2.27. I'm No Cheesecake

Y/N opened the door and was immediately shot in the chest.

His cheeks flushed with surprise. He looked down at the NERF bullet sticking to his hoodie. "...why?"

Aiku shrugged, taking back the bullet and reloading his gun. "Figured it'd be funny."

He stood outside with Sendou, the two of them having accepted Y/N's invite. Hesitating, Y/N beckoned for them to come in. "Two more to add to the total..."

"Hmm?"

Y/N laughed. "So many more people showed up than I'd expected. I thought only like five of you would come."

"You asked literally the entire group chat."

"Oopsie." Y/N shrugged, locking the door behind Aiku. "Well, it's just gonna be a little cramped."

His apartment was already completely full. Isagi, Chigiri, Bachira and Aryu were sprawled out over the single sofa he had. Karasu, Raichi were arguing about something in the corner, alongside... Barou?

Yukimiya and Reo stood in the corner of the room, quietly talking. And by the kitchen counters, Gagamaru was perched on the countertop, eating the expensive beef Y/N had bought completely raw.

I guess I did kind of let that happen. Y/N winced. Better Gagamaru have it than... that guy, anyway.

Shidou propped himself up on the counter, trying to sweet-talk Gagamaru into giving him some of the beef - or at least get it cooked. He was the first to see Y/N walk in with Aiku and Sendou, grinning like a madman and waving. And also the first to receive a NERF bullet to the face.

Y/N waved cautiously back. He turned to Aiku, who was making a big show of blowing on the barrel of his gun. "Wait, do you see Nagi anywhere?"

"Who's that? The white-haired kid?"

"Yeah."

"No sign of him. Did you invite him?" Aiku tossed the gun on Y/N's table.

"He was here a second ago..." Y/N sighed deeply. "Don't tell me..." Striding across the room to the door to his bedroom, which was firmly closed, Y/N cracked it open.

What a surprise. Nagi had hijacked his bed, lying at the bottom of it sideways so his legs flopped off one side and his head hung off the other. And somehow, he was sound asleep. Y/N scowled, marched over, and tugged Nagi right off.

The sleeping boy hit the floor with a thump, eyes flying open. "A squared plus B squared!"

"What?" Y/N shook his head. "You know what, it doesn't matter. What are you doing here?"

Nagi stared dumbly up at him, not bothering to move from his position on the floor. "You invited me...?"

"I mean in my room! I told everyone the bedroom was off-limits!" Now, Y/N hated control. If it was someone else that had made that rule, he would've definitely complained. But his room was his. He chose who went in.

And also, he'd just deep cleaned it, and didn't want more than a dozen sweaty boys lounging around.

"Oh."

Y/N took hold of his arms, trying to tug him out. Nagi barely budged. Y/N gaped. "How heavy are you?"

"Gimme a piggyback."

"You're gonna crush me."

"I promise I won't. Reo does it all the time."

"Do I look as muscular as Reo? You'd kill me."

"Reo says you never know until you try."

"Reo can take that logic up the as-"

Yukimiya cleared his throat in the doorway. Y/n leapt about a foot into the air, stepping away from the model. But he just smiled politely, and a little nervously. "Did I interrupt something?"

"Yuki, you're a life saver." Y/N dramatically staggered into him, pointing at Nagi. "Can you get this dumbass out of my bedroom?"

"Why do you insist on that nickname?"

"Do I need a reason?"

"Tell me and I'll get him out."

"Okay." Y/N hummed, placing a finger on his chin. "I mean, it's a pretty nickname. And I like how it sounds." Before Yukimiya could respond at all, Y/N skipped past him, giving Nagi a dark glare.

"Alright, thanks for your help, Yuki!"

"Y-Y/N-"

"Buh-bye...!" Y/N ran into the centre of the room, eyes excitedly flickering between the people standing around.

"So, what are we gonna watch?"

He got many different answers back.

"I don't know."

"Same."

"The one with the cat?"

"Godzilla?"

"Train to Busan?"

"Parasite?"

"Ghostbusters?"

