there for me | tsukishima kei

･:*+.chapter 5

i woke up early the next morning even without an alarm, probably because i went to sleep a little earlier in the evening yesterday.

i began to get ready for school.

"shit!" i startled myself when i looked in the mirror.

my eyes were pink and puffy, and my hair was a mess. i tidied up, putting my hair in a low ponytail, leaving some strands out in the front. there was nothing i could do about my eyes which sucked because they were really noticeable.

i layered my clothes, putting a jacket over my uniform and longer socks to hide the bruises on my legs.

~~~

"y/n! where were you yesterd-" aoi began but stopped when she saw my eyes. "y/n..what happened to you?...was it the jerk?! did he do something to yo-"

"aoi calm down! there's no need to blame everything on tsukishima..." i interrupted her, looking away trying to hide my flushed face.

that didn't work, as she came beside me, trying to get a better look at my face. 

"why are you red?" aoi asked completely oblivious.

"well...um...i...he..."

"y/n, do you like, have a thing for him?" she asked bluntly.

my face grew hot, and i tried to cover it with both my hands. "what kind of question is that?! like someone who is rude to me all the time?!"

aoi had a huge grin plastered across her face.

"hmm?..."

"enough!!" i shooed her.

~~~

"all right, settle down class. today, i'll be choosing partners to work together on an upcoming project."

the class groaned.

i started to scan the classroom. i have yachi in this class...so i hope that we can at least end up as partners.

a few moments later, the teacher had a paper in his hand which contained the list of pairs.

after a few names, i finally heard mine.

"y/n and tsukishima."

i laid my head down on the desk making a thud sound.

"ok, class dismissed." the teacher mentioned after finishing the names.

i kept my head down after everyone left, hoping that blondie left too.

"y/n?" said a familiar voice.

yay.

"yeah?" i replied, keeping my head down.

"do you want to schedule a time to meet to work on the project?" he asked casually.

"sure."

"your house or mine? i don't care which o-"

"yours." i replied quickly.

"okay. can we start tomorrow then?"

"yep."

"see you then."

i lift up my head as i hear his footsteps grow distant. i let out a big sigh.

a few days later...

today i was going over to tsukishima's house to work on the project.

i was currently in the school gym sitting next to aoi, waiting for practice to be over so that i could walk home with him.

"you're wha?!" aoi asked me in disbelief.

"i know. i don't want to. save me. please aoi." i explained to her about having to do a partner project with tsukishima.

"why would i want to save you?" she asked nonchalantly.

"huh?" i looked at her, genuinely  hurt.

she giggled. "c'mon. after these past couple days i'm starting to believe you've taken an interest in tsukishima. and what better time than this to clear all this tension between the two of you?" she nudged my shoulder.

i looked at her, completely shocked, and of course— my face red.

"don't look at me like that!" she laughed.

i turned away from her, but in the following moment, my eyes unconsciously landed on the blondie who was practicing.

i must've not realized how long i was looking, when aoi spoke up. "y/n? you okay there? you've been watching number 11 on the court for a reaallllyyyyyy long time now..."

"aoi, shut up! jeez..." i pushed her away.

~~~

practice was over and i was walking with the giant to his house. we've said nothing so far. i didn't want to anyways. i kept my head turned the other way the whole time, avoiding eye contact.

we had finally arrived at his house.

"i'm home." he announced.

an older looking version of tsukishima peeped around the corner. they resembled each other almost exactly.

"kei..who is this pretty girl?" he asked his brother.

i looked down, trying to hide my flushed face.

"stop making her uncomfortable." tsukishima sighed. "let's work in my bedroom."

"the names akiteru by the way!" he waved us off.

i turned around and mumbled: "pleasure to meet you." waving my hand slightly. i turned back around to catch up to the meaner blonde.

akiteru had a big smile on his face with both hands on his hips.

when we entered his room my attention was immediately caught by...a bunch of dinosaur
figures?

"what are you looking at..." he grumbled, his cheeks painted a little pink.

i couldn't help but let out a laugh. he loves dinosaurs? it was kind of cute.

i startled him with my laugh, making him jump a little, and he got even more embarrassed, now facing away from me.

"let's just get started." he sighed.

~

after about an hour of working, we decided to wrap up for that day.

"see you tomorrow." i waved goodbye.

"wait. want me to walk you home? it's kind of dark." he said.

"uh..it's fine really. my mom will pick me up just around the corner of this neighborhood." i lied. i didn't want him to walk me home, and see my house, which comes with the risk of him seeing my mom. "see you." i quickly turned around and began to walk away.

after standing at his doorstep for a while, he finally went inside.

i kinda liked the atmosphere of his house. it's a much different feeling than the one at home.

i couldn't believe it... but i was looking forward to going over there next time.

-to be continued