Innocence

What About...?

You sigh, laying on the floor.

Kiyoko sits beside your head. "Is something wrong, Y/n?"

You sigh again. "What do you guys know about Terushima-san?"

Yukie frowns, crossing her arms over her chest. "He's a flirty playboy that you should stay away from. He's the very definition of a bad influence."

You raise a brow at her. "Are you really one to talk?"

Hana chuckles, sitting beside you. "You've got a point there, Y/n. But Yukie is right, Terushima really is the kind of guy you should stay away from?"

"But what about him being kind to me?"

"He did what now?" The Johzenji third year's eyes widened.

You look up at her. "He was really nice to me. I invited him to my house and he didn't even move closer to me, he just kept a distance. He was gonna teach me about sex, but then decided to help keep me protected from bad people. He gave me warnings and advice. Terushima-san was really nice to me. It felt great, I kinda wanted to spend more time with him."

Kiyoko tensed. "Get that thought out of your head right now. He's the last person you should want to be around. He was hitting on me once, and a member of my team had to shoo him away for me. There's no way Terushima is a good guy. I don't think he did what he had with any good intentions."

Hana nodded, agreeing with the black haired girl. "Yeah, he's not the type develop feelings for a girl or be genuinely kind without some sort of motive behind it."

You frown, muttering with an unhappy tone. "He didn't seem like that with me."

Hana sighed, trying to put a hand on your shoulder as a form of comfort. "I'm sorry, Y/n. Maybe he seemed like that, but he's not a good guy. He was probably acting that way to get something from you."

Your frown deepens. "And what kind of thing would he have tried to get from me?"

"You know, he might try using you for your body or something...."

You snap at her. "He had every chance and didn't take it. He even purposely kept a distance from me and seemed uncomfortable whenever I touched him. Have you ever thought that maybe, deep down, Terushima-san is actually a better guy than you're giving him credit for?"

There was silence ringing in the room. None of the other managers dared to utter a single word. No one knew how you'd react if they continued trying to warn you. In the end, they decided to drop the subject to keep you from surprising them by saying good things about Terushima.

You look away from them all, thoughts spiraling in your head.

"I know that Terushima-san was nice to me. He had every chance to do something bad and never did. He was nothing but kind and caring. He really seemed like he wanted to protect me. How could they all say such horrible things about him without knowing what he can be like in private?"

You seethed with rage, yet kept it under control. You know Terushima was good. So why wouldn't anyone else believe you?

You promised yourself to continue getting to know Terushima, determined to prove to the others that he genuinely is a good guy. You had to show them. You believed you could change their minds.

And what about your feelings? You didn't understand them, not fully. But you knew that you were in the right about Terushima. And that was what began fueling you.