled his stomach. All he wanted to do was curl up in his futon and read.

 

And that's exactly what he did.

 

For a few hours, anyway. His mom started a new movie, which was playing at such a loud volume, he could hear it from his closed door. Good grief.

 

“But you love him! It's meant to be!”

 

“I could never fall in love! With a man like him... with anyone!”

 

“You’re such a child! Haven't you ever fallen in love before?”

 

“No. And I never will. He's just a friend to me!”

 

He can't read with all of this noise. He'll just read when his mom goes to bed. But first...

 

He needs a snack. Some leftovers, at least. He got up from his futon and left his room, going into the kitchen. He overheard the movie dialogue as he dug through the fridge. 

 

“But you told me he makes you feel something! Out of all the people that surround you, he's different, isn't he?!”

 

How scary. He relates to a movie protagonist.

 

“... Yeah. So what?”

 

“Doesn't something strange happen to you whenever he's around?”

 

“Obviously. My heart speeds up every time I see and think of him, every time I try speaking to him, I stutter and stumble over my words! But it doesn't mean anything! I'm not in love.”

 

The main characters in these movies are so frustrating. She has feelings for the guy, it's painfully evident. The entire movie would be over if they just had proper communication or if the protagonist wasn’t so painfully out of touch with her emotions.

 

“You're so dense! Doesn't seeing him happy make you feel something?”

 

“Of course! I feel like I'm floating every time he smiles at me. It makes me feel... like everything in the world is right.”

 

Huh. Even though the main character's stupider than a rock, he sees a few parallels with him and Kakyoin. Except that he's not in love with Kakyoin. Kakyoin just makes him feel different, that's all.

 

“Wait. No way…”

 

Kakyoin just makes him feel himself. He makes Jotaro feel so comfortable and... he wanted to be with Kakyoin all of the time. 

 

“I can't be…”

 

He wanted to be with Kakyoin all of the time...

 

“I'm…”

 

He wanted to be with Kakyoin...

 

“I'm in love?!”

 

Does he like Kakyoin?!

 

Holy shit. Holy fucking shit. No way. No way. There's no way he fell for Kakyoin, right?! Just because he thinks about Kakyoin constantly, gets nervous around him, and seeing him happy adds an extra twenty years to his life doesn't mean he's in love! 

 

Haha! Someone like Jotaro falling in love. Absolutely not! Kakyoin's snarky, arrogant, self-righteous, considerate, handsome, confident, intelligent... 

 

His type. Fuck, he fell for Kakyoin.

 

"Jotaro, are you okay? You've been in the fridge for a while." Holly called out. Jotaro wordlessly slammed the fridge door close, walking back into his room in a daze. He sat down on his chair, burying his head in his hands.

 

Love... Kakyoin... It makes so much sense, yet it doesn't! Him, crushing on a guy? A guy who he has ZERO chance with?

 

A knock on his wall was heard, and Holly quietly slipped in. "Jotaro, what's wrong? You've been acting strange."

 

He should've shooed her away, telling her to mind her own business. But... he wants to know.

 

"... What do you do if you like someone...?"

 

He expected Holly to explode with giddiness, to pester him with questions or something. But... to his surprise, she stayed calm.

 

"Just be yourself, sweetie!" she said, resting a soothing hand on his shoulder. Jotaro held back a remark. Be yourself? What is this, some kids show? That's so cheesy and incorrect. He's already being himself.

 

"I'll let you think about it. Goodnight, honey." she gave Jotaro a quick peck on the cheek before leaving. Stupid feelings. Stupid romance. Stupid, beautiful Kakyoin.

 

Notes:

no notes. not in the mood.

lmaoo jk when am i ever not in the mood? anyway i hate araki. this man took away kakyoin and jolyne he's not gonna kill [redacted] too!! if they die... i honestly won't do anything but i'll cry a lot.

anywayz i've been binging carole & tuesday. so good i have like 5 of their songs on my spotify playlist. one of their songs makes me wanna write another impulse fic... ew, no way. i gotta focus on my other ones. but... jolyne x hermes is lookin pretty appealing. screw jotakak its jolymes season!

Chapter 4

Jotaro slammed his fist onto the desk he was cleaning. It left a small dent. Kakyoin gazed at him, a smirk on his face.

 

"What's wrong, JoJo? Did some girl bother you?" he asked while wiping the chalkboard. Jotaro shook his head. The girls he encountered daily were a hassle, but it wasn't what was on his mind.

 

It was his art class. For some unholy reason, the art teacher had decided to give them one last project before the break. Useless art class! He didn't even need to know how to use a color wheel! He's horrible with anything art related, and that very thing was dragging his A B average to an A, B, and one C average.

 

It's not like he had a choice, anyway. It was either art or home economics, and he didn't look forward to trying to hold a needle and sewing. But now he was regretting his choice.

 

The thing he was mad about was the fact that his art teacher had assigned them a pottery project!

 

Pottery! The thing that needed delicate and tender hands, the opposite of Jotaro's calloused, clumsy, oversized hands. Kakyoin would have better luck with pottery. His hands moved nimbly with a flick of his wrists. His long, slender fingers had such precision, even when handling mundane objects like a pen or a broom handle with dexterity, they'd wrap around it like a coil. It was mesmerizing!

 

Being in love sucks.

 

"Pottery."

 

"Oh, I heard your art class had a project. You have to make a vase, correct?"

 

"Yeah."

 

Kakyoin hummed, stepping away from the chalkboard and sitting on the desk in front of Jotaro, kicking his feet up on the chair.

 

"They have a potter's wheel in the art room. I've only done pottery a few times, but I don't mind helping. I'm getting bored of cleaning right now, too."

 

An angel! Kakyoin's an angel sent from heaven, here to save his near failing grade! He could kiss him, he WOULD kiss him, but he's a coward.

 

Kakyoin hopped off the desk, and Jotaro followed, going down a few flights of stairs and into the art room.

 

The clean art room, by the way. Everything looked properly taken care of, all of the canvases safely on the easels and paint closed and stored away. Jotaro wondered what happened to the students the last time they cleaned.

 

"It's strange, isn't it?" Kakyoin saw Jotaro's shocked eyes as they went over to the row of pottery wheels. "It's clean here. I don't like spreading conspiracies, but I couldn't help but wonder if maybe the art students didn't make the mess from last time."

 

This got Jotaro's attention. He sat down on one of the stools, listening closely to see if Kakyoin would continue. If Kakyoin had something to say, it was probably important. No, not probably, it is important.

 

"When that president came in, I couldn't help but notice that there was a splatter of paint on the hems of his pants. Along with his timing, I'd say that he was trying to frame you or something."

 

Jotaro understood where he was getting at. Although he didn't pay much attention to what the president ranted about, he had taken note of some suspicious things he had said back then. Something about reporting him for ruining the art room, or whatever. He didn't care at first.

 

"Wow. The student council really has it out for you, huh?" Kakyoin smirked at him as he went over to the apron rack, tying one around his waist. He tossed one to Jotaro, who did the same.

 

"I didn't do shit. They just think all I do is start fights with everything that moves."

 

Kakyoin adjusted his sunglasses. "It's a shame they assume that about you. You're better than that."

 

Jotaro looked away. "Whatever. Everyone thinks that about me, so I'm used to it." it didn't matter what type of person people saw him as. He couldn't be bothered with that. It was just annoying.

 

"Let's get started then. When is your project due?" Kakyoin got next Jotaro, taking a sparkly, silver barrette adorned with flora-like gems from his pocket and tying his bang back. 

 

"Friday. Where'd you get that girly hair clip?"

 

"A girl in my music class gave it to me. I lost my hair tie during school, so she said I could keep hers. My hair doesn't mix well with violins."

 

"She probably likes you, then. It looks expensive," he commented. Kakyoin chuckled.

 

"I guess she does. It's too bad I'm not interested in girls."

 

What.

 

"Then, you..." Jotaro tried to hide the eagerness in his voice.

 

"Yeah. I like guys." He cast a look at Jotaro. "It's okay with you, right? I never told anyone this before. I'm trusting you, Jotaro."

 

Trust... Kakyoin trusts him. And Jotaro trusts him back. It's a scary feeling, the feeling of him wanting to be completely vulnerable to someone, wanting someone to accept him so badly, and feeling so calm yet so anxious around someone. If Jotaro could, he would confess this all to Kakyoin. He'd tell him all of his conflicting emotions.

 

But he wasn't ready. Not yet.

 

He nodded, tipping the bill of his hat down. "It's alright. I don't care who you like."

 

And that's when Kakyoin smiled. Not one of his small, polite smiles, or his closed-mouth smiles. He actually smiled at Jotaro. Kakyoin's teeth are captivating. How? He didn't have a clue. They're just so perfect. 

 

And, just as quickly as Kakyoin smiled, his hand darted to cover his mouth. 

 

"Thank you, JoJo."

 

---

 

"My hands are all clay...ey? Is clayey a word?" Jotaro asked as he wiped the already dry clay onto his smock.

 

"I believe it is." he closed his eyes, trying to recount some information from before. "It's an adjective. Containing or resembling clay."

 

"Cool." he got up to go to the nearby sink. Kakyoin had already washed his hands while Jotaro was trying to turn in his project to his art teacher. He was lucky she was still in the teacher's room this late.

 

"What did she say about your vase, by the way?" Kakyoin asked as Jotaro washed his hands.

 

"She said it was great. I got an A, which raises my C to a B."

 

"Bravo, JoJo! You know, such a feat deserves a reward, don't you think?" Kakyoin gave him a small applause. Jotaro shrugged, drying off his hands and walking with Kakyoin as they went down the hall.

 

"Yeah. I'd kill for a soda."

