Hey everyone! So I've been wanting to write in Mihashi's POV for a really long time now, and I finally got this finished! I hope you like it!

DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own Oofuri or its characters.

The first thing I heard was my alarm blaring in my ears. I opened up my eyes groggily, looking for the source of the noise even though I knew it was on my nightstand like it always is. I lifted my hand (ugh, too much effort) and slammed it down, pressing the button and stopping the shrill noise from assaulting my ears. I closed my eyes and pretended I was falling back to sleep.

Abe-kun was right, I should have fallen asleep early last night. I'm so tired…

Just think about Abe-kun made me wake up almost instantly. Oh no, he's going to kill me because I didn't get enough sleep…. I disentangled myself from my blankets (which was no small feat, since I nearly fell twice) and got dressed as fast as I could. I was still tired though, and I put my shirt on backwards, got stuck while trying to take it off, and put my shoes on the wrong feet.

Okay, I didn't really know if it was because I was tired or because I was still thinking of Abe-kun, but that's beside the point.

"Well, finally you're up, Ren." Mom said brightly, too bright for this early in the morning. "I thought I would've needed to wake you up again." She said, giggling a little.

"Nope, I'm up." I said.

"Here, you need me to make you something for break-?" She said, and I looked to the clock on the wall, jumping in shock at the time.

"No, that's fine! I gotta go!" I said, grabbing my backpack hurriedly and swinging it over my shoulders as I ran out the front door. I barely heard Mom's quiet "Oh… alright then…" as I left.

I got on my bike and started on my way to school. We didn't have practice in the morning, not today, because Momo-kan wouldn't be there since she had some kind of appointment to go to, but Abe-kun…

He called me last night. He actually called me! He told me that everyone was going to meet up in the morning and have a study session in one of the classrooms, because, well, we desperately needed it and Nishihiro-kun didn't mind using his brain that early in the morning. So, all in all, it seemed pretty perfect, and Abe-kun called me to tell me about it. He also told me to not pitch until after school's practice and to sleep well and-

And to weigh myself before I ate breakfast in the morning.

I FORGOT. Abe-kun's going to be so mad, and then he'll yell and then we won't get any studying done at all and…

I know I was breathing a bit harsher than I should have, and so I tried to calm myself down as best I could. I could just lie to Abe-kun, right? No, no, that was wrong, and I probably wouldn't be able to look into his eyes if I lied and that'll only tip him off that I was lying. Maybe he won't bring it up? Sometimes he forgets to ask, so today might just be one of those days. And besides, I can just eat l-

Lunch. I was in such a rush that I forgot my lunch.

Is it too late to turn back around?

Yes, it is, the school building is right up the road.

Oh no…

"Oi, Mihashi!" Abe-kun shouts as I walk into the room. I jump, because his voice is almost like thunder and he only gets that voice when he's angry or upset or worried or… actually, he almost always sounds like that. But it still scares me.

"Well, you don't need to yell at him!" I heard Tajima-kun chastise, bouncing up towards me and flinging an arm around my shoulders. I smile a little at the contact, because Tajima-kun was always so energetic and he always stood up for me (even though I didn't need to be stood up for, because Abe-kun didn't mean to scare me, at least that's what I think, anyways). "Mihashiiiii~" Tajima-kun whines, leaning on me and making me stumble a bit. "My brain hurts~"

"We haven't even started studying yet!" Hanai-kun said, scoffing and looking at everyone else incredulously.

"But it still hurts!" Tajima-kun practically wailed, and I ducked out from under his arm just as he withdrew it so he could properly argue with Hanai-kun. I smiled at them, just a little, as they continued bickering until Suyama-kun stepped in between them and tried to calm them both down. I made my way over and sat myself in front of Abe-kun and Sakaeguchi-kun, who were talking about something or other before I decided to sit down.

"Hey Mihashi." Sakaeguchi-kun chirped, smiling at me.

"M-Morning." I said, looking up at him and glancing at Abe-kun worriedly before busying myself with my backpack and getting out my notebook. It caught on one of my binders, and then the zipper on my backpack, and I was wrestling with it for a minute before a hand materialized out of nowhere, snatching the notebook with ease and smacking it down onto the desk. I looked up, and Abe-kun's hand was the one on my notebook, and his grey eyes bore right through me.

