Soma wasn't enjoying the tugging power Erina had suddenly assumed over his emotions. He stood between Akira and Ryō, anxiously awaiting the most important decision of his culinary career, and the only thing on his mind was her. He did all he could do to not look up at her skybox. The air in the arena was thick with spices and anticipation. "And the winner is…" His ears pricked with excitement at the announcement. And wondered if she was on the edge of her seat, too. "Akira Hayama!" The academy's director roared. The entire arena erupted in thunderous applause. Soma's mind and vision went blank.

-8-

Soma cried himself to sleep the entire week after losing the Fall Selection— on the nights he could sleep. His friends threw him a "You did it, Soma!" dinner to celebrate the end of the finals, but it felt conciliatory. Megumi checked on him to say goodnight every night just before the tears swelled up, like the true-blue-haired friend she had become. The Aldini brothers stopped by every afternoon to cheer him up and challenge him to multiple Food Wars (which he swiftly accepted), and Ikumi came over a few evenings to keep him company. Isshiki graced him with a week off gardening duty, and Miss Fumio made a few of her most-requested homecooked dinners just for him. Don't get him wrong; he appreciated all the support he was getting after his defeat. So he accepted all his friends' love offerings because he knew they came from a kind place. It helped to get him out of his room as he tried his best to hide the dark cloud that hung over him every time his mind flashed back to him standing on the center platform, not holding and kissing the gold medal.

But Soma just wanted to lick his wounds in peace. He had been so close to the throne that coming up short when it mattered the most felt like hell. He had grabbed hold of the final rung and then slipped from the threshold of Heaven. Second, he refused to believe he came in third—it was still a total loss. He had failed to do the one thing he promised his dad he would when he visited him. Their phone call after he lost felt like a cigarette burn on a gaping open sore.

Because his dad was right, Akira had been the top contender to win, and Soma knew Akira Hayama wasn't someone to sleep on. Still, every time he thought about those long, silent seconds before and after Akira was announced the winner, he wanted to bury himself alive. He'd put his all into his saury dish, and regardless of whether he was second or third like he and Kurokiba still seemed to be spending too much time arguing about, he wasn't first. And coming in at the top, winning was all that mattered. He was too competitive to accept anything less. And to know Soma is to understand that the one thing he hated most in the world was losing. He could take failures and mistakes while learning and practicing but winning was the only option when it was time to compete.

Okay, you got him. Losing the finals was humiliating because she was watching. After the closing ceremony, Soma looked for her in her sky box against his better judgment. He tried to lie to himself that he didn't feel the shiver of shame when they finally locked eyes. He probably would have been fine after that if not for him catching her smug stare down at him when he was leaving the stage. It drove him up the wall. They both knew what that loss meant. He was bitterly swallowing his words to her. And he'd never felt lower than when he saw her lip curl in an arrogant I-told-you-so fashion. She did, and the fact that he'd proven her right sucked the life out of him more than failing to meet his dad's expectations.

He repressed his overwhelming disappointment when Erina finally blinked and turned her steely gaze away. He'd gotten transfixed under her stare, searching for empathy. Hell, he would've even accepted her sympathy. He scanned her face, searching for a sliver of the girl he held pinkies with that night in the woods to reassure him that their intimate moment wasn't a dream or a fluke. But when she pulled away from the skybox's full-length windows and left him gawking at the empty windowpane, it felt like a slap in the face that, above all, Soma was looking for her approval. He shook his head and walked away.

Snap out of it, Yukihira…only to go looking for her long blonde train after he left the building.

He found her. Her golden crown glided through the crowd like royalty, surrounded by the press, paparazzi, and fans screaming her name, reaching for a possible hand touch or picture. It was a mad scene as the chauffeur held the car door open, and for a split second, he was jolted to push through the crowd, run up to her, and say something—anything—to get her attention.

Maybe he'd tell her he owed her for how far he got in the tournament. Perhaps he'd thank her by offering her a new shojo series to borrow. Maybe he'd share his dream the night he saw her in the woods. She was swimming in a chocolate hot spring. He drank in her saucer amethyst eyes under the moonlight as she slowly approached him, never breaking her stare. He considered telling her how their heads closed the gap between them and their lips begged to touch. Maybe he'd also admit how much he wanted to hug her.

But his heart plummeted to his stomach when a distinct platinum-covered head bobbed out of the limo and got back in right behind her.

"How the hell are they still together?" Soma muttered as he turned back, pushing away from the crowd.

-8-

He thought he was subtle, craning his neck over his shoulder to admire Erina's poised gait and svelte physique as she silently walked down the hallway like a runway. She passed them like white paint drying on a brick wall as her assistant rattled off her neverending schedule. But Megumi caught him staring when they left their Local Ecology lecture together.

"Soma? Did you hear me?" She followed his line of vision and tensed up when she realized where it led. "Why don't you go talk to her?" She said in a small voice.

"Huh?" He snapped out of his daze, rubbing the back of his neck in feigned discomfort.

"Is your neck alright?"

"Uh, yeah. I think Professor Shizuka's droning left me bored stiff," he playfully groaned. "I think I got a knot in my neck trying not to doze off!" It felt forced to say, so he knew it sounded forced, too, but Megumi was too kind to call him out.

"Well then, it's a good thing I asked if you wanted to borrow my notes from the lecture, huh?"

"Wait–really, Tadokoro?" Soma's eyes grew wide. He hadn't taken a single note all class. His mind was, well, preoccupied.

"I promise, it's no big deal. Plus, I saw your chicken scratch in class. You didn't even get the date right."

Soma blushed. "Getting back into the swing of things after the Fall Selection has been quite the adjustment."

"I'm sure after your loss, it's been hard to get back to life as usual."

"I get it. It was difficult for me, too. But it's good to see you out of your room and in classes again." Megumi's eyes softened. "You've been missed."

"Yeah, it kinda feels good to be back in the wild," he joked.

"I was thinking..." Her voice drifted to the background of Soma's attention. For some strange reason, Erina was walking toward them. She walked past him like he was dust in the wind. No way! Is she ignoring me?

"Soma?"

Why would she do that? Why didn't you speak?

"Earth to Soma Yukihira!" Megumi clapped her hands over his.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"I was talking to you!"

"My fault, Tadokoro. I missed it. What did you say again?" He asked absentmindedly, his eyes returning to a retreating Erina. Megumi blew out a resigned sigh.

"Don't worry about it, Soma. You seem distracted."

If she only knew. Because now that the tournament was over, nothing could distract his brain from thinking about Erina. It was like the mental levees broke, and all bets were off. There was no hiding his mind from wandering down his memories of her or stopping his eyes from lingering too long in her direction when they passed each other on campus.

Yeah, he seriously needed to redeem himself in her eyes.

a/n: happy new year! hello to my new readers and story followers; welcome to the SYUniverse. i'm so glad i could post this new chapter because it's about to be a bit quieter as i focus on finishing my other novel *shameless plug* Comfort Food's new chapters. so enjoy this one (i tried to make it meaty enough), as i don't anticipate dropping a new chapter until around valentine's day. that one is sure to be an emotional rollercoaster ;) p.s.: to answer the reviewer who asked about ikumi...ty for your question and blame canon (lol) but srsly, stick around to find out the real reason, real soon.

p.p.s.: reviewing, favoriting, and following all help my extrinsic motivation to continue writing, so keep them coming!

-My pleasure! Hope you enjoyed!-

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

8.20withlove