Shuchin-kun and Haruto

Haruto blinked before opening his mouth. He pursed his lip. 

Standing at the door was Shuchin-kun- a name that he wanted to forget, write off. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't.

He rocked a slip-back cap that covered his well-shaped head and a jersey that complemented his muscular frame. 

At the sight of him, Shuchin blinked. Just like Haruto, he stood there... Frozen. The air in the room thinned out in retaliation for the two's locked gaze. Even if Futoshi and the rest didn't know the details, they could feel the tension brewing firsthand. 

"Shuchin-kun." Haruto spoke up first, his voice carrying a stern exterior. The two boys had come face-to-face, both putting on airs. 

Shuchin nodded. His gaze was sharp, almost as if he were a tiger staring down its prey.  As soon as they laid eyes on each other, everyone felt it; the tension rose in the face of such a sharp gaze. 

It was as if it were saying, ' One wrong move and I'll cut you down.' That's the vibe that coursed through it. 
He was the captain of the basketball team, their star player. Haruto knew he could be wiped off the map in a second. 

"Can I come in?" 

The voice was stern, like it was appraising his opponent's power level. 

"Sure." 

Haruto returned the question with a simple 'sure.' Nothing more, nothing less. He had been told to come the day after they had arrived, so seeing him standing at the doorframe sent shivers down his spine. 

No one had time to prepare any hospitality; they all stood there, not knowing what to say.  From the hall behind where Haruto stood, a tall blonde guy appeared, his roots were unkempt, and his bangs dragged down the front of his face. It was...

"Futoshi?"

"The one and only,"  

Futoshi smirked as he signalled the two to step into the living area. There was something awry between the two of them. In all honesty, his first thought wasn't that something was about to go down; it was more simple-minded, something only his cynicism could come up with.

A lover's quarrel?

Haruto and Shuchin followed Futoshi, who now stood in the centre of the room, boxes almost wrapped round their feet. 

You had to be careful when walking around. Since the group didn't have time to sort out their belongings, the living area had almost just been a sea of boxes. Which, for reference, were mostly Reina's. 

"Reina, are you gonna clean up after yourself for once?" 

Cutting through the silence with a few stern words. Futoshi directed his gaze to Reina.  Unlike the others, she hadn't moved from her spot when she heard the doorbell ring. She stayed, still sprawled out, like she owned the place. 

"Ugh... It's too hot to move."

Can she really not tell there's a scene happening right in front of us?

"So why are you here?" 

Haruto changed the topic, moving it back to Shuchin. Shuchin opened his mouth, and his tongue clicked. 

"Because Aoi-chan invited me. If I knew you were here, I wouldn't have come." 

The two were on thin ice, like they were treading on eggshells. Not one of them would let up; whenever one asked a question, the other would respond with something back to counteract. 
Haruto lowered his head; his gaze was hollow.

 All the life had been dragged from them.

"...Yeah your right." 

Unlike how he usually acted, Haruto wasn't smiling, cracking cringy one-liners or anything the usual Haruto would do. He sat there idly twiddling his thumbs, not knowing what to say. 

"Yeah, I am-"

"That's enough! From both of you." 

A hoarse shout echoed through the villa walls, cutting through the back and forth of Haruto and Shuchin. 

"Look, I don't know what happened between you two, but Naka-no Haruto! Ever since that day at our club, you've been acting weird!"

Rin interjected in the two boys' argument, making sure not to let on why Shuchin was called to the beach house. If she did, their plan would've been down the gutter.

The plan was to let Aoi confess to him on her own terms in a private part of the beach(which Rin owned) so the two could talk things out. Now that it had come to this, things seemed to take a turn for the worse.

Haruto lowered his gaze, his fist clenched. It wasn't often he got so worked up over stuff, so seeing him like this was like seeing another person using his skin. Or to put things simply, like he was a different person altogether. 

"I'm acting weird?" Haruto's tone sharpened. Usually, when Rin scolded him, he'd play it off and joke about it. Not this time. His breath came out in waves. He had also let things go with a self-deprecating laugh, but this time, there was no laugh or joke; what was left was a shell of his former self. 

Haruto's head snapped upwards, catching Rin's gaze head-on. 

"You understand nothing." 

His words cut like a knife. They were cold, direct even. If she were trying to help, she would not stick her nose where it didn't belong, his voice cracked like a whip. 

"You think this is an act? What about this screams 'act' to you?" 

Rin recoiled. Every time before this, Haruto would always be the one to lighten the mood when things got rough, like a reset for when things got tough. His eyes in that moment weren't derived from kindness, far from it. They were like daggers aimed directly at Rin. Her voice hitched, seemingly taken aback by the pressure they emitted. 

"Wha- Haruto, I'm-"

"You're sorry- for what? You rich kids don't understand anything. You probably have no idea what I'm going through!" 

Haruto gripped his shirt, his words clashing with Rin's. Now sat by Reina, who had sat upright.

"Well, Haruto, how are we supposed to understand if all you do is suffer in silence?" Reina scoffed, comforting Rin, who had now started to break down-

"I hate you! Where do you get off labelling me just a 'rich kid', huh? Do you have any idea how hard it is to keep up this persona? This mask? Just for public appeal? Unlike you, I don't get the luxury to be the real me; I'd kill to know what that's like!"

Rin shouted. Her fists clenched as she sat by Reina. The usual happy-go-lucky angel named Ojino Rin had been cast aside, discarded. Like a broken toy that no longer worked. letting her true feelings take over. 

Everyone in the room was stunned, failing to give any input. Like an outside source had taken their voice box and refused to give it back. The air that had been a perfect balance between hot and cold now ran purely cold, freezing them in their tracks.

"You really wanna know that bad? Fine...I'll tell you."