Y/N'S POV

-ck.

The teams' faces paled and so did mine. It felt like time slowed, but I still couldn't move. Is this the end?

Before I could bring my hand up, a hand already shot in a few inches away from my face. The ball stopped and bounced back on the ground.

"You should be careful."

I opened my shut eyes to see Iwaizumi frowning down at me while his arms were crossed. He had saved me.

I almost cried.

"Iwaizumi-san....you're truly an angel. Thank you," I said as figurative tears streamed down my face and bowed.

"Oi don't do that, everybody is staring. You're welcome anyway," He laughed and ruffled my hair.

I grinned at his gesture before he pulled away. After waving to each other, we both respectively retreated to our own teams.

Kiyoko offered me a teasing smile, "You know him, Y/n-chan?"

I nodded, "I met him yesterday. He offered to bring me to the clinic after I..," I trailed off and just pointed at my forehead.

"So he injured you," Nishinoya said as he squinted at Iwaizumi with a sharp look. Tanaka glared with him.

"What? No," I frowned.

"Both of you, stop. The match is starting," Daichi glared at them, automatically silencing them.

Tsukishima snickered, "Simps," Yamaguchi snickered with him.

"Tsukishima," Nishinoya and Tanaka growled at him with their figurative pointy teeth.

Sugawara bonked their heads with his hands, "Stop it. We all know it's true."

"S-Sugawara–san??" They both said, betrayal laced their voices.

Kageyama approached me with a frown, I raised a brow as I suppressed a blush. His hand rested on top of my head before fixing it. The bastard didn't even care if he was being watched.

My face boiled, "W-What did you do?" I stuttered.

"I fixed your uneven hair," He casually said as he pulled his hand away and went back to the bench with the rest. Hinata bonked his head with a teasing look, Kageyama kicked his shin. Hinata dropped to the ground and glared at Kageyama with his tongue out.

I shook my head as I accidentally turned to Seijoh, they were staring at me intently. My eyes widened and I looked away.

Kiyoko just sat me with me all the time, making sure I'm alright every 5 minutes. My heart flutters as I felt her genuine concern, it made me feel really reassured. The team looks excited, but some were nervous. A few groups of people also came in the gym to watch.

I sighed. This is going to be a long day.

•

I looked up from the clipboard Kiyoko was writing at when I heard girls screaming. The team also looked, confused at what the noise was about.

And there appeared Oikawa, waving at the girls with a heart warming smile.

My eyes automatically looked for Iwaizumi, he sighed and shook his head as if he was used to it–but tired.

Sure Oikawa is attractive, but I don't get why girls get real crazy for him.

I scooted closer to Kiyoko as Oikawa was near us, but talking to the coach. She raised a brow at my actions but I just fiddled my fingers as I focused on the clipboard.

"Yaho~ How you doin', Tobio-chan?"

His awfully sweet tone irked me but at the same time, something slightly melted inside my heart. His sweet voice mixed with Kageyama's first name, and that ridiculous -chan after that, made my heart want to flip.

My eyes widened and I furiously shook my head, shoving the ridiculous thought at the back of my mind. Kiyoko looked at me worriedly. She even offered some medicine.

I put my hand out to reassure her that I'm fine as I tuned them out, not wanting to focus on anything else but the match. The brunette didn't join the match right away and stretched first. The team is really hyped up, now that they know Seijoh's official setter will come and play.

"Y/n-chan~."

Fuck.

I slightly gulped and slowly looked beside me. I didn't even notice him sit beside me. Did time fast forward or something? I didn't even notice the team already went on water break.

"Oikawa? Oh, hi," I muttered, slightly shifting at the stares.

Seriously, how strong is this guy's presence?

"Come on, don't be shy~. I just figured out that you're a first year, it'd make me feel bad if you didn't address me as senpai, you know?" He teasingly bumped his shoulder to mine. I almost whined, wanting to disappear out of thin air.

"I think I need to go help my team," I stood up as he did the same.

"Oh, okay! No problem, we should talk before you guys leave though," He frowned.

My knees slightly shook but I remained composed, "Sure, Oikawa-senpai."

He waved at me with a sweet smile, also retreating to his team. I carried the bottles and went to distribute it to the team.

"I didn't know you know Oikawa-san, L/n," Kageyama said with a strange tone. He took his bottle from me a little harshly.

"What's up with that?" I frowned as I looked up at him. He exhaled when he finished drinking before looking at me with an unreadable gaze.

He handed me my towel quietly, I looked at him if he was stupid. A scoff escaped his mouth with a slight eye roll.

"Dry my face for me, will you? Manager," He secretly smirked as he moved closer to me. I gripped the towel, still confused at what he was doing.

Kageyama shortly glanced at my back and leaned his face to mine. He raised a brow, "My face don't usually dry its own with a towel."

I rolled my eyes and dabbed the towel around his face, doing what he asked. He shortly smirked triumphantly and pulled away when I was done.

"Great. Now that they saw it, there should be no problem now," He muttered and went back to the court when water break was over.

I got back to the bench with a confused face. Kiyoko wiggled her brows at me and I awkwardly scratched my cheek with a finger.

"...What's up?" I asked her and she just laughed.

"You're cute when you're confused," She smiled and proceeded to scribble down notes.

"What? Why? How? When?" My words were jumbled as I slightly blushed.

"We didn't know you and Kageyama were dating," She smirked.

"What? No we're not. Also, who's 'we'?" I fumbled with my words.

"Almost everyone saw what he did, we assumed you both were dating. Even Tsukishima was surprised," She said.

"That's...weird? We're not, though. He just asked me to do it for him," I pursed my lips as I watched them play against each other. Oikawa was already in court.

"Don't tell me you were oblivious," She looked at me with disbelief.

"At what?" I confusedly asked.

She snickered, "He literally just made sure Seijoh saw what you did. As if he was making it clear for them that you were his."

I cringed, "I barely know Kageyama, we only met for a slightly short time. We can't just date like that right away. If Seijoh fell for that, I feel bad for them. I don't like Kageyama," A frown grazed my lips. My mind was denying it, but my heart couldn't help flutter for a bit.

She smiled and turned to the court, "That's usually what they all say at first."

I sighed and just remained silent, looking back at the court to see Kageyama looking away from me just in time. Was he staring?

That idiot. He should focus on the match. His gameplay is alright, but I don't feel assured if he keeps getting distracted.

What's going on with him? What's going on with me?

—

i just wanna let someone who's reading this that i: love you so much, i appreciate you, you deserve the whole universe, you're attractive af, and that you hold more value than you think 🥺

thank you for spending your time with my book, i feel really motivated when i receive a comment, vote, or a read. anyway, have a nice day! if u dont, remember that a stranger loves yo u and that stranger is me. ♡