~The Ending, Senior Year~
Ever since the very first day of Freshman year, I've been in love with Atobe-kun. Almost every school day, he'd pick me up with his luxurious limo to send me to school and back home. The funny thing is, we aren't even dating.
Yet...Or, at least I don't think we are.
Students have been telling me that Atobe-kun and I act like a couple but not one of us confessed our feelings for each other. He still calls me his 'Queen' but nothing really happened. We've been going on simple dates since Freshman year. The only thing we haven't done beside confessing our feelings would be our first kiss. We haven't even had our first kiss!
I really do appreciate that fact that Atobe-kun has done so much for me over the past two years. He's been coming to our practices and even attended our tournaments and championships. We've won a few competitions thanks to his support.
Unfortunately, he's been distant towards me. It's been like this since last year, when Hyotei lost to Seigaku's tennis team. Since then, Atobe-kun was getting obsessed in getting revenge and defeating Seigaku's captain, Tezuka.
Even though Atobe-kun isn't my boyfriend, it still saddens me that he's not talking to me as much. He's been showing up for my Cheerleadering practices less and I haven't heard one of his compliments in a while. All he's been doing was sitting at his office in the Student Council room and ponder on his next tennis match.
Since it's Senior Year, I do hope that I can finally admit my feelings to Atobe-kun. Maybe we can officially be a couple instead of whatever it is we're in right now. I feel like I should tell him how I truly feel before we graduate. Who knows what we'll do in the future.
"Hey, Captain Kie? Are you alright?" A voice spoke out to me.
"Huh?" I snapped out of my thoughts and stared at the person speaking to me. It was one of my spotters in the team. She must've noticed that I spaced out. "Yeah. I'm alright."
I gave her small smile as she narrowed her eyes and eyed me questionably. "Okay. Just letting you know that it's almost 5PM." She pointed at the clock in the Gymnasium to show proof that she wasn't kidding.
5PM already!? Did I really spent majority of practice daydreaming again!?
With a deep sigh, I walked to the center of the Gymnasium and cleared my throat for the team's attention.
"Hey ladies." I started with a smile. "You all worked hard today. We're definitely going ace the Nationals and take home the trophy! Practice is over for today. Have a nice weekend and don't forget to hydrate! You're all dismissed!"
The team shake their pom-poms and said their 'goodbyes'. I observed the Gymnasium, hoping that I'd see Atobe-kun sitting in the bleachers. Too bad he's nowhere to be seen. "Well, this sucks..." I muttered under my breath.
Just then, I heard a two familiar voices behind me. "Yo! Kie!" "Kie-chan!"
I turned around to see Shishido-san and Gakuto-san walking towards me. Seeing my two friends, I couldn't help but to smile at them. At least my two best friends still sticks around. "Hey guys."
Gakuto-san studied my face and immediately knew that I frowning underneath that smile. "You're sad that Atobe didn't show up for practice again huh?"
I felt my face flush. "N-No! Why would I be sad about that..." I said, even though they know I was lying.
"If you say so Kie. Now, come with us to the Tennis Club. We're going to start our practice matches." Shishido-san said.
"Is that why you guys came over here?" I asked, flashing them a smile.
Gakuto-san scratched his face and gave out a hearty laugh. "Of course silly. We always like your company during practice. Plus, we can still use you as distraction for Atobe."
I couldn't help but to laugh. "Still on that huh?"
"You know we're kidding. But seriously, you want to come see us for practice?" Shishido-san asked.
"Of course!" I shouted in joy.
I picked up my bag and followed my two friends towards the Tennis Courts. In my opinion, the boys tennis team are really phenomenal. Their current members are really awesome as well. I really believe that they will defeat Seigaku next time and win the tournament.
With the approval from Coach Sakaki, I was allowed to sit in for practice whenever I can and observe. I was even allowed to play tennis a bit whenever practice is not stressful. I'm not a pro like everyone else but I'm pretty decent at it, I guess. Atobe-kun was the one who trained me the basic level skills of tennis.
The three of us entered through the court gates and there, I see Atobe-kun practicing his return shots with a Tennis Ball Machine.
"Hey Atobe! Look who we dragged!" Shishido-san shouted across the field, trying to catch Atobe-kun's attention.
It didn't work. Atobe-kun either ignored Shishido-san or didn't pay attention to his words. He just kept focusing on the machine and returned every shot given to him.
