Gravitation Fan Fiction ❯ Specific Gravity ❯ Trouble ( Chapter 5 )

Dear Readers: Thank you so much for all the reviews! I am so glad you are enjoying this story! I am enjoying writing this story. I love Yuki and Shuichi!

-o-o-o-o-o-

Chapter 5: Trouble

Naniko, Hitomi and Aiko surrounded Maiko as soon as she arrived in the classroom Thursday morning.

“Well?” Naniko demanded. “Did you talk to him?”

“Yes,” Maiko replied, trying to sound casual. “We discussed our relationship briefly. Yuki-san is fine with our relationship as it is. He said he would never ask me to do anything I wasn't ready to do.”

“Really?!” Naniko's disbelief was plain on her face. “And you believed that?”

“Of course! Why shouldn't I? Yuki-san has no reason to lie to me.” Maiko made a show of getting her books and homework out of her backpack. The incredulous stares on her friend's faces were making her uncertain.

“Maybe not,” said Hitomi. “But everyone I've ever talked to said he's really impatient in relationships.”

Aiko nodded in agreement. “My friend Yoko went out with him once and when she asked him about a second date, he told her she talked too much. She was pretty hurt.”

“But not so hurt she didn't keep bugging him about it,” Naniko said with a snort. “She told me he said he'd go to bed with her if she promised not to talk the whole time. She said he was great.” Naniko chuckled. “But then he kicked her out because she said thank you.”

Aiko blushed. “She never told me that,” she muttered.

Maiko frowned. “I don't know anything about the other girls he's gone out with. It's none of my business.” She wouldn't meet their eyes. “All I'm telling you is that he said he likes our relationship the way it is.” She pinched her lips together.

Naniko suddenly became thoughtful. Watching her face, Hitomi's eyes opened wide.

“You're not thinking…?” Hitomi trailed off.

Naniko nodded. “It's something he would do,” she said.

“But that's really low!”

Aiko looked from one to the other in confusion. “What are you talking about?”

Naniko glanced quickly at Maiko and then lowered her voice before answering. “Since he started going out with Maiko, other girls have been leaving him alone. But I can't believe he's happy not having sex. I bet he's getting it somewhere else, so he doesn't need it from Maiko, and in the meantime she makes a useful shield.”

“I'm not a shield!” Maiko exclaimed. She felt tears forming in her eyes and quickly lowered her head. “Yuki-san cares about me! You don't know what you're talking about!”

Naniko put a hand on her shoulder. “I'm sorry, Maiko. I didn't mean anything by it. I just don't want you to get hurt and I don't trust him. Maybe I'm just bitter about Gendo dumping me.”

Maiko didn't answer and the three girls moved away, whispering among themselves. A tear trickled down her cheek and Maiko brushed it away. She did not want to believe what Naniko said, but she knew Yuki's reputation. A lot of girls claimed to have slept with him and they couldn't all be lying. Why doesn't he want to sleep with me? Is there something wrong with me? Maiko peeked in Naniko's direction. The three girls were watching her and she quickly looked away. Maybe I should ask him again. If he is just using me... Maiko sniffed and had to struggle to hold back tears.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Shuichi's head was full of music. The melody was so persistent, he was oblivious to everything going on around him. Hiro had to nudge him to call his attention to the fact that their homeroom teacher was staring at him with great irritation.

“Shindou,” Mr. Hanodi said with a frown, “I asked you to read the sentence on the board.”

Shuichi jumped to his feet. “Yes, sir! I'm sorry, sir!” He stared at the board, where Mr. Hanodi had written a sentence in English. Shuichi read the sentence aloud, doing his best to get the pronunciation right.

“Well, that was certainly an interesting interpretation, Shindou.” The class tittered. “Nakano, would you care to try?”

Hiro stood up and read the sentence aloud.

“Thank you.” Mr. Hanodi went back to his lesson.

Shuichi leaned over to Hiro and whispered, “That's what I said!”

“Hardly,” Hiro chuckled. “You completely mispronounced four words.”

“There are only six in the sentence!”