I felt like he could see through me, like I was a piece of glass or something, like he knew everything about me. Which was impossible, I knew it, but the way his eyes were just… fixated, like I was the only thing in the universe, it was scary. I felt my bones go to Jell-O and then a sudden panic ran through me because if he could see right through me, does he know that I didn't eat breakfast? Does he know that I forgot my lunch? I better say something before he thinks I'm holding back!

"T-T-Th-Th-Thanks… A-Abe-kun…" I stuttered, the words sounding so much better in my mind, but it was like I was unable to say them without my voice shaking. I looked down at my notebook, unable to look up at Abe-kun, because he was probably upset at me for not being able to get my notebook out on my own and did he see in my backpack? Did he see that I forgot my lunch?

"Mihashi!" Someone said, and I didn't even need to look up in order to know that it was Abe-kun. Who else would say my name like that? I found myself looking up at him even though I really didn't want to. "I asked you if you guys had a test tomorrow." He said, sounding a bit calmer now. My eyes flicked to Sakaeguchi-kun, silently asking him why he couldn't have just answered him for me. We were in the same class after all.

"Y-Yeah…" I answered, finally getting the words out of my mouth. "There's…. there's… English and… and math…. Tomorrow…" I pressed my fingertips together and flinched at the sigh my answer got from Abe-kun. I looked up, only to see him digging through his backpack.

"If you told me you had tests earlier, I could have helped you a lot more." He was saying, but I wasn't listening all that much. It was easier to look at Abe-kun when he wasn't looking back. His hair still looked messy, probably because he didn't wake up too long ago. His eyes were latched onto his backpack and his working fingers, where he was leafing through the organized mess inside (I could see that much). His white shirt wasn't buttoned up, showing off the back tee he had on under it and the way it was hiked up over his hip since he was leaning over and-

I let out a high-pitched sound as Abe-kun's hand came up and smacked one notebook onto the table loudly before sitting forward again, another notebook in his other hand. He gave me a confused glance, probably because of the sound I made. I didn't even realize that I was still staring at him until he started talking again.

"But I guess going over the basics right now will be more help than none." Abe-kun said, and I jumped, blinking rapidly and decided to look down at his notebooks instead.

"I'm going to go ask Nishihiro if he can explain this one theorem a little better…" Sakaeguchi-kun said, glancing at me and then Abe-kun before grabbing his things and moving over to Nishihiro-kun.

"Do you know what's on your test?" Abe-kun asked me, giving me an expectant look. I opened my mouth to answer him, but I couldn't make any sound. It was like I couldn't breathe. I shook my head a bit, avoiding his gaze. I guess that was wrong, because- "What do you mean you don't know?! It's your class!" Abe-kun yelled.

I flailed, snatching up my notebook and opening it quickly, flipping through it hurriedly as my fingers shook, sneaking glances at Abe-kun over the top of the pages. He had his face in his hands and it looked like his eyebrows were knitted together. I made him mad…. I tried not to think as I finally came to the page I was looking for, the one that had some specific notes on it… and one that I hadn't bothered to look at since I wrote them down. I pushed the notebook across the table towards Abe-kun. He looked up, and blinked a little, like he wasn't expecting my notebook right in front of him and-

"Oh. Thanks, Mihashi." Abe-kun said, a weird twinge in his voice that I couldn't make out. I nodded, unable to say anything and I decided to look at the table instead of looking at him as he scanned through my sloppy notes. "Okay, this doesn't seem too- MIHASHI, LOOK AT ME! I'M NOT MAD!" He exploded, and I immediately looked at him, my breath coming uneasy and I could barely meet his eyes for a second, so I dropped my gaze to his lips instead. His mouth was quirked into a small frown that looked like it was forced so he couldn't yell at me some more.

"I-I-I…" I started saying, not knowing what I was about to say, but feeling like I needed to say something, anything, in order to show Abe-kun that I wasn't as useless as he thought I was (because let's admit it, I was useless; I didn't know what was on my test, and I could barely take decent notes and I forget to do the simple things he asks me to like weigh myself and eat breakfast and-)

"Geez, there's no need to yell, Abe, calm the fuck down." Izumi-kun said, sounding irritated as he looked over at us from his spot next to Mizutani-kun and Oki-kun.

