chapter 24 | i'm gonna kill him-

awkward.

that was the silence between them. the tension between the two friends who haven't interacted in weeks was so thick you could cut it with a tape knife.

"i-"

"hey-".

another awkward pause.

"so-"

"well-".

pause.

"you-"

"oh-".

pause.

"you go first."

"you first."

the [h/c]-haired girl nervously chuckled, scratching behind her ear with her right index finger.

"well that was embarrassing. lemme start first, i guess."

taking a deep breath, she stared him straight into the eyes, the uneasiness hidden beneath those strangely blank [e/c] eyes. even though it was a new sight for him, he couldn't help but think about how natural it looked on her face, and how much she probably used it outside of talking with him.

and his heart did something weird at this thought. it was like it was simultaneously bouncing on a trampoline, but then trying to do a backflip then breaking its neck.

her words came out at a steady and calm pace.

"dude, you ghost me for weeks after everything. i try and contact you, and normally, you would respond within the next few days. i waited for a week for you to respond."

running a hand threw her messy hair, subsequently letting it out from its loose ponytail, she shot him a pouty look. "i was really worried about you after the usj incident came on the news, ya know?"

he stayed silent, glancing down at her hands that were fiddling with her hair tie. he reached out his left hand, bringing her right hand towards the scar that marred his face.

his eyes closed as her hand made contact his face, a wash of exhaustion from the match catching up to him. her fingertips felt cold against the burning, old wound, providing a relief of sorts for him. it just felt...nice.

"i'm sorry."

two words. one sentence.

and that was it to make her let go of all her negative feelings, sending him a big, beaming smile.

"you're lucky i'm soft for you." she lightly tapped his arm with her fist. "apology accepted, dum dum shō."

slipping her hand from his grasp, she plopped down on the bed beside him, swinging her feet. "ya know, you looked super cool out there."

he couldn't formulate a response from his lack of energy, so he just nodded.

"you should stop by akatori again, we've got this moving ramen cart that the intern and i have been lugging around all day."

winking, she nudged him with her elbow. "if ya win this whole thing, i'll give you a bowl of soba for free, alright?"

he just nodded again, then processed her words.

"wait, are you allowed to do that?"

she grinned, bringing her index finger up to her lips.

"not really, but i think winning the whole thing would deserve a free meal. just don't go around spreading the word, alright? i don't wanna lose my job."

the sides of his lips perked up in an almost-there smile. "alright then."

then frowned, his brain moving slower than usual from the exhaustion and fuzziness.

"if you're here, who's manning the stall? aren't you-"

a song started playing loudly from her phone, sounding like a bunch of drunk kids singing, interrupting the red-and-white haired male.

taking out her flip phone, she placed it up to her ear.

"oi, dipshit, i'm in the middle of sumthin' here."

angry barking(?) came from the other end.

"yeah yeah, ryō, i'll be there in five minutes."

a short sentence grunted back.

"fine, if i'm not there in less than five minutes, i'll make you some bouillabaisse, alright?"

another grunt, and she chuckled, making the still-sitting boy's heart skip a beat.

"hakuna your tatas, i'm coming over. take care of yourself, ok babe?"

she grinned teasingly, the line on the other end exploding in insults and angry growling. snapping her flip phone shut, she growled under her breath. "that idiot...i'm gonna kill him-"

his heart squeezed tightly. am i going into cardiac arrest?

running a hand through her [h/c]-coloured hair, she gave a frustrated sigh.

"sorry about that. to answer your previous question, that was the intern, who i left running the stall. he's cute i guess, but a pain in the ass to work with. especially since i just left him for 10 goddamn minutes! like, is it so hard to not anger the customers while i'm gone?!"

her [e/c] orbs darted at his face, which looked like it had walked face first into a wall and it insulted him for being a dumbass.

smirking, she placed both hands at his side, leaning in and brushing her lips with a feather's touch against his cheek.

"you're cuter though~"

skipping away, she looked over her shoulder, winking. "ya better win, ya hear me?"

and then she left a certain boy who was currently trying to compute what just happened, the clinic suddenly plunging into two drastically different temperatures.

omake:

recovery girl sat at the office table, sighing as she packed away the tools she used for the bone-breaker earlier. she had seen what was happening between her impromptu helper and the young boy earlier, facepalming.

it didn't help her mood that the clinic suddenly split in temperature, one side boiling hot while the other went sub-zero.

"seriously, couldn't they have done that outside?"

shōto be getting pinned
and kissed on the cheek
by y/n like daayuuumm

recovery girl is just
so done with them ;p

on that note, my writer's
block is still a pain and
writing seems tedious

also, english assessment
drafts are due friday,
actually assessment is
due next week
music assessment + vids
(that are not related) are
due next week, math
assessment on thursday,
science hw due tomorrow
japanese assessment
in 2 weeks, and history
project is due in 2 weeks

life is g r e a t

completed 08.11.20
5:34:53 p.m. a.e.s.t.
(australian eastern
standard time)

published 08.11.20
6:08:21 p.m. a.e.s.t.
(australian eastern
standard time)

published on wattpad on 11.26.21

btw this book is on indefinite hiatus after the thirtieth chapter is gonna be published