Closely. [Kawanishi Taichi]

extra.

ーMiddle school, Kawanishi Taichiー

[Full name].

The name was familiar. Sometimes it was seen on the school scoreboard, sometimes he heard it from his classmates. "_____-san is very shy, isn't she," they would speak of youー and every so often, the case of your red ears would be brought into their conversations. And that was about it. He continued listening to them out of curiosity, only getting to learn about you through rumours he wasn't even sure whether or not they were true. 

So what if she's shy, he thought. So what if her ears turned red, he questioned to no one. Surely, that was none of his business.

[Full name].

He saw the name again, written with blue crayon over the cover of the sketchbook. Kawanishi looked around. His group of friends were already heading back inside. How did this end up here? He picked it up from the ground, dusting it off.. it wouldn't hurt anyone if he took a peek, would it? A moment of hesitation lingered before he flipped the sketchbook open.

Ah, he thought. ____-san is good at art, he noted. He never heard his classmates mentioning about it before.

What was intended to be just a peek turned to him looking through everything in the sketchbook before he could stop himself. Most of the pages were filled with brightly coloured flowers, some left in black and white. Some were of fruits and animals, and one he recognized as the little stray puppy called Shiro that could always be seen chasing its tail behind the schoolー

"Excuse me."

Startled, he closed the sketchbook in a swift, abruptly turning his head towards the source of the voice. The girl seemed shy as she fiddled with her fingers, pink dusting her freckled cheeks. "Is this yours?" He asked, referring to the sketchbook still in his hands. He thought it was odd to feel disappointed when the girl chuckled and shook her head, no.

"It's my friend's, I was helping her look for it," she confessed. Oh. Kawanishi was reluctant for a moment; he didn't really want to return it yet, still wanting to see more of your work, but alas, he had to return what was not his. 

With a thank you the girl left, but not before promising that she wouldn't tell you that he peeked at your sketchbook.

*

"Excuse me?"

Had his friend not point out that someone was calling for him, he wouldn't have noticed the person standing behind him. "It's the shy kid," his friend murmured. [Full name], he recognized that sketchbook. "Yes?" Kawanishi finally replied after snapping himself out of his thoughts. He couldn't help but notice the blush spreading to your ears. Oh, so this was what his classmates had been talking about.

You shuffled on your feet. "Nanako-chan said you found my sketchbook yesterday," you started, pointing out to the girl with the freckled cheeks he met yesterday. As if on cue, Nanako shifted her attention from her friend to wave at him with a grin.

"I wanted to say thank you."

"I-it's nothing!"

He started feeling flustered when you bow down to him, but he felt more flabbergasted when you smiled at him.  ____-san has a pretty smile. His face grew hot. He never heard his classmates mentioning it before. Albeit shy, your smile was bright, filled with so much gratefulness and relief. The sketchbook must have meant so much to you for you to beam like that.

Your drawings are great, he meant to tell you. Can I see more? He meant to ask. Again, he thought it was odd how he felt upset when he watched you heading back to your group of friends, never looking back at him. He sighed. 

Maybe, hopefully, he could talk to you again when the chance comes.