the tide [ikuya kirishima]

《2》tensions

It's been a long day. Ikuya let out a huge sigh of relief as he exited the room his final class of the day was held in. Statistics always did tire the teal-haired boy out. He leaned against the wall, sliding his phone out from his back pocket to check the time and catch up on any missed notifications. A smile tugged at the corner of his lips when he saw a notification from (Y/N).

He didn't know if the two of them were "friends" or merely acquaintances, but they had seemed to grow closer recently. He still didn't know how to categorize the feelings of butterflies in his chest every time she was near him, the way his heart would skip a beat and he would feel heat rising to his face. He wasn't sure what it meant- he honestly felt like she turned him into a puddle of emotions and admiration when she was around, a feeling foreign to Ikuya and one he did not welcome.

He finally pulled his gaze from the screen in front of him, needing to get going on his way to practice. Among the students around the campus all scurrying to go where they needed to be, he spotted a certain (hair color) haired female walking hand in hand with a pinkette he knew all to well.

(Y/N) and Kisumi?

Ikuya cleared his throat, attempting to stuff down the confusion and worry that bubbled up. (Y/N) took notice of Ikuya and pulled Kisumi in his direction, a smile on her face.

"Hey, Kirishima-kun!" she greeted, finally letting go of Kisumi's hand.

"Funny seeing you here, Ikuya." Kisumi greeted with a close-eyed smile and a friendly wave.

"Yeah, imagine my surprise." Ikuya replied monotonously.

"I didn't know you knew (Y/N)-chan?" Kisumi stated, more as a question with the tilt of his head.

"You two know each other?" (Y/N) asked, mouth parted in surprise.

"We went to middle school together." Ikuya stated.

"How do you know my girlfriend, Ikuya?" Kisumi questioned, emphasizing the word girlfriend so Ikuya would know (Y/N) is his and not Ikuya's.

"Kirishima-kun and I met in a shared class." (Y/N) explained when she took notice that Ikuya had no intent on responding to him. She blinked twice, hoping that the thick tension in the air would soon vanish.

"Kirishima-kun, huh?" Kisumi repeated, taking note of the rare use of the honorific (Y/N) used for Ikuya. She didn't even use it for Kisumi.

"Well, I have practice soon, so I'd have to get going. See you, (L/N)." Ikuya said, taking his leave and not waiting for their response. (Y/N) frowned. Something about her newly made friend was off.

"Why'd you have to scare him off like that, Kisumi?"

"I don't think Ikuya likes me very much to begin with." Kisumi shrugged.

"Yeah, but still, you didn't need to..." (Y/N) trailed off, watching Ikuya walk away. To (Y/N), Ikuya didn't seem like the type of person to dislike someone for no reason. So why was this one of the most awkward conversations she'd ever been in? And why did she feel like it was Ikuya's hand she'd rather be holding?

(Y/N) brushed off the thought. Ikuya was just someone she felt intrigued by that one time in class, nothing else.

"Why do you care so much about it, anyways?" Kisumi asked, narrowing his eyes at his girlfriend.

"I don't! Kirishima is just a friend and I didn't like the vibe circling around you two just now."

"Hmm," Kisumi replied, his lips spread into a thin line. He decided to drop the subject, but the subject of (Y/N) and Ikuya did not leave his mind for the rest of the day. Did he have something to worry about?