(Edited)
You want to shrink, just having to talk during group discussions was already enough to make your hands tremble, talking in front of the whole class makes not only your hands shake but also your knees wobble and your stomach drop, what more when you were supposed to talk in front of the whole school?
"It's just a small line, nothing to be worried about," You try calming yourself down before you can succumb to your nerves and just run away from the whole scene
"And our next representative (Last name) (First name)-san." Your class adviser calls for you up to the front
"Here it goes," You gulp before walking up the stairs
——————
"Oh my god, I don't even wanna go to the cafeteria." You groan, face flat on your table as you mess up with your hair
It wasn't a total disaster, sure you stumbled with a few words, looked like a ripened tomato in front of the whole school, and was shaking like a scared dog but in the end, you managed to finish your speech
"But," You frown, sitting up as your stomach starts to grumble, "I'm really hungry!" You yell in frustration before making a decision to just get food and walk back silently to your classroom
—
"That didn't go as bad as I expected," You sigh in relief when you managed to get your tray of food, turning around you started making a beeline for the cafeteria doors
Just as you were about to leave, it opens and Carlos enters causing you to not only collide with him but also spill your food on his shirt
Your eyes widen in horror once you take in the whole thing, 'Shoot shoot shoot! I can feel the fangirls eyes planning on killing me right now!' You look around and just as you expect girls were glaring at you already
"Sorry, I didn't see you, you okay?" You return your attention to Carlos who asked you the question
"Huh? I'm fi-fine! How about you?" You panic and said the first thing you thought of
"This? This is nothing, I can just wash it—hey aren't you that cute girl who made a speech earlier?" He points out as you choke on your own saliva
"I'm the girl who made a speech, yeah." You answer weakly, feeling dead already from the intense glares you had on your back, "I'm so so so sorry! If you want I can wash your clothes for you?" You offer as he shakes his head
"Nah, I can handle this." He brushes it off, "Want me to get you a new meal?"
"No!" You wince when you hear the volume of your voice, "S-sorry But it's okay! I'll just get myself a new one."
"Come on! It's my fault anyway." Carlos grabs your hand before pulling you toward the line
"No, it's—!"
——————
"Am I that much of a pushover?" You cry as you eat the meal he bought for you
"Tsk if I know any better she probably did that on purpose!" You hear someone whisper (not so quietly) at your side
You look at the direction of the voice and noticed two girls by the window whispering to each other
'Why would I try to get anybody's attention when I don't even want anybody's eyes on me?' You sweatdrop, making a decision just to ignore them
"Just keep your head down, it will definitely die down after a while." You reassure yourself
—————
"Carlos, why are your clothes so dirty?" Shirakawa asks as Carlos chuckles at his friend's distasteful expression because of his shirt
"I just accidentally hit someone in the cafeteria earlier," He brushes it off, "You know that really really cute girl earlier in the assembly?" He asks Shirakawa, "I think she's in your class?"
"My class?" Shirakawa asks as he put his clothes in the washing machine, "The only girl who made a speech for our class is...(Last name)-san?" Shirakawa turns to Carlos who nods, satisfied with his friend's answer
"So that's her name," He grins, "She was really adorable, wasn't she? Is she always like that?"
Shirakawa looks at his face blankly, "If you really want to know then just talk to her." He replies before closing the washing machine
"Come on help a friend out!" Carlos calls out but Shirakawa ignores him
"Now how am I supposed to get to know her?"
———————————
You walk towards Inashiro Industrial, keeping your head forward as people surrounded the fences to watch the team's morning training
You could hear so many people at once, girls were screaming for their favorite player, reporters were around and taking pictures while discussing the players among themselves, alumni and baseball fans watched the team train, also talking among themselves, and somebody was screaming out your name
You halt to a stop at the thought, was somebody calling you?
'No, no way.' You shake your head as you will your feet to start walking once more, 'Why would anybody call me out here? I don't even play baseball!'
"(Last name)!"
"Hey (Last name)!"
You whip your head in the direction of the voice to see Carlos waving at you from the field
You feel the tips of your ears heat up upon noticing that he was shirtless
"Hey! It's still early, want to go to school together?" He asks out as you gulp upon once again having people's eyes on you
"N-no, it's okay!" You reply
"Oh, see you later then!" He waves as the coach yells at him to continue with his running
———
"Stop looking at me." You mumble, hiding your face in your hands as everybody whispers around you
"So," A classmate starts as he slams his hand on your desk, "You and Carlos?" He wriggles his eyebrows as you shake your head
"Are just acquaintances...?"
"See even you aren't sure of your relationship with him!"
"Don't make it such a big deal! We haven't even talked that much!" You reprimand but he just gives you a knowing smile before stalking off, leaving you to fend for yourself among the angry girls
"Oh my go-"
"Hey (Last name)!" Carlos' voice rings through the room as Shirakawa entered through the back door
"Go to your classroom," Shirakawa says simply before closing the door
Carlos sighs but upon seeing you looking at him, he once again waves at you before going to his own class
———————
You stretch your legs once the teacher leaves the room, once again taking five minutes of your precious lunch break
"Time to eat~" You sing quietly as you take your lunch from your bag
"Shirakawa, can I eat here?" You hear girls squeal making you turn your head to the door and see Carlos stroll into the room
You avert your eyes, anxious that the same scenario during the morning might happen
Somebody places a tray of food in front of you which caused you to look up
"Shirakawa-kun's table is that way," You blurt out and point at Shirakawa's location in front
"I know," Carlos hums, taking the seat in front of you and moving it closer to your desk, "But I don't want to eat with him, I see him enough times during breakfast and dinner." He brushes the idea away
"But—then—why—huh?" You sputter as Carlos chuckles
"Hey, you're really cute aren't you?" He asks as your face starts heating up from his sudden compliment
"I am....?" You laugh nervously
'He probably needs glasses.' You think
"You are!" He grins, "Not just your looks but even the way you speak is nice,"
You were sure you were as red as the apple he had, not only was he complimenting you left and right, people were staring at you and (you suspected) talking about you once more
"Tha-thanks, I guess?" You play with your hair as he smiles
"Don't be so stiff, I won't bite." He reassures you
"Oh yeah sorry." You mumble, opening your lunchbox and getting ready to eat
Just as you were about to take a bite, you see Carlos looking down at your food
"Do you want some?" You offer him causing him to beam
"Really? Thanks then!" He grins before taking some of it with his own chopsticks
"It's nothing, really." You brush it off
———————————
"Hey, Shirakawa come on!" Carlos follows him to his room, "Help me with her!" He basically pleads and jumps onto Shirakawa's bed
"Do you like her that much?" Shirakawa asks, having no choice but to sit on his desk chair since Carlos took his bed
"Yeah! She's nice—sure she's a bit awkward and all but that adds to her charms." Carlos smiles as Shirakawa rolls his eyes
"How many times have you talked to her?"
"A lot." Carlos defends, "I always greet her when she's walking through during morning, then during lunch, I try to invite her to eat together and when we see each other outside of class I try to strike a conversation!"
"So you're side-tracking her."
"No, I'm not." Carlos huffs at the accusation but it got him thinking, did he make you that uncomfortable?
He hopes not, because as far as he considered, he really really started liking you