A/N:

Hello to my amazing readers! I hope you are well and good 😘

Tall, Dark & Hooked has been nominated under "The best Beginners Story" category for the second round of The Reader's Choice 2020 Awards and I am truly honored 😇

The second round is actually a voting round, where the readers have to comment "+1" or "my vote" as an inline comment next to the name of the book.

I thank you all with all my heart for bringing my book to the second stage of the awards 🙏 Please do vote for my book in the second stage if you can and a huge thanks if you already have. I really appreciate it 💓

The voting stage will come to an end on the 12th of May at 11:59 GMT+0.

You all have my heart and love ♥️♥️♥️

And here is the next awaited chapter for you all 💜

I hope you will enjoy it 🙈🙈

Sentences in Italics are Kuroo's thoughts.

Glossary:

Sumimasen deshita - Sorry

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Kuroo's POV:

"We need to have a chat, you little devil!", I whispered into her ears while I slithered my hands around her waist. Wow, she just fits into my arms so perfectly!

"*ahem* If you don't take your hands off of me, you are going to see how much of that 'devil' I am and who knows how many female waists you have already held", she whisper-yelled with revulsion.

I am sure she also rolled her eyes and let me tell you, it was not subtle. I tightened my grip as my response but the moment I was trying to enjoy, was short-lived.

"Yoo Kuroo! Can I talk to you for a second before you steal her away from me?", Shiro-chan called out to me before I could take a step. Way to ruin the moment Shiro-chan!!

"Alright guys, I will go meet Nekomata sensei. I will leave you two to your talk", [F/N]-chan said removing herself from my grasp.

"Shiro-chan give me a moment please", I excused myself and I dragged [F/N]-chan by her hand to the end of the hallway.

"Wait for me here, please! I will be back in a wink", I requested her as I left her bag beside her and I walked away without giving her a chance to retort.

I heard her scoff but I kept walking towards Shiro-chan. "Yeah tell me what's up?", I asked him impatiently tapping my foot.

"You completely ruined our moment man, why would you do that?", he whined a little throwing his hands in the air. I ruined it because you don't get to be chummy with her. Hell! I am not chummy with her, why would I allow you to be?

"Moment? What moment?", I asked innocently.

"I think she likes me. You think she likes me. That's why you butted into our conversation with a lie like that. You don't have to play dumb", he said with a conniving smirk. Okay, he's not wrong! I know your kind and I have enough experience with them. So here goes nothing!

"Well then, let me be honest. I knew that you weren't just curious about her. I know you well enough. I am pretty sure you will disappear after all the fun is over. I have advised you about this a lot and you never listen. So, why don't you stop being a fuckboy and stay the fuck away at least from [F/N]-chan and we can enjoy our final year as friends?", I stated, returning the smirk.

"Dude, she is so not into you and if I can have my way with her, what's your problem? You literally have every other girl in this school drooling over you after the stunt that you pulled during lunch. So, if you will excuse me, I am going to walk her home", he said as he took a step forward. She is not into me? Me?

I stopped him on his tracks by placing my hand over his shoulders to which he halted.

"It's getting hot in there, isn't it?" [F/N]-chan yelled and whistled from the end of the hallway. This girl will drive me nuts forever!

"All the best then, Shiro-chan. I pity you; I hope you will be alright though!" I said patting his shoulders.

"Yeah, we are done. I am coming Kaichou sama!!!", I yelled almost immediately.

"Wait, what do you mean by that?", Shiro-chan asked puzzled.

"You want to pursue her, right? Please go ahead. Your argument was on point. I have no reason to stop you. So yeah, take her home, do whatever you want! But don't come crying to me later", I said hoping she would decline his offer.

"What do you mean by 'don't come crying to me later?' What does that mean?", Shiro-chan questioned. YESSSS! He finally took the bait!!!

"Let's not keep the girl waiting and you will know when you have to know", I said as I started to walk towards [F/N]-chan while he followed me behind nagging me to answer his question.

"This is ridiculous guys!", she said with a scoff.

"Sumimasen deshita (Sorry) Kaichou sama. Let's go?" I asked her as I took her bag in my hands again.

"Bye Shiroma-san, we got to go. Catch you some other time?", she waved to him as we walked away and he just stood there baffled.