All eyes turned expectantly to Y/N. He fished his phone from his pocket, opening it to the notes app that he literally never used. "We can probably get through all of those, it's barely evening right now."

"What's Godzilla about?"

"A big lizard woken up by nukes that attacks people."

"Actually, he's kind of nice in the more modern films. We aren't watching the really old ones, are we?"

"Doesn't he kill a load of Japanese people?"

"In the old ones, yeah."

"...can we watch the new one?"

"Sounds good."

Over the next ten minutes, the apartment was a rush of movement. Yukimiya dragged Nagi out of Y/N's bedroom by his feet, dumping him on the floor and closing Y/N's door. Shidou and Raichi kept tossing snacks across the room to land somewhere in front of the TV for everyone else.

Y/N snatched a pack of Pocky sticks from the air, throwing himself onto the sofa with his remote in hand. "Does anyone know illegal sites where I can watch? Or do I have to rent them?"

Raichi extended a hand for the remote. Y/N gaped at him, and Raichi scowled. "What, you asked?! And I'm not about to spend money on a movie!"

"Mkay..." Y/N nodded happily, reclining into the sofa's cushions. It seemed like Shidou and Gagamaru had done raiding his cupboards, because a few seconds later, they were plonking themselves on the floor right in front of the TV. The rest of the boys clustered around the TV as well, some sitting on the floor, some of them sitting on and around the sofa, Barou leaning against the wall.

Snacks were passed around. Isagi and Bachira shared a pack of Baum rolls. Several packs of Calbee chips were ripped open. Y/N himself happily sat cross legged on the sofa, munching on pocky sticks as Raichi managed to get one of the requested movies up.

"Wait, what movie is this?"

"Puss in Boots. The new one."

"Lame as hell."

"Sendou?! How dare you say a word against this masterpiece?"

"What?"

"Just watch."

They settled down, very slowly. Y/N sat right between Chigiri and Isagi, the three of them squished together on the sofa by Gagamaru on one side, and Bachira on the other. Most of the others sat in front of the sofa, except one.

Y/N's eyes drifted to Barou, standing solitary against the wall. Silently, he tilted his head, before pointing at the ground in front of him. Wanna sit with the rest of us? Barou scowled.

Shrugging, Y/N rolled his eyes. Whatever you want, dude. He looked back towards the screen, not bothering to pay attention to the edgy king standing up. You're gonna get tired before the movies are over...

Shidou glanced up at Y/N from where he sat on the floor. Y/N looked right back. "Hi?"

"Can I sit on your lap to make room for Barou?"

Y/N sighed into his hands.

"Why did I even invite you?"

🥕🥕🥕

"Muhwum... hey... that's my goal..."

Bachira curled up against Isagi's side, fast asleep. Isagi was asleep as well, just much less loud as he squished up against Y/N's side.

Y/N laughed quietly to himself, hearing Bachira's mumbling alongside the screaming of the TV playing a horror movie. Half of the strikers had fallen asleep, Chigiri on the other side of him snoozing away with his head resting on Y/N's shoulder. Gagamaru had fallen asleep on the floor, as well as Aryu and Sendou.

Nagi was as usual asleep, resting his head on the sofa's side as his chest rose and fell with steady breaths. That just left Shidou, Aiku, Karasu, Yukimiya, Barou, and Reo awake alongside Y/N.

Shidou was fixated on the movie, eyes unblinking as he sat the closest to the TV. He seemed to enjoy the horror movies more than other ones, even when jumpscares shot out right in front of his face. The rest of them seemed a little tired, but they all looked pretty used to long nights.

Y/N glanced at the time. Three in the morning already? Went hella fast...

From the kitchen countertop, there was a buzzing. Y/N, as well as some of the others, glanced back. Y/N rose. He reached back, making sure that Chigiri was comfortable on the sofa and smiling reassuringly. "I think that's my phone."

He wandered over, scooping it up. The person calling him was definitely not what he'd expected. But he picked up immediately, stepping into his bedroom for some added privacy.

"Hello? Sae?"

"Y/N. You're awake."