 

"We'll stop by the convenience store again! You should pick out a few snacks, too."

 

Hmm... snacks. He should, it'll be good for reading.

 

"Sounds good. My mom gave me my allowance on Sunday, so I'll have enough to stock up." Jotaro said, going into his wallet and counting the bills in it.

 

"Mine, too! How much did she give you?"

 

"¥8,813. Yours?"

 

"¥6,687. Your mom gives you a lot, JoJo."

 

He shrugged. He didn't really think it was that much, but maybe it was. His entire family was known for going way overboard with... well, everything.

 

"Speaking of a lot... Guess what I got in the mail this morning!" Kakyoin dug deep into his uniform pocket, pulling out two tickets. 

 

"The sumo tickets? Is it supposed to come that fast?"

 

"Ha, that's what she said. I thought they would've been shipped at least by Thursday, but I'm not the type to complain. Here, you can take yours." Kakyoin handed the paper to Jotaro, who folded it up and put it in his school bag. It was important, he'd hate to have it lost or stolen.

 

"Have you seen that commercial for those weird chips?" Kakyoin asked when they entered the store. They browsed the snack section together, picking out whatever they desired.

 

"The one with the banana mascot? It's creepy as hell."

 

"Exactly. I wouldn't be surprised if they received complaints about how it scared a bunch of kids. So let's buy it!" Kakyoin plopped two bags of banana chips into the shopping basket Jotaro was carrying. Jotaro tossed in a few fruit gummies he saw appealing.

 

"Kakyoin. You tried this before?" Jotaro called out, waving a bag of cherry-flavored licorice. Well, they actually could be strawberry, considering how it's red and doesn't outright say the flavor.

 

"Twizzlers? Never had it. Sounds American."

 

"... Do you want it? Cuz I kinda do."

 

"Hell yeah. We have the money, so why not spend it?"

 

"Reckless. I like it."

 

---

 

They had spent almost all of their money on snacks. Yet, Jotaro didn't regret it at all, and Kakyoin didn't either. They were sitting in their usual spot: the bench near the convenience store, where they instantly dug into their bought food.

 

"How's that Twuzzler?" he asked, watching as Kakyoin slurped the licorice string like a spaghetti noodle. Jotaro would be surprised if he didn't see Kakyoin assault a cherry with his tongue a few days ago.

 

" Twizzler. It's good, try it." Kakyoin shoved the bag of candy into Jotaro's hand. He took one, ripping it apart with his teeth.

 

"..."

 

"Well?" Kakyoin asked, eating another Twizzler.

 

"This tastes like ass," he grunted, spitting it out. Kakyoin took the remaining licorice from Jotaro's hand, eating it instantly.

 

"You have no taste. Tsk, tsk, tsk."

 

"How can you even eat that? It's so bad." he guzzled down his cola, trying to wash the taste out of his mouth.

 

"I'd rather lick a chair than eat that," Jotaro said, wiping the soda that dripped down to his chin.

 

"Really? A chair from where?"

 

He didn't hesitate with his answer. "A subway station chair."

 

"That's so unsanitary. Imagine the diseases you'd get from even putting your tongue near it. I bet you'd get warts in your throat."

 

"That's not even possible. On my tongue, maybe ."

 

Kakyoin laughed. "Look who's a know-it-all now!"

 

"I'm not a know-it-all. I just don't exaggerate as much as you do."

 

Small fits of laughter could be heard for the other as he drank his cherry soda. Jotaro opened up the bag of banana chips, trying his best to ignore the humanoid banana creature that stared at him, with his dead, brown eyes. What horrors has this banana man witnessed? Are his freckles actually freckles? Or are they marks for the number of people he had killed?

 

He tossed a chip in his mouth. It's really good, so his sins are excusable. Jotaro simply turned the bag the other way, effectively ignoring the things the banana man might've done.

 

"That banana thing keeps on looking at me, JoJo. Look at its big eyes. It's not even an actual banana. Bananas aren't purple." Kakyoin jabbed his finger into the bag. "I swear, I'm going to punch a chip bag."

 

"Try one. It's good."

 

"That stupid banana probably cut up someone's body into thin pieces and deep-fried it," Kakyoin said, taking a chip. "He did a good job."

 

Morbid. And charming. Morbidly charming is one way to describe Kakyoin.

 

"Burn the bag when you're done," he said, sneaking another chip into his mouth. Jotaro shoved the extra bag to Kakyoin.

 

"Finish this one, too. We can burn these both before we go home."

 

Another wide smile covered in his hand. "Jotaro Kujo, you're a genius."

 

---

 

Kakyoin dug his heel into the chip bags that lied on the dirt patch. Jotaro watched, flicking his lighter on.

 

"You got a one-liner you wanna say?" he asked, looking expectantly at Kakyoin.

 

"Eat shit and die, Banana Man."

 

Absolutely beautiful.

 

“You got the kindle?" he asked, his heart fluttering with adoration and pure, unfiltered love for this man. Kakyoin nodded, kicking a pile of leaves he had gathered onto the bags.

 

"Bombs away!" Kakyoin shouted, his voice echoing in the dark, empty forest, the only source of lighting coming from Jotaro's dim lighter.

 

"We're arsonists in the making," Jotaro said, a grim tone greatly embellished. After a second of tense silence, he bent down, lighting the leaves and chip bags ablaze. Jotaro and Kakyoin stared in satisfaction as Banana Man's face started turning into black char.

 

"We should put this out before we start a forest fire," Kakyoin said as the small flames continued burning. Jotaro dumped his cola onto it, effectively extinguishing it, along with their criminal records.

 

"You know what would be satisfying? Setting that dumb student council's room on fire." Jotaro said as they walked down the pathway.

 

"With them inside?"

 

"That'd be a plus."

 

"Don't tempt me, JoJo. I'd rather not go to jail for murder, yet." Kakyoin groaned, lightly bumping his head onto Jotaro's shoulder.

 

"Yet?"

 

"I mean, yeah. That's what friends do. Do crimes, get arrested."

 

Jotaro grinned, unable and unwilling to hide it. " Do crimes, get arrested? We're not gonna get caught, though." 

 

It was probably the adrenaline that came from starting a fire that made Jotaro feel energetic. At least Kakyoin was experiencing the same.

 

"So, do crimes?"

 

"Yeah. Do crimes. Just us."

 

Notes:

i literally wrote this chapter in one night and trashed my other one omg... good thing this is the second to last chapter ecks dee. ok its literally 2 am GOOD NIGHT. they litcherally said be gay do crimes xo

also a cute little coming out from our boy kak bc i felt like it and didnt wanna b an actual writer and have some tension or whateva this chapter felt like crack for sum rezin?! what the hell is my spelling? im tired

but yea sorry if this chapter is kinda crack-ish and ooc? oh god this sucks why did i publish this

Chapter 5

"JoJo! The principal wanted me to ask about you and Kakyoin's cleaning progress." the class representative came up to his desk, seemingly out of nowhere.

 

Why does he want to know? Isn't he the one who made them clean in the first place? He should just shut his mouth and not ask so many questions.

 

"We have one floor left," he said, wanting her to leave him alone as soon as possible. Couldn't he just have someone ask Kakyoin instead? Jotaro currently has a lot to think about.

 

"That's good. But, ah, Mr. Tanaka wanted me to ask if you were doing any work. Someone complained to him that Kakyoin was the only one doing anything." 

 

Jotaro didn't say anything, glaring at her and turning his head to the window. The class representative said something else, but he ignored her.

 

He's not surprised someone would falsely report him. He knew that the council president was up to it. Maybe Kakyoin's speculation just made him skeptical about everything the student council did. It was pitiful, really. They didn't have enough influence to have Jotaro stop standing up for himself, so they resorted to lying about him.

 

"Um..." the girl twiddled her thumbs, rocking back and forth on her heels. "So I overheard Mr. Tanaka talking about having one of the council members watch over you guys for the rest of the week."

 

Jotaro turned his head towards her. "What?"

 

"Today before school! I stopped by Mr. Tanaka's office and heard him talking to Hachiro." she noticed Jotaro's confusion when she said the name of someone he didn't recognize. "Uh... the council president? He wanted to be sure Kakyoin wasn't doing the work alone."

 

What the hell? Jotaro's mind was racing as he tried to process the information-dump he was given. This was more than just a bother, this was just messed up to no end. The time he and Kakyoin spent afterschool was special to him. Something that nobody could interrupt, and where Jotaro didn't feel like a complete freak.

 

To have someone just stroll in, completely unwanted made him pissed off.

 

"Ah! Class is gonna start soon. I just thought you wanted to know what was going on." she pointed up at the clock on the wall before darting away to her seat, leaving Jotaro, who was silently fuming in his seat.

 

---

  

"That's funny," Kakyoin spoke up once Jotaro finished telling him the events from the morning. "I was called to Principal Tanaka's office during class. Something about me being pressured into doing your work." he took a sip from his milk carton, rolling his eyes at the last sentence.

 

Jotaro took a breath, trying to calm himself down. It's not so bad now, at least. It's lunch, which meant he could do three of his favorite things: eat the lunch his mom made him, sit on the rooftop, and talk to Kakyoin.

 

"That guy has a vendetta against you, it's ridiculous," Kakyoin said, plopping down onto the floor across from Jotaro, their heads inches away from touching. Jotaro tried his best to control the sweating of his palms. "And Principal Tanaka won't do anything about it anytime soon. I suppose at times like these you'll have to take things into your own hands."

 

"Murder."

 

"Yes! But also no."

 

Jotaro sighed, his mind already wandering to what would happen after school. Whoever was sent by the student council would certainly ruin their time together, which was something Jotaro looked forward to. Kakyoin noticed this and tried to cheer him up.

