The Exposition
Kenji Sato x Journalist! Reader
Enemies To Lovers | Forced Proximity | Pining
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“I don’t think they’re ready for the fall, had a little, and now she wants more. Told her I gotta make some calls, This just might be one hell of a night”. - The Walls by Chase Atlantic
⁺˚•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙˚⁺‧͙⁺˚•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙˚⁺‧͙⁺˚•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙˚⁺‧͙⁺˚•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙˚⁺‧͙⁺˚•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙˚⁺‧͙⁺˚•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙˚⁺‧͙⁺˚•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙˚⁺‧͙⁺
The sports section has always been your favorite part of the newspaper. Reading about athletes making history was so inspiring. This is what ignited your interest in sports journalism. You’d get involved in the school newspaper in high school, almost covering all the sports. You were always on a high, but it came crashing down when you entered college. Entering the Daily Bugle as the only female reporter has its downside. Your male peers would always look down on you, trying to discourage you from touching sports. Quoting your editor in chief, “Leave the sports reporting to the men who take it seriously, and report on something simple, like the upcoming musical”. But you were determined to make your mark in the world as a sports journalist.
You were staring at your computer for the last ten minutes trying to figure out the perfect conclusion for the basketball article. Your eyes wondered towards the time on the upper right hand corner.
4:40 pm
“I’ll finish it during english”.
You shut off your laptop and slid it in your bag
Your evening class is on the other side of the college, and unfortunately, you don’t own a car or a scooter so you have to walk 15 minutes from your dorm to your designated building. On your way to your class, you would usually pass by the baseball field, where the baseball teams begins to prep for the season.
While walking by the baseball field, you hear the sound of baseballs being hit by bats, the whistles being blown by the coach and the players yelling at each other to run.
As you continue your walk down, you hear a baseball being whacked and cheers from other players.
“Way to go Sato”! One person cheered.
You see the baseball fly over the fence, but before you could move out of the way, everything went pitch black.
~
Moments later you wake up in a bright, unfamiliar room. Your head was pounding, and a cold pack was sitting on your forehead.
You try to sit up, but you felt too dizzy.
A woman, who you assume was the school medic, came up to you and helped you sit up.
“What happened”? You ask.
“Isn’t it obvious? You got hit with a baseball. You were out for almost 5 hours”. She said.
“Oh”. You look down, feeling embarrassed.
“Young lady, you shouldn’t be walking near the baseball field. Especially when there’s practice going on. You’re lucky it’s just a mild concussion”. The medic lectured you.
“It’s the only way I get to my class”. Then your stomach sinks. You look at the clock.
9:32 pm.
“Fuck, I missed the lecture”! You cussed in your head. And then the realization settles in.
“FUCK I MISSED THE DEADLINE”! You groaned while you bury your head in your hands. You can kiss your journalism dreams goodbye.
“I don’t care what excuse you have. I swear, you college kids are so careless. As soon as you’re able to, get out of my office and try to find a ride home”. She puts another ice pack onto your head and leaves you to wallow in your misery.
“Well, isn’t she delightful”. An unfamiliar voice says.
You look up to see a 6 ft tall guy with raven hair leaning against the door frame.
“Dorthy is usually snappy at this point. I wouldn’t take it personally”. He enters the room and approaches you.
“Can I help you”? You ask
“I wanted to apologize to you, for accidentally hitting you with that baseball”. He scratched his neck.
“Oh, so that was you”. You glared at the guy while fixing the ice pack on your head.
“Yeah, I guess my strength was too much”. He laughed, trying to lighten the mood. You were still unamused.
“It’s a little late, shouldn’t you be heading home”?
“I wanted to know if you were okay”.
“Aww how thoughtful”.
“I’m Kenji. Kenji Sato. Baseball rookie today, baseball legend tomorrow”. He brags.
“Kenji… aren’t you the same Kenji that scored 5 home runs in a row at that one game against Florida state two years ago”?
He smirks. “So you’re a fan”.
“Not really, but I remember it made headlines for the school paper . You’re pretty impressive for a freshman”.
“For a freshman huh”? He laughs.
“Hey, it’s a compliment pretty boy”. You lean back into the chair.
“You know, I never got your name pretty girl”.
“Y/N. Y/N L/N”. You extend your hand and Kenji shook it.
