love galore : nishimura riki

three : lessons from her

━Ni-ki's P.O.V

"Piano lessons? Seriously?"

I punched Jino on the shoulder. He continued laughing, clearly amused at the situation I was in. I, on the other hand, knew what I was putting myself in. A bonding moment with the band kid. How nice.

"Just shut up will you?"

"Speaking of the devil," he pointed at Hana. She was scanning the cafeteria until her eyes landed on me. Jino continued to laugh━ that was until I kicked him under the table.

"Hey," she greeted with a smile.

"You done with lunch?" I asked.

"Yeah. I hope I didn't disturb you with your meal."

I waved my hand as a gesture to say no.

"You didn't. Ni-ki here is ready for the lesson. In fact, he's been preparing himself since morning." Jino couldn't contain his laugh anymore.

"Lessons? What lessons?" Jungwon asked.

"You know damn well what type of lessons," Jino wriggled his eyebrows suggestively.

Shitheads.

I turned to Hana. The look on her face screams 'uncomfortable'. I would be too, to be honest.

"Right. That's our cue. Let's go." I pulled her away by holding her shoulders and pushing her out of the cafeteria. Ignoring the whispers coming from the other kids that saw the commotion, we continued walking towards the music room. Both of us didn't say anything. And I plan to keep it that way until we reach our destination.

━Hana's P.O.V

That was weird. They weren't making fun of me? Are they?

I secretly peeked at Riki. He looks agitated. Is he embarassed to be seen with me?

Stop it, Hana. You're back at it again.

"We're here." I mumbled.

We entered the room. Thankfully no one was here. I watched as Riki settled himself on the chair, curiously tapping different keys on the piano. He turned to me with a confused expression. "Aren't you going to sit?" He tapped the spot beside him.

He wants me to sit next to him. That doesn't mean anything though. Like he said, he needs these lessons for his grades in music class. Nothing weird. Just a student helping another schoolmate out.

"Right. So, Riki, do you━"

"Ni-ki." He cut me off.

"What?"

"No one really calls me Riki anymore. Just call me Ni-ki." He explains.

"Cool. Um, before we start, I'm going to show you a bunch of hand exercises━ just to prepare your wrist and fingers."

He nodded. "Doesn't sound so hard. I'm good with my hands━especially my fingers."

I paused.

He was close. Not too close but he felt close. And he was staring hard. I don't like being stared at. And that phrase... there's nothing wrong with it but did he really have to emphasise that?

"What?" He innocently asked.

"N-nothing." I looked away, swallowing back my saliva. "First, try to bend your fingers one by one. Not too hard, just enough to feel that stretch."

"I want to do it hard though."

Jesus Christ. He's doing this on purpose.

"D-dude just follow my instructions."

He smirked. "I am. I'm just stating what I want. Unless you're thinking about something else right now."

"I'm not!"

I could feel myself turning red. Dang it. I'm blushing.

"Doesn't seem like it," he reached out for my cheek before patting it. I smacked his hand away, covering both cheeks as if hiding them away.

"Just do the stretches."

I stood up, heading for the window. I continued to fan myself, trying to ease the embarassment I was feeling. I could hear him snicker from behind. I knew it. He did that on purpose. Gosh, how long until these lessons end?