 

"Don't worry, JoJo. We'll figure something out."

 

Jotaro simply covered his face with his hat, blocking out the scorching sun that shone over the two of them. It seemed like it was just getting hotter every day. If only he could run away to a beach, where the water was cool and refreshing. If only he could run away to a beach with Kakyoin, who made Jotaro feel as if he was floating whenever he even made direct eye contact with him.

 

He wished Kakyoin could hear what he was thinking right now. Jotaro wanted to tell him how much he actually meant to him, but how? How do you tell someone you like them? Jotaro never crushed on someone before...

 

---

 

"You're really pale." Jotaro blurted out while he was scrubbing the chalkboard. Oops. Did... he say that out loud? Kakyoin looked up from the desk he was cleaning, it littered with messages marked on it.

 

"No, really? I didn't know." Kakyoin said with no emotion in his voice. Sarcastic prick. Lovable, sarcastic prick. 

 

The tips of his ears burning, he turned back, going to the erasers and raising them.

 

"Shouldn't you clap those erasers outside? Just open a window, JoJo."

 

Jotaro shrugged and went to the window. A small breeze floated into the classroom but was somehow enough to knock his hat back and onto the floor.

 

"I've only seen you without your hat once." Kakyoin grabbed it before Jotaro could. His hat was a part of him. The fact that Kakyoin saw him without it once was already special. Nobody from school had ever seen him without it. And he's going to keep it that way.

 

But it's okay if Kakyoin saw him without his hat more than once!

 

He extended his hand, expecting Kakyoin to give his hat back. Kakyoin put the hat on himself.

 

Why? Why does Kakyoin make it so easy to fall for him even harder? Ever since his epiphany on Saturday, he's only gotten deeper and deeper into this... Kakyoin love-hole.

 

... He shouldn't call his dilemma a Kakyoin love-hole. Never again.

 

All Jotaro could do was stare at Kakyoin in shock as he coolly continued with his desk scrubbing. Kakyoin's wearing his hat. His hat, that was on Jotaro's head. Kakyoin's hair is touching the hat that touched Jotaro's hair. Is he blushing right now? He probably is.

 

He didn't want to get his hat back. He'd honestly let Kakyoin wear his coat if he even indirectly asked. But what if someone came in, like one of those student council members? Or a student? Nobody knew about Jotaro and Kakyoin's friendship, so if someone caught Kakyoin wearing his hat, the rumors that would spread around... it gave him a headache even thinking about it.

 

"Good grief. Gimme back my hat." he noncommittally reached for it. Kakyoin swiftly moved away, a firm grip on the hat. Jotaro frowned, but he was at least ninety percent sure it had formed into a pout. He just couldn't stay serious whenever Kakyoin was involved.

 

"Hm... I like it, but I think you look better. It's kind of like your signature look." Kakyoin tossed Jotaro's hat to him like a frisbee, which he caught, despite him fumbling it a little. Kakyoin grinned, his teeth showing again, which somehow managed to give Jotaro a boost of confidence. He was going to do it. He's going to tell him!

 

"Kakyoin. I--"

 

The sliding door was loudly thrown open, a male classmate who Jotaro had never seen before panting heavily and resting on the doorway.

 

"What do you want?" Jotaro snapped at the uninvited guest, his irritation purposely showing. His spontaneous arrival had caught the attention of both of them, the playful atmosphere dissipating right when he entered.

 

"My... My name is Hiroshi Watanabe. I was sent by Hachiro, the student council presi--"

 

"Get out." to Jotaro's surprise, Kakyoin interrupted Hiroshi, his tone quick and commanding. Hiroshi noticeably wavered before firmly shaking his head.

 

"I'm afraid I can't. I was given strict orders to not back down, no matter how many threats JoJo gave me."

 

What? He didn't even threaten him yet. That stupid president was biased to the max. Hiroshi pulled out a sheet, and Jotaro saw a long list of writing on it. 

 

"These are the rules I was given, courtesy of Hachiro. There will be no talking, no telepathic messaging, no practical jokes, no grumbling-- that means you, JoJo."

 

Jotaro scoffed. "Don't call me JoJo, you bastard."

 

"No violence, no threats of violence, no snacking, no delinquency, no fraternizing-- especially during cleaning, no blah blah blah..."

 

Jotaro tuned out Hiroshi while he was still talking. If he was honest, he had completely forgotten about what the class representative had told him this morning. He wished he hadn't, though. Because the moment before Hiroshi came in Jotaro was about to confess his feelings (subtly, of course). Kakyoin leaned into Jotaro, his voice low.

 

"I'm reconsidering that murder suggestion..."

 

Jotaro snorted, catching the attention of Hiroshi.

 

"And no laughing, please! Now I've also been told to separate you two before, during, and after school."

 

"What?!" they both stared at Hiroshi in shock.

 

"Yessiree! Ahem! I mean... Yes. Several student council members will be patrolling around the halls before and during school. They've been informed to keep you two away from each other."

 

"May I ask why?" Kakyoin tensely asked after a prolonged silence went between them. Jotaro could tell he was barely holding in his anger. If Kakyoin can hold it in, so can Jotaro.

 

Hiroshi awkwardly glanced down at the floor. "There are some things I... disagree with when it comes to Hachiro's decisions. He told us that he believed that Jo-- um... Kujo was a bad influence on Kakyoin."

 

Jotaro glanced at Kakyoin, whose face was completely straight. He stared right at Hiroshi and clenched his fists before unclenching them.

 

"I detest people like you." was all that he said.

 

Jotaro wholeheartedly agreed.

 

---

 

Hiroshi had Jotaro and Kakyoin clean separate rooms, all of them a considerable amount of space in between them. It was the worst evening of his entire life. He was forced to work until it was seven, where Hiroshi then decided to inform him that Kakyoin was sent away half an hour before him and that he shouldn't expect him to be waiting.

 

Pushing down all of his violent thoughts, Jotaro wordlessly left the school, his anger soon replaced with somberness. He... can't be with Kakyoin anymore? They can hang out on the weekends, but they're only two days... Being with Kakyoin was the only thing he had to look forward to. At least they have their vacation, right?

 

God, he needs to smoke.

 

Jotaro went over to the bench that he and Kakyoin usually sat in. Kakyoin probably went home. His subway left already, so he should be gone. Damn. He had hoped that they could've at least talked after they finished their cleaning for the day.

 

From a distance, he heard the door from the convenience store open. He'd buy something, but he blew all of his money on snacks, and the ones he bought were in his room. Sighing, Jotaro dug into his coat pocket and pulled out a carton of cigarettes along with his lighter. His nose feels fine, so it's probably okay.

 

He closed his eyes, taking a drag from his cigarette. It felt nice to finally smoke after a week of not being able to do so.

 

"Hey, JoJo." 

 

Jotaro opened his eyes to see Kakyoin standing over him, two juice bottles in hand.

 

"I thought you left," Jotaro said, accepting the mango juice and scooting down to make some room for Kakyoin.

 

"I waited in the store."

 

Jotaro nodded in understanding, flicking his cigarette away and taking a sip of his drink. "This sucks," he commented. Kakyoin did the same.

 

"The drink or our situation?"

 

"Situation."

 

Kakyoin leaned forward, kicking a discarded rock with his shoe. "I'm sorry. For dragging you into this."

 

"I should be saying that."

 

Kakyoin shook his head, the grip on his grape juice hardening. "No, you shouldn't."

 

Jotaro didn't speak, waiting for Kakyoin to calm down enough to talk. Whatever was on Kakyoin's mind, Jotaro would listen.

 

"I... I hate it. I hate being me." he confessed, taking a swing of his grape juice as if it was alcohol. Jotaro listened.

 

"Everyone just sees me like some... stupid honor student. I find it impertinent. It's stressful. And I can't stop being one, because my parents worked too hard to get me to where I am today." 

 

Another sip. "... And now, that Hachiro guy thinks he can do whatever he wants because I'm supposed to be a good, studious student. He sees me as some weak guy who can't defend himself and has to depend on other people. I can pick my own battles."

 

Kakyoin exhaled sharply. "Sorry. I lost my temper a little. I just hate being seen as vulnerable."

 

Jotaro wanted to say something, anything to make Kakyoin feel better. But what could he do? 

 

"... Wanna see a trick?"

 

What? That's all he thought of? Out of all the options running around in his mind, he chose the stupidest, most unemotional and indifferent one? 

 

Kakyoin chuckled, then his chuckle turned into a laugh, then his laugh turned into a full-blown cackle. Kakyoin's laugh had to be the weirdest (and kind of scary-sounding) laugh Jotaro had ever heard, and it was amazing. It was so unusual that it made him laugh along with him. Everything about Kakyoin just made him feel so carefree, everything about Kakyoin is just so charming and made Jotaro fall for him even harder than ever.

 

Kakyoin, struggling to take a breath in between his laughter, spoke.

 

"What's up..." he wheezed. "What's up with your laugh?!"

 

"What's up with yours?"

 

 

Jotaro and Kakyoin had calmed down after a few minutes of just laughing, and it was truly the first time Jotaro had laughed that hard in a long time, or laughed in general.

 

"Wait. JoJo. I just had the greatest idea." Kakyoin lightly put his hand on Jotaro's shoulder. He had to stop himself from leaning into Kakyoin's touch.

 

"What?"

 

"Well, it's not the greatest. It's a little risky, and we have a thirty-seventy chance of success. If we get caught, we're going to get in a lot of trouble."

 

Oh? Kakyoin caught his interest even more. "Go on."

 

"Do you remember when I mentioned the student council president's pants? If my theory is correct... we could catch him in the act."

 

"How are we gonna do that?"

