harsh sunlight broke through the curtains, waking sumiye up from her peaceful sleep. rubbing her eyes, she checked the time on her phone. slate colored eyes read "8:23" with a sour expression. hashimoto sumiye was not a morning person.
flopping back onto her bed, the redhead screwed her eyes shut, attempting to go back to sleep. sumiye was already half asleep when the memories from last night flooded back, causing her eyes to shoot open. she got in not one, but two fights with the people she cares about. sumiye's shoulder's raised as she cringed.
"on the bright side, fighting with kentarō lead me to getting to know ushijima." she thought while crawling out of bed. but who was the girl kidding? sumiye would've much rather have had a date night her boyfriend instead of a movie night with some random classmate.
scrolling through the notifications on her phone, sumiye skimmed lena yelling at shiro in the groupchat and kentarō spamming her phone. responding to those text messages sounded like too much effort, so the redhead just ignored them. before she could shut her phone off, an email notification caught sumiye's eye.
ushijimawakatoshi@yahoo.com
hello, hashimoto-san. i'm emailing you to check in. how are you feeling today?
hashisumi@gmail.com
hey, ushijima-san. i'm good, thanks for checking in!
ushijimawakatoshi@yahoo.com
okay, see you in class on monday. have a good day.
hashisumi@gmail.com
wait! are you busy right now?
ushijimawakatoshi@yahoo.com
i am about to head to the gym.
hashisumi@gmail.com
perfect!! wait for me at the front of the school :)
ushijima stopped responding to her messages, but she hoped he would actually wait for her. it was weird that sumiye invited herself along when ushijima was practically a stranger, but since when did she give a fuck?
speedily, sumiye threw on clothes that are gym appropriate before dashing out the door. the redhead didn't own gym clothing (because exercise is gross), but she did her best with what she had.
"mornin', ushijima-san." she greeted with a half-assed wave. "how's it going?"
the ace looked up from his phone, the same stoic look on his face as always. "good morning, hashimoto-san. i'm good; i already warmed up with my morning jog."
"oh, gross." sumiye shoved her hands in her zip-up's pockets, walking towards the bus stop before he had time to react.
his large strides allowed him to easily catch up with the shorter girl. "you seem to be in a better mood today."
sarcasm slipped past the redhead's lips before she could think about it. "i don't know what you're talking about; i'm always in a good mood." she shrugged as they approached the bus stop.
"that's not true."
sumiye snorted at his blunt response– he really didn't get idioms. before she could respond, the bus approached them. the two teenagers boarded and sat in silence the whole ride to the gym.
getting off the bus, the girl couldn't help but marvel at the gym in front of her. the exterior had a modern design, and it looked liked it belonged in a gentrified neighborhood that rich white people frequented.
"holy shit, ushijima-san! this place is nice."
he just hummed in response. the two walked in and ushijima signed her in as a guest. they made their way to a backroom that was filled with different cardio machines.
"we'll run so you can get warmed up." he stepped on a treadmill and got it started.
the redhead copied his actions, slightly nervous. she didn't know much about ushijima wakatoshi, but one thing she did know was that he's buff as shit. "i hope i can keep up."
looking over, she noticed that ushijima's jogging speed was much faster than hers. "you won't be able to, but it's okay." his legs pumped underneath him with natural athleticism.
a smirk makes its way onto sumiye's semblance. "damn, ushijima-san. really crushing my dreams here." her legs were already screaming, but she focused on the athlete next to her.
"i'm sorry," his tone was curt, as per usual. ushijima didn't look phased while running– his breathing was slowly getting heavier, but in comparison to sumiye he was doing good.
of course he didn't pick up on her sarcasm. slightly gasping for breaths the redhead said, "i was just messing with you; i hate running."
"then why're you here?"
pausing, sumiye thought about why she was here. unfortunately for her, that pause was not only mental, but also physical, which caused her to go flying off of the treadmill. a loud thump echoed throughout the room as the girl's body hit the floor.
"fuck! that one hurt like a bitch." she cursed, sitting up from the floor. if sumiye's tailbone wasn't violently throbbing, maybe she'd have time to feel embarrassed by falling off a treadmill.
with lightning fast speed, ushijima hopped off his machine to check on the girl. the ace's eyebrows were furrowed as he extended a hand to help her up. "are you okay, hashimoto-san? next time we can go on the elliptical instead of the treadmill."
a teasing smile slipped onto sumiye's features. "so there'll be a next time?" she questioned, accepting his outreached hand. the ace yanked sumiye to her feet like it was nothing. then again, she figured his buff ass arms had to be useful for something.
"there'll be a next time if you tell me why you're here," he turned away from sumiye to shut off both treadmills.
sumiye's lips curved down words into a frown. what gave ushijima the right to be so nosy? "oh, you know– avoiding my problems or whatever." she watched as the ace grabbed cleaning supplies for the machines.
"hashimoto-san, that's not healthy."
"yeah, no shit, sherlock." the boy's face stayed stoic at her sarcastic tone, causing sumiye to roll her eyes. was ushijima an actual robot? it would explain why he didn't laugh or smile.
"my name isn't sherlock,"
"it's a saying."
wiping down the treadmill, ushijima pushed for more information. "what problems are you avoiding?"
"you're not giving up on this, are you?"
"no,"
"god damn, ushijima-san," sumiye grumbled under her breath. the two teenagers strolled through the hallway before entering a room dedicated to weights. taking a deep breath, she started explaining, "so, my boyfriend wont stop calling me and i got into a fight with my best friend yesterday while walking home."
ushijima nodded in response while picking up a handheld weight. "you should talk to them."
"i'd rather kill myself." sumiye's responded, her gaze stuck to his arms as he did bicep curls– it didn't help that he was wearing a sleeveless shirt. "i'd let him punch me."
"please don't."
"it's a saying."
"sumiye," a voice called out from behind her, making the duo look back at the person behind the girl.
the ace's arm paused, staring in confusion at the blond that was approaching them. he was slightly shorter than ushijima but was just as built. the stranger's brown eyes were blazing as he glared at sumiye.
"kentarō, what're you doing here?" sumiye's pitch got higher, her gaze refusing to leave her approaching boyfriend. as if it were natural, the redhead's body took a step towards him.
"this is my gym," kentarō's gaze moved onto ushijima, his eyes narrowing. "who's this?"
"ushijima wakatoshi, hashimoto-san's friend. nice to meet you." he bowed slightly before setting down the weight.
"sumiye's never mentioned you. didn't know you came to the gym with friends," the older male directed the last sentence towards sumiye with a taunting glare. she felt as if he was daring her to say something. grabbing her wrist, kentarō tugged towards the door. "we should talk."
ushijima reached his hand out and placed it on the girl's shoulder. "please don't pull on her like that; she might get hurt. why don't you two–"
jerking her shoulder away, sumiye quickly interrupts. "it's fine," her voice was quiet, her eyes begged the ace to not get involved. "it's like you said, i should talk to him." sumiye's lips tugged into a taut smile in an attempt to comfort him.
once again, ushijima nodded silently, respecting her wishes. "see you at school, hashimoto-san."
turning her back on her classmate, sumiye allowed her boyfriend to drag her into the hallway.
~ ✿~