hanamaki was being dropped outside of his dorm the next morning. the sky was dimly lit, the sun had just began peeking out over the horizon. he grabbed onto the door handle.

"hey,"

"hm?" makki perked up and looked over at the brunet.

"forgetting something?" kenji tapped his index finger onto his lips with a smile. makki let out a light laugh as he leaned in pressing a kiss onto the other boy's lips. "i'll call you tonight,"

"mhm," he hummed as he swung the car door open and hopped out. kenji drove off as soon as the makki began to walk off. he made his way to his room, knocking on the door.

oikawa opened the door and peeked out, "hana-chaann," he swung open the door and waved him in. hanamaki shut the door behind him, "where'd you sleep last night?" he asked. "you never responded to my texts,"

"sorry, my phone died," the pink haired boy pulled out his phone, flashing the low-battery screen at him. "aaaand..." he began.

"aaand?"

"i stayed over kenji's,"

"really?!" oikawa exclaimed, he sat onto hanamaki's bed. then his expression changed, "wait...did you guys...-"

"yeah," hanamaki answered simply, a smug smile tugging at the edge of his lips. oikawa jumped up from the spot he had just sat, and hanamaki sat down, watching the brunet amusedly.

"oh my gosh!" he chimed.

"it's not that serious,"

"it is!" he squealed, "you aren't a virgin anymore!" oikawa was smiling like a proud parent.

"virginity's a social construct-"

oikawa pressed his hand over hanamaki's mouth, "we have to celebrate!"

makki shook his head, "mnh hm," he hummed a determined 'nuhuh'.

"we have to!" oikawa pulled his hand back from the boy's mouth. "iwaizumi's roommate is throwing a party, let's go to that,"

"you weren't going to invite me if this didn't happen?"

"yeah, sorry, no virgins allowed," he snickered. "no, i was going to go with iwa-chan but i wanna take you!" he exclaimed.

"you'll just leave me for hajime,"

"i won't leave you for hajime,"

"you're going to leave me for hajime,"

"i won't leave you for hajime!"

*

he left me for hajime.

hanamaki stood near iwaizumi's bedroom door, it was the quietest place throughout the apartment. he held a drink in his hand which he hadn't drank from yet, and he was absentmindedly watching people as they stumbled into this hallway, usually looking for the bathroom which was on the other side of the apartment. it was nearly two in the morning and the party hadn't died down at all. he felt his phone buzz in his pocket so he fished it out.

kenji calling.

he declined his call, knowing he wouldn't be able to hear him if he picked up.

'i'm at a party, 2 loud in here'

he sent.

'no invite?'

he received.

'i'm with a friend'

he watched the text bubble pop up, then disappear, then pop up and disappear again.

'freshman parties r weak anyways lol ttyl'

hanamaki furrowed his brows slightly at the text, amused at how plainly he could see kenji's insecurities about not being invited. he'd usually send something like 'it's not that deep' but he didn't want to upset the other boy. he replied with a simple:

'ttyl <3'

he dropped his phone into his pocket, he wanted to find kenji's text annoying but the swelling in his chest kept him from feeling anything but infatuation. he looked up as he heard footsteps approaching, laying his eyes upon a boy who looked clearly intoxicated of some sort. he wasn't staggering, or stumbling, but his eyes were hooded and glazed over. he was slightly taller than hanamaki, wearing an open button up which revealed his fit and tattooed torso, ripped jeans and...slippers? he was also tan, with curly dark hair, and the thickest eyebrows he'd ever seen. god took his time with this one. he thought as the boy walked past hanamaki and into iwazumi's room. hanamaki peeked into the room, what the hell's he doing in there? he thought. he was conflicted as to whether he should say something or not. the boy walked out with a sweatshirt, glancing over at makki, then jumping.

"fuck! you scared me," the boy whispered, clenching to his chest for a split second. "were you standing there this whole time?" he asked.

"pretty much,"

"why aren't you out there?" he gestured towards the living room, the crowded areas.

"i don't really like people," hanamaki admitted.

"oh, they're all dumbasses, i love 'em," he said, taking a few steps back and leaning onto the wall behind him so that they were both leaning against walls, across from each other in the hallway. "why haven't you gone home yet?"

"i carpooled," it was a half-lie. he did share the car with oikawa, but it was due to the fact that he didn't have a car himself.

"hm..." the boy hummed.

"i shouldn't have come," he swirled the untouched liquid in his cup. "i have a pile of homework waiting for me in my dorm,"

"homework, huh?" the wavy haired boy said.

"and what kind of airhead throws a party on a random tuesday?"

"the halloween decorations were on sale,"

"huh?"

"i threw this party 'cause the halloween decorations...at target..." he paused, spacing out for a moment. "were on sale," he raised a finger to the sky triumphantly, a lopsided smirk upon his face. "i'm the airhead,"

"oh-" hanamaki's face went red, "oh, i didn't mean that," he blurted out. that explains the house-slippers.