 

Kakyoin gave him a mischievous smile, leaning in closer to Jotaro, his voice dropping to a whisper.

 

"Security cameras, JoJo..."

 

 

Notes:

me, thinking ill wrap this up by 5 chapters: oh boy cant wait to write some cute fluff and a nice little ending :)

me while editing: wait what if i... and just do this... and do. oh shit i gotta put in some more chapters.

um... so 2 more chapters bc i went too far w/ editing lol. oops?! honestly i was just lying to myself. as if my extra ass wouldn't drag this shit on :/ oh well i love them too much. my favorite hobby is abusing the bold and italic fonts. id be sorry but im not gonna lie to u bc i luv u too much to do so

. i feel like screaming so thats what im gonna do. brb

Chapter 6

Jotaro couldn't believe he actually agreed to do this. Kakyoin had a plan. A hasty yet well-informed plan. First, they rushed into the convenience store to see if they could buy pocket flashlights. Surprisingly, the store was selling them. They then had to wait an extra hour for Hiroshi to leave, but when he did, Kakyoin wasted no time going inside, quickly taking out the key and unlocking the front door.

 

They were greeted with an eerie silence and a dark hallway.

 

"Okay. So the security room is upstairs, next to the teacher's room. Do you have the time, JoJo?" Kakyoin whispered to Jotaro as they walked, the flashlights illuminating their way. He shone his flashlight to the clock on the wall.

 

"Eight. You said your train is coming...?"

 

"In thirty minutes. We should have enough time."

 

They quietly went up the stairs, which made no sense once Jotaro thought about it more. Why should they be quiet if nobody else is here? Nonetheless, once they finally got up the second floor and to the security room.

 

Kakyoin unlocked the door and threw it open. Jotaro had never been inside the security room before. He saw no need to. It was much smaller than he expected, several monitors sitting on a desk, an office chair, and steel cabinets on every wall. It looked more like a NEET who lived in his parents' basement than a school security room.

 

"We'll try the cabinets. See if there's a date on them." Kakyoin said. Jotaro went over to one, reading the date written. This one's a little recent, just three months ago! He crouched down, the dates becoming closer to the day he and Kakyoin cleaned the art room.

 

Ah! There it is! Jotaro tried opening it, but it was locked. Jotaro yanked it harder, but it wouldn't budge. If he pulled it too hard, the entire cabinet would come crashing down on him...

 

"Kakyoin. I found it." Jotaro decided to get Kakyoin's help instead. He swiftly came over to where Jotaro was, kneeling next to him. 

 

"Good job, JoJo. Is it locked?"

 

"Yeah." Jotaro pulled his hat down to cover his red face. He never got hung up on praise, but (of course) he felt flustered over Kakyoin. It wasn't even that much praise. He just said he did a good job and that's all! It's nothing special.

 

... But it also kind of is special. To Jotaro at least.

 

"I have a bobby pin. Here." Kakyoin reached into his bang and pulled one out. It remained curly and dignified... amazing.

 

Jotaro picked the lock and opened up the cabinet, where several VHS tapes were neatly filed. Thank God for whoever organized these. Jotaro looked around, but couldn't see any VHS tape with the date he was looking for. He didn't understand. He found the correct month, but it seemed like the day was skipped entirely. 

 

Oh. Oh no.

 

"They took it." Jotaro's grip on the cabinet increased. He should've known the president would've covered his tracks. There's nothing else they can do now. Jotaro glanced at Kakyoin, who was still next to him. He didn't look bothered. Not at all.

 

"Don't tell me you're giving up, JoJo. Come on, there's still one more place left."

 

---

 

The student council room? What were they doing here? Jotaro waited in confusion as Kakyoin unlocked the door, sliding it open. He walked it, wasting no time to dig through the bookshelves. Jotaro warily followed, unsure of what to do.

 

Kakyoin turned to him. "Look for a tape. They might still have it."

 

Hmm... If he were an annoying student council president, where would he hide an incriminating VHS tape that showed him damaging school and student property? Well, he'd trash it as soon as possible. Jotaro eyed the small, inconspicuous trash can that was filled to the brim with crumpled papers. Nah, he'd never hide something so important somewhere so obvious. Unless... he was counting on someone he knew to throw it away as soon as possible.

 

... It was full. Overflowing. Jotaro promptly went over to it, sifting through the papers. Boring, boring, boring...

 

He felt something hard and square in the bottom of the bin. Excitement rising in his chest. He pulled it out, seeing a VHS tape with a sticky note on it.

 

'Hiroshi. put in incinerator asap.

- Hachiro'

 

Jackpot. 

 

"Kakyoin," he called him over. "I think I found it." Jotaro got up, handing the tape to Kakyoin, who held it as if it was a valuable jewel. The look in his eyes was one of sheer ecstasy, and he hastily put the tape into the player, where the small television played. It was blurry and low-quality, which was expected of a school security camera, but it was still obvious that the room the camera was filming over was the art room. The first half-hour was of the typical art students coming in and doing their usual activities, which Kakyoin skipped over.

 

The next hour on the tape was generally uneventful, the room mostly being empty when the artists went to their different classes, and when the art teacher stepped out for a smoke break. It had to be after lunch, probably one or two o'clock. Kakyoin skipped over, watching as the art students worked on their projects. One thing they noticed was that the students cleaned up after themselves, some of their canvases on the easels.

 

"Wait, Kakyoin. Look." Jotaro pointed to the screen, where a suspicious figure was lurking near the door. Kakyoin slowed down, letting the video play at normal speed. They watched as the person, the student council badge that was wrapped around his arm being very obvious. He tossed the recently painted canvases on the floor, kicking over paint and splattering it on the walls. Hachiro accidentally stomped on some paint, which most likely got on his pants.

 

Kakyoin was grinning like a mad-man the entire time. "We got him, JoJo."

 

Jotaro nodded, his eyes glued to the screen. That guy was going way overboard with messing up the art room. He felt a little bad for the people whose art got ruined, luckily he wasn't there to see their reactions.

 

"This is gold. Pure gold. This... This could get the entire council off your back for the entire year!"

 

" Our ." Jotaro corrected him. Kakyoin chuckled, taking back the tape and tucking it into his pocket.

 

"That's right. They'll get off our back."

 

---

 

Jotaro couldn't sleep at all when he got home. The anticipation of confronting the president was enough to keep him up for two entire nights. Holly remarked about how tired he looked, which Jotaro already knew about. He thought that splashing his face with cold water would make him look less fatigued.

 

When Jotaro got to school, he wasn't all that surprised to not see Kakyoin. It looks like he was going to have to wait until after school. Jotaro didn't think he had the patience to wait, but he had to. The reward at the end would be enough.

 

He had decided to go to his classroom, seeing that there was no reason for him to hang around the school, considering Kakyoin wasn't around. 

 

To his shock, someone was sitting on Jotaro's desk. He did a double-take, a familiar head of cherry red hair and a curly bang instantly catching his attention.

 

"Kakyoin." 

 

Everyone who was in the classroom fell silent, their eyes going from Jotaro to Kakyoin. It didn't take a genius to know that they were expecting a fight (they were a week late), which amused Jotaro a little bit. Kakyoin lifted his head, his gaze matching Jotaro's.

 

"JoJo."

 

He walked over to his desk, causing several people to whisper. Kakyoin leaped off the desk, meeting Jotaro half-way. His classmates continued to stare, and Jotaro considered making a scene for a split second, like those movies his mom watched, where the romantic lead confessed to the protagonist in front of a crowd of people.

 

Only for a split second, because he knew Kakyoin didn't like things like that. Jotaro didn't like those things either, but it was a little nice to imagine.

 

Kakyoin stuck his hand out, which Jotaro took almost instinctively. The class went into a frenzy, not believing what they've seen. Jotaro Kujo, the notorious lone delinquent who wasn't scared to beat up anyone, student, teacher, or gang member, shook the hand of Noriaki Kakyoin, the polite and respectful honor student who, although kept to himself, didn't take any excuses from anyone.

 

Jotaro couldn't help hiding his small smirk, which made the classroom react even more. It was just funny to him. Everyone thought they knew him, they thought they knew how he was like. And everyone thought they knew Kakyoin, which was further from the truth. Kakyoin was so much more than just a quiet honor student. Nobody would know how much he meant to Jotaro, except for Jotaro himself.

 

"Looks like we have an audience." Kakyoin tilted his head towards the loud chattering class. He looked down at his hands, and Jotaro did so, too. 

 

Whoops. He let go of Kakyoin's hand unceremoniously. Luckily, everyone was too busy freaking out over the fact that he and Kakyoin didn't immediately beat each other to a bloody pulp to notice their prolonged handshake that sort of turned into a hand-holding session. Kakyoin either didn't think much of it or didn't want to mention it any longer, because he quickly changed the topic. Jotaro welcomed it, due to cheeks turning into a lovely light pink color. (But Jotaro also noticed Kakyoin's cheeks do the same. Or maybe not).

 

"We should go."

 

"Yeah..."

 

The classroom was still loud when they left, which was annoying. He had enough loudness when it came to the girls who'd be constantly vying for his attention.

 

"You look pretty..." Kakyoin was interrupted with a yawn, and Jotaro hoped he would end his sentence there. He didn't. "... Tired."

 

"You too." Jotaro couldn't outright tell, due to the sunglasses that Kakyoin was STILL wearing, but the yawn gave it away. "Couldn't sleep?"

 

"Yeah. I was too excited. I can't wait to see the look on his face when we show the tape!"

 

Jotaro nodded. "He can't get out of concrete evidence. That slimy bastard can try, but he's screwed." he imagined the panic the council president would have when confronted, and Jotaro suddenly wished time would speed up.