"Yeah, if you're bullying Mihashi, I might just have to take you outside!" Tajima-kun said, giving Abe-kun a fierce look.

"He's n-not bullying me!" I said, turning around and looking at Tajima-kun. He blinked, giving me a confused glance, almost like he expected me to continue. I didn't know how. "I only- It's just-!" I tried to explain, but the words wouldn't- couldn't- come out right. I was glad that Tajima-kun got what I was saying though, because his confused expression dropped, and he was smiling instantly after that.

"Okay, okay, fine! I get it!" He said, absolutely beaming. I nodded at him. "But I'm just saying! Don't yell at him, Abe! You don't need to be so mean!" Tajima-kun said, shifting his gaze to Abe-kun and pointing his finger at him.

Everything slipped back to normal after that. Everyone else worked on what they needed to be doing as Abe-kun coached me through a couple phrases of English for my test. I figured out that his class was about a week or two ahead of mine, so he knew everything already. He stopped me most of the time when I tried to say a sentence, sliding his neat notebook in my direction and pointing out what I said wrong. I never understood anything when I wrote it down myself, but when Abe-kun explained it, it was crystal clear and it stuck.

After a couple more corrections and awkward stuttering of English words, Abe-kun said that if I remembered everything we went over, I would pass. I only nodded at him, knowing that I couldn't possibly remember everything, but I could try, because remembering Abe's voice in my head was much easier than trying to remember my teacher's. I didn't say that, though, I couldn't.

We shifted to math, which was much better for the both of us, but it was worse at the same time. Abe-kun came around to sit next to me so he could see how I answered my homework questions. My shoulders hiked up without me even realizing it, and I leaned over my paper so much that Abe-kun nudged my shoulder and muttered, "Calm down, it's not like I'm going to eat you," while grabbing my shoulders (a lot gentler than I expected him to) and straightening me out. My shoulders slumped when his hands slide off them, and my handwriting got progressively worse as Abe-kun looked on. He corrected me with math much more than he did with English, but we finally got through everything.

"Do you need help with anything else?" He asked, looking at me. I shook my head, because I was pretty certain that all my other classes didn't have tests. Or at least I think they didn't. "Alright." Abe-kun sighed heavily, moving back to the other side of the table, and to his backpack, and as he sat down he pulled out another notebook. He let out a groan that I barely heard when he cracked open his notes and flipped through the pages.

I blinked at him, freezing in place, because I didn't know what he was doing. Was he… was he studying too?! I thought that Abe-kun was so amazing that he needed to study! Wait, no that was Nishihiro-kun, but I thought Abe-kun knew everything! No, no, I needed to stop thinking about that because Abe-kun still needed to study and do well in school, no matter how amazing he is. I dropped my gaze from his almost discouraged face, and looked at his notebook, trying to figure out what he was studying, but there was no way I could read upside down.

"W-What… are, um… What…?" I tried to ask, but it was like the words refused to come to my mouth. This is impossible! I can't even ask him something without having the words jumble up in my throat. No, but I couldn't give up. My fingers found the front of my shirt and tugged at it. "What a-are y-?"

"WHAT IS IT?" Abe-kun said, not quite yelling but not quite talking calmly, either. I flinched at his voice, not knowing if he sounded irritated because of me or because of what he was studying, and I finally brought myself to look at his shoulder. Looking into his eyes seemed a little bit too much.

"What… are you d-doing?" I asked, and this time there wasn't nearly as much stuttering as before. I was oddly pleased at that.

"History." Abe-kun said, sounding upset. I couldn't tell what he was upset about, but I knew he was upset and I knew that he was looking at his notebook's pages almost like he would set them on fire in the next two seconds.

