The next thing you know you're in your classroom, daydreaming out the window. You hear shuffling in the seat in front of you and look over to see Maya turning to face you.

"Whatcha doin'?" she sings.

"Nothing," you say as you shake your head and look back down at your notebook.

You move your eyes up and see that Maya's still staring at you. You lift your head and watch as she looks at your cheeks, making a weird expression on her face.

"Are you feeling okay, Y/N? Your face is turning pale!" she tells you as she reaches her finger out.

You feel her poke your cheeks, instantly making you want to vomit from her contact.

"I'm fine, Maya," you groan as you gently move her finger away from your face.

"No you're not!" she exclaims.

You watch as Maya turns around and calls out to your teacher.

"Sensei, Y/N isn't feeling good! May I please take her to the infirmary?"

You groan as your teacher nods to Maya. She stands up and walks over to you. As she leans down you both make eye contact, causing her to smile at you. She wraps her arm around your shoulder and helps you stand up.

"Just go for a little bit and if you feel fine then we can come back," she says sweetly.

You want to yell at her, but she was right. You did feel a bit off and it would definitely feel nice to lay down for a bit. You allow her to help you walk out of the classroom.

"Don't worry, Y/N," Maya says trying to comfort you "I'll copy down the notes and give them to you once you come back."

"T-Thanks," you weakly reply as you struggle to walk upright down the hall.

Maya brings you to the infirmary and lays you down on one of the beds.

"I'll come back to check on you during lunch and I'll even bring your food!" she says hugging you.

Maya begins to walk out of the room but stops and turns around to you again.

"I'll even bring Akaashi and Bokuto!"

You smile at how kind she's being to you.

I guess I misjudged her from the start. She is being super nice to me after all.

"Well, I'm going to talk to the nurse about what happened in class. See you later, Y/N!"

You weakly wave to her as she walks out of the room.

--

You wake up to hearing students outside in the hallway.

I guess it's lunchtime.

You sit yourself up, waiting for your three friends to come in and visit you. Suddenly, the door swings wide open to reveal who you were waiting for.

"Y/N!" Maya yells as she runs to you.

She gives you a huge hug and you watch as Akaashi looks a bit confused from the interaction. 

"Y/N, how are you feeling?" Bokuto asks as he sits beside you.

"Fine," you nod.

You look over at Maya who's staring at you with concern in her eyes.

"I think I'll be ready to go back to class after lunch," you tell her.

"Yay!" Maya exclaims "I'm so glad you're feeling better."

"A-Are you sure that's a good idea, Y/N? You shouldn't push it," Akaashi tells you.

You blush at Akaashi's concern, but try to hide it since Maya's in the room.

"Look I can even see the color back in your face," Maya says not realizing that her boyfriend is causing that to happen.

Maya is about to poke your cheek again, but you quickly slap her hand away. Bokuto starts laughing at your action. You turn to him and see Akaashi's extremely confused face. As your eyes turn back to Maya, you see her rubbing her hand.

"S-Sorry," you quietly apologize, "I just don't, uh, want to spread germs."

Again Bokuto starts laughing at you and you tell him to shut up. Afterward, Maya hands you your lunch.

"Oh, wow, thanks!" you say as you take your bento box, "You really didn't have to bring it down here."

"Of course, Y/N! I wasn't going to let you feel sick and starve," she giggles.

The three of you eat lunch together peacefully. It was nice having your best friends around and you were beginning to get used to Maya.

"By the way, Y/N," Maya says as she takes back your empty bento box, "Akaashi and I were thinking it might be fun for the four of us to hang out together this weekend at the park by his house. What do you think?"

You look over at Akaashi. He immediately avoids your gaze by looking at Maya. 

"Sure," you say as you give Akaashi a small smile, "that sounds like fun!"

You watch as Akaashi glances back at you, seeming surprised that you agreed. 

"I can come too, right?" Bokuto yells.

"Definitely!" Maya giggles "I did say the four of us, silly."

"Awesome! This is going to be so much fun, right Akaashi?" Bokuto says while shaking his friend.

"Yeah," Akaashi says emotionless as he tries to push Bokuto away.

