prom night - bokuto x fem!reader

i miss them

Content warning: gruesome/violent imagery

A couple hours ago in 5th period, Bokuto decided to give me some space and avoid the topic of the bathroom incident from this morning. As much as I wanted to tell him why I suddenly felt sick, I didn't want to make him uncomfortable, especially in a classroom with wandering ears.

"How are you feeling now? What are you doing here?" I look up from the fallen tub of paints and see Bokuto panting with sweat dripping down his chin. He picks up the paints and hands them to me. "Is this for your art club?"

"Uh- um- y- yeah. I- I was just passing through and thought I'd check out what all the shouting was all about." I chuckle, readjusting my grip on my art supplies. "And I'm feeling much better now, thank you."

"That's good! So, how do you like it here so far? You know, school? You said it might have been nerves that made you sick." he asks, stepping out of the gym. He turns to face his teammates and gestures for them to keep practicing. One player from the team of three joins the single player on the other side.

Should I just tell him? That way he won't bring them up again. Can I trust him though? He already seems like a really nice guy and he's nice enough to me. But... we just met? Fine, I'll tell him so we can avoid this topic for future purposes.

He wipes the remaining sweat off his face with the sleeve of his t-shirt. I glance around and spot a nearby bench we can rest on because I'm not quite sure if I want to tell him the full story, or a vague description. Gesturing for him to follow me to the bench I stop in my tracks.

"I'm not going to make you miss practice am I?" the anxiety in my voice suddenly rises.

"No not at all! Practice doesn't even start until after school. The seniors don't have to have a sixth period if they don't want to, so I'm using this time to practice a little with the other seniors."

I sigh in relief. "Ok, ok. So, where should I start?" I rhetorically ask. "So, basically, I lied. It's not because of nerves. I really like it here actually! Everyone here is so much nicer and polite compared to my other school up North. It's just- it's just-" I grip the hem of my skirt and my knuckles become pale.

I feel hot tears well up in my eyes and I can't help but let them fall.

"It's just, when you mentioned my parents over text earlier I started getting a bunch of flashbacks and all these unpleasant memories clouded my mind. I couldn't think straight anymore. I miss my mom so much and I can't ever seem to get past the trauma of what happened." I sob into my hands, then I feel him wrap his strong arm around my head and shoulders.

I face his chest and he lets me cry into his practice jersey, and all the emotions I've been bottling up for months just release with this single break down. Should I continue telling him the details? Right here in this moment, I realize how much I trust and appreciate Bokuto. He rests his left cheek on top of my head and holds me closer to his chest as he feels me sob harder.

After a few minutes, I sit up and he helps me wipe my tear-stained face. He takes off his jersey and uses the clean underside to pat my eyes dry. He hasn't said a single word yet. He just... listened.

I inhale a deep breath and release slowly while trying to look at him. His eyebrows are furrowed and it looks like he himself is about to cry. What's with everyone crying these past two days?!

"Thank you for being here, Bokuto-san"

"L/n-san? Please call me Kotaro." he says, helping me fix my now messy hair.