𝙐𝙣𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙙 𝘾𝙤𝙣𝙛𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 . . .
Kurapika x Reader Highschool AU Series ~
TAGS: Slice of Life, Coming of Age, Romance, High School AU, Slow Burn, Friends to Lovers, Found family, KilluGon, Kurapika x Reader Childhood Friends, Idiots in Love, Comedy, Fluff, Light Angst, School Life, Teenage Shenanigans, Awkward!reader,
chapter 1 - chapter 2 - chapter 3(this)
CHAPTER 3 - Rooftop Reflections
As of right now the three of you were ascending up the stairwell, Gon and Killua were already halfway up the next flight of stairs while you lagged behind.
"Gon, has anyone ever told you that you run like an old man?"
"Says the person who deflated the volleyball with their long old man nails."
"Shut up!"
Your lips curved upward from all the bickering, you wanted to join them but you were practically left gasping for air over here..
Whatever it's not like you're mad or anything.. Them bickering just gives you entertainment anyways! The less air you have to waste on them and more on you.
But the real thing you should be focusing on was that you were dragging your body by sheer will power at this point, this could actually count as a work out.
The creepy stairwell wasn't exactly helping your nerves either..
It almost felt like walking through a haunted house because it was so dim and there were zero windows!
You'd think a school with this much money would install a few more lights here but they don't. At this point they might be doing this on purpose..
Just when you thought you were about to see the light, Gon and Killua stopped.
You raised your eyebrows. Usually it took longer to reach the rooftop..
You raised your head at them for answers but—
They were staring at you like you were Mr. Pariston.
The silence was so long that it felt like they were staring at your for hours. But you could see they weren't doing this on purpose, both Killua and Gon had that nervous look etched onto their faces again.
Gon was the first to speak up out of the three of you, looking you in the eye with hesitation as he went down a few steps.
"[reader], are you upset because of Kurapika or is this about somethin' else?"
They thought you were upset over Kurapika.
Kurapika may be the guy you're head over heels for but it's not like him smiling or not would affect your entire day afterwards!
"Not everything is about Kurapika."
“Maybe it is for you.” Killua leaned against the railing as he shrugged.
Your eyebrows slightly pulled together, rolling your eyes to the point it reached the back of your head. “Fine, sometimes it's about Kurapika. But this time you guys are actually at fault!” you pointed at them while pouting.
Gon kept his awkward smile up, seeming to not understand why you were accusing them while Killua raised his arms defensively.
“How can you blame us when we've been nothing but angels to you!?"
His surprised faced turned smug, he was so smug at his ragebait that he even gave you a smirk! You crossed your arms as you sighed, how could he be teasing you at a time like this?
Gon turned to face his entire body to you as he took another step down. "Okay, I get you're mad but like.. What happened?" Gon looked at you, really looked at you. Your sour expression turned soft and you realized that they deserved a real explanation rather than just accusing them without saying why..
"Fine, I guess I should tell you both." You turned your head away from them as you grabbed the railing. “It’s about Mr. Pariston doing his infamous psychological torture on me.” You proceeded to sigh dramatically as you looked below at the flight of stairs.
"So that wasn't our fault."
In the corner of your eye, you could see how Killua's eyes narrowed. For a moment you felt bad until he let out a 'hmph' sound and crossed his arms.
You turned to look at him with a perplexed expression.
Is this guy really cosplaying a tsundere???
You brushed your front hair back as you sighed once more. “It was because you guys made me late."
Both Gon and Killua made an 'o' expression with their mouth, it looks like it's finally making sense to them.
For a moment you thought they were going to apologize until Gon put his hands in his pocket and mumbled. “To be fair, Coach Razor made us do 50 push-ups and 3 laps around the gym since we were late..” Killua put his hands on his hips as he glared at you. "Don't you think it's also petty to be blaming us when you also made us late?"
“Fine! I guess that makes it equal now.” You crossed your arms.
it was silent. so quiet to the point that something as simple as Killua clearing his throat was awkwardly loud.
Then you started laughing at the misunderstanding, your hands reaching for your stomach because of how much you found the situation hilarious.
