"Oi, look! Isn't that Kei's new girlfriend? Do you think he abuses her too?"

Your nostrils flared wide as someone prodded at your back, catching you right between the shoulder blades, but shrugged them off and fought aside the urge to retaliate, continuing straight towards your locker.

"Is she the one who drew that ugly-ass picture of him?" Someone snickered as you passed, not bothering to hide the spite in her tone.

"What a freak."

Throwing your books haphazardly into your bag, you slammed shut your locker and wheeled round with a sharp breath. A boy with black hair and bitter blue eyes lunged at you, pressing you up against the wall. Faces leered at you over his shoulder as he pinned you by your collar, cutting off the air supply to your lungs.

"Do you like it - when he hurts you, hm? Do you like the pain?"

You struggled against his grasp, kicking out your legs and catching him in the shin repeatedly, clawing at his arms, but he seemed unfazed, his hold unrelenting.

"Get... of me," you choked out through gritted teeth. His grip around your neck finally loosened, giving you enough leverage to deliver a punch to his gut. His hands slipped from your collar and he doubled over with a grunt, clutching his stomach as a small orange-haired boy rushed to see if he was okay. Using his distraction to your advantage, you ducked around him and made to flee, but not before the jerk jammed his foot in front of you, throwing you off balance.

The ground rushed up to meet you and, with a grimacing crack, your head smacked the locker behind you. Pain ripped through your skull likes pulses of electric, gripping you with dizziness.

A hand suddenly found your elbow, hoisting you up until you felt the ground once more beneath the soles of your feet. You lifted your eyes, heart skipping a beat, and glimpsed a boy with wide eyes, cheeks peppered with freckles, hair sticking askew from his head.

"Are you okay?" Yamaguchi fretted, reaching over to push your hair out of your face with a blush dappling his cheeks. You gave an uncertain nod, your neck and head throbbing the from impact.

"Oh, so now the whimp's come to her rescue?" Someone sniggered as Yamguchi secured his fingers around your wrist and guided you away from the assembled crowd. More whispers, snickers, rumours to be spread.

A gasp parted your lips as you spotted a familiar blonde striding away from the commotion, his fists clenched by his sides. Had he been there the whole time? Just standing on the sidelines, watching?

"C'mon, let's get out of here," Yamaguchi muttered, his voice bitter. You didn't speak a word until you escaped the confines of the school hallway and emerged into the open courtyard. Reaching the bike shed, you sat down against the wall and huddled your knees against your chest. "Ouch," you mumbled with a half-hearted chuckle, brushing your fingers through your knotted hair and grazing the bruise that was starting to form at the back of your scalp.

"Are you okay?" The boy asked breathlessly. "Those stupid bastards. Don't know when to quit, do they?"

You nodded wearily, letting your head drop against the wall with a wince. The ground was damp with morning dew, seeping through your skirt, but something else was occupying your mind for you to take much notice. "What did they mean, when they said 'do you think he abuses her too'?"

Yamaguchi sniffed loudly, pacing in front of you with his hands in his pockets, his bag this close to tumbling off his shoulder. "Empty lies. They twist things. They turned Kei into the abuser rather than the abused. Now that's what everyone else sees." He stared down at his feet, pressing his jaw forward. "World's a cruel place, huh?"

You poked tentatively at the bruised skin around your collarbone, whistling a sigh. "Tell me about it."

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Kei was outside when you made your way up his street. He was sitting cross-legged on his porch, tapping his long fingers against his thigh in time to a silent tune. The wind tousled his hair softly, lips parted as he squinted down at his phone.

"Tsukishima-Kun," you called tentatively, chewing your bottom lip as he blinked up at you. His eyes were unrevealing.

"Oh, hi," he replied bluntly, dropping his legs to the ground. He couldn't quite meet your eye as he pulled out his earphones, letting them dangle loosely over the collar of his jumper.

You stepped closer to the fence, propping your elbows against the peeling wood. "What're you listening to?"

He gave a lopsided shrug, his gaze teetering over your shoulder. "Music."

You chuckled wryly. "Really?"

He studied you carefully, eyes grazing your collarbone, where the bruise was just visible above your school blazer. His lips parted to speak, before he sighed and decided against it.

"Go on," you prompted gingerly.

"I... I'm sorry," he choked out, scratching the back of his head and staring fixedly at his feet. "Earlier, I should've... when they were... I need to go." He climbed hurriedly to his feet, dusting down his jumper still without meeting your eye.

You leaned further over the fence, hair tumbling forward over your shoulder. "It's okay. I'm not upset," you called to him, unsure of whether or not he heard you as he jogged up to the steps and pulled open the door. He paused, swivelled on his heel and looked at you.

Really looked at you. As if for the first time. His eyes widened the slightest fraction, harbouring the remnants of sunlight as it sank beyond the rooftops, before he turned back and shut the door, leaving your heart thudding erratically in your chest.

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smol tsukki is killing me with cuteness rip jess ;-;