compliment
haiba alisa x m!reader
alisa experiences total hardware failure because you told her she looked pretty. w/c: 1.7k, college btw :3
haiba alisa was a walking skyscraper of confidence, a shimmering monument to the haiba genes that decreed every member of her bloodline must be at least fifty percent legs and one hundred percent dramatic. to the average passerby in tokyo, she was a poised, ethereal beauty with eyes like emeralds and a laugh that sounded like expensive wind chimes. she carried herself with the terrifying grace of a panther on a runway, projecting an aura of “i have never been embarrassed a single day in my life.”
in reality, alisa was held together by scotch tape, shoujo manga delusions, and a level of yearning for you that could power a small metropolitan city for a decade.
she prided herself on being the “cool” one. while her brother lev was a literal golden retriever in human form, crashing into walls and shouting about volleyball, alisa liked to think she was sophisticated. she had a routine. she would find you, she would lean against a wall with a practiced, nonchalant tilt of her head, and she would toss out a playful jab about your messy hair or your questionable choice in snacks. it was a foolproof shield. as long as she was teasing you, she was in control. as long as it was a “joke,” her heart wouldn’t actually eject itself from her ribcage and go skittering across the pavement like a panicked crab.
but today, the shield had a hairline fracture.
it started at the small cafe near the train station. you were sitting across from her, squinting at a menu, the afternoon sun catching the bridge of your nose and making your eyes look particularly warm. alisa was halfway through a sentence, probably something about how your new hoodie made you look like a very cozy potato, when you looked up.
usually, you laughed along. usually, you’d fire back with a quip about her height or her flamboyant fashion sense. but this time, you didn’t. you just looked at her, truly looked at her, with a softness that felt like being wrapped in a cashmere blanket that had been sitting in the sun.
“actually, alisa,” you said, your voice dropping into a register that made her toes curl inside her fashionable boots, “i was thinking earlier… that shade of green really suits you. it makes you look absolutely radiant. i’m lucky i get to sit across from you.”
the world stopped. the clinking of ceramic cups faded into a dull hum. the air in the cafe suddenly felt as thick as honey.
alisa’s brain, usually a high-speed processor of witty comebacks and modeling poses, hit a catastrophic blue screen of death. the “cool girl” facade didn’t just crumble; it disintegrated into fine dust. her pupils dilated until her eyes were mostly black, and a flush started at the base of her throat, racing up her neck like a wildfire until her ears were glowing a vibrant, radioactive crimson.
“i—” she started. her voice cracked, an octave higher than usual. “the—green? lucky?”
she didn’t look at you. she couldn’t. if she made eye contact with you right now, she was certain she would actually liquefy and seep into the floorboards. instead, she became intensely, violently interested in a napkin. she began folding it. then unfolding it. then shredding it into microscopic confetti with the precision of a master surgeon.
“alisa? you okay?” you asked, leaning forward.
she recoiled as if you had just brandished a holy cross at a vampire. “fine! spectacularly fine! flourishing! i simply remembered that i have a very important appointment with… my dog—uh—brother! goodbye!”
she bolted. she marched with the stiff-legged intensity of a toy soldier, her silver hair whipping behind her as she fled the cafe. you were left holding a half-finished latte and wondering if you had accidentally insulted her ancestors.
three hours later, alisa was face-down on her bed, screaming into a pillow.
“he’s a menace,” she muffled into the fabric, her legs kicking rhythmically. “he’s a biological weapon designed to dismantle my entire personality. who allowed him to have that voice? it’s illegal. it’s a felony. i’m calling the police. i’m calling the prime minister.”
she rolled over, staring at her ceiling with wide, unblinking eyes. her heart was still doing a drum solo against her sternum. the way you had said radiant… it felt like you had reached into her chest and manually recalibrated her soul. she felt like a puddle of melted strawberry ice cream. she was completely, utterly, and embarrassingly leveled by twelve words and a sincere expression.
lev poked his head into her room, chewing on a meat bun. “hey, sis, why is your face the color of a fire truck? did you get a sunburn indoors?”
“leave me to perish, lev,” she groaned, throwing a stuffed lion at him. “i’m undergoing a spiritual transformation. i’m becoming one with the floor.”
“did y/n say something nice to you again?” lev grinned, dodging the lion. “you’re so easy to read. you look like you got hit by a bus made of sugar.”
