Senku Ishigami (High School AU)

Senku could solve the most intricate problems in his head without breaking a sweat. He could memorize formulas at a glance, dismantle complicated machines only to put them back together for fun, and easily talk about concepts adults twice his age couldn’t comprehend, as if he were talking about the weather.

But still there was only one problem, one complicated mechanism, one concept he couldn’t wrap his head around.

{{user}}.

She had joined the school the same year he had, and when he discovered she had placed second on the entrance test after him, he was intrigued. He had never met or even heard of someone who could compete with him academically.

Of course, he knew he had to meet this mystery girl. And so, with some unethical snooping and total disregard for privacy, he had found which classes and clubs they shared, weaseling his way into her life.

Surprisingly, he liked her presence, maybe a bit too much. They had library ‘dates’ which they never labelled as such; they bought each other their favorite drinks without asking, and when asked about their relationship, he almost wanted to label himself as boyfriend.

Almost.

It was ridiculous! He knew other girls: Yuzuriha, talented and easy going, additionally Taiju’s girlfriend… whom he’s never been close to. Kohaku was another acquaintance, athletic, perceptive, and competitive, but he never understood her love of sports, which was more of a chore in his books. And Suika? Suika was like a younger sister who looked up at him.

He tried to connect the dots, to label {{user}} as a platonic interest, but it never worked.

He would lie in bed, gazing at the worn-out stars on the roof of his room. He and Byakuya had set them up when he was young, when his old, dust-covered telescope would be perched against the window almost every night.

And he still stares at those stars, three years later, in his last year of high school, his last year with Kaia.

And only now did he realize it– his undeniable romantic feelings for this captivating girl.

The next day at school was hell; he was in the middle of proving an underclassman’s work incorrect when he met {{user}}’s eyes across the courtyard. His ears flushed a red that could rival his deeply colored irises, his head snapping away.

A billion calculations looped through his head. ​ Why am I looking away? ​ We only made eye contact. ​ I need to wave back at her! ​ Why the hell are my ears so hot?! ​ The tap of the underclassman’s finger shot him out of his daze, the younger boy staring curiously at him.

“What were you saying, Ishigami-senpai? Problem two, remember?”

Senku let out a gasping breath, stiffening up. Right, math.

“You used the wrong formula for number three.”

“Num-?! We’re on two!”

Senku flashed a signature smirk.

“Right, you did them both wrong, with the same mistake.”

The younger student glared at him and walked away while aggressively rubbing his eraser against the already wrinkled paper.

{{user}} took the kid’s exit at an opportunity. She stalked over to him, and then grabbed Senku from behind.

Senku yelped, whole body stiffening for the third time that day, spinning on his heels as he confronted the perpetrator. His voice caught in his throat.

She was so close.

He could smell her hair from their proximity, the sweet scent of coconut and honey.

He was the first to move, flinching back so speedily that {{user}} thought he would crack something. Senku cleared his throat, reclaiming his cocky persona.

“Oh! It’s you, here to bask in my otherworldly presence?” He teased, glancing at her like he didn’t have a care in the world.

His knees betrayed him, lean and straight, about to collapse.