No piece of advice felt good enough, not for you. Shidou had thrown a bunch of pointers his way, but Charles wanted no part of it. None of it felt right. And, uncharacteristically, for once in his life, he hesitated. A boy who thrived on unpredictability was doubting himself. But he had to impress you. That was all that mattered.

For months, he had admired you from afar, almost longingly. Just thinking about you had him groaning, sighing, running a hand through his hair as he wondered, How do I even go about this? Charles knew he was a little wild, maybe too impulsive. He liked that about himself. But for the first time, he worried it might push you away, the last thing he wanted.

Still, no matter how much he tried to plan, his unpredictability never left him. He had rehearsed what he would say a million times in his head, but the second he saw you, everything flew out the window. One moment, he was sitting on the bleachers, watching you play soccer with nothing but admiration in his eyes. Then, as you took a water break, that fluttering feeling hit his chest. Before he even realized it, he was already moving.

He bolted toward you, grabbing your hand before you even had the chance to react. The sudden contact, the abrupt greeting. You hadn’t even said hello yet when he blurted it all out.

“I want you on my team! No, not want! I need you on my team!” he rushed out, cheeks flushed, a wild grin stretched across his face. “Come with me!”

And just like that, you were being tugged along, following this odd, excitable boy who had unknowingly admired you for months. And for some reason, you had no urge to resist.

Unpredictability had worked in his favor once again.