| five |
[][][][]
"How long were you dating him, huh? Didn't I tell you I know guys like that."
"Yeah, I know..." Without taking your gaze from the window beside you in the car, the radio was turned down so that he could speak but not low enough so that it wasn't heard. Despite your low and lazy tone, the loud exhale after speaking, your brother kept talking, "I know how guys think and that kid was always an asshole. He was disrespectful too, I told you ages ago, right?"
"Yeah, you did.."
If someone said that your brother, Leiko, was arrogant, he'd straight up deny it. If he was told that he was stubborn and always wanting to be correct, he'd deny that too. But that was the thing, he was really confident and he always had to be right because if he wasn't then he wouldn't say anything at all. He was very opinionated and headstrong too. He was prideful and smart, it got really annoying most of the time.
Luckily for you, the car ride was short-lived and a waste of petrol as well. It was true when you had said that you could've walked home. In all honestly, you would've actually preferred walking as you always did and today was the one day where you were actually wanting to do it because of what had happened in school. It was the students that talked behind their backs when they spoke about you and the oblivious teachers that only added more oil to the fire inside you. They didn't really care about your well-being when they just did as they were supposed to. They didn't actually care about what was going on in their student's lives.
Parking outside your home, you got out of the car as Leiko turned off the engine. He took the keys out and undid his seat belt as you were already walking to the front door, it was open- your mother had heard the engine in her driveway and came to welcome you home. A kiss on her cheek was presented; needed so that she knew you weren't in a sour mood even though you really were, "Welcome home."
"I'm home."
She smiled at you warmly and stood by when you entered the home, taking off your shoes at the entrance before walking straight through the one-story home to get to your room. It was the last one down the hall, passing the living room, the kitchen and the two other rooms; one for your other brother and the one that used to be yours that was now turned into a spare room. Your own room used to be Leiko's but he had already moved out last year, he was living with his girlfriend.
Friday night was wasted as you readied for the weekend ahead, staying within the confines of your bedroom containing limited posters on your cupboard door and the lamp remaining on while the window beside the queen-sized bed allowed you to view the sky growing darker as the hours past. Music played in the background from the laptop before you while the only thing that made your nights worth staying indoors were the AMV's on Youtube and the fanfictions on Quotev.
The only time you'd actually leave your room was to eat dinner or to go to the toilet and when you showered, you still loathed the fact that Leiko's words echoed in your mind when you knew that's all it really was, words and yet they still seemed to haunt you. They always reminded you of your mistakes but you hated it because you knew that Leiko really didn't have any idea of what you were feeling or what you were thinking. He never knew how you really felt about Ryusei and it pained you to realise that he had never even asked.
Saturday was a day of pure nothing; the usual and weird (also unneeded) banter occurred on your three-way chat online between Aiko, Michiko and yourself - though they had recently decided to add you to another group chat with a lot more people you didn't even associate with - it goes without saying that you had repeatedly muted them throughout the entire day.
Despite the occasional appearances from your other brother who had already graduated from high school, you were alone in the house - only able to enjoy the presence of your pet dog who loved to plant herself in your room, at the end of the bed. Sunday came and a text arrived from Sugawara, it surprised you a little but you guessed he might've been worried about you? Or concerned? It was sweet but you always believed that those types of things shouldn't be wasted on you.
(09:13) SugaMama: Good morning, [Name]-chan. If you're not awake then you better wake up.
Narrowing your eyes in confusion, you only looked at the door as it swung open. Your dog wagging their tail in joy as your brother came in uninvited though he really didn't care, "What do you want?"
He didn't mind the sour tone, "Come on! Let's go eat breakfast - I'm hungry!" He petted the dog on your bed, inviting the canine out as you were led to follow, sulking as you went, "Daisuke! I'm not making breakfast for you, you ass!" You had to backtrack into your bedroom to grab the mobile device and shut the door behind you, changing out of your pyjamas to place on a pair of black pants and a loose, black sweater to match. Tying your hair to a high and messy bun when you opened your messages.
(09:19) [Name]-chan: Good morning, why should I be awake now?
The phone was placed in your pocket when Daisuke was already on the couch in the living room, spooning the dog as they both looked at you, "You're going out? Where? Ew, are you going to see Ryusei? I thought Leiko-Nii-san was coming over though?"
Ignoring the obvious question that was to be ignored, you had retreated to the kitchen, grabbing a container of cut-up watermelon from the fridge as you couldn't be bothered doing anything else for breakfast, "I don't know and I don't really care either," He raised a brow, ready to reply before you continued, "Where's 'Kaa-san?"
He looked back to the television, "She went to the grocery store, you should do your bed or else she'll start screaming again." The sweet juice of the melon almost spilled from your mouth, the seeds being spat out one-by-one into the sink as you stood by lazily and then someone knocked on the door, "I'm not doing my bed when I'm gonna sleep in it," Taking a glance at the time on your phone, you began walking to the door, "in like thirteen hours. And what are you doing here Asahi-kun?"
He chuckled lowly and looked around quickly, staring at you from the front door as you stood watching, "Uh Good morning [Name]-san, Sugawara-kun told me to pick you up.."
Nodding, you had exhaled and walked away causing him to perk up alarmed, "I'll be there in a minute!" After putting the watermelon back in the fridge, you had ran straight back to your bedroom to put on a pair of socks and left, muttering a 'goodbye' to your brother on the way out after grabbing slippers from the entrance as the door soon closed behind you.