 

---

 

Jotaro smashed his cigarette onto the ground, a book that Kakyoin had lent him last weekend in hand. Kakyoin loudly slurped his orange juice, the drink being long empty.

 

"If you're still thirsty, just take my damn drink," Jotaro muttered, sliding a soda bottle towards him. It was half full since he drank it a few minutes ago, but it didn't matter.

 

"Thank you~." Kakyoin graciously took it, putting his empty juice box down. It took Jotaro approximately four seconds to realize that if Kakyoin drank out of the drink that he drank, wouldn't it count as an indirect kiss? He technically kissed Kakyoin? Gosh, he never kissed anyone before, much less indirectly kissed someone. How should he act? Should he pretend nothing happened? Should he point it out?

 

He watched as Kakyoin casually drank from Jotaro's bottle. If he isn't pointing it out, then it must not be such a big deal. Jotaro should stop overreacting.

 

Kakyoin flicked the used cigarette bud on the ground. "Hey, JoJo. Didn't you say you'd show me a trick?" 

 

Trick? Oh! His trick! "Yeah. Hold on, lemme see my drink."

 

Kakyoin observed as Jotaro put his book down and pulled out five cigarettes, lighting them all up and putting them in his mouth. He sort of stopped doing it because he didn't want to waste his cigarettes, plus the only person who ever saw this trick was his grandfather. He was a little bit rusty on this.

 

He then opened his mouth, flipping all five of the cigarettes upright and into his mouth. Kakyoin's eyes widened, and he gave Jotaro small applause when he closed his mouth, the smoke coming out of his nose.

 

"I've seen that trick with one cigarette, but I never knew it was possible to do that with five!" Kakyoin said, greatly impressed. Jotaro shook his finger, signaling that this wasn't the last trick he had.

 

Taking his already opened soda bottle, Jotaro slowly poured it into his mouth, careful to not accidentally extinguish any of the cigarettes. He swallowed his drink and let more smoke come out of his nose, to which Kakyoin sounded even more impressed.

 

"That had to be the greatest thing I've ever seen," Kakyoin said. Jotaro shrugged, spitting out the cigarettes. He was glad Kakyoin liked his little trick, even if he burned the roof of his mouth a little bit. It was all worth it to see Kakyoin's awe-stricken face.

 

"Give me one. I'd like to try."

 

Jotaro handed Kakyoin a cigarette and his lighter, their hands brushing against each other. Jotaro purposely let his hat obscure his sight of vision, but a part of him wanted to see Kakyoin's reaction. Or to see if he even reacted.

 

"So, I just put it in backward, like... this?" Kakyoin cautiously flipped the lit cigarette into his mouth. The smoke left his nose, and Kakyoin looked pretty proud of himself. Jotaro was proud too, oddly enough. Kakyoin spat the cigarette onto the ground, grinding it to ash with the heel of his shoe.

 

"You did pretty well for your first time." Jotaro cracked a nearly microscopic smile, reopening his book. "You sure you never did this before?"

 

"Looks like I'm naturally talented." 

 

---

 

"Hey. I have a question." after a few minutes of pleasant silence, Jotaro turned to Kakyoin. "Why did you defend me back then? And don't try to dodge the question."

 

It had been something that itched in the back of Jotaro's brain for a long time. It bothered him to no end that he didn't know why Kakyoin did what he did, and call him nosy, but he wanted to know.

 

"Hmm..." Kakyoin drummed his chopsticks against his bento, hard in thought. "I... just remembered something about you. You wouldn't remember, though. There's no reason for me to say it."

 

"Quit trying to be so coy and tell me."

 

"Ah, antsy, are we? It's something for me to know and for you to never find out~."

 

Jotaro was this close to grabbing Kakyoin's perfectly framed face and... uh, he had a violent implication for this, but all he's thinking about is kissing him. Dumb crush brain-rot. 

 

"Don't give me that look! I'll tell you when we finish up cleaning." Kakyoin assured him as he put a cherry from his bento into his mouth. Jotaro rolled his eyes, going back to his book.

 

"You better."

 

"I will, I will! Speaking of cleaning, do you want to go over our ambush plan?"

 

"Yeah." If they wanted to perfectly execute the plan, a few revisits would help. 

 

---

 

"Ready?" Kakyoin asked, the two of them standing in front of the door to the student council room. Jotaro nodded, hoping his eagerness wasn't too visible. It was the perfect time for a confrontation. Everyone either went home, or were in their clubs, and the student council was off doing their duties, leaving the president alone in the room. 

 

"Still got the tape?"

 

Kakyoin dug into his bookbag, taking out the VHS tape that was in the same condition as when they found it, the sticky note still on it. "Would you like to do the honors, JoJo?" he gestured to the door. Jotaro raised his fist, loudly banging on the door.

 

"Come in." the irritably familiar voice called out. Jotaro slid open the door, where the president was sitting at his desk, busily writing in his textbook. He looked up when they came in.

 

"What do y... Kujo? Kakyoin? I... I thought... Where's Hiroshi?! You're supposed to be cleaning!"

 

Kakyoin nearly glided behind to the president, placing a firm hand on his shoulder, ensuring he couldn't run away. Jotaro stood over him, making sure to look as intimidating and angry as possible. (Which was easy. This guy naturally pissed him off).

 

"Shut up." Jotaro shot him a glare that quieted him down. He and Kakyoin agreed on taking turns threatening the council president. 

 

"We'll be asking the questions here. Now tell us, does this look familiar to you?" Kakyoin placed the VHS tape in front of him. The president (Hachiro. Jotaro had accidentally forgotten his name again for a while) noticeably tensed up when he saw it.

 

"You recognize it? Good. This'll be quick, then." Jotaro crossed his arms. The presi-- Hachiro spoke, his voice quivering.

 

"God... I told Hiroshi to get rid of that..."

 

"Hiroshi did us a favor. Now, what would the art students do when they watch this? You know how artists tend to act when their hard work gets ruined, right ?" Kakyoin asked, taking off his sunglasses. Jotaro noticed that Kakyoin allowed his voice to become progressively more aggressive, which had to be the most alluring thing he had ever witnessed. An audible gulp was heard from the council president.

 

"Hey, JoJo. Who else do you think would want this lovely tape?"

 

Jotaro pretended to think about his answer. "How about... the principal? He'd have to do something when he finds out you damaged school property. But I wonder what he'd do..."

 

"If I were a principal, I'd take away your position as the president. But that'd be horrible for applying for colleges." Kakyoin drew out the word ' horrible ' to drive his point across.

 

"Hmm. Yeah. I bet it would be nearly impossible to get into any good ones with a reputation."

 

"You two keep on saying when they find out. Don't... Don't tell me you already told Mr. Tanaka?" Hachiro nervously met Jotaro's eyes, his face a disturbing pasty white color. He wondered if Hachiro was even breathing. If he suffocated due to fear, it'd be the highlight of his entire life.

 

"We might." Jotaro decided to let a sinister grin slip, for added effect. The president looked down at his lap, his entire body comically shaking, almost like a leaf, or a cherry blossom that was still stuck on one of the tree branches.

 

He and Kakyoin shared a look, and it seemed like Kakyoin was holding back a laugh. Jotaro wanted to laugh, but that would ruin the tension. He wanted to do lots of things. He wanted to hold Kakyoin's hand and tell him how much seeing him threaten someone he hated made his heart sped up.

 

"Tell you what..." Kakyoin leaned in, his hand tightened on Hachiro's shoulder. "We promise to not tell a single soul about your little tirade in the art room if you promise to get off our case. Stay away from JoJo, got it?"

 

"And quit trying to play hero with Kakyoin. He doesn't need you." Jotaro added. Hachiro started awkwardly fidgeting, Kakyoin's firm grasp preventing him from moving freely.

 

"Fine. I'll leave you two alone. Satisfied?" he finally said. Jotaro pulled the tip of his hat down.

 

"The day I get to punch your face is the day I'll be satisfied."

 

Hachiro jumped in his chair, only to be grounded by Kakyoin's hand. "Y-You're not gonna... hurt me, right?"

 

Not yet, was something Jotaro wanted to say. But the element of surprise would be more fun, so he didn't answer. He turned around, walking to the door.

 

"We should get back to cleaning. Tell that shitty principal that we're on the last floor. We'll clean up the rooftop on Friday." he said, looking back over his shoulder. Kakyoin stayed put.

 

"Of course. But... I'd like to give one last parting message." 

 

A parting message? He made like the president was on his deathbed. Jotaro stayed put, His curiosity stopping him from leaving.

 

Jotaro watched as Kakyoin got unnaturally close to the president's ear, his voice low, but not low enough for Jotaro to not hear.

 

"Just an extra warning. If I ever see you attempt to frame JoJo for anything, I'll kill you. I'll fucking kill you. I could do it right now. You know I carry a pocket knife everywhere I go, right? I can slit your throat right now and I’ll make sure nobody ever finds your body." he hissed, venom trickling in his tone. Hachiro whimpered, a sob cracking from his throat.

 

"I'll be taking this tape. Just in case." Kakyoin took back the tape that was still on the table. "Thank you for your time." he smiled gently to Hachiro, who was sliding down his seat to get away from Kakyoin's watching eyes. 

 

Kakyoin really was perfect for him.

 

They composedly left the room, sliding the door close and walking down the hall in complete stillness. Until they got to the stairway, where they were far enough from the room so they couldn't be heard.

 

"Kakyoin." Jotaro was the one to speak first. He turned to face Kakyoin, who was cleaning his sunglasses with a cloth. Kakyoin looked up from his shades, his eyes sparkling with amusement. It's been a while since Jotaro had seen Kakyoin's eyes. His beautiful, lilac-purple eyes. Jotaro took a step closer to Kakyoin, who didn't move.

