dizzygraceful

Chapter 8 is so far the longest chapter and it's a phone call! Okay, so usually my phone calls between characters are very badly written and very short, but this one turned out decently. I would have written more, but I think I like where it ends. Anway, enjoy!

Previous Chapters:
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven

Oishi stared out his new bedroom window hoping that inspiration would hit him if he stared at the view long enough. It was a stupid thought, really. No matter how long he stared out at his family’s new backyard there was no answer to his problems there. There was no way his new surrounding could come up with an answer that would get Inui and Eiji back together and stop the pain that he knew they were both feeling. Oishi picked up his phone and scrolled through his numbers until he found Eiji’s cell.

“Hello?” Oishi bit his lip briefly at the dead tone in Eiji’s voice. There was none of the usual energy that was always present in his former doubles partner’s voice.

“Hey, Eiji, it’s me.”

“Oishi?” he asked softly. It sounded like he was afraid of being over heard for some reason.

“Are you okay? You sound horrible.” Oishi didn’t want to tell his friend that Inui had called him the night before to say that Eiji had broken up with the data master.

“I’m fine. I just didn’t get a lot of sleep last night,” Eiji replied trying to force his voice to sound more cheerful.

“Everything’s going well between you and Inui?” Oishi inquired still trying to avoid telling Eiji what he already knew.

“We,” he hesitated for a minute. “My siblings found out we had sex and told me that if I didn’t break up with Sadaharu that they’d tell my parents and I can’t have them telling my parents because that would cause all kinds of problems so I went along with it and broke up with Sadaharu, but I’ve never been so miserable. I miss him so much, Oishi! I couldn’t sleep last night because every time I started to fall asleep I’d think about meeting up with him and then remember that I can’t because he’s not my boyfriend anymore. I don’t know what to do. I can’t go against my siblings because I don’t want my parents to know about Sadaharu and me. I thought about telling them myself, but what if they hate me because of it. What if they really hate that I even considered going out with a guy and were just humoring me because I’m their baby? What if I tell them and they kick me out? I can’t take the risk that they’ll hate me for the rest of my life, but I don’t know if I can keep living without Sadaharu.” Eiji stopped abruptly when there were clearly still things he wanted to say.

Oishi swallowed hard against the lump that had formed in his throat. The pain and conflict in Eiji’s voice were incredibly disturbing to him. He had never heard his friend sound like that; not even when Oishi hadn’t told him how badly he was hurt at the beginning of Nationals. “I can’t tell you what to do, Eiji. I can’t answer your questions. I think you need to talk to your parents, though. I think you need to talk to them about your relationship with Inui and whether or not they approve of it. You don’t have to tell them you had sex just yet, but you need to tell them how serious you feel about him. You also need to talk to Inui.”

Eiji sniffed on the other end of the line. “I know, but I can’t. I don’t know how to start a conversation like that with my parents. I don’t know how to keep myself from telling them more than I mean to. I can’t talk to Sadaharu either because if I call him my siblings will see it on the phone bill and then they’ll tell my parents.”

Oishi sighed softly wishing he was still in Tokyo and able to give his friend a hug. There were times he hated his father for taking his new position. It had taken him away from all his friends and no matter how well he was adjusting to life at Rikkai it wasn’t the same as being at Seigaku with Eiji and their other friends. “Eiji, you still go to school with Taka-san and Tezuka. If you ask I’m sure one of them will help you set up a meeting with Inui outside of school.”

“I can’t ask Tezuka that!” Eiji protested quickly. “I guess I could ask Taka-san. Then we could meet at Kawamura Sushi and talk. Maybe I’ll ask him tomorrow.” Eiji sounded far from convinced that this was a good idea.

“What’s wrong, Eiji?” Oishi questioned as he moved from his bed to his computer. He opened his instant messenger and found Fuji’s screen name even though the tensai was marked as away. Eiji needed more than just Oishi’s reassurance that this would work out somehow. Fuji was a lot closer to Eiji than Oishi was physically. They didn’t go to the same school, but Fuji could easily get to their redheaded friend if the need should arise. He typed a quick message explaining the situation as he waited for Eiji’s answer. “Eiji?”

“What if they find out that I’m meeting Sadaharu and not Taka-san? They won’t be happy and they’ll probably tell my parents like they said they would. I don’t think they’ll believe me if I say I’m going to visit Taka-san.”

Oishi sighed softly. “I hate to encourage bad habits, but you might just have to lie and say that you’re going over there to study for a test. You said you’re in the same class this year so it would make sense that the two of you would study together for a test.”

“We do have a test coming up in Japanese History. It wouldn’t be too bad a lie if I said we were studying for that.”

Oishi smiled slightly. “It’ll be okay, Eiji. It’ll work out somehow. The two of you are meant to be together. He’s made you happier than I’ve ever seen you.” Oishi sighed as he glanced at his screen surprised to see a very annoyed message from Fuji complaining about Eiji not telling him about the situation himself. A quick reply telling Fuji to keep an eye on Eiji and he was back to his conversation. “Do you have a lot of homework to do tonight?”

“Yeah. I should probably get started on it. Thanks for calling. I really needed this.”

Oishi’s eyes flicked to his computer screen again to find a firm promise from Fuji promising to stick his nose in wherever it was needed to keep Eiji happy. “If you ever need to talk to me all you have to do is call, Eiji. Just because I moved doesn’t mean I’m not still your friend. You can call Fuji too. I know because I’m online with him and he’s very annoyed that you didn’t go to him with your problems even though he’s still in the same city as you are.”

“Okay. I’ll try to be better about coming to the two of you when I need to talk.”

“That’s all we ask,” Oishi replied as he typed out a response telling Fuji not to get too involved because it was up to Inui and Eiji to work things out between them.

“I better go. I’ll talk to you after I talk to Sadaharu again.”

“Alright. Bye.”

“Bye.” Oishi hung up and decided he should at least try to convince Fuji that killing all four of Eiji’s siblings was not the best way to help their friend.

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