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Teruhashi has a stupid face.
a very, stupidly pretty face.
the worst part is Saiki can't even try to hate it. yeah, sure, liking Teruhashi's face isn't something weird or is shunned at all (in fact, it's basically the norm at this point. and maybe worse if you hate her face. does this make him more or less average?) but for him? for him?
he couldn't have imagined back then even remotely liking any feature on her face.
not her blue eyes, which shine in just the right way, reflecting the light that she emits, the eyelashes that flutter like dark butterflies when she blinks. not her glowing skin, soft, (well, probably. he's too scar– he doesn't want to find out) that folds over whenever she smiles. her lips. he doesn’t know if the shine is just her, or if she dusted lipgloss across it. either way, she’s pretty. her smile. there are lots of words he can use to describe it (of course, all being negative. what else would it be?) the lips that curve upwards revealing the most angelic smile to ever exist, he would never like that. not like he spends extensive amounts of time staring at her face to notice all these things anyway.
...
suppose Saiki didn't think that one through.
it doesn't matter. he didn't like her face before, and he doesn't have to like it now.
"good morning!"
speak of the angel. yes, he changed the word devil to angel. who can possibly call Teruhashi a devil? that's like calling coffee jelly tasteless. which it isn't. is he now comparing Teruhashi to coffee jelly?
her voice, like her face, is also stupidly pretty. airy and light, manages to be high-pitched without being squeaky and shrill. maybe in the past he'd thought that of her voice. he wonders what changed (everything. or nothing. he can't tell). simple words like, "good morning" can sound less irritating. kind of makes him want to respond. not that he would. ever. he refuses to go that far with his strange new view of Teruhashi.
what strange new view? he doesn't have one of those. why would he have one of those? his perspective of her has not shifted in the slightest. not since they met, not since she realised he liked her the way she was and made him gasp, not since ever. she is just plain old Teruhashi, and he sees her in the same plain old way.
and once his thoughts finish their argument, he finally perceives that she's taken her seat next to him. well, that's a reason why he notices so much about her. she sits right there. so, not his fault. eyes wander to what they want to, and what he wants is–
no, wait, hold on. not right. he'll redo that sentence; pretend you didn't hear that one.
instead, he'll say, he sees her every day. eventually he would've taken note of every perfect little detail on her face. which, he could definitely spend hours studying. and he would.
no, he would not. he doesn't know what's getting into him. very uncharacteristic of him. is Teruhashi perhaps rubbing off on him? weird, cheesy thoughts, very aware of her beauty... does kind of sound like her. and plus, he's just very observant. it comes with being a psychic, right, you just kinda know everything (like how he's also conscious of the fact that he's denying his own thoughts now). no, he's not. (yes, you are. and stop talking to yourself, you're acting like Teruhashi.)
there! there it is again! Teruhashi. why does it always lead back to Teruhashi? can't it lead back to someone else?! (what, like your mom?) did he just "your mom" joke himself? he's going insane.
and there she is, Teruhashi, listening intently to the lesson, completely and blissfully unaware of the rampant thoughts running through his head at a speed of 493 km per second. she deserves at least that much. and a lot more. like, the whole world, maybe. though, she probably already has that. and if she doesn't, he could very easily give it to her.
he won't, obviously. he wants to be average. that's the only thing holding him back. also, what would Teruhashi do with the world anyway? all she wants is for him to gasp at her, which he's already done, so... wish fulfilled? wow, call Saiki Saint Nick– actually don't, he's gone through that once. never. again.
Saiki couldn't possibly imagine the expression on anyone's faces if he told them how he's feeling. especially his mom. (so i was right?) no, you were not right. and stop talking to me while i'm in the middle of my monologue. (o–) what did i say?
...
yeah, he's going crazy.
but really, his mom would probably grin, clap her hands just enough to be annoying and then start giving advice, then dad would walk in and tell the story of how they got together (which, he's already seen. and helped happen) and then Saiki would teleport upstairs.
if any of his friends heard this, minus Teruhashi, he supposes, he would first get a "doesn't everyone feel that way about Teruhashi?" (which, in theory, yes. but he feels differently) and then a "you can feel?!" from Toritsuka. which, Toritsuka himself will be feeling when Saiki starts burning off the back of his hair.
his brother would also make fun of him in a similar fashion, but in what situation would he ever tell Kusuke anyway?
and Teruhashi.
Teruhashi would have this winning smirk on her face, the same (maybe lipgloss-covered, maybe natural sheen. doesn’t matter) lips curving into a “it was about time” expression. he can’t blame Imagination-Teruhashi for that. she earned it. she deserves everything she has and more.
oh that’s stupid. that’s so, disgustingly stupid. Saiki hates this.
her face is so pretty. why is it so pretty?
this sucks. she’s too pretty.