“Well Y/N. I want to make this up to you. Y’know, I haven’t had dinner yet. You maybe want to join me?”
“Sure. What do you have in mind”?
~
“Wait, so that was you who broke the dean’s window”? Your eyes widened.
“No one knows aside from my buddies on the team. Consider it an inside scoop”. Kenji winks.
The waiter sets down a pepperoni pizza down on the table. The smell of the sizzling meat and cheesy goodness reached both of your noses, making both of your mouths water.
You guys ate all of the pizza in under five minutes. More of Kenji eating everything considering his metabolism. A few minutes later, he pushed the dish aside and leaned back in his chair.
“So Y/N, why journalism? Specifically sports journalism”? He interogates.
“I used to be apart of the school newspaper back in high school. Something about watching the games and interviewing athletes has always peaked my interest. If you ask me, it’s better than reporting on politics or school plays”. You sipped on your water.
“Ahhh, so you’re nosy”.
“Y’know if it weren’t for us being nosy, you wouldn’t get your 15 minutes of fame”. You say, making Kenji chuckle
“So, any articles you’re working on”?
“Well, I wrote one on basketball team but I missed the deadline because somebody knocked me out with a baseball”.
Kenji shrunk down into his seat. “Sorry about that. Really”.
“Don’t worry, I usually don’t hold grudges.”
“Well look on the bright side, you got a new story”. He says.
“Aspiring journalist gets knocked out by the famed Kenji Sato”.
You laughed. “As much as that would make a really great story, nobody at that the Daily Bugle takes me seriously”. You sighed, playing with the straw inside your cup.
“How come”? He raised his eye brow.
“According to my editor, and to all the men at the daily bugle, “leave the sports to the men”. You quote.
“That sounds pretty toxic. You deserve a chance to show the world how crazy talented you are with words. You deserve better than that place you’re in Y/N”.
“As much as I want to, I’m willing to stay. I’m very determined to prove myself. Even if I have to get my hands dirty”.
“You are persistent”.
“I prefer ambitious”.
“I like ambitious women”.
“Sure you do”.
~
For the last few weeks, you kept seeing Kenji. He would walk you to your classes, bring you coffee when you had a bad day at the Daily Bugle. Whenever he didn’t have baseball practice, you two would either go out for dinner or hang out at your dorm. There was something about his company that never made you feel lonely.
You came to one of Kenji’s games. Not as a reporter, but as a supporter. Despite being a little sad that the editor will never let you write for the sports section, you showed up for Kenji.
“And here comes number 7, right on the bat”. The announcer says as he walked up to the home plate.
You watched in concentration as he got into position. Everyone’s eyes were on him, hoping he would bring them another win. The pitcher throws the ball and Kenji knocks the ball out of the park.
“AND ITS ANOTHER GRAND SLAM BY KENJI SATO! GIVING THE BUGLES ANOTHER WIN”! The announcer shouts into the microphone.
You cheered the loudest for Kenji as he ran through all of the bases. He made eye contact with you and winked at you, making you blush a bit.
~
You were leaning against the wall of the locker room, waiting for Kenji to come out. All of the baseball players were outside cheering and screaming like animals, celebrating another win.
“I didn’t expect you to come”. You hear Kenji say. He walked up to you, his duffle bag in one arm, and his helmet in another.
“I’m an aspiring sports journalist. Of course I’d show up”. You walk up to him.
“You played well today”.
“Thanks”
You and Kenji walk out of the stadium
“So, any plans after this”?
“Well”… You began to think. “I was thinking about heading back to my dorm, curl up in bed and watch TV”.
“Damn, I was planning on asking you if you wanted to come back to my place, but if it’s that important to you, then who am I to stop you”.
“Well, that also doesn’t sound like a bad idea. But shouldn’t you be with your team, celebrating”? You gestured to the group of men screaming like chimpanzees.
“I don’t usually go out with the team. Win or loose”. He puts his helmet on and walks over to his bike.
“Wow, didn’t take you as an introvert”.
Kenji turns in the ignition on his bike.
“Are you coming or not”?
~
You were at the kitchen in Kenji’s apartment fixing him a grilled cheese and popping a bottle of wine as a reward for Kenji’s hard work. As you set the grilled cheese on the plate, Kenji immediately grabs it and takes a bite.
