A Different Kind of Beauty

Chapter 18

With a sigh I pulled my glasses from my face. Eyes staring at the ceiling of my bedroom, my mind raced faster than it normally did. Oddly enough, there was only one thing on my mind.

The brunette setter had begun occupying my thoughts and I didn't know how to feel.

It wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but I had never gone through such a thing before.

At the current moment, I was incredibly concerned about what was going on with Oikawa. It wasn't like him to be so unfocused on the court. And then there was the whole minor freak out with my classmate. It obviously wasn't some kind of sickness, but how else was I supposed to address it? I was too concerned to just let it go.

I couldn't deny that he basically had me wrapped around his finger. But I was still resisting.

A groan escaped my lips as I squeezed my eyes shut against the bright light above me.

"Damn you..." I hissed.

With a quick shake of my head, I put my glasses on once more and hurried down the stairs. With keen eyes I scanned over the numerous books covering nearly each wall of the house. I quickly grabbed one that didn't look familiar and sat down in my window seat.

The last time I sat here was with Oikawa...

A blush quickly coated my cheeks as I remembered how I didn't think before sitting so close to the setter.

Flipping on the lamp at my side, I opened up the book to a random page. Sure enough I felt my thoughts fade away. Replaced by the world inside the book, I instantly felt more at ease. Why couldn't things be as simple as they were in novels? The foreshadowing was clear and everything worked out.

He was the pretty boy. Everyone adored him, well, most at least. There was just something about him that drew people in. Her eyes followed his form as he made his way to class, taking in every detail possible. She didn't understand it. Relationships had never been her thing. Out of all the people she could have fallen for, it had to have been the one who would never return those feelings.

"Ah! I nearly walked right past you!" he chirped, eyes meeting hers. "Why do you hide? I thought we were friends?"

"Yeah right," she retorted out of reflex.

"You've got to be kidding?!" I exclaimed, slamming the book shut.

"I thought you didn't read romantic books?" Peering down at the book in my lap, my mother pursed her lips to stop a smile.

Sure enough, the cover clearly stated the genre of the story. Completely annoyed that I hadn't noticed earlier, I dropped the book to my side.

"I'm just getting a reminder of why..." I mumbled.

Upon returning to school, I could easily pick out Oikawa entertaining his normal crowd of girls. Walking into the building, i decided that if he didn't work hard at practice he would seriously regret it.

"Anzu-Chan!"

"Michishio-San!"

My eyes darted between the two males who seemed frozen as they stared at each other. A few of those around began to whisper, and my eyes instantly narrowed. There was something that I was missing, and I wasn't too happy about being in the dark.

"Oikawa, go to class already," I eventually sighed, adjusting the strap on my bag. "If you don't start getting to class on time you'll have to sit out of the next game."

The setter gasped, quickly crossing the distance still between us. "Anzu-Chan, that's not fair!"

"It is fair. The rest of the team manages," I retorted, approaching my classmate and brushing Oikawa off. "Good morning Fujita."

A large grin filled his face. "G-Good morning to you too!"

Nodding slightly to myself, I pushed past the two boys and continued to my classroom. A sigh escaped my lips. I really didn't want to think at the time. There were so many things showing up that just didn't make any sense.

"Ah- Michishio-San!" Fujita called, running after me. "Could I talk to you after school today?"

"Sorry, but I've got to make sure Oikawa gets to practice on time."

Suddenly the brunette himself was leaning on my shoulder. "Anzu-Chan is very dedicated to the volleyball club," he bragged.

I shot him a look. "Oikawa, get off of me. Besides, the only reason I'm that way is because you would never make it to practice otherwise."

He backed off and gave Fujita a grin. The other boy huffed slightly, his brow furrowing. "I can wait for you after practice!"

"If it can wait until tonight, I'm sure it can wait a bit longer," Oikawa cut in. "I was going to wait until later to tell her, but I decided to treat her after practice as thanks for her hard work!"

"I really do need to talk to you," Fujita urged. "The sooner the better."

"Then why not now?" I asked, pausing by our classroom door.

His face flushed. "It's a more personal matter that I don't want to discuss in front of others."

"Well Anzu is busy today," Oikawa insisted.

There was obviously something going on between the two. I could feel the signs of an oncoming headache, so I quickly raised my hands.

"Alright, sure, whatever! Let's figure this out at a later date. Oikawa, get to class before you're late."

I felt bad but I was starting to get a bit frustrated. Unable to do or say anything else, I entered the classroom and sat down. My focus didn't linger on anything, causing me to miss most of what was said during the lessons.

Sure enough, my head had begun to pound. I pulled my glasses off and rubbed my temples, not wanting to get up for lunch. Unfortunately, the classroom wasn't the quietest place during the time, so I wasn't going to have much of a choice soon enough.

"Are you okay?" Fujita quietly asked, sitting in the seat in front of me.

"Uh, yeah," I answered, putting my glasses back on. "I'll be right back."

I stood and left the classroom, thankful for how quiet the halls were. After stopping in the restroom to splash some water on my face, I returned to the hall. It was silent and peaceful. As I took in the lack of noise, I sat up against the wall and let my head fall back.

My mind was racing, filled with many thoughts and emotions I hadn't felt before, as well as trying to figure out what was happening to those around me. A sigh escaped my lips. It was exhausting.