AN: i would just like to apologize for how late this chapter is- i know i said i would update this story over the weekend (last weekend) but i literally couldn't think of anything to write about- but i tried my best so i hope you enjoy anyways.
cw: brief mentions of neglect
-Shuichi's POV-
Shuichi sat at his desk, staring blankly at the science textbook in front of him, his mind on anything but the words on the page. It was Friday, which was always the longest day of the week for him. He looked up at the people who were in this class with him. Kokichi, obviously, was sitting next to him, doodling on the pages of the textbook. Across the room, Himiko was asleep at her desk, while Tenko was next to her, appearing to be focused on the textbook. Kiibo was staring off at seemingly nothing, and Maki was scribbling in a notebook. The rest of the people he didn't know very well.
Suddenly, he felt someone elbow him. He turned to see Kokichi looking at him with his usual stupid grin. "What is it?" Shuichi said in a hushed voice. "I'm boooored! Do you wanna play a game or something?" Kokichi said a little too loudly, drawing the attention of the teacher, who made a shushing motion at them. "What kind of game?" Shuichi said once the teacher had turned away.
"We could play 21 questions!" Kokichi suggested, still talking loud enough to be heard. The teacher was pissed off, with Kokichi being a repeat offender of things like this. "Didn't I tell you two to be quiet? Detention for both of you." Kokichi stuck his tongue out and sighed. He opened his mouth to say something to Shuichi, but he elbowed him. "We're already in enough trouble, shut up!" Shuichi said in a barely audible whisper. As he made eye contact with Kokichi, he noticed a flicker of fear behind his nonchalaunt expression, but he just nodded and went back to doodling on his textbook.
-Timeskip to when they're at detention-
Kokichi walked into the math classroom, which was also used for after school detention. Shuichi was at his side, looking annoyed and tired. Oh god, this is bad, this is really bad. He thought to himself. His parents didn't like when he got detention, and they would resort to locking him out of the house whenever he would. It was freezing, and he didn't want to have to spend the night in the cold.
"You alright, Kichi? You've been acting.. off today." Shuichi said as they sat down next to each other, handing their detention slips to Mr. Ishimaru. "Huh? 'Course I'm okay." He lied.
"If you say so." Shuichi said incredulously. "But you can talk to me about anything, kay?"
"I know, I know." Kokichi said in a jokingly annoyed tone. "I don't know why you care so much, geez. I'm telling you I'm okay."
"I just felt like I should say something.." Shuichi said, trailing off.
Kokichi didn't respond as he idly worked on that night's homework. Despite Kokichi's reassurance, Shuichi couldn't help but be concerned. He had no reason to, but he couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.
Shuichi continued worrying about one thing or another until the commanding voice of the math teacher broke the silence. "Alright, detention is over everyone. You're free to go. Please refrain from breaking the rules in the future." Everyone grumbled half-hearted agreement as they packed up their things to leave. As Shuichi got up to leave, he noticed Kokichi was just staring at his desk blankly. No, not blankly.. were those tears in his eyes?
Shuichi gently nudged his shoulder. "Hey, its time to go.."
"I know that, dumbass." Kokichi snapped in response, shoving his papers in his backpack hastily and getting up to leave. Something was definitely wrong.
They walked over to the parking lot without a word between them. As they got in the car, Shuichi got an idea to lighten the mood. "Hey Kichi, wanna turn some music on for me?"
"Sure." Kokichi said flatly. He turned on the music and sat back. No singing, not even humming. It was deafening. As they finally reached Kokichi's house, the sun rapidly setting in the sky, he pulled into the driveway. "Hey Kokichi..?" He said, turning to the purple haired boy beside him and noticed that he had began to silently cry. He bit his lip and sniffled. "Shumai.. I... my parents are gonna lock me out, they always do when I get detention.." He said, desperation in his eyes as he shakily turned to meet Shuichi's gaze.
Shuichi stifled a gasp. "In this weather? You'll get frostbite..!" He said quietly. Without warning, Kokichi hugged him and buried his face in his shoulder.
"Please.. can I stay at your house tonight? I can't.. I can't spend another night outside."
Shuichi gently patted his head and wrapped his other arm around him, holding him close. "O-of course. I'm really glad you trusted me enough to tell me." He replied, trying to keep his voice calm, but failing.
"Thank you so much Shuichi.." He said, his voice shaky. He just sat and held Shuichi for a while, and Shuichi let him. It was obvious he needed some serious comfort right now. House of Memories softly played from Shuichi's phone, and Shuichi decided to focus his mind on that. After a while, Kokichi let go of Shuichi hesitantly and sat back in his seat. Shuichi took that as a signal to leave for his house. With that, he pulled out of the driveway and headed for home.
