BEING A SECOND-YEAR high school student seemed intimidating. It was the last year before you have to actively start thinking about your future. Before you had to start thinking about universities and career paths. This year was, one could say, the last year during which they can sort-of relax.
Y/n was going to make this school year the greatest school year in her life.
There was a rumor going around since the end of the previous year that there was going to be a new teacher that year. Of course, there's new teachers every year, but they were talking about a specific teacher - a drama club teacher. A teacher who would want to assemble a group of theater kids and make their dreams of playing on a stage come to a reality, to some extend.
That was the thing Y/n was looking forward to the most.
"Hina!''
The girl looked up from shoe locker and at her friend, giving her a wave. ''Hey, Y/n!''
Y/n opened her shoe locker - which happened to be right across from Hina - and changed her outdoor shoes for her indoor ones. "You ready to be a second-year? One step closer to adulthood!''
Hina laughed and shook her head. ''I'm definitely not. It feels just like yesterday that we were back in middle school.''
Y/n agreed. Time had started to pass so much quicker, it felt like her life was going at double speed. Though, that could be because she has a perception of time now, unlike when she was young and naive.
She hoped this year won't pass as quick.
''So, you heard about the new teacher?''
It was as if Y/n was waiting for Hina to bring up the topic.
''Yes, of course! I'm so excited, really, I can't wait to meet her! Do you think she'll do a theater play? A musical? Which one? Les Misérables? Or Romeo and Juliet? No, the school did Romeo and Juliet two years ago, that probably won't be it. God, so many possibilities!''
Hina laughed at her friend's enthusiasm. ''If you put that much effort in Biology, you wouldn't be failing it.''
Ah, yes. The cursed subject. ''It's not my fault the teacher doesn't like me.''
''Well, you did break one of his microscopes.''
''Shush, Hina. We're talking about acting here, not about microorganisms.''
The two laughed together as they walked down the hall, continuing to talk about what the new drama teacher could be like. Usually, they were old and boring, but according to rumors Hina had heard, this one was a young one.
"Hina-chan, wait up!''
The two girls turned around at the call, seeing Hina's boyfriend, Takemichi, waving at them as he walked alongside his friend. A friend Y/n didn't want to see today, tomorrow or ever again. Her smile immediately dropped at the sight of the blond, her eyes turning back to Hina.
It was too early to deal with this. Too early to see him. She didn't have the patience for that today. ''I'll meet you in class, yeah?'' Y/n didn't wait for an answer from Hina as she rushed away, not wanting to be anywhere near Takemichi's friend.
Chifuyu watched as she walked away from them - from him - gripping the strap of his backpack tightly. Hina, being Y/n's friend, semi-glared at Chifuyu. ''What're you doing here?''
He finally shifted his gaze away from Y/n, who finally rounded the corner and disappeared from his sight. ''I study here.''
''I meant why're you approaching Y/n.''
Chifuyu sighed. He knew what she meant from the beginning, but he didn't know what to tell her. ''I was just following Takemichi, that's all.''
''You promised me you'll stay away from her.''
"It's kind of hard to, considering we go to the same school and have the same friends, you know?''
Hina knew he was right, but she didn't want her friend to suffer. Not anymore and not because of the same person. ''Just try not to approach her, okay? I'll see you later, Takemichi-kun.'' She kissed her boyfriend's cheek before she rushed off to find Y/n and check if she's okay.
I know we go to the same school, but how did he manage to already find me ten minutes after I arrived? Y/n was standing in front of the vending machine, buying a drink before they had to assemble in the gym for the beginning of the year opening ceremony. She would have to see Chifuyu there, too. There was no escaping him, was there? Maybe this year wouldn't be as relaxing as I thought. Considering she had to avoid someone in the same friend group as her, it was going to be very, very hard.
''Y/n!''
She met Hina's worried eyes and before her friend can speak, Y/n cut her off. ''I'm okay, don't worry.''
