Perfect Facade[Asano Gakushuu x Reader]

t w e n t y - e i g h t : cheer up

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Gakushuu's POV

"Once finally they triumph over you, that arrogance will bite you back."

[Name]'s words rang through Gakushuu's head after his talk with his father. The chairman had ridiculed him for his overconfidence and losing the bet. Yes, her words were true.

The E Class had triumph over him, won the bet and made it clear to the entire school that they aren't as worthless as the hierarchy made them to be. His arrogance that made him blind to see their potential cause him to overlook and hence, lead to that office meeting with the Chairman.

Those words only got louder and louder with each time he saw [Name] again. She was right, had always been right. It irritated him. He knew that he was wrong and her advices had always been true, but again his pride refuse it all. That's why he avoided her, just to not snap at her for no reason. Afterall, she was just somebody who happens to have the ability to grasp everything and understand what's wrong.

So when he had made eye-contact with her before the assembly, it only fueled the growing fire inside of him. He doesn't wanted to admit it, but she was right. He knows but he doesn't want to accept that. Those pair of conflicted and pitiful eyes he looked at was enough to make him furrow his eyebrows even more and walk ahead, completely ignoring her existence.

He'll apologise one day, the day he when he's willing to admit his shortcomings, but for now, he'll just let his anger and frustration fester from his own stubbornness to admit.

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Normal POV

"Hey, are you okay?"

The bell rang a couple of minutes ago, students were packing their bags, getting ready to leave their classroom. [Name] stood in front of Gakushuu's desk, her bag slung over on her shoulder as she looked down on him. He had a deathly glare in his eyes, his head still remained facing downwards while his eyes looked up at her.

"We can go enjoy your favourite ice cream at the ice cream parlour near town, get something to clear your head." She spoke, as Gakushuu started to pack his bag silently without a reply. In the corner of her eye, she noticed the rest of the Top 5, looking over with worry painted on their faces.

"Get or do something to clear your head, but nothing related to studying, even if it's your hobby." Gakushuu stood up from his seat suddenly, earning a few flinches from his friends in the corner of the classroom watching him. He headed straight for the door, but he was stopped by [Name] grabbing his shoulder.

"You shouldn't let your anger fester like this. You're just going back home to study your ass off, aren't you?" [Name] said, her grip on his shoulder tightened as he looked at her over his shoulder. "You're going to use this frustration and anger to study, as fuel to do better."

"That wouldn't work and never will. So come." She let go of his shoulder and walked ahead of him, now she was the one looking at him over her shoulder. "Come with to the ice cream parlour, I'll treat you to Tiramisu ice cream. That's your favourite, isn't it."

"If you aren't willing to come I will go to the ice cream parlour, get your ice cream and come banging on your door to give it to you." [Name] tried to made it sound as if it was a threat, but it was a nice gesture to do for a friend. He would have laugh, but he simply nodded, earning another of [Name] bright smiles. That lifted his mood up by just a bit, enough to make his eyebrows no longer furrow down.

The rest of the top 5 who had been watching from afar looked relieved after seeing [Name] had successfully calmed him down. Part of them still feel horrible from their loss, after being humiliated like that but seeing their leader about to lose his cool was a scarier thought. So seeing him somewhat settle down brought them great relief and comfort.