art and football | nagi s. X reader

16

i began sketching on the canvas in preparation for the drawing i had in mind. using my pen, i lightly began sketching a girl holding a bouquet of flowers close to her face and hiding her expression. i hadn't planned which color i'd center the drawing around, but i was sure it'd all come together as i drew, since that's how it usually goes.

i looked up from the canvas to see the boys playing football, roughly pushing each other around to reach and kick the ball. they were very aggressive with each other while playing, but it seemed like it barely bothered them... even when bachira received a ball to the face while attempting to defend with the goalkeeper and when isagi tumbled down after being pushed by kunigami.

surely football has some rules... right?...

i looked to the side, to see chigiri sitting beside me and watching the boys play quietly. he had his earphones in and was lightly nodding his head to the beat.

"you're not going to play?" i asked, tilting my head. the boy turned to me and took an earphone out. "did you say something?"

"oh... i asked if you were going to play..." i repeated, setting my pencil down. he shrugged, "nah... not today. i'm not really feeling it."

"oh, okay." i nodded and returned to the canvas which i was holding tight in order for it not to fly away with the wind.

"soo, what are you drawing?" he asked, peering over my shoulder to see the sketch i was making. i almost jumped from surprise, not having expected him to get so close. i nervously and shakily picked up my pencil once more. "u-uh... it's for my club.... i have to do this..." i began, and suddenly i felt like i was short of breath and my heartbeat sped up. i inhaled deeply, and took a second to compose myself, feeling my anxiety sky rocket to the moon.

i was thankful for the boy staying quiet and not pestering me, it helped me gather my thoughts and calm down. the anxiety made it difficult for me to force any words out, but he soon sat back where he was before and i finally spoke up, "i-it's for art club. i can't fall behind but i skip often to be with you guys... so i decided to paint here when the weather allows it..." i spoke nervously, hoping that my voice wasn't as shaky as i thought it sounded.

he smiled and nodded, "so you're in the art club, huh? you keep too many secrets to yourself."

"i don't really like talking about myself..." i mumbled, feeling my heart beginning to calm down.

"yeah... i get it. partially." he muttered, and turned back to the boys in the field.

similar raises in anxiety such as this were an often occurrence for me, though it happens a lot more with people i'm not so close with. chigiri and i rarely speak together, which can be said about the rest of the boys excluding nagi and reo. this is because we don't share the same classes, so it's difficult for us to find opportunities to interact the way i do with reo and nagi. they do include me as much as they can when we're around though, but i still grow very shy around them. this doesn't mean i'm not anxious around nagi and reo though... i'm just a lot more comfortable around them because they've shown me that they're kind and patient people many many times – that they're not like the other violent and aggressive boys, which can't be applied to them when they're playing football...

it was like they were completely different people.

nonetheless, the other boys are also kind, but it'll take me a bit till i can say i'm comfortable with them for sure.

i dipped my dry paintbrush into the oil paint and began with the base of the drawing.

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