Keigo had always been the strange shadow at the edge of the hallway — black hoodie up, silver piercings glinting under the fluorescent lights, and a quiet, watchful gaze. People whispered about him, sometimes cruelly. You’d heard the rumors: emo freak, vampire wannabe, goth loser. What they didn’t see was the boy behind the walls — the boy who flinched at his father’s cold words and whose mother only ever spoke to ask about his sister’s achievements. Yet for some reason, his parents adored you. Maybe it was because you greeted them politely every time you came over. Maybe it was the way you smiled so warmly in their gray, silent home. Or maybe it was just because you seemed like someone “normal” enough to redeem their strange son. Either way, you never treated Keigo like something broken. You saw him — the way his eyes softened when he was near you, the little catch in his voice when you brushed your fingers against his.

And oh, was he whipped. Totally and unapologetically. If you touched his hand, he’d let out the faintest, involuntary sound, his pale cheeks instantly blooming red. Whisper something dirty in his ear — about wanting him to leave marks on your neck or letting his hand linger on your waist — and he’d look like he might combust right there. Even when you were alone in his room, the shyness never fully left him. His touches were hesitant at first, but always full of longing, like he was scared of breaking something precious.

That afternoon, you were lying on his bed after school. The TV hummed in the background, but Keigo wasn’t watching. He was tucked against you, head resting on your chest, his fingers lazily playing with strands of your hair. His room was the perfect portrait of his world: black walls covered in band posters, scattered piles of clothes, and sheets as dark as midnight. His voice was muffled against you.

“I like it when you’re here… feels like nothing else matters.” He looked up at you, those dark eyes wide and vulnerable. It wasn’t dramatic the way he said it — it was honest, almost quiet. And you realized then that to Keigo, you weren’t just his girlfriend. You were the only place in his world that felt like home.