𝐉𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐲 𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐭
❣︎
𝚌 𝚑 𝚊 𝚙 𝚝 𝚎 𝚛 𝚜 𝚒 𝚡
☜︎︎︎ 𝑜𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑑 ☞︎︎︎
You and Sakusa spent the whole day stealing glances from the other. Throughout your classes, Sakusa would quickly glance at you whenever the teacher cracks a joke, hoping to catch you smiling and laughing. You, on the other hand, would glance at him whenever you see or hear your teacher mention something that reminds you of him (once, your teacher mentioned 'masks,' and you immediately glanced at him).
That moment made you two grow a feet closer. From acquaintance, to friends, and now, it feels like you were friends friends. A feeling of ease when you two talk is a very great thing, especially for people who awkwardly like each other.
After class, Sakusa approached you.
You and Yuna — who sits in front of you — were shocked by the tall guy standing by your table. He already had his mask out but it was pulled under his chin.
"Oya, the germaphobe," Yuna stated as she stared at him confusedly. That was until she remembered that he also likes you. She noticed it earlier but decided to not tell you because you two liking each other without knowing seems fun.
"Kiyoomi," you greeted and smiled, "do you need anything?"
"You're going to post the posters today, aren't you?"
"Yes, I am! Soon, you'll have a manager and your workload will be lessened especially—"
He cut you off before you could ramble about the importance of the manager position. He knows that you're quite talkative and even if he could listen to you talk all day, you actually don't have all day.
"I'll assist you."
"No." You waved your hands as a gesture of refusal. "You don't have to! Your practice!"
"Komori will tell the coach. Come."
He pulled his mask up and walked away.
"Rude," Yuna commented.
"That's just how he is," you gathered your things and waved Yuna goodbye.
Sakusa waited for you outside the classroom. He started walking when he saw you and you quickly followed him.
"Let's go to Rina-sensei first. I think that she printed the posters already."
He only hummed in response.
You think of what you could possibly talk about but thought of nothing. You decided to once again steal a glance but now that you're side by side, walking, you saw the height difference.
"Wow, Kiyoomi, you really are tall. How tall are you?"
"189 cm."
"Is that, like the average height among volleyball players?"
"More or less.
"Are you proud of your height?"
"Not really."
"I heard that height is a really helpful factor in volleyball."
"Yeah."
He was giving such short answers that it made you a little embarrassed. It looked like you were forcing a conversation on him. You thought that you had become closer but it seemed like the only thing that has changed is what you call each other.
You sighed as quiet as possible but he still heard you.
He panics. He overthinks a lot and he does not admit it but he's quite pessimistic. When he thought of the events this morning, he realized that he might have been too pushy or that he was acting out of character with all the teasing, and he worries that that might make you think he likes you. He does, he really really does, but he's not ready for you to know yet. And then, he also worries that he will scare you off. It was a really confusing and mood dampening train of thought.
"Sakura," he calls, "who's watching your brothers?" This was his attempt to smoothen the conversation.
You turned to him happily.
"Our neighbor who also has a 13-year old son drives them to and from school. She said that they will go out for ice cream after school because my brother and his son got an A on their project together."
"Hmm," he hums, thinking of what to reply. "They must already be mature enough to handle being alone in your house for a short while. Don't baby them."
If anyone was listening, they would have gasped or would at least be taken aback by his straightforwardness. However, you knew that this is how he is and he didn't mean it in a bad way.
"My mother also told me that but I can't let go of babying them. Man, I need a hobby."
"Be our manager."
You laughed at his surprisingly stubborn side. It was cute though.
"Do you want me to baby you, Kiyoomi?"
It was just a joke but it certainly isn't to Kiyoomi. He blushed at the thought of you calling him 'baby.'
It was concealed by his mask though.
"I can't, you have practice matches and games to different places."
He didn't reply to you because he was still caught up by his imagination. He was imagining how it would be if he was your boyfriend and with every thought, he gets redder. Mind slowly clouded in a sweet daze, he didn't realize where both of you are now.
"We're here," you said when you arrived in front of Mira-sensei is at.
"Kiyoomi?" You called when he walked past you. You looked at him, wondering, as he hung his head low.
"Kiyoomi?" You called again, walking towards him.
But he really has long legs and he keeps slowly speeding up.
Having no other choice, you grabbed his hand causing him to turn around.
This stopped him. The trance he was in which caused his ears and face grow red vanished in an instant. You looked up at him and asked him, "Is everything okay?"
He played it cool.
"Yeah, I was just distracted."
You can't read him at all. Even with the mask covering half his face, he had a blank look. However, you noticed that it seemed like he was red and so were his ears.
You were about to ask him about that, but the door to the teachers' room opened which caught your attention.
"Minami-san!" Mira-sensei called. "Oh, and Sakusa-kun!" She walked closer to you both and your hand firmly holding his wrist caused her to let out a little squeal.
"Was I interrupting something?"
"No!" Feeling embarrassed by that, you quickly pulled your hand back and kept it behind you.
The teacher smiled knowingly and handed you the posters.
"I was going to hand these to you in your classroom but you're here so here are the posters. There's 10 in total."
She proceeded to explain where to put those. She said one should be posted on the teacher's bulletin board, two in the first and second year bulletin boards (just in case one gets torn or etc.), one should be given to the student council president so they'll be informed if anyone choose to approach them, and she said to ask the student council where the other 4 could be posted.
"Is that okay? I could do it if it's too much," the teacher said.
"No, no, sensei. You've already got much on your plate. We'll handle this."
"Thank you! Well, then, excuse me," she waved and walked away.
You two started on your little journey. But it was awkward. You felt guilty for touching him without his permission and you were afraid he'd hold a grudge or something. He, on the other hand, was embarrassed by how he keep thinking of you as a girlfriend when you might not even like him.
The council president told you that you can post the one on the volleyball gym, one on the third year's bulletin board because even if 1st or 2 and years would be more favorable to be manager, it might still have benefits posting there. They also said that they'll post the remaining 2 on the school's overall bulletin board.
You thanked him and Sakusa just nods. You exited the council room when you called Sakusa.
"Sakusa-kun." There was a hint of stiffness when he heard your voice.
He stops walking and looks back at you. 'Sakusa?'
"I'm sorry for touching you without your permission. I, myself, am not sure if I'm up to your standards of clean. It's okay if you're annoyed at me and wants me to..." her words trailed off with her last few words and came to a full stop. Her mind went muddled with words, but none was clear.
"Sakura," he leaned down and pulled his mask down. He then held your hand with his as he said, "I don't care."