"O-Oh?" I asked, cautiously interested. Did he not like history? I would have thought that he was good at it. I mean, it was easy, and he memorized sheets of data for baseball, it should be easy to remember a couple dates here and there and some people's names. I was so lost in thought as to why Abe-kun wouldn't like history to notice that he just gave a noncommittal grunt in response to my not-really-a-question question. "Do y-you need…?" I started asking, but my stutter was back and I was angry at myself and I really needed to calm down so I could say something before he got mad again and-

"Do I need help?" Abe-kun supplied, looking up at me again with those grey eyes as if I was the only thing in the world that mattered. Maybe he only looked at me like that because he really didn't want to look at his history notebook. But the room was so loud and the rest of the team was there, too, so he could have looked at anyone else, and yet he was looking at me and- he asked a question. I nodded quickly, hoping that I wasn't lost in thought too much for him to think that I was hesitating or something like that. "Hell yeah I need help." Abe-kun said shortly, glancing back down at his history notebook almost in disgust. "History's stupid." He muttered.

I couldn't help but smile for a split second before wiping the silly grin off my face. This time I was the one to help Abe-kun out, and not the other way around! I can be useful to Abe-kun, I could help him, he would be relying on me for help and- okay stop thinking. Abe-kun needs help with history and making weirdly happy noises is not helping any situation.

So, I took out my history notebook. My notes were all over the place, and it was sort of difficult to follow, but I knew how they went and I shuffled my way over to Abe-kun's side before nudging both of our notebooks together.

"Okay…" I said, taking a deep breath and calming myself down before I explained this chapter as best as I could to my catcher.

My stomach growled, and I looked down at it. Stupid stomach, I know I'm hungry, there's no need to let everyone else know about it. I slumped forward, burying my head in my arms on the desk. It wouldn't be that bad, because all I would have to do is wait until practice to get some food. We always take breaks right in the middle of practice so we can get some snacks Shinooka-chan made for us. But that meant going halfway through practice with an empty stomach, and that was plenty enough time for Abe-kun to see that I'm extra nervous today, or for him to ask me how much I weighed this morning, or for him to find out that I didn't bring lunch…

My stomach growled again, and I held back a little groan. Was it possible for your stomach to be so hungry that it started eating itself? I wasn't to that point yet, I knew it, but it felt like I was getting close; it definitely sounded like it, anyways.

I shouldn't have passed up my mom's offer on breakfast. I should have taken two seconds to snatch something from the fridge for lunch. I should have grabbed my wallet or something so I could at least buy something, but no. And now Abe-kun's going to be mad at me because I can barely do anything by myself, and he's going to want to stop being my catcher because I'm so annoying and needy and I never listen and it's going to be like Mihoshi all over again-

"MIHASHI!" Tajima-kun half-yells, shocking me enough so that I dug my head out from under my arms just in time to see him practically skipping his way over to me, a huge grin on his face. "It's lunch! C'mon! Get over here!" He chirps, grabbing ahold of my shoulders and maneuvering me out of my seat and over to where Hama-chan, Sakaeguchi-kun, and Oki-kun were already forming a circle with the desks.

"Where's your lunch? Oki-kun asked, making me flinch as I sat down in one of the chairs they gathered.

"Uhm… I, uh, forgot…" I said slowly, stuttering more than usual as if Abe-kun was standing right in front of me. It was stupid, because Oki-kun was nothing like Abe-kun, and Abe-kun wasn't even scary, he just made me nervous. I don't know why, but he just did. I want him to like me, and I feel like anything I do can make him hate me. I don't want him to stop giving me signs, I don't want him to stop catching for me, I don't want him to stop caring-

He cares about me. That's why he yells. That's why he asks about my weight and makes sure I eat enough and makes sure I stretch properly after pitching all day. He cares about me. He's probably the only person outside of my family that cares for me, and he tries as hard as he can to take care of me, or at least get me to take care of myself properly, and all I do is let him down. I owe everything to Abe-kun. I don't deserve him, as a friend, as a catcher, as anything.

"Well that sucks." Hama-chan said, clicking his tongue at me unfortunately. "Here, you can have half of mine." He said, splitting his food in half and giving me some. I took it, almost like it was the greatest thing anyone could ever give to me. I could hear Mizutani-kun chuckle at the expression on my face as he sat down with us, but I didn't really care. Hama-chan gave me his food. It was nice, and it saved me! I could eat it, and not be completely hungry when practice rolled around, and if Abe-kun's mad at me about not eating breakfast, at least he won't be mad at me for not having lunch too.

