This Side of Paradise (Megumi Fushiguro x Y/N)

10

Megumi POV

Monday

I'm a fucking idiot.

How could I have let it get this bad? I already knew I was fucked the moment Gojo told me I had to tutor someone. He had that stupid little smug look on his face and, of course, it was Y/N who walked through the door and now I'm like this. The amount of times I've internally strangled Gojo is too much to count. He always wants to be in my business.

I make my way out of the football stadium, still finding myself smiling. It's only been two weeks since we've been meeting up and I'm already a goner. There are many things I was sure I knew about Y/N L/N. I've been in every elementary class with her and a few middle and high school classes. She's what everyone calls the school sweetheart. Everyone loves her. While selfless, kind and friendly, she's perceived as innocent, naive, and easy to take advantage of. In short— she is too nice to say no to people and, in turn, gets walked all over.

Another major characteristic is what I call 'the mask.' She comes to school and goes about her day wearing an invisible mask. No one can see it but it's on when she's with her boyfriend, her so-called friends, and in class. There are not many times when she lets her guard down. The title of school sweetheart comes with a pre-made mold that she has to fit in. It's expected of her. As long as she sticks to this mold, everything in her life will be perfect— she'll never have to worry about a thing. For perfection, she'll only have to shave off pieces of herself. Her free will and personality ultimately fit into the mold so well that she'll become a shell of herself, living her life as others expect of her. Her rays of sunshine that once shined bright will dim until she burns out like a dying star in space.

I've been reading too much dark romanticism...

But even so, I've been pleasantly surprised. I've gotten to see her mask slip and how Y/N is when she doesn't act like a doll. Even if I thought I had her figured out, I knew there was a burning inferno behind those breathtaking eyes. I love that I get to witness it.

I was surprised to see Y/N struggle. Typically, she is at the top of our class in everything, but I quickly understood her dilemma. Maybe it's because I've been around Gojo so much as a kid I can tune him out, but others like Y/N, who hang onto every person's words, probably get too caught up and forget information.

So I get it.

Y/N is really smart. That much is obvious and it's really just small mistakes that choke her up. Even if she's easy to tutor, she keeps me on my toes. My favorite thing is getting her worked up. At first, she caught me off guard when she teased back, throwing something witty that would go straight through my heart. It's when I see her real self and it's fun.

I accidentally let that goddamn nickname that I've had for her since fucking elementary school, like a dumbass, but every time I say it, Y/N smiles.

Damn, the day she came in with glasses nearly fried my brain. I had to reboot and luckily saved myself from embarrassment but still. I already had a hard time thinking straight with her so close to me and the glasses almost pushed me over the edge. I always knew she still had them. When she got them in elementary school, she was so happy. I sat close enough when I could hear the conversation from my table so I heard how her 'friends' called her all those names. It made sense she would lie. I knew bullies all too well and to be honest, I didn't blame her— elementary kids were cruel.

The glasses were more like her and when she got flustered, I wanted to reach out and kiss her cheeks. Thoughts like that would zap me back to reality and I would say mean things that I regret when I'd see her face fall, but I can't feel this way. I know it's only going to crush me. But Y/N fucking L/N is stubborn and does not make it easy to push her away.