Protection - Kei Tsukishima fanfiction

Prologue

"Tsukishima? Please." I bowed in a swift, however embarrassing manner, pleading with every bit of my now broken reputation. Even out in the open next to the empty courtyards and gym rooms, I could feel the burning gazes of non-existent, rolling eyes, making me shiver and cringe with the weight of judgment at how pitiful I looked. Behind out—and probably showing due to my skirt—legs straight, upper body facing the ground at a ninety-degree angle, and long hazel hair covering my grimacing face like a mask—hopefully hiding my desperate call for help. I looked like a fool, an idiot, in front of this heavenly, yet devilish, giant. What he was going to do to me after this, I don't know. I'm scared to think about what is rushing through that calculating brain of his: probably the harshest insult one could ever imagine.

"Please, help me study!" My voice was loud and clear against the still air surrounding us, echoing off of the stone buildings and rippling past them like a canon. Being flustered and red-faced doesn't help the volume of my voice lowing, so the blond boy in front of me is probably bleeding from his ears, tripling down his perfectly steamed, white school shirt. But that wasn't the only flaw in my execution; I forgot to keep my resistance at a low and my mind from melting into a pile of mush. The words just slipped out of my mouth like butter and I'm now suffering the consequences of a deadly silence to fall upon us both.

However, Tsukishima scoffed, and I could sense his condescending head shaking with laugher, "I'm sorry, could you repeat that?"

Sarcasm leaked from his mouth into words that boiled my blood for a split, fiery second, enough for me to whip my body back into shape and face him with a wrinkled nose. His voice was smooth, non-hesitant, and confident, almost as if my sweat and desperation didn't phase him in the slightest. It was as if he was amused by my sudden state of panic, mentally bursting into a fit of heckling at the sight before him with a mischievous and surprised smirk. However now, it wasn't embarrassment causing my lack of social skills and politeness to fade into nothingness, it was the intimidation I felt when I glared at this towering student.

He was 6 foot 2 in height; tall enough to touch every ceiling, every door frame in the school, and then some. It was like a wall standing before me, creating a darkened shadow to lurk over my 5 foot 4 body and a temporary night sky to hover above me. Broad shoulders didn't help the numerous factors either: he was well built, hips and all, but very skinny with barely any flesh surrounding his stomach or vague muscles; he was equipped with pulsating strength in all the right places: forearms--appearing behind his short sleeves--creating a powerhouse of a human being and a pressurizing opponent. Enough to enlighten a sense of unworthiness inside of anyone who stands before him.

Silky blond hair sat on his head, blowing willingly in the breeze, shaken as if he had run his large hand throughout his golden locks several times. It covered most of his forehead, brushing his pale skin, hanging above his square, black glasses resting on the bridge of his small nose comfortably. On the other hand, behind the glass were a pair of golden brown eyes, glistening even in the darkness, looking at the world with a birds-eye view and a comment on almost everything. You could get lost in his eyes—speaking from experience every time I even gaze at him briefly between desks—but you will always be met with a snarky insult from an accidental interaction.

The way we locked eyes formed an uneasy atmosphere, making me sway left and right with the beating of my own blood, while also revising how to answer his unneeded but cleverly calculated comeback.

I regained myself quickly before my chance of charm faded. "Please, can you help me study, Tsukishima?"

His smirk was growing at a rapid pace. Even seven feet away couldn't outshine the view of his lips compiling into an insulting smile. The true feeling of regret now overtook the embarrassment in a race to see what would kill me first--I was hoping that happiness or relief would be the fatal winner above the rest.