"Don't forget to feed the cat," your mother reminded you as she rushed around the kitchen, rummaging for her car keys. "Honey, have you seen-"

"Here," you said shortly, dangling the key chain from your index finger and fixing her with an unamused frown. She snatched it from your hand and planted a sloppy kiss on your cheek.

"I'll be back later on. There's food in the fridge."

You nodded silently and stared after her as she left, the door slamming in her wake. That was the third night this week she'd gone out drinking with god knows who. She wouldn't return until near enough 3am - probably after driving herself home - and would probably wake you up in her drunken haze. Last time she'd startled the entire neighbourhood awake by knocking over the kettle.

Stirring from your thoughts, you locked the front door - since she hadn't bothered - and wandered over to the cupboards, pulling out a packet of cat food.

"Come're kitty," you cooed, ripping open the packet and tipping it into your cat's bowl. The silver-furred feline slunk around your legs as you set the dish down, rubbing its cheek against your ankles. "Good girl/boy."

Running a hand through your hair, you whipped yourself up some instant ramen and dashed up to your room, setting your dinner aside as you checked your phone. Yamaguchi's text streak was already open as you unlocked it, still displaying his shock after you'd filled him in with your trip to Tsukishima's house.

Yamaguchi had told you it was a mistake.

You'd brushed it off as being one step closer to completing the puzzle.

You had no idea what Tsukishima would call it, but you hoped it hadn't distanced him further. All he needed to do was open up a little bit more. But why was that so difficult? You didn't want to trouble Yamaguchi with such a personal question, but you had a feeling the key to Tsukishima's friendship was lying somewhere in his past.

The second you unearthed the missing clues, you'd be well on your way to piecing together the jigsaw.

You just had to play smart. And maybe not take so many bold moves.

_____________

Tsukishima evaded you completely the next day. Whenever his eyes fell on you from the opposite end of the corridor, he would turn on his heel and run back the way he came from, hardly giving you a chance to call after him.

It was both frustrating and wounding on your part, having to endure someone purposely avoiding you after you'd gone out of your way to be friendly.

It led you to wonder if perhaps Yamaguchi was right. What if you had played the wrong card by turning up at his house like that. What if your bold, upfront approach really was a mistake.

But how else were you going to enforce your plan? You couldn't get close to him unless you made an effort to. It wasn't going to just happen naturally. And at any rate, you'd both be graduating soon, and then Tsukishima might be lost to you forever.

But then again, would it really bug you that much? What had spurred this sudden desire to help him? Because you felt sorry for him? Because you were intrigued by him?

You growled in frustration, balling your fists against the table. You'd been sat in the library for the better half of lunch, running your head over what to do next. You had the presentation to deliver next lesson, so you were hoping just to see how things panned out from there.

As the bell signalled the end of lunch, you dragged yourself begrudgingly to the science classroom, smiling weakly at Sensei as you took your seat. You were disappointed to see Tsukishima wasn't already sat at the front; he was always early to lesson. He hadn't ditched you, had he? You'd definitely seen him around school, no matter how hard he tried to avoid you.

Your eyes were fixed on the door the entire lesson, hoping Tsukishima would decide to join you after all and not leave you stranded like that.

But people didn't change overnight. And you still meant nothing to Kei.

When it came round to your turn, you bowed deeply to Sensei and explained rather clumsily how Tsukishima had taken the presentation home to finish, so you didn't have it. She excused you from delivering the work, but still bid you hand it in when Kei returned to class.

The rest of the lesson you spent buried in your thoughts, wondering what Tsukishima was getting up to instead of being in class. He couldn't have that many better things to do, right?

As school finished, you tagged onto the queue of students tripping over each other to get through the main gate, winding a scarf around your neck. You kept your eyes downcast and fiddled with a loose thread on your coat as you walked, not paying much attention to your surroundings.

It wasn't until you reached the road - lifting your head to check it was clear - did you finally notice you'd been walking behind someone the whole time.

A tall blonde with a pair of earphones plugged into his ears.

Your heartbeat quickened as you stumbled over the kerb, trying to match his loping strides. "Tsukishima-Kun! Hey!" You called out to him, but he apparently he hadn't heard - or noticed - you. With a flood of confidence, you devoured the distance between you and reached up to tap his shoulder.

He stopped short in the street, pulling out his earphones, and glanced down at you over the rim of his glasses. "What do you want?" He said testily, the corner of his lip curling back.

"You weren't in class today," you observed, once again unfazed by his cold attitude.

He raised his shoulders, a light breeze stirring his hair.

"We had a presentation, remember?"

This time he ignored you, plugging his earphones back in.

Loosening your scarf with a huff, you reached out to poke his shoulder again. "Hey, don't ignore me," you whined as he shrugged you off.

"Leave me alone."

"But my house is this way too," you justified, glancing at the clocktower poking through the rooftops, the sun bouncing off the glass in dazzling flashes of light.

He clicked his tongue, patience wearing thin. "Then stop talking to me."

You sighed and, despite the interests of your heart, complied.

He didn't acknowledge your wave as you parted at his house, but his eyes lingered on your for a few seconds before he shut the front door.

And that had to mean something, right?