A Different Kind of Beauty

Chapter 19

I must have been some serious idiot to not notice.

"I-I like you! Please, if you would, go out with me!"

It had to be come kind of joke. There was no way that I could have missed this.

"Michishio-san? Are you okay?"

I could distinctly remember my father ranting for hours on end about the "dreaded day" when a boy would come to like me. I had been told in detail all of the things that were warning signs. So how did I not catch this?

"I-Uh-" I stuttered, completely blindsided by the sudden confession.

"Are you okay? You seem pale?" Fujita asked, concern clear on his face.

Why me? I could see this kind of thing happening to Rinko, but not myself. How was I supposed to respond to him?

"I-I'm fine," I answered, adjusting my glasses. "I just wasn't expecting that."

His behavior suddenly made sense however. The two of us were alone, having been sent on an errand by the teacher. We had to get back to class however, which meant I had to give him an answer.

Was this why Oikawa was acting off as well? Did he realize that Fujita liked me? My head was spinning with way too many thoughts. Nothing and everything seemed to make sense.

"Maybe we should stop my the nurse. You don't look good," he suggested. 

"No! I mean, I'm fine, just a bit surprised," I blurted. The concern on his face didn't fade as I tried to get a grip on my thoughts.

"O-Okay..."

I took a deep breath. Nothing good even came from getting too worked up.

Fujita was my classmate and a nice guy. He certainly wasn't the most masculine of guys, but that shouldn't be held against him. There was something about me that had caught his interest and had expanded into a crush, but...

"How do I say this..." I muttered.

He was nice guy but I couldn't return his feelings. I had feelings for someone else. While it was pretty obvious to me that things wouldn't exactly work out, whether it be his fans or the rare chance he liked me back, I still couldn't even find it in me to imagine liking anyone else.

Maybe that's just how a crush works.

"Look out!"

Suddenly I found myself slowly blinking awake.

Everything around me was a blur, leaving me completely unaware of where I was and what was happening. I pushed what must have been some kind of sheet off of my legs as I sat up, my head lightly pounding.

I squinted my eyes, struggling to see anything much more than a foot from my face. Totally disoriented, I began to pat around for my glasses.

"Oh, Anzu, you're up already." Though I couldn't really see her, I easily recognized Rinko's voice. "If you're looking for your glasses, they broke. Unfortunately I forgot to grab the spare pair I have today."

"Oh, okay," I replied, continuing to squint at her approaching form. "What happened?"

"Anzu-Chan!"

In an instant I found myself being tackled slightly as who I assumed Oikawa jumped across the room to pull me into a hug- who else would it have been.

"What the-"

"Don't tell me you have memory loss?! I can't believe you got hurt! What would the team do if-"

"Oi, where was this concern when you injured yourself, huh?!" I snapped into his ear. "You're the captain and and actual player!"

"I think she's just fine," a voice that sounded like Iwaizumi sighed.

"Someone please tell me what happened," I groaned, struggling with the choice of pushing Oikawa away or dealing with his muttering and vice like grip. "The last thing I remember is talking with Fujita about-"

A large blush coated my face as I recalled the conversation we were in the middle of having. I hadn't given him an answer.

Oikawa instantly pulled away. His face was close enough for me to clearly see the frown on his face. "You were with him?"

"Uh, y-yeah. We were running an errand for the teacher-"

"Oh good god please tell me that I'm wrong," Rinko hissed. "Don't tell me that he-"

"Tell me what you two were talking about," Oikawa asked, completely void of all playfulness. "Anzu, tell me."

I turned away from his gaze. "He Uh... Fujita confessed. To um, to me."

There was an instant silence.

"Can someone tell me what happened?" I quickly asked. "I don't remember much after that."

"Some second year was running from a teacher and ran right into you. You hit your head pretty hard on the windowsill," Rinko quietly explained.

"Oh." I glanced back to Oikawa who was still really close. I could feel my face heat up again. He looked sad and angry at the same time. "I'll be fine. Worst case is a minor concussion right? I've had worse."

"Worse?! How could you, a quiet bookworm, have had worse?!" Oikawa blurted, his chocolate eyes wide with disbelief.

I smirked slightly. "I knew that would get you to snap out of it."

"Wha- Hey, no fair!" he began to pout.

"Excuse me..." There was silence once more as the door slid open.

"Michishio-San, I think I understand why you couldn't answer me. Don't worry, I won't say anything. And you don't need to give me an answer! But, um... Good luck!"

I blinked. He darted away almost instantly. "That was Fujita, right?"

"Uh, yeah."

"Anzu, we need to have a talk."

I glanced back at Oikawa, who had still yet to move. He was staring at the door, a look of shock on his face. It began to morph into a bright grin. I forced my eyes away.

"We're going to head on out. Oikawa, make sure she gets home safe, okay?" Rinko asked, backing away.

"Sure..." He was totally out of it.

The two of them left, leaving me alone with Oikawa. I turned to look at him only to find his eyes on me. We were sitting much closer than ever before.

He said nothing as we stared at each other. We were close enough for me to see him, which meant that I could feel his breath on my skin.

"Oikawa-"

"You were going to say no, right? To Fujita?"

I froze as I noticed him drawing even closer. Even with my terrible eyesight I could see the entirety of his face as his eyes stared at me, lids half closed. Our noses brushed against each other as his voice dropped to a whisper.

"Please tell me you were going to say no..."

I was almost afraid to lean away. My heart pounded loudly in my chest. It seemed like there was hardly any space between us. My face had to have been bright red.

"Please Anzu..."

"I-"

If he moved any closer our lips would touch. There was hardly an inch between our lips. I felt like I couldn't breath as I froze, waiting to see if he would move closer or pull away. Some part of me longed to close that distance.

Suddenly he pulled away and stood.

"I-Uh... Let's get you home."