𝐌𝐘 𝐈𝐍-𝐆𝐀𝐌𝐄 𝐁𝐎𝐘𝐅𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐃 [Kozume Kenma]

28. BEST FRIEND

~ SHIRO ~

It had only been a week since Keiji and I had started properly dating and I was already beginning to feel the negative side effects.

Don't get me wrong, Keiji was the sweetest boy and the perfect boyfriend. Perhaps he was a little too perfect. I knew it wasn't his fault but his popularity was a massive pain in the ass. Apparently volleyball players were just naturally good at attracting attention.

I decidedly kept my head down as I walked through the ever-so-crowded hallways of Nekoma High, acutely aware of the several pairs of eyes trained on me. And as if that wasn't bad enough, extremely un-whisper-like whispers spread through the groups, loud enough for me to catch most of it. It wasn't like I really needed to hear them to know what they were talking about.

"Have you heard? Apparently she's dating Fukurodani's setter."

"You mean Akaashi Keiji? The hot one?"

"Who else? But I get why you're surprised."

"How did she even land him? Jesus, that boy must be blind."

Although I constantly reminded myself to ignore them, I couldn't help but cringe at her comment. Ouch.

"Do you think she bribed Akaashi to date her?"

What the...

"No, probably not."

Thank you.

"I think she must've forced him. He won't be bribed that easily. She probably has some sort of leverage over him."

Nevermind. Fuck you.

"Who is she anyway? I swear I always see her around but it's like no one even knows her."

"I don't think she has any friends. I mean, look at her."

And then it occurred to me why they were making no effort to lower their voices even as I drew closer. They wanted me to hear them. How cruel.

I sighed. If only they knew how empty I already was. Did they really think they could make me sad? I could do that better than anyone else. I was so good at actively contributing to my own depression that it became part of my daily routine.

"She's in my class. I think her name is Akari. Akari... Shina, I think?"

"No, that's not it, she's got a really weird name. Shion? Shiyo?"