Chapter Text
Chapter 1:
When you fall in love with someone, you first look at their face. Their body. Their legs. You can’t exactly see someone’s personality, so their looks are the first thing you see, aren’t they? Everyone’s like that.
And that was why Suguru knew all the girls that had confessed to him didn’t actually like his personality. They liked his body and face. That was it. He leaned his head against the side of the window, glancing out at the field below, and yawned fiercely.
‘Suguru!’ Shoko walked up to him and smacked his head hard. ‘At least cover your mouth when you yawn. You look absolutely atrocious.’ She scoffed.
Suguru rubbed his head, trying to ease the painful hit. ‘Since when did you ever care about how I look?’ He gave her a look, which she returned right away.
She placed her arms on his desk and sat on it, grumbling. ‘I bet your girlfriend’s already sick of you, with manners like yours.’ She got a piece of paper off the ground and flicked it at his head, falling off and rolling to the ground where it stopped right in front of his feet.
‘She already dumped me.’
‘Eh, really?’ She feigned a look of shock and let out a laugh. ‘Was about time, really. They never last for too long, do they?’
Suguru shook his head. ‘You wouldn’t believe what she said this time.’
Shoko snorted. ‘Wait, wait, let me guess. You weren’t who I thought you were, Suguru.’ She mimicked in a high pitched tone, and when Suguru nodded to confirm, she collapsed into peals of laughter. ‘I’ve heard that one way too many times. At this point, I even feel bad for them.’
Suguru raised an eyebrow. ‘And why may that be?’
Shoko gave him a stare. ‘There are way too many reasons as to why you’re a terrible person, and an even worse boyfriend. You practically fool them into thinking you’re some kind of prince, and even though I’ve been friends with you a while, every time you paint, with your stoic nobility or whatever thing you do when you’re drawing on a sketchbook, you really give off this air of… I dunno, but it’s something, that’s for sure.’ She checked to see if anyone was around and quickly whipped out a cigarette. She put it in her mouth, lit it up, inhaled and held the smoke for a moment, and then exhaled. She tapped the ashes into a potted plant next to the windowsill and threw the cigarette in the bin, Suguru looking at her with amusement.
‘I will never understand your addiction to nicotine. Also, no one’s perfect. I honestly don’t know what they’re expecting from me. Their expectations are sky-high. I can’t be expected to fit them all, can I?’
‘This is a posh school, what’d you expect?’ She looked like she was about to further expand on the topic, but quickly stashed her collection of cigarettes away once she heard someone talking in the distance.
‘Why isn’t Gojo here yet?’ The group of girls squealed and started discussing frantically amongst themselves. ‘Maybe he’s sick or isn’t feeling well?’
‘Maybe he’s late?’ Another piped up.
‘I think he’s taking the day off.’
‘I’m really worried about him, do you think he’s okay?’
Shoko turned to him. ‘Everyone really is crazy about Gojo, eh?’ She whispered. ‘Speaking of Gojo, don’t you do art with him?’
Suguru did indeed recall Gojo being there when he had gone to art club everyday. He frequently joined, but his artwork was captivating, in its unique way. Suguru mainly focused on expressionism, liking to stay outdoors and draw whatever was on his mind, using bright colors and quick, rapid brush strokes. Gojo’s work was more refined, in the realistic kind of way. He mainly sculpted, with every carve expressing emotion, symmetry, balance and harmony.
He had never seen Gojo work on his art, but everyday his sculpture seemed to sprout a new feature, so he knew he was coming, albeit unseen by everyone.
‘I do. I’ve never seen him before, though.’ He refused to elaborate further, but Shoko seemed intent on pushing his buttons, so he tried to bring up something else. ‘Didn’t you get your week with Gojo?’
Shoko glanced at him unimpressed. ‘I did, last April. But we both broke up the next day. We both agreed we weren’t each other's type. No hard feelings.’ She went back to typing on her phone. ‘Wait. You’ve never seen Gojo? Not even once?’ She said incredulously.
‘No?’
Shoko leapt up from the desk. ‘How the fuck have you not seen him around the school? He’s practically surrounded by girls all the time.’
Suguru shrugged. ‘I dunno. Don’t really notice that kind of thing.’
Shoko just ignored him. She was too used to her friend’s antics to actually be bothered.
‘I want to order food.’ Shoko declared. She got out her phone and tilted her head towards Suguru. ‘What do you want?’ Suguru opened his mouth, only to be interrupted instantly by Shoko. ‘Also, I hope you don’t think I’m paying for this. We’re splitting this evenly, 60-40.’
