𝗭𝗢𝗘𝗧𝗥𝗢𝗣𝗘ミ.nishinoya yuu

𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙛𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣

The first time he confessed was the day they first met — on the first day of middle school, when they were just twelve years old.

After a long day of orientation classes, meeting new teachers and classmates, and just a long day of sitting still in general, Nishinoya Yuu was exhausted. And just as he leaned down to rest his head on​​ the desk, he saw her stand up from the corner of his eye.

Growing up, his grandfather brought home a different lady every other week. They were pretty, sure. But he never thought much of it.

For the first time, he was enamored.

At the time, she was about the same height as him, with long, neatly styled brown hair and dark blue eyes. How could he not have noticed her earlier? He tried to remember her name, fishing through the introductions their homeroom teacher made them do only to draw a blank. Thinking back on it, he sorta nodded off to sleep after doing his own — a result of not getting much sleep the night before due to the sheer excitement of starting at a new school.

As he sat there pondering, the girl put the last of her textbooks into her school bag and headed out. Suddenly, Nishinoya was struck with the realization that if he let her leave now, he'd lose the chance to make a stellar first day introduction.

"Be bold," his grandpa always said.

With those words pushing him on, Nishinoya hastily shoved his textbooks and school supplies into his bag and ran after her.

"Hey!" He caught up to her just a few feet outside the school gates, right under the blooming cherry blossom trees. He could hear his heart pounding in his ears. This was perfect.

She glanced back upon hearing the call.

They made eye contact and she watched him in a mixture of curiosity and confusion. His scruffy black hair was styled upwards, with a small tuff falling forward that was bleached dirty blond. And judging from how dry it looked, it had been that way for a good while. He had a bit of a goofy grin, one that she couldn't quite make out the reason for, but she found kinda adorable.

She recognized him. He was the one who's self introduction was the most loud and energetic of all their classmates. Though what Mister Confidence wanted to do with her, she didn't know.

"Nishinoya-kun, right? Is something wrong?"

She remembered his name. He could feel his cheeks sore from how wide his smile was growing.

"I think you're really pretty," he said, eyes twinkling. "Will you go out with me?"

A gentle breeze blew by, ruffling the nearby cherry blossom trees and whisking up a rain of pink. Nishinoya took a deep breath. He said it, just like how he saw on TV. And amongst the falling petals, he saw her lips part slightly.

"No."

With that simple answer, she turned on her heel and began hurrying away, leaving Nishinoya a little shell-shocked.

This was definitely not how it went on TV.

Once he got over the initial shock, he quickly shook it off and gave chase. He soon caught up and gently grabbed her by the shoulder.

"Wait, why?" He asked earnestly. "I'm being serious — you're really pretty!"

"That's not the problem here," her face was tinted slightly pink. Perhaps from the cherry blossoms, perhaps from embarrassment. "We just met today. I barely know you."

"And?" Nishinoya looked genuinely confused.

"You could be a weirdo for all I know!"

He certainly was acting like one.

"Well, you can trust me." He pointed to himself with an air of absolute confidence. "I'm definitely not a weirdo."

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, that makes it so much better."

"I don't get it," Nishinoya cocked his head to the side. "Isn't the point of going out to get to know each other?" At least, that's what the dating reality shows said. "Why does it matter if we do now?"

"Because you know absolutely nothing about me!" She then took a deep breath to try and settle herself. "Look, you said you like me 'cause you think I'm pretty, right?"

He nodded.

"What if we start going out, then you find out I'm a thief? Or a baby-eater? Or uhh, someone who steals lollipops from kindergarteners? Would you still want to date me then?"

Nishinoya thought for a bit. "No, I guess not."

She gave him a questioning brow raise. Guess? If she found out the person she was dating was any of those things, she'd be super angry. She'd maybe even call the police.

Either way, she shook her head in exasperation. "See?"

After hearing her explanation, Nishinoya gave it some thought. "So if I get to know you, then ask you out again. Will you say yes?"

"W-Well," she felt her cheeks heat up at the prospect. "Depends if I like you, maybe. But most likely not, cause I already think you're a huge weirdo!"

Despite her insults, Nishinoya only grinned. "Nice," he laughed. "I still have a chance."

"Don't look so happy," she crossed her arms over her chest. "For all you know, you could stop liking me once you know me better."

"That won't happen. I know it," he assured as she rolled her eyes and marched on ahead of him. He waved after her.

"I look forward to getting to know you, erm..." He then stumbled over his words, realizing he forgot to ask something extremely important. "Hey! What's your name again?"

A few feet ahead of him, the girl spun around, her long brown hair fluttering amongst the cherry blossom petals. She pulled down her lower eyelid and stuck out her tongue at him.

"My name is Amari Chiyo," she shouted back. "Don't forget it!"