I Hate Basketball (Kuroko No Basuke)

Crush

Chapter 1 ~ Crush

"I'll see you later," she muttered, waving goodbye to her brother and actually making an effort to talk to him.

He responded only with a nod and proceeded to walk in the other direction leaving her by herself. She tightened her grip on her bag and inhaled sharply before starting to walk to her English classroom.

She avoided the small glances her classmates gave her and sat at her usual seat, the last row of the classroom, beside the window. With a soft sigh, she stared out the window, looking at the yellow birds sitting on a nest atop a thick dying brown branch.

They're learning how to fly already, she thought, a small smile on her lips.

She heard the scraping of a chair being pulled out beside her and her smile dropped quickly. She fiddled with her hair nervously and secretly hoped it was a girl. She hasn't been able to make friends since the start of school, it's been a month since then already. She wasn't exactly a sociable person.

She slowly turned her head to look at the person and her heart stopped for a second before beating at an abnormally fast rate as if it wanted to escape from her chest.

It was the guy who sat at the front of the class. Why is he sitting here? She thought, glancing at the front row. There was a black haired girl sitting at his place, talking to an orange haired girl. Even though she was nervous, she couldn't help but feel grateful to the two girls. If they weren't so into their conversation, he wouldn't sit beside her. But even if he was sitting beside her, would he even talk to her? Probably not, she thought with a frown.

However, she couldn't suppress the urge to look at him. She glanced back at him to see him staring at her and she stiffened.

"Hello," he said, looking at her with his piercing red eyes. "I'm Akashi Seijurou."

She gulped before nodding with a straight face. "Midorima Shinako," she replied, hoping that her voice wasn't trembling as much as her hands.

"Midorima?" He questioned, raising an eyebrow that disappeared under his red hair. "Is Midorima Shintaro related to you by any chance?" It was obvious that they were related but the red haired boy said it anyways.

She nodded again, "Yes. He's my twin brother."

He smiled at her, causing her heart to skip a beat. "That explains the uncanny resemblance."

She nodded once more before turning to the whiteboard. She cupped her cheeks, trying to hide the blush spreading. Is this what they call a crush? She asked herself, remembering when she first saw Akashi Seijuro.

It was on the same day -a Monday- and same class. He entered the room with a small smile on his face. She remembered when her heart skipped a beat. His crimson red hair and eyes attracting her to him. She's never had a crush. Never really had many friends. Only her brother and most of the time, they wouldn't talk to each other. Her old friend use to call them the 'Tsundere Twins'. It was quite funny though, but she would never admit it.

This time, the English lesson lasted longer than usual. She was sitting as straight as a ruler and she could feel the occasional glances of Seijuro. Why am I thinking of this? Why would Akashi even look at me? She thought, getting lost in her thoughts as she fiddled with her long green hair.

"...nako! Midorima Shinako!" She flinched when the teacher smacked a ruler on her table.

"Yes?" She asked monotonously, looking at the teacher's ebony colored eyes whilst trying to hide her nervousness.

"Read Capulet's part from the book," the teacher said, using the ruler to point at her book that was laid open on her table, Romeo and Juliet. By now, the whole class was looking at her, even Seijurou. "In English."

Joke's on you, her obnoxious side said, coming out for a second before she silenced it with a sharp intake of breath. She stood up, the book in her shaky hand. "But Montague is bound as well as I, in penalty alike; and 'tis not hard, I think, for men as old as we to keep the peace," she read out from the book in perfect English but with a shaky voice. Unfazed by the surprised stares -except the one she received from Seijurou - she sat down, hands folded neatly on her lap to prevent herself from fiddling with her hair.

The teacher closed her mouth, "Good." She walked back to the board and continued teaching.

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Akashi Seijuro stared at her, sitting as straight as a ruler, staring at the teacher. She's just like Shintaro but different in so many ways. He thought, smiling slightly. Interesting.