Heartbreaker 3/3 | Kasamatsu Yukio

“_____-chan....” he whispers, voice soft as silk. She looks at him with eyes of wonder, fingers shaking behind her as she bites her lip, hiding the nervousness in her belly.

His fingers, calloused from hours of training, gently tilt her chin up, and she gasps at the tender expression on his face. He was calm, collected and determined, something she always admired about him. She wants to open her mouth, to say what’s on her mind, but he’s already leaning in...

...and kisses her.

//

She’s startled by her alarm, a gasp leaving her lips as she bolts up, hair in tangles.. Gently running a hand through it, she releases another breath, trying come to terms with the situation at hand.

He kissed her.. Kasamatsu Yukio, captain of Kaijou high’s basketball team, had kissed her, and then left her to ponder what it all meant, AFTER saying he didn’t feel a thing for her.

She was thoroughly confused, heart-broken and just... sad.

Then to top it off, that dream... Where he stared at her like she was the only one in the world.. Touched her with such tenderness, it made her want to cry... She lifts a hand to her mouth, touching where his mouth had been, not just in her fantasies..

But in reality too.

She feels the tears slip before she can control them, and her heart aches in such a weird way... She’s not sure whether she wants to hold him close or shove him into traffic.. Stomp on his heart the way he had to her...

Who was she fooling?

She could never do it.. She cares too much about him to do any harm. If anything, she’ll suffer in silence, take everything in stride, and wait until the end of the year when he graduates.. 

If she’ll last that long.

////

Turns out, they weren’t alone. It seems the girl who had confessed to Kasamatsu had followed him up the stairs, taken a photo of him kissing her and posted it on her social media..

___ learned about this the moment she got to Kaijou, hearing the rumours buzz in the halls. Not only that, but every classroom was talking about it. Eventually, it reached the basketball club.

“Y....You idiots got it all wrong! I.... We... W...We’re not dating!”

Kise, who stood there with an annoyed expression, flips open his phone, showing the picture.

“Then why are you kissing _____-chan if you’re not dating?! Come on senpai! Just admit you like her! You would never do this to someone you had no intention of dating!”

Kasamatsu knew Kise was right, but it was too early in the morning. Had he been smart, he would’ve noticed he was being stalked.. by the same girl who confessed to him a few weeks back.. But why would she start something?

He lets out a sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose... Why did such an irritating topic have to start up this early...? He was still trying to get the taste of her mouth out of his mind.. Not like he was faring well.. 

Truthfully, he didn’t want to forget.. He wanted to keep feeling it, over and over. He somehow became addicted to her taste, without even meaning to.. He’d stolen a kiss from her, leaving her alone to be confused and hurt at his actions.. He’s a dumb ass who doesn’t deserve her.

“GET TO WORK. NOW.”

Everyone froze, turning their attention to the door. Not once had they ever seen her so angry, so disheveled in appearance, it left them speechless.. It took everyone a few seconds to get their minds together before heading outside, though Kasamatsu was the last one.

He turns his head to her, swallowing when she stares right back at him. Her eyes are swelling with emotions, all directed and caused by his actions. He wants to make a move, to run to her and somehow fix this... But her eyes grow cold, and he knows he should get going with everyone else.

By the time they return inside, all that’s left of ____ is a resignation letter, and a heart-broken Kasamatsu.

////

She thought she could keep it together until Kasamatsu left Kaijou. But when their eyes met, and she saw all the words he wanted to say shine in those gorgeous hues of his, her heart stopped. The decision to stop assisting the basketball team is hard, because ____ feels she’s running.

Instead of talking with Kasamatsu, she’s avoiding him. She doesn’t want to see him again. Seeing that photo reinforces her feelings, and she can’t help but return home to her security.. To the one place no one judges her, no one claims they don’t like her only to do things that contradict said statement.

It’s petty, heartless and cruel.. But she doesn’t find herself being mad at him.. She’s an empty shell; unable to come to terms with the entire situation. She doesn’t deserve him anyway. She’s a year younger, doesn’t even play in the club and only manages the team.

What’s attractive about that?

Until everything clears out, she’s decides to stay away from Kaijou. Away from basketball.

Away from Kasamatsu.

///

Her luck runs out when she needs to buy groceries. 

