𝐆𝐀𝐍𝐘𝐌𝐄𝐃𝐄 (𝐓.𝐊𝐄𝐈 𝐗 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐄𝐑)

[.𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟓.]

ganymede : chapter 5

"you know, i think that math after eighth grade gets kind of... pointless," you pointed out, running your finger over the smooth pages of your math notebook. all of the energy you had this morning was drained out as soon as you entered the library after school, bags heavy with the burden of a bad score on your recent math test. 

"it depends. if there's no point in using it, why would they teach it? then again, maybe you're too stupid to understand," tsukishima shrugged, a small sneer appearing on his face. you sighed, rubbing your eyes as you pushed away the homework you had laid out on the table. 

"can you ever read a room, hm? obviously i'm annoyed, so don't push my buttons," you warned. 

when you texted tsukishima, he was more fun to talk to. you took his insults with a grain of salt, not really taking anything to heart of what he said. he probably didn't mean much of it, anyways. but talking to him in person was different - he seemed much more... scary? well, not exactly scary. just more annoying. 

nevertheless, you were determined to break through that ice shell around ganymede. maybe there would be something warm inside (in the real moon, under the shell lied metal. was metal warm?)

"hey, are you listening?" his stern voice brought you back to reality. 

"sorry. you know, you're more fun to text than to talk to."

"oh really? i don't remember asking," tsukishima said, taking out his phone as it buzzed for the fifth time that minute. 

"okay. anyways, who's texting you that much? do you have a girlfriend?" you asked, leaning back in your chair as far as it would go. usually you weren't this chatty, but someone was going to have to do the heavy lifting if this friendship was going to blossom. and tsukishima didn't seem to have any visible muscle on him, so you took the responsibility of breaking out of your comfort zone to socialize. 

"pfft, no. it's my friend, yamaguchi," he said, scoffing. 

"my bad. i shouldn't have assumed that a girl would ever want to go out with you," you teased, trying to copy how yua socialized with people. 

"who said that girls don't want to go out with me?" tsukishima asked, his honey eyes glaring at you. a small part of you wondered if you went too far, but then again... this was a boy who basically bullied people for his own ego and enjoyment (or so you figured). 

"nevermind," you mumbled. "can we end it early? i want to get meat buns at the store."

"... no. we can't end it early. what do you not understand?" he asked, his shoulders sagging down. then, a very very soft voice escaped him, barely audible, and it mumbled something along the lines of, "i'll try to help."

"hm? what did you say?" you grinned, hoping that maybe he was starting to warm up to you. 

"i asked you why you're so dumb," he frowned. "what do you not understand?"

and so, you and tsukishima kei sat in the back of the library, the afternoon sun gleaming through the windows as slowly but surely you started grasping the concept of algebra 2. but little did you know that tsukishima kei was thinking very hard about something unrelated to math. he was thinking about his feelings, and that little spark of small enjoyment when he saw you retorting his insults with such ease. he felt comfortable in your presence, for some reason he couldn't name. 

but, just like he always did, he made sure to push those feelings away with a pissed expression on his face. 

"alright, that's it for today," he finally said, packing up the books. 

"great. thanks, tsukki," you said, standing up and stretching. maybe you'd see hinata at the store again, and maybe you two could talk about tsukishima. 

"what?"

"hm?"

"what did you call me?"

"tsukki- oh. sorry, tsukishima," you corrected yourself, a small yawn creeping up on your face. you didn't think much of it - it was an honest mistake. 

tsukishima didn't know how to respond, so he just did what he did best. 

"idiot," he mumbled under his breath, pushing past you and heading out of the library. a tall, green-haired boy was pacing around outside, and as soon as he saw tsukishima, they walked home together. you'd never seen him before, but you safely assumed that that was yamaguchi. 

you walked to the store, a small skip gracing your steps this time. maybe today you had been able to crack a bit of the shell, proven by the helpful nature of tsukishima today. this was a good start - and obviously, once ice had been cracked, there was no going back. 

---

tsukishima kei

y/n:
hey just wanted to say
thanks for helping me today
homework was actually easy today

tsukishima:
k cool

y/n:
wow so loving
anyways
next time i get meat buns do you
wanna come with?
there are some volleyball boys who are
always there - are they ur friends?

tsukishima:
god no
i can tell ur talking about hinata ugh

y/n:
ohh so you do know them
alr alr
n e wayzzz wanna come next time?
you can bring ur friend too

tsukishima:
no

y/n:
smhh why??

tsukishima:
i dont like u
or hinata
or the meat bun boys

y/n:
ouch
my heart, tsukki

tsukishima:
dont call me that
seriously
it's only for close friends

y/n:
me calling you tsukki goes to show
that we're great friends
so come get meatbuns w me next time yeah?

tsukishima:
i have a feeling you won't stop pestering 
until i decide to go with you
so fine
but im bringing yamaguchi

y/n:
fine w me

seen

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a/n: short chapter bc im feeling lazy,, im gonna start pacing it a bit faster, but hopefully still with the same quality writing :))