Failing For You - Gojo x Reader

Chapter 17

I tap Elaine's number on my phone and hold it up to my ear.

The phone rings...

And rings...

And rings...

She doesn't answer and I listen to her cheerful voice as she rattles off her voicemail message before I end the call with a sigh.

Odd. I truly expected her to pick up.

Not that we're like best friends or anything...but she's usually quick to respond.

I shoot her a text.

"hey, everything okay? i need to come grab Toji's tools from you sometime today."

I push my phone back into my pocket with another sigh. I'm tired. No surprises there.

The sky is clear and blue today and a cool breeze drifts through the late-summer air, ruffling the leaves on the trees gently. I close my eyes. I already want it to be fall. Each season makes me yearn for the next; it's like clockwork, like I can't help but hope the future will be better than the present.

It's a little trick I play on myself to hope for something that I put in no effort to achieve.

Cyclical and a bit depressing.

I wonder what Gojo and that woman are talking about in the café. I wonder why he had the audacity to come up to me just to call me his student and make me feel like an idiot.

I find that I can't stop wondering about him as I walk back to my apartment.

The truth is, I like that he came up to me at the café. I like that he was surprised to find that I have a brother and I'm glad Toji wasn't easy on him. Some sick part of myself is also glad that Toji knew something was up between me and Gojo.

I didn't love Toji's little analysis of Gojo's personality. That made me feel uneasy.

I'm bored back at my apartment.

It's impossible to focus on schoolwork but I don't feel like doing anything else either. I do some dishes, make my bed, straighten up the living room...but I still feel restless. It's like there's something tickling the back of my brain but I don't know what it is.

I call Elaine again and go to voicemail again.

I pull up Gojo's number next, staring at it numbly, my finger hovering over the "call" button.

Mind black, I tap it.

The first ring brings me back to reality and I jump, flinging the phone away from myself.

"Fuck!" I yell, then scramble to grab the phone. I frantically try to end the call, but before I can hit the red button, Gojo answers it.

"Hello?"

Eyes wide, I bring the phone up to my ear. "Hi..."

Silence.

"Everything...okay?" He sounds confused.

Honestly, same. I don't know what I'm doing.

"Yeah, I was just..." I search for something to say. "I was just gonna let you know that I won't be in class tomorrow."

"Oh..." He says, sounding even more confused. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I think I'm getting sick or something," I tell him, cringing.

"A cold? Do you have a fever?" Gojo asks. "I can pick up some medicine or food if you want me to."

"No, no, there's no need for that," I laugh. "Just gotta...get some rest or something."