Title: Desperation
Author: shy-hinata
Rating: G
Summary: With just one day to go before the bet is done, Atobe starts to feel the pressure.
Disclaimer: I don't own PoT

Quick note from the author: I'm sorry if I hadn't mentioned it before, but in this story, our beloved PoT characters are now in high school. I have assumed that most of the school have an elevator system, and one would just move up to the high school division, so the schools would bear the same time. Thanks again to all those who read and commented. I definitely appreciate it. And sorry for the long wait between chapters!

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DAY 6

Tachibana Ann never panicked. No matter what, she trusted that with a little hard work, things would always go her way. But with only a week until the dance, and pretty much all the school-mates she would consider going with going with other people, things weren't looking too good. Maybe it was time to expand to outside Fudomine. After all, there weren't any rules saying you couldn't bring someone from another school. Maybe Momoshiro-kun would be able to go? Or maybe even Kirihara. Never let it be said that Tachibana Ann ever gave up on something she wanted.

-+--+-

Atobe Keigo never panicked. No matter the situation, he always knew that things would go his way in the end. However, when the sixth day of the bet rolled around, even he had to admit to some light discomfort at the way the situation was playing out. Ann had, and rather effectively too Atobe had to admit, managed to block just about all of his avenues of communicating with her. It was looking more and more like trying to intercept her after class was going to be the only way. Let it never be said that Atobe Keigo couldn't handle the direct approach.

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The ring of the school clock echoed across the Fudomine campus to dismiss them from their club activities.

"Great work, ladies! We'll be in great shape for the tournament!"

Ann's captain called out to the entire team before sending them off to the locker rooms. Satisfied with her performance, Ann happily grabbed a drink of water before hitting the showers. It wasn't that her spot as a regular wasn't secure; she just always felt better knowing that she had the goods to back it up.

Having finished changing, Ann checked her watch and smiled. Momoshiro would most likely be arriving at the street courts any minute now. Casually slinging her tennis bag on her shoulder, Ann put on a smile and set off, determined that today would be the day that she'd resolve this dance nonsense.

-+--+-

Sometimes, being captain of the team had its advantages. Ordering laps for unruly members was definitely one of them. However, being captain also had its disadvantages. It also meant having to wait for those unruly members to finish their laps. The thing that frustrated Atobe the most, not that a being as perfect as him really got frustrated, was knowing that Oshitari, Mukahi, and Shishido could be running a whole lot faster than they were. It was like they knew that he had somewhere else to be after practice, and that it was somehow related to the bet.

"Show a little more hustle there, you three! Unlike the lot of you, I'm a rather busy man."

"If you didn't work us so bloody hard during practice, we would probably be going faster." Mukahi said, hiding his smirk from view.

Atobe could feel his brow starting to twitch, but he schooled his expression. Showing annoyance was for the weak, and Atobe Keigo was far from weak.

"'Sides, what're you gonna go do anyway? You're usually not the one to worry about homework or tests considering how good your grades are." Shishido almost laughed as he ran, knowing that justifying their slow pace while complimenting Atobe would just get their captain more riled up. But Atobe kept his cool, deciding not to dignify that comment with a response.

"Besides, Atobe, love is something that can't be rushed. We're doing you a favour by giving you some time to plan your next move for wooing the fair Tachibana Ann."

There was an odd sound that echoed across the courts after Oshitari's comment. It sounded very much like Atobe's teeth grinding, except for the fact that Atobe would never stoop to such behaviour. With that, he folded his arms across his chest, and added 5 more laps to their run.

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Ann sank into the bench at the street courts with a sigh. She normally didn't want the world at large to know exactly how she was feeling, but today she couldn't manage to keep the disappointment from her face. Momoshiro-kun was going to be leaving for a training camp with the rest of the Seigaku team. And as for Kirihara? Not much luck there either. Ann wasn't exactly crazy about the 'are you insane' face that she got from him. At least he was polite enough to say "Sorry, but I don't dance," instead of laughing in her face. Ann looked up at the sky, now a brilliant shade of orange as the sun set along the horizon. What was she going to do now?