We started climbing down the staircase and she held onto my arm by herself. She was holding onto me for balance, but it felt just right. I slowed down my pace and strides to match hers. It felt like I was walking her down the stairs for some pageant. I wish there was some dance waiting for us down there. I wanted to hold her so tight and secure and never leave her out of my grasp. Also, I wanted to make sure she won't stumble & fall and get hurt again.

This feeling of warmth and fuzz was foreign to me and I had never felt it in my past relationships. Maybe that's exactly why I wanted to get to know her more and develop this mind games and teases into something else.

"I think Kosuke-kun was flirting with me. He is kind of hot! Text me his number later, Kuroo-san. Okay?", she spoke with a hint of playfulness in her voice.

"No, I won't", I replied stubbornly. These are the words of the devil! Do not get riled up. Shhhhhh! Calm down!

"Ohhhhhhhhh, I am so sorry. I didn't know you two were- Oh my god, now it makes sense. You two really should-" Okay lady! Now, you've done it.

I didn't let her finish her sentence. We were in the quarter landing of the staircase and was only 10 steps from reaching the ground floor and I gently dragged her in front of me from my side. She was surprised and I used it to my advantage. She was facing me and I inched in closer and closer until she hit the wall.

She tried to escape but I locked her between my arms. She even tried to crouch down so that she could escape from underneath my arms but I quickly closed in any gap we had. I placed my right elbow near her head and my left palm adjacent to her waist on the wall. She was flustered, trying to avoid my eyes as she caught her breath. She is very pretty up close.

"Wh- Wha- What are yo- you d- doing?", she stuttered trying to make comprehensible words.

"Flirting with my little devil!", I said almost like a whisper to which she closed her eyes and gulped loudly.

"I- I am not your little devil. I'm not little at all. I am the tallest girl in my family. So, move away right now", she responded with all the courage she had left as she tried to push me away, but I didn't budge.

"Nice try but I'm not going to move until we have this talk. You are driving me crazy as it is!", I said looking into her [E/C] eyes.

"O- Okay b- but please just, just a little away from or... or we can sit and talk or something. I can't uh-, I can't breathe. You are too close!", she said as her eyes closed, gasping for air, her lips apart, her palms pushing against my chest with all her mustered strength.

"You hit on me first, and now, you are letting him hit on you. That's not very nice now! Is it?", I questioned her giving her a little space so that she could breathe better. She looked like she was suffering and I couldn't bear with myself to see her struggling.

"Thanks!" she said catching her breath. I hadn't removed my hands from her sides entirely. We were only a foot apart, but damn! She was magnetic.

"I didn't hit on you per se. Your 'bipolar princess' asked me to give it to you and I wrote something in my style. That's all! I am sure you know of that; I mean, you did eavesdrop", she said looking into my eyes, folding her arms like she was protecting herself from me.

"What about the text message then? You said it again and you captain Kitted me! That counts!", I argued.

"Excuse me! You wrote 'you too' and passed the paper back to me. You could have chosen not to. So technically, you hit on me first! And, I didn't want you to freak out on an unknown number, I just added that again so you'd know who you are getting the text from. That's all!", she defended herself. You are not getting off that easy!!!

"So, why are you flustered now? Tell me that you are not attracted to me! Tell me that I have no effect on you. I will stop all this", I said removing my hands from her sides.

That's when I saw a lizard on the wall, very much close to the both of us. I interrupted her before she could answer my questions.

"Wait! Before that, what do you think of lizards?", I enquired.

"I don't like them one bit. Do not mock me, but I am scared of them. Why do you ask?", she questioned back slightly alarmed. I am scared too, but I can't say that now, can I?

"Okay, I don't like them too and I am going to say it now. Don't be scared. It's nothing to be afraid of, okay? There's a lizard on the wall and-"

I was dumbstruck at what happened next. She hugged me, burying her face within my chest, her fingers clutching the back of my jacket so tight, shivering. Her embrace was crushingly strong, I forgot to breathe.

"Make it go away! Please, just make it go away", she whimpered. I don't know if I should thank the lizard or shoo it away.

"Hey, it's okay! I am here, I am here!", I tried to reassure her but she didn't stop quivering.

"No, it will crawl to me and it will... just please make it go away Kuroo!", she yelped in fear. She is legit scared of lizards. She has a phobia. Oh! Baby girl, I will shoo that away for you!

I held her gently, shooing the lizard away as it crawled away from us to the other side, wagging its tail.

"It's gone. It's okay now. You are okay!", I said gently rubbing her back.

I looked down at her, she was quaking, tears trying to escape her tightly shut eyes. She looked so fragile, and I have never seen her like that.

