Ice Bound || bllk.

As you predicted, Ryusei Shidou was indeed a problem.

It was as if the universe had gone out of its way to curse you, sticking you with him not only in the same school but in the same homeroom. And Shidou, with all the arrogance and chaos he embodied, treated this arrangement as though it were some sort of cosmic joke meant entirely for his amusement.

From the moment he discovered you shared a classroom, his relentless torment began. You could feel it before you even saw him—the charged presence that filled the air when he was near, like the static before a storm. He made himself at home in the seat next to yours, unapologetically shoving aside the female student who previously occupied it. She protested briefly, but one sharp look from those glowing pink eyes shut her up, and she fled without a second glance.

"Guess this spot's mine now~" he said, grinning as he dropped into the chair. His posture was infuriatingly casual—head held high, arms stretched behind his head, feet kicked up onto the desk like he owned the place.

And then, of course, there were his eyes.

Those stupid, relentless pink eyes that you could feel burning into the side of your face no matter how hard you tried to ignore him. They were always there, following every move you made, drinking in every flicker of annoyance that slipped through your carefully composed mask.

You'd glare at him, sharp and pointed, but it never worked. If anything, it only seemed to encourage him, his wicked grin stretching wider as though he thrived on the challenge of breaking down your indifference.

Even the homeroom teacher had long since given up. Their eyes would flick briefly to Shidou, his feet still defiantly propped on the desk, his smug smirk daring them to try saying something. And they never did. They just sighed, muttered something about "picking their battles," and moved on.

So you were left to deal with him on your own.

The worst part wasn't even the staring—it was the way he demanded your attention. Just as you were on the verge of successfully ignoring him, his boot would come down hard against the back of your chair with a loud THUCK. The force of it jolted you forward slightly, the noise echoing through the classroom, drawing every pair of eyes to the two of you.

"Oi, pretty boy," he'd drawl, his voice dripping with smug amusement. "You ignoring me? That's kinda rude, y'know."

God, what was he, some kind of attention-seeking maniac? You'd roll your eyes and turn back to your work, refusing to give him the reaction he so obviously craved. But the kicks would continue—sometimes soft and rhythmic, like a taunting knock; other times hard and abrupt, meant to jar you into snapping at him.

Shidou wasn't one to back down, especially not when he saw the subtle twitch in your jaw, the way your hand gripped your pencil just a little tighter.

He thrived on your irritation, on the way you tried so hard to keep him at arm's length. And when ignoring him didn't work, you resorted to glaring. Hard.

"Could you stop?" you hissed one day after yet another well-aimed kick to your chair.

He only grinned. "Stop what?"

You clenched your teeth. "This. Whatever this is."

"Whatever this is?" he repeated, his voice lilting with mock confusion. "You mean me existing? Breathing? Sitting next to you? Sorry, pretty boy, but I ain't going anywhere."

Your exasperation only seemed to fuel him further. He leaned in slightly, his grin turning into something different. "You've got such a bad temper for someone who looks so soft, y'know that?"

The comment was so ridiculous that you didn't even bother responding. Instead, you turned back to your notes, determined to shut him out completely.

For a while, you managed it. You trained your focus on the lesson, letting the droning voice of the teacher drown out the noise of Shidou's antics. His incessant tapping, his feet kicking idly against the desk, even his occasional muttered comments—it all faded into the background.

But then, out of the corner of your eye, you saw him leaning back in his chair, arms crossed behind his head, his gaze fixed on you. He wasn't even pretending to pay attention to the lesson. His entire focus was on you, and it made your skin crawl.

You sighed quietly, closing your eyes for a brief moment to gather your composure. God, why couldn't he just leave you alone?

It wasn't just the attention—it was his attention. Shidou's presence was suffocating, loud in a way that wasn't just physical. He didn't just want to be seen; he wanted to be felt, to worm his way under your skin until you couldn't ignore him even if you wanted to.

And despite your best efforts, it was working.

You'd never admit it, but there was something about him that made it impossible to completely block him out. Something electric, dark, and so fundamentally different from anyone else you'd ever encountered. It wasn't just his boldness or his disregard for authority—it was the way he seemed to see right through you, as if every mask you wore, every wall you built, was a challenge he couldn't wait to tear down.

But you refused to give him the satisfaction.

So you ignored him. You ignored the kicks, the comments, the relentless pink eyes that never left you. You pretended he wasn't there, that he was nothing more than another distraction in a world full of them.

And for now, that was enough.