Seeing how Suguru was about to argue, she added in, ‘You 60 percent, and me 40. Got that? Now hurry and tell me what you want.’
‘Soba.’
‘I’m getting alcohol, want beer or something?’
‘Sure.’
The phone gave a little ding after the order was processed, and Shoko shooed him down. ‘The food’ll be down soon, go pick it up.’ Suguru rolled his eyes, but didn’t try to talk back and just went down. He knew the food wasn’t coming anytime soon, but Shoko probably just wanted him gone for the fun of it.
He sat down outside the school gates and sighed. How long would this take, exactly? He learned twenty minutes later that it would take very long indeed.
So thirty minutes later, Suguru Suguru was tired, a tad bit exasperated and mad at Shoko, and most of all, foodless. This was why you didn’t skip eating for 2 days in a row and why you waited for the food delivery guy to actually be near before going down. He was about to give up waiting when he saw a car speeding around the corner. He let out a sigh of relief, but then furrowed his eyebrows at what he saw. The food delivery guy apparently drove a porsche.
And holy fuck. When the guy got out of the car, he was not expecting that face at all. With snow-white hair, pale skin and light, vibrant blue eyes that were slightly visible through circular black glasses, Suguru felt his fucking jaw drop. Inside his brain was screaming about how fucking hot the dude was. The guy gave a little way to the girl driving him, and she went off.
His shock dissipated as the guy started walking towards him. He swallowed his breath and suddenly exhaled in relief when he saw the actual food delivery guy come up with two cans of beer and some soba.
‘Sir, is this yours?’ The food delivery man held out the food to the hot mystery man.
‘I think it’s his.’ The mystery person jabbed his finger at Suguru, who immediately scrambled up to get the food. He dug into his pockets to find cash, and felt sheer dread when he couldn’t find anything. ‘Shit.’ He mumbled under his breath. He gave an apologetic look towards the pizza delivery guy. ‘Give me a quick minute to grab some money. I’ll be right back.’
He was about to dash off and grumble at Shoko about how she forgot to remind him to get cash when the hot guy grabbed him by the shirt. ‘Hey, don’t worry about it. I can pay.’ Suguru was about to argue when the guy grabbed some cash out of his wallet and handed it over to the food delivery guy and flashed a smile. Suguru could’ve sworn the guy blushed, but then again that could’ve been his imagination.
‘Do you want me to pay you back or something? I’m really, really sorry about that-’ The guy cut him off with a smirk. ‘Try to remember bringing your money next time, hmm?’ Suguru could see that his facade of being a nice person completely dropped. ‘Why the heck did you come down here if you even forgot to bring money?’ He snickered.
Forget the guy being hot. He was a fucking jerk. But Suguru really couldn’t find it in himself to argue with him, and since he couldn’t recognize the guy he assumed he was in either first year or second year.
‘What’s your name?’
The guy brought his glasses down to look at Suguru. ‘You’re already interested in me? Sorry, but I don’t date guys. But if you have to know, I’m Gojo Satoru. The one and only.’
No one told him that Gojo Satoru would be this arrogant. ‘Gojo Satoru? The one who only dates for a week and dumps girls the next?’ He let out a laugh. ‘You really think I’d be interested in someone like you?’
Gojo’s face turned into something like doubt. ‘You really expect me to believe that you’re not interested in me?’
‘Self centered jerk.’ Suguru muttered under his breath. Gojo shot him a glare. ‘I heard that.’
‘You know what?’ Gojo practically snarled. ‘You’re not worth all this trouble. I’m just going to-’
‘Wait.’ Suguru unintentionally(or intentionally) grabbed him by the arm. ‘No one’s asked you out this week, right?’
‘What do you think, dumbass? Haven’t exactly gone into the school yet, have I?’ He replied sarcastically. ‘If one of your friends is interested in me, then she better come ask me herself.’
Why exactly was he still so popular even though he dumped every single person after a week? Suguru really wanted to know. He had heard it was because when Gojo was dating, he became whoever that person wanted to be. Kind and caring? Done. Clingy and possessive? Done. Whatever they wanted, they got.
‘So you’ll go with whoever asks you out next, right?’ Suguru looked up at Gojo.
‘Yes, but-’
‘Then go out with me.’ Suguru insisted.
‘I thought you said you weren’t interested in me?’ Gojo retorted. ‘Or am I just so handsome that I happened to change your mind?’
