Chapter Text
It was the beginning of September, her hand propping up her chin with a bored expression on her face, glaring at nothing in particular, completely zoned out as the professor explained something that she had already studied in great detail on her laptop out of mere curiosity on a boring Saturday at home.
She was sitting on her desk, left row in the back of the class. Alone.
Alone like always.
She really, really, really, really, really hated school. Her pen scratched curse words into the margins of her diary at the bullshit her classmates were saying, and she would really rather be sitting in her dark, cool room under her fairy lights peacefully lost in some book about astrophysics or watching a shitty anime, which felt like salvation at this point.
Fuck, how she missed her room.
The bell rang indicating recess time. Not like any of it mattered, she had nowhere to go and would still be bored.
Out of utter longing, she started scribbling random anime character names on her desk(as if her desk already wasn't begging her to give it some space to breathe), hoping they would materialize and save her from the shitty hell known as school and-
Oh? What's this?
A pretty boy, looking like he wants to dig a hole in the floor and hide there forever, being dragged by an equally ugly looking guy. They looked like they were walking towards her. Were they? Shit, they were. Then the gears in her mind turned, and she remembered the conversation she had with the ugly guy yesterday about anime. He was saying something about his friend in his class who'd been watching anime since a long time and her dumbass had been immediately intrigued, asking to see whether this so-called mysterious weeb could recognize all the characters her desk was littered with. The stupid boy took it as a challenge and said, "I'll make him look at it tomorrow."
The said stupid boy and mysterious weeb were now standing in front of her, and their three pairs of eyes flitted around each other with quiet understanding. She had already slid her books aside for a better view of her desk, when the ugly ass, who turned out to be annoyingly extroverted as hell, spoke up. "HE'S HERE, NOW SHOW US THE NAMES YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT." She sighed, now picking up all her books and putting them beside her so they could get a full view of her table.
Then, the classroom seemed to still, the chatter dulled, the lights hummed louder, and for a heartbeat the world narrowed to the pretty boy standing in front of her desk when he leaned forward, eyes flicking across the names scattered messily on the wood, and spoke for the first time.
"That's Gojo from Jujutsu Kaisen, and that one's Giyuu from Demon Slayer,"
The words were simple, but the voice- God, the voice- was anything but. Low, soft, deep, and it wrapped around her like velvet. And that's when all hell broke loose inside her mind. She froze, blindsided, her pen slipping from her fingers.
Her gaze snapped to him. And suddenly, she saw him. Really saw him. The way the light caught the softness in his beautiful honey brown eyes, the sharp cut of his eyebrows making him look like a regal prince, the soft sheen on his pink lips, and the sweet way the fluffy sweater looked so cosy and cuddly hugging his perfect body. Every detail seemed magnified, impossibly beautiful, quiet, adorable, as if the universe had conspired to place him here, in front of her desk, at this exact moment.
As if she wasn't already enchanted enough, her doe eyes caught on to his right one as he continued to ramble on about characters- the skin around it was white, along with a few of his eyelashes. Her cheeks warmed and her mind spurred- he looked so fucking gorgeous, so unique, it made her chest ache in the sweetest way.
Her heart thumped. Her boredom, her hatred of school, the suffocating walls of her classroom- all of it dissolved in an instant. She was flabbergasted, undone, falling headfirst into something she could never have expected.
Suddenly, school was her most favourite place in the world.
☾ ⋆｡°✩
Weeks later, the classroom boredom had been replaced by something unexpected: a groupchat. The ugly loudmouth had made it, dragging the pretty boy and a handful of classmates into a digital corner of the universe dedicated entirely to anime.
She was the most active one, of course, her desk scribbles had already proven her obsession.
And then there was him. Her pretty boy.
They fought all the time- playfully, endlessly. But somewhere between the anime banter, the conversation shifted. Songs.
He kept asking her: "Have you heard this one?" And every time, she said yes. Every. Single. Time.
It was ridiculous. It was adorable. It was fate.
