Chapter Text
“Hey, Y/N, what grade did you get?” Your friend, Sakura, asks the moment your chemistry teacher leaves the classroom after distributing the graded tests between your classmates. The moment you saw the red numbers written on the top of the page, you immediately turned it upside down and tried your best to hide it, protecting it with your body.
“I’m not telling you.” You answer, a big pout on your lips. You’ve never been the best student at chemistry, but lately your grades only seem to plummet, no matter how much you study at home or pay attention in class. Everything seems too confusing in your head, numbers and letters crashing onto each other, and ultimately, your study sessions are rendered fruitless.
“C’mon!” She continues, her loud voice gathering the attention of fellow classmates. When they turn to look at you, you hide your head in between your arms. “It can’t be that bad.” She looks at you with a big, innocent smile on her face. You consider just handing her the test so she can see for herself, but you know her too well. Her shocked expression would give your grade away.
“Just forget about it, ok?” You plead, hoping for her understanding.
“I won’t!” She continues stubbornly, raising her arms in a childish tantrum. You sigh, unsure of what to do.
“Did Chibi-chan get a bad grade?” You don’t need to lift your head to know who approached your table; only one person calls you by that annoying nickname: Kuroo Tetsurou, your fellow classmate, captain of the Nekoma volleyball team, and lastly, and much to your demise, your crush. Not that he would know about it, of course; you’ve kept your crush well hidden for the past few months, despite the growing proximity between you two.
“She won’t tell me!” Sakura answers when you remain quiet, head still laying on top of the table. Kuroo hums in thought, somewhat amused, before answering.
“If she doesn’t want you to know, then it must be really bad.” He chuckles, his words making Sakura gasp out loud, as if such a thing had never occurred to her.
“Hey!” You sit up straight, ready to retort his statement, but when you meet his eyes and watch a smirk flourish on his lips, you find yourself wordless. You look away, trying to think of what to say. “So what if I got a bad grade?” You say in defeat, looking out the window.
“I could help you!” Sakura jumps in, excitement written all over her face before her smile is replaced by a frown. “I mean… I barely made it through this one...” She moves her fingers in front of her in embarrassment.
“It’s ok, Sakura. I appreciate the offer though.” You try to console her with a hand on her shoulder. Happiness comes quickly to her once she notices that you’re not upset, and she then proceeds to run away to ask someone else about their grade.
Kuroo takes the opportunity to sit next to you now that Sakura’s chair is free. “Is it that bad?” He inquires, the sudden seriousness making you feel flustered.
“It’s just that...” You begin to explain, but with his attention focused only on you, words don’t come by easily. “The more I seem to study, the worse my grades get. Everything’s just so confusing.” When you look at him, you find him with a smirk on his face, chin resting on the palm on his hand. “What’s so funny?” You ask defensively, ready to retaliate whichever joke or playful insult he throws your way.
“I can help you.” Well, you certainly weren’t expecting that.
“What?” You ask.
“I’ll help you.” He repeats before getting up, moving to stand in front of your desk. “I’ll be your tutor.” You can only blink as an answer, brain working hard to process his statements. “We can study after my volleyball practice. Does that work for you?”
You find yourself nodding before you become aware of it, almost as if his eyes were hypnotizing.
“I’ll see you later then.” He winks before walking away, returning to his seat in the front of the class. Wait , you think. Where are we supposed to meet? You’re about to ask him when your English teacher walks into the classroom, rendering you speechless as the lesson begins.
The sunset blinds you momentarily as you exit the building, saying goodbye to your fellow club members before walking towards the school gate, ready to head home and change into your pajamas. Your plans seem to take a turn, however, when you spot Kuroo leaning his weight on the wall, arms crossed in front of his chest before coming to join you.
You immediately notice the lack of his uniform tie and that the top buttons of his white shirt are undone, revealing his neck and collarbones. Your cheeks warm up at the sight before you force yourself to look away.
“What are you doing here?” You ask once he’s close enough to you.
“You didn’t think you were gonna escape your chemistry lesson, right? Especially after I so kindly offered my tutoring?” He says playfully, hands rising to meet his chest as he starts to walk beside you.
“Yeah, well,” You begin after rolling your eyes, trying to keep your smile hidden. “You didn’t tell me we were supposed to meet at the gate.”
“I do things my way.” He teases, a smug look on his face.
“Where are we going anyway?” You ask, seeing as you’re both walking in a seemingly aimless direction.
“We can study at my place.” He says, his face relaxed. Yet, his words send you into a panic. You’ve never been to his place before; of course, you know where it is, as you and your friends have picked him up there many times during past weekends. But you’ve never been inside, and you certainly didn’t consider that you’d be studying at his place. Just the two of you. Inside a room. For hours on end. It’s starting to sound like a recipe for disaster.
You can only hope that you’ll be careful enough to not give your feelings away.
“Y/N, how do you expect me to help you if you won’t let me see your test?” He insists after you’ve refused to hand it to him several times. “I need to know what you’re doing wrong.”
“I can tell you about it! You don’t have to see it.” You keep your backpack close to you, your arms protectively wrapped around it. You’re sitting on his living room floor, a pillow underneath you as Kuroo stands in front of you, his brows furrowed in frustration.
“It’s not the same thing.” He repeats. You finally give up, sighing in defeat as you open your backpack to retrieve the test.