Y/N laughed awkwardly. "I mean, so are you... is there a specific reason to call?"

"Be careful with my brother." The response was short and sharp. Y/N stilled, the smile faltering.

"Why?"

"Because he's not happy with you."

"Uh... why?"

A rush of static came through the phone line, Sae exhaling into the microphone. "Because of what I did."

Y/N laughed nervously. "What did you do?"

"I trained you. And I supported you, doing my role as a midfielder." Y/N nodded. Okay, that doesn't sound too bad- "And I told him that you would be the one to change the future of Japanese soccer, not him."

Shit.

"Right..." Y/N hesitated. "So I shouldn't talk to him?"

"He won't talk back anyway." Sae replied. "But it was just a caution. My little brother can get obsessive at times."

"Alright. Thanks for the warning."

Sae hung up.

Y/N gave a tired groan, tossing his phone onto his bed and heading back outside to join the others.

"What was that about?" Reo was the first one to ask.

"Oh, just Sae calling." Y/N brushed it off, ignoring their incredulous looks. "What?"

"He called someone?"

"Yeah...?"

"Jeez. I thought he didn't talk to anyone."

"Really?" Y/N placed a finger on his lip, thinking. "He seems pretty talkative to me."

"Are you sure it's not just you?"

"I don't really know, to be honest." Y/N smiled. "But he is a nice guy. Bought me a bunch of food."

Reo clicked his fingers. "That reminds me. Wanna go get some food?"

"It's a bit late, ain't it?" Aiku motioned to the clock on the wall. "Restaurants won't be open."

"I meant Family Mart or something..."

Y/N perked up at the idea of food. "I'm down."

"Same." Yukimiya added.

"I'll stay here." Karasu quietly said.

Shidou didn't respond, wide eyes fixated on the screen. Y/N chuckled a bit - he looked completely hypnotised by the movie. Has he never watched horror before?

"I'll stay too." Aiku exhaled slowly. "Get some of the rubbish cleaned up while you're out."

Y/N smiled, nodding. "I can do it myself later, when you've left."

"Nah." He shrugged. "I might as well be useful while you're out. And besides, it's gonna take ages to clean up yourself."

Heart swelling with gratitude, Y/N looked towards the only person who hadn't given an answer. "Barou? Come with?"

"...sure."

That didn't sound like a very 'sure' answer, but Y/N brushed it off. He scooped up his wallet, tucking it into his pocket. "I'll leave the door unlocked!"

"Okay!"

Reo first, then Yukimiya and Barou followed Y/N outside onto the balcony. For March, the air was pretty cold, breath clouding slightly in the night. The street below was dimly lit, street lamps glowing a soft yellow. Y/N made directly for the stairs.

"Reo, I'll race you to the nearest store!"

"What?!" Reo took off for the stairs as well. "I don't even know my way around here!"

"Too bad!" Y/N sped down the stairs, feet thumping on the concrete. Reo was right behind him, laughing as the two of them made for the ground floor. Yukimiya chucked lightly, following them at a much more casual pace. Barou huffed with annoyance and walked forwards.

Y/N's heart was racing as he reached near the end of the staircase. He threw himself forwards down the stairs, arms extended on either side as he flew through the air for a split-second. Hitting the floor, he ran for the nearest convenience store.

A single look over his shoulder showed Reo just reaching the bottom of the stairs. Yukimiya and Barou were still making their way down. Even though Reo tried to catch up, Y/N was way faster. He launched himself forwards, laughing loudly in the mostly empty street.

When Reo finally caught up to him, panting heavily, he leant into Y/N. "How are you so fast?"

"You're just hella slow." Y/N teased. He gazed up at the glowing sign of Family Mart. "What do you wanna get?"

"Don't know." Reo made a small noise of thought. "Cheesecake? What are you getting?"

"I'm no cheesecake." Y/N seriously stated. "How dare you."

"That's not what I meant-"

"Though, it's nice you think of me to be so sweet." Y/N grinned, knowing full well what he was doing. "I was thinking of Shin ramyun."

"At this time?"

"Don't diss the ramyun, Reo."