Headspace [Saiki x Fem Reader]

Chapter 6

"Thanks again for inviting us guys! It gives us the chance to hang out with the new girl as well." Teruhashi smiles warmly.

A look of dissatisfaction is etched on [l/n]'s face. 'Just call me by my name.'

Nendo nods in agreement, slurping his ramen obnoxiously. "Any buddy of my buddy is a buddy to me."

'Did you have to say buddy so many times?'

Teruhashi's smile falters, but she quickly masks it. "But it's a little soon to be calling them friends, isn't it? She's still only been here a week you know."

Yumehara is quick to contradict her statement. "Maybe, but remember Kokomi,  we were on given name basis after talking for a day."

Teruhashi beams. "I guess your right."

'Still, that was mostly because of you.'

Kaido pitches in. "Speaking of friends, have you met anyone cool? I mean obviously not as cool as me but still."

[l/n] shrugs. I'm not surprised, as far as I know she hasn't interacted with anyone besides me and Teruhashi.

Kaido tilts his head in confusion. "Really? But you're never in the cafeteria. Aren't there people you meet up with during lunch?"

[l/n] shakes her head casually as she twirls ramen around her chopsticks.

Kaido's eyes widen. "What? I didn't know you sat alone. You're welcome to sit with us, or the girls if that makes you more comfortable."

[l/n] looks away, bringing her chopsticks up to her mouth. 'It really doesn't.'

Nendo chimes in. "Yes, you're a lot like my buddy. Eat with us more. We can never have too many buddies."

'Stop saying buddy.'

If this isn't too many I don't know what is.

Kuboyasu finally joins in last. "I started out as a transfer student too and befriended these fools. No reason why you can't too."

[l/n] seems conflicted. But with a room full of people and chatter, her thoughts are quickly getting hard to read. I try to concentrate more.

'They're all so optimistic. I'd just kill the mood. I think I'm better off alone.'

I'm pretty sure I've had a thought almost just like that at some point. But I don't have long to think on it before my head starts to ache. I clutch my head in hopes that holding it still will bring me back to normal.

Why do her thoughts have to be so quiet? Nothing else is out of the ordinary, so what's the problem? No matter how quiet a person is on the outside, it shouldn't affect the volume of their thoughts.

"Are you okay, Saiki?"

In fact, people who are quiet often have more on their mind than those who aren't.

"Saiki-"

I can't figure it out, I'm at a total loss.

"Saiki!"

My eyes snap open at the sound of my name. Everyone is looking at me. I guess I wasn't too subtle.

Kaido furrows his eyebrows. "What's the matter Saiki? Are you sick?"

'I'm sick of your voices.'

I hear Teruhashi's worried voice next. "Really Saiki, what's the matter?"

In a way, it really is a matter of hearing voices. But I can't tell them that.

'Quit fussing, I just have a headache.'

Yare yare. I managed to draw attention to myself. I might just have to avoid trying telepathy with [l/n] altogether in places like this, especially at a distance when she's not right next to me. I shouldn't be bothered by what one person is thinking anyway.

Once the aching dies down, I stand from my chair and grab my things. Kaido is quick to question my actions. "Where are you going?"

I rub the sides of my head with my fingers. 'Away from you.'

Kaido gives a gesture of acknowledgment. "Well okay... It could be dark reunion, so it might a good idea to go home and hide out for awhile."

He pauses. "... And you could probably use some rest."

More like time to think. I need to figure out why this is happening. Leaving [l/n] with these guys probably isn't the smartest move, but now's not the time to be worrying about other people. I just want to be alone.

I spare [l/n] a glance. The look in her eyes as she returns my gaze is hard to read, but reading her thoughts again just after relieving my headache would be idiotic. But it's clear she knows something is up.

I look away and head out the door before I have the chance to feel guilty. Inviting her along was a bad idea in the first place, I won't be making that mistake again. And I don't think she will, either.

I don't know what [l/n] was thinking, but the very least she didn't seem upset at my sudden departure. That's good enough for me. I don't really care if she's upset with me or not, but if I have to sit next to her, it would be a pain to be around someone when there's tension.

Either way, like everyone else, she's going to cause trouble for me somehow.