"T-Thanks, Hama-chan!" I said, smiling brightly at him before starting to eat. It was silent for a while, all of us munching on our food diligently, until we were finished.

"So~" Tajima-kun said, leaning on me heavily. I glanced at him, puzzled and interested as to why he sounded completely amused and like he was asking for gossip. "Was it me, or were you actually helping Abe with something this morning?" He asked, wiggling his eyebrows at me. My mouth opened and closed, the words not coming out and I don't even know what I would say, at this point, because that was the last thing I expected for him to ask about.

"Oh, no, I definitely saw that too." Sakaeguchi-kun said, smiling a little.

"Well, that's sort of weird. Usually it's Abe helping Mihashi all the time." Hama-chan said, stroking his chin like he was thinking about something before Mizutani-kun elbowed him in the ribs. "Ow!"

"Mihashi can help Abe too!" Mizutani-kun defended, looking at him with his eyes narrowed a bit.

"What were you helping him with?" Oki-kun asked, ignoring the two, who were having a little staring contest instead of an actual argument.

"H-history." I said.

"Oh, that makes sense." Tajima-kun said, sitting up straight. "I heard Abe sucks at history. But that's actually really cool! I didn't know you liked history!" He said, nudging me.

"I just… It makes…" I said.

"I know, I know, it makes sense. Not like math or English. Bleh!" Tajima-kun said, acting disgusted.

"You can't blame Abe for needing help with history." Oki-kun said, shrugging.

"But… he knows… a lot… so I just… he wouldn't…" I tried to say, but I was too excited to say what I really wanted to say, and it was like all the words jumbled together at the wrong time.

"Yeah!" Tajima-kun said. "I know what you mean! Mr. Know-It-All should be able to memorize all those facts and historical crap! But he can't! It's kind of funny when you think about it!"

"Don't… don't make fun of him!" I said suddenly, looking at Tajima-kun fiercely.

"What? I was only-!" Tajima-kun was saying, brushing the whole thing off before finally looking at me and seeing my (probably scarily serious) expression. "Whoa, jeez, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that." He amended, looking genuinely apologetic. I nodded, forgiving him, before he flung his arm over my shoulder again.

"You two are exhausting." Hama-chan said, sighing and rest his head in the palm of his hand. I laughed a little, because everyone said that. I was glad that Tajima-kun got me, and that he didn't make too much of a big deal over the fact that I stood up for Abe-kun.

Was that what that was? Was I standing up for him? I knew Tajima-kun was just poking fun, but it touched a nerve for some reason. I just didn't want Tajima-kun talking about him like that. I never thought Abe-kun needed me before now, and he probably doesn't, but at least I helped him with his history assignment this morning, and now I helped him again by standing up for him… even if he doesn't know it. But still!

"The teacher's coming back in." Mizutani-kun reported, and then lunch was over. We all helped put the tables back where they belonged before piling into our seats once more and listened to the teacher drone on in the most boring voice ever about everything we needed to learn.

After classes were let out for the day, it didn't take us very long to get to the club room. Hama-chan tagged along with the rest of us from our class because he was going to be a runner today and help us with practice. We were all grateful for it, trust me, and it made me proud that I knew him when I was little… oddly. I don't know if that made sense, because I was proud because I knew him before everyone else did.

We all changed into our practice uniforms and waited around for the rest of the team to show up. In the meantime, we fixed up the field a bit and made sure all the equipment was accounted for and ready to be used. To say I was a little nervous was an understatement. What if Abe-kun got mad at me for not doing what he said to? Would he end up quitting the team because I was too much of a nuisance? I asked him a couple times before, and he always said that he wasn't going to quit, but I've made plenty of people mad before and soon they end up not wanting anything to do with me…

I can't imagine a world without Abe-kun. I don't know how its going to be after we graduate, and I don't want to think about how it was before I came to Nishiura, but if Abe-kun stopped playing baseball, I'd be useless on that mound and there would be no use to even continue playing baseball. I couldn't imagine him not caring about me anymore, not asking me about my weight and limiting my pitch count and making sure I studied and ate properly-

"Mihashi!" Someone called, and I stiffened, knowing that voice all too well. When I turned around, Abe-kun was standing there. I made a little noise, I don't know why, probably because I was just thinking about him and now he's here and… I walked over to him. "Hey." He said.

