Surreptitiously In Love

Before you go.

頑張ってね (Ganbattene) - Good luck.

I honestly didn't sleep well last night. After finding out that he's been my neighbor the whole time, I couldn't bring myself to sleep, I kept thinking about it. I've never seen him around. Maybe because he leaves his house early. Plus, I don't usually go out. I'm that kind of girl. If I only did, we must've been close friends by now..

I prepared myself for work. It's 5 am, and I was told to leave early because today, Yuzuru has to practice more. I'll be at the FSC the whole day. It's February 5, and Yuzuru will leave in February 6, tomorrow.

"Dad, mom, I'm leaving!" I yelled while making my way downstairs. I passed by the dining area where my dad and sister are currently sitting at. I took a small glimpse of the table. Seeing some bacon, I snatched one and munched it before leaving the house.

"Take care!" I heard my mother reply. It's cold again. Wearing the same jacket, I crossed my arms for warmth. Meanwhile, the door of the other house opened. An unfamiliar woman came out. She's asian.

I assumed that it's Yuzuru's mom. Once she looked at me, I gave a beam and greeted "Good morning!" in Japanese which made her return the smile. It wasn't that clear, but I'm pretty sure she greeted me good morning in the same language too. I decided to stop by the house for a while before heading to the station.

"I think we've never met before, Mrs. Hanyu," I spoke, and she jounced her head. "Mhm. You are Yuzu's assistant, am I right?" She said with chapped words. I was startled; I never thought that Yuzuru would even bother to introduce me to his mom.

"Yes. I'm only new, but I'm going to do my best for your son." I bowed. It's a Japanese thing, isn't it? Mrs. Hanyu merely chuckled at my words until the door opened once again.

"Ittekimasu!" A familiar voice stated something in Japanese. It's Yuzuru. I looked at him and he reciprocated the gaze. "Itterasshai, Yuzu." His mom replied before proceeding back inside, leaving the two of us.

"Ah, I thought you've already left." I told him, breaking the eye contact. "Let me get that for you," I said before I took his bag from him. I started to march off the porch as he walked behind me. Wait, something is wrong. Why am I infront? I slowed down until he was the one leading me.

Yuzuru was quiet. I'm not sure why. His hands were in his pockets, but his earphones aren't in his ears. He's just quiet. "Err," I cleared my throat before talking, "I didn't know we're actually neighbors! That makes my work easier, don't you think?"

He didn't reply. I just stayed tranquil the whole time. I'll be talking to the wind again if I didn't shut up. When we reached the station, he bought the tickets again. Everything went like how it was last night. I stood beside him when we stopped a few inches away from the edge of the platform.

I looked at his face. He seemed tense. He's whispering something inaudible, and I've got a feeling that it's Japanese. He still didn't notice me, though I'm staring at him for quite a while.

The train arrived. I hopped inside the car and saw that the seats are already taken. We had to stand.

Fun fact: I'm small. Not that small, because I can still grip the handle above. But not tight. So once the train moves, I might get out of balance. I still tried to reach for it though. I did held onto it and the train started to depart. I was right, I lurched forward but a hand grasped my arm before I fell.

"Thank you.." I muttered, letting Yuzuru pull me up. "I'm sorry.. I'll be careful next time!" I flashed an embarrassed yet reassuring smile. Yuzuru chuckled. I thought he was in a bad mood, so I'm glad he smiled. He grabbed another hanging handle and pointed at his arm by tilting his head.

"Hold onto my arm," He told me. I blinked. "Your arm?" I repeated and he nodded. I eventually obeyed him and felt fazed about it. I'm touching his biceps..

"I can't believe.." I whispered, but Yuzuru still heard me. "Did you say something?" He asked. I was surprised, so I immediately shook my head.

It's muscular, but not that much. He doesn't need to be muscular in figure skating anyway, flexibility is the necessity. I held onto it until we stopped in our destination.

After a few walks, we entered the establishment. Upon putting his pass on the receptionist's table, he went straight to the rink. It's only 6:15 am. Only a few skaters are here. It's so early, anyway. I grinned at the receptionist before rushing to Yuzuru.

I brought out his skates and removed the guards in behalf of him. Giving them to him, he stared at it for a while.

"Aren," he called my name with a soft voice. "Yes?" I simply walked closer to him. He looked at me dead in the eye, and I can suddenly feel his emotions at the moment.

"I feel nervous.." He admitted. So that's why he's been quiet. I blinked, then grinned at him, making sure to give him courage. "C'mon, Yuzuru! You can do it! I know you're a great athlete. You've been training hard, right?"

He nodded.

"See? Practice makes perfect. You'll become the champion, I promise you." I gave him an encouraging pat in the back, and he showed me a bright grin in exchange.

"I will remember that. Thank you." He pulled me into a short hug before stepping into the rink. He proceeded with his usual training and I was there, left with my heart beating fast. He just hugged me. He hugged me.

The next thing I felt is someone tapping my shoulder. I turned to the person; it's Coach Brian.

"You're so red, are you okay?" He asked, concern evident in the way he speak. I'm still flushed about the hug. "O-Of course, Coach! I'm very fine!" I grinned and sat down on the bench, hiding my face from Coach. My eyes are still on Yuzuru. It will always be.

[A/N: This is sucky. :/ I'll try my best on the next chapter. But then I should stop thinking about Yuzu and study first haha]