𝙻𝚒𝚗𝚎 𝙱𝚢 𝙻𝚒𝚗𝚎 - 𝙺. 𝚃𝚜𝚞𝚔𝚒𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚖𝚊 𝚡 𝙾𝙲

12 - You Never Asked

Chapter Twelve

"Yamaaaaaa," Hara laughed, giving her freckled friend a playful push. "You can't just say that!"

Yamaguchi scratched his cheek as he quietly laughed as well. "But isn't it true? You're totally like a little kid in a candy store whenever we come to this bookshop."

That's because it regularly stocks new releases, Tsukishima thought to himself, beginning to feel a little irked by the flirtatious tone their conversation was taking.

"They are one of the only places in the city that actually carries a wide variety and keeps up with the new releases," Hara beamed, hooking her arm around Yamaguchi's to pull him toward the shounen section. "There's always something new and exciting. You should look over here, I'm sure you'll find something you'll like."

When the brunette let go of Yamaguchi and looked over her shoulder to catch a glimpse of Tsukishima looking irritated, she sighed and walked over. Instead of attaching herself to him as she had with Yamaguchi, Hara reached for his wrist and tugged him toward a different section of the store. "You know they don't only have manga, right? They have lots of history and science books. Even some archaeology things too," she hummed. Once they reached the category she'd been searching for, Hara pointed out one book in particular that was sitting on a display. "I saw this one last week and thought you'd like it. I was gonna get it for you but then worried that you might've already had it so I didn't."

When Hara had finally looked up at Tsukishima, she noticed the grumpiness from only a moment ago had vanished, clearing the way for his usual deadpan expression. With his free hand he picked up the book and flipped it over to read the back excerpt while she studied him and waited for a response. Naturally, as Hara often did, she took the opportunity to admire how pretty his eyes were. She knew Tsukishima was indifferent when it came to wearing glasses, but she thought they suited him and brought focus to the golden brown shade of his irises. When they'd flickered over to her she quickly looked away, her cheeks beginning to softly flush from being caught staring, leaving Tsukishima with a smirk.

At least she didn't blush like that with Yamaguchi...but maybe that's because she feels more comfortable with him than with me.

The thought had Tsukishima's lips falling back into a straight line and he cleared his throat. "Looks interesting. I'll give it a shot."

"You will?" Hara beamed, tucking her shoulder-length hair behind her ear. "I'm so glad! You'll have to tell me about it once you've finished it, okay?"

"Somehow I doubt The Dinosaurs Rediscovered is something you'd find appealing," Tsukishima pointed out, though what he wasn't about to point out was that she was still holding onto his wrist and how he could feel her hand slowly sliding down to his hand. He knew it wasn't on purpose, she'd have been a flustered mess if she was actually trying to hold anyone's hand, but it made his heart beat just a little faster anyway.

"Well, I think if I were to read it by myself that you'd be right," she shrugged. "You'll probably think this is lame but I really like listening to you talk about something you like or find interesting. You're really smart so I always learn something new."

Tsukishima's elevated heart rate kicked into full gear and he swiftly removed himself from her loose grip and placed his hands on her shoulders to turn her around and give a gentle push to avoid her seeing the flush he felt rising to his cheeks. "You're right, that's lame. You should go find the manga you came here for so we don't spend the entire day here like last time."

"Oh..." Hara whispered to herself. The truth was that she only wanted to come to the bookstore today to show him the book she'd found for him, but neither of the boys had bothered to ask why she wanted to make the trip. It was summer vacation and they figured she just wanted something new to read, just as she always did. The feeling of Tsukishima physically pushing her away seemed like a reminder that she was reading into recent events too much. He'd never like her the way she liked him and she knew that. He was just being nicer than usual lately because of the misunderstanding they'd had a while back but at the end of the day, Hara was reminded that she was an inconvenience to him most of the time. In her reply, she tried to mask her disappointment so as not to ruin their day. "Sure, okay. Sorry, Tsukki."