“out!” she shrieked, burying her face back in the pillow.
the problem was that alisa didn’t just like you. she was submerged in you. she was at the bottom of the marianas trench of affection, and she had no intention of swimming back up for air. every time you texted her, she stared at the notification for ten minutes, composing a response that sounded “breezy” before deleting it and sending a single emoji because she was too overwhelmed to function. she had a mental gallery of every time you’d pushed your hair back or laughed so hard you snorted. she was a goner. a total, absolute goner.
the next morning, she tried to reset. she spent an extra twenty minutes on her eyeliner, telling her reflection that she was a queen, a goddess, a woman of substance who would not be rattled by a simple compliment.
she saw you near the school gates. you were leaning against the fence, checking your phone. the sight of you made her knees feel like they were made of jelly, but she steeled herself. she would be casual. she would be aloof.
“morning,” she said, gliding up to you. she managed to keep her eyes fixed on a point approximately three inches above your left ear. “did you manage to survive the cafe? you looked quite lonely after i had to depart so suddenly for my… international business meeting.”
you chuckled, and the sound sent a physical shiver down her spine. “international business meeting, huh? is that what we’re calling ‘running away from a compliment’ now?”
alisa’s resolve flickered. “i didn’t run. i sashayed. there’s a difference.”
you stepped closer, invading her personal bubble with the casual ease of someone who didn’t realize they were currently standing in the center of someone else’s entire universe. you reached out, gently tucking a stray strand of silver hair behind her ear. your fingers brushed against her skin for a fraction of a second, but to alisa, it felt like a lightning strike.
“well, you’re still looking radiant today,” you said softly. “even if you can’t look me in the eye.”
alisa’s brain didn’t just short-circuit this time; the entire power grid blew out. she froze. her eyes drifted down to your chin, then to your shoes, then to a particularly interesting pebble on the ground. she felt the heat rising again, a tidal wave of pink crashing over her cheeks.
“i have to go to class,” she squeaked. “class is… happening. in the building. with the books. farewell, y/n.”
she spent the entire first period hiding behind her textbook, her face still smoldering. she couldn’t focus on math. the numbers on the board were just spinning into the shape of your smile. she was a high-fashion model who could walk in six-inch heels without breaking a sweat, yet she couldn’t handle a boy telling her she looked nice without turning into a vibrating heap of nerves.
it was pathetic. it was wonderful. it was the most terrifying thing she had ever experienced.
during lunch, she tried to hide in the library, tucked away in the back corner of the fiction section. she figured she was safe there. she could sit among the dusty books and pretend her heart wasn’t trying to stage a coup.
then, the chair next to her pulled out.
it was you. of course it was you. you were like a heat-seeking missile for her sanity. you set a small container of strawberries on the table between you.
“i brought these for you,” you whispered, mindful of the library’s quiet. “since you didn’t get to finish your snack yesterday.”
alisa stared at the strawberries. they were bright red, plump, and perfect—much like her face at that exact moment. she dared to sneak a glance at you. you were watching her with such genuine, unadulterated fondness that it felt like a physical weight on her chest. it wasn’t a joke. you weren’t teasing her. you really, truly liked her.
the realization hit her with the force of a freight train.
her hand trembled slightly as she reached for a strawberry. “you’re… you’re really quite persistent, aren’t you?”
“only for the things that matter,” you replied, your voice a low, steady thrum.
alisa finally looked at you. her emerald eyes were wide, watery, and shimmering with a vulnerability she usually kept locked behind seven layers of sarcasm.
she didn’t look away. she held your gaze for three whole seconds, a personal record, before her courage buckled and she hid her face in her hands, her muffled voice escaping through her fingers.
“you are so unfair,” she wailed quietly. “how am i supposed to stay cool when you keep saying things like that? you’re ruining my reputation. i’m supposed to be the mysterious one. i’m supposed to be the one making you blush!”
you reached over, gently pulling her hands away from her face.
“i think i like this version of you better,” you said. “the one who gets flustered because she knows how much i care about her.”
alisa let out a tiny, high-pitched noise that sounded suspiciously like a teapot coming to a boil. she leaned her forehead against your shoulder, hiding her face in the crook of your neck.
“if you tell lev about this,” she muttered into your shirt, “i will move to another country and change my name. i will become a goat herder in the swiss alps. i will never be seen again.”
you laughed, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her closer.
“your secret is safe with me, alisa.”
she stayed there for a long time.
as the bell rang for the next period, she finally pulled back, smiling properly for the first time that day. she leaned in, pressed a lightning-fast kiss to your cheek, and spun away.
“see you after school!”
you watched her go, touching your cheek where her lips had been.
she might have been the one falling apart, but you were already just as gone.
n: 😝😝 happy valentines day boy @kkenaori - will post more later !!
alisa’s taglist
@katzline @forgottensniper @fiannee @eri0-0 @lazyruinsperson
© showhay — don’t copy nor translate without my permission. i do not own any of the photos that i have used. credits to all the rightful owners !
iloveu