‘Don’t think so highly of yourself.’ Suguru scoffed. ‘I just wanted to know what all those girls see in you. After all, you’re nothing but a dick with a pretty face.’
Gojo’s face contorted. ‘You take that back.’ His face flared.
‘We’re going out together, aren’t we?’ Suguru gave him a sickly sweet smile.
Gojo growled. ‘Whatever.’ He turned tail and fled.
‘Bye, babe.’
Gojo’s ears turned a wisp of red. ‘Don’t call me that.’
‘Sure, sweetheart.’ Suguru couldn’t resist teasing him. Not when the red made his face look so pretty.
‘You’re insufferable.’
Later, Suguru was full and had a boyfriend. An arrogant prick who he was only going to date for a week, but who was counting.
Shoko had questioned why he had taken so long, and he had just responded with ‘The delivery guy came late’ and didn’t explain further.
‘Hey, Shoko.’ Suguru hissed.
‘What is it?’ She didn’t bother looking back at Suguru, too focused on the textbook work to actually look at Suguru to see what he wanted.
‘Do you know what classroom Gojo’s in?’
‘...Why do you want to know?’
‘No reason.’
‘...Any girl can answer that question.’
‘Well, I’m asking you.’ Suguru said rather impatiently.
‘1-2.’
The day passed by in a blur, with Shoko’s usual antics. ‘You wanna watch a movie at my place today?’
‘I have art club today, remember?’ Suguru rolled his eyes. Leave it to his friend to forget when his clubs were.
‘Oh, righhhht. Now explain why you wanted to know where Gojo’s class was.’
Suguru turned to Shoko. ‘Cuz.’
‘Oi!’ Suguru turned around to see Gojo waving at him. ‘Hurry up and pay me back.’
Shoko looked at Suguru incredulously. ‘Is that why you wanted to know where Gojo's classroom is? Because he paid for the food?’
‘You his friend or something?’ Gojo sat on the desk and stared at the both of them with his glasses down.
‘I dated you last April, remember?’ Shoko gave a huff of annoyance. ‘Scratch that. I don’t expect you to remember.’
‘Wait.’ Gojo scrunched up his eyebrows and closed his eyes. ‘You’re the girl…’
Shoko and Suguru both waited. ‘The girl who…’
Shoko winced. ‘Never mind.’ She took a sip of alcohol and sighed. ‘So let me guess. This guy was a massive asshole and you somehow managed to start dating.’ She waited for both their reactions and smiled at how they reacted to it.
The water that Suguru was drinking somehow managed to find its way onto Gojo’s uniform, while the lollipop in Gojo’s mouth fell out onto Suguru’s desk.
‘Ewwwwwwwww. Gross. I don’t want your icky spit water all over me.’ Gojo shot an angry glare at Suguru. ‘I could say the same about your lollipop. Strawberry flavored, is it?’ Suguru raised an eyebrow. ‘Seems like the kind of flavor you’d like. Basic.’
The girls around were all chattering and whispering. One of them was even brave enough to step forward. ‘Gojo, will you go out with me?’ She clasped her hands together and fluttered her eyes. She was pretty, with straight, glossy long black hair down to her waist. Her eyelashes were long, and she was around Shoko’s height. Suguru couldn’t blame him if he said yes. He would be cheating on him, but it wasn’t like either of them were actually invested in the relationship. She was a catch, after all.
Gojo shot Suguru a look of annoyance, as if to say I’m stuck with your ugly ass instead of dating this cute girl. Suguru couldn’t care less. Gojo looked apologetic. ‘I’m already dating someone, sorry.’
The girl pouted. ‘I can be a better girlfriend than her! I bet she’s not as pretty as me.’ She flicked her hair behind her shoulder. Suguru couldn’t care less about her personality.
‘Maybe next time. The girl I’m dating right now is really sweet, so I can’t find it within myself to cheat on her.’ He gave a small smile, and the girl leaves, sad. Her friends group up to comfort her, but none of them shoot Gojo dirty looks. They all just flood out of the classroom and leave Shoko, Gojo and Suguru.
‘So you two really are dating.’ Shoko laughed. She took out a cigarette and lit it. Gojo stared at her. ‘You sure we’re allowed to smoke?’ She waved the cigarette around, the trails of smoke spreading everywhere. ‘I’ve never been a stickler for rules. You don’t strike me as the type, either.’
Shoko stood up and grabbed her stuff. ‘Well, you two are the perfect couple. Go make out or something.’ Whether she said it as a joke or seriously, Suguru couldn’t tell. She took her bag and took off.
