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Souda had never been to a sleepover.
Call it another unfortunate side effect of his less than ideal childhood, a result of being unpopular, whatever. It didn’t change the fact that it was another idyllic part of youth that he’d never participated in.
Once, he’d mentioned it casually to Hinata and, in his state of shock, Hinata had promptly organized a big, group sleepover with the freshman class. Souda had never ever been to an event with so many people involved and he was almost giddy when Hinata told him about it.
Hell, he was still giddy.
Still as excited as ever as he stood on the steps of the big hall that his soulfriend had somehow gotten his hands on. Souda didn’t ask and honestly, didn’t care to know. He was here, this was happening and he was going to be a part of it! He couldn’t stop grinning!
Akane greeted him at the door, lollipop hanging out of her mouth and a confused look on her face.
"Oh, Souda. Didn’t know you’d be here too."
He nodded and stepped inside. He still couldn’t get that stupid grin off his face.
Akane shrugged and lead him inside, down the stairs, to a great, big room decorated in black and orange streamers, fake skeletons and silly string cobwebs. Pillows and blankets littered the floor, in front of a big projector screen that was running through movie title screens.
Souda couldn’t have possibly been more excited.
He wasn’t much for horror movies, but he was doing something. With friends! And that made up for any potential fear.
Familiar faces drifted around the room, some picking at food, others talking, others still laying around on the floor in groups. There were faces he didn’t quite recognize— he assumed those were the first years.
Twogami clapped his hands and the din hushed. He cleared his throat, “Alright, everybody. Find a spot and settle down, the movie’s about to start.”
It was almost like letting a bull out of it’s pen; about eleven or so teenagers made a mad dash for the pillows, in a flurry of “dibs” and “shotgun”s. Whoever was left trickled into place once the “prime real estate” was snatched up.
Souda had— by some twist of fate— ended up near the front, sandwiched next to Hinata (who had a drowsy Nanami on his other side). For this he was grateful— he just hoped Hinata didn’t mind his arm going numb from him squeezing it during the scary parts.
He was all ready for what would probably end in him with blankets over his head until—
"Oi, you."
Souda blinked and turned, and came face to face with the brightest, clearest blue eyes he’d ever seen. He recoiled a bit, stunned, and it took a minute for him to find his voice.
"… E-eh?"
Not the most eloquent response, but he was still reeling from surprise.
"Your hair," and the stranger flicked a few strands of neon pink.
"Wha’bout it?"
"It’s really rad, y’know! I like it! How long did it take ya to get it to that shade…?" The stranger grinned, and Souda finally felt a bit less on edge.
"Oh, uh, thank ya…! An’ a long time, lemme tell ya…" he gave the stranger a once over, "But, I guess the red prob’ly took the same?"
The stranger blinked then grinned— a dazzling grin— and rubbed the back of his head, ruffling his hair, “Kinda!” Then he held out a hand, “Name’s Leon! Leon Kuwata!”
Souda looked at his hand, then back up at that shining grin. He caught himself grinning back, and shook his outstretched hand.
"Kazuichi Souda, at’cher service!"
The stranger— er, Leon— squeezed his hand and Souda could’ve sworn he lingered for a moment too long before letting go. He shook it off, though and kept grinning at his new friend.
"The color really suits ya," Leon was saying, twirling strands of Souda’s hair, "Flattering, y’know?" The mechanic felt his cheeks heat up, and his eyes darted away quickly. Towards Hinata. But Hinata was distracted by Nanami. Damn.
"T-thanks…" he smiled. It was all he could do.
Leon grinned a bit, and then the lights flickered and went out suddenly. And Souda jumped. He knew tonight was gonna be a mess, he knew it, he kn—
"Hey, chill out, would ya…?"
He looked down at his hand, and Leon’s fingers were loosely intertwined with his.
"It’s okay, man. It's just the movie."
The mechanic nodded and Leon’s fingers stayed. Stayed all the way through the opening credits, the jumpscares, the bloody killer appearing and the screaming. Right through to the ending credits. And Souda didn’t think he’d be so grateful for physical contact before.
The movie ended and the lights flickered back on, and the mechanic found it hard to make eye contact. He hadn’t expected to be under scrutiny by someone new. He knew Hinata, Hinata knew him. Knew how he got with horror movies. But someone new…
He was embarrassed.
Leon turned to him and nudged him, “How’d ya like it?”
"It was… gory." Souda punctuated the sentence with a grimace and Leon laughed.
"Heh, yeah. You held my hand the whole time, y’know," and then he winked. Souda turned red.
"S-Sorry…"
"Don’t worry ‘bout it! And, hey, I’ll let you in on a li’l something…" the redhead leaned in close, eyes glinting in mischief, and whispered conspiratorially in his ear.
"You can hold my hand for the next one, too."
And Souda’s cheeks burned. But he never let go. Not through the next two movies, the scary stories afterwards, or when he finally couldn’t resist sleep anymore and dozed off. Not once.