Chapter 22: Explain
The harsh morning sunlight streaming through Jun’s living room windows was what eventually pulled Haruto back to consciousness. He felt groggy and disoriented, like he was swimming up from the bottom of a deep, murky pool. His head was pounding, and his mouth felt like cotton.
But it was the sound of Jun’s voice that really woke him up.
"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU TWO DO IN MY HOUSE?!"
The shout echoed through the apartment, and Haruto’s eyes snapped open to find his best friend standing in the doorway, staring at them with a mixture of shock, outrage, and something else he couldn’t quite identify.
That’s when Haruto became aware of several things at once. First, he was still mostly naked, covered only by a thin blanket that had somehow appeared during the night. Second, Akiko was curled up against his side, her clothes disheveled and her hair a tangled mess. And third, they were both on Jun’s futon in a state that definitely looked compromising.
"Jun, I-" Haruto started to say, but his friend cut him off.
"Don’t even try to explain this!" Jun marched over and grabbed Haruto’s shoulder, yanking him upright. "I let you crash at my place as a favor, and this is how you repay me? By bringing some girl over and... and..."
He gestured wildly at the scene before him, apparently unable to find words for what he thought had happened.
Haruto’s head was spinning as the events of the previous night came flooding back. The strange heat in his body, Akiko appearing out of nowhere, the way she’d touched him, the drug she’d slipped into his food. But looking at the situation from Jun’s perspective, he could understand why his friend was so upset.
"It’s not what you think," Haruto said quickly, scrambling to find his clothes. "I swear, Jun, nothing happened. Not really."
"Oh, sure," Jun said sarcastically. "You’re both half-naked on my futon, and you expect me to believe nothing happened? Do I look stupid to you?"
Cold sweat was beading on Haruto’s forehead as the full implications of the situation hit him. What if something had happened? What if he’d lost control completely under the influence of whatever Akiko had given him? The thought made him feel sick.