I frowned from this. Great...ignored once again...
"Don't worry about him Kie." Oshitari said as he walked up to me an stood next to me, also looking at Atobe-kun.
I quickly looked away and stared at my blue haired friend. "Who says I was worried about him Oshitari?" I said, putting on a brave face. I knew pretending not to be hurt around Oshitari is pointless since he has substantial observation skills, but I am stubborn when it comes to my feelings. I don't really want anyone to be burdened based on my mood.
Oshitari studied my face and then let out a sigh. "Well, my imagination then." He said as he shrugged his shoulders and held up his racket in the air. "Ootori, you ready?"
"Yeah. I'm ready." Ootori answered as he approached the two of us.
"You guys have a practice match?" I asked.
Ootori nodded his head. "Yeah. I want to test out my skills and see if I can beat him."
I let out a slight chuckle. "I see. That's going to be an interesting match." I paused and placed a finger to my chin. "As a matter of fact, all of your practice matches are interesting."
"Well, you can spectate if you'd like. You're more than welcome." Oshitari said as he and Ootori made their way towards an empty court.
"Hey! Ichi-Chan!" Jirou yelled out as he started running towards me. "Want to play a match with me!?" He had his usual goofy look on his face while waving at me. With his hand held high, I tip toed a bit to smack it for a 'high-five'.
"I see you're not sleeping Jirou." I said, teasing the goof. "I don't mind playing with you, but I'm not going to be much of a match. I'm really bad at tennis. Maybe it's best if you don't play against me."
Gakuto-san crossed his arms and pouted. "Awh. Come on Kie-chan. Atobe has been training you and we know that you're decent at tennis. You're not a terrible player."
I shrugged my shoulders and unknowingly stared at Atobe-kun again. "I'm just not in the mood to play."
Shishido-san ran his fingers through his short hair, trying to think of something. "Hey, how about we have a doubles match for practice?" From my peripherals, I could see that he was staring at me. "It'll be me and you against Jirou and Gakuto."
"Sounds fun to me." Gakuto-san said.
Jirou raised his arms up and wrapped his hands behind his head. "I'm up for it. How about you Ichi-chan?"
I was still staring at Atobe-kun as he continued hitting the tennis balls that came from the machine. Each shot he returned were executed gracefully. He's a really talented person...
"Kie-chan?" Gakuto-san said my name.
I shifted my gaze towards my friends as they all looked at me. Doubles match huh? Maybe playing this match will get Atobe-kun to talk to me again...
"Sure. I guess we can do that. I don't have a reason to protest." I said, giving them a smile.
"Awesome! Let's see if we can beat Ichi-chan!" Jirou shouted in excitement as he ran to pick up his tennis racket.
I laughed from Jirou's comment. Everyone else stepped away to pick up a tennis racket while I stood in my spot. I could hear footsteps coming closer behind me so I calmly turned around. There, I see Atobe-kun approaching me. He must've overheard our conversation and made his way towards me.
"So, is my lovely Queen, Kie Ichi playing a doubles match?" Atobe-kun asked.
I couldn't help but to blush. I always flush when he calls me 'Queen' or 'Lovely'. He was standing right in front of me, I could feel my heart pounding from nervousness.
"Y-Yes..." I stuttered nervously. "Are you going to watch?"
He gave out his infamous charming smirk, "Of course. Ore-sama wants to be awed by your prowess." He said as he placed his fingers on my chin and held it up.
I could feel my face flush even more from this. My palms were starting to sweat from nervousness. I even feel my heart pounding even more from excitement as well. I'm really happy that Atobe-kun is being himself when he's not obsessing over Seigaku and Tezuka.
"Oi. Kie. I got you a tennis racket." Shishido-san said as he tossed a racket towards me.
I caught it and held onto it. "Thanks Shishido-san."
"Come on Kie-chan!" Gakuto-san called out to me. He and Jirou were already in the empty Tennis court.
"Let's start our match Ichi-chan!" Jirou yelled.
"Ah! I'm coming!" I shouted out as I bowed towards Atobe-kun and followed Shishido-san into the court.
As the four of us took our spots in the court, Atobe-kun followed along and stood by the sidelines closest to me. "I'll be standing here Kie. Just in case." He said with a serious look. I could see him gripping onto his tennis racket. I smiled lightly from the fact that Atobe-kun was being really caring towards me.
