Shuichi fiddled with the bottom of his shirt, looking down as he chewed his own bottom lip.

"Say it again, I didn't hear you!" Kokichi sang, cupping a hand to his ear. He let out a small giggle.

The detective took a deep breath before looking back up to his friend. "Will you be my fake boyfriend?" He repeated, louder than the first time. He couldn't exactly go against Kokichi's request, he did just basically barge into his room & ask something as absurd as this.

Kokichi hummed, sitting down onto his bed before crossing his legs. "Why are you asking this? It's a little weird, even for you!" The short boy teased.

The ravenette sighed in response. "K- I..." He trailed off. Kokichi rolled his eyes, patting a space beside him on the bed. Shuichi sat down. "Kaede asked me out today & I felt bad letting her down. Instead, I panicked & told her I had a boyfriend".

The supreme leader began to laugh. "Why a boyfriend?"

"I recently came out as bisexual. Since- uh" He began to grow nervous again, chewing on his bottom lip. "It would make more sense of me to hide a boyfriend from her than a girlfriend, I guess".

Kokichi nodded. "Aww, I'm so honoured you want me to be your fake boy toy" He giggled. 

Shuichi's cheeks flushed at the name, shooting his head up before shaking it. "N-no! I asked everyone else in our class, even some of the seniors". This was a lie, he had been too worried to ask one of his friends since they were too close to Kaede, perhaps Kokichi could keep the lie going longer than someone else. Kokichi gave him a pout. "I didn't think you would agree". This was clearly a lie, he didn't particularly trust Kokichi. It would be easier to fake date someone like Rantaro or Kaito in all honesty. But there was a small part of him which felt obliged to ask Kokichi.

The purple haired boy leaned towards the other. "That would be super mean of me, Shumai! You're my favourite! I wouldn't turn you away" He sang. Shuichi still, after a year of knowing Kokichi, didn't understand what he meant by 'favourite'. It sounded sketchy.

"So, you'll do it?" The detective asked with a hopeful voice.

Kokichi nodded. "mhm-hm! Would I ever let you down? Name one time!" He sang, winking. Shuichi opened his mouth to recall one of the many times he had been lied to by Kokichi but was interrupted as Kokichi jumped up. "Okay, so to fake this! We need to do that gross PDA stuff like holding hands, kissing cheeks, hugging..." the boy began to ramble, the things he said caused Shuichi to become flustered. "Oh! & we should probably think of a story of how we got together! That's the fun part!" 

The detective nodded in agreement. He assumed Kaede would ask how they got together. "How about something like we told each-" 

"I was hiding from crime stoppers who were after me, the ultimate supreme leader! I hid in your dorm & during that time we had a make out session & we found out we liked each other!" Kokichi interrupted with his story no one would buy. 

Shuichi stared at him before shaking his head, opening his mouth to begin his suggestion once again before getting interrupted once again.

"How about this!" The short boy suggested, before getting into his description. "I challenged you in a game, life or death! It ended up that I ordered you to be honest about your feelings with me & you told me. We had the same feelings, we made out & now we're dating!" He declared, sounding proud of his story. The other didn't really understand why the situation always had to end with them making out, it was strange hearing Kokichi bringing up subjects like that.

He decided to give in & nod. "That actually sounds like a good alias" he admitted.

Kokichi shrugged. "I am a liar after all, this is all childs play for me! Like when your playing families & the dad burns your playhouse down all because you wouldn't give him the play dough".

"We should think of a date when we got together" Shuichi suggested, ignoring his last statement. He rubbed his chin with one hand as he thought. "How about two months ago".

Kokichi pressed a finger to his cheek as he thought before shaking his head. "Nuh-uh, you were sick 2 months ago".

The ravenette was surprised Kokichi remembered that. "Not exactly two months ago, after I got better" he commented. 

"Oh oh! Right!" The supreme leader seemed somewhat embarrassed. "Then that sounds perfect!" He giggled, giving him an okay sign with his fingers.

Shuichi smiled slightly. He pushed himself up from his seat, stretching his legs a little. "Great!" He replied, trying not to make eye contact while still looking in Kokichi's direction so he wouldn't seem rude. "Can you meet me & Kaede outside the football field at 4:20 after school? I promised I would introduce her to you then". He became slightly flustered at the thought of referring to his friend as his boyfriend of 2 months.

The shorter boy walked with him to the door. "Yeah, got it!" He replied. "You better not fake cheat on me, babe" He teased with a small giggle.

