Watari was never really serious about the girls he dated or hung out with, even though they were serious about him. He was a player, and only cared for their attention. Only a few got him curious about more than that and their looks.

And one of those girls were Anzu.

She was nothing special. Just an average girl who was interested in soccer. She didn't play the sport but just enjoyed watching it. When Watari's team was practising, or playing in a match, Anzu was always there to watch. Even though she loved soccer, she also loved watching the captain of the team play.

He had always interested her, even though she didn't know that much about him. He fascinated her. The smile on his face when he played made her also smile. From all the players on the field, he seemed to enjoy himself the most. He was also the most talented. The way he dribbled past his opponents was just amazing.

While Anzu had always thought that he had never noticed her before, Watari couldn't help but glance at her now and then. She was always there, and that made him happy.

At first, it was just a cute girl watching the match. He liked cute girls, obviously, and felt secretly proud that she came to watch him. Later on, he learned her name and also came to know about her interest in soccer. Bits of that pride disappeared, knowing that she wasn't there for him, but just for the sport they were playing.

Still, he couldn't help but have the feeling her eyes were always turned to him, and he confirmed that by looking at her now and then, going unnoticed by Anzu. She was indeed looking at him.

Watari never had a problem with talking to girls, so he easily had a small talk with Anzu. That short conversation led to being very good friends. They shared many interests and could talk very well together. It was never awkward and they could tell each other everything. Their bond wasn't as deep as the bond between Watari and Kousei and Tsubaki though, but that didn't really matter to Anzu. She just cared about him being her friend, or maybe even more.

It went from admiration and respect, to friendship and more interest, and now she thought she felt even more for him, but decided not to tell him.

She knew Watari was very popular among the girls. He went to various placed with various girls and flirted with them. He never flirted with her or took her anywhere other than the soccer field and his house, where they would do their homework.

Wasn't he interested in her? Was she 'just a friend' to him? A friend and nothing more? Did she even stand a chance? He never treated her like the girls he liked. Even though she knew he was only playing around with them, she was still jealous. She didn't like it to admit that, but she couldn't deny her own feelings anymore.

''Anzu-chan! Watch out!''

Anzu blinked, and her eyes widened when she saw the ball flying at her. Instinctively, she quickly dodged it, but it resulted in her losing her balance, and with nothing to grab onto, she fell. A groan left her lips as she rubbed her back. The fall wasn't exactly painless, and she felt her but and back twinge.

''Anzu-chan, are you alright?"

Anzu opened her eyes and moved back when a hand was right in front of her face, something she wasn't expecting. She looked up to see the owner of the hand and sighed tiredly when she recognized her face. Smiling, she grabbed his hand and Watari pulled her onto her feet. Pain radiated from her tailbone to her back and she gritted her teeth.

Anzu couldn't believe that she had been so deep in thought. She wasn't focusing on practise anymore and thus didn't notice the ball coming until he called out to her.

''Anzu-chan?'' Watari asked again, looking quite concerned.

Anzu chuckled and dusted off her skirt. ''I'm fine.'' she answered, but it didn't sound very convincing to Watari. He pursed his lips and gave her a small push. For Anzu, this was unexpected, and she had to take a step back to keep her balance, but her face wrinkled in pain.

And Watari saw that.

He turned around and waved to get his teammates' attention. ''We're going to the infirmary for a bit!'' He shouted. ''Just continue without me!"

''Watari, you don-'' Watari didn't even let Anzu finish her sentence and pulled her with him. She bit her lip in pain as she felt her tailbone ache. ''Watari, walk slower! It hurts!''

Watari stopped walking immediately and turned around. ''So you're finally admitting it.''

''You already noticed so there wasn't anything to hide anymore.'' Anzu muttered under her breath, and she looked away when she heard Watari laugh softly.

''Do you want me to carry you if walking is too painful?'' He asked playfully with a big smirk plastered on his face. ''Or can the princess walk herself?''

Anzu stuck out her tongue and walked past him. ''I can walk myself.'' It hurt, but she didn't want to let Watari carry her. It would be way too embarrassing, especially at school. And she wasn't unable to walk, so she didn't need his help anyway, or so she thought.

