You let out a groan as you flopped down onto your bed, letting the softness of your mattress and duvet wrap its arms around you.
"Ughhh. Why is life so hard?" You muttered to yourself. "I just want to read the goddamn manga!"
The trip to the manga store was disappointing, to say the least. 'Cloud 9' had not yet been restocked because the supplier was experiencing some issues as the shopkeeper had told you. The manga is so in demand that copies of it were very limited. The printing of the manga couldn't keep up with the demands.
You cursed yourself on the way back because it was only then you realised that you had completely forgotten to ask Matsuno about his overdue library book. You blamed the adrenaline from the fight.
However, luckily you now know that he's in class one and not a threat at all. You were going to pay him a visit at lunch tomorrow.
The next day had come. Morning classes have been uneventful. You kept glaring at the clock to hit 12:30 already.
"Class dismissed!" Mrs Kojima said, already packing up her belongings and hurrying her way out of the door. She seemed eager to get you guys out of her hair. You didn't blame her; your class is a whole-ass zoo.
"Y/n," Suzy whined, dropping onto your desk dramatically.
You huffed, "What now?"
"I forgot my lunch. Could you go to the cafeteria to buy me some, pretty please?" She pouted, her eyes sparkling as she looked up at you pleadingly.
"Why can't you buy it yourself? You groaned.
"I've got to quickly finish this chemistry sheet for the next lesson," She sniffled, wiping an invisible tear from her cheek.
She shoved some money into your hand, looking up at you like a puppy. You sighed, caving in to the drama queen herself. "You're lucky that I love you and put up with your annoying ass,"
Suzy instantly brightened, "I know, Y/n. I love you too! Mwah mwah!" She replied, blowing air kisses your way.
You pretend to grimace and batted her kisses away, making her laugh.
The queue in the cafeteria was a nightmare. It took a solid fifteen minutes until it was your turn. This was why you brought your own lunch in instead of having cafeteria food. Suzy better be grateful and be in your debt.
Making your way back into your classroom, you chuckled as you see Suzy focused on her work, yet her face was scrunched up in agony.
"Suffering?" You said, placing her lunch onto her desk and bringing a chair for yourself to sit on.
"You don't even know," she groaned, instantly snatching the bread off the table and ripping apart the packaging. She devoured the whole thing in less than a second.
"Wanna copy my work?" You offered. You were pretty sure half of your answers were wrong, but it's super nice of you to offer, right?
"Nah, I want to do it myself." She replied, shaking her head, "It's time I started concentrating on my studies."
Your eyes widened in surprise. "Wow, I've never thought I'd see the day where you'd say you want to study!"
"Shocking, isn't it?" Suzy sighed, twirling her pencil between her fingers.
"Yes, but I'm so proud of you!" You fake cried, making her roll her eyes. "What happened?"
"My mum. She gave me an earful last night 'coz of my uniform reeking of gasoline, which then led to her screaming about my grades."
Yeah, Suzy's grades weren't the best. She failed the summer exams and only just managed to scrape through them by a few marks after re-taking them.
"It's okay, I'll help you." You smiled.
"Thanks," She smiled back.
You scanned her work and your eyes landed on the word C4U. C4U. Chi-fu-yu. Your eyes widened as you remembered you had somewhere to be. Being with Suzy is so distracting.
"Oh, I gotta go somewhere. Be right back!" You said, bolting out of the classroom.
Suzy stared after you in confusion. "Uhh okay...I know Chemistry is scary and all but you're over-reacting!"
Sorry, Suzy!
Class one was right down the hallway from your class, so it only took a few seconds to arrive outside. But as you looked in through the window, you couldn't see Matsuno among the students. Where could he possibly be? Was he even in today?
"Yoohoo!"
You jumped back. Nearly having a heart attack right here, right now.
A face comes into view. It was the swinging-chair boy with his slicked-back hair. He was knocking on the window from inside. Jheeze.