Gon suddenly smiled, leaning against the wall while he closed his eyes.
"Thank God you're not mad [reader]. I was starting to get worried.."
“Can we just go up now? I don’t wanna stay in the dark stairwell with a bunch of cobwebs..”
Killua said nonchalantly while shoving his hands further into his pockets.
“Aww.. Are you scared that a bug might—”
“Shut up."
You immediately smiled knowingly, how cute that even a strong boy like him could still be scared of bugs.. But it's not like you could be talking because you would probably scream if you saw one too.
Finally, you were on the rooftop now. Honestly, the process of going up felt like FOREVER.
Your eyes squinted at the sudden burst of light, you raised your hand up to block the sunlight before suddenly feeling the fresh breeze of air hitting you.
Gosh, that felt really nice after being in that weird stair well for so long.
The first thing you noticed was the amount of students scattered around here but.. Who cares if they listen in? As long as there isn't any teachers then you are free to rant!
You walked up to a random spot and set your own bag down. Killua and Gon followed suit, falling flat to the floor.
“Should we call Leorio?” Gon asked.
“Yeah, can one of you check if Leorio can vc?”
“Yeah sure, I got it.”
Killua replied casually as he got his phone from his pocket. While waiting, you sat down crossed legged and leaned on your bag. Gon suddenly sat upright and moved closer to you.
“Soo, you mind telling us what happened?” He tilted his head.
“Wait. Ima call Leorio now. Give me something I can make my phone stand on.”
Killua slouched down, seeming less interested in the conversation but you knew damn well his ears were perked up and ready to listen to any gossip. You took your water bottle from the sleeve of your bag and gave it to Killua.
“Here, use it as a stand.”
“M’kay.”
Ding!
Finally, Leorio was here!
The first thing you noticed was that he was wearing a tank top with a stain or two. And he probably just woke up since his hair was extra messy today. Plus, he was still laying on his bed.
“What’s up?”
“We’re doing good, [reader] is just telling us about a situation that happened earlier!”
Gon grinned as he leaned closer to the phone.
“How’s college life treating you?” Killua asked.
“Pretty good if I say so, I don’t have any classes today so I’m just chilling.”
“Anyways, should I start?
Killua groaned, you noticed how everyone was so comfortable. Like you were just using everyone’s bags as something to lean on and it felt pretty nice. Killua was leaning against you and slouching in this relaxed manner while Gon and Leorio kept making stupid faces at each other.
You could almost smile at how nice everything is. You were all comfortable, the cold air was hitting just right and everyone was here and—
Where was he anyways? Why does he never hang around the group anymore? I mean, why are you even overthinking it? He’s in the student council, of course he would be busy!
As your mind started wandering, the boys started looking at you with this concerned look.
“Hey! You okay, [reader]? Or did ya just space out again?” Leorio tilted his head.
“Oh– Totally! Anyways.. Going back, thanks to Killua and Gon.. I was late for Mr. Pariston’s class.”
“How is it our fault? You were such a yapper it was so hard to end the conversation.”
Killua stuck his tongue at you, which honestly just annoyed you more.
Seriously! Didn’t you already have this conversation with him earlier?
“Wait— so, what. And like.. happened? Why were— wifi! you late?”
“Wait, is it us who’s lagging or him?”
Gon looked at Killua for an answer, Killua stopped glaring at you and shrugged.
“Prolly him, I’m using my data right now.”
It took a few seconds for Leorio to stop hanging up but eventually, he had to turn off his camera.
“We get it, rich boy! It’s not my fault the wifi in our dorm building is bad..”
“Just get your own wifi then?”
You and Gon turned to look at Killua, I mean you knew he was rich and a little out of touch but not this out of touch!
“What?”
“I don’t think it works that way, Killua…”
While Leorio and Killua were bickering, you turned to Gon who got all quiet and his brows furrowed like he was thinking very hard.
“I don’t like Mr. Pariston.”
Killua stopped talking and Leorio followed suit.
You said in a disappointed tone, you were kind of expecting more of a valid excuse for that. But to be honest, you also hate Mr. Pariston for a stupid reason.