Hiro grinned.

“Dammit!” Shuichi grumbled.

“New song?”

“Yeah!” Shuichi brightened. “You want to come over and listen?”

“Sure. We haven't seen that much of each other lately.”

They walked together to the Shindou house after school. It felt like old times to Shuichi, to be working on music with Hiro and not worrying about anything else.

“I think this sounds like a love song. What do you think, Hiro?”

“Kind of. You've been writing a lot of love songs lately.”

“Have I?” Shuichi kept his eyes on his keyboard. “I guess that's just the kind of mood I've been in.”

Hiro was quiet for a moment. “How's your sister getting along with Eiri Yuki?”

Shuichi froze. “Just fine! Why do you ask?”

“There are rumors at school. Weren't you paying any attention?” Hiro regarded Shuichi's blank stare with amusement. “That was a stupid question! Of course you weren't. The female students are saying that Yuki's cheating on your sister.”

“What?!” Shuichi stared at Hiro in dismay. “Are they saying who with?” Rising panic made his voice squeak.

“No.” Hiro gave him a puzzled frown. “What's the matter? Do you know something?”

“No!” Shuichi squeaked again. “There's nothing going on! I swear!” He stared at Hiro, his face alternately paling and flushing.

Hiro leaned forward. “Shuichi, what's the matter with you? You're acting really weird.”

“Oh god!” Shuichi gasped. He buried his face in his hands. “It's me!” he wailed. “I'm the one he's having an affair with! I'm having an affair with my sister's boyfriend!”

Hiro blinked at him in silence.

“It's true!” Shuichi declared miserably. He looked at Hiro. “It's been going on for weeks, almost since he first started dating Maiko.” Tears welled up in his eyes and spilled down his cheeks. “I know it's wrong, but I can't help it. I'm so hopelessly in love with him I can't think straight.”

“You're having sex with him?”

“Yes,” Shuichi admitted in a faint voice.

“I have to confess I'm completely surprised. I thought something was going on with you, but I never thought…” Hiro paused. “You know I would never judge you, right?”

Shuichi nodded, wiping tears from his cheeks with both hands.

“You shouldn't be fucking your sister's boyfriend.”

Shuichi began to weep again. “I know,” he exclaimed. “I keep telling myself that, but I can't stop. All he has to do is look at me and I fall into his arms. Being with him is so wonderful!”

Hiro sat back. “I don't know what to say. But he's either using Maiko or he's using you, and either one is bad. A decent guy wouldn't be doing this.”

“We're both deceiving her,” Shuichi replied sadly. “She'll hate me when she finds out.”

“She might not find out if you stop seeing him right now. Break up with him.”

“I can't.” Shuichi bowed his head and sighed. “I don't want to.” He looked up at Hiro with tear-filled eyes. “I really am in love with him, Hiro.”

Hiro sighed. “I believe you. I think you're nuts, but I'll stick by you, whatever happens.”

“Thank you.”

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Eiri closed the door to the journalism classroom to shut off the noise from the hallway. The rumors about him and Maiko had swelled to a torrent in a single day. It was really irritating. Surely they had something better to talk about. He tried to focus on the editorial he was writing about the decline in student test scores, but he kept digressing into an angry diatribe about gossip. He finally erased the entire article in irritation and pushed away from the computer.

“Writer's block?”

Eiri turned around and found his good friend, Tohma Seguchi, standing inside the closed door.

“I didn't hear you come in.”

“Apparently.” Tohma favored him with an amused smile and strolled across the room to lean against the desk next to him. “Hiding from the rumors?”

“Working. Trying to, anyway.” Eiri ran his fingers through his hair. “Why is it that everyone finds my personal life so much more interesting than academics?”

“Because you're one of the beautiful people, my friend.” Tohma smoothed Eiri's hair. “So is it true? Are you cheating on her?”

Eiri frowned at him. “That's none of your business.”

Tohma grinned. “So it is true! Well, then, I have my own theory I want to try out.”

“Would you get out of here?” Eiri growled.