Before our match started, we noticed Kabaji and Hiyoshi standing by the bleachers. Oshitari and Ootori even stopped their practice match to spectate ours.
"Alright! I'll serve first!" Jirou shouted as he threw the ball in the air and served.
The ball was coming towards me at a decent speed in which I was able to return it without any trouble. Shishido-san stood near the net while I stood near the baseline. I knew the guys were holding back since I'm playing and I didn't mind. Even though I'm not a tennis prodigy, I do find it fun.
"Isn't this fun Kie-chan!?' Gakuto-san asked while returning the shots with his acrobatic skills.
I hit the ball back and nodded my head with a smile. "Yeah! It is actually fun!"
"Don't worry Kie. This is just the warm up!" Shishido-san said as he spiked the ball.
After a couple more plays, the score was 40-30 which Shishido-san and I in the lead. Since we were only playing one round, we only need one more point to be declared the winners. The whole time, I stole glances at Atobe-kun whenever I had the chance and I always catch him staring at me. It makes me blush every time we made eye contact but I tried not to make it obvious.
Gakuto-san lobbed the ball towards me as I positioned myself to return it. "Alright guys, I'm going to make the winning shot!" I yelled as I hit the ball with all I got.
"Not if I can help it!" Jirou shouted back as he ran towards the ball.
Just when I thought he was going to miss the shot, he leap forward and hit the ball back with more force. "Oh no! I hit it too hard!"
The ball was coming back at a fast speed and Shishido-san, who was on the far right side of the court, was running towards the left to hit the ball. "Don't worry Kie! I got it!" Just as Shishido-san made it towards the left side, he reached out his racket to hit the ball back but missed by a mere centimeter. "Shit I missed!" He yelled, "Kie! Watch out!"
His warning didn't register in my head. I just stood there and watched as the ball was slowly making it's way towards me at it's fast speed. During my training with Atobe-kun, I was never prepared to return any fast shots nevertheless ones that were returned with a lot of force.
"I-I..." I started stuttering to myself quietly, "I can't get this!" was all that yelled out of my mouth.
As I continued to eye the ball, it felt as if it was moving in slow motion. My legs felt numb. They wouldn't move. So, with my stupid reflexes, I closed my eyes and held my racket right in front of my face, waiting for the impact. It was the only thing I could think of to protect my face from getting hit by the ball. I kept squeezing my eyes shut, still waiting for the ball to hit my racket. I know that ball was moving really fast, yet why haven't I felt the impact yet?
"Kie." A familiar, lovely deep voice whispered my name close to me.
I opened my eyes slowly to see Atobe-kun's face close to the racket that was still in front of me. He was staring deep into my eyes once they were fully opened. "H-Huh?" I looked at him in confusion.
"Are you alright?" He spoke to me softly. Realizing that his face was still pretty close, I quickly took a step back and moved my racket away. He was still looking at me with a bit of concern on his face. My face flushed from this and I lowered my gaze towards his hands. His racket was with him as well as the ball that's now on the ground.
Atobe-kun must've ran up here from the sideline. He wasn't kidding when he mentioned that he would stand at that spot just in case...
"Thank you Atobe-kun..." I said it him quietly, face still flushed.
His facial expression didn't change. He still had a look of concern. Atobe-kun then stepped forward and placed a hand on my shoulder. "Good thing I was standing there. Ore-sama saved you." He spoke in a soft tone.
I could feel a blush forming on my cheeks again as I forced a light smile on my face to hide it. "Yeah. Good thing. Thank you again Atobe-kun."
Atobe-kun's face softened and he moved his hand to my cheek and pinched at it lightly. He then walked away and headed back inside the school building with Kabaji following along. My face went from pale to red in a heart beat.
What was that for!? Why did he pinch my cheek? Atobe-kun has never done something like that before. What does that mean?
"Ichi-chan!" I heard Jirou yelled out my name as he and all my other friends ran up to me. "I'm so sorry Ichi-chan! I didn't mean to hit the ball that hard!" He was bowing in front of me nervously as his form of an apology.
A single drop of sweat rolled down my cheek as I held my hand up, motioning Jirou to stop. "No need to apologize Jirou." I said in which he stopped his bow. "This just means I need to train harder. That's all."
Shishido-san stood next to me and placed his hands behind the back of his neck. "I'm sorry as well Kie. It was my fault for missing that shot. I miscalculated the distance of the racket and ball."
