"Satoru, why are we going to the beach? It's literally December!"
You heard Maki complain as the five of you plus Gojo walked off the campus and towards the beach. You kept your head low as your flip flops kept lightly smacking against your feet as you took each step down the mountain.
"Becausssse, it's the time of the year where the beach is the least busiest! So us 6 can enjoy it to ourselves as much as we'd like!" He chirped before speeding up towards the sandy biome.
"But what about the water?!" Yuta whined before adjusting the towel over his shoulder. "Yeah! Won't it be like Sub Zero?!" Panda added.
"Tough it out! If ya' can't stand a little cold water then what're ya doin' here as a Jujutsu sorcerer?!" Maki shot back as a response, not even acknowledging you, who has a heavy heart as well as a heavy head. Questions filling your head made your skull gain weight, figuratively.
You thought it was just like the saying, 'you reap what you sow,' or 'taste of your own medicine,' what Maki's doing. But this was even worse than what you did. You still get to see her, but she acts as if you're not even there; a memory long forgotten. To see her be herself without even sending a single glance at you sent you into a spiral of silence, more silence than what you gave her.
Whenever you'd make a point during a discussion in class, Maki would always counteract it with her own statement. It annoyed you, to think she didn't even acknowledge your point.
"HAH! THAT'S THE SPIRIT! NOW, LAST ONE THERE'S A ROTTEN EGGGG!" He cheered before running at light speed towards the sand, with Panda and Toge following after him. Now it was just You, Yuta and Maki that was left walking.
"Yuta, are you gonna throw Toge in the water for him taking your milk yesterday?" Maki asked, turning to the boy next to you, still not sparing you a glance. He looked at her with his usual nervous expression. "Um...no. I wasn't drinking it anyways." He answered softly. Maki grunted in response, "You're no fun." She faced forward. Yuta took the initiative to turn to you with a grin.
"What about you, Y/n? What're you gonna do while we're at the beach?"
You looked up at Yuta, and he saw the dark eye bags underneath your eyelids, your droopy eyes and frowning mouth. He felt the shadowy storm cloud sitting above your head and it was about to drift over to him before he said something. Maki just sped up towards the beach as soon as she heard Yuta utter your name.
Maki didn't want to ignore you, but it's what you get for avoiding her for so long, to act so nonchalant last week as if you hadn't been ignoring everybody for as long as you did. It wasn't evident on her face, but a small part of her felt the tiniest bit of remorse for treating you this way. But, she already said she was done. Nothing more could be said about it.
You and Yuta made eye contact for a few more moments before you looked away and let your head drop once again. He blinked in surprise at your mood. He knew that you and Maki stopped talking, but he didn't know it would take this much of a toll on you.
That moment, he made it his mission to get you and Maki to talk again. A mission he absolutely cannot fail.
"...So, could you help me with a project that I'm working on? It's due by the end of this month and I haven't even started on it." He asked nicely. He didn't like it, but he had to lie about him starting on it himself, he knew very well he was in that group project with Toge and Maki. You looked at him with the same expression from a few moments ago.
"What's it on?" You asked with a low tone. Now Yuta was sure that you got a little depressed over the week.
"Uhm...it's a model on Romeo and Juliet."
"And you need my help with that?" You asked starkly, slightly frowning.
"What's wrong with that?" Ryo asked. You ignored him and kept talking with Yuta.
"Uh...yeah." Yuta said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. You huffed before facing forward once again. "Sure. Why not." You answered. He smiled slightly before slightly speeding up towards the beach.
-
While everybody else was playing around in the water, you were sitting on the sand some distance away. Knees hugged against your chest as you stared at the water splashing back and forth gently from the current. That emotionless expression never left your face since the day after you and Maki stopped talking.
You had thoughts about dropping out of Jujutsu high and going back to regular school, but you couldn't do that to the others or to Maki, not again. You were sure if you did that, you'd never see her again or get the chance to talk to her again either.
A few moments passed by, and the beach ball that Panda previously won victory over was bouncing in your direction, courtesy of Toge who was told by Yuta about his mission to get you and Maki back to what you were.
"Maki! Maki! Go get the ball! That's out on your side!" Gojo chirped as she grunted and flipped him off before jogging across the sand for the ball.
