13

Tendou pouted at Ohira. "Why can't we come along with?!"

Semi glared at him. "Can you just shut up for once in your life? We're trying to spy on them, not make them know we're watching!" In his hands were binoculars.

"Wait, is anything even going to happen between the two? I mean, this is Ushijima Wakatoshi? The one who only thinks about two things- studying and volleyball?" Yamagata questioned, narrowing his eyes.

Soekawa rubbed his chin. "Yamagata is right… We should leave. This isn't worth teasing Ushijima." He tried to stand up but got pulled back down by Ohira and Semi.

"You're going to blow our cover!" Ohira shouted in a whisper.

"But I wanna go there with them!" Tendou complained, pointing at the two people they were watching.

"And what are four of you doing?" The four jumped at the sound of a feminine, accusing voice. They turned to meet the red-eyed gaze of a certain girl.

"Oh, nothing…just sightseeing…" Semi whistled, looking through his binoculars.

The girl rose a brow. "In the bushes?"

Ohira laughed, nodding. "Yes, of course. Why else would we be here?" He whistled along with Semi, looking through the bushes.

Tendou grabbed the girl's arms, dramatic tears in the corner of his eyes. "Hoshi, why can't I go with Ushijima and his girlfriend?!"

Yoshikami froze. She looked up from the bushes and there she saw- arms locked with the tall 1st year was a black-haired girl. Her jaw dropped.

"U…Ushijima…Ushijima-kun has…a girlfriend?" She sputtered out in shock.

Ohira groaned, rolling his eyes. He pulled the short girl to join them. "I know. We were just practicing as usual when she came in and introduced herself as Ushijima's girlfriend!" He looked over to Semi. "What are they doing now?"

Semi brushed him off. "They're just standing there, talking. Ushijima has his usual bitch face. The girl looks…sad? I don't know. Can't really see from here."

Soekawa rolled his eyes. He grabbed the binoculars from Semi's hands. "Let me look. I know the guy better than all of you." He looked through, but the binoculars were snatched from his hands.

Ohira narrowed his eyes. "I'm pretty sure I know him better. We're in the same class." He looked through and gasped.

Tendou grabbed his shoulders. "What? What's happening?"

Yamagata looked around to see if anyone was watching them. But then he realized that one of them was missing. "Yo, where's Yoshikami?" Semi and Soekawa looked at each other wide-eyed. They peeked through the bushes and there, definitely, walking towards Ushijima and the girl was Yoshikami.

"Ohira, why didn't you say anything?!" Soekawa panicked.

The dark-skinned teen opened his mouth then closed it, opened his mouth again, the closed it.

"Say something!" Semi shook the guy.

"Th…They're just talking?" Ohira finally said, furrowing his brows.

Tendou raised his head above the bushes then looked down at his friends. "Yea, they are!" Semi and Yamagata pulled him back down.

Yoshikami pursed her lips, striding over to Ushijima and the girl. Her heart ached, but she had to push it off. It's not like she liked the guy. Still the pain stayed.

"Ushijima-san, and miss." She bowed, greeting them.

"Y…Yoshikami." He stuttered, covering half of his face with the palm of his hand.

The girl faced her and smiled. "Hello."

Yoshikami raised her head and smiled back. "My name is Yoshikami Hoshi. Sorry for disturbing, but I…" The short girl realized that she headed there for no reason. She blushed and stuttered out. "…I…just needed Ushijima-san for something." She bowed at Ushijima. "I'll be waiting for you at the gate." She left before she could even hear the girl speak another word.

It hurt. Her chest hurts and she doesn't know why. The girl was pretty. No, scratch that, beautiful. The girl was beautiful. She had silky, long black hair. It enhanced her hazel eyes, making them shine. She was tall as well, unlike her. Thin as well. Her clothes were really expensive too.

Ah. She felt water hit her cheek. Her finger brushed it off, but more kept dripping on her face. She realized she stopped running. So, she continued even with water still pouring on her.

Ushijima watched her leave. His eyes never left her figure.

"Well, wasn't she short? I can't believe that this prestigious institute accepts freaks like her." Ushijima froze at her words. His eyes flickered to the girl beside him. He knew who she was. "Anyway, our destined meeting was supposed to be in a few more weeks. But I wanted to meet you before then." She smiled up at him. "You're better than the picture."