When they got inside the school building, they had to go upstairs, where the infirmary was. After one or two steps, Anzu already stopped and pursed her lips tightly together. The pain was unbearable. She really felt like crying, but she held the tears back.

''Anzu-chan?''

''I can't go up, Watari.'' Anzu said silently. ''Can't you get her? I'll wait here.''

Watari sighed and walked to me, grabbed my hand and pulled weakly at it, gesturing that she had to get off the stairs. ''Get on my back.''

Anzu shook her head and pulled her hand back. ''No.'' She refused. ''It's way too dangerous to carry me while going up the stairs!''

''I can do it with ease.'' Watari said, beginning to look quite arrogant. Anzu had always known that Watari was confident in almost everything what he did, but could she really trust him with this?

Anzu let out a deep sigh and slowly got off the stairs. ''Fine.'' She said reluctantly. ''But if we fall, you pay the hospital bills. Both mine and yours.''

Watari merely laughed and turned his back to me. ''That's okay with me. We're not going to fall anyway.''

Anzu got onto his back and wrapped her legs around his waist and placed her hands on his shoulders. Watari slowly began to walk up the stairs and Anzu squeezed his shoulders slightly when he began to wobble. ''Watari!'' She hissed.

Watari laughed again, obviously enjoying this whole situation.

Anzu shrieked when Watari began to wobble again, and she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck. ''Watari! Let me down!''

Watari chuckled and held her legs firmer. ''We're almost there.''

Anzu wanted to slap him, but she couldn't help but feel happy when she saw him smile so brightly. After he stopped laughing, there was silence between the two of them. Only Watari's footsteps could be heard.

The silence wasn't uncomfortable, but Anzu still felt the need to say something. ''Watari?'' she asked softly.

Watari only hummed in response.

''I'm glad you're my friend.''

To Watari, this came as a surprise. Not only the words themselves, but also the way she said those words. Anzu sounded insecure, at least, that's how she sounded to Watari.

Anzu pursed her lips. She knew she said something weird, but she wanted to say it. Being this close to Watari made her glad, even though she didn't like the rest of the situation. To him, this probably meant nothing. But to her...

''You sound as if you're going to do something which is not allowed and then run away.'' Watari joked. ''What are you up to?"

Anzu smiled. Being this close to him with the feelings she held for him, she never knew what she might say. It could be something she wasn't allowed to say as only a friend. ''Who knows.'' She whispered as Watari reached the end of the stairs.

''You can let me down now.'' Anzu said, and Watari carefully let her get off his back. ''Doesn't walking also hurt?'' He asked as he turned around to face her.

''It doesn't matter what I do, it hurts all the time.'' Anzu chuckled. ''But I can walk, so it's fine. Depending on you all the time is something I don't want to do.''

Watari furrowed his eyebrows and stepped closer to Anzu. ''Why not?'' He asked, smirking slightly. ''Because you'll do something which is not allowed?'' His eyes narrowed a bit. ''Because you depend on others a lot, but you didn't want me to bring you to the infirmary, and you also refused to let me carry you at first, and now you don't want to depend on me too much.'' Watari sighed when Anzu still hadn't replied after a few wordless seconds. ''If you're around me, are you afraid to do something that you think isn't allowed?''

Anzu froze for a second, afraid that he might have noticed her feelings, but decided to not let him notice her shock. Not replying was suspicious. Anzu knew that, but she still didn't open her mouth to say something back.

Watari sighed and nudged Anzu with her elbow. ''Anzu-chan? Why won't you talk?''

Anzu stopped. She gave up. Watari probably had already realized her feelings. A complete confession wasn't her thing, so she wouldn't say more than necessary. Even though she'd only be giving a hint, Anzu was still nervous. Her hands were sweaty and she could hear her own heart beating. She knew that Watari wouldn't end their friendship, and that he'd still treat her the same, no awkwardness, but she was still a bit scared.

She took a deep breath before looking Watari straight in the eyes. ''As a friend, there are some things I can't say.''

Watari smiled softly and stepped closer to her. ''I know that the words in your head are not for just a friend to say.'' He said, his eyes glistening mischievously. ''But what if I want you to say those things?''