bully!osamu, tsukishima, matsukawa, and sakusa feels as if every pencil scratch annoying his ear is a sign of arrogance as he watches his friend write down notes.
itâs a small cafe near the campus. he usually comes to the establishment to order his afternoon coffees to power through the night. and sometimes, when his acquaintance doesnât close at his part-time job, the two often study at the cafe and catch up on their daily lives.
theyâve already spoken about new updates, not much interesting coming from his friend while heâdecided to lie. his watch ticked and each passing moment pushed him further to ask. the only problem is, he didnât want to seem⊠desperate.
âthanks for returning my headphones by the way,â his eyes shifted away from the paper across from him and put his focus back on his laptop. the sudden white light reflected on his study glasses as his friend glanced up at him.
the other male hummed in slight confusion that the man in front of him had broken the silent rule during study sessions. âyeah no problem. you should really be thanking the girl next door by your dorm though. she was the one that technically gave you back your headphones.â
his fingers typed on his laptop trying to keep his poker face on. ââŠyeah.â
âhm?â his friend raised a brow. âwhy so dry?â and proceeded to let out a chuckle.
the annoyed male didnât bother to look back up at him. ânothing,â he said.
âyou just never bothered to tell me sheâs a real bitch.â
his friendâs eyes widened from the sudden insult. his laugh almost sounded like hollering, not expecting such vile words coming out from hisâusually, stoic senior.
âheyyy, why so malicious all of a sudden,â he continued snickering.
âi thought she was honestly pretty cute, whatâd she even do when she gave you back your headphones?
ââŠshe talked too damn much. not a great feature of hers especially with her condescending tone.â
though it wasnât completely a lie that he told, he couldnât muster up the guts to expose any past behaviours he did. the world would crumble if he ever told anybody that the both of you actually know each other from high school.
âyeah? well good luck with that. turns out her program is going overseas with you.â
almost as if a threat was said to him, his head snapped up with horror in his eyes. his friend noticed his change of emotions and raised his brows in astonishment.
âwhat? you donât know? the school is setting up a program where you can get an extra credit in [desired choice of course] and your course. youâre gonna travel to hong kong for outside experience.â
âwhat?â he let out in shock, âwhen the hell was this mentioned?â his body leaned forward in absolute shock, he was given no warning from none of his classmates and hadnât even bothered checking his email.
his friend leaned back on his chair relaxed, still not understanding why the other man in front of him was internally freaking out. if he were in his position, heâd be very excited.
âlast week dude!â he exclaimed like it was common sense, âyour professor talked about it when you skipped class that one day. you werenât even sick either when he asked me to visit you!â
he was at a lost for words, stuttering on thin plain air like his throat was caught in a bush of thrones. his head was caught up in the clouds that day after the intense interaction he had with you. he decided to skip the next day as his thoughts were running wild. each time he closed his eyes during that week, he could still see the tremble of your lips glistening in his pupils.
he should have never skipped that one fucking day. one, it emphasized in his head.
his friend waited for him to say anything with furrowed brows. but when nothing came out after waiting for what seemed like minutes, he shook his head sighing and going back to writing down notes.
âwell, tell me how the trip goes man⊠i wish i could go to hong kongâŠâ he muttered the last few words.
it felt like you were barely at your new school and youâre already leaving to go to hong kong. your professor explained that it was common to have programs do co-ops in nearby countries. this time, they had chosen hong kong since they were accepting international students to help in [desired course] with other customers/workers. he did also mention another program weâre to be joining on the flight to hong kong but you didnât have any knowledge to whom was in that class.
to you, it was exciting. you get to board a somewhat free flight (you still had to pay what you assumed to be half price of the ticket), free hotel service and food, and experience in your course. any outside activities had to come out of your own pocket but you were already guessing that would be the case.
however, because you still lacked many acquaintances, you still didnât know many in your program. perhaps this trip will help you find new people.
