"In Which Kenma Wins a Bet."

From Jo's Playlist: Boyfriend by Big Time Rush

Somehow they got on the topic of amino acids as they strolled around the park enjoying the warm weather, hand in hand.

Jo had no idea how that happened, but she didn't mind. He understood more than she on the subject and though some part of her curled up at that fact, he didn't make her feel too stupid. Though his snide remarks were beginning to wiggle under her thick skin and make a burrow, despite the lighthearted grin she wore.

"Have you decided to finally become our manager?" he asked after a lull.

Jo tugged on his hand. "I honestly don't know if I'm cut out for that." She had been thinking about it often. Especially within the last week when one of the girls in class asked her the very same question. She had found a small group of girls to eat lunch with but she mostly kept to herself.

Kuroo furrowed his brows. "Why's that?"

Jo shrugged. "Though I enjoy working with you guys as you do drills, I think Titus is more cut out for the nitpick details the position requires,"

"Jo," he said, her name falling off clumsily from his tongue, fluttering butterfly's wings in her ribcage, "You would be absolutely perfect." He stopped her, looking down intently.

Jo met his unwavering gaze. Smile lines were starting to form by his eyes, she noticed. "I won't be here for the summer training camp I've heard so much about,"

He shifted. "Why not?" She couldn't be for certain, but it was like a wall was beginning to build between him and her words.

Before she could answer, a sharp ping of a phone broke the tension. Kuroo pulled out his phone. His face darkened a moment as he read whatever was sent.

"What's wrong?" Jo asked, itching to crain her head around and try to read it.

He quickly pocketed it, expression light once again. "Just my grandma asking me to be home. Come on, it's getting late." He led her through the bustling crowd to a train station.

Jo followed, questions burning on the tip of her tongue but she held them tight behind clamped teeth. Whatever was said wasn't good knews by the shift of his demeanor. Try as he might as he began prattling on about chemistry and the new game he and Kenma were playing together, the taught muscle in his shoulders and the ever shifting of his eyes gave away his unease.

She squeezed his hand as they waited at a stop light. He paused mid-sentence, glancing down at her. She looked up. Seeing the flicker of uncertainty in his face, she said, "I don't know if you like bold girls, but I very much enjoyed today. And I would love to do this again,"

A soft smile broke through the smug grin on his face. "Come with us to Kurasuno. The practice match is coming up soon,"

"Only if you shut up about the manager position and we study literacy while we're there,"

The softness disappeared, replaced with the confidence he wore so boldly. The crowd surged as the light changed and they flowed along. "I promised Yamamato I would help with his English homework. Want to tag-team? Then I can help you,"

The thought of tutoring Yamamoto made a small laugh escape her chest. "It's a deal,"

Now, the real trick will be convincing her parents. But work had been occupying her father more and more each passing day. It was a hit or miss of what his mood would be. Hopefully her mother would be able to sweet talk him into it.

Maybe.

"Wait, for real?" Jo stood in the middle of the dining room, jaw to the floor while a steady beat thrummed from the speaker on the counter. She cut her mother a bewildered look. Her mom smiled into her mug, arm wrapped comfortably around her abdomen.

Jo's heart soared. She had pulled through. She was going to Miyagi.

Her father looked up from a file he had been studying. The late afternoon light struck his blue eyes just right to where they appeared an impossible blue. His lips thinned and he rubbed a hand over his stubble. "Mrs. Williams said that her daughter and son were going," he said. "Mom and I talked and we decided that now would be fine for you to go,"

Jo started to bounce on the balls of her socked toes, her smile uncontainable. "You promise?"

He leveled her with a stern look. "Don't make me regret my decision. I also want to talk to Tetsuro before you leave in the morning,"

Her heels hit the floor with a thump, all excitement gone. His expression was rock hard and the muscles in his shoulders coiled like a spring. She knew that look all too well. He only behaved this way when work taxing him and he felt as though their small, safe family bubble was being threatened.

"He'll be here tonight for dinner if you would like," she said carefully.

He nodded, turning back to his file. "I'll speak to him after dinner, then,"

Jo settled herself at the kitchen counter, her Japanese literature book open. She shot Kuroo a warning text before setting her phone aside.

The confusing characters blurred before her eyes as she shifted in and out of different thoughts. Her father didn't seem mad or upset, but he was tense. Her mother was relaxed as she worked on her newest patient case by his side at the kitchen table. So things were okay in a way.

She wondered what was making him defensive. She risked a glance behind her shoulder. He rubbed at his eyes with the pads of his fingers, sighing heavily. Her mother reached out a comforting hand on his arm, and he wrapped his fingers around hers, thumb rubbing gently on the back of her hand.