“Thank you so much.” He mocks before sitting on the opposite side of the small table, eyes looking through your words and equations. You feel so embarrassed at having the chemistry genius look at your wrong answers you hide your face behind your hands, peeking through the space between your fingers.
He looks up with a smug look on his face. “It’s not as bad as I thought.”
“Are you mocking me?” You ask, somewhat offended. When he notices the irritated look on your face, he just bursts out laughing.
“I’m not!” He says, arms holding his arms as he laughs that loud and idiotic laugh of his. “It’s just, by the way you were acting, I thought you had gotten a zero.” Unsure of what to say, you glare at him, arms crossed in front of your chest. He doesn’t seem intimidated by it, however. “Come here,” He says, grabbing your wrist to pull you closer to him. The sudden proximity makes your heart stutter, but Kuroo doesn’t seem to notice, his eyes glued to your test. “Look, here.” He points to one of the questions. “Do you know why this is wrong?”
You shake your head, a pout forming itself on your lips. He glances quickly at it before chuckling and explaining why your answer was wrong. “Do you get it now?” He looks at you, his eyes sincere and empty of mockery.
“A little. Can you explain it again?” He does so without complaining, making sure you understand everything he’s saying as he goes on. You nod every now and then, your eyes switching between looking at him and your test. At some point, however, his words become background noise as you notice just how long his eyelashes are. Are boys allowed to have eyelashes that long? It just seems unfair.
“Are you listening to me?”
“Yes!” You right yourself, looking apologetically at him. Your smile doesn’t trick him but he lets it slide, resuming his explanation. You try very hard to not lose yourself in his eyes and focus intently on his words. “Thanks, I think I get it now. You’re good at explaining this.” You write some notes on your notebook as you speak, trying to memorize his explanation into your head. It does make more sense when he explains it.
“You’re welcome.” He says, his cocky smirk returning to his lips as he settles his jaw on his palm, waiting for you to finish your writing. You avoid looking at him, but during the fraction of the second that you dare to look at his face your stomach is filled with butterflies. You try to rush through the last sentences, your heart jumping rapidly within your chest.
“Is this right?” You show him your notes once you’re done. You smile in triumph when he nods his head, your grade long forgotten. “What about this one?” You point at another question, eager for his explanation.
“Finally!” You raise your arms up in the air in victory, your head about to explode from all of the new complex information. While you’re still unsure about some things, it’s undoubtable the amount of progress you’ve made in the past few hours. Kuroo leans back against the couch, resting his head while his vision focuses on you. You’re sure he also feels mentally drained from the long study session, even if his smile doesn’t show it. “Thank you so much, Kuroo. This was really helpful.”
“No worries. It’s always a pleasure to bless others with my wisdom.” You giggle at his words before looking out the window, the sky now completely dark. When you pick up your phone, you notice it’s almost eight o’clock.
“Oh, I should get going.” You start to retrieve your notebooks and pens as Kuroo gets up and walks you to his door. “But really, thanks for helping-” You stop speaking when you notice him put on his jacket. “Oh, you’re going out?”
“What do you mean?” He asks, confusion obvious in his voice. “I’m walking you home.”
“Oh! You don’t have to!” You say, quickly stepping out of his house before turning to face him. “For real!” You insist, holding out your hands to stop his movements. But of course he doesn’t listen to you and just quietly locks his door.
“C’mon, Chibi-chan.” He starts to walk, leaving you behind. You can only sigh before catching up to him, thinking about how stubborn he is. When he doesn’t say anything, however, and when you slouch your shoulders as if they could protect you from the sudden cold, you can only feel gratitude.
“Thanks for walking me,” You whisper.
“It’s no big deal.” You look up to find him staring at the stars, the bright lights reflecting in his eyes. He looks so calm and serene, in a state you’ve never seen him before, you can’t help but stare. Your hands may feel cold but your chest definitely warms up at the sight.
The warmth quickly fades away when you realize he will never like you back. After all, Kuroo is tall, handsome and athletic, making him immensely popular at Nekoma. Many girls have confessed to him in the past and you’re sure more are going to confess in the future. Why would he fall for you when he has so many options? It’s unrealistic to expect him to like you.
You’re staring at the floor, rubbing your hands together when he speaks. “Hey, you ok?” Your answer comes in the form of a nod, which seems to please him. Silence falls once again in between you two as you walk.
Once you reach the front of your house, you thank him one more time.
“I already said it’s ok, dummy.” He says before flicking your forehead, making you wince in pain. You glare at him as he smiles, seemingly amused with your suffering. “When are we studying together again?” He asks, burying his hands deep in the pockets of his black jeans.
“You want to do it again?” You ask, surprise evident in your voice. While you like to think that you spent a pleasurable study session with him, you definitely weren’t expecting him to suggest another one. Especially when you consider the fact that it took him several attempts before you could fully understand some concepts.
“You already think you’re a Chemistry genius or something?” He teases, his eyes locked with your own as he looks down at you.
“I mean, no but-” You pause, uncertain of what to say.
“This way I can also review the material. It’s helpful for both of us.” He explains, the ghost of a smile on his lips. When he looks at you so intently, with no one else surrounding you, it’s so easy to let yourself get lost in him.
You look away, your heart already thumping within its cage. “Alright.”
“I’ll text you later.” He says, flicking your forehead one more time before walking away, leaving you to stare angrily at his back.
Your parents greet you once you get inside, and you quickly greet them back before running to your room. You take your phone out of your backpack, already eager for a text.