"No really. Don't apologize. There's no need to worry about me!" I said, waving my hands in front of them. Now I sorta feel embarrassed that something like this happened.
Gakuto-san let out a sigh of relief and then winked at me. "Good thing you're safe. Atobe ran towards you in a matter of seconds to stop that ball. If it wasn't for him, you would've probably had a mark on your face Kie-chan."
"He's right Kie." Oshitari spoke up. "Atobe did look scared for a second and didn't think twice on saving you. Remember, you're his top priority."
My eyes widened and my face flushed once again. "W-What!?"
Ootori chuckled lightly. "Indeed you are Kie. Honestly, when will the two of you become official?" He patted my head and let out a slight pout.
"He's right Kie-chan. As much as Shishido and I didn't like Atobe in the beginning, we sort wished for the two of you to get together already."Gakuto-san said in an impatient tone.
I looked over to Shishido-san and he nodded his head in agreement. If that's the case, then why has it taken so long for the two of us to become official? I've been in love with Atobe-kun since the first day of school and yet, nothing has happened. I do wonder how he really feels about me. Even so, now I'm starting to feel bad that I made him worry. I don't know how Atobe-kun really feels about me, but I guess I should go and apologize to him.
Feeling sad, I shook the thoughts from my head and gave Hiyoshi my racket and smiled towards my friends. "Thanks everyone. I had fun with our little tennis match." I started walking away to grab my belongings and turned back to them when I reached the gate, "If you can all excuse me, I'm going to talk to Atobe-kun." I forced a smile on my face towards them. When I turned back around, my smile went back to a frown and I started running inside the school building.
Trying my best not to lose stamina quickly, I ran at a good pace down the hallways. Knowing Atobe-kun, he's probably in the School Council room pondering or cooling off from whatever his behavior was earlier. Maybe now's the time to discuss about the two of us.
Standing outside the room with the sign 'Student Council' above, I lightly knocked on the polished door. "Come in." Was all I heard from the opposite side. Inhaling deeply, I exhaled a sigh and slowly opened the door. There, I see Atobe-kun, sitting on his royal chair facing towards the window. He didn't seemed fazed with my presence in the room since he didn't turn his chair around.
I looked to my right and I see Kabaji standing by the bookshelf. "Is there anything I can help you with Kie?" Atobe-kun spoke, still not turning away from the window.
I cleared my throat for a bit and looked at Kabaji. "I-I'm sorry for the intrusion. But, Kabaji, may I please be alone with Atobe-kun for a bit?" My silent friend remained unresponsive, probably unsure of what to do. Then, Atobe-kun waved his hand up, signaling Kabaji the okay. With a slight nod from his head, Kabaji finally responded with his 'yes' and stepped out of the council room.
Now, it was just me and the King himself.
I stepped closer towards Atobe-kun's desk and was facing towards the back of his chair. After a couple of awkward seconds, he finally turned his chair, facing me. He placed his elbows on his desk, connect his hands together and rest his chin over his fingers. His brows were burrowed and his facial expression didn't seem at ease.
My heart started beating rapidly from staring at him. I was starting to feel nervous being alone in this room with him now. I wonder what he's thinking right now...
Clearing my throat again, I finally got his attention as he made eye contact with me. "Uh..." I could feel my cheeks getting hot as I placed my hands behind my back and pinched my palm lightly to calm myself. "I-I'm sorry Atobe-kun."
He was blinking at me in confusion. "For what my Queen?"
"W-Well...I-I..." Words were stuttering out of my mouth. "I'm sorry for making you worry!" I shouted and bowed down in front of him.
I don't know how he's reacting, but I did hear a slight gasp escape from his lips. Still bowing before him, I hear him getting up from his chair and footsteps getting closer to me. Then, I felt strong hands on my shoulders lifting me up to a standing position. Atobe-kun's face was close to mine and I couldn't help but to blush. "A-Atobe-kun?"
"You don't need to apologize to me Kie." He spoke softly. "I should be the one to apologize for making you worried about me for the past year."
Now it was my turn to look at him in confusion. "W-What do you mean?"
He let out his charming smirk. "A certain Regular reports to me whenever you seem sad or worried."
Damn you Oshitari. I cursed in my head on the blue headed Regular. I know for sure he's the culprit for this.
Atobe-kun cupped a hand on my cheek and then slide his fingers under my chin. With a bit of pressure, he lifted my chin so that our faces were closer to each other. This made my face flush even more and I can't do anything to hide it.
