Potions Lovers | Yandere!Male x Reader

Chapter 11 - When the Chips are Down

"(Name), you scored a 98."

A few envious grumbles filled the classroom when your English test score from last week was announced to the class. You frowned slightly at the grade, wondering what it was that you got wrong.

From the desk behind you, Kenji's leg bounced up and down in his seat as he waited for the teacher to announce his grade. Normally, he wasn't nervous; he'd always accept whatever he'd get with an annoyed huff and then forget about it later. This time, though...

His violet eyes zeroed onto the metal ruler sitting in your open backpack that stared back at him, threatening him—

'Calm down! It's just a ruler.' Kenji thought, trying to be rational, though such efforts were in vain because he knew that thing in your bag was not just a ruler, it was a lethal weapon masquerading as an art supply. He gulped as he stared at the back of your slouched form. He couldn't see your face but even he could tell that you were needlessly irked over losing two measly points. If you were fuming about that, then Kenji figured a beat down must have awaited him if he ended up scoring badly on this test.

"Ren, you scored a 93."

Kenji turned slightly in his seat and glared a few rows behind him, locking eyes with his smug looking cousin.

'Beat that,' Ren mouthed silently. He easily caught the worn out eraser that Kenji catapulted at him.

"Yumi, 86."

From across the room, every student could hear Yumi releasing a sigh of relief before she slumped in her seat, dissolving like a pile of goo as all the nervous tension left her body at once. Lucky her, the Scantron machine probably made a grading mistake, Kenji thought bitterly, still holding his breath.

"Kenji, you received an 89. Wow, congratulations," the teacher said, nodding in his direction.

Was Kenji mildly offended by the shocked looks from his teacher and classmates? Yes, he was, but at least he could finally breathe again. An 89...He had never scored that high before in English, not even when he cheated off of you. He assumed he could ease up now, but then he realized something at the end of class. You had said you wanted him and Yumi to "ace the exam." Scores in the 80s weren't considered "acing it"—probably not to your unreasonable standards, at least. Kenji didn't want to stick around to find out. Once class was finished he was chucking his belongings into his bag, rushing to get out of the room, but he was too slow.

"What's your rush, Kenji?"

Crap, he froze up in his spot, just a few feet away from the door to freedom. How'd you reach him so fast?

"Don't hurt me!" he burst out, catching the attention of the few students who hadn't left yet. They sent you the odd stare instead, causing your irritation from earlier to flare up, but you masked it for the sake of your mission to once again extend an olive branch to Kenji.

'And it better work this time. I need this idiot to be my wingman...'

Your brows raised at his plea. "Why would I? You did so well that I just wanted to congratulate you before you left," you explained, reaching your hand into your pocket and pulling out a small, yellow box of chocolates with chibi foxes printed all over it. Kiko always stockpiled hundreds of these and recently mentioned that Kenji loved them. "Use these to seduce him!" she had suggested once again...which wasn't really a far cry from what you were doing with them now.

You held the box out to him and stifled an aggravated groan when he simply stared at it instead of taking it. You took his hand, casually dropping the box into it. "Word on the street is that you like these chocolates. I knew you'd do well, so take them. You earned it," you said, flashing him a forced smile. Honestly, you didn't think he deserved this gift—not after Ren spent the whole train ride today ranting about how mean Kenji was lately and how awfully he'd been treating girls. Your recent conversations with Ren in the last few days were all like that and you figured it was because Kenji had done something to upset him. It would also explain why they were bickering more during lunch these days...