"Asahi-kun, how are you this morning?"
He glanced at you quietly and then answered almost timidly, "Uh I'm f-fine, thank you - how a-about you?"
Looking around, the air was quite chilly and then you noticed a car about twenty minutes away from your home where the park was, "I'm tired, I'd really like to go back to my bed. Aren't you cold?"
He looked down almost in a self-conscious manner and shook his head, "No, not really I- uh- I like the early mornings, I'm not sure why.. They're.. refreshing?" You had 'hmm'ed in reply though you couldn't understand or maybe it was just because you weren't in a great mood, [NAME]-CHA~N, LET'S GOO~~"
Nishinoya and Tanaka sat in the back seat, squeezing you in the middle while Sugawara drove with Asahi beside him. They played sandwich and loved to push against the doors with their feet to squish you in between them to the point of shattering your rib cage. They both got multiple slaps to the head but it didn't stop them. Asahi would always look back, whining to the two second years as he watched you worriedly while Sugawara had to literally threaten to stop the car just so they could let you breathe.
"Why did you guys make me leave my home!!" The yell startled Tanaka though Nishinoya held in his laugh as Sugawara smiled effortlessly, "We're going to the gym! Daichi and Ennoshita said they found out that Kageyama and Hinata were already there practicing their freak spikes so Daichi decided to have a team practice."
Asahi had turned around again to see your reaction, the smile you wore that made him slowly turn back with a cringe covering his face in fear, "Oh, I'm sorry but I didn't realise I was a boy."
They all grew quiet, unsure of where you were heading with what you had said, "Nor did I know that I was part of the Karasuno volleyball team?! What the hell man! I could've been staying in bed doing nothing! DAMMIT!"
Noya, a grin covering his face, didn't say anything though Tanaka only rubbed the top of your head like a parent does to their child and Sugawara looked to the rear-view mirror with an odd look in his eyes, "Just because you aren't in the team doesn't mean you aren't in the team. Don't be ridiculous [Name]-chan."
The gym had already been filled with the sound of the volleyballs slapping against hands or the walls, there were the sounds of yelling and you weren't sure how they could conjure the energy to play so spirited when it was a Sunday morning. They invited you in, Sugawara smiled and directed you to the bench where there was no one there when you thought that you could've at least had Kiyoko as company.
"Are you kidding me? Why isn't Kiyoko here then?" Daichi had stopped watching the volleyballs going across both sides of the courts and stood from his squat, placing his hands before his sides to greet you, "Good morning [Name], Kiyoko-san said that she was busy today so-.." He watched the look on your face as it grew more scarier with each second that passed, "so.. Hinata and Kageyama said they wanted you to come!"
Sugawara almost face-palmed when the two first years looked up alarmed when they heard their names and Asahi scratched the back of his head in defeat when their captain said those two names instead of himself in order to avoid your wrath, "Eh? Them? I hardly even know them.. but okay I guess.." The two first years had no idea what was being said and Daichi turned around, sighing in relief when he got to walk away unscathed.
Tsukishima and Yamaguchi walked in a little later as the clock on the wall read 9:57 in the morning and all you had for entertainment was your mobile that was turned on with a black screen that previously held the picture of both Ryusei and yourself holding hands.
Tumblr, Facebook, Instagram and WeHeartIt were opened and yet they didn't suffice to make you feel better about being taken from your home just to be a replacement for Kiyoko, "I'm so bored.."
"Sorry, can't help with that." The blonde-haired first year sat on the bench beside you; when he got there was unknown but he stayed put calmly with a water bottle held by his lips, "Can't you just leave? I mean, the door is open.."
Your eyes narrowed on him, "Tsukishima Kei.. Oh cute, firefly... Can I call you that?"
"No.. You can not." He didn't even give you a glance, speaking as if it was obvious even though you hadn't even had a decent conversation with him before, "Wow, okay. No need to be salty, then I'll call you like.. moon or something."
He shook his head, sighing, "Again, thank you but no." You had turned your phone back on and as if on reflex, opened your messages to press a name that wasn't there anymore with no more heart beside his name, "What you said on Friday was pretty impressive [Name]-senpai. I thought you would be more grateful if Daichi-san took you away from your house so you wouldn't have to be alone."
The phone was clicked off again, annoyed that there was nothing to do on it and you were growing irritated at his words when his expression hadn't even changed. You didn't want to remember what happened on Friday and you didn't want it to be a thing that people would talk about or that others would think about when hearing your name, "Why would I be grateful about being brought to a gym full of guys? I mean, sure, like one hundred percent of the guys here that are attractive but I don't see what you're getting at."
He was silenced when realising that you had called him attractive along with his teammates but his eyes only moved on to his captain who had been watching his team mess around and play cooperatively, observing how Daichi would glance your way every few minutes or so, "I guess he thought he was being subtle about wanting to keep you company after what happened on Friday but you seem pretty dense about it.. I guess he was right then.."
"Subtle? Company..?" The words slowly fell from your mouth, Tsukishima leaving his bottle beside you to get back on the court while Sugawara caught your eye and winked with a sweet smile.
[][][][]
Kei (蛍) - Lightning-Bug, Firefly
Bạn đang đọc truyện trên: AzTruyen.Top