10 Stages of Me and You [Tsukishima Kei x Reader]

Stage 3: Him

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It's the little things that make you fall harder than you already have.

Kei has always been the observant type, but now he started to notice more things about [Name] which he never saw before. He saw how quick she was to smile whenever someone passed by with their pet early in the morning. He noticed how she'd often look up and admire the sky as it slowly became brighter whenever they walk to school. He also took note of how she loved to scrunch up her nose when she playfully teases someone.

Kei had always thought that he already was able to observe her as well as he could but apparently, diamonds shine in a different way when placed under a new light.

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"Hey, Lamppost! Look at what I can do!"

Kei directed his attention towards [Name] who was showing him how to catch marshmallows with her mouth. She took one of those fluffy sweets and threw it up to the air. As it went down, she opened her mouth, expecting the marshmallow to drop in it. Seeing her mistake in the direction she threw it in, she realized the marshmallow wouldn't be able to land in her mouth. She immediately closed her eyes and braced for the soft impact that would be on her eyes.

As soon as it hit the floor, the [h/c]-haired girl looked at it and sighed.

"My marshmallow," she said, pouting to herself. "Rest in peace."

[Name] picked up the marshmallow and placed it inside her lunch bag, making a mental note to throw it out later.

"Dumbass."

Kei snickered at the girl's attempt.

'She looked cute though.'

"Maybe the trajectory was a bit off. My power seemed enough. I think it was the angle that was a bit off. How do I fix that?"

As [Name] pondered on how to perfect her marshmallow throwing skills, Kei looked at the girl, silently admiring her thinking figure. Her elbow was on his table with her hand covering half of her face. Her thumb was on her cheek while her index finger was pointing upwards with the rest of her fingers covering the other side of her face.

"If you actually put that thinking on your schoolwork, you could've been in this class," Kei said, pointing out that [Name] had the skills but lacked the drive. It was a familiar feeling, but he didn't want to ponder on that.

One time, even though she was from a lower class level, she was the one who taught Tadashi how to understand their lesson. She was quick to understand things and pick up new lessons, and yet she was too lazy to push through with performing well. Nevertheless, Kei was still amazed with how intelligent she was despite the lack of desire to do her best.

"I could, but, I don't want to have your college preparatory classes. I don't like having more workload!" [Name] crossed her arms together, forming the letter X with it. "Besides, I don't want both of you to get tired of me any time soon. If I was your classmate, I bet you wouldn't even want to eat lunch with me anymore since you always see me anyway."

'That's impossible though. I'd love to spend a lot more time with you. But words seem to fail me whenever I want to say something.'

Kei wasn't the sweet type. He could be if he wanted to, but he didn't. It felt weird to suddenly say something he doesn't often say just to tell the truth. So he went with what he always did.

"As if we're not already tired of looking at your face."

[Name] pouted towards the blond and immediately switched her attention to Tadashi.

"Yamaguchi! You're not tired of me, are you?"

Tadashi was surprised with her question but immediately gave her a response.

"Of course not [Surname]!"

[Name] looked at the green-haired boy with a wide smile and twinkling eyes. The said girl stood up and pointed her finger towards Kei while exclaiming, "Take that Bigfoot!"

"Yeah, yeah, munchkin."

Before they could even start another fight, Tadashi decided to interject.

"[Surname], your food is getting cold."

He told the girl who left her lunchbox open and untouched.

"Oh no! My lunch!"

[Name] immediately sat down and grabbed her utensils to start eating.

Kei also noticed another thing with the girl. Whenever she ate, she looked like a squirrel. The girl seemed to prefer filling in her mouth before proceeding to break it down and swallow it. It amazed both Kei and Tadashi that she was even able to eat without any of her food falling from her mouth.

[Name] also covered her mouth whenever she was chewing, probably to make sure none of her food falls to her lap. She also flashes a quick smile after swallowing before proceeding to fill her mouth again. The girl always looked so happy and content whenever she ate food making it really fun to watch her reactions.

Kei remembered how she reacted when her lunch was her favorite dish. She kept on squealing which was muffled by the food in her mouth. Her hands were on her cheeks and her eyes were closed but it was shaped like how it was whenever she smiled. To see someone react that way to eating food made Kei chuckle.

When that happened, Kei remembered commenting on how weird the girl's eating habit was. That didn't faze [Name] at all though. That was another thing he liked about her. She was never the type to let anything affect her. Whenever he teased her, her reaction would often be using that tease as a truth then retorting with it. That was one of the reasons why Kei sometimes couldn't answer back.

What others see as an attack, she sees as an opportunity to rise. She was indeed smart. She knew how to use what is given to her an advantage. Sadly, she seems to keep using it on other things. She was also very cute and her movements were always so animated, so lively. She was a nice mix of sweet and sassy and always had some unpredictability in her.

She was amazing, and Kei couldn't help but admire her.

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