You glanced over to the right and saw the ball coming your way, as well as Maki's silhouette. Your eyes slightly lit up before she completely ignored your troll-like position and grabbed the ball from the ground before running back to the others and hitting Toge in the head with it.
"You idiot! Whydja make me run all the way over there! If we had another ball, Gojo and Panda would've already scored 3 more points already!" She scolded, smacking him up the head. He giggled before taking a second to glance over at your figure who hasn't left the position the entire 45 minutes the six of you've been there. Maki followed Toge's glance, causing her to accidentally look in your direction as well. She frowned before kicking his shin.
It worked.
Turns out, hanging out with you gave Yuta some perks after all. He somewhat took after your wit and devised a plan to get Maki to notice you.
All the while you, who was still sitting like a homeless person, felt like the monster on the hill; an outcast.
"Alright! Server, whenever you're ready!" Gojo shouted before Toge tossed the ball up and spiked it over the net and onto Gojo's side. Panda was quick to run after the ball and set it over the net, but Maki was even faster to spike the ball smack dab onto the sand on Gojo's side, scoring her team another point.
"Aww man! This isn't fair!" Gojo pouted before kicking the sand childishly. Yuta chuckled as he sat on the lifeguard chair right next to the net to act as a referee. Every now and then he would send glances your way to see if you moved any, and you haven't.
His eyebrows furrowed before he hopped off the chair and made his way towards you. Out of the corner of her eye, Maki saw him get down and walk to your end of the beach and she turned around to face him.
"Oi! What're you goin' over there for?! We still need a referee for this game!" She shouted but he didn't stop walking in your direction.
"I'm going to check on my friend!" He shouted back, his voice louder than he intended. Maki gave him the stink eye before scoffing and turning back around after her eyes wandered off to you, still sitting with your knees hugged up to your chest.
Maybe it's time I give her just a little bit of light.
"Whatever. Don't take too long, though. Make your conversation with Debbie Downer quick, we still got a game to play." She hollered before walking off to get her water bottle.
You slightly lifted your head at the nickname she gave you and you glanced over at her for just a second before looking up and finding Yuta about to sit down next to you.
"Are you ok? Like actually. You haven't moved from your position at all this whole time we've been here." He said with a worried tone. You blinked before getting out of your hunchback position and rested your palms against the sand. You turned to him, "What do you think?"
"I think you miss Maki-san." He admitted, which you nodded in response. "Of course I do, man! I really like that girl! I don't know why it took me so damn long to realize that!" You whined before he wrapped his arm around your shoulder.
"Aw man. I wish there was something I can do to helpppp." Ryo said teasingly. You frowned at Ryo, and so did Yuta.
"Seriously Ryo? I'm sitting here, just a little depressed and you're being a little bitch right now?"
"Hey hey hey! I'm just suggesting that I can help you!" He shouted, making you wince and hold the side of your head.
"Wait, what do you mean?"
"I mean, that I can get into her body and persuade her to talk to you! Simple as that!"
"Actually, it's not that simple. Maki-san doesn't just listen to what a special grade curse tells her, I hope you know."
"Bla bla bla, I'll get her to. I just need you to find a way to get unsuspiciously close to her so I can slip out of you and slip into her no problem."
You looked at Yuta after Ryo finished explaining. "I mean...it could work." Yuta suggested before you sighed. "Alright, fine." You replied before Maki called for Yuta to-
"Hurry your ass back here! We gotta game to finish and I ain't playin without a referee!" She yelled before throwing a sand rock at him. He was half surprised that it made it that far, but then again, it is Maki, not that surprising that she can throw that far and probably even further.
"Ima comin, Ima comin!" Yuta said before getting up quickly. He gave you one last glance before walking back to the lifeguard chair.
The others got back to playing the game while you and Ryo were holding up the first decent conversation in a while.
"So how is this gonna work?"
"So today, when we're heading to the dining hall, I'm gonna speed past Maki and you detach yourself and latch onto her then you just do your own thing from there."
"Wow...for a smart person, your plans suck."
"Shut up, I'm living on half a brain."
"Aww, is it cuz Maki stopped talking to youuu?"
"Shut your mouth."