pure petals || k. tsukishima

04 | 🍰

Lost and Found
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The table scraped against the floor as you bumped your leg into it. "L/n-San." You turned your head to your teacher who was holding something in his hands. "Do you mind handing these to Tsukishima? He left these on his desk a few days ago." He was holding a pair of Somy headphones, ones that belonged to Tsukishima. "You're always the last one to leave the room alongside him, I just thought it'd be more efficient to leave it in your hands. I don't want to leave these in the lost and found either." He briefly smiled and handed them to you. "Sure, I'll make sure to deliver them to him." He quickly thanked you as you left the room. That exchange replayed in your head as you walked home.

You clumsily opened your bedroom door and let yourself relax. As you placed your school bag on the floor, a box of band-aids fell out. It was the same brand of bandages that you handed to Tsukishima the other day. A week or so had passed since you'd last seen him. You wondered; was he doing okay? For the past few days, Tsukishima hadn't been at school. He was nowhere in your classes, and you couldn't help but worry. Sure, he probably didn't care about you, but that didn't change anything. Your mind was intruded with the thought of him, and it only made you want to talk to him even more.

Tsukishima Kei seemed bereft of many things, like care, needs, and warmth -- which was something you found in yourself.

You put the bandages back in your bag and left the room. Your house was empty for the most part. Your mother spent most of her time at work or out of the house. Although the house was mostly vacant, you made your best effort to decorate. Pots of plants and flowers sat around places in the house. Some seemed out of place while others sat perfectly. You didn't bother moving them though, you thought it didn't need any fixing. Perhaps it matched the house: uneven, messy, and tangled.

You made your way to the pots of flowers, tending to their convoluted stems and painted blades. Some people say flowers don't tell, they show. However, you thought differently. While that is true, flowers can often be transparent. Roses speak about love, while some can tell you about grief and loss. If one were to bloom, it is proof they are taken care of, but if one were to wither and wilt, one can infer it lacked care.

Water dripped from the can you held. You gently shifted a few pots to face the sunlight. Some were already starting to bloom, and a few were sticking out of the soil. To you, this was progress and growth. Letting out a soft sigh, you gently smiled and left the plants there, letting the sunlight wash over them.

You decided to head back to your bedroom, contemplating about what other flowers seeds you should buy. Although it was just a hobby of yours, you took it seriously. They were your escape, something you found while in your loneliest times. When you couldn't help yourself, you figured; why not help others? Maybe it helped fill the empty feeling. Maybe it distracted you from the fact that you couldn't do anything for yourself. Whatever the reason, it made you happy at the end of the day.

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The soft cushions supported your neck as you laid in bed, staring at the blank ceiling. A pair of white Somy headphones rested in your hands. You traced your hands along the edges of the ear pads and wondered what kind of music Tsukishima listened to. A few fingers fell on a frayed part of the wire, they were broken. The band seemed loose as well. Was that always there? You didn't want to return it broken but thought about when you'd see him again. There was no school tomorrow, and it was getting late. You regretted spending your day with the pots of plants. You gently placed them back in your bag and made your way to the front door, bumping into things. Your mother wasn't home yet, so a quick trip wouldn't hurt. A swift breeze of air stepped into your house. The air felt nice on your face, it was always cooler at night. The sky welcomed you into the night, and suddenly you felt less lonely. The only light was emitting from the streetlamps and the moon, which was company you found yourself to be enjoying. Silently, you made your way to the nearest convenience store, hoping you'd find something to fix the headphones. They were the only stores open at this hour.

The convenience store door swung open and you silently stepped in as the worker greeted you. A customer was waiting by the counter, so you decided to just look around the store first. It was a normal convenience store, nothing out of the norm. You scanned the empty aisles, neatly placed snack bags, and items laid on the shelves. It was stupid of you to come here, why would there even be headphone parts here? Sighing, you made your way to the front counter.

The customer in front of you seemed to have already paid for his things and was quickly leaving. He had blonde hair and a white T-Shirt on, and you couldn't help but notice he seemed strangely familiar. Ignoring that feeling, you walked up to the counter with the headphones in your hands. "Hello, I was just wondering if you had any headphone parts to fix these?" In the corner of your eye, you could see the earlier customer leaving. "Hm, let me see those." The worker examined the headphones and shook his head. "No, I'm sorry. There should be stores open tomorrow for items like this. Good luck though." You thanked him and headed for the exit, readjusting your bag. Upon opening the door, there was a feeling of fabric and familiarity.

You felt your head hit something-or rather, someone. "Ah, I'm sorry." Quickly apologizing, you stepped away and looked up. "I wasn't watching where I was going, I'm s-" Your eyes scanned the person again. Glasses, blonde, tall, and lanky. "Eh, Tsukishima?" Your chest felt weird, it felt shaky - almost like a vibrating feel. His eyes slightly widened, but he quickly clicked his tongue and turned away. "W-wait!" You shouted after him, but he just kept walking. Pursing your lips, you ran after him. There were so many questions you had, so many things you still wanted to talk about. Tsukishima, where have you been?

After catching up to him, he abruptly stopped in his tracks. "What? What do you want?" He hissed. His voice was hoarse and cracked at certain vowels. His eyebags seemed worse, and he seemed tired. "I... I just wanted to talk." You bit your lips, searching for that courage you once had. Your mind was looking for things to talk about, where were those questions you once asked? "Well, leave me alone. Didn't I already tell you? I don't need-" Your words overlapped his. "It isn't pity." Your eyes were on the floor, head shifted away from him. His head turned to look at you, but he found no eyes to meet. "It's.. not pity. I'm not pitying you. I just wanted to talk." Your head lifted and you met his exhausted eyes.

"Bullshit."

He saw the door in front of him again. He saw light coming from the door. There was a small crack, just leaving a bit of light to shine through. It was slowly closing, and the splinters seemed to grow worse. Was he afraid to fully open it? Or was he afraid of the lights turning off again? His eyes narrowed, brows furrowed like a zig-zagged line.

You sighed. You felt the bridge breaking and cracking underneath you, the string that held it all together was snapping. "I'm not pitying you, Tsukishima, believe me." You sighed. There was a distance between you two, one that seemed so far away despite him being in front of you. You searched for the right words to say. "Just... A-aren't you looking for your headphones?" His expression didn't change, he just tensed up. The change in subject lightened the tension just a bit. "Why? Do you have them?" He gestured to your bag. You felt the loose band in between the fabric and remembered that it was broken. "Uh, I... Yes, I do. It's just not here with me currently." You lied. The intense atmosphere seemed to disappear as you said this. He sighed. "Whatever. You can keep them, I don't care." There was a brief pause before he said that.

You frowned. Well, this isn't going to be easy, huh. You looked for things to converse about, a line to connect the two separate dots. "Are you sure? I don't want to keep a pair of headphones that aren't mine." He didn't respond. It was silent for a while, and he just turned away. Every time you took a step closer to the distance between you two, he just seemed to get further away. Why was that? Was he stepping away, or were you making zero progress? "Never mind that. Why haven't you been at school?" You took another step closer. "It's none of your business." He muttered. You looked at the ground and slightly frowned. "It's late. You should head home, Tsukishima." His expression seemed to change when you said that. His face hardened and he gripped his bag.

"If you still want those headphones, I'll be waiting at the convenience store tomorrow morning." You left the door open, just a little so if somebody wanted to come in, they could. You went back inside, silently waiting for your invitations to send, hoping for a guest to be there tomorrow.

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whee, i've been wanting to perfect the chapters. i'm still looking over things and editing what i think needs to be fixed.

'till next time, thanks for reading !