Again (Oikawa Tooru X Reader)

35) Pathetic

The silence of the room overwhelms you as you scrub the dishes, the sink water hot.

You glance over at the boy now standing in the middle of the kitchen on his phone, you bite the inside of your cheek, anxiously turning back to the dishes.

"Hey, uh, can you dry the dishes and put them away please?" You ask while making your way over to the towels hanging off the oven door handle, you dry your hands before clearing your throat.

"I already washed—" He looks up at you with an icy glare and you shut your mouth, now annoyed.

"I don't even know why I ask," You mutter, taking the towel and throwing it so it lands over his phone.

"Dry the dishes and put them away asshole," He looks up at you in annoyance, plucking the dish towel off his phone and dropping it on the floor.

"Sorry but no, unlike you, I don't have to earn my right to live here." You guffaw at his words, "You're such an ungrateful prick."

"Ouch." He mocks, jutting his lower lip out.  "Can you just help and not be difficult? Your mom asked both of us to clean up."

He shakes his head, "I'm not helping you. If you want to live here you should earn it, shouldn't you? And you seem to enjoy doing the chores so what's different this time?"

You take a deep breath, grabbing another towel, "You know what, you're right. I do enjoy helping out around the house as gratitude to your mother, I do more than her own son, isn't that pathetic?"

He scoffs, turning his phone off and leaning on the counter, "You're just an extra cleaning lady. Besides the fact that you're barely a lady."

"Go to hell." You turn your back to him, beginning to dry and put away the dishes but he doesn't leave.

"Why are you still here?" After five minutes of drying, he's still standing there, just watching.

"I can't leave the kitchen until it's clean, mom—well my mom said so." You exhale, putting away the last few dishes in swift, rigid motions.

"You can go now," Your fists are clenched as you turn toward him, your pointer finger angled toward the exit of the kitchen.

He smirks, looking you up and down.  "You're so easily aggravated by me," He coos, leaning off the counter so now he's looking down on you.

You're tall, but he's taller.

You glare up at him, "Just go away."

He picks the towel up off the floor and drapes it over your shoulder, his smirk remains as he strides out of the room.

You whip the towel off your shoulder and aggressively tuck it into the ovens handle.

You make sure the kitchen looks good before fleeing to your room, propping your phone up to facetime ashley.

"Coucou mon amour, quoi de neuf?" Her voice rings through the room and you chuckle, switching to english. "It's him again. I genuinely cannot stand him."

"Again? Why can't he just leave you alone?" You groan, rolling onto your back, "Right?! I kinda miss when he'd just avoid me.  Now he's making annoying comments about me having to earn my living here and shit. It's so frustrating."

Ashley sighs, thinking to herself, "How did the conversation lead to that?"

"Well he wasn't helping clean up so I asked him to help." You fill in, and she tsks her tongue, "Ah, Ah, Ah. You're enabling him."

"Literally how." You deadpan, "You're already aggravated with him so he easily takes that and magnifies it by making a nasty comment."

You groan again, rolling back onto your stomach, "But how am I not supposed to react when all he does is antagonize me? That's all of our interactions and I've lived here for like two months."

"Why don't you think about the things that are good about living with the Oikawa's?" Ashley proposes and you stare off thoughtfully, your fingers twiddling with your comforter.

"Well I really love Mrs. Oikawa, Emma. She's so hospitable and way too nice to me, she's basically like a mother figure and it's so great to have..." You trail off, thinking of your next point.

"Mr. Oikawa, Kairo, is rarely home but when he is he's so funny. It's like he breaks Tooru's asshole exterior for a split second before he goes back.

"And I barely ever have to cook anymore, Emma always has something ready or orders something. And I don't go grocery shopping, it's so...just weird." Ashley nods her head in understanding, "Of course it'd be weird. You're not used to it. Speaking of your home situation, anything from your sister?"

You're silent, and she takes that as her answer. "I'm so sorry Y/N."

You shrug, "It's not a big deal, she needs her time before she comes to japan. She needs to get her things in order so she's better for the both of us."

Your hopefulness makes Ashley sick to her stomach, she passes by your old house every day and sees no sign of life or betterment.

Tooru knows the walls are thin and his curiosity overwhelms him as listens in on your conversation, postponing his analysis of his games. Walking closer to the far wall of his room, he leans against it to hear better.

He didn't want you in his house, so what was this pit settling in his stomach?

The feeling of pity washed over him and he had to resist the urge to scoff, you were so happy, why do you need his pity?

You were happy to come and invade his home, divert the attention off of him and onto you. To always go the extra mile for his parents praise. He thought you were pathetic.

He thought it was pathetic how you always tried to make them laugh. It was pathetic how you always greeted them when they got home with a bright smile, that pathetic smile.

And those pathetic eyes. Those eyes that stared at him with such hopefulness, those eyes that always allowed you to look around with wonder and curiosity.

When you had first met through call, he had avoided your eyes, refusing to look at his future home invader.

But the first time he saw you, really saw you. His breath had got caught in his throat.

You were pathetic. 

Even more pathetic than he imagined.