 

He instead moved closer, too.

 

"That... was..." Amazing, thrilling, mesmerizing, the most gratifying thing Jotaro had ever done.

 

"Fun." Kakyoin finished his sentence for him. "We've committed quite the amount of crimes, huh? Attempted arson, breaking and entering, blackmail, and threats of violence."

 

"Hm. I particularly liked it when you threatened that bastard. I always knew you had it in you."

 

Kakyoin stepped closer. "I hope he got the message. I'd hate to actually go to jail for murder."

 

Another step, taken by Jotaro. Their faces were a few feet away. If one of them leaned forward, they'd kiss. Kiss... He'd kiss Kakyoin. Or Kakyoin would kiss him.

 

"I'd hide his body for you," Jotaro mumbled, thinking if he should be the one to lean in. There was a lot of tension, but not like the one back in the student council room. Dare he say, the atmosphere was... romantic? If he applied his knowledge about romantic tension from the rom-com movies he watched... with his mom... would this be considered romantic?

 

"Really?" Kakyoin hummed, his eyes briefly staring at Jotaro's lips. Now was the perfect time to do something! They were alone, pumped with adrenaline, and just came back from what was quite possibly one of the best non-violent confrontations Jotaro had ever had.

 

Kakyoin tilted his head slightly, his frame leaning closer and closer to Jotaro. Kakyoin... was going to kiss him. Now is the chance for him to do it!

 

... Except... He forgot one crucial detail.

 

HE'S NEVER KISSED SOMEONE BEFORE.

 

He’s been so focused on the idea of kissing Kakyoin, he never thought about how he’d kiss him! Where does he move his head? The opposite direction of Kakyoin's? What does he do with his mouth? What about his hands? The one thing no movie with a romantic interest did (which were admittedly all of the movies nowadays) was explain how exactly they and the protagonist kiss.

 

"JoJo." Kakyoin hesitated when they were just inches apart. He stepped back a little bit. "I never really... you know. Kissed someone before."

 

"Me either," Jotaro confessed, feeling comforted with the fact that he wasn't the only one who had no clue what he was doing. Kakyoin cupped Jotaro's face, his hands still freezing cold.

 

"Just... move your head a little to the left," he said. Jotaro did so, his hands holding Kakyoin's. He leaned in, placing a gentle, careful peck on Jotaro's lips.

 

They stared at each other for approximately three seconds before Kakyoin kissed him again, this time more passionate and experimental. Jotaro closed his eyes, allowing his mouth to move along with Kakyoin's. 

 

For their first kiss, it wasn't bad. Not at all! Maybe it was because Kakyoin was the one kissing him, or maybe it was because he had nobody else to compare Kakyoin with. Whatever the reason, Jotaro felt at ease and was enjoying himself.

 

But, as quickly as Kakyoin's soft and inviting lips touched his, they were pulled back. The two teens stared at each other, subtle panting from both of them and a noticeable blush on their faces.

 

"I think I might like you, JoJo."

 

"... Me too."

 

Notes:

kakyoin: i know where you live. sleep with one eye open, you cunt. ill slice your throat and make it look like confetti. ive read more than a library shelf full of books by murderers and how they committed their crime. ill make sure nobody will find your body. ill make sure that not even ur BONES will be found. i'll feed your discarded flesh to stray dogs. I'll grind your bones into ashes and scatter them around your family's house. dont think that i need your help with ANYTHING. the dirt on my shoes are more useful than you. you're just someone who's easily disposable and--

jotaro: (//_q//) wow... i love him...

nothing to get u in the mood to kiss ur crush like... talking ab murdering someone. they're kinda weird but... they're weird together :) and its 1 am GOOD NIGHT / MORNING

hopefully this chapter is good... i wanted feral kak but perhaps i made him too feral and murderous... uh oh! also give kakyoin cursing rights. he can and will say the f u c k word. also YOOO 4K WORDS?! this is now my longest written fic, finally taking the crown away from my first jjba fic. good. hate that fic with my life...

Chapter 7

"That went well," Kakyoin said as they walked out of the school, the air warm and the sky a soft orange and purple tint. Jotaro nodded, a cigarette hanging loosely in his lips. Today was the ideal day. He got to watch Hachiro (it still feels unnatural to even say his actual name) squirm around like a bug, threw in a couple in insults and threats, watched Kakyoin give out a disturbingly specific death threat, and kissed him! All in an hour!

 

After their entire confrontation, they decided to ditch cleaning (it was Kakyoin's idea, and Jotaro loved him for that).

 

They walked past the bench they always sat in after an entire evening of cleaning. It felt a bit unnatural to leave so early if Jotaro had to be honest. If they continued walking, they'd get to the subway station. But he didn't want to leave, not yet.

 

Kakyoin sighed loudly. "I don't want to go home yet. We should go somewhere."

 

Exactly what he was thinking! "We have no money, though." Jotaro pointed out, much to his disappointment. Kakyoin stopped walking, giving Jotaro a mischievous smile.

 

" We don't have any money. But our favorite council president does." he held a brown wallet in between his fingers. Jotaro repressed the urge to kiss Kakyoin again, instead giving him a knowing smirk.

 

"You steal now? Maybe I'm that bad of an influence, then."

 

Kakyoin snickered, opening up the wallet and thumbing through the bills in it. "I would never steal from someone, but sometimes karma has to be dished out."

 

"How much cash does he have?" Jotaro asked, noticing that the wallet was noticeably thick. 

 

"¥13,552."

 

What the hell was he doing with that much money? With a wallet that full, he's practically begging to be robbed by a bunch of delinquents. 

 

"We shouldn't spend it all, though."

 

Jotaro grunted in agreement. No matter how shitty that Hachiro guy was, spending all of his money would be too cruel. He'll just consider the money they spend to be an added interest or something.

 

"Hmm... Our budget should be ¥5,552. That should be enough for us." Kakyoin took out several bills from the wallet before storing it safely into his pocket. "So, where to?"

 

"Cake." was the first thing that popped up in Jotaro's mind. The thought of eating tiramisu, or anything that came out of that cafe, was one of the only things he could think about ever since Kakyoin took him there. (There's also the whole situation that occurred with Kakyoin feeding him, but Jotaro secretly wanted it to happen again.)

 

"Sounds good." Kakyoin nodded in approval, leaning in closer to Jotaro as they walked down the sidewalk and to the subway station.

 

---

 

Jotaro settled down into the wooden chair, a plate of coffee jelly in hand. Kakyoin, who was sitting next to him, had already chosen what type of cake he wanted to eat when they entered the store and was eating it as he flipped through a magazine that rested on the table.

 

Jotaro took a bite of the jelly he bought. He had picked a dessert he was familiar with, considering how many foreign-sounding delicacies the cafe had and that the tiramisu was still being prepared. 

 

"How is it?" Jotaro asked, eyeing the dessert on Kakyoin's cake.

 

"Delicious, as always. Would you care for a bite?" Kakyoin offered the plate of cake. Jotaro, slightly disappointed that Kakyoin wasn't going to feed him again (and having too much pride to request for him to do so) took a forkful of it.

 

"What type of cake is this?" Jotaro asked through a full mouth, tasting the almond meringue dough, vanilla buttercream, and sweet, rich apricot jam.

 

"Esterházy torte," Kakyoin replied, scooping a spoonful of Jotaro's coffee jelly. The fact that this cafe wasn't filled to the brim with customers was a mystery. How could a place offer so many desserts from different places? And how do they all taste, without fail, so good?

 

"If I recall correctly, this originated from Hungary. They named the cake after a prince." Kakyoin continued to explain the cake's entire history. Jotaro listened, not paying any mind as Kakyoin started eating the coffee jelly he ordered. It was only fair, considering how he's still eating Kakyoin's Esterházy torte.

 

"You should try their pastries. Oh, and the tea here is so good. We can stop by here during the break if you'd like."

 

He'd go anywhere with Kakyoin if he was honest. (That sounded so cheesy. Those rom-coms must be starting to get to him). Spending the morning with him would more than lift his spirits. His mom might start to get curious if he left every morning, though. Then he'd have to explain himself, which sounded like a pain in the ass.

 

But... one look at Kakyoin and his amethyst eyes that would sparkle whenever he saw Jotaro told him that all of his mom's questions would be worth it.

 

---

 

He and Kakyoin strolled out of the cafe, their hands brushing up against each other. Should he hold Kakyoin's hand? They were out in public, and he wasn't sure if he liked PDA or not. Or maybe he should put his arms around his shoulder? No, that'd be too forward.

 

... Well, they just kissed, so there's no way to get more forward than that.

 

Their knuckles touched again as they walked, and Jotaro decided to swallow his nerves and hold Kakyoin's hand. He's gonna do it! He's going to hold Kakyoin's hand!

 

Jotaro's hand didn't budge, instead instinctively going up to pull his hat down. Good grief... he thought he'd get over himself after finding out that Kakyoin liked him back. But instead, he's just more anxious than ever! Thoughts of Kakyoin rethinking his feelings, or of Kakyoin getting tired of Jotaro and ignoring him or something...

 

Jotaro was taken out of his thinking by a soothing and familiarly icy hand slipped into his own. Jotaro looked at Kakyoin, who only smiled in response. A small, almost unnoticeable red tint was on Kakyoin's face. He acted as if their hand-holding was completely natural, and maybe it is. Kakyoin was so calm, collected, and bold. It's admirable.

 

(Little to Jotaro's knowledge, Kakyoin had wanted to hold Jotaro's hand ever since they left the school, and just put it aside due to his nerves the entire time.)