Their playlists overlapped like two halves of the same soul. The groupchat was supposed to be about anime. But somehow, it had become about them.
UglyAss: YO BRO, SHE'S SPAMMING AGAIN 😭😭
Her: it's not spam if it's quality content ✨ i'm literally educating you uncultured swines
PrettyBoy: Quality content? You just dropped 47 screenshots of Gojo's face.
Her: AND??? that's art. you wouldn't understand.
PrettyBoy: I understand that you're obsessed.
Her: better obsessed with gojo than with your tragic taste in anime endings 💀
PrettyBoy: Tragic? Excuse me, my taste is flawless.
Her: nigga you literally said the Tokyo Ghoul ending was "kinda mid." that's a crime.
PrettyBoy: It was mid. Fight me.
Her: bet. meet me outside rn.
UglyAss: 👀👀👀 ohhh it's happeningggg
Her: shut up ugly ass, you're just jealous we have actual taste.
PrettyBoy: Actual taste? You said yes to every single song I mentioned yesterday. You're just pretending to be cool.
Her: PRETENDING?? no, it's called having immaculate taste. we're basically playlist soulmates.
PrettyBoy: Soulmates? Bold of you to assume.
Her: bold of YOU to keep asking me if I've heard songs you already know I have.
PrettyBoy: .......maybe I just like hearing you say yes.
Her: ...
UglyAss: AYO WHAT'S THIS ENERGY 😳😳😳
Every day at school, knowing glances and wicked grins were exchanged between the two of them. She didn't know when she started to catch herself smiling while remembering the playful bickering that was now almost a routine between the two of them. Affection was expressed through bullying and teasing, and every act was like a secret language only the two of them could decode. Him pulling on her scarf when she passed by, her purposely-accidentally stepping on the back of his shoes as he walked ahead, it all became an adorable, playful game between them.
And soon, all of it became deeper, more emotional, and before they both knew it, they were being pulled down, down, down..... deep into the ocean of love.
He started looking for her more, craving for another interaction, despairing when she didn't come to school, and always scanning every location in the school restlessly until his eyes settled on her cute frame. She was much worse, always drowned in his thoughts, the shape of his hands and the veins on his arms and his slender fingers- it was all so intoxicating and addicting. She was addicted. To his quiet demeanor, his deep voice, and the softness of the sweet, light brown in his eyes.
And his laugh, oh, his laugh- the rythm so soft and addictive. His smile so sweet which made her want to protect it like it was the last light in the world. Did his smiles towards her grow softer by the days or was it just her pining and overthinking? Yeah, probably the latter.
Little did she know, the reason he was awake at nights was because he was thinking about her with the same intensity and adoration...
☾ ⋆｡°✩
She walked through the hallway. Feeling hurt. Sad. Betrayed. Angry stomps on the smooth floor, expressing her bitter feelings as she walked towards his classroom in recess. The whole hall was a mess, chart papers, cutouts, paint bottles, tape, and glue littered the tiles, reflecting without words that the wing was being re-decorated.
For the fourth fucking time this month.
And as always, she was burdened with most of the work. Two of his female classmates, Apple and Strawberry , to which he never talked to, were both her closest friends, her first close female friends, actually, also being a part of the groupchat. And Strawberry, unsurprisingly, had a crush on HER pretty boy. Unsurprisingly because of how pretty and irresistible he is. And how did she find out, you say? Apple, who was genuine and loyal, told her that Strawberry was bitching to Apple about HER, saying how she was always near him, talking to him and how he only smiled at her and never even so much as glanced at Strawberry, even calling her a few curse words along the way.
So it was only natural for her to feel frustrated, right? After all, making friends wasn't really her thing, since she always got hurt in the end. She thought Strawberry was genuine, but yet again, her trust had been broken, and she felt hopeless all over again. So that is exactly why she was currently storming towards him, because, seeing him and complaining to him in the same exact way like a toddler to their mumma, would make her feel better, right? Much, much better.
