.

.

.

kidding, not kidding

.

.

.

"I've liked you for a long time," says Tsukiko.

She thought this would've been incredibly hard to do, but surprisingly, she's perfectly calm. Her heart isn't racing. Her face hasn't heated up. Her knees aren't shaking. She's not shocked at herself at all for doing this.

But Ryuu is.

"W-What?" he sputters, as Tsukiko hands him the box of chocolates. "You're - you're kidding, right? Tell me you're kidding."

He stares at her, dumbfounded.

"I'm not kidding," Tsukiko says.

The chocolate falls from Ryuu's fingers, and she catches it neatly.

Putting it back in his hands, she smiles firmly.

Ryuu's mouth opens and closes.

"Tsukiko - " he begins.

"You don't have to give me an answer right now," she tells him. "You have a lot of time until White Day. So don't say anything."

She leaves him standing there still holding the chocolates.

.

.

.

As Tsukiko starts unlocking her bike, getting ready to go home, she feels a hand clamp on her shoulder.

"Hmm?" she says.

Her heart sinks when she sees it's Ryuu. He's holding the chocolates and looking scared, uneasy, and determined all at once.

"Tsukiko," he says. "I'm really sorry, but - "

"Look, I said just wait until White Day, okay?" Tsukiko says, not unkindly. She pulls out the bike and swings her leg over it.

"But my answer's not going to change," he says, and something cracks in her.

"So there isn't a chance," Tsukiko says as levelly as she can, tucking the outstretched, uneaten chocolates back into her bag. "You're not even considering it."

One look at him tells her everything.

No, there isn't a chance. No, he won't consider it. No, he's never thought of her that way and never will.

"Thanks, Tanaka," she says, and pedals away furiously.

.

.

.

"... and that's what happened," Tanaka says. "Now what do I do?"

The entire team stares at him, speechless.

Daichi steps forward, smiling dangerously and cracking his knuckles.

Asahi and Nishinoya pull him back, while Tsukishima looks up from his math homework, looking politely disinterested, but no one's fooled - Hinata's already blubbering like a baby, and Yamaguchi is screwing up his face so hard it looks like he could explode any minute.

"She gave you a valentine," said Daichi.

"Yes."

"She said she liked you."

"Yes."

"She said wait until White Day to give her an answer."

"Yes."

"You gave it back and said there was absolutely no chance you could ever like her, so please give up."

"Well, not exa - "

"Are you stupid, or are you just plain clueless?"

"Uh - "

"Um, excuse me, captain," says Ennoshita.

Daichi turns.

Ennoshita points at the door hesitantly. "Suga's gone."

.

.

.

Tsukiko pedals as hard as she can, her hands gripping the handlebars so hard it would probably leave a mark. She doesn't care anymore, though. Skidding to a stop at an abandoned playground, she digs out the box of chocolates from her bag and slams it into a garbage can.

She doesn't notice a boy, slender and silver-haired, race up along the path towards her.

She doesn't see anything except for the blurred colours beyond her tears.