 

"Since we're... together ... I guess now would be a good time to explain why I defended you back then," Kakyoin said. Jotaro nodded, appreciative that Kakyoin didn't wait until they finished their cleaning.

 

"You see... uhm... I sort of admired you since last month."

 

What? Last month? That's weird, though. He just met Kakyoin a week ago. If he met Kakyoin a month ago, he'd remember what he looked like, at least.

 

"You look confused, but I don't blame you. Allow me to explain a little more..."

 

---

 

"Excuse me, sir!" someone tapped on Kakyoin's shoulder as he was walking around the town square. 

 

"Do you know where the police station is?" when he turned around, an American couple was what he saw. Tourists. Their Japanese was good for foreigners, but it was painfully obvious they weren't familiar with the environment at all. Kakyoin, in all honesty, just wanted to get to the market and buy the vegetables his mother sent him out to buy. He was in the middle of a challenging video game level, and the last thing he needed was to have another thing on his plate.

 

But leaving them would be cruel. They hadn't done anything wrong to him, so it would only be polite to show them the way.

 

"You'll need to go to the end of the street, then take a left. Keep on walking until you get to a fountain, then you'll see it across from it." Kakyoin said, pointing out the way. The two tourists thanked him, relief flooding their faces.

 

"Thank you! We lost our daughter and couldn't find her. Would you please let us know if you see her?" the wife told him. Ah, a missing child? That's concerning, considering how large the town square was. It was easy to get lost if you weren't paying attention to where you were going. Kakyoin felt sorry for the little girl.

 

"Oh, then you'll have to file a missings person report. I could come help if you'd like." Kakyoin offered, hoping that the couple would deny it.

 

They didn't. "That would be great, thank you!"

 

And so began his trek to the police station.

 

 

When they got there, the station was relatively empty. Kakyoin helped them file a missing person report. (Unfortunately, there wasn't much the police could do but put out an announcement) and settled down in one of the chairs, waiting for the tourist to finish signing a few papers. Once they finish, he'll take this chance to politely leave.

 

"Mom! Dad!" a small voice called out. Kakyoin turned to see a small child opening the front door, holding the hand of...

 

Jotaro?

 

"Thank you so much, JoJo!" the girl thanked the delinquent in (relatively) broken Japanese, hugging his leg before running off to her parents, jumping into their arms.

 

"Anne! Thank goodness you're okay!" 

 

Kakyoin, in shock, looked back at Jotaro. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. Jotaro, the guy who beats up a mob of gangsters every other day, the guy who calls every single girl that tried to confess to him a bitch, the guy who ditched all of his classes... helped a child?

 

He never met Jotaro officially (he doesn't even know his last name), the only information he got being the stories he heard around the school. He never really believed them all, but a few he was inclined to. He just fit the stereotype of being the type of person who did some of those things.

 

"He even bought me a popsicle!" Kakyoin was able to translate a little bit of English the girl, Anne, said to her parents. Jotaro simply tugged his hat, turning away and leaving. Kakyoin quickly got up, following Jotaro as he walked down the street. For some reason, he felt drawn to Jotaro. Was it just natural curiosity? He'd talk to Jotaro, but there's no way Jotaro would even talk to Kakyoin for a good reason.

 

Kakyoin stopped walking, watching as Jotaro disappeared behind a corner. Jotaro Kujo... what an interesting person he is...

 

---

 

"You were there ?" Jotaro asked in exasperation. Kakyoin shrugged, a smile dancing on his lips. How embarrassing... He had hoped that nobody from school would see him walking with some kid.

 

"Yes, I was. And that was when I realized that maybe you weren't who everyone said you were. So... uh, sorry for being a jerk back then. I may have gotten a tad bit nervous."

 

"You broke my nose."

 

"I was defending myself! Plus, you gave me a black eye, so it was only fair."

 

... He had a point. Well, it didn't matter. In the end, they were together. And that's all that mattered.

 

"Hey, JoJo. We should go to the beach during the break." Kakyoin said, swinging their arms together as they walked aimlessly. Jotaro nodded. If they're going to the beach, he should buy a camera. He can take pictures of all the things he sees, and maybe even a notepad for him to write in. Kakyoin was knowledgeable about a lot of things, so he could be like... an assistant?

 

That'd be nice, just the two of them on a vast, quiet beach.

 

---

 

Much to Jotaro's annoyance, the entire school was surrounded by rumors of him and Kakyoin. He didn't see the buzz about it. They're friends (well, more than friends, now) and there was nothing else to it. Everyone had friends, what was so special about him?

 

Jotaro vented to Kakyoin about this during lunch at the rooftop, where they always ate together.

 

"You know..." Kakyoin said after Jotaro finished talking. "One particular rumor caught my attention. Someone saw us."

 

Doing what? Jotaro was about to ask. He then realized that someone saw them kiss. Yikes, that was a little awkward. He had hoped that there wasn't an audience when they shared their little moment, but that would've been wishful thinking...

 

"Nobody believes it, thankfully," Kakyoin added, which relaxed Jotaro a little bit. Everyone was shocked to hear that he and Kakyoin even knew of each other's existence, the added fact that they were together was too much to even consider.

 

... Good. The fewer rumors about them the better.

 

Jotaro took a long drag from his cigarette. What a pain... He thought that once the student council got off their back, the rest of the week would be uneventful.

 

"Hey, JoJo. Have you ever tried wild Alaskan salmon?" Kakyoin asked. Jotaro shook his head.

 

"My mom bought it at the fish market. It's delicious, here." Kakyoin gave Jotaro his bento. He took out his chopsticks and picked out a rather large piece.

 

"Your mom always buys the best fish," Jotaro said, taking another piece after finishing the first one. Kakyoin chuckled.

 

"If you like it so much, why not have your mother buy it?" he jokingly suggested. Jotaro nodded thoughtfully, actually considering it. He always loved the food his mom would cook, but he sort of wanted to eat at Kakyoin's house.

 

Good grief, he's getting sappy. He kisses his crush one time and now he's thinking about meeting Kakyoin's family.

 

Jotaro felt a familiar cold hand intertwined into his. The lack of heat somehow warming up his heart.

 

"I wonder what people would say if they found out if we were... boyfriends," Kakyoin pondered, giving Jotaro a small smile. Jotaro, truthfully, didn't know how people would react. What would all of those girls who constantly follow him around do? They'd probably lose their minds.

 

"Do you care?" Jotaro asked, squeezing Kakyoin's hand. 

 

"Not particularly," he said. "People won't understand, though."

 

"Yeah, I guess so." Jotaro brought his cigarette to his mouth. "But since when did we ever care about what other people thought?"

 

---

 

 A few days passed, and then it was Friday. Finally, Friday! The last day of school, the last day of cleaning, it was just an all-around great day.

 

After eating breakfast and riding the subway to school, Jotaro went into his classroom, where he was early yet again. The classroom was nearly empty, a few students sitting in the desks doing some homework. Kakyoin must've not arrived yet. To pass some time, Jotaro took out a book from his bag. He read a few pages, more and more people coming into the room. A few people tried talking to him (mainly about his friendship with Kakyoin, go figure.) to which Jotaro ignored.

 

It wasn't until silence filled the room when Jotaro looked up from his book. A smile grew on his lips when he saw Kakyoin standing in the doorway. He flipped his book closed, leaving his chair to meet with Kakyoin. Whispers floated around, but Jotaro didn't pay much attention to them.

 

"Hey." 

 

"Hey."

 

That was their sole greeting, and it honestly wasn't much. Maybe what got the class talking was the fact that Jotaro was smiling a little bit.

 

"Hmm. It looks like we have another problem on our hands." Kakyoin frowned, his eyes sweeping across the classroom. Jotaro shrugged.

 

"Guess we're leaving." he glanced back at a group of girls close by, who giggled when Jotaro made eye contact with one of them. Kakyoin raised an eyebrow at Jotaro.

 

"Yeah. Let's get outta here."

 

---

 

After a generally relaxed day of school, it was finally time for him and Kakyoin to finish cleaning the school. The last place for them to finish was the rooftop. Jotaro walked up the stairs, thinking about how quickly the entire school cleared out. All of the clubs were canceled, and every single student and teacher left as soon as the bell rang. Don't the teachers have papers to grade? Whatever... That doesn't matter.

 

"Sup." Jotaro nodded at Kakyoin, who had gotten to the rooftop earlier than him. Kakyoin turned his head away from the fence, smiling in return.

 

"It's strange seeing the whole school so quiet," Kakyoin said to Jotaro when he joined him. Jotaro personally found it better, it was far less noisy after school.

 

"JoJo. I don't want to clean today." 

 

"We'll get in trouble."

 

"I don't give a shit." Kakyoin bluntly said, grabbing Jotaro's hand and leaning in to give him a quick kiss.

 

---

 

Somehow, Kakyoin got the idea of looting through the principal's office. Jotaro, of course, was all in for it, which was why he was currently helping Kakyoin try and figure out the code to Principal Tanaka's mini-fridge that was located under his desk. A relatively inconspicuous place to hide a fridge. He and Kakyoin had almost missed it entirely as they were snooping around.

 

"It has to be good. Why would he keep it locked, otherwise?" Kakyoin muttered, rubbing his chin and punching another combination in. Nothing happened.

 

Principal Tanaka had a mountain of sticky notes collected around his computer, and Jotaro had the idea of trying to see if any were the combination. The notes weren't titled, so they had to take the tedious route of testing every number any of the sticky notes had.

 

"Okay, try three, fifteen, eighty-six." Jotaro read out the second to last sticky note that was left. Kakyoin shook his head.

 

"What does the last one say?"

 

"Six, twenty-eight, seventy-four," he said, spinning in the office chair.

 

Kakyoin put it in, and...

 

Pop!

