20cm ∙ t.keita

part 2

keita was unimpressed but not surprised to see the same torso resting on his locker the next day, though he didn't lose his rationality last time he can't guarantee the same today.

as soon as the two of you made eye contact, you began yawning in boredom. it only took a split second for you to come up with a new callous comedy routine, tapping on winters locker door. "we gotta hurry, we're on a time crunch." you said, no sarcasm laced in your tone. you began tapping your wrist as if there was a watch on it, making winter furrow her eyebrows in confusion. and keita doesn't blame her, he would've thought you were being serious too had he not seen the glint of mischief in your eyes. "what? why?" she looked over to you, noticing the boys presence and scoffing out of amusement at the new context.

he turned to you, now deciding to stoop to your level in terms of petty insults. "what happened to pick on people your own size? the basketball team is just waiting for you." hes sure you've heard the 'you should join basketball' or 'you should join volleyball' about a thousand times before, and his theory was proven correct when he saw your eye twitch. "you know, you seem like a sports person too! i know exactly which sport you play"

did you know? you could tell he was a jock! maybe this is the part where you finally start respecting him as a person, showing human decency! he knew he misjudged you, or maybe you were just in a bad mood the other day. it doesn't matter now, now keita feels comforted with the fact that at least he can wear with pride his apparent 'sports person look'. he cleared his throat, a proud grin on his face as he looked up at you. "yeah? you know what sport i play?"

you nodded, glancing at winter to wait for her cue to leave before continuing. "of course i do!" you smiled, starting to take steps away from his locker to match your friend's walking pace.

"its mini golf."

☆...★...☆...★...☆

"what's wrong kei? you've had a scowl on your face since you've buckled your seatbelt." his frown deepened, slumping into the passenger seat.

"i do not!"
"do too!" beomgyu added with a snicker, peering from the backseat. heeseung quickly yanked him back, putting beomgyus seatbelt on for him. the four of them, sungchan included, were on the way to a random burger joint as per usual. last week it was the mall where they convinced heeseung to buy the biggest dildo in the spencers aisles. the week before that it was the skate park where beomgyu brought a scooter because he didn't know how to skate.

with rugby seasons coming up, this would probably be the last time keita tagged along before the group became busy with their sports. october was always a hectic month for all of them, and he would've felt like shit if the last moment he had with his friends was of him complaining about some girl.

"what's wrong? seriously, you can tell us anything bro" sungchan continued, one hand on the wheel while the other rested on keita's knee. he gave keita a comforting squeeze, causing the boy's sour look to soften. "... well. y'all know the transfer, right?"

the other three nodded, all having their tidbits to add.

"yeah the tall chick"
"shes pretty cool"
"winter and yunjin's group, right?"

keita clicked his tongue, his nose scrunching at their nonchalance about her.

"why? you got rejected by her or something?" beomgyu snickered before getting hit by heeseung, mumbling something about asshole and salt into the wound.
"what? no! she's a total douchebag."

a moment of silence hung in the car as the boys looked around each other, gauging one another's reactions. it wasn't long before the three burst out into laughter.

"im serious! y/n is such a-"

"is she a jerk or are you insecure?" heeseung wiped a tear, hitting keitas shoulder.

keitas mouth faltered, losing confidence in his conviction. sungchan hummed an agreement, both hands on the wheel. "she's pretty funny man, you just gotta not take her seriously."

keita straightened up in his seat, folding his arms over each other.

"she has no business making those kinds of jokes."
"or maybe you need to loosen up a bit"

keita looked out the window, sighing softly. maybe they were right. maybe he was just a little sensitive about his height and you weren't doing any harm! yeah, he's sure that's it. he just misjudged you. wait... he's getting a sense of deja vu.. nono! this time is different. keita was positive it wouldn't be long until he started viewing you the same way everyone else did.

☆...★...☆...★...☆

strolling to his locker, keita kept trying to tell himself it'd be fine. things were different now! he was sure talking to you with a different attitude would change how you both viewed one another.

when he approached the two of you again, he replaced his usual frown with a neutral expression.

"it's the all-star athlete!" you clapped as if you had been waiting for his entrance. keita felt reassured by the fact that you didn't have something snarky to add this time! things really would be different.

"we should go to one of his games" winter added, barely looking their way before returning to her locker. seriously how is she this unorganized? you responded with a shrug, shaking your head slightly. "i dunno, i'm not a huge fan of golf."

golf? winter and keita exchanged a confused glance before looking back at you. keita was about to correct you when it seemed to dawn on him their bickering from a couple of days ago. he felt his eye twitch involuntarily, oh, you are *such* a bitch.

he tried to rationalize with himself. you're just joking! take it easy! but if they're just jokes how do you know exactly how to get under his skin??

keita balled his fists again before pointing at you with narrowed eyes. "why don't you come to watch my actual game this friday? don't come apologizing to me after you see the scoreboard." he shot a tongue through his cheek. he's not sure why he loses his rationality every time you come into the equation, but he just couldn't help the way he walked toward his next class without even bothering to open his locker.

you looked over to winter with an amused expression. "he actually plays a sport?"

"yeah, rugby."
"is he any good?"
"arguably the best player."
you sat in silence for a second, calculating in your head what to do. once winter slammed the door shut, you started walking with her, a smirk now emerging on your face.
"let's buy some tickets then."