"I- I-uh, just..."

"Shhhhhh! It's okay to take your time. I am right here", I said trying to calm her down and I kissed her head in the heat of the moment. Wait did I just!!! OH MY GOD! I KISSED HER!!!!

She was getting comfortable. I couldn't take my eyes off of her and it was a couple of minutes later, I spotted Nekomata sensei and the whole team, gawking at us, suprised.

"Sensei?", I spoke without thinking, in shock.

She quickly removed herself from me and said, "There was a lizard, I just... I-" as she ran down the stairs and left my line of sight, as fast as she could with her injured leg.

"I will go after her", Yak-kun said as he ran after her after giving me a dirty look.

I just stood there baffled. I didn't know what to say. It was against school rules. Also, let's not forget the big list of an audience that stood in front of me. I climbed down the stairs and just stood there, like an idiot.

"You left your bag in the gym", Nekomata sensei said plainly.

"Oya? I will go get it right away", I said trying to get off the hook.

"Kuroo, behave!", Nekomata sensei said as he walked away. Is it just me or it felt like a threat?

"When did you guys come?", I asked my teammates who were trying so hard not to laugh.

"10 - 20 seconds ago! Why? Did you two do something naughty?", Yamamoto snickered tauntingly.

"Kenma, please take my bag home. I need to find her. Thanks, bye!", I said and ran towards the gate hoping to find her and I did.

She was just standing there alongside Yak-kun who was interrogating her. I could hear him say, "He is an idiot!" and I hurried next to them.

"She is not saying a thing, Kuroo! I asked her a hundred times and she's just standing there like that", he said pointing towards [F/N]-chan, who looked perplexed.

"I will take her home", I said and Yak-kun gave me a disapproving look.

"It's okay Yaku-san, I will call you right away if something happens", she assured to him. As if I'm going to eat her alive!

We bid our farewell and we walked in silence, listening to the noisy roads that we passed. Our steps were in harmony, like the birds that flew in the sky and it was serene. The sun was almost fading out, with barely visible rays that glistened against the clouds with a shade of lilac and pink all over the sky. A cool breeze of air swayed her hair and the clouds, dance in unison.

We were almost near the 4th street crossing and I halted before she could cross the road. I still had her school bag and she just kept walking and I followed her suit. Maybe, she was comfortable with me knowing her home now.

We crossed the road, and I followed her right behind. A few turns later, she halted in front of an independent house, fairly big.

It was a quiet neighborhood unlike the busy streets of Nerima ward, not too far from my home as well.

"My bag!", she said holding out her hand to fetch her bag from mine.

"Yeah, here", I gave her bag back as she walked away from me and into her home.

She was giving me the silent treatment. I didn't know which specific situation caused her to treat me this way. Me pinning her against the wall, or the lizard, or I got to know about her phobia, or she felt me kiss her, or about the fact that we got caught hugging by the whole team, I just didn't know.

She opened her door and went in, giving me a final look before she closed her door.

"Wait, just give me a second", I said as I rushed to her door, and I towered over her petite figure when I stood next to her while she settled herself next to her doorframe.

"Are you okay? I mean I- um, I'm sorry about your uhh phobia, and I-uh, my teammates saw us and uh I don't know what they thought and um"

"Shhhhhhhhh", she hissed, as she interfered with my blabbers.

"Look who is flustered now?" she said with a smirk. I am glad that she is back to her normal self!

"What?", I asked in response.

She walked towards me, placed her hand on my shoulders, and tiptoed so that she could reach my ears and she whispered, "Nice pecs and abs, Captain kitty! I enjoyed them while it lasted".

"Wait! What?", I expressed my surprise and she giggled sweetly. Brain! What are you doing? Why are you not working? ERROR 404!!! I do not know what to say. She is the devil, and I am sure of it. What is happening right now?

Before I could collect my thoughts, she pushed me out of the doorway, so that she could shut the door in front of my face. My athletic senses kicked in and I pushed her door a bit hard so that she would loosen the grip and I could enter her home in that gap.

I entered her house with a victorious smile and she just glared at me before she started to yell out sweet profanities that shall remain buried in my heart forever.

"You can't just barge in like that, you are not invited!", she spat as she tried to push me out of her home.

"Okay, okay! I am parched, just get me some water and I will leave immediately", I said as I went ahead and sat on the sofa before she could refuse.

