Fate. A predetermined supernatural power. The will of the universe. Fate is order. It writes, and rewrites, gives and takes. It spins vibrant red strings that flow into the world and connect people who are destined to meet, to love, to share a story...
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I stare at Kurumi-senpai's idiot brother out of the corner of my eye as he scribbles furiously into his notes, chin propped on my hand. His mouth ticks sideways every now and then when he makes a mistake in his notebook, and the sight inexplicably drops something heavy in my throat.
As I watch, he abruptly slows, unscrewing his pen to take in his now empty refill, his expression carefully blank.
I let my hand drop, my heart thumping in my chest as I wait to see if he'll ask to borrow mine. But the minutes drag on, and the teacher continues to give us pointers on the lesson, oblivious to the idiot's problem. He just sits there, lips in a straight line, and...I don't fucking get it. Does he think he's above borrowing stationery from regular folks like us? Why won't you just ask me?
Cursing internally, I toss my pen onto his desk. He watches it roll to a stop before looking up at me with wide eyes. "Thank you," he whispers, before briskly returning to his notes.
I turn my face away. Whatever. So he's good with a fucking broom. So he can sound grateful. That doesn't prove anything.
*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:
The school bell blares, signalling the end of class and snapping me out of my daze. Not so much as a second later, that meddlesome girl, Rubi Amari, is at my desk. I groan. "What?"
"Let's go grab lunch together," she eagerly suggests, hands splayed on my table.
"Don't wanna."
Completely ignoring my refusal, she shifts her attention to the idiot nerd and adds sweetly, "Akito, why don't you join us?" I whip my head towards him, waiting.
"I appreciate the offer," he answers mechanically. "But I'm a little busy right now. Sorry." Busy. It's the fucking lunch break.
I shoot to my feet and make for the door, because I know that if I spend even one more second near this shitface, I'm going to end up strangling him. "That's alright, see you later in class then!" Amari calls out to him as she hurriedly follows after me.
"What are you getting? Bread?" she asks as we walk, crossing the length of the sports ground towards the school canteen. "Why do you care?" I mumble. Nobody asked her to be here. She keeps casually popping up out of nowhere, like we're...friends or some shit. It's fucking weird.
"It wouldn't hurt to answer me every now and then—gah!" Her sentence is cut short by a ball that comes flying our way from the baseball court on the far side of the field, bonking her over the head. A suppressed chuckle slips out of me, my lips failing to cover up my amusement. Amari shoots me a dirty look, rubbing at the sore spot in her skull.
A moment later, some guy in a sports uniform shows up to fetch the ball, and I toss it back to him over the top of Amari's head. He plucks it out of the air and comes to a stop before us, his face flushed. "Are you alright? I'm really sorry," he breathes, his eyes alight with worry.
