〚 third person 〛
☾☾☾
The Monday after the sleepover was nothing like Momo had expected.
From the moment she stepped onto campus, people were already glaring at her or whispering about her. Despite this being normal before, it seemed thirty times as harsh as before. It was beginning to make Momo feel concerned for herself.
Walking down the halls, she made her way to Tsukishima's classroom and knocked Tsukishima's classroom door. It slid open to reveal a second year she had never seen before.
Upon seeing Momo, he smirked and glanced over at Tsukishima. "Tsukishima, your girlfriend's here!"
The word girlfriend dumbfounded Momo. The sentence led to an eruption of chaos within the classroom. They were quick to check who the infamous girlfriend was.
Shyly, Momo scurried over to Tsukishima's desk and placed the bento on it. She bowed quickly, avoiding his eyes before turning on her heels and exiting the class.
What the heck was that?!?
As she entered her own classroom, she felt the blatant glares that burnt into her skin. She sat in her seat, avoiding the eyes of the females in her class since she knew nothing good would come from looking at them.
Did something happen?
☾☾☾
"You slut!" Shinohara snapped as she slammed Momo against the bathroom wall. Momo grimaced, pain shooting through her spine. "Did you think it was fucking funny to spread that shit around? Huh?!"
Momo was confused. She had no idea what the heck Shinohara was even talking about. "W-What?"
Shinohara pulled out her phone, flashing a picture of Tsukishima and Momo laid in bed. Based on the way they were situated in the picture, it didn't look like a very innocent photo.
"I didn't spread th-" Momo was cut off by Shinohara pulling her forward then slamming her against the wall again.
"Was it fun?" Shinohara seethed, getting up in Momo's face. "Was it fun to fuck Tsukishima-senpai? You act all innocent, but everyone knows you've been clinging to him like a fucking skank, so he can use you like a prostitute."
Momo's mouth parted in shock at the vulgar words that were coming out of Shinohara's mouth. They think...I've been attached to Tsukki-senpai because I wanna do that...with him?
"Just do as I say," Shinohara leaned in, gritting her teeth as she fought back the urge to hit Momo. "And stay the fuck away from Tsukishima-senpai."
No. Her mind and heart said immediately, refusing to comply with the girl's wish. Why is it so hard to say aloud?
"Oi." The voice made all the female's in the bathroom freeze. In the doorway of the bathroom stood Ichirō, Kaito and Akiyama. Akiyama was the one who spoke up first.
"What the hell do you guys think you're doing?" Despite knowing he had no place in the girl's bathroom, Akiyama entered and snatched Momo by the wrist. He pulled her away from the girls, handing her over to Kaitō who dragged her out of the bathroom.
They went into a empty classroom that Nao and Seno were sat in. Akiyama filed in soon after.
"Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!" Kaitō was too busy smacking the hell out of Momo's head to notice Seno and Nao making their way over to them. "Why the hell would you just stand there and take their shit?!"
"Kaitō," Seno intervenes, pushing Kaitō away from Momo. "Stop."
Once they heard Seno speak up clearly for once, they realized this was not a joking matter.
Momo's bottom lip trembled as she clutched the hem of her shirt and looked down. Tears glistened as they slid down her cheeks and fell onto the floor. Her soft sniffles soon turned into quiet sobs as her body was hit with tremors.
"I-I'm-" Before Momo could say anything, Akiyama reluctantly wrapped an arm around her body and pulled her into his chest.
"Just," He trailed off for a moment, trying to think of what to say in this moment. "Be quiet. It's fine."
There was a brief moment of silence before her sobs grew loud again. The way her hands gripped onto Akiyama's shirt as she cried into his chest made his heart ache. Hell, it made all of their hearts ache.
Akiyama's calloused hands slid down to her back as he awkwardly rubbed her back, trying to soothe the crying female. It seemed to work since her sobs quickly dialed down to small sniffles.
When she stepped away from Akiyama, her eyes were bright red and puffy as hell. She still somehow managed to look cute with her puffy face.
"You look like a pufferfish." Akiyama pointed out as he lifted his shirt to wipe her runny nose and tear-stained face.
"Your shirt..." Momo mumbled sorrowfully as she stared at his shirt that was not in its best condition.
Akiyama reached up and pinched her nose, shaking her head slightly. "Mind your own business, alright?"