And that's exactly what happened. She entered the room, her doe eyes searching frantically around the room, and softening as soon as they landed on his tall, comforting frame. Her ears turning a nice shade of pink when she heard the soft rythm of his laugh echo throughout the room as he laughed at a dumb joke ugly ass had made. Pouting and huffing in annoyance, she stomped towards them both. Both of them exchanging a glance that said 'uh-oh'. His eyes lingered a bit longer on her pout than he'd like to admit, and- what was that glint in his eyes as he stared? Tenderness, perhaps? Or longing? Nah. Neither. There's no way he'd love someone like her.
Huffing and puffing, she retold the whole chain of events to them, trying her best not to tear up. That's when she noticed him grinning like a menace. "What?" She asked, confused as to why this whole situation was funny to him. "You know what?" He replied, a wicked gleam in his eyes mixed with- satisfaction?
"Let's make her even more jealous."
She paused, her brain short-circuiting as she stared at him, shocked as fuck. Her pulse, the stupid, traitorous thing speeding up insanely as the words finally registered into her brain. "H-Huh? I-"
"C'mon, let's go" Saying that as he grabbed her wrist gently and dragged her to where everyone was making charts. She REALLY FUCKING HOPED he couldn't feel her pulse skittering on the soft, warm skin on the inside of her wrist, or he would probably double over and laugh his ass off, making her even more shy and flustered. She could feel the warmth of his fingers wrapped softly around her wrist, sending her thoughts into a frenzy and turning her mind into putty.
Right in front of Strawberry, he stood close to her at the counter she was working at. A little too close, maybe. Constantly laughing and snickering with her, he was absolutely having the time of his life getting Strawberry jealous........or was he taking advantage of the situation to be close to her? Nah, he can't be in love with someone like her.
Then came the moment which made her melt like an ice cube in the sunlight on a hot day.
He called out her name, and said, "Stay with me, okay? Don't go anywhere else."
That's it. That's it. She's officially insane.
Haha. Hahahahaha. HAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHHAHAHAHA
Her heart dropped down her ass, and at that moment, she wanted nothing more than to melt into an affectionate fluffball and cuddle the fuck out of him like it was her last day on earth.
Maybe love was actually making her insane. And maybe she didn't mind it one bit.
☾ ⋆｡°✩
The long-awaited day was finally here. The day she'd been waiting for since many months. It was his birthday today. And she was feeling nervous as fuck. Why, you may wonder? It's HIS birthday after all.
Well, a few weeks ago, she had made a hand-written note, just for him, to give on his birthday. It wasn't much, just a dumb happy birthday wish and a few kitty doodles on the back. Wasn't even pretty, just a torn piece of paper with her handwriting adoring it. And yet, it meant something. It meant she had remembered. That she cared. It read:
Happy birthday to you
Nobody likes you
You look like an animal
Go back to the zoo
XD
On the backside, there were two kitten doodles- one was tearing up while saying "Can you please stop bullying me now T~T" while the other was making a peace sign saying "Keep being a good boy and you'll keep getting headpats"
When they came to school, and exchanged their familiar, sinister grins in the morning, she shyly called out to him and extended her hand, the note delicately folded between her two fingers. He smirked, and said, "Oh, what's this? A love letter? Couldn't resist my charm after all, huh?" She blushed furiously, and murmured with her gaze averted, "Shut the fuck up, idiot. Just take it." And he obliged, how could he not? looking at her reddened cheeks and shy gaze, with her voice barely above a whisper, he would be too cruel to refuse.
As soon as he plucked the note, she took it as her cue to leave, wanting him to read it only in her absence. But before she left, she looked over her shoulder and saw him already staring at her retreating figure, and murmed a quiet, yet audible, "Happy birthday, dumbass."
She couldn't sleep a wink that night, tossing and turning and blushing and squirming, wondering if he liked it or not.
Little did she know, someone was blushing under his own covers, pretty eyes scanning the note again and again, trying to memorize every curve and stroke of her elegant handwriting, elegant fingers tracing the doodles again and again, as if he could memorize the ink itself.