A small smile brightened Jo's face as she turned back to her own work. Her parents loved one another very much but they weren't very affectionate. Seeing them behave gently around her was a rarity and sent off warning bells in the back of her mind.

She hoped everything was truly alright.

"So what did he end up talking to you about?" Jo asked when Kuroo came up the stairs to her room. She spun around in her desk chair, one leg tucked up to her chest. She raised a brow at his wide eyes.

"I think he threatened me," he said, jabbing his finger at the stairwell. He kicked the door closed a few inches. A fully shut door would never be allowed. Her mother would rip her head from her shoulders if the door was closed while she was in her room with a boy.

"About what?" Her heart began to pick up speed behind her ribs.

Kuroo threw himself on her bed, tucking a pillow under his arms. He studied her carefully. He adjusted his head on the headboard, not meeting her eyes. "He said if I break your heart he'll chase me out of Japan,"

Jo's stomach lurched and her heart froze. "What does that mean?" she asked carefully, pushing down the hope threatening to spill into her words.

Silence stretched between them painfully. Kuroo picked at the pillow with his fingernails. Jo went perfectly still.

She hadn't wanted to identify why her heart would trip in the mornings before school or why her stomach would get into knots during lunch. Ever since their outing to the park a week ago, she couldn't stop the tremor strumming through her body. But right now, with him sprawled on her bed as though he belonged there with his hair pushed from his face and the lamplight softening his harsh lines, she couldn't deny that she felt something.

She wanted him to say something. Anything. The silence was suffocating. Dread trickled down her throat and into her lungs.

He sighed, still not meeting her eyes. Sensing rejection, Jo opened her mouth to change the subject (she couldn't bear to lose him as a friend), when he said, "Would you want to start going out?"

Jo stuttered, grasping for words to form a functioning sentence. Heat rushed up her neck and she adjusted in her chair, trying to cover her nerves. His eyes snapped to hers and all of her anxieties suddenly melted away.

He was scared. It was plain as day in his body. The shifting of his warm eyes, the avoidance of clear intentions, the jitteriness. It calmed her to where she could function again.

Jo stood, making her way to the bed. She shooed him to the side with a wave of her hand. With a crease between his brows he shifted over, allowing her room to lay down beside him.

She grabbed her own pillow to mimic his position. Her head rested a fraction away from his. "Are you asking me to be your girlfriend?"

He shifted again. "Um." Jo turned her head over, catching his shifting eyes. He settled, a steadying breath sighing from between his teeth, eyes closed. "It's so formal, but yeah." He turned his head, meeting her gaze. "I like you, Jo,"

Jo smiled softly. "I like you too."

She sat up suddenly, heart aching. She turned back to him, a cheeky grin on her face to hide the sudden pain burning in her body. "The other girls in school won't be too happy,"

He rolled his eyes, settling one hand behind his head. "They'll be fine,"

"Will you still help me with classic literature?"

"Only if you stop being a wuss about studying,"

She smacked his chest lightly. "Bully." She laid back down. They stayed like that for a few moments, soaking in the realization of the last five minutes. The pain in her chest grew but comfort began to lace through the stings.

Matteo had moved on. It had been over a month since the breakup. She could let go. She could close the gate to that garden and fully move onto the new, fresh one here.

Kuroo's hand found hers. Their fingers laced together and Jo solidified her resolve.

"Oh, I can go to Kurasuno with you guys," she said softly.

"Really?" His hand squeezed hers.

She smiled at the excitement in his tone. "Really,"

"Lev is going to be crushed,"

Jo lifted their clasped hands to rest on top of the pillow on her chest. She played with the ends of his long fingers. "Why?"

He shifted towards her so that his shoulder was pressed against the side of her head. She sat up and wrapped his arm around her, hand still in hers, and settled her head on the space between his chest and shoulder. She felt the muscles flex beneath her right ear. "The team made a bet of when I would ask you out officially. He was betting on summer. Kenma nailed it though. I owe him a match at our game,"

Jo scoffed. That sly boy. Of course he would have known, he and Kuroo were as thick as thieves. Slowly, she curled herself towards him, folding perfectly in his side. "Do I get anything from this?"

"Tutoring,"

"You suck."

AN: Too soon? Maybe, but this is gonna get fun to play with :) Everyone always invisions him as such a sly player but nerds are the most nervous people on the planet.

WritingUndercover: I hope your midterm went well! It's that time of the semester, isn't it? I can't imagine how it would be to constantly move, so it's a theme I wanted to make sure I stick with. Somewhat realistic coming of age stories are hard to properly show!

I hope you all are doing well, until next time.