year: 2005
it's August 4th, [first name] stared boringly at the two boys in front of her. Baji ignored her staring and continue eating his burger, Chifuyu stared back her while sipping his soda.
[first name] squinted, "Keisuke, that's your 3rd burger," she said in a bored tone.
"So? I'm hungry." Baji replied as he took another bite of his burger. [first name] sighed as she looked away from them.
Chifuyu watched how Baji devour the burger, he cringed, then his eyes went to [first name]. A soft smile appeared on his face when he looks at her. Then his eyes landed on her earings, he blushed when he realized those were the ones he gave her. Then [first name] looked back at them and noticed Chifuyu staring at her, "What's wrong? Is there something on my face?" She asked, touching her cheek.
Chifuyu shook his head, "Nothing, I just noticed that you're wearing the earrings that I gave you." He smiled at her. [first name] blushed a little and smiled back at him, "Yeah. By the way, thanks again."
"It looks good on you." said Chifuyu, still smiling at her. [first name] blushed more when he said that, "You're only saying that because you're the one who bought it." she said shyly, looking away from him.
"No, I'm saying it because it's the truth." said Chifuyu.
Baji swallowed the last piece of his burger and said, "Alright, I'm done eating, you two can stop flirting now."
Chifuyu and [first name] jumped. "W-We were just talking!" [first name] yelled. Baji laughed at their reaction, "Yeah, yeah, whatever." he said, standing up. The two stood up as well and followed Baji.
Baji
We're both walking our way back to our apartment building, since it's almost getting dark. [first name] was at my left and Chifuyu was at my right, and both of them are so quiet, and it's slightly pissing me off.
Before Chifuyu told me, I already knew that he likes her. It's pretty damn obvious, I may be stupid sometimes but I'm not blind. And as for [first name], I think she kinda feels the same way. Even though she's not telling me or showing any hints, I can kinda tell just by looking at her.
Okay, I'm not really sure if she does but that's what I think.
"So, Chifuyu, how much does the earrings cost?" I asked, pointing at [first name]'s ear. "Hmm..I forgot." said Chifuyu, looking up. "Woah, you forgot? it must be pretty expensive then." I smirked at him.
"I-Is it?" [first name] asked, looking at Chifuyu with an embarrassed face. Chifuyu gave her a smile and said, "Don't worry about it."
She smiled back at him, "You weren't the one who lost my earrings, yet you're the one who gave me a new pair."
I flinched. I think that just hit me hard in the heart. "Hey! I said I was sorry!" I yelled at her. She gave me a weird look, "and I said it's okay? I wasn't even mad." she said.
"But you cried your heart out of it!" I said. "I cried because I can't get mad at you and your stupid ass." She said, looking away from me.
——timeskip
month: October
[first name]
I focused on my paper, writing the correct answers. I'm still in class, and we're having a pop quiz at the moment. Even though my mind is focusing on how to answer my quiz, I can't help but to think about Keisuke. He's been acting weird, as if he's hiding something from me.
He never hides something from me, and it's making me a little upset that he's not telling me.
The bell rang and I immediately went outside, I was on my way to Keisuke's classroom like I usually do after class but I accidentally bumped into someone. I looked up and it was Chifuyu, "oh, [first name], I was actually on my way to see you."
"Huh? We always see each other after class with Keisuke?" I tilted my head at him. "I-I..I was actually planning to talk to you about something." He said, putting his hands in his pockets. I raised a brow, "Just me?"
He nodded, "It won't take long." He said as he began walking, I followed him. We went to his classroom and saw some of his friends were about to leave. "Oh, Shimizu!" one of them greeted me. I gave them a warm smile. "Anyway, we're gonna go now. See ya tomorrow, Chifuyu. Good seeing ya, Shimizu!"
"See ya." Chifuyu waved at them. "Bye, boys." I waved at them, they waved back at me with their cheeks all red, and moments later they're gone. I turned to Chifuyu, "So, what do you want to talk about?" I asked.
He sat on a chair and motioned me to sit on the chair next to him, which I did. "[first name], I want you to be completely honest with me, okay?"
"I'm always honest, Chifuyu.." I said, pouting. He smiled, "Okay then."
"It's about Baji-san." He said, making me jump a little. "He's been acting weird lately, Mikey-kun and the other captains also noticed it." He added.
"And?"
"And, I thought maybe you know the reason why." He said, sounding serious. "To be honest, I actually noticed that too. I tried asking him about it but he'll quickly change the subject and dodge the question." I explained.
"Hmm. He's hiding something." He said, rubbing his chin. "Obviously, I was thinking about asking Kazutora about it, since those two are always hanging out recently." I said. "Kazutora? Who's that?" He asked. I gave him a weird look, "Wait, you don't know him?"
He shook his head. "Really? Keisuke didn't tell you?"
"Not that I remember.." he said, looking down. "Well, Kazutora is his friend. He's actually one of the founding members of Toman."
"Wait a second, isn't that the guy who got arrested? And the guy who Baji-san used to write letters for?" He asked. I nodded, "Mhm."
"Oh. Okay, now I remember. He did mention that guy to me." He grinned at me. I shook my head at him with a smile on my face, and stood up, "We should go, he's probably wondering what's taking us so long." I said.