"H-Hi Abe-kun…" I said, not knowing where to look, at his eyes or his feet or his shoulder… so I settled for looking at the tips of my shoes and wringing my fingers in my shirt nervously.

"I forgot to ask you this morning, but did you-?" Abe-kun started to ask before being cut off.

"C'MON GUYS! WE NEED TO START!" Suyama-kun yelled, waving his arm around to catch our attention. Abe-kun clicked his tongue, probably because he was irritated about being cut short, and I just about melted right into my shoes. He was going to ask me about my weight, I knew it, and… Suyama-kun just saved me. I'd have to say thank you to him later. We both went over to the rest of the team and started our meditation exercise.

. . .

The sun was setting already when we finally got done with everything that Momo-kan assigned for us to do today. When she said that practice was going to be more intense, she was right. I rolled my shoulders a bit to stretch them out a little more, feeling the tension spill out of them like they normally did after I pitched. It wasn't even tension, not really, but whatever the feeling was it was oddly comforting and it was a sign that I was doing something right. Every pitch that I threw felt right, and if it was up to me, I would have kept on pitching for longer, and before I came to Nishiura, I would. I would go home and pitch to my target in my backyard until I could barely see my fingers in front of my face and then I would go in my room and sleep like the dead. I was scared out of my thoughts when someone touched my shoulder.

"Are you feeling okay?" Someone asked me, and I nearly jumped out of my skin at the suddenness of it all. I turned around and saw Abe-kun looking at me, his expression like stone, except that if you looked close enough there was some kind of worry in his grey eyes and… too bad I didn't have more time to look, and I didn't know where to look; it was like I couldn't look at him for long or I might have exploded. Instead I glanced around, looking at everything and anything except his face.

"I-I'm…. okay." I finally responded after I realized that he was trying his hardest to be patient with me. Abe-kun, the only person that actually cared about me, the person I probably irritated the most, the person I trusted with my pitches… and the person who was looking at me skeptically.

"I just saw you rolling your shoulders some more! Are you sure you're okay?" He said, making me jerk because his voice was louder than I expected it to be. I looked everywhere and anywhere, wringing my fingers in my shirt some more as I shook.

"Oi! Abe! Stop bullying him!" Tajima-kun yelled from the dugout.

"I'm not bullying him!" Abe-kun answered back. He sounded angry. I made him angry. I always make him angry. But he still cares about me, because he would have left me by now.

"Sure you're not!" Tajima-kun said, and even though I couldn't see it, I was sure that he was rolling his eyes. Abe-kun huffed, and decided to ignore him.

"I-I-I'm okay… Abe-kun… honest." I said shakily after a couple seconds. He gave me a look before sighing.

"Fine." He said shortly. "But if something's wrong, you need to tell someone, alright? We don't need you to get injured." I nodded immediately, because he tells me this all the time. I should be tired of hearing it, but I'm not. Every time he says it, I know he means it, so I don't really mind. It's just another way to show that he cares. "Anyways, how much did you weigh this morning?" He asked.

I jumped, knowing that the question as coming but not knowing how to escape it. I could feel my shoulders shaking, and my fingers found the front of my shirt again and I didn't know where to look; first at Abe-kun's shoes, then at the dugout, then at the pitcher's mound. My mouth opened and closed like I was trying to say something but the words weren't coming out. I probably looked like a baby bird or a fish out of water or something and it was so stupid, because Abe-kun was still looking at me and I was pretty sure he was getting annoyed and-

"You didn't weigh yourself this morning, did you?!" Abe-kun said, his voice like steel as he lunged forward, grinding his knuckles on either side of my head.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow…" I said under my breath, because it hurt a little bit, but not as much as it used to. Or was it because Abe-kun was being gentle? He let me go a second later, and I swayed a bit before sinking onto the floor in front of him. "N-No…" I answered his question, looking down at the dirt beneath me. "I-I-I forgot, a-and… late… s-so…" I stuttered out. I heard him sigh above me, and I flinched.