"Fine. Stay there, don't move", she ordered as she left to fetch me some water. I think I have been mistaken for a puppy.

Curiosity got the better of me and I started to scan the living room which had her family photos hanging on the walls. The living room was very clean and neatly maintained. It was very homely and cozy and I wondered where her mother was. I also noticed a closed-door, next to the dining table which intrigued me more.

I went near the closed door and the doorknob was a bit dusty. Maybe no one uses this room!

I opened the door and I was shocked at what I saw. I looked at two portraits, decorated with wilted flowers. One of the portraits with a man, probably in his mid-forties and the other with a boy who could be barely in his 20's. They both were present in the family photo which was hung in the living room and [F/N]-chan resembled them very much. It was her father and her brother. This room was their shrine.

"Close it", she commanded as she caught me looking at the pictures. What have I done?

"I am so sorry [F/N]-chan, I don't know what to say I-uh"

"Leave. Now!!!", she said assertively, as tears escaped her eyes to her own dismay.

"[F/N]-chan, I didn't mean to"

"LEAVE!!!", she screamed as she fell onto her knees, tears flowing down her chin.

"Yes, I will go now. I am so sorry. I shouldn't have", I said as I left her home.

I didn't want to leave her like that. She looked distressed and I just wanted to make sure she was alright. I texted her to see if she was okay on my way back home, but I never got a reply. I knew I had crossed my limits when she threw me out of her house like that. She was probably not ready to indulge me, or anyone per se, with her story.

I reached home and I was greeted by my grandparents along with Kenma. He had come to hand over my bag. We went to my room and he asked me if I was okay, if anything went wrong. I couldn't tell my best friend what happened because it was not my secret to tell. I had to lie to him that I was just feeling a bit off and tired.

I texted her after a while, again I didn't get any reply. I stopped texting her since I felt like I was nagging her. But she still haunted my thoughts and I couldn't sleep well that night. Kenma on the other hand, let me be and slept soundly in my room as the night passed.

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It was Friday evening already and she never replied to any of my texts for the past couple of days. I tried to talk to her during school but she would find creative reasons and the so-called council work as an excuse to not converse with me.

If I showed up at the council room even for some other business, Aizawa-san would say "Now is not the time, please understand Kuroo-kun. I don't know what happened between you two, but she will talk to you when she is ready. That's what she asked me to say to you".

I would catch her stealing glances at me during class but she would never talk to me. It was the worst couple of days at school. I knew I royally fucked up, but stealing glances at me with a pout or worse a frown was not very helping. It only made me feel worse than I already was.

Not one word escaped her lips when I tried to talk to her. But she would be a Chatty-Kathy to everyone else. It didn't feel like a silent treatment. It felt like war and I was losing hard.

I even walked her back home on both days, trying to communicate and apologize, but she shut the door on my face. Twice. She was a pro at avoiding people, or at the very least avoiding me.

The school days were this eventful and the weekend was at her advantage. She didn't have to put up with my annoying ass since it was the holidays. I was dying for her to talk to me again so that I could apologize properly but it was not going to happen unless I did something.

It was Saturday evening and I got myself dressed up. I walked to her home and rung the bell and patiently waited for her to open the door. She most certainly took her time in doing that.

"You!", she said when she opened the door with irritation. She immediately tried to close it but I kept my palm at the edge of the door to block her path. I am a middle-blocker after all.

"If you don't take your hand, I will crush it without a second thought", she announced reluctantly.

I took her hesitation to my advantage and I barged into her home once again. She was wearing an oversized T-shirt, that covered most of her thighs, hiding her shorts. Her eyes were a bit swollen, probably due to crying and sleeplessness.

She was appalled at my action and scoffed in response. I brushed past her and reached the sofa. Something had changed. The room next to the dining table was open.

"Get ready baby, we are going on a date!" I declared as I settled myself onto her sofa.

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A/N:

So, how was it? 🙈🙈🙈

Fun Fact:

Scoliodentosaurophobia - Fear of lizards 🦎

I was extremely anxious while writing and posting this chapter and I have no clue why!

I finally revealed a little bit about [Y/N]'s life. So, what do you all think about it?

I really hope you all like it so far and you will continue to enjoy it ♥️🤞🤞

Let me know your thoughts through comments or Dm's and it means a lot to me 💙💜❤️

Vote and share if possible 😄♥️

Thank you for your time and support. Stay tuned for the next chapter 💝

~ Loads of Love, PudumaiPen 🧚