The four of you finish packing up your food. You stand up, getting ready to leave the infirmary for the day, and take your empty container from Maya.

Bokuto gives you a ginormous hug almost taking the breath away from you before he and Akaashi leave.

"Get off," Akaashi says as he pulls Bokuto away from you.

"I was just giving her a hug," Bokuto says sadly "I want Y/N to feel better."

"She's not going to feel better if you hug the breath out of her, stupid."

You and Maya giggle at the boys' interaction before walking back to class.

"I'll give you the notes when we get back to class, by the way, Y/N," she says happily.

--

After school, you cross the Fukurodani campus on your way back home.

"Y/N!" you hear Maya call up from behind you.

You turn around to see the girl waving at you as she runs up.

"Hey are you going to watch the boys play?" she excitedly asks.

"No," you shake your head, "I've got to get home."

"Aw please," she begs, "I won't bother you as much so you can get your homework done!"

"Thanks," you laugh, "but maybe next time, okay?"

"Fine," she says defeatedly, "see you tomorrow then."

"Bye," you wave as you walk away from the girl.

As you walk home, you pass by Akaashi's house. You can't help but stop and stare as you think of the first time you ran up to his house.

It was just him and I back then and we always had so much fun. It was always fun with Bokuto, too. Is it all going to change now that Maya is part of the group? 

You take a deep breath before continuing to walk home.

I can deal with it. It'll be okay.

--

"Hey Y/N!" you hear your mom call from your kitchen, "How was school?"

You walk into your kitchen and take a seat. You watch as your mom makes herself an early dinner.

"Not terrible," you shrug.

"How come you're home so early?" she asks as she scoops some rice into her bento box, "you usually stay later to watch the boys play volleyball."

"R-Right, I just, uh, wasn't feeling so good today and thought I could come home instead."

"Oh no, are you feeling alright now, Y/N?" she asks as she puts the back of her hand against your forehead.

"Mhm," you nod, "feeling much better now."

You try to smile at her and find a way to change the subject.

"How are those boys doing anyway?" your mom asks, "I haven't seen either of them around here in a while."

Your mom walks back over to her food and seals the box.

"They're good," you giggle, "and Akaashi has a girlfriend now."

"What?" your mom yells as she almost drops her food, "Aren't you two-"

"No!" you say back in a panic, "Akaashi and I are just friends!"

"Seriously? I never wanted to pry or anything but I always assumed you two had feelings for each other," she says, unaware of your feelings for Akaashi.

"N-No! He has a girlfriend anyway. Her name is Maya and she's actually nice so I don't want to ruin that for him," you quietly explain.

Your mom runs over to you and puts her hands on your cheeks, squishing them slightly.

"So you do like Akaashi!" she squeals excitedly.

"Uh, I," you try to explain but your words don't come out properly.

You begin to feel your cheeks turn red as your mom stares into your soul.

"I don't want to talk about this anymore," you say as you push away her hands and stand up.

"O-Oh, sorry Y/N," your mom pleads.

"It's okay, I'll, uh, see you later," you say before walking out of the room.

--

FLASHBACK- 12 Years Ago

In your bedroom, you unzip your backpack and carefully pull out your new map. You examine it and figure out the easiest way to get to Keiji's house. After you set it down on your desk you put on your snow boots, hat, and winter jacket to prepare for the cold. You smile at yourself in the mirror before grabbing your map and running downstairs.

"Mommy I'm going to the park I'll be back for dinner, okay?"

"Have fun!" she yells to you as you rush out the front door.

You use your fancy map to guide yourself to Keiji's house.

"14," you mutter, "oh there it is!"

A big smile spreads upon your face as you run up to Keiji's door. As you're about to knock, your smile fades and you begin to feel nervous about what you're getting yourself into.

You drop your hand down to your side and contemplate whether you should go home. Before you have time to decide the door opens and reveals Keiji bundled up in his own winter attire.

"Y/N!" he says excitedly before pulling you into a hug "I'm so glad you came!"

You feel your cheeks heat up as Keiji wraps his arms around yours. You aren't sure what to say, but put your hands around him, hugging him back.

END OF CHAPTER 3