You felt his body instantly tense upon hearing your sentence. His eyes darted back and forth as he gazed into your eyes, searching for any traces of a lie. He couldn’t find any. You could tell he was desperately trying to put the pieces together and that was why he wasn’t saying anything.

You felt a cold chill run down your back the moment you saw Shuichi’s eyes narrow into dark slits.

“Jiro,” he nearly growled out. “This is his doing, isn’t it?”

His voice was livid with rage and you were afraid he was losing control. You leaned up so that you were resting on an elbow while your other arm was on his chest.

“Shuichi, it doesn’t matter who’s doing it is-”

“Yes it does. These allegations aren’t true-”

“And because of that, it doesn’t matter who is responsible.”

His hand reached upward as his fingers swiftly delved their way into your [hair color] tresses. You could see the raw emotion swirling through his eyes. Yes, he understood being with you would have its setbacks, but he honestly didn’t believe they’d get this out of hand.

He leaned up, passionately pressing his lips against yours. You eagerly kissed him back, soaking in the emotion he was draining to you. He swiftly changed the positions, pressing you into the mattress as he nibbled on your lip. Your hands clawed at him, needing him in any way possible.

You opened your mouth and allowed your tongues to meet in a fierce fight. His touch was making your blood boil and your skin ignite. His hips ground almost brutally against your own. The roughness of the kiss had taken you by surprise, but you certainly weren’t pushing it away.
Your fingers dug into his bare back as you arched into him; wanting – needing – all of him pressed against you. He pulled away from the kiss as he sucked and nipped at your elegant neck. You could feel his arousal pressing against your core. You wrapped your legs around his waist, hooking your feet together at the ankles.

He lifted his lips to press them against yours once more. This time more gentle than the first. When he pulled away, you were breathing rapidly. He trailed a finger down the side of your face. You fluttered your eyes open, locking gazes with his beautiful eyes.

“I won’t lose you; I can’t.”

“I know,” you whispered as you gazed up at him. “I know.”

“We should stop now before it gets out of hand.”

You smiled as you nodded before leaning up and placing a kiss to his lips. “That’s probably a good idea.”

Shuichi got off the bed and made his way to the door. “I’m going to the bathroom. I assume you’ll still be here when I get back.”

You leaned up on your elbows as you smiled. “But of course.”

He closed the door behind him and you allowed yourself to relax as you laid down in his bed. You turned on your stomach and buried your head in his pillow, inhaling deeply. His smell invaded your senses and you allowed a soothing moan to leave your lips. The boy had a real knack for leaving you hot and bothered, but you didn’t mind. He had gotten your mind off of things, if only for a brief moment.

He was right in thinking it was Jiro’s doing. The teenaged boy went home, cried to Mommy and Daddy, which then led to your brief arrest yesterday, your parents’ bailing you out, and now you sneaking out of their house to come see Shuichi. Hiroshima, your lawyer, didn’t want you seeing Shuichi because it could damage the case he was building to keep you out of prison. But they didn’t understand; Shuichi was your air. Without him, you couldn’t breathe.

The door opened and Shuichi elegantly made his way over to the bed. Calmly, he laid himself down beside you, wrapping his arms around your frail form and pulling you close. You responded immediately as you hugged him back, never wanting this moment to end. He pressed a kiss to your forehead before leaning his forehead against your own.

“Do you have a lawyer?”

“Yes.”

“Is he any good?”
“He’s good enough.”

“I don’t want good enough. I refuse to lose to Jiro. I’ll have a look around today and find who’s best fitted for this case scenario.”

“Shuichi! Who on earth is going to pay for it?”

“I will. Money isn’t an issue. It’s keeping you with me at all times; that’s the issue.”

You were looking into his eyes and you couldn’t believe how guarded yet exposed they were. To any person, Shuichi would look cool and collected. But you could see the doubt, the worry, and the fear lingering within his beautiful irises. He honestly couldn’t lose you. It would kill him.

You brought a hand up and gently caressed his face. “Alright,” you sighed out. “Do whatever you think you need to do.”

He placed a kiss to your lips. “Thank you for understanding.”

“I know how it feels; I can’t lose you either. We’re in the same boat.”

“To think… he’d sink this low.”

“It may not have been him. He could be influenced by his parents.”