He glared at her. "She's not a freak."

The girl's eyes widened in shock at the words. But it narrowed back. She scoffed, scrunching her nose in disgust. "I heard of people like her. White hair, red eyes. She's a demon. That's what the doctors call freaks like her." She laughed haughtily. "Not only that, she's got dwarfism running in her blood."

With each word that came out of her mouth, Ushijima felt more and more irritated by her. Something boiling in the pit of his stomach- he didn't know what it is but it only fueled his irritation. "I think my mother made a mistake."

The girl's eyes widened. "Wh…What's that supposed to mean? We've been destined together since we were children, Wakatoshi." She grabbed his hand. It only made him want to push her away.

"That girl you called a freak…" Ushijima snarled. He kept his glare steady. "…she is my friend." He snapped his hand out of hers and walked away. "I'll make sure this engagement is gone." He walked away from her without looking back.

"Wh...What?!"

The four guys hid themselves deeper into the bushes as Ushijima passed them.

Soekawa whispered. "I think the girl just got rejected…" The rest of the guys nodded in agreement.

"Ah!" An ear-splitting shriek echoed. The boys covered their ears in pain. "That jerk! Just because he's handsome doesn't mean anything he can reject me like this!" The girl kept cursing, passing the bushes.

Tendou eyed her. "I don't like her…"

Yoshikami finally stopped running after a while. She was breathless, but she felt fine after that. She looked around, realizing she wasn't by the gate. She had run back to the classroom. She shook her head and slid the door open.

"I'll just wait here until its dark…" She reassured herself and went to her desk. The pain lingered in her chest, but it wasn't as painful as before.

What was she thinking crying? After seeing them, somehow, she was shot in the chest. It hurt a lot earlier. But thinking about it, she and Ushijima were just friends. So, why did she feel so hurt?

She sighed, placing her forehead on her desk. She doesn't really understand it either. She never felt this way before.

Maybe, just maybe, she had a crush on Ushijima? She blushed just thinking about it. It would make sense now. Ushijima had her back all this time, after all, through his cold, nonchalant ways. His bluntness really made her happy because he was honest.

She smiled at the memory of him telling her she was too weak and pathetic. She was insulted. Still it was true so she was happy at his honesty. He never sugarcoated his words.

He just looked at her the way she was, and never treated her like a fragile object.

She giggled.

"You said you'd be at the gate." Yoshikami jumped hearing Ushijima's voice. Her wide eyes flickered to the door and were locked in his.

She spluttered out without looking away. "I just found myself here, I guess."

Ushijima sighed. "What was it that you wanted to tell me?" He walked in and leaned on the desk beside her.

Yoshikami then realized it would be the perfect time to tell him. Even if he had a girlfriend, she'd regret it not telling him her feelings.

She clenched her fists. "W…Well…" She looked down at her lap. Her heartbeat was racing now. The blood made her face feel hot. She took a deep breath. This was her chance. "Ushijima-san…"

"It's Ushijima-kun." He cut her off.

Her heart lurched up her through. She looked at him and finally noticed he was looking straight at her with a gaze filled with worry. She gulped. "Ush…Ushijima-kun, there is something…I want to tell you." Her finger twirled a lock of her hair around as she searched for the words. "I…I like you." She said it! She finally said it! She closed her eyes shut, waiting for his rejection.

Ushijima felt it. The lurch of his heart. It jumped hearing what she just said. But his brows furrowed in confusion. "Define like." He didn't understand what she meant so he asked.

Yoshikami felt like crying now. He wanted her to explain, of course! It's the blunt Ushijima- of course, he didn't understand. She took another deep breath.

"Like…how you think of volleyball. That's…" She gulped. "…how much I like you." Hesitantly, she looked up and froze. The intensity in his eyes made her heart twist in pain. "Ushijima-kun?" She whispered.

Ushijima couldn't find the words to tell her. He was shocked, frozen on his seat. He needed to respond to her confession. And honestly, he didn't even know he liked her the way she liked him.

But he had to say something. That's when he realized what he needed to do.

He never did something like it before, but he did it without an ounce of hesitation. Her wide, red eyes had pulled him in too deep.

And once it happened, he didn't regret his decision.