Gainsay

Miyuki scoffed.

Bullshit.

No way.

It couldn't be.

It was impossible.

Furuya was only screwing with him for revenge or something.

Most definitely. What other explanation was there?

Exactly.

None.

He scoffed again. "You're what? Pregnant? Wow, that's hilarious. I thought you couldn't tell jokes."

Furuya shook his head as he placed a hand on his stomach. "You can act like you don't remember anything, but I do. That night at the karaoke bar when you intoxicated me. That's how it happened."

Beads of sweat trickled down Miyuki's neck. He pulled the collar of his compression shirt outward in an attempt to let some air cool him down. He was getting hot as the memories of that night suddenly hit him.

'I didn't think he'd remember,' he thought. 'He was completely drunk and so was I. I can't let him put me on the spot like this.'

He smiled nervously as he closed the distance between him and Furuya. "Your mind is playing tricks on you, Furuya. You're not pregnant, you're sick. Let's get you checked out, okay? Let's call it a night and head to the dorms—"

"I'm not going anywhere until you admit that you made me have sex with you in that room and that my child is yours."

"Wh-What are you on about? You're not making any sense."

"Yes, I am!" Furuya shouted.

He knew it was late at night and everyone was sound asleep, but he couldn't suppress the disappointment that was harvesting inside of him. It pained him to realize that Miyuki, the upperclassman he admired and fancied from afar, was denying him so blatantly.

"How could you take advantage of me? I understand that you were drunk, but…why me? Why was I the first person you set your eyes on? Why did you have to make me enjoy that brief moment? Please, tell me!"

Miyuki grabbed Furuya by the arm and pulled him close, his eyes wide with shock and disbelief.

"It was an accident," he whispered harshly, gritting his teeth. "I obviously wasn't in the right mind and I made a bad decision. You don't have to get so worked up about it. You can have an abortion, right? It's not going to kill you. Do you hear me?"

The raven-haired teen shrugged the catcher off and staggered back a few steps, wincing from how hard he had grabbed him. "Get off of me! I'm not going to listen to you. I'm not going to abort it."

"Stop messing with me! Why not? Don't you know what you're doing? This'll ruin our lives forever!"

"I know, but aborting it feels selfish. I've spent days thinking about it and I know what giving birth will cost me. I'll have to quit the team and once people find out, I might have to quit school—"

"Don't act like everything's been said and done!" Miyuki yelled.

He was going insane. His brain couldn't keep up with the amount of bullshit Furuya was spewing. It was complete and utter bullshit that he couldn't be bothered to hear.

Selfish? What about him? What about his own reputation? What about his relationship with Eijun? No, Eijun absolutely could not find out about this. It would kill him.

Miyuki took a deep breath and composed himself. "Furuya, you're talking nonsense. You can't quit the team and give birth to some "thing" that you aren't even ready for. You're only fifteen and you can barely take care of yourself. What the hell makes you think you can raise a…a baby? Reconsider, okay? Please. I'm begging you. Don't do this to me, okay? Don't ruin my life, okay? Okay?"

Furuya remained silent as he left, appalled by Miyuki's true colors.

'If he's going to act like this, then it's all the more reason to show him that I am strong enough to give birth. If he doesn't want to take responsibility, that's fine. I can do everything myself like I always have. I don't need anyone else.'

Miyuki cursed as he threw his mitt to the ground and kicked the pitching machine in a fit of rage.

"Shit! Why am I so stupid? Why am I so impulsive? Why am I so stupid?! Why did I have to go and…Eijun, I'm sorry. I'm an idiot. I should…screw it, man! I can't let him know."

Sighing, he grabbed his mitt and sauntered out of the indoor field. Reaching the door, something on the ground caught his attention.

It was a black box.

Of his condoms.

His heart plummeted to his stomach.

'He knows.'

--

8 Minutes Ago

Sitting on a chair, Kuramochi muttered an endless slew of profanities as he bit his nails. It was the only way to stop himself from trashing his room.

As soon as he overheard Furuya tell Miyuki that he was pregnant, his mind went blank. The box had slipped from his hand. It was too much for him to register. All he wanted to do was return some damn condoms, what the hell was that?

He had hidden from sight and eavesdropped on their conversation, his bewilderment growing each second. Furuya was being extremely blunt, so it had to be true. He left as soon as he'd witnessed enough of Miyuki's sickening behavior.

His head was spinning.

'Fucking Miyuki,' he thought. 'Furuya, pregnant? I fucking knew it. That night at the karaoke bar, I knew that he did something and he tried to hide it. I can't believe it. What the hell is he gonna do now? What the hell am I gonna do now? I can't…I can't let him follow in my footsteps.'