"You were late so you forgot to weigh yourself this morning." Abe-kun said, clarifying the thought that couldn't get out of my mouth properly, and I nodded, still not looking up. How could I? He was upset at me, and everything can and will fall apart, and maybe if I didn't look up, I wouldn't see everything crash, and then it would be like it didn't…. "Stand up." Abe-kun said gruffly, and I started when he grabbed my arms and pulled me to my feet.

"A-Abe-kun…" I stammered, looking this way and that and trying my hardest not to look at him, because I knew he had a scowl on his face and his hands were fists, and I couldn't take it. I knew he was angry at me, and one day he's just going to dump me and forget about me because I'm not good enough and I never listen and I'm wasting his and everyone else's time…

"Hey, I'm not mad, you know!?" Abe-kun said, sounding plenty mad at me and everything else. But there was something there that made me stop. Maybe it was because Abe-kun would never say something that he didn't mean. I stopped trying to avoid his gaze and looked at his feet.

"Y-You're…. you're not?" I asked, biting the inside of my cheek and my fingers ringing my shirt again. Abe-kun's feet moved, stepping closer to me, and I was just about to look up when one of his fingers hooked under my chin and made me look up. He was right in my face, looking at me, seeing me, and even though there was the tiniest bit of a scowl on his face, I knew that he truly wasn't mad.

"I'm not mad." Abe-kun said, echoing my thoughts, and for a second I heard Shiga-sensei's voice ringing in my head, saying how the pitcher and catcher were supposed to be of one body and mind. I shook the thought of my head when Abe-kun took a deep breath and continued talking. "Part of it's my fault, anyway. It was late when I called you last night."

I blinked at him. Was he… taking responsibility for something I did wrong?! I couldn't believe it!

"N-No!" I argued, making him blink. "You… You were just… telling me about… studying… so its not your fault! I just…. Got up… late…" Abe-kun lowered his finger from my chin, and took a little step back. He huffed.

"Then I'll call you every morning if that means you'll get up on time." Abe-kun said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"A-Ah… Abe-kun doesn't… y-you don't… responsibility, so…" I said, butchering my sentence. 'You don't have to do that if you don't want to, I'm not your responsibility, so you don't have to go out of your way to do this.'

"Technically, you are my responsibility." Abe-kun said, making me blink at him and scramble for something, anything to say to him. "You're my pitcher, I'm supposed to take care of you."

"Y-You do!" I said, nodding at him enthusiastically. "M-my grades… eating… p-pitching… you help me… a lot… I-I'm… happy… you care… but… I… I can do this… by myself." I was proud that I actually didn't butcher it as much as I thought I would have. I couldn't explain the look on Abe-kun's face even if I had more time, because his hand shot out and ruffled my hair.

"Okay." He said, and I didn't know if he was happy, or excited, or what, but the expression on his face now was… was he…? Was he smiling?! "C'mon, lets get changed and go home." He said, jerking his head back to the dugout, and I nodded, and we did just that.

After scrambling a bit faster than normal, we got changed in time to leave with the rest of the team. We all grabbed our bikes and left.

"Hey… psst! Mihashi!" Someone said, and when I looked, Tajima-kun rode up on his bike next to me. He was… whispering, for once? I almost laughed, because the thought of Tajima-kun whispering was almost a near impossibility, before I noticed that the look on Tajima-kun's face was serious.

"Hmm?" I answered. He hopped off his bike and walked it next to mine.

"What were you and Abe talking about earlier?" Tajima-kun asked, and I nearly tripped as I walked. I opened and closed my mouth, sounds coming out that were supposed to be words, but it was like I had no control over anything at the moment. "Aw, c'mon, Mihashi, it's not like it's a secret that you were talking, right?" I instantly shook my head at the question, because, honestly, it wasn't a secret, and it wasn't like I could keep something from Tajima-kun anyways. He would only weasel it out of me later. "So what were you talking about?" He pressed.

"W-weight… and… getting… up… and…" I stuttered, looking at the floor. I didn't know if Tajima-kun got it, but apparently he did, since he smiled at me a moment later.

