20cm ∙ t.keita

part 7

that night was some of the worst sleep hes had in a *long* time

keita hadn't told anyone about what happened that friday, hoping to forget it himself. every attempt at purging the memory only seemed to resurface it though, which drove him insane. the more he thought about it the more he started to think about the conversation beforehand. you two had cleared up the misunderstanding that basically drove your dynamic up until this point.

he had no clue how to bring it up if you mentioned it. what would he even say? the more the thought about it the worse his headache seemed.

so keita figured he'd do what seemed like the most reasonable conclusion. pretend like he knew nothing.

your heart skipped a beat when you saw the boy approach his locker, his eyes glued to something on his phone. when he glanced up, you couldn't help the way you slid away from the lockers, giving him full access unlike normal.

keita had assumed based on your relaxed body language that you hadn't remembered. he does recall you both being drunk, so blackout wasn't out of the question. you grinned once he arrived, that smug grin that gave him a new pet peeve he didn't know he had until you.

"congrats on the game NPD." he rolled his eyes, not wanting to give into whatever scheme you had brewing. even though he cleared the misunderstanding with you, it didn't stop your usual high and mighty act. he wasn't sure if he was glad or not, but keita wanted to push his luck with you. how much more information would you give without hesitation?

"you're not blocking my locker today."
you nodded. "isn't that a good thing?"
"i'm just curious what changed suddenly."
"it's a little gift for winning." he closed his locker, binder in hand as you stared at you unimpressed. "bullshit." you out your hands up defensively.

"why don't you just use your locker?"
you furrowed your brows "hm?"
"i heard from minjeong you don't use it. you could save both my time and yours if you just used your locker." he rolled his eyes, already expecting the headpats you'd give him for over explaining. although he wasn't exactly fond of them he can't say they weren't already a part of his routine when i came to you. you thought for a second, hands playing with his hair as you thought carefully.

"which question do you want the answer to more?"
"second one. i'm just dying to know." he batted his eyelashes dramatically, even if he did genuinely want to know the answer that doesn't stop the sarcasm keita laced in his voice.

you removed your hand, gently pushing him to the side. "why i don't use my locker?" you patted the one below keitas. "why i block your locker?" you patted the bottom one again, letting him connect the dots.

".. is that one too short for you?" your eyes rose in shock, your face flushing in embarrassment.

"well when you put it like that..." you trailed off, glancing to your locker and then winter. "gotta go. see you anyways NPD!" you quickly added, grabbing her by the shoulder and dragging her away.

keita sat there in disbelief, the 2nd revelation about you also clearing up a *lot* of the shit you did that bothered him. so you had the one below him? he guess it made sense why you chose winter to carry your shit for you then, hers was diagonal to yours. he watched the two of you walk off, trying to process all the new information he just received.

you on the other hand also struggled to process your own revelation.

"it's interesting," you started, causing minjeong to glance curiously at you.
"i always thought he only talked to me cause i forced him to. he always complained about being late. but this time, he's still late. and i didnt do anything" you were rambling to yourself, completely lost in thought. your friend laughed at your cute behavior. she hadn't ever seen you gush about a guy, but she couldn't deny how cute it was seeing the one guy who happened to catch your eye. her friend had good taste, she has to say!

☆...★...☆...★...☆

you were frozen in place when you say keita standing at the lockers this time, leaning against them while waiting for you. when he spotted you out the corner of his eye, he pushed himself off, turning to face you directly.

"you know your locker code?" you gave him a confused look at his question, deciding not to ask.
instead you nodded wordlessly. he nodded too, sliding a folded sticky note into your hand.

"let's trade lockers. you probably think mine is too tall for me anyways" he frowned, earning a grin and snicker from you.
"i swear i've seen you on your tippy toes to reach your lock" he smacks you lightly. you only laughed harder at his anger, leaving keita to end up giggling with you. you were about to fuel the flame by adding more instigating words, but was quickly shut down by winter clearing her throat awkwardly, giving you a side eye.

you let out one last chuckle, facing keita as you shook the sticky note in your hand. "will do"

you opened the paper, expecting his combination. as you skimmed through the numbers, you realized there was too many for a combination. winter pointed at the paper, softly scoffing. "it's his number. whyd you need his number if it's just to switch lockers?" you shrugged, not understanding it yourself. not that you minded, quite the contrary. you slide the paper into your pocket carefully. yeah, that was *not* going out of your sight anytime soon.