accidental ; nishimura riki

vi. library (date?)

｡･ﾟﾟ･ ni-ki pov !

A week had passed since they had become partners for the project; so far their worktime in class was a mess of bickering that always lead to Yena's annoyed yet flushed face and Niki's playful grins.

Their first at-home meeting was after-school today, so they decided to use their free period in the school's library in search of more resources. It was a spacious room lined with hundreds of shelves racked with books. Other than the echoes of other students, it was silent.

The first couple minutes, the two looked through the physics section and quickly produced a plentiful stack of textbooks to use.

"I'm going to get something while you check these out," Yena announced once they finished. "Wait for me at the front."

Niki nodded and carried the textbooks to the counter for checkout. Thankfully, there was no line since most students didn't have this free period. He ended up waiting up front for Yena, but after a few minutes she still hadn't shown up. His patience got the better of him.

In search of Yena, Niki scouted the fantasy section, knowing it was her favorite genre after seeing her bring various fantasy books to class. Turns out he was right, because at the next shelf, there she was. Balanced on her toes with her arms outstretched to reach for a book at the top shelf, but failing to do so.

Niki leaned against the shelf next to her, stifling his laughter at her failed attempts. He was like a child watching a show, infatuated with the sight of her struggling so hard when she could just ask for help. He often admired her hardworking manner, how she rejected help and did things herself.

"What's wrong?" He asked teasingly.

Yena gave him a glare that was supposed to make him back off; however, it only made him all the more amused.

Thanks to his height, Niki was able to tease even more by effortlessly placing his hand on top of the shelf right next to the book she was trying to get. In doing so, he scanned the cover and instantly recognized it.

"This is part of the series you're reading right now," he said hushed, looking down at Yena for a split second.

Yena stepped back, shock taking over her previously frustrated look. "How did you know that?"

The boy ignored her question and resumed his mocking. He took the book in his hand, hovering it over his head with a smile on his face. Yena chewed the inside of her cheek, like how he noticed she always did when she was annoyed with him.

"If you're so all-knowing, just give it to me, Niki!" She yelled in an agitated whisper. She grabbed his forearm and tried pulling him down, jumping desperately while he just giggled.

Their banter went on for a little longer until Niki finally caved and gave her the book. She used it to hit his arm, grumbling "I hate you," through her teeth and red face.

"But I told you I find it cute, didn't I?" Niki said quietly under the sound of the dismissal bell ringing. Yena didn't seem to notice, busy fuming as they made their way to the bus that would take them home.

˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚・゜゜

When they arrived at Niki's house, Niki and Yena were greeted by teasing from Niki's family. Much to Niki's relief, his family left the house soon afterwards and left Niki and Yena to their research.

Their first hour was more quiet than usual. They sat at the dining table, buried deep in the information within their textbooks. Seeing as this project was a huge portion of their grade, during this sort of worktime Yena didn't bother to drag on Niki's playful antics. Instead, she dismissed him with sarcastic comments and headed back to work with a bit of pink on her face. The sounds of pens quickly jotting down notes filled the quiet air of his otherwise empty house.

Every once in a while, Niki couldn't help letting his eyes stray from his writing and rest on Yena's working figure across from him. He was content with watching her pupils, blanketed under her concentrated eyebrows, dart across the thick books laid in front of her.

Sometimes she would look up and catch him staring, and in those cases he would be amused to watch her look away flustered.

At some point, Niki had completely lost his concentration. He wasn't sure if it was because he had spent too long focused on a certain someone, or if he was actually having a hard time, but for some reason he couldn't seem to understand a certain concept. He read the textbook repeatedly, desperate to understand. It went on for a while, until he dropped his pen and ran his hand through his hair frustratedly.

"You're plugging in the wrong variable, idiot."

Suddenly, Yena's pointer finger appeared on his notes. He looked up to see her leaning over him from behind, head above his shoulder. She was clearly avoiding his eyes as she glided her finger over the paper to point out the flaws in Niki's work. He listened intently, following her words.

"Do the problem again," she prompted when Niki claimed he understood. He followed her orders, but to his dismay he was stuck in the same place he was before. Never in his life had he ever had such difficulty with his academics, so he couldn't help but feel somewhat embarrassed. He went quiet, which Yena noticed quickly but didn't point out.

Yena sighed. Then she sat down in the chair next to him and explained the concept once more. She made Niki restart the question again.

"I know you can do better. I've seen it," Yena said, quiet and hesitant.

"Quit smiling and get back to work," she added when she caught Niki smiling beneath the hair that hung over his face.

It was safe to say he was able to understand his work by the end of the day.
.・゜゜・