Hina bit her bottom lip, unsure if her friend was lying or not. She had to be bothered to some extend, Hina just wasn't sure to what extend exactly. ''Are you sure?''
Y/n nodded. ''I mean, yeah. I'm totally over him. Who needs a relationship with a delinquent anyway.'' She thought about what she said for a moment, seeing Hina's dumbfounded face. ''No offense.''
Hina sighed. ''I hope you really are okay. Boys are dumb, anyway.''
''Don't you have a boyfriend?''
''Oh, I do. That doesn't mean he isn't dumb, though.''
Y/n laughed at her friend's attempt to cheer her up. Ever since the situation with Chifuyu, Y/n had come to appreciate how great of a friend Hina was more and more with each passing day.
She didn't need to think about boys this year. All she needed was to focus on school work, on snatching the lead to whatever play the teacher was going to choose to do for the semester and on having fun with her friends. On living out one of her last teenage years without drama - unless it was the drama club, of course.
This year was going to be great, and she wasn't about to let some boy ruin it for her.
Probably.
°•. ✿ .•°
If he had to be honest, Matsuno Chifuyu believed he was the biggest idiot on earth.
He'd been thinking about it over the whole spring vacation, of course. And he was pretty sure his friends thought he was a dumbass as well. Anyone who knew what had happened would think he was an idiot. Hell, even his own mother thought he was an idiot.
"I love you, Chifuyu."
Silence.
"I think we should take a break."
Chifuyu didn't think he'd ever said something dumber in his life. That simple sentence has kept him up at night over the course of the holidays. It wasn't as easy to try to fix things, either - she'd gone on a holiday with her parents, gone for ten days. On top of that, she'd blocked his number and never answered any of his friends - she was mad, that much was obvious.
"I think you should go."
"Y/n, I-"
"Go, Matsuno."
Once she called him by his last name, he knew it was over.
That simple sentence had ruined his whole holiday, if not his whole life. It hasn't been that long since what happened - only two weeks, three days and thirteen hours, but who was counting it?
Chifuyu was counting. He was counting every day and the bigger the number became, the more he was starting to loose hope that he'll be able to fix their relationship.
Why had he said he needed a break? He didn't know. He didn't have any explanation. Why did Hina and Takemichi make it look so simple? Why couldn't he a good boyfriend like Takemichi was?
''Hey, you okay?''
Chifuyu looked up from his shoes at the whisper. He looked behind him, seeing Takemichi leaning closer to him. They were currently at the opening ceremony for the new school year. Each class standing in a neat roll and listening to the speech the principal was giving - or at least Chifuyu believed other were people were listening, since he most definitely was not.
''Yeah, why?'' Chifuyu whispered back in confusion, trying not to direct too much attention to himself and Takemichi.
''Just asking.'' Takemichi was probably asking because of heir encounter with Y/n earlier, but he didn't want to specifically bring it up in front of their classmates. Chifuyu was thankful for that.
''As you may know,'' Chifuyu finally started listening to the principal. ''We have a new drama teacher this year. Please warmly welcome Nakamura-sensei.''
A blonde woman walked on the stage next to the principal and stood in front of the microphone. She looked young and promising. After shortly introducing herself as the new drama teacher, she addressed the matter all the theater kids were waiting for. ''Auditions will be held in two weeks and I'll put a poster of what we'll be doing by tomorrow morning near the entrance, so everyone will be able to see it and decide if they want to take part. I hope to see you at auditions!''
After hearing about the drama teacher, Chifuyu's eyes quickly found Y/n. Her class was right next to his, so it wasn't hard to spot her. She watched the teacher in wonder, as if she was her savior. Her eyes were wide and she had a smile on her face. As he watched her, it felt like the two were the only people in the world.
Today was the start of a new year. The start of a new Chifuyu.
And the new Chifuyu was going to fix the past Chifuyu's mistakes.