there for me | tsukishima kei

chapter 6 ･:*+.

i went out for school the next morning. i nearly reached aoi's house when i suddenly realized--

i forgot to wear long socks. and my bruises weren't healed.

my eyes widened and my breath started to quicken.

if i went back home to change, i would be late to school, and mom would be upset. my only option left was to hope aoi had her own socks or at least bandaids to cover them up.

"aoi." i said in defeat when we finally met up. "please help."

"oh my god! wait here! everything will be all right, okay? trust me." she said as she saw my legs, and ran back into her house.

i couldn't stop the tears that rolled down my cheeks. this was so embarrassing.

she hastily returned outside.

"y/n. i'm so sorry. i don't have anymore long socks that fit. and i only have a few bandaids left."

"no, it's okay." i replied wiping my tears. "thank you for helping me out."

she pulled me into a hug. "here."

we sat at her doorstep, applying bandaids on my legs.

there wasn't enough for all of them to be covered. i let out a sigh.

"don't worry about it okay y/n? i got your back if you need anything."

"thanks so much aoi. i don't deserve you."

after a hug, we began to walk towards the school. i was nervous as hell.

it was now practice, and i was at the gym sitting with aoi again.

i sat facing the court, so i could watch everyone play, but it was risky because it meant everyone could see the bruises if they really paid attention or got close.

"hey! i just realized, i could get some more bandaids from the nurse's office." aoi said, standing up.

"oh yeah! if you could i would appreciate it."

aoi then ran off to the office.

a few moments later, aoi wasn't back yet, and the team went on a break. that blasted blondie started to approach my direction.

"..."

he plopped down next to me.

"i was gonna ask you something about the proj-" he stopped mid-sentence, his eyes trailing down to my legs. "y/n...wh-"

"here you go." i interrupted, giving him water. "practice sure looks intense today." i said, keeping my eyes on the court.

"i-" he was interrupted once again by the whistle being blown.

"oh, looks like you better head on back now." i patted his back with a small smile.

he looked at me for a few moments saying nothing. he sighed and went back onto the court.

aoi returned with a bandaid box in her hands.

we turned away from the court to apply them on.

"much better, now every spot is covered. thanks again aoi!"

she gave me a big smile and hugged me tightly.

~~~

practice was over and tsukishima and i were walking to his house.

we didn't talk again, just like yesterday.

we made it, and went up to his room.

after asking, he agreed to help me with some math problems i was struggling on instead of doing the project.

"oh! that makes sense." i said, after he explained the problem.

i put my hand on the floor and leaned back.

"yeah, it's actually pretty easy." he put his hand down on top of mine, forgetting it was there. he quickly lifted it up again and put it on his lap, looking anywhere but at me.

now this was too awkward. "i- i'm gonna go to the bathroom." i stated.

"ok." he replied, still facing the other way.

i splashed some water on my face. "i need to get a hold of myself." i looked at myself in the mirror. the pink on my face wouldn't go away.

i re-entered his room. but as i stood at his doorway, i realized he wasn't taking his eyes off me. or rather... my legs. i could feel my face flushing even more. i just hope he wouldn't ask about them.

"y/n...what happened to your legs?" he asked.

great.

"oh...that..." i replied, still avoiding eye contact and scratching the back of my head. "i fell off of my bike."

"fell again?..."

"yeah." i fake laughed. "i'm a big klutz."

he sighed. "yeah. you really are."

"anyways, we should get back to working on the project." i said, trying to change the subject.

i sat down next to him again, criss cross. i noticed from the corner of my eye he was still eyeing my legs.

"ahem." i said trying to get his attention away from my legs.

he still didn't take his eyes off of them.

and i soon figured out why.

i missed a spot. i didn't put a bandaid on one of the spots earlier. and with him this close, he could see it was clearly not a bruise from falling.

"this doesn't...look like a normal bruise, y/n." he said, his eyes shifting from my legs to my face.

i kept my eyes on the papers, avoiding his own.

he placed his hand on top of mine. except this time, it didn't seem to be an accident, as he kept it there for a while.

"what?" i turned to him. "i'm fine." i tried reassuring him, slipping my hand away from under his.

too many seconds had passed before i realized our gazes had not left each other's eyes.

i had barely registered the way he was inching closer.

i feel frozen. should i-

"kei!" akiteru bursted through the door. "i got-"

we were both startled, quickly moving away from each other. my face was steaming up— i couldn't see his expression though, what does he look like? was i the only one going insane right now?

"kei? what were you guys d-" he was interrupted by his brother pushing him out.

"just go! tell me- tell me later..." tsukishima pleaded to his brother, who was wearing a huge grin. he shut the door. "sorry about that..." his face was crimson.

"no, it's...ok.." i mumbled, avoiding eye contact.

i grabbed my bag. "it's getting late, i should start heading home now. thanks for helping me study."

i was about to exit his house when he suddenly grabbed my wrist.

"forget what happ-" he sighed. "get home safe."

"thanks." i nodded, still avoiding his gaze.

"also...if you need a place to stay, we have an extra room...if there's a time you don't wanna go home or something."

"huh-"

he stretched my arm towards him, placing a bag of ice on my hand.

without another word he shut the door.

after blinking momentarily, i smiled to myself instead of getting angry like last time. my face grew warm.

-to be continued