"Takemitchy's been talking about that new western sci-fi movie that came out–that's probably the one they're going to!" Mikey adds once they arrive at the movie theater, their three sets of eyes watching the many people that litter the building, some of them in line for tickets while some are in line for food.

    "X-men, right?" Haru asks, his thumb pointing to a poster that reads X-men.

    Mikey snaps his fingers, everything seemingly clicking together. "Yeah! That's the one!"

    And so the three boys got in line to buy their tickets, all of them wearing evil grins at the very thought of making Yuzuha's date a living hell.

    They're just about to pay for their tickets when a familiar voice rings out from behind them.

    "Four tickets for The Emperor's New Groove."

    In unison, the three boys whip their head around and are met with the sight of none other that–

    "WAKASA?!" They all shout, Keisuke's heart practically plummeting to his stomach at the knowing look Wakasa is giving them.

    "Funny seeing you guys here," Wakasa mumbles, his body moving past the three frozen children to pay and grab the four tickets. "What a coincidence, right?"

    Keisuke is the first kid to recover. "Y-Yeah! Coincidence..."

    Wakasa stares down at him, his gaze more than a little intimidating and–

    "Well? What are you guys waiting for? Lets go."

    ...huh?

    "Huh? Go where? We–We were gonna go see Xmen–"

    "Yeah? Well now you guys are gonna watch The Emperor's New Groove."

    And that's how Plan B Failed...

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    The next plan the kids execute is not only expensive but time consuming.

    What, might you ask, is the plan?

    Simple–

    Plan C: Round up the neighborhood cats and distract Takemichi with them.

    With the old lady's help (Miss Chiyo still gets angry when Keisuke calls her old lady...), Keisuke and the boys were able to lure a bunch of cats from the alley with many cans of tuna.

    While Keisuke relishes in the time he spends with the cats, Haru and Mikey despise it.

    "OI! THIS CAT JUST SCRATCHED ME!!!" Mikey shouts, his tuna splaying over the slab as he's corned by three cats, all of them different shades of brown. They must come from the same litter...

    Keisuke rolls his eyes and sends Mikey an amused look. "Were you tryna force feed it?"

    "I–Yeah, but–"

    "Then that's why you got scratched. You gotta let them come to you instead of the other way around! They're not dogs, Mikey," Keisuke explains while petting the cats' soft pelts. They all meow pleasantly under his hand and he feels the anger from deep within his stomach lessen.

    "Uhhh Baji? This cat is trying to climb me like a tree..." Haru calls out nervously and–when Keisuke looks his way–he spots a small tabby clawing at the boy's pants.

    "No it's not. The cat wants you to sit down so it can lay in your lap..."

    "Huh? I don't want this thing's fur to get all over my clothes!"

    Keisuke scoffs. "Then suffer."

    After about thirty minutes of rounding up a respective amount of cats, Keisuke and the boys lead their little makeshift army to where they know Takemichi and Yuzuha will be: The stupidly romantic swing set.

    The couple have made a habit of spending their free time there swinging and talking under the sun lit sky. The pair painted a pretty picture, sure, with the sun behind them, Illuminating Takemichi's hair like a halo, but just the sight of them together makes Keisuke want to gag...

    Sure enough, when they arrive at the abandoned playground, the lovey dovey couple are swinging on the swing set, chatting and laughing without a care in the world. Keisuke sends Mikey and gestures to the cats that are following them.

    "Mikey! Go throw some catnip over there! The cats will go to it and then, once Takemichi leaves the swings to pet the cats, we drag him away and–"

    "HEY!!! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU GUYS DOING WITH PEKE J?!"

    The three boys turn around and–lo and behold–a blonde kid stands a few feet away, his face bright red and chest heaving with rage. His sharp green eyes aren't on the boys, but on one particular cat instead. Keisuke follows his gaze and lands on a plain black cat; the first feline Keisuke recruited for their cat army.

    Rather than trying to give up Keisuke's favorite cat of the bunch, the boy crosses his arms and smirks. "I'm usin' him to drag my boy away from his girlfriend–"

    "This entire time that I've been looking for him, he's been with you, being USED?!"

    "Yeah."

    "You Bastard!!!"

    What happens after that is a full out brawl–Keisuke versus this random blonde kid–with Haru and Mikey cheering him on from the sidelines.

    ...and they scared all of the cats away...

   So...yeah...all of their plans failed spectacularly...

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    ...What's even more embarrassing is that Keisuke lost said brawl...

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    Later that evening, after laughing att Keisuke's beaten up figure, Haru leaves them to go have dinner with Takemichi and Wakasa.

    "I ain't missin' Wakasa's cooking because you got your ass kicked by some random kid," He had said before walking away, his laughter ringing through the air like an annoying bell.

    That left Keisuke and Mikey alone to drown in silence and sadness. The boys are sitting side by side on the grass, shoulders brushing against eachother, their heads hanging in defeat. Keisuke desperately wants to break the silence, but he doesn't even know what to say.

    'Yeah, sorry, looks like we lost Takemichi to the vermin.'

    'Ah, god we're such idiots for trying to keep Takemichi tied to us.'

    'Everything was just a waste of time–lets go the arcade!'

    Nothing. Nothing that pops into the boy's head is worth saying.

    So, for what feels like the first time, Keisuke is left speechless–unable to get the last word.

    Thankfully, Mikey's the one who decides to break the silence.

   "...They're not permanent, Keisuke." Keisuke lifts his head, eyeing his blonde companion. Mikey's no longer looking at his hands in disappointment and is instead admiring the sunset.

    "Huh?"

    Mikey's lips twitch up into a smile. "Let Yuzuha have Takemichi for now. That girl is just borrowing him for the time being because, at the end of the day, we're his closest friends–not her," Mikey explains, his dark eyes brewing with something dangerous and possessive. "She'll never truly understand him like us. Takemichi will realize that and come back to us. We–We just gotta wait."

    Keisuke huffs out a laugh of disappointment–the thought of having to watch Yuzuha and Takemichi be all cute and romantic with each other is so draining.

    But, if they keep trying to slip them apart then Takemichi will grow irritated with them.

    "Ughhh–yeah, i guess you're right...but i don't want to wait..." Keisuke mumbles, not bothering to hide the sad look in his eyes as he gazes at Mikey, his first friend, his first friend, his crush.

    Mikey lets out a soft laugh, one void of happiness but full of sadness.

    "Yeah, me neither..." he sighs, his blonde hair flowy elegantly, his bangs brushing away from his face, showing his big dark eyes and sad smile. "I...I'd much rather be dating you and Takemitchy right now than watch someone else take what's ours..."

    And, with just one sentence, keisuke's breath is stolen.

    Taken away.

    Gone.

    Mikey is no longer looking at the sunset, but at Keisuke. His dark eyes are boring holes into Keisuke's skin and–rather than feeling unsettled–he feels adored.

    Cared for.

    Seen.

    Mikey's just like Keisuke.

    They both have feelings for the same people: each other and the crybaby they've learned to love.

    Keisuke's face lights up like a stop light–his cheeks and ears growing warm until beads of sweat roll down his chin.

    Mikey is also blushing–his fair skin taking on a pretty red tint that highlights the strange sparkle in his eye.

    Without a second thought, Keisuke takes his hand and places it on top of Mikey's. The blonde immediately interlocks their fingers together and gives Keisuke a firm squeeze.

    "Yeah..." Keisuke breathes, nearly stumbling over his words as he stares into Mikey's eyes. "Me too."

    They stay like that on the grassy field, staring into each other's eyes with giddy grins, knowing that–no matter what–they would have Takemichi be theirs.

    They just needed to wait.

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