The Angel Next Door (Rosé X Female Reader)

44: Eyes On You

Word Count: 2,538

"Y/N, pass it here!"

"But you've got terrible control!"

The school Sports Day was coming up next month, and we were leisurely enjoying gym class. Remembering the previous Sports Day, I knew that once the teams were announced sometime next week, the whole school would start preparing for it. But for now, we were still having regular gym classes.

Listening to the echo of our basketball shoes squeaking on the floor, I glared at Jennie, who had thrown the ball sloppily into the wall as a joke, and chased after the ball as it rolled away. We, the girls, were playing basketball that day, and soon it would be time to practice our shots. It sounded like we were going to have a game during the second half of class. I wasn't particularly good at basketball, but I didn't mind tossing the ball into the hoop a bit.

As I chased the old, brown basketball rolling slowly away from the wall, I shot a quick glance across the net dividing the gym in two. On the other side, some of the girls' class was playing badminton. We were supposed to have been outside, but due to a sudden downpour, everyone was having gym inside the divided gymnasium.

The girls also seemed to be playing leisurely, and from time to time, I would catch sight of one of them lightly batting the shuttlecock with their racket. I grabbed the ball and jogged back, being careful not to even look in Rosé's direction. I wanted to avoid any chance of anybody noticing and accusing me of having a crush on her.

Sure, I did like her, but I knew it would be troubling for her to hear those sorts of rumors. Plus, I didn't want to let any unfamiliar classmates know about it, so I kept it a secret.

"Stop throwing the ball off in weird directions," I said to Jennie. "It'll be awkward if I have to go get it from the other side."

Jennie grinned foolishly. "Come on, don't be so sensitive."

I threw the ball with a little force at her stomach, and she, who wasn't particularly bad at sports, caught it without breaking her grin. With a long sigh, I got a new ball from the ball hamper.

The members of the sports clubs were always in high spirits during these gym classes. This time, it was the basketball club that was in their element, and they were especially lively.

I didn't really like basketball, but I surprisingly enjoyed shooting practice, so I had been gracefully throwing the ball at the basket all class to show the gym teacher that I was taking it seriously. I released another ball. It glided through the air, gracefully bounced off the backboard, and elegantly swished through the center of the basket. I retrieved it with a slight feeling of satisfaction, maintaining my poise and femininity.

"You're quite skilled at this," Jennie observed. "Though whenever a game starts up, you lose all your motivation, and then you're not as effective. You should try harder."

I smiled softly. "Well, you can't expect someone like me, who's naturally more inclined towards elegance and grace, to put in a tremendous amount of effort in a basketball game. It's the guys in the sports clubs who truly excel in that."

"I suppose so. But hey, I was just thinking, you should show that special someone how effortlessly cool and feminine you can be from time to time." Jennie grinned mischievously, adding a playful twinkle to her eyes.

I knew exactly who Jennie was referring to, but I wasn't going to just nod obediently.

"I don't need you to worry about that," I said. "She already knows that I'm not good at sports and that I'm not particularly cool."

"Why do you always have to turn it around like that?"

"You should know by now that telling me to make an effort here is a losing proposition, right?"