Pretending

chapter 6

Although the message said to call her I still seemed to cheer up at the sight of the reply .

Rel : hey can u call me when u r free

So I didn't hesitate to call her while continuing to walk home .

As the image of my best friend appeared on the screen I greeted her . "Hey what's up " Rel sighed at the other end of the phone " I've missed you , we should try to meet up at the weekend " I nodded with a smile on my face " So how's the new school " shrugging my shoulders I replied " well it's okay " Her laugh was the next thing she responded with . Then in the background I heard what sounded like someone calling my friend's name . " Sorry I've gotta go but I'll try to talk to you later "

After the call ended Kenma looked at me and spoke calmly " she your girlfriend " I stopped walking , but was still looking at him with a kinda shocked face " best friend " My cosion nodded and went back to his game .

Time skip : at home

I stood looking in the mirror , a worried clone staired back . After dinner I had gone straight up stairs . Once I got to my room I decided I was gonna have a shower .

Sliding my t-shirt of carefully , I tried to ignore my reflection as I revealed my scar that I had left from the accident . It still hurt me to think about what happened . The scar reminds of what I had lost before all this distress .

The scar was half way up my chest on my left and ran from the middle of my stomach to my side . After inhaling a couple of times I continued to get undressed .

Water rolled down my body . Standing in the shower I looked down at my scar , closing my eyes for a while then opened them . I brought my hand up to the painful mark and ran my hand over it . Remembering all the pain behind it .

A buzz brought me back to real life . Shaking the thoughts from my head , I stepped out the shower . Then grabbed a towel . After unlocking my phone to see what the notification was about I wrapped the towel around my waist .

Unknown : hey what's up mini Kenma

Only one person called me that . But the question running through my head was how did the captain of the volleyball team get my number . It was probably Kenma right . Maybe he gave it to him .

That was when Rel called me and my phone started vibrating . Which made me jump .

" Hey what's up " Her figure on the the phone looked nervous . " Well I just wanted you to know , that I care a lot about you " Next thing I know she's ended the call .

I looked up into the mirror confused . What was that all about .

Time skip : the next morning

I woke up to Kenma walking into my room . " We've gotta go in like fifteen minutes " Shock fell on my face as I look at him . Last night I actually managed to get some sleep for what felt like the first time in ages . It might have something to do with what happened with Kuroo . But I don't really understand how that could have effected me that much . 

One I had got dressed my cousin ran into my room saying " we've gotta go " That's when the door bell rang . Kenma sighed and went to get the door while I ran down stairs and joined him at the door

Stood the just outside the house was Kuroo . His usual smirk was lying on his face .
" We're probably gonna have to run so we don't miss the train " . The spiky haired captain looked at me while smiling a little more . " So which one of you woke up late " Kenma nodded towards me and Kuroo nodded in response .

We managed to get on the train seconds before it left . While trying to catch my breath I leaned against the side wall of the train . " At least we won't need to warm up before practice " . My cousin was still playing on his phone when he spoke . I walked down the train a bit to get away from the two boys , so I could call Rel . It seemed like when she called me yesterday she wanted to tell me something else .

" Ye what's up " Rel's face on the screen looked nervous . I sighed and began to speak " so yesterday , there seemed to be something more you were gonna tell me " Her expression sighed and she replied " you really want to know " I nodded egar to find out which is when she responded " who's that " Looking to my left I saw Kuroo's close up smile . I breathed out in shock .

After apologizing to Rel for what happened with Kuroo I agreed that I'd call her back later . I gave the spiky haired kid an annoyed look . Which he laughed at . Shaking my head at his actions I walked over to where my cousin was standing .

Time skip After school , before practice

Me and Kenma were walking to the gym together . As we ran into each other on our way there . Kuroo ran up behind us “ Hey pudding , Ash “ When he said my name he smiled at me and I started to blush . While laughing at my rosy cheeks , Kuroo reached out to pat my head . I glared back in confusion .

When I went to sit down I put both my earphones in and called Rel . “ don’t worry the weird guy's not around now “ My friend nodded and decided to speak . “ I guess you want to know what i was gonna tell you earlier then “ After a while of Rel trying to change the subject and failing she finally admitted what it was . “ this may sound like a weird time to say this but i do and have always had feelings for you “ She paused to see my shocked reaction , then continued “ i love you Ash “

I sat on the floor at the side of the room , looking at my phone with a confused face . The volleyball team was practicing around me . “ Ash “ Rel’s voice whispered through the phone . Then I swallowed and replied “ just give me some time to think about it “ She nodded and the call ended .

All the time at school she had held onto those feelings and I didn't notice . I didn’t notice that someone so close to me felt that way .

I took my earphones out, stood up quickly and let out a deep breath . Kuroo started walking over to me with a worried expression . “ Ash are you alright “ For the first time in a while I felt I was able to share my thoughts . Even with the annoying captain . I shook my head and Kuroo gently wrapped his arms around me . 

"Keep on practicing guys I'll be back in a minute " I looked at Kuroo confused as he walked me out of the gym .

I don't have a clue what he's doing . But I never do , he's just so confusing . Kuroo looked at me calmly . Then he spoke " girl trouble " Shrugging my shoulders , I sighed " kinda " He hummed and the corner of his mouth slanted up into a creepy smirk .

So I started to explain to him about Rel and how she stopped talking to me for like a week . " And she just confessed her feelings " Kuroo looked like he had a relieved expression on his face . This began to confuse me .

After our talk Kuroo walked into the gym with a smile on his face . But there was a clear hint of worry behind it .

The only possible answer could be that he likes me . But could that really be true .