The Greatest (Cheater!Oikawa Tooru x Reader)

Prologue || Broken

Third Year of Junior High

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HE WAS BROKEN.

What a sight – the Great King falling on his knees.

'No matter how hard I work, it never gets closer'.

'Stop it!' I pleaded, grabbing both his fists to stop him from hurting himself. The exhaustion set in, and the fight in him slowly dissipated as he slumped his shoulders. In my steady hands, he gently unfurled his shaking fists.

I gently ran my thumb over the callouses on his palm. The marks shaped like white crescents on his palm began bleeding, crimson drops dripping down his wrist.

Everyone saw a spoiled private school boy in his perfectly swept hair and playful smirk, but his hands told the opposite story. The pale ridges spoke of many evenings just like this, alone in the gymnasium with nothing but moonlight and haunting thoughts to spur him on.

Tonight, the lights were switched off, our only source of light the beams of liquid silver that spilled across the gymnasium's wooden flooring.

I turned his pale hands over and gasped at the sight of bloodied white knuckles. Tooru met my shocked gaze with sorrowful eyes. Tears streamed down his cheeks and his lip trembled.

In front of me was not Oikawa, carefree heartbreaker – he was the heartbroken.

The boy falling apart in my arms was not the notorious playboy of our prefecture but a boy who was fighting his hardest to be heard.

A boy who was cursed with the ordinary, barred from the top by the limits of his own abilities.

'I should just give –'

'No, don't you dare,' I interrupted, grabbing his collar with both hands and shaking him. His body was limp and lifeless, his usual air of arrogance gone.

He shook his head slowly and looked at me in defeat. The pain was raw in his glistening eyes. My heart broke as I saw my own reflection in those glassy depths.

We were one and the same.

'I'm not a genius. He's in a whole other league. Are you just here to argue with me and tell me that I'm wrong? To tell me that I'm great?' His mocking voice grew deeper with each syllable, lip curling in disgust.

'The Great King...what a joke.'

To both his and my surprise, I laughed. It was a dark kind of laugh, void of humour and benevolence.

'On the contrary, I agree with you,' I stated plainly. 'Your insecurities run deep but they give you depth. I prefer this side of you. The real you.'

Brown eyes widened, shaken by my unexpected affirmation.

Without thinking, I leaned forward and pressed my lips against his, silencing any protests.

I felt him tense up in surprise then gradually relax into my embrace. Tooru was unexpectedly gentle, shyly leaning into me and cupping a warm palm to my cheek. His movements were timid, as if afraid that I'll pull away. Unbeknownst to him, I had no intention of such thing.

How bittersweet. Dark chocolate and mint.

A burst of confidence overtook me and my tongue flicked out to trace over his lips, desperate for a better taste.

Abruptly, he wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me into his lap. The grunt he emitted was nothing like the frustrated sound that originally peaked my curiosity before and led me here. This new sound was almost animalistic, one that was equally desperate and satisfied.

Tooru's hands somehow found their way under my lavender blouse, his thumb rubbing gentle circles on my bare back. The simple movement sent heat flooding through my body.

Were first kisses always this electrifying?

His sudden closeness overwhelmed my senses but I just couldn't get enough. Our movements were clumsy and sloppy with inexperience, but I needed more.

On his lips, I could taste frustration and the salt from his tears. I tightened my grip on his collar as he tilted his head, deepening the kiss. I followed his cue and wrapped my arms around his neck.

He let out a rough growl as his arms around me tightened, desperately trying to pull me even closer than we already were.

Is this how addictions begin?

I kissed him hard but he kissed me back even harder, making me lose any semblance of rational thought. Eyes tightly shut, I was completely lost in his embrace.

Reluctantly, we both pulled apart, gasping for air.

Even at his weakest, how did he manage to break through my defences?

I ran my hands down his shoulders, to his broad chest. Even with his gym shirt between us, Tooru's skin was scorching under my cool fingertips. The shirt clung tightly to a chest that was slick with sweat and tears, like a second skin. Under my hand, his heart beat rapidly, mirroring mine.

I looked back up to meet wide eyes and a shy smile. Tooru buried his flushed face into my shoulder and let out a soft chuckle. I probably looked just like him - ruffled hair, rosy cheeks and bright red lips. But I didn't care.

In that moment, I made a vow.

Oikawa Tooru will become the greatest.

No one else worked harder. No one else deserved it more.

Looking up, he leant his forehead against mine. He stared deep into my eyes, but this time his were glistening with something brighter. They watched me in awe, like I held the universe in my eyes.

'...How beautiful,' he whispered.

I reached up and wiped away the tears sparkling on his pale cheeks.

It was the first time Tooru had let me see his true self.

It was flawed but raw.

Hideous but honest.

Fuelled by self-loathing but also passion.

How did I end up falling in love with someone just as broken as me?

I don't know how long we stayed like that, staring deep into each other's eyes on the cold gymnasium floor late on a Friday night. But I do know that the boy I left with finally began healing that night.

Until one day, it was almost as if the cracks were never there at all....

He was broken...and I stayed.

｡･:*:･ﾟ☆,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆ ♛｡･:*:･ﾟ☆,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Welcome to my grand return to writing! It's been a long few years and I'm finally ready to come back better than ever. The Wattpad community has always been so supportive of my work so I'm really excited to share this little creative project that I've been working on.

Please remember to vote and comment - it means the world to me ❤

Now, who's ready to fall in love and have their heart broken? Buckle up. I won't be able to guarantee your sanity but it's sure to be a wild ride through angst and all your feels.

- Love Arenelle x