| Now |

'She said 'I'm completely devoted to Tobio''

Kageyama remembers that day like it was yesterday. It was almost as if his mind was mocking him or tormenting him to keep remembering the day he wanted to disappear in the depth of his mind. He had been in the volleyball gym at Karasuno when that freakish, orange-haired boy slammed the doors open to scream at him immediately.

That obviously annoyed Kageyama as his eyes widened while his mouth form something like a frown that pulled into a look of disgust. The orange-haired boy got in his face, screaming about how he couldn't beat Kageyama when they were on the same team. Kageyama was confused and angered to say the least, he got in the other boy's face and spouted words which riled up the tiny boy as his eyes narrowed, "You think I want to be on the same team as you?!"

They both argued until the three third years arrived and observed the two first years fighting like a married couple, only with more insults - the ones that comes off as a little pathetic as they obviously hadn't been thought out - before the captain; Daichi Sawamura, had enough and threw them out,

"Oi-"

"You think you're better than me?!"

Hinata waved his hands around wildly as if trying to appear bigger than he was while Kageyama clenched his fists by his sides, not hearing Daichi when he replied, "He-Hey-"

"I know I'm better than you, dumbass!"

This time, Sugawara seemed to smile in hopelessness and tried to cut in, "How about we re-"

"Whose a dumbass?! Don't call me a dumbass!!"

Asahi flinched when he looked to his side to find Daichi practically glowing with rage and fire as his eyebrow started twitching before he grabbed both of the first years, "That's it! If you can't co-operate and get along then you can't join the team!"

Kageyama sat outside the gym beside the boy; Hinata (dumbass) Shouyou as he sat on the steps at the gyms entrance. His knees were up in front of him, his elbows resting upon them with his head in his hands while he looked to the ground in disbelief. He couldn't believe this happened to him on his first day and it was all Hinata's fault. He had gotten Kageyama riled up and know he couldn't even join the damn school's volleyball team.

"See what you did, you dumbass.."

Hinata's head whipped around to glare at the raven-haired first year, he opened his mouth to retort in his defence before Kageyama spoke again, "I need to join this club... Dammit!"

Curiousity got to the better of him, Hinata seemed to smile sheepishly to himself before muttering something under his breath though it didn't go unheard by Kageyama, "Are you trying to impress a girl or something.."

His cheeks went pink but his eyes were hard and angered with a glare that had Hinata growing goosebumps at the sight, "That's none of your business!"

The orange-haired boy snickered to himself quietly to Kageyama's reaction, not catching the way he glared at him before something else made him stop. Kageyama stood slowly to approach the shining object on the ground and found it to be a small ear ring that had reflected the suns light toward him. He looked down at it and almost bent down to grab it before hearing a high-pitched yelp as he looked to his side to see a small girl in the girls Karasuno uniform.

She was shaking and her hair was brushed back behind her ears where Kageyama could see one ear ring; identical to the one on the floor while her other earlobe was bare, "Th-That's mi-mine!"

He stepped back as the girl was literally shaking, when she kept staring at Kageyama and the way he was glaring at her, grabbing the jewelry before sprinting off as Kageyama stared, thinking about the way that ear ring shined when he thought about that day he went to your house when he was only in his first year of middle school. He was thirteen and he was already carrying a ring for his best friend, it was looped into a thin, gold necklace that he got from his mum.

Kageyama was confident that day, he was nervous - of course - but he only thought about that one line he heard from that kid name Fujimoto Kei when he told Kageyama, ''She said 'I'm completely devoted to Tobio'' Kageyama didn't know what else clarification he needed to be able to give you the gift that he did. It came with all of his feelings, every emotion and thought he had towards you, he wanted you, no, he needed you to accept them so he did it first thing in the morning.

The words made him want to hide in a hole when he recalled them now, he could never forget what he said to you when you opened the front door to your home weirdly enthusiastically. It wasn't actually weird for you but Kageyama despised school - the educational part of it, he liked the part where he could play volleyball. And eat lunch with you. And go anywhere knowing you were next to him or he was next to you.

Kageyama reminisced how he couldn't stop his hand from loosening around the jewelry and how his thoughts were completely muddled. He thrusted a clenched fist before you (almost punching you straight in the nose) and his face was facing downwards, looking anyway but to the look on your face that represented confusion and partial shock.

".. Good morning to you too Tobio, what's this?"

The back of his neck started sweating after hearing your voice but he was determined to do what he intended to, he nudged his fist towards you and caught on, raising an open palm under his fist to catch whatever it was he wanted to give to you. You felt a small yet warm object, it trailed down like a solid string before something else fell with it. He remembers the look on your face and how you eyes glowed, you look magical to him and his eyes couldn't stop fidgeting to everything except for you before hearing you speak softly to yourself,

"Is this... for me?"

He was nodding immediately, placing both hands by his sides as he remembers the way he bowed at almost a ninety degree angle so that he could exclaim his feelings without having to face you directly,

"Yo-You said that you-you're...."

The silence was deafening.

"You said that you're devoted to me!"

He heard a surprised squeak after that, he was clenching his eyes shut to keep speaking, saying what he wanted to make you understand as best as you could,

"Please continue being devoted to me for-.. Forever! I want you all to myself and I want you to stay with me and never leave me! I want you to wear that necklace! And maybe when the ring f-fits.. You can wear that!"