"Right." He said as he stood up and began leading the way. I quickly followed him and walk beside him. "Hey, want me to carry your bag for you?" He offered, looking down at me. I laughed softly and looked up to meet his eyes, "You always want to carry my bag for me, what are you? My boyfriend?" I teased, nudging him lightly.
He chuckled, "Well, do you want me to?"
I blushed and gave him a weird stare. "W-What?"
"T-To carry your bag. Yeah! Do you want me to carry your bag for you?" He said nervously. Oh.
"No thanks, I'm good. We're almost there anyway." I said. "O-Okay. Whatever you say." He said, looking away from me. Did I or did I just not saw him blushing?
I can feel myself smiling thinking how cute he was when he began stuttering.
wait, what?
When Chifuyu opened the door for me, I saw Keisuke has his hair down and he's no longer wearing his glasses and he looks like he's about to leave. "Oh, there you are. I've been waiting for you guys." He said, grinning at me and Chifuyu.
"Yeah, sorry about that." said Chifuyu. "It's fine, I was about to call one of you to tell you guys I'm going to see a friend." He said, picking up his bag.
I crossed my arms, "You're going to see Kazutora again, huh?" I said.
"Yep! So, Chifuyu, take her home safely for me, 'kay?" said Keisuke, walking away. Me and Chifuyu watched him exit the room and left.
I let out a low groan and looked at Chifuyu. "Well, I guess it's just gonna be us again for today." He said, taking my bag away from me. I sighed, "yeah.." I can feel my mood slightly changing.
Then he turned to me and said, "Say, wanna go and grab some ice cream? I know a place near here." He smiled at me. I stared at him for a while then smiled back at him, "I would love to."
Chifuyu
I can tell she felt sad when Baji left to hang out with his friend, instead of us. I'm not mad about it, I completely understand while [first name] is quite affected by it. So I thought treating her some ice cream might help her cheer up a little.
And it actually worked.
Ever since we had ice cream, she never stopped smiling and telling me random things. Aside from her smile, seeing this side of her makes me really happy. "And I remember one time, Keisuke punched a random guy just because he was sleepy." She sounded so disappointed yet she laughed after she said that. I laughed along with her, "Yeah, Baji-san can sometimes be hard to read."
"That's just how he is." She smiled. I hummed, "It's a good thing he has you, you're the one who understands him more than me, Mikey-kun, and the other captains." I said.
She gave me a warm smile, "anyway, thank you, Chifuyu." She said, looking at the sky. "For what? Carrying your bag?" I grinned at her. She laughed, "Other than that."
I know what she's referring to, I just want to see and hear her laugh. "Thanks for earlier, I know you were just trying to cheer me up." She said, looking at me. "Don't mention it, I always want to make you happy." I said. I immediately flinched when I realized what I just said. She stopped walking, looking at me. Oh crap, did I just made her uncomfortable?
I froze and stared back at her, I mentally gulped, "W-What's wrong?" I asked.
She stayed quiet for a sec, and gave me a faint smile. I swear everytime she smiles like that it's always giving me a fuzzy feeling in my stomach. "Chifuyu, can I ask you something?"
"Uh, sure?"
"Promise me that you won't get mad, or get uncomfortable."
I gave her a nod, "I promise."
She looked down and took a deep breath, "Keisuke told me something about you."
I gulped, Baji-san, you asshole! You promised me that you would never tell anyone. Especially her! I stayed quiet, looking at her with my eyes wide and I can feel my heart was beating fast.
"He told me that you have feelings for me, and you're too scared to confess to me." She said. "[first name].."
"So, is it true?" She asked, with her face still down, avoiding to look at me. I took a deep breath and sighed, "Yes."
I heard her let out a soft gasp. "To be honest, when I first met you, I actually had a little crush on you because I thought you were so beautiful, well, you are. But I immediately forced myself to stop crushing on you, because I think we're better off as friends, and Baji-san might kill me if he knew I have a crush on you back then," I said, slightly chuckling. She looked up and looked at me straight in the eyes, I blushed but I continued talking, "But as time flies, I can't stop my feelings for you [first name]..You're kind, beautiful on the inside and extremely beautiful on the outside, brave, smart and caring, heck—the way you care about others is really...amazing. You're amazing."
I can see the shock in her face, "Chifuyu.."
"So yeah, I like you. A lot, actually. But don't worry, I'll still treat you the same even though you don't feel the same way about me." I gave her a reassuring smile. She just stared at me with her eyes wide. I laughed at myself, "I'm gonna punch Baji-san for breaking his promise, but hey, at least, I was able to confess to yo—" I stopped when I felt something grabbed my hand. It was so warm and soft. I looked down and it was her hand. I gulped and blushed at the same time, then I looked at her, staring at me with her signature small smile.
"I'm quite impressed, Chifuyu. You always know how to make my day better." She said. I let out a soft gasp, staring at her. Then she began walking, dragging me along with her. We're almost in our apartment building. Then she turned her head and looked at me. "Say, wanna know something that Keisuke doesn't know?" She asked, "W-What?" I asked, I can still feel my cheeks are still red.
She smiled and said, "I like you too. A lot, actually."