SOCIALLY AWKWARD

09. Anticipation 2.0

Kenma hadn't heard from Ameri at all after giving her the letter, and the dread that she might choose to give him a taste of his own medicine had been impossible to overcome.

He knew she was capable of it; she was petty like that.

He hadn't caught a whiff of respite that entire night and had gone over his entire collection of video games to make time fly and chase the intrusive thoughts but to no avail.

But luckily, sleepless nights weren't a new occurrence to him, and by the time the sun had settled halfway across the sky, he was waiting outside of the station, apprehension still bubbling in his veins.

He was never one to care about his appearance nor aim to impress anyone, but that Saturday morning, he made an effort to look more than just presentable.

Kenma busied himself with fiddling with the sleeves of his hoodie while internally fighting the urge to fish out his console and lose himself in a world where he was invisible. But any inhibitions vanished when he lifted his gaze and caught sight of Ameri approaching in the distance.

He was never one to stare either, as he knew just how discomfiting that could make one, but given that he'd only ever seen her in their school uniform, it was hard for him not to take in her attire. She looked even prettier in a light blue summer dress, her signature ponytail bouncing behind her.

Ameri halted before him and greeted him with a broad smile.

"Hey," he replied, for a moment evading her eyes but drawn to them again when they remained unabashedly fixed on him.

"I bet you thought I wouldn't show up, didn't you?"

Kenma nodded.

"Can't say I haven't thought about it," she laughed, "but my curiosity to know what happened was stronger."

"So, you're gonna leave after I tell you?"

"No, dummy," Ameri rolled her eyes, "ugh, why do I even bother with you? Let's just go."

As they made their way inside, Ameri made small talk before Kenma took the initiative to explain why he hadn't seen her letter: "I dropped it in the locker room, and Lev thought it was for Yaku and put it in his locker."

"Oh my god!" Ameri cried out. "Did you use to read the ones I gave to Yaku?"

Kenma shook his head.

"Liar!"

"I swear I didn't. I never really cared, to be honest."

"Promise me that you never will! Ask Yaku to burn them!"

"I promise. And will do."

"God, that's still so embarrassing!" she whined. "Misaki was right. Letters are outdated. I should've never given you one."

"No, it wasn't a bad idea, I guess. Just make sure to give it to me directly next time."

Ameri's face brightened up, the connotation of his words making her heart flutter. "Okay! And yours wasn't half bad either. Though you need to work on your handwriting. It was hard to decipher."

"Actually, that's Kuroo's. Mine is even worse."

Ameri then apologized to him for having shunned him instead of simply inquiring about what had happened. Kenma admitted that he should've come to her earlier as well, and a second promise was made that from now on they would go to one another with anything bothering them, no matter how trivial, instead of unnecessarily complicating things.

When they took their seats on the train, Ameri by the window, Kenma remembered that his friends had insisted he shouldn't forget to compliment her. He tapped on her shoulder and, when she spun around, drew closer to whisper in her ear that she looked nice.