Heart vs Mind (Saiki K x Reader)

2. Paired Up Again

This is unbelievable... You stood in front of Saiki's house, which happened to be right across the street from yours. Once again the two of you had been paired up for a project, but this time it was for your literature class. You were supposed to make something to present to the class about fairytales. You already had an idea. "What if we do our project on the dark side of fairytales? Fairytales; the true messages." You extended an arm and sliced through the air slowly as you presented him with the name you thought of. Saiki shrugged, "Sure. Whatever." He invited you in and you took off your shoes, setting them by the door. He took off his shoes after you and walked into the kitchen. You followed him like a lost puppy. You were always more of a follower than a leader, and being alone in a new environment was terrifying to you. You didn't want to screw anything up or make anyone dislike you. You could already feel Saiki's hatred for you which made you more insecure in a place like this.

His parents stood beside each other, ready to greet you with welcoming grins that washed all of your insecurities away just like that. "We're so happy to meet you! So your name is (f/n) (l/n) right?!" His mother said, glowing with warmth and joy. You were the shortest person in the room. Your head reached Saiki's shoulder, making everyone that much more intimidating. "That's right, it's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Saiki."
"We're glad Kusuo has made another friend, is he not just a wonderful young man?" His Dad asked proudly. What were you supposed to say? That their son was a cold jerk who seemed most happy when you weren't smiling? Just go with it... "Yes, and he's very funny, too! Sarcasm is my sense of humor!" It actually was, but Saiki was never being sarcastic he was always blunt and brutally honest. Okay, well he was sarcastic sometimes but with you it didn't feel like sarcasm.

"Saiki and I have a project to work on, I'm very lucky to have the opportunity to be paired up with him again." It was a lie, and Saiki knew it. "Quit acting like we get along." It had only been a few weeks since you transferred to P.K and you and the male pretty much had an argument whenever you were in the same room together. However, it was due to his inability to stop himself from saying 'Oh great' and 'Oh look; it's another nascence'

After being introduced to his parents, Saiki lead you upstairs to his room. His parents seemed to trust you and their son alone together, but Saiki still kept the door propped ajar by a dirty white doorstop. His room was just the right size and painted a light gray-blue color. It was a neat room with a silver wardrobe, a desk, a comfortable looking bed, a bookcase, and a little tree in the corner beside a television hooked up to a gaming console.

"Do you like the color blue?"
"It's a calm color."
"Yeah, but do you like it?"
"A color is a color. Why should it matter whether I like it or not?"

Wow. You're just a little ray of sunshine, aren't ya, Pinky.

"You can just put your stuff by the desk." He sat on the edge of his bed and let his narrowed eyes follow your every movement from the minute you set down your bag to the second you sat down in the desk chair. He watched you cautiously and thought deeply for a moment. You were starting to get uncomfortable under his relentless gaze. "So," you said, calling his attention. "The project. What do you think about the idea from earlier?"

The male recalled your statement from earlier about exposing the dark side of fairytales. What messages were really being portrayed in the films? He actually did like that idea, but telling you that would be like giving his arch enemy a head start. Agreeing with you was the last thing he wanted to do. Having said that, the sooner you finished the project the sooner he could be rid of you.

"Fine by me. I thought I already said that anyway?" He have you an inquisitive look. It was true that he agreed, but it wasn't very convincing in your opinion. "This is a partner project. I just want to make sure you really are okay with it. If you have any ideas of your own I'd love to hear them." You were always trying to be polite even if you and Saiki did hate each other—no, hate wasn't a strong enough word it seemed. And what did Saiki do? He continued to be an irritable asshole, of course. "I don't care. The sooner we get this done the sooner you leave." "Damn, that was blunt."

Your impassive classmate was writing down ideas with a ballpoint pen in a black notebook. You were too, but your mind wasn't completely on the project. You kept trying to subtly glimpse at Him. The same Him who you loathed with a burning passion... only to find yourself admitting inwardly that you still found him attractive. From some angles, handsome. Handsome in that mysterious, distant stranger kind of way. From other angles, he looked like a complete dork. But a cute one—adorkable. Your (e/c) eyes returned to your notes.
•Bambi: Man is evil
•Beauty and the Beast: Stockholm syndrome
•Cinderella: If you let yourself get pushed around long enough all of your problems will be solved magically. Just sit and wait for a prince to find you rather than doing the searching yourself.
The list went on and on. You wondered how Saiki was doing.

"What have you got so far?" You asked and walked over to him. You didn't sit on the edge of the bed but you did stand close to it so you could lean in and see his notes. He had twice as many as you did! H-How on earth does he have so many?!

You were in shock when he responded to your thought aloud. "If you hadn't spent so much time gawking at me you might have more." You stepped away from him and scoffed, offended. "Me? Gawking? Why on Earth would I be looking at you when we have work to do?" Can he read my mind? I didn't- I mean- I thought of a question and he answered it! The look on Saiki's face confirmed your growing suspicions. That '0h f*ck' expression showed he really could read your mind. Which meant... he heard your every thought about how attractive he was. You pointed a finger at him and your jaw practically dropped to the floor. "You-...you're..." He covered your mouth before you could get anything else out. He was now standing, his face inches from yours and his body pressing against yours while his hand was against your lower back, preventing you from escaping. He peered into your wide (e/c) orbs while you shook in fear. Fear was your initial reaction, anyway. But you were actually more curious and fascinated than afraid. "Calm down." He ordered abruptly. You were panting, blushing, and trying to wrap your mind around the fact that Kusuo Saiki could read minds. He let you go when he was sure oh were calm enough for him to explain.

Now you were the one sitting on the bed, crisscross, in the middle. "How long have you been able to read minds?" You asked softly. "For a while now. I was born a psychic." You shook your head and rubbed your temples in frustration, "Psychic.. right. So what else can you do? Or are you pretty much limited to reading minds?"
"I can do anything." As he named off his powers, he demonstrated them for you as quickly as he could until the very last one. "... and levitation." Next thing you knew, the two of you were floating in the air. You broke out in a fit of giggles as you were lifted by the psychic's powers. "I think this one is my favorite."

Saiki wasn't sure why he was okay with showing you his powers, but he trusted you even if he did hate you. He could read your mind, and he knew you would never stoop so low as to expose him for being a freak. He dropped you onto the bed and you squeaked at the sudden loss of altitude. The psychic walked over to you and knelt on the bed to get close enough for you to clearly see his eyes through the green lenses. "You must never tell anyone about this. Only a select few know about my powers; My parents, my grandparents, and my brother. And that kid next door but... he thinks I'm some sort of superhero from a kids TV show."

"Aww, sweet. Well technically you could be a hero, Saiki. With a gift like this you could help so many people!"

It was just like you to think of ways to help others, but Saiki knew that you knew how mentally draining it would be for him to use his powers all the time. And you understood. The fact that he could trust you, and you could be understanding, didn't make him hate you any less. You still smiled too often and were always biting off more than you could chew when it came to helping out. You were too good for your own good.

Knowing Saiki's secret would in time bring the two of you reluctantly closer together. But only more good could come from every bad situation.