-+--+-

Thanks to the tomfoolery of his team mates, Atobe had missed his chance to find Ann after school. Despite being certain her practice had ended for the day, he still stopped by Fudomine to see if he could glean any information about where she might have gone. Even though he was confident, not even the great Atobe was going to risk going to her place of residence. Unable to turn up any leads, Atobe let his feet take him wherever they wanted to go. As he watched the sun start to set, he considered the state of things. Not that Atobe Keigo was ever one to admit defeat, but it wouldn't be prudent of him not to come up with some sort of contingency plan on the off chance that things didn't work out in his favour. He would just have to gracefully accept the fact that Tachibana Ann might be the only girl in Kantou who could resist him. Those mischief makers probably wanted to see him upset, but he would not give them that satisfaction.

The sounds of a tennis match woke Atobe from his contemplation. Where was he? A quick look around answered that question. He smiled inwardly that his internal tennis radar must have been unusually strong to lead him here without his conscious desire to go there. As he made his way towards the stairs leading up to the courts, something caught his eye. A small, feminine figure sitting on a bench, shoulders hunched dejectedly even as her face was turned up to the sky. As he took a few more steps closer, Atobe's eyes widened. It was Ann.

He wasn't sure what exactly he expected himself to do. In retrospect, he half expected himself to turn on the charm, try to metaphorically sweep her off her feet. But something about the way she looked - almost defeated - made him shove that part aside, only to have it replaced with concern.

"Ann? Are you alright?"

Hearing her name, Ann jerked her head around to look at him. What was he doing here? Thinking back on things, she might have wondered what made her bite back a snarky reply. It must have been something in his voice, that sound of genuine concern.

"Atobe-kun? Um…yeah. I'm fine." Ann bit her lower lip as she turned her eyes back up to the sky.

"You don't sound fine to me," Atobe walked up to her before crouching down so they were on equal levels. "Plus it's not safe for a young lady to be out on her own when it's starting to get dark. Let me walk you home. Please."

Ann couldn't quite put her finger on it, but something was different about the way he was talking to her. His tone seemed to be missing that usual…arrogance that accompanied it. She filed the thought away; a puzzle for another day.

"Atobe-kun," she said as she sighed. "I," Ann stopped mid-sentence as she tilted her head down to look at him. He really did look worried. Well, that was unexpected. Before she knew exactly what was happening, she felt herself nod in reply. "Alright, but just this once."

Most of the walk was spent in awkward silence, neither one really knowing what to say. To make conversation, Atobe asked her if she was getting ready for her upcoming tournament, to which she simply said "Hai. Makenai yo." (1) To his amazement, Atobe wasn't finding her clipped replies rude. Rather, they were making him more worried. This seemed totally out of character for her in comparison to what he had seen of her in the past.

They arrived in neighbourhood that Atobe could only describe as unsightly. He tried to pick up the pace in order to leave it as soon as possible, but was shocked to find that Ann was doing the opposite. She was slowing down as they approached a house on the corner. It couldn't be that she actually lived here, could it?

"Um…thanks for the walk Atobe-kun. See you around. I'm sure I'll catch you at one of aniki's tournaments." Ann smiled politely before fishing her keys out to open the gate.

"C-can I see you again? You know, outside of tennis?" Atobe wondered if it was just him, or did he sound a little less than confident at that moment? It soon became obvious that Ann had noticed as well as she blinked a few times before answering.

"I'll think about it. Have a good night, Atobe-kun." She gave him a small smile before closing the gate behind her.

He waited as she entered her home, even catching her yelling "Aniki! Tadaima! So what've you made us for dinner tonight?" in what he knew was mock cheerfulness. Tachibana was cooking? Were their parents not home? Questions swirled through Atobe's head as he pulled out his cell phone to call for a driver to pick him up. Only then did he realize that he hadn't thought once about the bet since seeing Ann on that bench.

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Author's notes

(1) In order to get across just how blunt Ann is being with her answers, I used the Japanese here. It means "Yes. We won't lose." Hmm. I guess that's pretty blunt too, but I just liked the way the Japanese sounded better, I guess.