Once he let go, her stuffed nose was clear, and she could breathe fine. Bowing her head slightly, she felt tears of relief fill her eyes. "T..Thanks, Akkey."
His sour expression softened a bit as he took in the grateful expression on her face. Tch. She almost looks cute.
"Yeah, whatever." Akiyama muttered, waving it off. He leaned on the nearest desk and sighed softly.
Momo fiddled with her hands, glancing at everyone awkwardly. "Could we...keep this a secret from Tsukki-senpai?"
"Hah?!" Kaitō shouted, getting pissed over the fact that she wanted to hide this from Tsukishima. He was the first person I was gonna tell.
"It's..kind of pathetic, don't you think?" Momo questioned weakly, unable to plaster a smile on her face because of the overwhelming emotions that filled her heart. "I don't think I could handle it if Tsukki-senpai told me that."
"There's nothing pathetic about this. And even if it was, Tsukishima-senpai isn't as shitty as you think to say something like that. Have some faith in the guy." Akiyama muttered, gently chopping Momo on the head. Still, her saddened expression remained as she held her head. With a sigh, he continued, "But if you don't want us to tell, then whatever."
Momo felt a bit relieved at his words and thanked everyone who promised they wouldn't tell. It was like a secret agreement along the first years.
☾☾☾
"Kaitō, you're so fucking obvious!" Akiyama snapped as he smacked Kaitō's back roughly. The bleach blonde smacked himself in the face, trying to hide the blatant expression that sat on his face.
"I can't help it, you shithead!" Kaitō shouted back, annoyed with Akiyama who was constantly castigating him throughout practice.
"Want me to fucking help you out then? My fist can definitely fix that expressio-" Akiyama was cut of by Momo pressing a hand to his chest, stopping him in his tracks. "What are you doing, idiot?"
Momo crossed her arms over her chest as she frowned disapprovingly after Akiyama. "Akkey, no fighting. Practice is still going on."
"Yeah, Aki, listen like the little bitch you ar-" Ichirō was quick to shut Kaitō down by pulling his ear. "Ow! Ow! Ow!"
"What is up with you guys?" Ennoshita asked as he blankly stared at the group before him. The first years were all acting weird, and the second years were distant as hell.
Momo walked over to
Yachi who was situated on a bench and plopped beside her. The small sigh that escaped Momo's lips caught Yachi's attention.
"What's wrong, Momo-chan?" Yachi asked, scooting over towards Momo. The brunette female chewed her bottom lip with hesitancy before caving and explaining everything to Yachi. "That's horrible! All because of a picture of you and Tsukishima?!"
Despite her loud volume, no one heard since they were too busy practicing.
Momo nodded, wanting to bring this up to Tsukishima and see how he felt about it. But if he thought badly of her, she wasn't sure if she could handle it. She was conflicted.
"You should tell Tsukishima. He's particularly fond of you, so I'm sure he's gonna try to help you." Yachi reassured, patting Momo's shoulder.
"You're right." Momo mumbled, knowing she'd tell Tsukishima about it. One day.
☾☾☾
"Spit it out already, Shrimpy." Tsukishima muttered as he cornered Kaitō in the club room. Everyone else had gone already, and it was only Tsukishima and Kaitō who was unable to look the blonde in the eye. "Guess I should tell Captain that you've been late every day this past week and slip into practice when supposedly no one notices."
Upon hearing that, Kaitō slightly paled and began to sweat. Caving in, he groaned and flashed the picture of Tsukishima and Momo.
"One of my classmates spread this picture of you guys around, and a few girls have been bullying Momo-chan for it. We stepped in before they could do too much. She didn't want to tell you though, so I didn't tell you." Kaitō blurted, exhaling with relief since the weight was now off his chest. He really was a bad liar.
Tsukishima stepped backwards, allowing Kaitō to straighten himself out. The blonde adjusted his black frames and nodded, understanding what Kaitō said. "I see."
Before Tsukishima could leave, Kaitō grabbed him by the sleeve and stop him. Awkwardly, Kaitō said, "Can you go easy on her? It was pretty shocking to see her cry today."
Tsukishima just gave Kaitō a neutral look before exiting the club room. As he made his way over to Yamaguchi and Momo, he took his time to examine her expression.
She smiled softly, waiting for Tsukishima with her hands folded behind her back.
Fake.
That's a fake smile.