"R-right" Shuichi mumbled before leaving the room. "Goodnight!" He quickly walked off to his own dorm. 

Kokichi waved him off. Once he closed the door, he leaned against it, sliding down. "Fuck" he mumbled to himself, placing one hand over his chest. He let out a groan as he noticed the pace it was going at. "Shit, why is he so pretty". He felt his chest tighten.He slapped his own face, attempting to break his thought. "This is so stupid".

He couldn't take the silence. Carefully, he stood up. He paused for a moment before opening the door, looking & up & down the dark hallways. It was 7pm, most of the students were down at the cafeteria by now. He closed his door, locking it behind him before making his way to Rantaro's dorm. He knocked the door a few times, letting out an annoyed sigh as he received no answer. He considered trying Kaito's dorm, but in the end, he knew the astronaut was a terrible liar & would end up telling Shuichi whatever Kokichi said to him. 

He began to make his way down to the cafeteria, hoping to find Rantaro.

Shuichi sat down across from Kaede, placing his plate of food down. "What took you so long?" Kaede decided to ask, stopping her action of shovelling a forkful of pasta into her mouth. She gave her friend a small smile. 

He wondered how she could be so calm right now after confessing her feelings to him only this morning. "I was talking to my boyfriend, I told him about our plan" he explained, becoming nervous. He hated himself for lying to his best friend.

Kaede could tell he was feeling nervous & put her hand over his, which had been lying on the table. "Shuichi, don't worry. I'm not annoyed at you, so you don't need to feel awkward" she told him, attempting to reassure him. 

The boy returned a nervous smile to her. "Thanks, Kaede" He mumbled. He wondered how he managed to have an amazing friend like Kaede.

The pianist finally took a bite of her pasta, removing her other hand from Shuichi's. Once she had finished chewing, she decided to talk again. "So, do I know him?" She asked, a small shine in her eyes. Shuichi gave her a confused glance after taking a bite of his own food. "Your boyfriend". He almost choked on his food at the reminder, wondering how he didn't catch onto her sentence.

He shrugged. "You'll find out everything tomorrow" he explained. He at least wanted to prepare himself mentally for lying to his closest friend's face. 

Kokichi entered the cafeteria, scanning the area before rushing over to his friend. Rantaro was sitting with Korekiyo. There conversation was interrupted as he sat down across from the two who were probably getting too close. "Heya, Amami! Miss me?" He giggled. 

It was evident Rantaro didn't miss him. "What do you want, Ouma?" He asked, putting his head on one hand. 

The supreme leader looked over to Korekiyo, giving him a look telling him he wasn't wanted. Korekiyo nodded, standing up. "I need to return to my dormitory for tonight anyway, feel free to come around later Rantaro" he announced, taking his empty plate & leaving the area. 

Rantaro frowned at this. "Oh, okay see you!" He replied, waving him off with his free hand. He shot his short friend an annoyed look which disappeared as he noticed the nervousness in Kokichi's normally childlike expression.

"Shuichi asked me to be his fake boyfriend" He sighed quietly, leaning on the table as he pouted.

The other male tilted his head to one side in confusion. Since his friend spoke quietly, he decided it would probably be best to also respond quietly. "Fake?"

Kokichi nodded. "Long story. But at least I can kiss him & stuff, even if he doesn't really want it" He commented, attempting to make a joke or make himself feel better he hadn't been asked to really be his crush's boyfriend. 

Rantaro shook his head. "You really need to tell him, this'll just complicate things for you".

"I know, but I couldn't say no. Shumai is so cute when he's nervous" He giggled, cooing as he spoke the last part. He wanted to vent about a cute boy, not get lectured for his bad decisions. Was that so hard to understand?

"You need to tell him. As soon as you can".

"You're one to talk" The supreme leader scoffed as he put his hands behind his head. "You're still being lovesick over masky boy" he rolled his eyes, faking a gag noise. Before his friend could tell him to shut up, he jumped up from his seat. "Thanks for the talk, I needed that. Goodnight, Amami chan!" 

As he began to walk away, he noticed Kaede & Shuichi at a nearby table. He considered leaving but instead he began to approach them. This would make much more sense than meeting them at a random time. 

He put his arms around Shuichi's neck, hugging him from behind. "Hey, Shumai! Hi, Kayyayaday!" He sang, nuzzling his face into Shuichi's hair. 

Kaede cringed at the nickname. "Hello, Ouma. What are you doing?" She asked.

