The Only One Who Matters

Lunch

With an emergency pack of tissues tucked away securely in my bag, I returned back to school. It seemed as though the store-bought food not only lifted my spirits, but also complimented the medicine in making me feel better. Now I know what to buy next time I find myself bedridden with a fever.

Despite needing to catch up with the work i'd missed, I couldn't help but find myself distracted.

"We can share food another day, when you're feeling better."

Over and over in my head - just those words. God knows what they meant to Asahi, but they sure did seem to mean a lot to me. Something about the idea of us eating together made my heart flutter (a feeling that i choose to ignore).

Head in the clouds, I made my way to my class, not-so-ready to start the lesson, when I passed someone I know.

Yui Michimiya. Captain of the girl's volleyball team.

The volleyball team I once played for.

I made a poor attempt at hiding my face as I passed her in the hallways. If it weren't for the fact that she was caught up in conversation with Daichi, she probably would've noticed me shuffling past awkwardly. Or so, that's what I thought.

"She still hasn't come back yet?" Daichi asked, turning his attention back to Yui, who was following me with her eyes.
"No..." she let out a sigh, "I'm not sure what else to do. If I try to speak to her, she'll be in such a hurry to get away that I barely get the chance to mention anything about her return. But we need her on the team, so I don't want to give up on her. I can't."
"That reminds me of someone I know." The corners of Daichi's mouth tugged upwards as he sighed softly. He continued, "I don't doubt she's an important part of your team. When we played against her and those other girls during the sports festival," his eyes widened at the memory, "I could feel her passion for the sport. We all could." A sullen expression took over Yui's face. It was true - with the sports festival being the first time I had played volleyball since I left the team, I couldn't help but get overly invested in the game.
Suddenly, something in Yui's face changed, as if an idea had just popped into her head.
"You know how Asahi hit her in the face with the volleyball?" She asked, ignoring the way Daichi guiltily flinched at the mention of the accident.
"Yeah?"
"Have they been speaking ever since that happened?" She asked, hinting at something. A finger rose to Daichi's lip as he started to think hard, trying to get on the same wave as Yui.
"Actually," he said with a click of his finger, "I did see her drop off his jumper to him the other day. They seemed to have had a small conversation, but I didn't think much of it." Daichi grew curious as to what Yui was getting at. "Why?"

She hummed to herself, a smirk taking over her face, and her shoulders becoming less tense as she felt a bit of hope seep through her body.

"I think I could use your help."

-

Trying my best not to be a distraction, I forced my feet to stay glued to the ground as I sat quietly at the back of the class whilst my teacher went on a tangent about her new favourite book. As much as I wanted to listen, my mind couldn't drag itself away from the thought of Asahi. I subconsciously kept checking the time, waiting impatiently for the bell to ring.

The thought of asking Asahi to eat with me made me feel restless.

Is this really a good idea?

After all, we don't really know each other that well.
But he did visit me when I was sick.
With food.
And he was the one who suggested that we eat together someday.

But did he really mean it?

I couldn't help but feel a bit silly at how badly i'm overthinking this simple task. It is literally just lunch. That's it. Obviously, there's nothing else to it. I just wanted to thank him for visiting me on Friday, and again for doing my homework, and just have a little chat. That's all.