“Not until you answer my question. I've given it considerable thought.” Tohma began pacing. “Girls at this school can't keep a secret at all, so if you were doing it with one of them on the side, I'm sure she would have told someone by now and I would have heard about it. Therefore, you can't be fucking a girl from this school.” Tohma winked at Eiri. “But I know you and there's no way you would waste time with a girl who was an effort to see, so it can't be a girl from another school. So then I got to thinking: who do you spend a lot of time with, other than Maiko and me?” He stopped and turned to face Eiri. “And then it hit me: Shuichi Shindou.” He tipped his head to one side and smiled sweetly. “So tell me, when did you become a bisexual?”

“You think you're clever, don't you?”

“Yes, I do. Answer the question.”

Eiri leaned back in his chair. “So you figured it out. What are you going to do about it?”

Tohma smiled suggestively at Eiri. “Well if I'd known you batted both ways, I would have tried harder, for one thing.”

“That's not funny, Tohma.”

“I wasn't trying to be funny. Girls aren't the only ones who think you're hot. Are you fucking him?”

Eiri glared at him.

“Forgive me for asking, but those of us in the `never-been-fucked-by-Yuki-but-would-like-to-be' camp would love to know what he has that we don't. Is he the reason you started going out with Maiko? So you would have an excuse for hanging out with him?”

“No, in fact. I asked Maiko out because I like her. I'd never even heard of Shuichi Shindou before I met him at her house.”

“And now you're fucking him. How long did you wait? One day?” Tohma shook his head. “Or did he come on to you?”

“The attraction was mutual.”

“I notice you didn't answer my question about how soon after you met him you started fucking him.”

“You seem a little fixated on the fucking.”

Tohma chuckled. “Maybe I am. It happened right away, didn't it?”

“It was about a week later.”

“I still can't believe you're doing it with a guy, after all the times I offered and was rebuffed. Or was I too subtle? How did he get to you?”

“It wasn't like that. Shuichi just… attracts me. I don't know why.”

“I can guess, if he started putting out when you'd only known each other a week. Anyway, why are you still dating Maiko if Shuichi's the one you want?”

Eiri sighed in exasperation. “Because if I break up with her, I'll have no reason to stay friends with Shuichi.”

“He must be good.”

“Give it a rest, Tohma!”

“Well, you're going to have to break up with her sooner or later. Either that, or you'll have to start fucking her. The rumors are all over school that you're cheating on her, which you are, so unless you want her to figure it out, you better give her a reason to not question you.”

“I'm not going to fuck Maiko.”

“Then you better break up with one of them, because if the truth comes out that the infinitely popular Eiri Yuki is fucking a male sophomore, the proverbial shit will hit the fan and we're all going to get splattered.”

Eiri rubbed his temples with his fingertips. “I almost wish I hadn't met him. My life has gotten so complicated.”

“Then stop seeing him.”

“Do you think I haven't told myself that? But whenever I think about doing it, we end up in bed and I can't. I really like being with him.” He closed his eyes and sighed. “I'm really screwed, Tohma. There's no way this won't end badly.”

Tohma gripped Eiri's shoulder and shook him gently. “Drop him, Eiri. It's the only smart thing to do, whether you dump Maiko or not.”

Eiri didn't answer.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Maiko could not bring herself to confront Yuki about the rumors. After all, there was no proof and he might be insulted if he thought she believed it. But on their date on Saturday night, she could not help noticing little things. Although they were seated side-by-side at the small table in the candlelit restaurant, there was a respectable distance between their bodies. Other couples were snuggled close together, even sharing tidbits of food as they whispered in each other's ears. Yuki was always charming and he treated her with affection, but there was no real romance in his manner and not even a hint of passion. Maiko was left to conclude that, for whatever reason, Yuki was not physically attracted to her at all. Yet he continued to go out with her. It was very confusing.

“I heard you are losing your leadership counselor,” Yuki said, startling Maiko out of her reverie.

“Yes, that's right. Mrs. Suzuki is taking maternity leave. Mr. Konoto is taking over.”

