Protection - Kei Tsukishima fanfiction

two

Two days after the history exam.

To my embarrassment and shamefulness, I've avoided Tsukishima Kei for the past couple of painful school hours as if I'm his meek prey in the wild. I've served him in the hallways, bumping into countless people just to hide within the sea of crowds; I've hung my head in all our classes, hoping that he doesn't flash a mischievous eye in my direction to inquire about how I did on that fateful test; and unfortunately, I have also dismayed any conversation with Yamaguchi so it won't suck me into Tsukishima's spiderweb. It's too embarrassing to confront him after my awful attempt at even trying to succeed in a higher grade exam, even if I acted all confident within myself after spending hours studying--if I could even class it as studying.

I missed out on questions; scribbled countless presumed incorrect answers; and guessed half of the paper until the one-hour time limit was up and I dashed out of the classroom, not daring to look back at Tsukishima's smirking face. After that, I guess he figured out that our little deal was off and that I wouldn't want to talk about it for the next couple of days. 

I sat at my desk: legs quenched together in dread, bottom lips bleeding from my teeth, feet dancing and fingers drumming. We all waited in great determination to see our results, everyone hung at the edge of their seats sweating buckets with the idea of doomed failure. Yamaguchi looked nervous, but from the side, I could see that his shoes were placed firmly on the ground as he kept his composer to a low level. As for my friends within the top class, they were too distressed and worried about whatever score was written in red to chatter amongst themselves like they usually do. And as for my worse enemy at this moment in time, Tsukishima wasn't moving a muscle in his seat; rather he was only looking outside of the high window, chin leaning on his arm like always, completely removing himself from the environment around him. It was as if his nerves didn't exist and his mindset was one with zen and nature outside--must be nice.

The teacher called out our last names in alphabetical order to collect our papers from the front and, me being an H, I was one of the first people to be called out, hence why my heart felt like it would pound out of my chest. It felt like the cage surrounding my organ would collapse and shatter within any given moment. 

"Shit. My mums gonna kill me." I whispered, too loud for my liking, but in the heat of the moment, it felt good to let something out. I wasn't just scared of my mark being recorded and used against me in the future, I was mostly terrified of what this score will do to my home life and what the consequences will be. On the other hand, the giant sitting in front of me heard my soft, scared, silky voice, turning his head 90 degrees in my direction, signaling that he heard it. Words of wisdom would have been a gift from God coming from him right now, but Tsukishima stayed silent and turned back to the front without even looking me in the eye.

"Hoshiko?" The teacher called out, holding my said exam in her hand while glaring at my desk right at the rear end. This caused me to whip my expression from Tsukishima's head to her straightened figure, peering slightly behind his back.

My eyes widened and soon enough, without even hesitating or having time to think, I got up from my seat and walked down the last row. It was as though time had faded into nothing and collapsed in my hands like fine sand. It felt like weights were chained to my ankles, digging into the wooden floor, almost making it impossible for my legs to walk at a respectable pace; and metaphorical sweat poured from my body, causing my hands to clam up into fists that shook uncontrollably by my sides. But, overlooking my shaken appearance, the worst part of this whole ordeal was the fiery sensation of Tsukishima's eyes burning a wide hole straight through the back of my head and them some, taking in every bit of detail, whether it was a missed placed strand of my hair or the way my skirt swayed from side to side, he looked at me as though he was just awaiting my immediate failure that was partial all his fault. He looked at me the same way that you would like at a stray dog on the side of the road, or a helpless person in need of assistance--you could even say that he had a glint of guilt in his eyes mixed in with a heap of "I told you so".

"Thank you." With my head down and eyes to the floor, I subconsciously took my exam from the teacher with a gentle grip, not even daring to look at the letters in red while rushing back to my seat. I swerved throughout the desks perfectly, making sure not to embarrassingly trip on someone's bag or leg while doing so. It was a smooth transition from front to back, and it would have stayed that way if my curiosity didn't peek at the very moment I came close to his desk; he was staring right back at me with intense eyes, almost as if he was waiting for me to give him the failed expression he has been craving from day one. I could tell that a tiny smirk wanted to crawl onto his fine lips, holding back the urge to comment on my uncomfortable state and tell me how stupid I am and have been. Tsukishima's gaze quickly adjusted to the paper by my side, trying to get a good glance at whatever was written in stone and get an idea of what I was graded, however, my speed brought him to a disadvantage and I was already to my seat before he could snatch a look at my score. I think I would rather die than tell him; I'll just have to tell him that I don't want his tuition anymore to hide my shame.

I smoothened the exam down on my desk with my eyes closed shut, feeling every edge and crease that I folded with the will of stress. I was preparing for the worst, still hearing the sounds of pleased and displeased students echoing around the room and radiating off of the walls, not faring well from my own emotions.

"Do it," I whispered to myself.

"Do it. It's ok."

And just like that, I failed.

"So, Hoshi, has that confident and cocky fake personality of yours finally gone? Or have you actually passed?"