Her mother, although understands her pain, wants her to go out and get some air, since she’s been holed up in her room since. She was also returning home late from work and wanted to have something made before she came back.

On the one hand, ____ understood where her mother came from.. She needed to get control of her life again. She couldn’t let this one thing destroy her from being out in the world. She had to function like a regular school girl.

But just as she finishes paying for her things, that’s when everything falls apart.

“_-______?!”

She freezes, grip on the bags tight as she tries to stop the erratic beating of her heart.. H...He should be in school right now...! So why....?

She doesn’t risk it, bolting out of the store before anymore people see the situation and try to ask. She doesn’t need help. She just needs to return home.. back to where she can forget about him, ignore everything that’s happened over the course of a month.

She hears footsteps behind her, and she knows he’s following, though she doesn’t understand why . She thought she made everything clear when she hadn’t showed up at school for a week and resigned from the basketball team.. Despite this.... why is he still chasing her?

She breathes a sigh of relief once she sees her house, having the key fully prepared to unlock the door. And as she reaches for the knob, she fumbles with it, too high on her emotions to focus on anything.. 

Just a little more...

She finally unlocks the door, opening it and nearly trips inside, only to feel that hand grip her upper arm, twirl her around and almost throw her against the wall. 

She’s scared... Her lungs are aching from depleted oxygen, mind racing a million miles an hour, and although she knows Kasamatsu wouldn’t harm her physically, he’s too gentle for that, she can’t help it. 

The tears start flying, before it becomes anger, and the anger turns into sorrow.. And she finds herself feeling everything under the sun, to the point she begins to struggle.

Kasamatsu has to dodge her from hitting him with the bags, and he curses, taking them from her to place in the kitchen. He lets her go, because he doesn’t want anything to happen to the food she just bought.

But when he returns to the main entrance, she’s gone.. and he can hear the running upstairs, making him curse.

Dammit.

Why is she running in her own house? She doesn’t understand why she’s avoiding him when he’s currently here... They could talk about everything, could fix whatever needed to be fixed so she can return to school.

But what if, he’s only here to say he doesn’t like her?

She just gets to her bedroom door when she’s yanked, again, and this time, she doesn’t stay quiet.

“Let me go, YUKIO!”

Complete silence.

Both of them look at each other in shock, neither able to form a coherent thought. Kasamatsu, because he hadn’t expected her to shout his first name. ____ because she hadn’t meant to say it.

The bedroom door is open, but they’re unable to take their eyes off each other, scared to make a move. Several emotions dance in their eyes, conveying what they can’t say out loud.

Regret. Remorse. Apologies. 

It’s then Kasamatsu swallows his pride, and begins to push her back, gently resting her against the wall behind her door. He pushes it closed, unable to take his eyes off her, licking his dry lips. There’s a flash of something in ____’s eyes, one he can’t decipher, but he finds himself raising a shaky hand to her cheek, rubbing the skin softly.

“____-chan...” he murmurs, soft as silk. It makes her heart stop, blood rushing to her head as the vivid dream from last night flickers in her mind. His fingers, calloused from hours of practice, are tender on her cheek, and she lets out a shaky sigh, eyes slipping shut.

She feels him tilt her chin up, breath fanning across her face, before making a noise in the back of his throat. If he was nervous, she was the same, and she opens her eyes, hooded with desire and another emotion she doesn’t dare to name. 

His face is so close, and in those two seconds, his mouth is on hers once again, exactly the way he was in her dream. Her eyes close again, returning the pressure gently, finding his hand and linking their fingers together, The kiss lasts about ten seconds, before he pulls back, lightly panting as he tries to gather his thoughts.

When she looks up at him, that’s when he looks down at her, resting his forehead against hers.

“...I like you....____-chan...”

Her heart beats faster and faster, and she lets out a hum, gently rubbing their noses together.

“...I... I like you too... Yukio...”

His grip on her hand tightens, a smile curling on his lips.

“C...Can we forget everything that happened, and start from here?”

She can hear the nervousness in his tone, and although she used to feel the same, it’s immediately replaced with happiness instead. She grins, eyes twinkling from the tears as she whispers,

“Only if you kiss me again.”

She swears she hears him click his tongue, but there’s only a smile as he leans in to kiss her again.