“I suppose that may be true. Either way…”

He trailed off and you hadn’t the slightest clue where he was going with that thought. You still didn’t understand the man Shuichi Minamino. He had various layers as well as nooks and crannies. You were amazed by how much you knew of him in such a short time.

“Shuichi, just please don’t leave me,” you begged, causing him to forget whatever it was that he was thinking.

His grip on you tightened as he brought you closer to him. “Never. I’ll be here forever and always.”

“Thank you.”

The two of you laid in silence, holding each other and thinking your own thoughts. You hadn’t realized how tired you were before you realized you were waking up from falling asleep. Shuichi’s warm body was still lying beside your own, but you could feel his fingers playing lightly with your hair. He had been awake the entire time most likely.

You smiled as you fluttered your eyes open. His green eyes were intense as he locked gazes with you. The way he was looking at you, it made you feel as though you were under inspection.

“Shuichi?”

“Your parents called the house about an hour ago. My mother calmly convinced them to allow you to rest.”

You hummed. “She must have a way with words.”

“It’s really the tone of voice she uses.”

You laughed lightly, causing Shuichi to chuckle. When you were with him, you could easily forget all your problems. The thought of going to jail seemed near impossible as you lay in Shuichi’s arms. You noted that he was wearing a shirt now.

“Well, now that I’m up, I should probably head on home.”

“Yes, that would be the right decision to make.”

The two of you sat up in bed. It was obvious neither one of you wanted you to go, but it had already been a few hours since you snuck out of your parents’ house.

“Your mother doesn’t hate me, does she?”

Shuichi chuckled at your odd question. “No. Why would she? She hardly knows you.”

“Well, other than the fact that I’m twenty six, was a teacher at your school, now being charged with rape and sexual assault, oh and got you suspended from school; I’m sure those are plenty of reasons to hate a person.”

He didn’t look too pleased as he combed his fingers through your hair. “We’ll get Jiro for lying. And none of that matters with my mother; I’ve gone into in depth explanations as to why I chose you of all people to be with. She understands where I’m coming from. Yes, she would have preferred someone closer to my age, but what can we do? Nothing. I’m sure once she gets to know you, she’ll love you.”

You sighed. “I hope so.”

“I know so. You should get going.”

You nodded your head and stood up from his bed. Quietly, the two of you walked out of his room and down the stairs. You put on your shoes before turning to stare up at Shuichi. He smiled elegantly down at you and placed a delicate kiss to your lips.

“I know you, [Name], and all you’re focusing on right now is the bad. I want you to remember we have more evidence that will keep you out of jail than evidence that will put you in jail. We have eye witnesses and soon an excellent defense lawyer. Jiro will be caught in his ugly lie; you have nothing to worry about.”

When he put it so gently and confidently like that, it was hard not to believe him. He sounded like he really knew what he was talking about. You nodded your head.

“Okay,” you whispered before placing another kiss to his lips. “Thank you for everything.”

“My pleasure.”

He opened the door for you and even walked you out to your car. Like the gentleman he was, he opened the car door and watched as you situated yourself in the driver’s seat. He was radiating as he smiled down at your form and you couldn’t believe your luck. To have someone like him in your life… even if he was just a friend, you were immensely blessed.

“I’ll see you later, Shuichi.”

“Yes, you will. Drive safe now.”

You laughed lightly as you nodded your head. He closed the door and you started the car. It was a quiet drive back to your parents’ house and despite the inevitable confrontation that would happen, you were oddly calm. The visit to Shuichi really calmed your edgy nerves. He knew what to say, knew how to act, knew what to do; he was your rock.

You pulled into the driveway and simply sat there for a few moments, reminiscing the words of confidence Shuichi seemed to exuberate. After figuring out how you were going to start your conversation with your parents, you exited the car and walked to the front door.

You stood at the door, rethinking what you were going to say. You didn’t want to come across too harsh, too bitchy, too prissy, too sentimental; you really wanted them to understand like how Shuichi’s mother understood. What on earth did he say to her? Then again, Shuichi was a very persuasive man. He persuaded you into dating him, he persuaded your parents into accepting him, he persuaded his parents into accepting you, and now, essentially he was going to persuade everyone that Jiro was a liar. I wish I was as good and convincing as him.

With a sigh, you grabbed onto the doorknob. You might as well go in with nothing planned. Whenever you planned a confrontation out, it never went the way you wanted it too anyway. Now, time to go face your so called demons.