"Ore-sama hasn't been treating his Queen well lately huh?" Atobe-kun sighed with a slight frown.
My eyes widened from his sentence. I was taken back by this a bit. "No! I-It's not like that..." I felt extremely shy and tried to look away but Atobe-kun made sure that we don't break eye contact.
"What's wrong Kie?" He asked in a serious tone. He knows that I'm really bothered with something.
I guess now's the time to tell him. "I guess...I've been sad to see that you were getting obsessed in defeating Seigaku ever since Hyotei lost to them. You haven't really talked to me or showed up for my practices..." I could feel water starting to form in my eyes. I don't know why, but I guess I'm a bit overwhelmed now that I'm telling him how I've been truly feeling lately. "I know you have thoughts of beating Tezuka as well, but..." My voice started to crack. "But...I can't help but to think that the connection between the two of us is gone. That you lost interest in me!"
I closed my eyes and felt the tears stream down my face. Once I slowly re-opened them, I could see that Atobe-kun's eyes were wide in shock and I continued to speak. "I-I know it's selfish of me to think this way but I can't help it. Everyone keeps telling me that we act like a couple. Yet, you never told me how you feel Atobe-kun. I don't even know what our relationship even is!"
I moved Atobe-kun's hand away from my chin and held onto it. My heart was beating rapidly to the point where it's ready to jump out of my chest! "Ever since you helped me on our first day at Hyotei, I-"
I paused and took a big gulp. My next sentence was something I never thought I would say to Atobe-kun. To be precise, I didn't expect now to be the time for a confession.
"I've been in love with you Atobe-kun." My palms were starting to feel sweaty from sheer nervousness. "I love you and I really wish I can know how you truly feel about me. You've been very kind and generous to me. There were even times when we went out on simple dates but I just wished I could know how you feel about me. Since you aren't going to say anything, then I will. So there, I'm in love with you Atobe-kun."
My hand was still gripping onto his. I used my free hand to wipe the tears away as I chuckled nervously. "I'm sorry Atobe-kun. You must think I'm really pathetic right now. I know you don't like women who are weak."
I finally shut my mouth and looked at him. His face gave a serious look and he cupped his hand on my cheek once again. "Kie..." He whispered my name and leaned in closer. His face was mere centimeters away. Our lips were barely touching, ready to come in contact.
"I never lost interest in you."
With that, he pressed his lips onto mine. My eyes widened at the touch of his soft lips but I slowly closed them and allowed him to dominate my virgin lips. I leaned in to deepen the kiss, signaling to Atobe-kun that I've accepted it. I could feel his lips curl to a smirk within the kiss.
Atobe-kun moved his other hand around my waist and pulled me in closer. A slight gasp escaped from my lips which gave him the opportunity to slide his tongue in. This took me by surprise which caused my eyes to open and widened. Feeling playful, I wrestled with his tongue as we continued to kiss.
We finally parted to catch our breaths. My face flushed once again as I looked at the charming king. "A-Atobe-kun..."
Atobe-kun stood there with his trademark smirk. He then grabbed my hand and laced our fingers together. "Did you know that I was immediately awed by your beauty from the first assembly?"
I cocked my head and blinked towards Atobe-kun in confusion. "Eh? You mean from Freshman Year?"
He nodded his head. "During my speech, my eyes were drawn to you. I couldn't help but to fall in love with you right then and there."
My eyes widened once again. He fell in love with me since the start of the assembly?
"Like I said, I was awed by your beauty. You were beautiful back then, and you're still beautiful now. My Queen."
I couldn't help but to blush even more and look aimlessly around the room. My heart was beating rapidly and I could feel myself getting extra nervous from his comment. "A-Atobe-kun...I-I'm touched by this..."
Atobe-kun traced circled with his thumb along the palm of my hands. "Still think I lost interest in you?" His smirk grew wider at the sight of me squirming around in nervousness and embarrassment.
He's mocking me now...that sneaky King.
"N-Not funny Atobe-kun." I avoided eye contact with him since I'm extremely embarrassed. His grip around my fingers tightened but soon released. "I'm just teasing you Kie."
"Ah!"
Atobe-kun's hands quickly wrapped around my waist again and he pulled me into another kiss. His soft lips crashed against mine and we started kissing passionately.
In the end, I'm awed by all of this. Atobe-kun.