“Nah but like, Gon is valid for that, that guy is weird.”
Killua defended Gon. You nodded at his words, I mean he is weird and he’s always playing games on his students for no reason at all.
“True.” You and Leorio agreed in sync.
“Bro.”
Leorio opened his camera again and all you could see was a disappointed face.
“Soo what did Mr. Pariston do?”
You sighed dramatically, almost like you were preparing to tell a tragic tale. I mean, it is a tragic story soo..
“So like, he was being a total ass just because I was late. When I said ‘sorry sir, I didn’t hear the bell.’ he went super quiet. It didn’t help that my classmates were staring at me too so it was super awkward. Then he said ‘didn’t here the bell..’ ‘didn’t hear the bell!’ a bunch of times like.. What is he doing..?
“Bro. That’s just Mr. Pariston being himself, that’s not anything new. It’s not like he’s targetting you always. He does this to everyone.”
You rolled your eyes at Killua’s note. Well it was true and he was probably just trying to comfort you.. In his own weird way.
Gon looked up at you and tilted his head.
“Soo, did he do anything else?”
“Yeah, after he made me sit down he told me that I would do the summary of the lesson later. Which sucked because I couldn’t space out and wait till class ended!”
Leorio kept nodding at your words while Killua looked at you intently.
“Then during the lesson he kept making jabs at me like ‘In structured environments, even the smallest cue is meant to be noticed. Unless, of course… one chooses not to notice it.’ and it isn’t even some deep words that everyone should listen to. It’s just some philosophical shit he only gets!”
“Okay.. That’s frustrating but maybe calm down [reader]..” Leorio smiled awkwardly.
“I’m over it. I’m not that upset about it anymore. Seriously!”
Gon leaned closer to you like he was observing a specimen.. Weird.
“But your nose is flaring and you keep clenching your hands like your about to hit someone!”
“But wait, that’s all he did right? Nothing else?” Leorio asked.
“Yeah. That’s it.”
You sighed, and Killua patted your back lightly.
“Hey, at least he didn’t choose you to answer his questions every time for the entire period.”
Gon squinted his eyes for a moment.
“Didn’t that happen to you, Killua?”
“Shut up!”
You and Leorio giggled at the sight of the two bickering. It was very cute.
“Oh yeah! How’s things between you and Kurapika?”
“Er..”
“She tried to confess during lunch, but the bell rang before she could even speak.”
You smacked Killua on the back. Gosh, why couldn’t he shut up for one moment?!
Leorio chuckled at both of you.
“You really are hopeless.”
“Yeah..”
You slouched into the bags even more. I mean, it’s okay to mess up sometimes but you’ve been messing up a lot lately..
Were you really a lost cause?
“Hey, [reader]! Do you want us to help you out?” Gon poked you.
Huh?
The others also looked at him curiously.. What did he mean by that?
Killua narrowed his eyes suspiciously, Gon simply shrugged and explained his plan.
“Maybe we could help [reader] with her confession. Like, she writes a love letter then gives it to us so we could deliver it. There’s no way we could mess up, right?”
“Rude, but that’s actually not a bad idea.” You nodded.
Killua followed along and also nodded, suddenly you heard Leorio sigh.
“Now I’m getting FOMO.. That would be so fun to do.”
You smiled at Leorio, you did miss him a lot and if he was here he’d definitely be a huge help to you.
“We get it old man. College sucks.”
“Hey! I am not that old, Killua! Before you know it, in 4 years you’ll be in college too.”
Killua’s eyes widened, what was up with him?
“Shit, you’re right. WAIT.. Gon! Swear on your life, you'll go to the same college as me.”
Gon looked confused but he smiled.
“Sure! I wouldn’t mind being dorm mates with you in college too.”
Killua smiled back, but like in the most genuine way you’ve never seen before.
You could feel the warmth between them, it was honestly sweet. But.. The crazy amount of third wheeling you were doing was not.
“Could you guys not make me thirdwheel?”
“Way to ruin the moment.” Leorio teased.
“Yeah, [reader]..”
