RIVALS ; t.karasu

03

'Ya seem a little wet, need help?'

That was the last voice she expected to hear. In such a downpour, she wanted anyone— anyone but him to see her in such a state— a state so humiliating.

Despite Tabito's well-intentioned gesture of offering [Name] his umbrella in the rain, [Name] couldn't help but feel uncomfortable about accepting it.

Reluctantly, she looked up and realised that the downfall of rain had stopped on her head. Instead, the rain was ruining Tabito.

How long had he been there?

It had to have been a long time since Tabito's wax-covered hair was now threatening to leave its initial place—some strands had already exited and were covering his face.

The rain had sunk into his clothes, exposing his chest slightly through the white shirt he wore—his toned chest, by the way—she couldn't help but stare. It wasn't her fault, though, was it?

'C'mon, yer practically soaking,' he says.

Reluctantly, she accepts.

"How humiliating," she thinks. Her rival saw her drenched in rain water then offered her an umbrella... How humiliating was this! Her ego was burning as she replayed that scene in her head over and over again.

Despite [Name]'s initial discomfort, they walked together, the sound of the of rain created a rhythmic backdrop to their footsteps. She tried to focus on them rather than that cringe scene but her efforts were futile.

'Where're we going?' She asks after a short while of strolling through the streets.

'My car, obviously.'

Great! That just made matters worse. Now Tabito, her rival, was going to give her a ride. She'll have to slap Eita and Amber when she sees them again...

'Alright, get in, Miss,' he says as he opens the door to his car for her, his tone carrying a hint of malice and mockery.

She scoffs in response but takes the seat next to him, anyways.

'Are ya cold?' he asks.

'I'm fine,' she grumbles even though her hands are clutching around her chest trying to find some sort of warmth. Spending 20 minutes in the rain unprotected wasn't a good idea at all.

'You're gonna catch a cold,' he says, taking note of her behaviour, 'take this.'

Instantly, he removes the indigo coat that he was previously wearing over his white dress shirt and hands it to her.

Immediately, she tries to push his jacket away from her because why on Earth would she ever wear something that belonged to Karasu Tabito? 'I'm not wearing your stuff.'

'Oh come on, don't be dramatic, [Name], we don't want ya to get a fever and miss ya midterms now do we?' he smirks and that was enough to get her to wear the item.

In any normal circumstance, she wouldn't have dared to touch the clothing however, Tabito gave her a logical statement--who knows what would have happened to her grades if she caught the flu during her midterm examinations. She could fail her subjects or worse, Tabito would beat her in chemistry. Because of this, she hurriedly wore the coat.

'Atta girl, there ya go,' he mumbled as he strolled towards the other side of the car and got into the driver's seat.

She hadn't noticed it initially but due to the rain, his shirt was now littered with raindrops which caused the clothing item to cling onto his chest--which also happened to make his toned chest stand out. She knew she shouldn't stare but it's not everyday she got to see her rival's chest now did she? After all, this only motivated her to continue overexerting herself in both physical education classes and the gym. But, wow! he truly was attractive--

'Ya know I can see ya staring, right?'

It was Tabito's smug voice that snapped her out of her thoughts. Her cheeks burned a hue of deep crimson. 'I wasn't staring!' she protested.

'No, no, you totally were,' he insists with his classic smirk on his face. How did he even realise she was staring when his eyes were glued onto the road?

'It almost seems as if you want me to stare...' she paused, thinking of a proper comeback, 'you want me soo bad, don't you, Tabito?'

'And if I do...?'