Rubatosis n. The unsettling awareness of your own heartbeat.

After a week of studying, she decided that it would be a good idea for the both of them to have a break tomorrow. Although Kent was reluctant to agree, especially since he was in the middle of his research, he had been persuaded by the auburn-haired girl. She had told him that what they were going to do didn't require them to travel far away nor spend too much money.

While Kent could think of ways that they could spend their time in a 'fun' way, she didn't agree to his standards of fun. The genius simply didn't understand why she didn't find math puzzles nor Rubik's cubes (the cube even counted as a children's toy, he thought that she'd at least enjoy that) fun. Kent also tried to research on fun things to do, however, he was stopped before he could even properly suggest anything. Defeated, he had agreed to her childish whims once more.

The next day, the auburn-haired girl brought a video game console to his house and had quickly set it up as soon as she entered the place. Video games, the genius mused. He should've expected something like that, but at the same time he was quite surprised. Kent knew that some games could improve some cognitive functions, but he doubted that she had brought any game of the sort. After all, she claimed that what he liked to do wasn't very fun nor relaxing.

"Kent, catch!" The auburn-haired girl suddenly said as she tossed a controller towards him. The genius' eyes widened as he outstretched his hands and arms in order to catch the device. His heartbeat hammered inside of him as he reached for the controller.

"You could have just passed it to me properly, you know." Kent grumbled as he sat adjacent to her in front of the television.

"I know, but you were too far away." She replied with a pout as she inserted the disc. Loud music blared from the speakers as the screen booted up the game, which turned out to be a game called Street Fighter x Tekken. The auburn-haired girl quickly began to go through the in-game menus to set up a match. Lime green eyes observed her as she hummed, evidently relaxed and happy. It brought a smile to his face, which he quickly hid as soon as she began to turn her head in his direction.

"Okay, now choose your characters!" She said as she looked at him before speaking once more. "It's a tag-team battle so you have to choose two." She explained. Kent tried to regulate his heartbeat as it had quickened due almost being caught smiling and staring at her.

"Two? But you just said that it's a tag-team battle." Kent replied.

"It is, but we're playing against each other." She said with a smile. Immediately after that they had started to choose their characters for the match.

"How are you doing that?! You didn't inform me of the different button combinations!" Kent yelled at the auburn-haired girl. Loud button taps could be heard as the pair continued to play.

"I don't know! I told you, just keep pressing buttons until something happens!" She yelled back as the characters on her screen had performed another 10-hit combo that had nearly knocked out Kent's character if it weren't for the genius dodging the final hit by chance. His heart rate was increasing due to both his adrenaline and frustration at the game. Fun? How is this fun? Kent mused as his eyes narrowed. He allowed his posture to slouch forward ever so slightly, mimicking the position that she was in, testing if her positioning was a deliberate strategy to give her the upper hand.

"What do you mean 'just keep pressing'?!" Kent shouted. "That makes no sense! There has to be a specific—" Before he could finish his statement, a loud voice could be heard from the speakers, indicating that his character had been knocked out.

"I win again!" The auburn-haired girl suddenly shouted as she sprang upward, standing up and stretching her limbs. A cheeky grin was directed at Kent as she celebrated her victory. Her features shimmered in the bright room; it was as if time had slowed down. His breath caught in his throat as he looked at her, and it made his heart race even faster than before. Kent realized, slightly annoyed that he could hear the sound of his heart pounding more than the sound of the auburn-haired girl celebrating her victory for the umpteenth time that afternoon.

"Wasn't that fun?" She said happily as she sat back down beside Kent, happily sighing and leaning closer towards him as she did.

"...Yes, it was." The genius finally said after a long moment of silence. His heart continued to thunder. He didn't think that she could have this effect on him. It was quite unsettling to the genius how such mundane actions from her could stir such emotion inside of him, although he couldn't say that he completely disliked the feeling either.

"I told you so!" She said as she nudged Kent and grinned. "Come on, let's play one more round and I promise to answer all of those math worksheets after this!" There's that smile again...Kent mused. His heart did not give him a break as it continued to roar. He grunted in annoyance before replying.

"Fine. Just one last round." He said. The genius adjusted his glasses out of nervousness. As ridiculous as it was, he was worried that she might be able to hear his heart given their close proximity to each other.

Hold on… his mind echoed. Why did he care so much about that? That didn't make sense. That was… illogical. Kent thought, and his eyes widened at what he had suddenly realized.

Am I… Is this.. love?