CHAPTER 39

The volleyball team is split into two opposing teams. Oikawa stands on one side of the net with a volleyball twirling between his hands, and on the other side, his teammates assemble, preparing to receive another one of his deathly serves.

"Go Oikawa-san!" A group of girls cheer him on from one side of the gym, with wide smiles and blushing cheeks. "We believe in you!" "We love you!" They all look excited and confident in the boys' abilities, but on the other side of the room, you and Sheena watch quietly.

Sheena sighs. "Their voices are just going to distract them," she says as she studies Iwaizumi's stance. "If they really cared, they would save the cheering for after."

You nudge her side when Iwaizumi acknowledges her with a wink. Sheena covers her mouth, muting her squeal.

"You can cheer them on too, ya know?"

"I will, but only after," Sheena drops her hands, showing her boyfriend her smile, "And, I'm gonna be cheering for everyone except Oikawa. The captain already has too much attention on him."

"Tell me about it," you utter as you eye the group of girls across the gym.

This time, it's Sheena's turn to nudge your side. "Jealous, are we?"

"Not jealous. Just protective," you say as Oikawa quickly glances up at you. He smirks for a split second, then focuses his attention back to the court while trying his best to block out the screaming voices behind him.

When he finds the right footing, he tosses the ball into the air, takes a few steps, jumps, and delivers his signature spike-serve. The ball zooms through the air, followed by a loud smack as one of his teammates tries to receive. It's no surprise when the volleyball bounces off to the side of the court, cueing his fangirls to scream, but he doesn't pay them any attention.

Instead, he looks at you. He's happy to find you smiling back at him, a reminder that you were his only motivation to keep being better.

A few of the boys groan in agony, having missed another one of their captain's attacks. "Give us a break," one of them complains, which only makes Oikawa laugh.

"Don't be like that, Kunimi-chan!" The captain tries to encourage his teammate. "Now, let's see your serve next, okay?"

As much as Oikawa loved to show off his skills, he prioritized his responsibility of being a good captain and leader. During the last practice before their game against Karasuno, he made sure that all of his teammates had enough time to practice all of their skills.

Then afterwards, he discussed strategy, explaining how everyone's individual skills should be supporting someone else's weakness. It was his special way of strengthening and utilizing his team in order to win.

After another series of volleys and blocks, it's Iwaizumi's turn to show off his abilities as Seijoh's ace. He jogs towards the net with an arm up, swinging back and spiking the ball over the net.

"YEAH! GO IWA!" Sheena shouts, just before she starts clapping her hands and screaming as loud as she can. Her voice makes you jump. "You're doing amazing!"

Iwaizumi, who's too shy and shocked to say anything, awkwardly salutes to her before returning to his spot on the court.

While Sheena continues to clap, something colourful catches the corner of your eye. Looking over, you find a ridiculous amount of bracelets adorning her wrists, and there's no mistaking who they are from.

You grab one of her hands and run a finger over her bracelets. "Iwaizumi really likes you, huh?" you ask, and she giggles. "He likes you so much that he made you... wait, let me count them... twenty bracelets?"

"And all of them have different colour combos!" Sheena gleams. "I have a feeling that his love language is gift giving and quality time, since he's not very good at expressing his feelings through words, which is not a problem for me. I actually find it cute, how he gets all awkward and nervous."

You chuckle through your nose. "I think Oikawa's love language is also quality time... and physical touch."

Sheena, not knowing if you're telling the truth of not, tilts her head before laughing once more. "That sounds intimate."

"I guess it is." You think back to all of the nights you spent with him, but your mind stops on one specific night, one that feels like happened a million years ago — the night you two confessed your feelings for each other. "It's intimate in ways that I never would have expected."

"What do you mean?"

"He told me about his dream to see the world, and to play volleyball after we graduate," you say as your eyes continue to follow Oikawa running around the court. "He told me other things that not a lot of people know about," then, Kai's face pops into your mind. "He's living a tough and busy life, but I've spent enough time with him to know that he's growing up to be a good man. He's talented, smart, and caring, and I'm so lucky to know him."

When you realized that you might have overshared, you glance over to find a jaw dropped Sheena. "Wow," she says. "Hopefully I'll have that with Iwa one day."

"You will," you respond before looking back at Oikawa, and you grin when you find his eyes already on you. "Great things take time. Trust me."

· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·

"He's only a first year?"

Iwaizumi scoffs. "Yup."

"Kawa, why are you letting a first year make you so paranoid?"

"It doesn't matter that he's a first year!" Oikawa defends himself with raised hands. "Me and Iwa-chan have known Tobio ever since middle school, and I can tell you now that the little brat is so annoying. Right, Iwa-chan?" The captain looks at his friend, hoping that he will back him up.

But all Iwaizumi does is blink before continuing through the lobby with Sheena trailing close behind. The building is packed with students, athletes, coaches, and volunteers, all of them wearing different uniforms to represent their respective schools. You don't recognize any of the school names, and you stay close to Oikawa when he starts moving through the sea of strangers.

"There's so many people here," you whisper, but the words get lost in the loud chatter filling the lobby.

When Oikawa senses your anxiety, he pulls you closer to his side. "We're almost there," he mumbles before taking a step closer to the bathroom, hoping to bump into a short, orange-haired boy. "Don't be surprised if you see a bunch of girls running towards me in the next couple of minutes. If you still want to stay private," he leans closer into your ear, "you better create some distance now."

Instead of releasing his arm, you hold him tighter. "No way. I'm staying next to you."