Running a hand through his hair, Kuramochi looked at Eijun who was peacefully asleep with a concerned expression.

"Sawamura…you're so innocent…shit…"

--

1:45 PM - Sex Ed

Miyuki's pencil was running out of lead. Every time the teacher mentioned anything that triggered a memory from the night before, he would accidentally put excess pressure on his pencil and break the lead.

He was freaking out.

"Another important note," the teacher said, "is to never have sex under the influence of alcohol."

Miyuki's lead broke again.

Kuramochi rolled his eyes.

The teacher pointed to a diagram on the chalkboard.

"Being under the influence can impair your cognitive abilities. In the case of sexual intercourse, it may cause you to engage in sex without protection, consent, or proper understanding of who you're even engaging with. That's why I advise you guys to please be careful and always be aware of what you're doing. Failure to do so might result in sexually transmitted diseases or unplanned pregnancies."

Miyuki tensed.

Kuramochi rolled his eyes again. 'You're being so fucking obvious. You're pissing me off.'

When the class ended, Maezono walked up to Miyuki's desk. "Hey, man, wanna work on…what's with all the sweat? You good?"

The bespectacled teen shoved his books into his bag and nodded repeatedly. "Y-Yeah, I'm fine. It's hot today. Do you need something?"

"I was wonderin' if ya wanted to work on some swingin' durin' practice later." Maezono turned to Kuramochi. "You can hang too, if ya want."

The green-haired teen slung his bag over his shoulder and walked off briskly, side-eying Miyuki on his way out. "Nah, not today. I already "planned" something else."

Miyuki frowned as he caught his side-eye.

'What the hell was that for?'

--

6:30 PM - Afternoon Practice

"Kazuyaaaaa!"

Miyuki forced a smile as Eijun catapulted into his chest, wrapping his arms around him. "What's up, babe?" 'He knows.'

Eijun pouted. "Where were you last night? I was waiting for you so we could cuddle! How dare you betray my needy requests!"

"I told you that I was practicing." 'He knows.'

"I mean, duh, but you shouldn't take that long! Don't overwork yourself or you might get hurt! You know I love you."

Miyuki apologized and held his boyfriend's hand as they headed to where Maezono was waiting.

'He's the one that dropped the condoms. He was there. He knows. Why is he acting so lovey-dovey?'

Meanwhile, Kuramochi kept his eyes on Furuya who was running laps around the field. It was the thirty-sixth lap and he was already showing severe signs of fatigue.

'At this rate,' he thought, 'he's gonna pass out.'

Kuramochi sighed as he walked onto the track with his arms folded. "You might wanna slow down or better yet, stop!" he called out. "You don't wanna hurt the baby."

Furuya tripped over his own foot, his eyes dilating. He regained his balance and swallowed as Kuramochi walked up to him.

"Wh-What?" he stammered. "What are you talking about? I'm not—"

"Oh, cut the crap." Kuramochi handed him a towel and sat on the ground, spreading his legs. "I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but I heard you and Miyuki talking last night. What he said was fucked up. I'm sorry."

Furuya sat down next to him as he wiped his sweat with the towel. He hesitated. Someone else knew his secret. Could he really trust Kuramochi?

"Why are you apologizing? You didn't do anything."

"It's his fault! I always told him to be careful when he started having sex, but he never fucking listened to me. Now, look at what he's done. He doesn't wanna take responsibility." Kuramochi punched his thigh. "Are you sure you want to keep it?"

"Yes."

"Why? It's gonna cost a lot. Do you really wanna quit the team and endure everything else that'll come along with it?"

Furuya scratched his cheek as he looked at his stomach. "I get it. I truly do, but I need to see this through. I want to show Miyuki-senpai that I'm not weak and that I am capable of taking care of it on my own. I don't need him."

Kuramochi snickered. "Hyahaha! That's a lot of mouth for someone who actually has feelings for that prick."

"…"

"I've seen the way you look at Miyuki. You're not very good at hiding it. You like him, don't you?"

"I-It's not—"

"It's alright, don't be ashamed. You're young and it's natural. It's not your fault." 'I bet he doesn't even know that Miyuki and Sawamura are dating. This is some tragic shit.'

For a while, the two of them sat in silence save for the sounds of bats clanging and voices shouting, practice in full swing.

Just as Furuya was about to go work on some towel drills, a voice boomed from the dugout.

"Furuya Satoru!"

It was Kataoka.

Furuya shuffled towards him, swallowing nothing but air.

"Yes?"

Kataoka furrowed his brow.

"Follow me. We need to talk."