“Wait, it’s still”- But before you could warn him, the burning sensation has already hit Kenji’s tongue. He yelps at the sudden burn. Tears well in the corner of his eye as he throws the grilled cheese back onto the paper plate.
“You should’ve waited for it to cool down”. You scolded.
“Hey, I’m just really hungry. Cut me some slack will you”? He says, drinking his wine.
“Awww are you crying”? You notice the tear threatening to slide off his face.
“What? I never cry”. He crosses his arms.
“It’s okay to cry every once in a while”. You laugh as you swipe the tear off with your thumb. He leans into your touch as his onyx eyes fixated onto your (eye color) orbs. He leans closer, both of your faces inches apart from each other. And out of the blue, Kenji’s lips landed onto yours. You kiss back, tasting the red wine aftertaste. He lifts you up on the counter, and you wrap your legs around him. The air around you gets hotter, as it turns into a male out session. The next thing you know, he carries you into his room and shuts the door behind him.
~
You woke up with the sun hitting your eyes. Realizing that you were not in your own room and not wearing any clothes, the panic begins to settles in. You tried but there was a strong grip around your waist You turn around to see Kenji sleeping peacefully next to you.
“Oh no, this is bad”. You panicked. If your peers at the Daily Bugle hear about you sleeping with an athlete, they’ll never take you seriously.
You slowly got out of bed, trying your best not to wake up Kenji. As you got out of his room, you were attempting to put your 3 inch heeled boots back on, accidentally kicking the wall in the process.
“Shit”. You muttered while putting on the other boot.
You quickly slipped out of Kenji’s apartment without waking him up, already arranging your ride home.
While waiting outside the apartment building, you remembered what Kenji said, about you deserve something better than the Daily Bugle. Kenji was there for you and now you’re just leaving him. Screw what everyone thought of you. You liked Kenji, and it’s clear that he might feel the same. You went back up to his apartment. When you were about to knock, you noticed the door was slightly open. Peeping through the crack, you see Kenji talking to another guy that was probably his roommate.
“Dude, what happened to you last night? You totally ditched the team again”! The guy asks.
“Let’s just say I scored another one last night”. Said Kenji.
“Oh shiii, Kenji you dog”! His roomate laughs. “Who was it? Was it Tiffany from sports psychology”?
“No”.
“Rosalie from the dance squad”?
“No. Hint: she’s apart of the Daily Bugle”.
It took his roommate a minute, then his eyes widened and his jaw dropped.
“SHIT YOU DID NOT”.
“I did”.
“You do realize people look down on stuff like this, it’s like an integrity thing”.
“I know, which is why that scores me double”.
“But if word goes out, the coach is gonna have your head”
“It’s not like anyone has to know, anyways she ran off before I could officially walk her out. I wasn’t too attached to her anyway”. Said Kenji.
“But don’t you still care about her”? His roomate asks, a bit of hope glimmered in your eyes.
“Pfft no, she’s some that I accidentally injured. I take her out for pizza one time and she still thinks I’m taking her seriously”. He laughs.
You stood there dumbfounded. The whole time Kenji was just using you to increase his body count?
Before you could hear any more of the conversation, you left the apartment building. You entered the taxi, tears threatening to spill. To think that a guy, let alone an athlete, actually respected you. You were stupid to believe that you had someone care about you.
A fire ignited in your belly that day. You were determined to prove all of the men wrong, to prove Kenji wrong. Even if it meant hurting him, and other people to get yourself on top.
⁺˚•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙˚⁺‧͙⁺˚•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙˚⁺‧͙⁺˚•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙˚⁺‧͙⁺˚•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙˚⁺‧͙⁺˚•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙˚⁺‧͙⁺˚•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙˚⁺‧͙⁺˚•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙˚⁺‧͙⁺
Likes, Comments and Reblogs are always appreciated!!
A/N: I had a posting schedule for the week, but due to wifi issues, posting will be every 1-2 days until I get back to the US
⁺˚•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙˚⁺‧͙⁺˚•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙˚⁺‧͙⁺˚•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙˚⁺‧͙⁺˚•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙˚⁺‧͙⁺˚•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙˚⁺‧͙⁺˚•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙˚⁺‧͙⁺˚•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙˚⁺‧͙⁺
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