Extreme social anxiety has made your school life rather boring... simply trying to say hello to a classmate has proved next to impossible. no matter how badly you wanted to talk, the words stopped before they could leave your mouth. A curious classm...
Authors note: before this chapter starts I'll add some picrews I made of ichigo ^-^ I have some fun plans for the end of this story to pull things together! There's gonna be a bit of angst coming after this chapter though so prepare for that! Also I'm planning to put out a Halloween short chapter for this story since I like putting Holliday specials in my books ^-^ __________________
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[about two weeks after the last chapter]
"Y/n?" Your name was called by a voice you recognized. "Ichigo? Hello, it's nice to see you." You smiled at the girl. "Hey uh... what are you doing in the area? Do you live around here?" She asked, it was still strange to hear he talking like this. No more fake smile or bubbly personality, just a normal person. Over the last couple weeks you found yourself growing much more comfortable around the girl. "Yes, I live a few blocks away actually. And you?" You replied "Same for me... would you uh..." the girl paused for a minute, trying not to fluster herself. "Would you like to shop together? If you're free..." she asked. "Of course!" You spoke a bit too loudly but who could blame you, making friends was never your talent...
You had come to a shopping center not far from your house to pick up some new manga. It was just a lucky coincidence that you ran into Ichigo today. "What stores do you need to go to?" She asked "I was just planning on getting a new manga, volume three of 'Orange'!" You answered excitedly. The girl simply stared at you for a moment before laughing. "Sorry, I don't mean to laugh. It's just... a bit shocking to see you like this?" She managed to get through her sentence with only minor pauses to giggle. "Huh? What do you mean?" "Well the whole time I've known you, albeit not very long... you've been all scared of talking to me, or anyone else for that matter. You used to never say a word to me without stuttering! But now you can talk to me about things you're exited over... it's cool." You gave the girl a soft chuckle "I guess that would be a bit shocking huh?"
The two of you walked to a small book store in the shopping center. it was a charming little shop run by a kind old woman by the name Aki Suzuki. The woman gave you a gentle smile when you walked through the door. "Y/n, it's so nice to see you! "Hello ma'am. Is 'Orange' volume 3 in?" "It is. I set it aside just for you." She held the book up with a smile. "Thank you so much Suzuki." You beamed "Of course! And who's this? Did you make a friend?" She asked, glancing at Ichigo. "Hello ma'am, I'm Ichigo ueda." You contently listened to the two of them introduce themselves while suzuki rung up your book. After paying, you and ichigo headed off to your next destination.
"So where to next?" You asked "that was all I needed to do." "I've already finished most of my shopping, though there's a cafe in the area I wanted to stop at... I heard they have great strawberry shortcake!" Ichigo looked especially exited when saying the last part, she must really like sweets. "Then let's go there." You replied with a smile.
It was only a short walk from the shopping center to the cafe. It wasn't quite as quaint as the one you and Akaashi frequented, though it was still small enough for your liking. You both got the strawberry shortcake and chai tea before taking a seat at a table towards the back. Ichigo was surprisingly silent for a few moments. staring down at the table as if she was trying to gather her thoughts. "Y/n..." she looked up at you before continuing. "Thank you, for today and... for giving me a second chance. You're a very good person..." the girls blush darkened as she spoke. "Of course, you're pretty great too Y'know, once you drop the act." You chuckled.
You noticed the girls face light up as she took a bite of the cake. "Sweet tooth huh?" "You noticed?" She inquired. "Yeah, you seemed exited when you were talking about it. And the look on your face right now is hard to ignore." "You know you probably shouldn't go around analyzing people like that..." the girl muttered, blush dusting her cheeks once again. "You also get flustered really easily." You told her, a slight smirk crossing your face. "S-shut up! I'm just not used to making friends okay?" The girl pouted. "Hm? Don't you have a lot of friends at school?" You asked, you could have sworn she was friendly with everyone in your class. You always saw her chatting with classmates.
"Well kinda... none of them are proper friends though, just people I joke around with because I have nothing better to do... despite my social personality at school I have a lot of trouble making friends." The girl now avoided eye contact, seemingly a tad embarrassed. "Well that's fine, I mean you have me and Akaashi... a couple real friends is more important than a lot of fake ones." The girl chuckled "I'm sure you're right... and what about you? Have your social skills improved much?" You gave the girl a smile. "I think so! I still have a lot of trouble keeping it together around strangers... but I'm getting a lot better at talking to the volleyball club members."
"I'm happy for you." The girl replied. "Hey I don't think you ever told me what club you're in." You said. The girl let out a nervous laugh. "Actually I'm not in a club... they made me leave the girls volleyball club since I hurt myself. I haven't been able to find another since..." Several questions raced through your mind, Ichigo had never told you she was on the volleyball club. Or that she was injured... though it seemed she noticed the inquisitive look on your face, taking the initiative to answer before you could ask. "I was the teams star libero for a while but I got a pretty bad ankle injury during a game. I tried to keep playing but out of worry for my health, the coach kicked me off the team."
You gave the girl a look of condolence. "Well if you need a club to join why not the boys volleyball club? You could be a manager with me." Ichigo seemed to be staring into space for a few moments before replying. "I'll think about it..." The rest of the day went by nicely, after leaving the cafe you and Ichigo began to walk home. Strangely enough, you headed in the same direction. It wasn't until you had already reached Ichigo's house that you realized how close the two of you live. "Wait this is your stop? My house is just down the street!" You told her. "Really? You should stop by here some time! My door is always open... figuratively of course." She giggled
The two of you parted ways and you walked the rest of the way home. It wasn't until you had reached your house that the tiredness hit you. You made your way to the couch and layed down, quickly dozing off.
[the end]
Authors note: there's gonna be more Akaashi content in the next chapter I promise! Just thought I should show their friendship developing some more <3 ~OwlBee