‘ Let’s go.’ Suguru stood up and grabbed Gojo’s hand. Gojo couldn’t have looked annoyed at it. He picked up the lollipop and threw it in the bin. ‘Fuck you.’
Gojo seemed to magically conjure another lollipop. Strawberry flavored. ‘Where are we going?’ He licked the lollipop. ‘To the art club. Remember? The one you barely attend?’
Gojo scowled. ‘I do attend. Just at the wrong times.’ He licked the lollipop again, this time longer, with his tongue swirling around the lollipop. He took it out of his mouth with a pop sound. He grinned at Suguru.
‘Oh yeah. Lemme get your number.’
‘Why should I give you my number?’
‘Cuz we’re dating. Duh.’
He reached out for Suguru’s phone, but stumbled. He fell head-first into Suguru’s chest. They stood there in silence for a moment or two.
‘You work out or something?’ Gojo asked. He pressed his head even closer to Suguru’s chest. ‘If you really want to feel my chest, you could just ask.’ Suguru smirked.
Gojo yelped. ‘O-Of course not! It was an accident, you know.’ He added. Suguru smiled mischievously. ‘Of course.’ He soothed.
They reached the art club. ‘You first.’ Suguru mocked a bow and gestured to the door, extending his hand.
Gojo walked in with an unimpressed look. As soon as he walked in, everyone started whispering and pointing.
‘Oh my god, he’s actually here.’
‘This is the first time we’ve seen him, isn’t it?’
‘I can’t believe I’m in the same club as him!’
‘Everyone’s going crazy about you being here.’ Suguru whispered in Gojo’s ear. ‘As they should.’ Gojo whispered back. He gave a wave, which resulted in instantaneous giggling and blushing.
The teacher in charge clapped a few times to regain order. Everyone quickly went back to their work, although some were still giggling or chatting. ‘Suguru-san, welcome back. And you are-’ He paused. ‘Satoru Gojo? Welcome.’
They both took a seat and started doing their respective artwork. Suguru stared outside. It wasn’t a nice day. It was cloudy and drizzling, and yet somehow there was fucking sunshine everywhere. He didn’t study meteorology, but he was pretty sure that was not normal.
He began to sketch out the landscape. He’d drawn this background several times, seeing as it was the only background visible from the art club. Once he finished his rough draft, he started tracing deeper lines on top of the rapid, quick ones.
He turned towards Gojo, curious about what he was doing. The younger man was carefully carving out the intricacies of the human face. He chiseled the cheekbones with concise, precise movements, making sure not to mess up, because there is no redo when sculpting.
He really was beautiful when focused. Anyone could see that. The sheer amount of concentration he put in could almost fool Suguru into thinking Gojo could actually be a nice guy , even though he already knew Gojo was a jerk. He gave off some kind of sense that made it impossible for Suguru to ignore.
The rest of the hour passed by in a blur in his eyes. He made quick, rapid movements on his painting, using vibrant colors and drawing out today’s weather. He had never drawn this before, and it was intriguing to use the different colors and see how well they matched.
The club supervisor cleared his throat. ‘You are all free to go.’
Everyone stood up and left, chattering and laughing, save for Gojo, who didn’t seem to have heard him.
Suguru cleared his throat. ‘Gojo?’ He tapped his shoulder twice. Gojo twitched, dropping the chisel.
‘I didn’t mean to startle you like that-’
‘No worries.’ Gojo shrugged and stood up. ‘So, see you tomorrow, I guess.’
Suguru had nothing to say to that. ‘Oh yeah, your money. And my phone number.’ He reached into his bag and fished out a few bills, enough to cover for the price of the food, and scribbled his number onto a sticky note.
Gojo gave him an evil smile. ‘Instead of paying me back, you owe me a favor.’
‘Just take the money.’ Suguru protested. He didn’t want to owe anyone a favor, least of all Satoru Gojo. He wasn’t sure if he was capable of fulfilling whatever Gojo requested of him.
‘Nope.’ Gojo grinned and took his bag. ‘See ya.’
Suguru stared at him as he walked out, unimpressed. ‘Wait.’ Gojo abruptly spun around and grabbed the sticky note out of his hands. ‘Ok, bye now.’
Suguru made his way outside school. He really was dating the school heartthrob, wasn’t he. On the outside, he was the perfect boyfriend. Rich, handsome, and ‘nice’. At least to most people. That was the first time he’d ever talked to- no, ever seen Gojo Satoru. Who would’ve thought he was such an asshole?