Those darn bullies.
They gave me trouble wherever I went - maybe I went to town? Somehow, they were always there.
3 girls in my class annoyed me all the time. They just slowly picked on anything I did; whether it be stealing and hiding my belongings, throwing paper and stationary at me... the old bullying handbook, basically.
"Alright, class," The teacher started, getting everyone's attention.
"That's it for today, feel free to head home or grab something from the cafeteria before it closes." We were dismissed and we all headed to different places. I decided to go and meet with my friends.
As I arrived, I noticed one of my bestfriends, Arataki Itto sat at a table with our other friends. I took a seat beside him.
"Y/N! Finally, your teacher dismisses you so late!" Itto smiled at me.
"Sorry, heh..." I grabbed my notebook and placed it on the table. Just as I was about to grab my pencil case, the three girls I hated ever so much walked up to where we were sitting.
- Itto's POV -
As the girls I didn't recognize came to our table, I noticed the sparkle in Y/N's eyes had disappeared. Had something been happening behind my back?
"Y/N! My goodness! How are you, bestie?!" One of them ran towards her, holding a glass of water. Y/N put her backpack on, looking like she was ready to leave - however, one of the girl's 'sidekicks' grabbed the top part of her backpack, preventing her from leaving.
"What do you want?" Y/N asked dully. Her voice sounded so... empty. I'd never heard anything like it.
"Huh? Ohhh, don't be like that, hehe! I just wanted to see how you were doing! Ooh, is that your notebook?"
"...Yes. You know it is." Y/N replied. I pretended to look away from them and talk to my other friends at the table, but I secretly was still paying wide attention to them behind me.
"Now!" The main girl yelled, grasping my attention.
The girls behind Y/N pulled her backpack, causing her to get dragged off her seat and on to the cold floor.
"Oh my goodness! Are you okay, Y/N?!" She placed her glass of water on Y/N's notebook and purposely knocked it over.
I could not believe my eyes.
-My POV-
Holding in my tears, I quickly got up, put my backpack on, grabbed my notebook and left the cafeteria.
"Jeez! I was trying to help, how ungrateful!" I heard her voice behind me, followed by snickering.
I hid behind the school, in a small garden filled with beautiful blossoms and trees.
I sat on a bench and looked at all of my smudged and soggy sketches and writing. That was months of work down the drain.
I was about to rip up all of the pages and throw them away, before I heard a voice calling for me.
At first, I thought it was her trying to ruin all of my hard work again - but I was wrong.
Itto ran towards me and engulfed me in a massive hug. I was super confused but hugged him back.
"Are you okay?!" He did not pull away from the hug.
"Y-Yeah, why?" My tears were threatening to fall at this point. I never expected anyone to be there for me.
"No no, really, are you okay, Y/N?" Itto pulled away from the hug after a few minutes, and noticed how it looked as if I was about to fall apart.
"..."
"How long have they been doing that?" Itto seemed quite serious for a while, unlike usual.
"Uh... a while, like... a few months..." I could not stop glancing at my notebook. The water had wrecked it all.
Itto's gaze softened and he sighed.
"Why didn't you tell me? The Arataki Gang are always here for each other! And we don't sit and watch people get bullied!" Itto announced, waiting patiently for my answer.
"...Huh? Bullied? No, I think they just enjoy annoying me, it's not a big deal..." I nervously laughed, trying to make it seem like nothing was wrong. Itto put his hand on my shoulder.
"Don't try to validate it! You have a right to stand up for yourself, okay? Those stupid girls have nothing better to do, please don't just endure it!" My gaze went to the floor as Itto finished his statement. I could tell he wanted to say something else, but I said nothing.
"Look, ahh..." Itto scratched his head nervously.
"Thing is, I just don't want people I love feeling down!" He put on a smile as I looked up. Love?
"L-Love...?" I turned my head and made eye contact with Itto. He nodded.
"Was it not obvious enough? Ah, I'm not the brightest star in the sky, haha..."
"You love me...?" My face slowly went red. Itto saw this and smirked.
"Of course I do! I always have!" He felt proud of himself for taking my mind off what had happened; though what he said was not fake.
"I... I love you too..." My sight dropped to the floor again, but this time I had a smile on my face.
Itto took this time to plant a kiss on my cheek.
"C'mon! Let's head home!" He helped me pack my stuff, before taking my hand.
I'm sure they won't be bothering me anytime soon.