He opened the door and leaned against it. "Hey, aren't you that girl from yesterday?"
"Uh yeah. I'm L/n Y/n."
"Sweet. I'm Kaito Yuuma. Whatcha doing?"
"I'm looking for Matsuno Chifuyu," You replied sheepishly.
"Again? Must be a hardcore fangirl, eh?"
Wait, what?
You frowned at him weirdly. "Um no. You're misunderstanding things. I'm looking for him because I need to talk to him."
"Haha, I'm only teasing," He replied, hands in the air. "He usually goes to the rooftop at lunch."
"Alright, thanks." You bowed, making your way to the stairs that led up to the rooftop.
When you opened the door to the rooftop, you nearly tripped over something. What in the world?
"Ouch," It groaned in a sleepy tone.
Eh? You looked down and saw a boy by your feet, rubbing the side of his stomach. "Oh shit, sorry. I didn't see you there." You apologised.
The boy sat up, rubbing his eyes and blinked groggily at you. "Am I dreaming?"
Your brows furrowed. "No?"
"I think I am." He said, still looking at you. "You must be an angel,"
You stared at him in confusion. You must be an angel? Is he okay? But before you could ask for clarification, he dozed off again, the soft sound of his snores drifting in the air.
Well, one thing for sure, he wasn't Matsuno Chifuyu. The boy sleeping on the floor had tousled light-dyed hair and two dark streaks running across it. He's cute in a rebellious way. He screamed 'troublemaker' all over. Best to stay away.
As you turned to leave, someone else turned the doorknob from the other side at the same time as you.
"Oh, hi." Came a startled voice.
Your eyes met his light blue eyes. There he was! Finally.
"Hi," You replied awkwardly. Oh boy, how should I start this?
"What are you doing up here?" He asked.
"Uhh, I was trying to find you,"
Surprise mixed with shock made its way onto his face. "You...were?"
"Yeah, you see, I've been looking for this manga for a while. It's sold out everywhere. I tried our school library, and it says you have it, but it's four months overdue."
You could almost see the cogs in his brain processing this information as he thinks hard for a few seconds. Then his face brightened in realisation as it finally hit him. "Oh! You're talking about 'Cloud 9'?"
You nodded fervently, "Yes, yes! Do you still have it?"
Suddenly, his face fell. "I-I think I've lost it."
Your jaws dropped. "You're kidding me,"
He shook his head. "I'm sorry."
Well, there was your beacon of hope gone.
"How could you lose it?" You said, almost about to cry.
A startled expression was on his face. "I'm really sorry! I honestly don't know. It was on my bed, I swear, but the next time I went to pick it up, it was gone!"
"What, so it somehow grew some legs and ran away?" You scoffed, annoyance simmering in your body.
"I-" He hesitated, scratching the back of his head awkwardly.
Calm down, Y/n! It's just a manga!
"I'm so sorry, I had no right to be a bitch." You apologised, embarrassment seeping in. You had overreacted.
"Ah, no don't apologise!" Matsuno replied, "It is my fault for losing it. I've been trying to find it for months, I really have."
You nodded slowly, a reassuring smile on your face. "Hey, don't worry about it." You said, side-stepping him to walk down the stairs.
"W-Wait!" He said, grabbing your wrist.
Your eyes widened in surprise at his touch. You looked down at his hand, wrapped around your wrist and you felt a sudden heat burning your cheeks. Matsuno noticed you staring at where he touched you and immediately let go of your wrist as if he'd been burnt.
"I-I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to-" He blurted out.
"It's okay, don't worry!" You brushed it off. "Did you need something?"
"Uh no. I just wanted to let you know that I'll look for it again tonight. I'll find it. I promise!"
Your lips curved into a smile. Why is he so adorable? You doubted that he'd find it, but the sincerity and determination in his eyes were undeniable. "Thank you, Matsuno-kun."