lend me your ears | bokuto kotaro

5 ' cursed?

PE class ended shortly after and Hoshino headed to the sink outside to wash her face quite dripping with sweat. Bokuto, still pouting, hair seemingly still deflated, also followed her and tried to apologies.

"Hoshi-san, I'm sorry about earlier," he cried out as the girl turns the faucet.

"Huh?"

"I almost hit your face and I said I'd protect you," he explained as her hands splashed water on her face, "I didn't mean to throw it like that."

Hoshino took a minute to respond and dried her face with her towel, "You don't need to protect me, Bokuto-san, I'm okay," she said, eyes closed with every tap of the cloth.

"Really?" His tone remained gloomy but now with a tinge of hope.

"Yes, really. And I had fun, thanks to you," she reassured and held up his hand, "I can't remember the last time I willingly joined a game," she chuckles for the first time that day. It came to him as a surprise, and he paused to cherish the smile that puts the sun to shame.

"Thank you, Bokuto-san."

"Hoshi-san?!" he snapped out of his daydream and exclaimed her name out of surprise. He didn't think of her as a big fan of PDA. Not that he didn't like it though, as shown by his hair spiking up once again.

"Ah, I'm sorry, my hand is still damp," she apologizes and flinches her hand away. "It's a habit, I'm sorry," she continued, reverting back to her timid self.

"What habit?" he wondered as they walked back to the school building.

"Nanaki-kun holds my hand whenever he's scared of something. He's a sweet kid but he's a scaredy-cat."

The two parted ways as they both had to change back to their uniform. Bokuto's heart was racing, which he assumed was from all the physical activities earlier. As always, he ate lunch with Akaashi and he blabbered all about the dodgeball game to him. Akaashi, used to it, noticed something quite different with him today. He was mentioning someone over and over again.

And instead of asking if Bokuto liked her, he tried asking something less direct. "Bokuto-san, do you think that girl like you?"

"Eh? Hoshi-san? I'm sure she considers me a friend," Bokuto answered, wondering why he even had to ask.

"Wait, do you mean, does she really like me? Like, is she a true friend? Something like that?" Bokuto guessed.

"No, I meant, do you think she likes you in a romantic way? The kind of 'like' that makes you want to date the person," the younger clarified.

"Dating Hoshi-san," Bokuto mumbled, eyes narrowing.

"Yes, I'm referring to dating."

Bokuto didn't answer, making Akaashi guess what was up on his head. The older began to giggle softly and with every chuckle, his smile widened. With that, Akaashi knew exactly what was going on.

Meanwhile, Hoshino was on her new favorite spot. The vending machine. There, she realized that it was the least crowded area and the staircase next to it was a perfect spot to be alone. Her hands grasped on two banana milk cartons and she pokes one of them with a straw to drink.

"Oh, Hoshino-san, I've been looking for you." She heard a not so familiar voice and swayed her head to check who it was.

"Who is this again?" she mumbled to herself.

"It's Yukimura. Don't you recognize your classmates at least?" he answered for her. Her mumbles turned out to be louder than she thought they were.

"I just transferred, sorry," she spoke with an apologetic tone.

"It's fine, it's fine." His tone was getting friendlier, contrary to his harsh self during the game.

"Anyway, I just wanted to apologize for a while ago," he said and sat next to her, ensuring some distance.

"For?" The volume of her voice remained low, like a hushed whisper.

"I was quite mean while we played," he admitted.

"It's okay."

"No, really, I shouldn't have judged you."

"Eh? What's with the judging part," she mutters, finally inaudible for him.

"I mean, I thought you were, you know, like the rumors. A narcissistic snob, and that, uh, you curse people."

"Curse," she repeated, her face quickly appearing lifeless.

"That's why I'm sorry, you know!" he raised his voice for a bit, "You're nothing like what the rumors."

"I see," she muttered and nodded. How exactly was she supposed to react? "I see," she repeated.

"Ah, by the way, the class is going to karaoke later. If you want, you should join us," he invited.

"Oh," she mouthed.

"It should clear up the misunderstandings about you in class," he added in hopes of convincing her.

Hoshino knew she didn't need to clear misunderstandings she didn't create in the first place but for some reason, she felt compelled to at least give it a second thought.

"Ah, I gotta go, I'm expecting to see you in the karaoke later," Yukimura told her before getting up. "See you, okay?" he continued as he walked down the stairs.

Hoshino sighed and looked down at the unopened banana milk carton on her hand. "I guess I can give it to him later in the karaoke," she planned, completely forgetting he had volleyball practice.