At this point, Shuichi was both flustered & frozen, he wasn't prepared. 

"Well I thought now would be a good time to say" He trailed off, as if wanting to make it a big announcement. Before he would make the reveal, Shuichi quickly tilted his head back, hitting Kokichi in the jaw. He had misjudged his height completely, along with how hard he hit him. He heard something that sounded like a yelp from the other. He quickly spun around.

"K-Kokichi, are you okay!?" He asked with a concerned tone.

The supreme leader wiped his sleeve against his face. He ended up staining his white uniform with pink stains. He looked up to the other & smiled. "Uh-huh! Don't worry!" He reassured, although his face burned. 

Shuichi got up quickly, looking back to Kaede. "I'm going to take him to the nurse's office, I'll be right back". He linked arms with the other, helping him up. Kokichi had a hand over the bottom of his face in an attempt to hide the blood. At least if he was caught blushing, he could now blame it on the liquid currently flowing out of his nose that had splashed against his face as he fell. 

The two boys left the cafeteria & walked down the hallways in silence before Shuichih spoke up. "S-sorry, I panicked" he apologised, feeling guilt weight him down. 

Kokichi clicked his tongue. "I thought you wanted her to know, geez" He pointed out with an annoyed tone. 

The detective flinched at the annoyed tone. He nodded. "I feel bad lying to her, she's my best friend" He replied, biting his bottom lip.

"I guess you're still a virgin to lying, huh?" The other teased, nudging the taller boy slightly. 

"Don't call it that, you sound like Iruma" Shuichi pointed out, letting out a small laugh at the joke. 

Kokichi stared at him. "You're cute when you laugh, you should do it more" he widened his eyes as he realised what had slipped out his mouth. He could see Shuichi's cheeks turning red at the compliment. 

The detective looked over to the other momentarily before looking away again. "You're lying again, right?" He asked. Kokichi blinked a few times, remaining quiet for a moment.

He wished he could tell him he was telling the truth & he was the prettiest boy he had ever met but instead, he choked on his words. "Why would I lie? You're my favourite, so that obviously means you have cute points" he rambled. 

The two eventually reached the office. "So you- you really think I'm cute?" The ravenette asked, placing a hand on the door knob. The shorter boy only nodded in response. Shuichi pushed open the door, looking around only to find no nurse. "Sit down, I'll get something". He walked over to the cabinet while Kokichi turned on the light switch, taking a seat on one of the beds. 

"Where do you think the nurse is?" He asked, swinging his legs back & forth.

"It's late, she's probably done for today" Shuichi replied, climbing onto the counter to reach something. 

Kokichi started wiping his face again, the blood was beginning to dry. It nipped against his cheeks. "Maybe she's doing something super creepy".

Shuichi jumped down from the counter, his feet hit the ground. He walked over to Kokichi. "Let me see" he told him, crouching down in front of the other as he disregarded the last comment. 

The purple haired boy removed his hand from his bloody face. After closer inspection, Shuichi noticed his lip was also cut open. He felt guilty, did he really head butt him that hard? He ripped open the disinfectant wipe. "Okay, hold still" he told him, using one hand to hold the back of Kokichi's head. He began to wipe his lip at first, cleaning the surrounding blood before working on his nose. The blood was somewhat easier to clean since it was dry. Or at least it was easier to keep track of since his nose wasn't still gushing. 

Kokichi giggled a little. "That kinda tickles" He laughed, raising his shoulders. 

Shuichi paused his action. "You're ticklish?"

Kokichi shook his head. "Nope! That was a lie! I was just bored of the silence" He complained. "Well, apart from you, you mouth breather".

The detective gave a small sigh before continuing. "I do that when I'm concentrating" he mumbled.

The other boy giggled. "You're cute, I dunno why you put yourself down no much" he sang, patting the other on his head.

Shuichi pulled away from the embrace, falling backwards. However, he still had a grip on Kokichi's neck & ended up pulling him down with him. Shuichi turned his head to one side as Kokichi's face was right in front of his prier. "Wh-when I said you can do anything you want with me, this isn't what I had in mind" the shorter boy commented, his own face flushed. 

The two froze up as they heard a small scream, looking up to the doorway. Mikan stood there with a concerned face, along with Chiaki. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to interrupt you two! F-forgive me!" She cried out before running away. Chiaki stared at the boys for a moment before closing the door & walking off to find her friend. 

Shuichi felt as if his heart would explode from embarrassment any moment now. "K-kokichi..." He managed to say. As if he read his mind, the shorter boy got off him. 

