The Apple of My Eye
Chapter 09
“No.”
“Yes.”
“No!”
“Yes!”
“No!”
“Yes!”
“OH MY GOSH NO!”
“OH MY GOSH YES!”
Ayaka squealed through the phone, causing her best friend to hold it away and giggle.
“MY BEST FRIEND IS DATING ATOBE KEIGO!!!”
brought the phone back to her ear, sensing that Ayaka was done spazzing out and now wanted to interrogate her best friend.
“So, so, so! You and Atobe-senpai are going to be wearing matching masquerade costumes at his Halloween party, right, right?!” blinked, sitting up to think about it.
“Do you think he’d want to?” asked, fiddling with her thumbs. A part of her wanted to wear the costume she had made to the party, but Ayaka’s idea seemed pretty good too. That way, their relationship would become public, and wouldn’t have to watch fangirls flock to her boyfriend.
“Of course!” Ayaka exclaimed. “This is the Atobe Keigo we’re talking about! Mr. Dramatic-flair-for-everything! Mr. Blow-everything-out-of-proportion! He’d probably buy you a five grand Victorian-styled dress of some sort. And that’s not including the shoes, and the jewellery, and the purse and mask!” gulped, dollar signs’ beginning to flash in her eyes as she realized what Ayaka was babbling on about.
“In other words, he’s going to be spending a fortune on one night.” sighed. She heard Ayaka chuckling over the phone.
“A fortune? Please, -chan. This is the Atobe family we’re talking about. That costume would only be a tiny dent in Atobe-senpai’s bank account.” Ayaka explained matter-of-factly. Her voice was almost smug, and sighed inwardly. “Besides, he’s going to be showering you with gifts, so the money he’ll be spending for the party isn’t going to be even close.”
“That makes me feel so much better. Thanks Aya-chan.” merely heard her friend giggle over the phone. At that point, there was a knock on the door. “Come in!” called, before addressing Ayaka. “Sorry Aya-chan, I have to go now.” whispered into the phone.
“Go have fun with Atobe-senpai~!” Ayaka cooed, before there was an almost static sound, and the dial tone went off. clacked her phone shut to greet her visitor.
Her voice died in her throat.
“Hello little bird. Miss me?”
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“What am I supposed to do next, buchou?”
“I’m done my 40 laps, buchou.”
“Buchou, could you speed it up a little?”
“Buchou! We’re supposed to be playing a match right now!”
Atobe’s eyes twitched when all of his teammates surrounded him, bombarding their captain with questions. usually did things like this, and without her Atobe was starting to fall apart. Before she ever joined, he had handled everything just fine; but since she joined he’s left it all to her. Having to do everything again left him a little clueless.
“Would you guys just-,”
He was interrupted when a shrill scream broke through the air.
In the court next to them, Atobe’s eyes met Tezuka’s.
“.”
~{}~{}~{}~{}~{}~{}~{}~{}~{}~{}~
She was found in her room, shivering with wide and blank eyes, her hands covering her mouth. Tears were dripping down her pale cheeks. The old woman was kneeled beside her, face contorted in worry. She was trying to sooth , rubbing slow circles on her back and patting her arm. Relief blossomed on her face when she saw Atobe, Tezuka, and another whole slew of boys enter the room.
“She’s been like this since I came in.” The old woman said, her voice croaking with worry. “I don’t know what’s wrong with her.”
Atobe and Tezuka’s eyes flickered around the room, and they both pinpointed the open window that led to the parking lot.
“The bastard ran for it.” Atobe cursed, eyes narrowing. Tezuka briskly walked forward, peering out the window.
“There’s a blue BMW missing.” Tezuka noted. “It’s either his car, or he stole it.” Atobe snorted.
“I’m willing to bet it’s his.”
The rest of the tennis players looked at each other with confused expressions. was still shaking, and Atobe walked over to lightly brush her cheeks.
“-chan? It’s Keigo. Are you alright?” He asked softly. ’s eyes came into focus, and they flickered to look into Atobe’s face. The hands covering her mouth slowly lowered, and everyone gasped when they saw the teeth marks marring her lips. Blood pooled out from those cuts, mixing with her tears. Atobe swore softly under his breath.
“He… he came back.” whimpered softly, her lips quivering as Atobe brought her slowly into his arms. “I remember, Kei-chan I remember!” She hiccupped. “I was so scared… so scared.” Atobe stroked her hair. “Kei-chan…” hiccupped again.
“Shh… don’t talk anymore -chan.” Atobe whispered. “You don’t have to be scared anymore. I’m here, Kei-chan is here.” Atobe looked up, his eyes narrowed and his lips firmly pressed together. “Tezuka, go get the first aid kit. Oshitari, call for transportation. We’re not staying here anymore. Ohtori, ring up Sakaki-sensei and update him on what happened. The rest of you; get out.” The last part was said in a growl, and everyone obediently left. No one wanted to set Atobe more on fire than he already was.
Oshitari and Ohtori stayed in the room, and Atobe grudgingly let the old woman stay as well. Oshitari was quietly talking on the phone, and he snapped it shut at the same time Ohtori hung up as well.
“It’s done.” They said at the same time.
“The car will be here in 45 minutes; I’ve asked for bodyguards to come along as well.” Oshitari said.
“Sakaki-sensei said to keep him updated. He’s calling the police as we speak.”
Atobe nodded in satisfaction, curling closer to his chest.
“His kiss was horrible.” whispered to Atobe, although Oshitari and Ohtori could still hear. “It hurt, and I wanted to puke.” Atobe kissed the top of her head, pressing his cheek to her silk strands.
“I know, -chan. I know.”
©Snowflake