"Are you alright?"
Sugawara asked in an urgent tone, his brows knitted in concern as he helped her up from the ground, chiding her gently in that soothing voice of his. "You should really be more careful, [Name]. You're always bumping into things or tripping over stuff."
Letting out a short laughter, the girl pushed her hair back from her face, a smile on her lips as he fussed over her.
"I'm okay, Koushi. Thanks."
His warmth dissipated when he let go of his hold around her waist. Reluctantly, she watched as he flashed her a bright smile as he took small steps backwards. "I've got to get to practice now. See you tomorrow!"
Waving at him, she watched as the silver haired male jogged towards the gym; a subtle feeling of guilt building up in her chest.
The things she did to get his attention...
~~
Sometimes she'd feel bad for trying so desperately to make Sugawara notice her. From pretending to fall over to faking that she forgot her stationary, she would even go as far as not bringing her bento just so that he would offer to share his and they could have lunch together.
It was tiring to keep up the pretense all the time.
The ringing of the lunch bell snapped her out of her thoughts and she looked up, only to see that the teacher had ended lessons. Rejecting her friends' offer to go to the cafeteria, she reached for her the lunchbox in her bag when someone sat down in the seat in front of her.
"Hey." A usual grin plastered onto his features, Sugawara asked her, "did you bring a bento today?"
Letting the lunchbox fall back into her bag, she silently prayed that he didn't catch a glimpse of the brightly colored wrapping that held the bento. "Er... I was in a rush this morning so I forgot..."
His eyes narrowed at her words. "Then what was that in your bag?"
Feeling heat rushing to her cheeks, she gulped and lowered her head. Seeing that she wasn't about to offer any explanations, he continued, "You always seem to be so clumsy and forgetful around me. Only when you're around me. Why is that?"
"Are... Are you angry?"
"Huh?" At his shocked tone, [Name] looked up to see his confused expression. "Of course I'm not."
"I just...." She sighed deeply, "I really want your attention, I guess... You're always so nice to everyone and... I just want you to look my way more often."
Pausing briefly, she mustered up her courage and looked at him straight in the eye. "I like you, Koushi."
The thumps of her heart sounded deafening in the silence that ensued.
"[Name]," the girl watched as his features morphed into that of a smile. Not the usual grin he always wore, but a small lopsided smile that made the butterflies in her stomach go wild.
"You have always been the one I notice the most."