 

"We did it!" Kakyoin cheered, throwing open the fridge door. Jotaro stopped his spinning and peeked over Kakyoin's kneeling figure, curious as to what was in the fridge.

 

" Well, well, well ..." was all that Kakyoin said. He took out a sort of can and a glass bottle. It looked familiar. Wait... it couldn't be...

 

"Looks like Mr. Tanaka has a little drinking habit." Kakyoin handed Jotaro a can, which upon closer inspection was a beer can. Jotaro let out a solid laugh, not knowing what to do.

 

"Beer, champagne-- ah, no wait. It's Prosecco, pardon the confusion. Whiskey, tequila, vodka? He's got an entire bar in here!" Kakyoin said in disbelief, taking out bottle after bottle of alcohol. 

 

"Wanna try it?" Jotaro asked, getting out of the swiveling chair and taking a seat on the floor with Kakyoin. He'd truthfully never tried even half of what Kakyoin had listed, the only alcohol he drank being beer (and even then, it was only a small sip).

 

"Are you serious? Of course, I do! He even has shot glasses."

 

"Tch. Damn alcoholic."

 

"Haha, I suppose so. Would you like to try the beer? Or something more refined? Or maybe even tequila or vodka?" Kakyoin started presenting different drinks. He should be having a beer, but he... sort of wants to try tequila.

 

"Gimme a shot of that." he pointed at the glass bottle. Kakyoin poured it into two shot glasses, handing one to Jotaro. He had zero knowledge about the drink, but the sugary brown look it had comforted him a little. It reminded him of caramel or maple syrup. It can't be half bad!

 

"I never even drank before. Well, here's to trying new things!" Kakyoin raised his shot glass in the air. Jotaro did the same.

 

"Yeah. Here's to us, too."

 

They drank from the glasses in unison, and that was when Jotaro regretted every single decision in his life that brought him up to this point. What could only be described as a vicious attack on his tastebuds, a bitter, harsh flavor greeted him. He struggled to not choke or spit it out, forcefully swallowing the small amount of liquid.

 

Kakyoin, meanwhile, handled it better than Jotaro. While he coughed violently after drinking, he finished the drink quickly.

 

"That... was so bad ." Kakyoin managed to force out after a heavy coughing session. Jotaro couldn't speak, the sheer disgustingness of the tequila taking away any form of Japanese he knew.

 

How can people willingly drink out of this? Was what Jotaro wanted to say.

 

"God... No more. I can't drink anything after that." Kakyoin made an x with his arms, shoving the alcoholic drinks and shot glasses back into the fridge. This was for the best. Jotaro would never become an alcoholic.

 

"I'm getting us a soda." Kakyoin got up from the floor, dusting his uniform off. "I forgot to give Hachiro back his wallet, so I might as well be utilizing it."

 

"Hm. Get me a Pepsi."

 

Kakyoin gave him an okay sign before he left, to which Jotaro decided to entertain himself by going through all of the files Principal Tanaka had on the teachers. He had so graciously even titled them, just for someone like Jotaro to easily find. He opened the cabinet, picking out a random file.

 

Ms. Yamamoto? His biology teacher? What a coincidence! He flipped it open, reading it over. The first page mostly had boring descriptions, where she attended college, her former jobs, regular resume things. The next page, though, was way more interesting.

 

"What's up, JoJo?" Kakyoin came back, leaning against the sliding door.

 

"That was quick," Jotaro said as Kakyoin sat down with him.

 

"I ran."

 

Jotaro snorted, cracking open the Pepsi can Kakyoin gave him. "I'm goin' through files. Look, Ms. Yamamoto went to jail three times."

 

"No way! Her? How's she still teaching?" Kakyoin sputtered in astonishment, inclining closer to Jotaro to look at the file.

 

"Assault? Public indecency?!" Kakyoin shook his head in disbelief. "There's no way. There's no way ... Get another file!"

 

Jotaro took another one, resting his head on Kakyoin's lap. 

 

"Mr. Sato. He used to be a popular drummer in a band."

 

Kakyoin's hand softly combed through Jotaro's hair, his hat being discarded somewhere on the floor. Was it bad for him to say that he was enjoying this? The comforting feeling of having Kakyoin so close to him, it felt so familiar. So natural, almost like they were meant to be together.

 

"What happened to the band?"

 

"... One of them killed the lead singer."

 

Kakyoin chuckled. "Ah, a tale as old as time. I'm positive there are about a thousand books with that exact premise."

 

"And shows," Jotaro added, thinking back to all of the drama series he would watch with his mom. The fact that people could squeeze in a romantic sub-plot into a show about gritty, gruesome murder was admirable. Tiring and boring, but still admirable.

 

"You know, keeping Hachiro's wallet makes me feel a little guilty." Kakyoin sighed, drinking his soda. Jotaro scoffed.

 

"No, it doesn't."

 

"You're right! It doesn't!" Kakyoin laughed, or something close to a laugh. It was more of a cackle mixed in with a wheeze, but it still made Jotaro's heart flutter.

 

"But... we should stop by the student council's room. I'd rather not have this wallet with me for the entire break."

 

---

 

"Oops." Kakyoin blankly shrugged his shoulders, standing over the knocked over trash bin. "My foot twitched."

 

They had gone there originally to turn in the stolen wallet but got sidetracked quickly. There were just so many things to go through! 

 

"Good grief. You did that on purpose, asshole."

 

"I'm shocked you'd even suggest that, JoJo!" Kakyoin gasped, acting offended. "I'll clean this up, don't worry!"

 

He didn't clean anything up, instead kicking the crumpled up papers and trash around the room.

 

Jotaro pulled his hat down. "Good grief. You're ruthless, Kakyoin."

 

"Noriaki."

 

"What?"

 

Kakyoin kicked the bin before looking up, raising an eyebrow at Jotaro. "We're together. Just call me Noriaki."

 

"Really?"

 

"Mhm."

 

In all honesty, Jotaro had wanted to say Kakyoin's first name for a while now. He just wasn't sure if it was okay for him to do so. 

 

"Okay... uhm, Nori." he looked down at the heap of trash scattered on the floor. Kakyoin grinned.

 

"Nori? I like it."

 

Jotaro looked back up, a small smile on his lips. "I have an idea."

 

---

 

Kakyoin let out an amused wheeze as he dumped an armful of toilet paper onto the office desk. He and Jotaro made a few stops around some classrooms, collecting different things for Jotaro's plan. Kakyoin was all in for it once Jotaro told him, as expected.

 

Jotaro set down several cans of spray paint (and a lot of shaving cream, for some reason) next to the toilet paper.

 

"Shaving cream?" Kakyoin glanced at Jotaro in confusion. 

 

"They had a lot in the art room," he said, taking one and testing it out on the desk. Kakyoin took a roll of toilet paper, tossing it haphazardly across the room.

 

"I think we should exact a little more payback for everything Hachiro did, don't you think?" Kakyoin beamed at him. Jotaro smiled back.

 

"We should spruce up the place for 'em." 

 

---

 

It only took an hour for them to finish. The student council room was covered with toilet paper, spray paint, and a nice coat of shaving cream that was covered on every seat. Kakyoin pointed out that it'd dry out the next day, but then they'd have to deal with scrubbing out the stains.

 

Jotaro took it upon himself to add another coat of paint onto the chalkboard.

 

"What an eventful Friday today was," Kakyoin said after they finished, throwing his arms on Jotaro's shoulder. "We should do this more often." 

 

Jotaro leaned into Kakyoin's hold. "We should."

 

"Wait. JoJo. What time is it?"

 

Jotaro looked at the clock on the wall, peaking through the strewn paper. "... Six forty."

 

"Hmm. Our sumo match is around seven-fifty. We can make a quick stop somewhere. Get some cake, perhaps." 

 

Cake? Cake! Yes, they should get some cake.

 

Kakyoin took Hachiro's wallet that was on the desk, wiping away the shaving cream on it and took a few more bills. He fanned himself with them, flashing Jotaro another wide grin. It made him feel all soft and mushy inside, almost like he was starring in a disgustingly cheesy, plotless, bad romantic movie.

 

He took Kakyoin's hand as they ran down the hallway and out of the school and down the street. Maybe Kakyoin was getting to him because somehow, he wasn't all that bothered the fact.

 

Notes:

OOOOOOOO CAUGHT IN A BAD ROMANCE

god damn finally. this chapter kicked my ASS jesus CHRIST... i restarted this chapter like 5 different times and im just TIRED of it. if ANYONE points out ANY errors im gonna fix it so please say so if you notice any. oh and ill FUCKING CRY

i hope you enjoyed this chapter!! anywayz, comment whatever u wanna comment. maybe ill do some epilogue shit if i feel like it or if i want some extra clout.

now that this fic is over i should MAYBE FOCUS ON DOING THAT ONE YANDERE FIC THAT I STILL LIKE DOING or my CAEJOSE FIC?! jesus christ on a god damn BIKE i literally cant focus on SHIT.

oh and im gonna make an au fic where all the jojos are siblings because i dont listen to myself AHAHAHAH

Notes:

a month without uploading she comes back with a fic--

this is like a little self-indulgent plus practice for my writing n adding more metaphors n imagery into it, but also bc i wanna see jotaro and kakyoin being TEENS and LIVING their BEST LIFE. and also redemption for my yandere jotaro fics :( forgive me sksksk i swear i'll update my main one soon. and hooray!! i didn't brutally murder the tags this time with a bunch of useless comments from me! this is true character development <3

oh, and follow my twitter plz lol I need mutuals and I'm too scared to talk to anyone :(

oh and HAPPY JOJO JANUARY!! AND THANKS TO MY DISCORD FRIENDS FOR BETAING THIS!!! MWAH!