your laptop in front of you loaded a screen that displayed âthank you for your payment!â and your saving account with now -„32000. the bed you sat on felt comfortable more than ever. a fuzzy feeling erupted in your stomach that you were going to travel to hong kong in about 2 months from now. though it may seem far, you know the deadline to pack will hit you like a truck just like when you first moved into this college/university.
however, as he sat down in his chair, clicking away at his computer, he debated if it was really worth it. the payment now lit on his screen as successful and deep down inside, he could feel something shower over him that just next doorâyou may also be experiencing the same.
the following weeks went quiet. he had bumped into you a couple of times in the morning whenever the both of you had morning classes. heâd often see you glance at him as youâd lock your door only to travel the opposite side from where he was headed, then look away from your figure slinging his bag to his back.
sometimes, itâd be in the library. heâd try not to make it seem like heâd notice you but there would always be a lingering feeling on your back as you sat on one of the couches. other than that, he continued to hear your little laughs and conversations through the thin walls in his dorms. he eventually figured out both your beds were placed right beside each other, with only a wall separating you both. he wonders how long itâll take for you to figure it out.
but the best part to him, he hasnât heard any rumours about his past. he agrees that it may just be because heâs in college/university now, and not many people do not care for secrets and drama. but, he canât help but to hope that you never actually did tell anyone due to his observationsâhe never sees you with any friends. he assumed all of them just may be from your last school because of the continuous phone calls you have.
and now, it confirms his theory as the classroom slowly fills up and nobody ends up sitting beside you.
an email was sent out for all of the students that were going to the hong kong trip, a simple quick meeting about seatings and plans at the hotel. he had gone early due to his class being in the same lecture room. his seat in the mid levels, allowing him to witness the people attending the same trip as him. and the first person you immediately recognized, was him.
your heart had dropped to your ass the moment you locked eyes.
you prayed this was his last class and was just going to pack up, but he remained sitting behind you each time you tried to slyly check if he were still there.
you couldnât believe it, you were going to be stuck in even closer proximity with him.
the walk back to your dorm wing was awkward. slowly, the people exiting the lecture room decreased until you were now walking behind him in an empty hall with a good distance between. the silence was deafening and your headphones werenât doing a good job at covering it up either.
you noticed his footsteps becoming slower, till finallyâhe turned around to face you.
you didnât know how to react and ended up looking back him for the first time in weeks. memories of his musky cologne clouding your thoughts and hot breaths kissing your face. you could die on spot.
ââŠstop walking behind me. just go in front of me. your stare is burning holes in my back.â
your breathing quickened when you realized you had been caught. your throat wrapped around in strings trying to cough out any words that popped up in your head.
you blinked away walking past him, pushing away any thoughts from the last couple of weeks that went by. âwhatever.â
he now resumed his walking speed just trailing behind you now, almost as if he were trying to walk with you.
âhong kong still wonât be an opportunity for you to resolve this problem.â
he rolled his eyes at your response. your feet fastened, no longer standing the fact that you were even this close to him. his continued to follow.
âwhich is why iâm doing it for my studies. donât think everything is about you,â he remarked.
âsay that when you can finally get your eyes off of me,â and as soon as you turned your head, he was indeed staring back at you. his eyes immediately widened slightly, heat creeping to his face as he had been caught. embarrassed he was, but yetâhe tilted his head in a mocking manner. just like how he used to do.
âlooks like you canât either,â his lips barely cured into a smirk. but after reading his face for many years, you noticed immediately. he was being cocky again.
you turned away finally reaching your dorm. your face now hot and frustrated that he had managed to return back to his shitty behaviour. it was more toned down now that you were both older. but still, you wonât take his shit even if was barely microscopic. you unlocked the door quickly and shut it from any further conversation.
now, it felt like hong kong was a doom date planted on your calendar.
a twist of events because i have plans of bully!osamu, tsukishima, matsukawa, and sakusa interacting with you on the plane to hong kong *wink* *wink* *smirk*
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