"yeah, you did," he chuckled, "that's okay," he said, then they fell into an awkward silence. which the wavy haired boy clearly wasn't okay with since he piped up, "i'm matsukawa, by the way," he raised his hands, placing them both behind his head. "er-...matsukawa issei," he added. "but you can call me mattsun...or tsu?" he suggested hesitantly, "although no one's ever called me that," he went on, his eyes fixated on the ceiling. "as long as you don't call me caterpillar brows, like...everyone else here does," he joked.

"alright, caterpillar brows," he tittered. hanamaki was amused by how faded matsukawa was. they hadn't made eye contact for a while, all because the other boy was staring at the light above them. matsukawa shook his head looking back down at makki.

"hm?" he hummed, he clearly hadn't been paying attention.

"nothing, nothing," he said lightly, "i'm hanamaki takahiro," he outstretched his hand.

"a handshake?" he asked amusedly. he reached out and took hanamaki's hand, shaking it then he took a step forward and kissed the top of the boy's hand. hanamaki pulled back his hand.

"heeyy!"

"huh?" matsukawa looked up at him, "what, it seemed like the right thing to do," he said with a laugh. then another boy stumbled into the hallway.

"mattsun!"

"terushima!"

"i haven't seen you in like twenty minutes!" this 'terushima' boy called out. "i was about to cry bro," he said, outstretching his arms, asking for a hug.

"bro..." matsukawa outstretched his arms and walked over to the blond boy who was covered in tattoos, way more than matsukawa from what he could tell. he also had way too many piercings. hanamaki only had his ears pierced and a nose stud and he hated getting both. this guy was clearly either a masochist or some kind of sociopath who felt no pain...probably a masochist. hanamaki watched as the two boys hugged clumsily.

"no homo," terushima said as he pulled away from the boy to which mattsun rolled his eyes subtly.

"anyways, dude, meet uh..."

"hanamaki,"

"no...you need a nickname," matsukawa insisted, tapping his index finger onto his temple. "hana...maki..."

"what about hanamaki," terushima suggested.

"bro, that's his fuckin' name," the wavy haired boy whacked terushima on his arm.

"you said it all slow, i got mixed up," terushima giggled.

"most people call me makki," hanamaki interrupted the tanner boy's thought process.

"shhh," he hushed him, then perked up. "makki!" he chimed.

"ingenious," the blond commented.

are they serious right now.

"makki, makki," he waved him over, "come with me,"

hanamaki made his way over to the boy who tossed his arm over him, pulling him closer and beginning to walk. "join the sacred ceremony," he joked, taking his arm off of makki as they entered the crowd. matsukawa was greeted by nearly everyone they passed, it was obvious that this guy was popular. hanamaki could understand why, matsukawa had a magnetic personality. he looked down at the boy's cup, "is that alcoholic?"

hanamaki nodded once, "yeah, i don't really want it,"

"gimme," he handed it over to matsukawa who downed it in mere seconds, "you don't drink?"

"not really,"

"smoke?"

"not a lot,"

"so you're like...a good girl, or something?" he asked, eyebrows slightly furrowed.

"i-"

"he kinda does look like a girl," terushima commented, causing mattsun to shove his face away from them.

"you don't," matsukawa reassured him, "i was joking," he said as they walked into the kitchen. hanamaki was just absentmindedly following matsukawa at this point, he felt safe with this stranger, he felt sort of entranced by his aura and charm. "you hungry?" he asked.

"kind of,"

"cool, i have uh...toaster strudels?" he suggested. hanamaki let out a laugh.

"that works for me,"

"cool," matsukawa repeated. he opened up the freezer, grabbing a box of toaster strudels and placing them onto the counter. "you cool with blueberry?" he asked, "or are you a blueberry hater,"

"i am, in fact, a blueberry lover,"

"good, i love blueberries too, that'd be a deal breaker for me," he teased as he shut the door with his foot. then he looked around, "a deal breaker, as in, friendship- like...- i wouldn't be able to be your friend if you hated blueberries," he babbled, then he glanced over at hanamaki and started making two of the toaster strudels.

just my luck, he's a homophobe.

he finished making the toaster strudels then he handed one over to hanamaki, eating the second one himself. "you know, if you want, i could set you up in my room and you could just wait until the party's over," he suggested.

"that'd be nice,"

*

hanamaki was sat atop matsukawa's bed. mattsun tossed him the remote for the tv. "that's tv," he said, then tossed a second remote, "and that's the fan," he walked over to the door about to leave when makki spoke up.

"hey," he called out, matsukawa stopped and looked back over at him. "thank you,"

the wavy haired boy stared at him for a moment, his face getting noticeably red, "yeah," he said simply then left.

hanamaki sat back against the wall, turning on the tv.