☾ ⋆｡°✩
He thinks he's being careless. He thinks he's being reckless. He's gonna get hurt, he's never gotten what he's wanted, so how can this time be any different? The sound of her voice, the way she speaks, the way she moves, she's totally out of his league, he thinks. She's always rejected proposals so why would she accept mine? That's what's his mind's been plagued with. So what does he do? He pushes her away to protect himself from the hurt he knows he's gonna get.
It happened so fast. One moment they were laughing, teasing each other like always, and the next his words cut sharper than any blade. “Stop acting like you’re special. You’re just another anime nerd.” He hadn’t meant it —but the way he said it, the way his voice carried that careless edge, shattered something inside her.
She stood there, stunned, her chest hollowing out as if the air had been ripped away. Her smile faltered, her eyes burned, and before anyone could notice, she turned on her heel and stormed out of the classroom.
The hallway blurred. Her footsteps echoed like thunder, each stomp fueled by betrayal, by hurt, by the cruel reminder that maybe she had cared too much, maybe she had let herself fall too deep. And then the rain — sudden, merciless — poured down as she burst through the doors, soaking her hair, her clothes, her fury. As if this day couldn't get any worse.
She didn’t care. Let the storm swallow her whole. Let the world drown her pain.
But then — footsteps. Heavy, desperate, splashing against the wet pavement. His voice, raw and breaking, tore through the storm. “Wait! Please — don’t go!” He had fucked up. He could feel it in his balls.
She froze. Her breath hitched. Slowly, she turned, and there he was. Drenched, trembling, eyes wide with something she had never seen before — fear, longing, regret. The rain clung to him, dripping from his hair, sliding down his jaw, but none of it mattered. All she saw was the boy who had chased her, the boy who she loved, the boy who was standing in the storm like he’d rather drown than let her slip away.
He closed the distance in a heartbeat, his hand catching her wrist just like before — but softer now, gentler, trembling. “I’m sorry,” he whispered, voice cracking under the weight of everything unsaid. “I didn’t mean it. I can’t lose you.” His eyes burned into hers, his pretty, gorgeous, eyes. And something in him snapped. So what if she doesn't accept proposals? I'm gonna go with my gut.
Her heart stuttered. Her anger dissolved, replaced by something far more dangerous. The rain blurred the world, but his eyes — those honey-brown eyes — burned through it all, begging her to believe him.
And then, before he could think, before he could stop himself, his lips were on hers.
Warm against the cold rain. Fierce, aching, desperate. It wasn’t gentle. It wasn’t careful. It was everything — the fight, the hurt, the endless teasing, the desperate longing, the love — crashing together in one impossible kiss.
The storm raged around them, thunder rolling, lightning splitting the sky. But inside that kiss, there was silence. There was peace. There was only them.
Her fingers curled into his soaked sweater, pulling him closer, as if she could anchor herself to him forever. His hand cupped her cheek, rainwater mixing with tears, and for the first time, she didn’t feel alone.
"I'm sorry, I love you." And an impossibly soft kiss against her lips.
She punched him, yet she was smiling now, with tears in her eyes, her hair damp and messy, her lips swollen from his relentless kisses, and still being fiesty. She looked like the most beautiful fucking thing he'd ever seen.
"I'm sorry, I thought I wasn't worthy of having you, so I was trying to push you away because I didn't want to face my biggest fear- losing you. I swear I didn't mean it, you're the cutest nerd I've ever seen."
"You fucking idiot, how could you ever think that? you're the only one I wanna be with. And me, out of your league? No fucking way dumbass, you're the only one who's been capable of tugging on my heart strings."
And then, came the words he'd been longing to hear for so, so long.
"I love you too, baby boy"
They kissed again, but this time, she was the one who initiated it- and in that moment, under the furious sky, she knew: Even if love was madness, even if it hurt, even if it broke her — she would choose him. Always.