"At least that will sell our whole dating story, right?" He pointed out, clasping his hands behind his head as he grinned. Shuichi sat up, rubbing the back of his head before fully standing upright. 

"We should go before something else... Happens" The taller boy suggested, looking down. 

Kokichi let out a small giggle before responding. "Don't worry, I totally wasn't planning on stealing your nipples or anything" he sang. "Now let's get outta here, it smells like cat piss".

"You- what?" Shuichi mumbled before shaking his head, he didn't want to know the answer to that. He left the room, the short boy following behind. "I'm going back to Kaede, don't talk to me while I'm with her".

The supreme leader put on an offended expression. "Shuichi, do you not trust me?" He quizzed, his eyes tearing up.

the other only rolled his eyes, knowing Kokichi wasn't really about to cry. 

"Awww, you're no fun". 

Kaede stood outside, swaying back & forth as she waited for her friend. She was somewhat focused on the soccer game going on between some of her classmates & upperclassmen. She pulled out her phone, clicking the button to look at the time. She let out a sigh. They were already 6 minutes late.

Shuichi & Kokichi stood a distance away from Kaede who was facing away from them. "I don't know about this" Shuichi commented quietly, looking down. 

"Oh come on, it was your idea" the shorter boy replied, annoyance laced in his tone. 

The ravenette flinched at this. "I- I know, I just don't like lying".

Kokichi rolled his eyes before grabbing Shuichi's hand & beginning to walk, not bothering to listen to the other's complaints. Shuichi couldn't tell if he had turned pale or red in the face but he prayed Kaede wouldn't notice whichever color he was. "Hey, penist!" Kokichi called out, causing the blonde to spin around with an annoyed face.

Her expression disappeared as she noticed her friend, changing to a surprised one. "Oh, hey Shuichi" She greeted, smiling softly. "So Ouma is your boyfriend? I wouldn't have expected that to be honest" She let out a small laugh.

The detective nodded. "Uh, y-yeah" He mumbled, not making eye contact with either of them.

"You have no idea how much Shuichi loves me, he tells me all the time & kisses me any chance he gets" Kokichi rambled on with a seemingly sweet smile. 

The pianist seemed somewhat sad & surprised by this information. "Oh, is that right?" She nodded to Shuichi as she questioned him.

Shuichi stayed quiet so his supposed boyfriend chimed in again. "Yep! He's super in love with me" He sang, hugging his arm. "You should have known about me instead of asking him out, it makes you sound like a complete idiot!" 

Kaede shot Kokichi an annoyed look as he teased her. She opened her mouth to argue but she instead let out a sigh. "You're right, I should have been more involved" She admitted, holding her arm as she looked away. "I'm glad you're happy, Shuichi, I just wish you would have trusted me more". She looked back to him, her smile returning. 

The boy in question lifted his head to look at Kaede, at this point his hands were visibly shaking. "Thank you Kaede" He managed to say, putting on a small smile. 

The pianist let go of her arm. "Besides, I have another crush I'm planning on confessing to & I hope this time it works out" she commented. "I hope you'll believe in me!"

Before Shuichi could reply, Kokichi's voice ruined the moment. "Boring! Just do it already!" He complained. "It's not like you have to put your blood, sweat, tears & a human sacrifice into it, sheesh".

Shuichi stared at Kokichi for a moment before looking over to Kaede, expecting her to have a discouraged attitude. Instead, she nodded. "You're right, I need to get it over with!" She agreed, clenching her fists. "I'll tell her now, you two have fun!" 

The detective gave her a small wave as she marched off toward the school building. "Aww, she didn't even ask any questions. All that planning for nothing" The shorter boy complained, pouting a little.

"At least this means I don't need to lie to Kaede anymore" The ravenette let out a sigh of relief. "I hope whoever is her crush will accept her & then I can tell her the truth".

Kokichi bit his bottom lip before responding. "You can't, she'll never trust you again" he argued with a teasing tone, smiling a little. "We should pretend to date as long as possible".

Shuichi stared at him for a moment. He wasn't wrong, what if he lost his best friend because of this. "I guess your right" He mumbled, looking over to the school building. 

The supreme leader hummed in response. "I'm going to find Gonta, see you later, boyfriend" he giggled before rushing off toward the school building. 

The detective remained quiet, watching the other walk towards the school as thoughts crowded his mind. He started to regret his lie.

(word count: 3545)