Philophobia 2 (Yandere! Sugawara X FemReader!)

| Part VII: Introductions... Bad Introductions. |

"Kakeru?" I beckon. His brows are lifted and he's smiling quite apologetically towards me. Perhaps it's because he'd just interrupted us. It was an awkward conversation that he shouldn't have been over-hearing.

My eyes immediately bolt towards Hinata. He is slack-jawed, lips gaping. He's stuttering to speak, but I don't even think he's really there. His eyes look voided and soulless-- and whoever was there before was there no longer.

I can't help but find the scenario amusing, but this was probably quite the unideal situation for him. I break the awkward string of silence by following up.

"Kakeru, hi...? Did you... need something?" Because for some reason, it doesn't seem like he's ran into me by chance.

"Yeah, sorry. I know it sorta looks like I was chasing you, huh?" He chuckles out, bashfully rubbing the nape of his neck. I see redness in his ears, and he politely nods his head towards Yuuta-- barely paying any mind to the orange-haired corpse beside him.

That habit. It's familiar.

"Why, yes. Yes it does." I reply with, honestly, fanning my hand towards him. "But depending on the reason, I could change my mind! What's up?"

Yuuta is looking at me, raising a brow. I can't tell if he's being defensive or not-- but I pretend it not to be the case; regardless-- because Hinata is sitting right there.

And speaking of which, "Um... (Y/N)?" He beckons me. I look at him, feeling entitled to explain the situation to him. "What's going on?" He asks.

"Oh, uh--" I pause, turning my eyes back to Kakeru. What is going on here? I think now's a good time to give them both a good excuse sprinkled with enough honesty. "I--"

"I'm here because you left your sock, haha. I thought I should bring it back to you." The raven-haired male interrupts instead, craning his head to the side. "Nothing is worse than missing a sock to a pair."

"Oh... Thanks. But you seriously didn't have to chase me for a silly little sock." It was then did I finally lower my gaze. He's holding my sock so delicately between the bulbs of his fingers. And-- did he go out of his way to wash it, too? That quick?

He shakes his head, and eventually leaves it for me to grasp. "It's alright. A part of me felt a little bad, you know?"

Kakeru then begins to grin, but it was only for a moment. I can tell he is stirring up something -- there is this glint in his eyes that suggests so. Pushing aside this thought, I watch as he furthers his sentence.

"After all, I didn't think you'd get so wet. I was--"

It was then did I spit-take-- gasping, choking, tripping over nothing. I just look at him, wide-eyed. "Hahaha, that's enough!" I bark, regrettably. Whatever this may have seemed like, I was doing a poor job at making it seem... /not like that/.

And I mean-- it wasn't! This was nothing! It's just...

Why was he putting me in this situation to begin with?

I push to my feet. Snagging the sock out of his hand, I jump to grab Kakeru's wrist. I don't let him react to pull away from me. Instead, I pull him closer-- tossing my arm around his neck.

I can see the confusion in both Hinata and Yuuta's eyes. They want an explanation... but how do I currently explain this? I can clear the air now, but things are already a bit awkward.