"I- I Love You [Name]."

Kageyama was absolutely shitting himself.

He didn't look up until he opened his eyes to see your feet moving a little, resting your weight on your left foot from when you had been standing straight, it was like you were waiting for something, expecting something so he looked up slowly, his back straightening a little before his eyes slowly but surely raked up your body to find your eyes. They were glowing, that beautiful [E/C] reflecting the light of the sun in a way that had the present sixteen-year-old boy at that time, hypnotised.

He didn't really understand your silence at first before catching something on your neck that hadn't been there before. His eyes widened tenfold, causing a giggle to eave your mouth as you cheeks and the tips of your ears turned a bright pink after hearing the boy you placed on a pedestal say those things to you.

"I-... love volleyball.. You know that so I want you to watch me play- I-I'm getting better for you a-and... I'll always- b-be there for you too.."

He stopped, he didn't know what else to say after that. Hinata was a little freaked out when he noticed the dust of pink appearing on Kageyama's cheeks when the blue-eyed boy stayed in that spot just thinking about you and what you said,

"I love you as well Tobio, I can't wait to watch you play more. Please continue to take care of me."

"Hey! Stupid!"

"Oi, she's deaf you jackass!"

"That doesn't mean she isn't stupid!"

Students kept yelling in class, the teacher had left momentarily to grab a coffee from the teachers lounge while more people tried to get your attention. It was successfully done when you felt a scrunched up piece of paper hitting the top of your head. You had jumped, looking up to find multiple pairs of eyes on you, they were smiling and laughing too, you could see some of their bodies shaking as some of them started to leave their desks to approach you.

Cowering away a little, sadness first registered when you realised that fear was the first emotion you felt as the other sixteen-year old students got closer to you. They all said things, their lips moving really fast but you couldn't catch anything when their faces moved around so quickly as if they were all messing around together.

One of the guys, he hung out with heaps of people in your class, always the centre of attention. He crouched down to place his elbows on your desk, reading some of the words that had been scribbled on your desk in black permanent marker, his smile dropping a little as he looked right at you. Your eyes going straight to his lips, "Do you know who did this?"

Shaking your head, he seemed a little sympathetic and it brought slight relaxation upon your shoulders, like you didn't have to be wary of their actions while they formed a small circle around you, "That's really mean, some people can be so rude.."

You had perked up, this caught his attention when you flipped your book to a fresh page as he read what you wrote, "Do you know who did this?"

He shook his head, a look covering his face that seemed like he was disappointed but his eyes showed something else that made you unsure, more people kept talking around you. Their mouths moving so rapidly while your eyes stayed on his as he smiled again, "Do you know my name?"

You had nodded. It had been three years since you came to this school so you initially thought it would be nice that you spent the time to learn each of your classmates names and faces. Because despite the fact that they made you feel desolate and unwanted, they were still people who wanted to hopefully make smile and laugh. The boy before you smiled smugly and asked, "What is it?"

Your hand; that was still holding the pen, almost reached the notebook before the book was snatched from right under your arms and flung backwards to the front of the class, slamming into the black board when your mouth fell open a little when you looked at the boy for answers. He was laughing, looking at you again as he stood to ask again, "What is it?"

"-..Tr-Tent Willams."

Your voice felt weird escaping your throat, you could feel the vibration throughout your neck and mouth but you didn't understand why the students all started laughing. You looked around to find an answer but they weren't speaking, only laughing. Especially Trent, he was losing it.

"My name sounds nice coming from you. Can you tell us a joke?"

Nice..? He said it sounds nice, perhaps they weren't laughing at you and you couldn't help the slight blush that travelled up to your cheeks. It thankfully went unnoticed, you believed, and you nodded, thinking for a moment before speaking slowly, "There was a patient.. in a doctors office and he says to his patient, 'I'm.. sorry but you suffer from terminal illness and have only 10 to live.' and then the patient asks, 'What do you mean, 10? 10 what? Months? Weeks?!' "

You had stopped, a tiny smiling appearing on your face to see most the students listening as others held a hand before their mouths to cover their laughter, "So the doctor goes, 'Nine.. Eight' "

They laughed and laughed, grinning and tearing up and it became contagious when you joined it and it felt so damn good. You laughed with them, being included as your cheeks began to feel that amazing pain when you snickered with them. Your eyes crinkled up while they howled, their chests heaving and you thought, this is it. I'm finally going to have people to talk to, I'll finally have friends and then I can tell my friends back in Japan about these amazing stories.

I can tell Kageyama about how I bonded with these people in a completely different continent and then he'll be proud of m-.

But wait. What was that? Were you seeing something? Maybe your eyes were deceiving you? No.. They wouldn't do that.. They.. They just laughed at my joke.. They.. They came to me and spoke to me on their own, they wouldn't-

"Her voice is so funny!"

"She sounds so retarded!"

"I can't believe you did that Trent! You're such an asshole!"

All of them laughing, they weren't laughing with you but actually at you. You wanted to hit yourself for believing something would change over the span of three years. Maybe your last year in America would be different, you told yourself. How foolish.

Maybe I should just give up speaking completely.