“I hope that won't mess up the work you've done already planning the graduation ceremony.”

“It shouldn't.” Maiko couldn't help smiling. “Mrs. Suzuki brought Mr. Konoto to our meeting yesterday morning and made sure he understood exactly how she wanted things to go. I think he's a little afraid of her. I don't expect him to try to change anything.”

“That's good. It took me weeks to break in Mr. Shintai as our journalism counselor this year. We get along fine now that he understands he's supposed to do as I say.”

Maiko laughed.

“By the way,” Yuki asked casually, “do you know if Shuichi is busy tomorrow?”

“Shuichi?” Maiko was confused by the change in subject. “I don't think so. Why?”

“I have two passes to the last day of the video game convention tomorrow and Tohma can't go with me. I don't want to waste the ticket and I thought Shuichi might enjoy it.”

“That's very kind of you to think of him. He loves video games.” Maiko smiled as she imagined Shuichi's squeal of excitement at receiving the invitation. “I think he goes out with you as often as I do, though!” she added, but as soon as the words left her lips, something nagged at her.

“I like Shuichi,” Yuki said with a small smile. “He's fun to be with.”

The nagging feeling got worse.

Yuki sipped his water. “Doesn't your play premier next week?”

The mention of her upcoming play chased the nagging feeling away. “Yes! It's a week from today, in fact. You'll come, won't you?”

“Of course, I wouldn't miss it.”

Maiko started talking about the play and all the problems they were having in rehearsal that still had to be resolved and she forgot about the rumors and the nagging doubts. Yuki listened to her attentively, his eyes watching her face. When he looked at her like that, it was hard for Maiko to imagine that he was seeing someone else. When they arrived home later, she had forgotten about Yuki's plan to invite Shuichi to the convention the next day.

“Do you think Shuichi is still up?” Yuki asked when he escorted her to her front porch.

“Oh! The convention. I forgot.” Suddenly, the nagging feeling she'd had before came back. Maiko glanced at her watch. “He's probably still up, practicing with his headphones on so Mom won't know he's not studying. Why don't you come in while I check?”

“Thanks.”

Yuki waited in the front hall while Maiko went upstairs to Shuichi's room. She listened for a moment before knocking on the door, but she couldn't hear anything. She peeked in without waiting for his response. As she expected, he was sitting at his keyboard with his headphones on and his eyes closed, his fingers dancing over the keys. His expression was rapt and for a moment, Maiko felt guilty about interrupting him. But then his eyes opened and he gave her a big smile. He pulled off his headphones.

“Hey, Maiko. How was your date?”

“Just fine. Yuki's downstairs. He wants to ask you something.”

Shuichi's eyes widened and he jumped to his feet. “Oh, yeah? What's it about?” But he didn't wait for her answer. He hurried past her and bounded down the stairs. “Hey, Yuki, what's up?”

Maiko watched from the top of the stairs as Yuki fixed his eyes on Shuichi's face.

“I have tickets to the video-con tomorrow. Want to go?”

Shuichi jumped into the air with a shout. “You bet! That's so cool! Thanks for asking me. What time?”

“I'll pick you up at eleven.”

“Great! I'll be ready.”

Yuki looked up at her. “Goodnight, Maiko. I'll see you on Monday.”

“Goodnight.” Maiko watched with a frown as Shuichi leaned out the door to exchange a last few words with Yuki before he left. The nagging feeling that was gnawing at the back of her mind moved into the front and insisted on pointing out that Yuki had not even offered to kiss her goodnight. “You and Yuki have become very good friends,” she said to Shuichi as he came back upstairs.

A faint blush touched Shuichi's cheeks. “I guess so. He's a nice guy.”

“Yes, he is.”

“Well, goodnight!” Shuichi darted back into his room and quickly closed the door.

Maiko stared at his closed door for several seconds before moving on to her own room. A twinge of jealousy tugged at her heart. Shuichi spent as much time with Yuki as she did, maybe more when she considered all those afternoons when she came home and found Yuki already here. If he was seeing another girl, when did he have time?