"Aw, why so boring!?" He whined good-naturedly. "I thought you two were gossiping or planning a date later or something!" I jerked when he said that, nearly tripping and flinging myself over the handlebars of my bike. "Whoa, Mihashi! Are you alright?" Tajima-kun asked me curiously.

"A-Abe-kun… and… date…" I said, not really understanding why he said that.

"Isn't it obvious?" Tajima-kun asked, blinking at me like it was his turn to be baffled. I only blinked at him. "I thought you two liked each other." He said simply, and something that felt like fire was on my face and I felt like throwing my bike down to try and rub off the insane warmth, but instead I looked away from him and at the other side of the street instead.

"Ab-Abe-kun and… like… can't… not…" The words that were coming out of my mouth didn't make sense, not even to me. I tried to breathe, I really did, but it was like I couldn't have enough. I bit the inside of my cheek and I was swaying on my feet and without my bike, I would be on the floor for sure.

"Whoa, sorry!" Tajima-kun yelled, reaching out and grabbing my shoulder. It was so different from when Abe-kun grabbed my shoulder… GAH! "I didn't mean to freak you out or anything! I was just assuming!"

I don't think I listened to him very well, because the moment I thought about Abe-kun grabbing my arm, it was like a stream of Abe-kuns running through my mind. Yelling at me today, calling my yesterday, making sure I drank enough water, helping me with stretches, leaning over and showing me what I did wrong in a math problem, plopping my glove onto my head with a weird-looking semi-smirk on his face… and with stars practically in his eyes the first day I met him. Something twisted in my stomach, and I hoped I didn't have to go to the hospital. Abe-kun would be furious…

There we go again.

He cares for me. I couldn't think it enough. It didn't make sense why he cared for me. I'm not that good of a pitcher, I can barely talk when I'm around him, I'm clumsy, I'm not ever that good in school and yet… he cares. Does that… Could he care about me because he likes me?

"I like you. Not just as a pitcher, as a person!"

I couldn't think about that. He was only getting me ready for the Mihoshi game.

"Mihashi! Are you even listening to me!?" Tajima-kun shouted, probably disturbing the people who lived in the houses we walked by.

"Ah… ah, no…" I said, still not looking at him.

"Hey." Tajima-kun said, and there was something serious in his voice that made me stop short and look at him. "I said I was sorry about thinking that you and Abe liked each other. I didn't mean it like that, okay?"

I nodded my head. It was the only thing I could really do. Tajima-kun nodded back, before cracking a wide smile. We talked a bit about school, and then it switched to PE, when he threw that basketball at the one guy's face because he was talking badly about Shinooka-chan. It was pretty funny, and we laughed about the look on his face when Tajima-kun stood up to him, but what he was saying about Shinooka-chan was just… wrong. We didn't tell her about it, though, but Tajima-kun made sure that the guy got that Shinooka-chan wasn't to be messed with.

"Alright, Mihashi! I'll see you tomorrow!" Tajima-kun said as we reached my house.

"Yeah. Bye Tajima-kun!" I called as loud as I could as he hopped on his bike and raced down the road. I set my bike outside, grabbed my things, and slipped through the front door. "I'm home!" I said, slipping off my shoes and closing the door behind me.

I found myself gravitating to the kitchen, where my mom was making dinner. I talked with her for a little while, but I couldn't really remember what we talked about. I sat down and ate whatever she put on my plate in a heartbeat. After I was finished, I took a shower and went into my room. I briefly wondered if I should do my homework, before squashing the thought immediately. Of course I'm doing my homework, Abe will kill me if he knows I'm slacking.

I amended that immediately, because sure, Abe could grind his knuckles into my head and yell at me, but I don't think he would actually kill me. Or at least I was hoping he wouldn't.

I did my homework as best as I could, or as much as I could before I started nodding off. I put everything in my backpack and made sure my alarm was on, before collapsing onto my bed. My hand slid underneath my pillow and it felt around for a bit before it touched what it was looking for: a baseball. I removed the ball from the underside of my pillow and rested it near my face.

It wasn't long before I was fast asleep.

So, heh. I know sort of made up who is in who's class, but oh well! I hope you liked it!

Please Review!

Thank you for Reading! Love you!

-HB