He smirks. "Good." Then, he runs through a small sliver between the crowd of people, dragging you behind him as he bursts into the gymnasium. There's high pitched squealing coming from behind you, towards the top left — his fangirls, you think — and before you can let go of Oikawa's grasp and take a good look around, he wraps his arms around your waist and pulls you into his body.

"What are you doing?" You almost stutter from his swift movements.

"Oikawa-san!" The group of girls continue to call out to their favourite captain. "Oikawa-san! We love you!"

You look to the left, stealing a quick glance at the enormous group of girls standing on the upper level balcony. Before you can move out of Oikawa's hold, he grabs your jaw with a hand, turns your head back to him, and crashes his lips onto yours.

The impact is a rush, making you see stars. There's eyes all over the room watching you two kiss in the middle of the court, and as much as you want to pull away and apologize to everyone for your boyfriend's behaviour, he cups your face and deepens the kiss.

"Uh—" you try to speak, but he continues to steal more kisses. "K'wa..."

Finally thinking that you've had enough, he pulls away and sucks in a breath, just before he bursts out laughing when he sees the shock on your face. "Just our way of announcing to everyone that you're mine," his voice is breathless, "and that I'm yours."

You gasp when you look around, finding most of the audience still watching you and Oikawa. Did he seriously have to do that in front of everyone?

Even the group of girls standing on the balcony have gone quiet from the surprise. They thought that their favourite captain was single, but the news of Oikawa potentially having a girlfriend seems exciting to them — except for a few who have to turn away, hiding their jealousy.

"Wow," Iwaizumi and Sheena join you two in the middle of the court, giving the fangirls another bit of news. "You are really something else."

"What? I gotta show off my girlfriend to everyone," Oikawa says with a proud smile. "It's about time people finally know that I'm in a relationship. Right?"

Before you can answer, the group of girls begin to call out for the captain once again. "Oikawa-san!" They scream while waving for him to walk closer, "Oikawa-san, come here!"

Oikawa is already tugging on your hand, leading you near the back where his fangirls wait. "Wanna meet my fans?"

"What— no!" you try to yank your hand back, but he tightens his grip. You even look back at Iwaizumi and Sheena, asking them for help, and all they do is shrug their shoulders and hold back their laughs.

And it's already too late for you to escape, because when you turn around, you're met with a bunch of girls. Despite your wide eyes, the girls smile as they get a good look at you for the first time. You expected them to react oppositely — to be upset that their favourite captain was dating a girl they never heard of before — but some of them lean forward, eager to get to know you.

"Girls, I want you to meet Y/n, my girlfriend." Oikawa wraps an arm around your shoulders and pulls you into his side. You look down at your feet when the attention becomes too much. "We've been dating for quite some time now, and I just wanted you girls to meet her."

"Wow!" one girl with long black hair speaks. She takes a step closer to the railing, trying to look at your face. "Your girlfriend is so pretty! You two are very lucky to have each other!"

"Yeah!" another girl says from the back. She joins her friend next to the railing and holds out her hands, presenting a small yellow box. "Please, take these! I baked them with a few of the other girls this morning. I hope you like them!"

When you refuse to look up, Oikawa squeezes your hand. You're surprised to find kind faces and cheery voices, all accepting of your relationship. It isn't that you seek their approval, but you were scared that Oikawa's relationship with you could ruin his reputation.

Slowly, you reach out and take the small box. "Oh," you give her a shaky smile. "Thank you."

The girl bows her head, just before another girl pushes forward. "You said your name is Y/n?" she asks, and you nod. "Wow, that's such a pretty name!"

"I know right?" another girl with short blonde hair steps closer. "How did you two meet?"

"How long have you known Oikawa-san?" Another voice pops up.

"Oh, you must tell us all of the details!" Another girl says excitedly.

"What's your favourite thing to do together?"

"What are your dates like?"

"Who's that girl with Iwaizumi-san?"

"There's so much that we don't know! Please, share!"

The voices jumble up, and in a matter of seconds, your eyes are back on your feet. Oikawa, having sensed your mood, clears his throat. "Okay okay, I'm happy that you're all excited to meet my girlfriend," he says to the group, "but, I'm afraid that this is all of the time that we have for now."

The girls begin to calm down. "Oh. Will you visit us after your game?" One of them asks with a glimmer of hope.

"Of course."

"Okay!" They all say in sync, "Good luck, Oikawa-san!"

He dips his head respectively before leading you to the other side of the gym where the rest of his team waits. Even after leaving his fangirls, they continue to cheer and scream, making their presence known to the rest of the audience.

"See? They love you already." Oikawa whispers to you, just before he places a quick kiss on your temple. "No need to feel anxious all of the time, okay?"

"I'm trying." you say, despite your quickening pulse and sweaty hands.

Then suddenly, Oikawa releases your hand. "I'll be back in a sec!"

You look over, watching him run towards a volleyball rolling on the ground, and just beyond him stands a group of boys dressed in black and orange jerseys. You read the banner hanging over their side of the court, the white characters painted over black paper. Fly. "Kawa, come back here."

"Hold on!" He says over his shoulder. The ball bumps into his shoe, and just as he bends down to pick it up, another hand grasps the opposite side. He was so hyper focused on the ball that he didn't notice the first year running towards it from the other side, and when he looks up, meeting his opponent's dark blue eyes, his heart drops.

Kageyama, Karasuno's prized setter, freezes when he finds himself in the same situation. Like Oikawa, he's been preparing for this game ever since he and his team lost to Aoba Johsai. The setter was once inspired by Oikawa, and he even strived to be like him, but he knew that the captain never favoured him. "Oi-Oikawa-san?"

"Tobio-chan," Oikawa says through snared teeth, his voice dripping with disgust. "We meet again."