Killua rolled his eyes at you and was it just you or he looked a little more annoyed. His brows were furrowing and he sighed too.. It’s just silly teasing though, right?
“Guys, let’s get back to the task at hand!”
Gon looked like he was really serious about this, which was surprising but nice! You looked back at the phone to see Leorio nodding while Killua just rolled his eyes. How typical of him.
“Before we make any plans, what’s your goal [reader]. Do you want Kurapika to like you back orrr do you just want to let out the feelings?”
I guess you’ve never really thought about it since you were focused on what you were going to do for the next confession.
“I– I don’t know to be honest. I guess I never really thought about it.”
..
So quiet that you could hear the wind and the other students nearby.
But it was silent in a way that wasn’t awkward.
Leorio looked at you empathetically then sighed.
“Well, there’s no shame in that. But, what would you do if he rejected you?”
Killua and Gon turned to look at you. You tried to speak up but it was like something was stuck in your throat.
The thought of Kurapika rejecting you could almost make you cry to be honest..
You looked up to the blue sky as if it would give you any answers.
“..I’d probably accept that. I mean, he doesn’t owe me anything.”
In the corner of your eye, you noticed that Killua looked away from all of you.
“To be honest, you guys haven’t been the closest recently.”
“Yeah, he’s been pulling away from us..” Gon added.
You looked back at the phone, You saw Leorio’s brows furrowed, he looked totally confused about the situation.
I mean, he wasn’t in the school anymore so it’s natural that he doesn’t get what’s happening.
But, the hard part was that you also didn’t get why this was happening.
“Wait, what’s up with him? I don’t get why he’s distancing from you guys.”
“It’s something about, focusing on his studies.” You replied.
“But hey, at least he talks to [reader] right? He doesn’t even talk to me or Killua now.”
Gon said it with an awkward smile, trying to cheer everyone up. It was a good try but everyone still stayed the same.
“Well I guess.” Killua replied.
You looked down at your pocket, the vibration came from your phone.
You pulled it out to see a notif.
It was your dad telling you to leave already.
You put your device back inside your pocket and immediately grabbed your bag.
“Welp, I have to go now.”
“What do you mean already? It’s 3:47 pm now.” Leorio complained which made Killua's head turn fast to the camera.
“Time truly does go by fast when you’re with people you love, huh?”
You looked back at Gon, squinting your eyes at him.
He almost looked like a main character of an anime for a moment.. How the hell did he come up with something so sweet and why did the sunlight hit him just right?
Leorio nodded like he was some wise elder, even with the whole hand on the chin thing.. While on the other hand, Killua had this look in his eye that you couldn’t explain.
And was it just you or did his cheeks look a little red?
“Yeah..” Killua replied with a small smile.
“WAIT! Don’t leave me to third wheel them..”
Leorio groaned, making you chuckle. As much as you would love to stay here and watch the bromance between Gon and Killua unfold— your dad was already here.
“Unfortunately, I don't live in dorms like those two. Okay, gotta go now– like for real.”
“Bye [reader]!”
Gon waved his hand as big as possible even though you were still a few steps away from him.
“Bye!”
“I’ll make a gc for the confession plan thing okay? Now go.”
You grinned ear to ear, Killua was actually going to help too!
“You’re the best, Killua! I mean— all of you are!”
“Okay, bye. I gotta go now too.” Leorio said nonchalantly before leaving the call.
You turned back one more time and waved back, once you were done saying your bye’s.. You went back to the creepy stairwell, which sucked but you felt so happy because,
Maybe, just maybe.. This time, it would work.
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𝘼𝙪𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙧𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙚: GUESS WHO HAD A WRITERS BLOCK WHILE REWRITING THIS CHAPPPP!! Okay I'm not proud of this chapter's prose and I've been going through a horrible writers block which is really sad..
I'm very grateful to see that chapter 1 and 2 are so well received and tomorrow I'll post a new chap to make up for the days I haven't haha... I hope to whoever is reading this you enjoyed the chapter for its characters since I really enjoyed writing their conversation.
There's many more drama to come so please wait till tomorrow for a chapter or two, thank you so much once again <3
dededos
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