STONE HEARTS ❨ ushijima wakatoshi ❩

「 FOURTEEN 」

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Her cheeks were flushing, as Ushijima stood so close next to her. It was lunch time, and he insisted that they ate lunch with each other. However, he was starting to think that she was mad at him about what happened earlier.

"Hey," he called, making Hara face him with a fake glare to hide the fact that she was trying hard calming down her heart.

She thought, maybe she was angry at Ushijima, but it doesn't really feel that way. Maybe a bit, but it wasn't really like that. She felt like she knew what it was but couldn't point her finger on it. However, in his eyes and in hers, it looked as if she was angry at him. What was she feeling, after all?

"What do you need, dad?" Hara said, making Ushijima blink before turning his head to the side.

There were some chatters from the other students in the cafeteria, but both just ignored them. Although she usually secretly listens in to what the students had to say about her, she didn't at that time. Maybe she was too nervous about the fact that they were alone and eating with only each other, in the presence of everyone.

Ushijima would be lying if he said that he didn't find stubborn Hara cute. After all, he always found her adorable, ever since they were little kids. But of course, he wouldn't dare tell her about it. He thought that it wasn't the right time, and that they just basically made up.

"If Tsutomu develops a crush on you, it's not my fault." he mutters, continuing eating his food.

"Why would he? He's like a little baby that I want to hide from all the sinful acts of the world," Hara replied, sighing and then drinking harshly on her carton of milk while glaring at Ushijima.

He sighed, and then stared into her eyes. It was as if he was staring deep into her soul, which made her feel a bit shy but she didn't back down from the staring contest.

"Why wouldn't he, Hara? You're outstanding. You fail to notice that, all the time," he replied, making her blush.

"H-How dare you call me clueless?" she asked, masking her flushed cheeks with fake frustration.

Actually, hearing those words from Ushijima Wakatoshi just made her want to smile from ear to ear and leap away, even if it wasn't like her to do so. His words had such effect on her, and she may not still know how they really affect her.

Her heart felt as if she ran a whole marathon without taking any breaks, but she brushed it off.

"I didn't really say you were clueless. I said-" he tried repeating himself, but she raised her hand up to stop him.

"No, no, stop. Just don't. Forget it." she said, chuckling to herself.

He furrowed his brows, and then sighed. He found her actions quite weird, but he didn't dare ask her. It was as if she was trying to avoid something, but he didn't press her about it. He was curious, but he let it go.

Hara closed her eyes and just ate her food in silence. She told herself how she needed to straighten herself up. She didn't need to feel all those nervousness and such when she was around Ushijima. It's not like he was so special, right? He was. He always was. And she knew that all too well, but just wouldn't accept it.

"On a date?" a voice asked behind Hara, so she rolled her eyes and then turned around.

"How else would you want to ruin my day, Tendou Satori?" she asked, making the red haired third year chuckle to himself before placing his food down on the table beside Ushijima.

"You got it wrong, Tendou." Ushijima said, but the mentioned male just shrugged before mumbling a silly song under his breath.

How oblivious can these two be?, Tendou thought, shaking his head and chuckling to himself.

Tired. Watanabe Hara felt so exhausted after insisting to Sai that she hit a hundred spikes with only a few short breaks. She wanted to get her mind off of the fact that she was starting to doubt her judgment. It became her coping mechanism, training more, so it was obvious to Sai that something was bugging her captain.

Everyone around her always told her that maybe she was hiding a relationship with Ushijima, or that they liked each other but wouldn't admit it yet. At first, she disagreed with them strongly, but as time passed by and with all the hours and nights she thought about it, she felt a little nervous. She'd be lying if she told herself that she didn't imagine herself going out with him at least once or twice in her life.

What if she really did like Ushijima but was just scared of admitting it? If she did, will she ever have the guts to confess to him, after all this time?

I can't like him. I just can't. It's impossible. We just made up, I can't ruin things again. It can't happen.

"Ten more," Hara said, panting as she placed her hands on her knees.

Sai closed her eyes, sighing before giving the ball to some of the other girls who were on the other side of the net. As Sai set the ball to Hara, the confused girl just sighed before staring at it as it fell down on the floor without even trying to hit it.

"I thought you said ten more?" Sai asked, her brows furrowing as she watched their captain with troubled eyes.

The rest of the girls looked at the two, curious about what happened and what was happening to the captain. They never thought she'd ever ignore a ball coming her way, until they saw it. Clearly, there must be something wrong, or there was something that was really bothering her thoughts.

But what if I do? What if I do actually like him and he doesn't feel the same way? What if he rejects me and I ruin everything?

To their surprise, Hara started pulling on her hair, as if the whole world dropped on her shoulders. The realization was too much, and she couldn't accept it. But she knew she had to.

"Oh, shit, what happened?"

"What's happening?"

"Sai, what's happening?"

Hara sat on the floor, staring at it with a troubled expression across her face. Her teammates were intrigued, but Sai was the one who asked her what was running through her mind.

"Hara, what's going on? What happened to you? You've been out of character since earlier," Sai asked, making the captain sigh and look into her best friend's eyes.

"Help me, Sai, I think I hurt myself," Hara said, making everyone in the team's brows shoot up. "I can't do this anymore, I can't focus, damn it!"

"What? But the match... it's in three days!"

"Did she overwork herself again? Damn it,"

"Hit me or something... but she looks so cute when she's upset- ow!"

"You hurt yourself?! What? Why? How?!" Sai asked, furrowing her brows and flapping her arms wildly. "I thought we agreed not to overwork ourselves?!"

Hara slowly looked into Sai's eyes, her gaze shaking and her voice hesitant. Can she really tell them how she felt? But if anyone deserved to know, it would be them. They were, after all, the ones who contributed to making her realize how she felt.

"I think I fell for Wakatoshi..."

Everyone in the team blinked, before grinning from ear to ear.

"AT LAST!" they cheered, making Hara furrow her brows and look around the gym as if she didn't know what was happening.

"That was a bit cheesy,"

"Oh, God. If they start to date, I really can die happily now."

"Classic enemies to lovers, I love that."

"We should make sure he never hurts her again, then."

"Aren't you all a little excited, huh? It's not a good thing! What if I ruin everything?"

"OF COURSE, CAPTAIN!"

"You can't ruin anything, captain. He's pretty obvious with his feelings, too, anyway."