The next day was pretty similar to the first one. You woke up, had breakfast with the managers and the boys started their games. After lunch break, they had a pause to digest and went back to train again.

You were sitting with the girls at the back of the gym and chatting because the coaches didn't seem to be bothered by the fact that you weren't paying much attention to the games.

"So Y/n..." started Hana. "Why didn't you tell us about you and that boy from Seijoh ?" she smirked.

You frowned. "I don't get it. Me and who ?"

"I think his name's Oikawa Tooru." said Yumi.

Mina's eyes widened and she playfully punched you on the arm. "Y/n ! You're dating Oikawa ?!" All the girls started talking at the same time, way too excited.

"Okay stop stop stop ! I think there's a misunderstanding here !" you yelled a bit too loud and the coaches turned to you, mimicking you to speak lower. You bent down and mumbled a quick "sorry" before turning back to the girls and raising an eyebrow.

"What the hell does that mean ? Who said I was dating Oikawa ?"

Hana cleared her throat. "Suna told me he saw you two holding hands on one of the balconies yesterday evening." The other girls' mouths opened and they started glancing at each other.

"So he snitched..." you muttered for yourself and looked up at the girls, who were waiting for an explanation.

You awkwardly chuckled. "It's not what you think. We're just friends." (Wtf Adrien is dat u ?)

They rolled their eyes in sync. "I don't believe it." they added at the same time.

Mina moved closer to you. "The real question is : do YOU like him ?"

You were panicking now. You looked down, biting your lip.

Do I like him ? No I can't. But...

"I- " you started, and sighed. You lifted your head and met their impatient gaze. "How do I know if I really like someone ?"

They stared at you for a second and burst out laughing. You blushed "That's not really nice of you..."

"Sorry, it's just- " started Hana but couldn't finish her sentence because of laughter.

You growled "What's so funny about it ?!"

After a moment, when they finally stopped laughing, Yumi spoke.

"We need to have a conversation. It's urgent. So, how do you know if you like someone romantically ?" You sat and listened to them attentively.

"I'll go first." said Mina. "For me, liking someone means this person can make you happier only by their presence."

"Okay, what about you Hana ?" asked Yumi.

She seemed to think. "Mmm... Liking someone means this person makes you feel different when you're around them. Like... butterflies in your stomach."

"That's a bit like what I said..." stammered Mina.

"For me..." started Yumi. "... liking someone means you could do anything for them, even if it hurts other people. And of course trusting this person and feeling safe around them are important factors too."

You smiled. "It's nice listening to you guys... But I still don't know if I have feelings for him..." As you finished your sentence, one of the coaches called out for all of you to come. The boys finished their last set and now had a pause before their daily personalized trainings.

"Think about it !" Mina said while you got up to join the teams.

You gave water bottles and towels to Shiratorizawa's exhausted players and left with the girls to help prepare dinner, as it was one of the only compulsory duties the coaches assigned you for the week.

-

While the dish was cooking in the oven, you remembered you forgot your bag in the gym and left the kitchen to go get it.

You weren't expecting anyone to be there as the players were supposed to be back to their room, taking a shower after their long training day. But as you were approaching, you heard louder and louder sounds, those of balls crashing to the ground.

You frowned. "Who could be here at this hour ?" you muttered and walked faster toward the gym.

When you arrived, you saw a sweating Oikawa, heavily panting and too focused on what he was doing to notice you were there.

You ran up to him, worried. "Oikawa what are you doing it's late... you should be taking a shower and having some rest before dinner."

He turned to face you, a bit startled. His dark circles were even more noticeable now that he was sweating and exhausted from all the training.

He still smiled a bit. "Oh hi Y/n... I was just training to perfect my serves."

You sighed and shook your head. "That's unhealthy. You're overworking yourself ! Does anyone else know that you're still here ?"

He looked down. "I'm fine Y/n..."

"No you're not. And you look more tired as each day pass. Are you sleeping correctly ?"

"Stop worrying it's nothing I swear."

You reached out for his hand. It was cold, so you tried to warm it up with yours. "Stop it please... it's enough for today. You're damaging yourself more than you think you are right now..."

His look saddened. "I'm sorry..." You let go of his hand and he left the gym without another word.

You stood there for another while before taking your bag and leaving too.

When dinner was ready, you went up to call everyone. You went back to the dining room and sat with the managers. During the meal, you kept thinking about what happened earlier and weren't really listening to the girls. On top of that, Oikawa didn't show up, you checked every table and could see everyone except him.

Yumi noticed your absent look. "Y/n are you okay ? You're not eating anything."

You looked up and found them giving you worried looks. You smiled to reassure them. "Sorry I was just... thinking. Um... I need to go to the bathroom." You stood up and quickly left the dining room.

In reality, you were on your way to Seijoh's boys' room after picking an apple in the kitchen to check on Oikawa. 'This idiot is making me worried...'

You arrived in front of their room and knocked on the door. Nobody responded so you slightly opened it and glanced inside before entering and closing the door behind you.

At the corner of the room was sitting Oikawa in front of a desk with a laptop on it, headphones in. 'He didn't hear me coming.' you thought.

You slowly approached him, cautious to not make a sound, and stopped right behind his back. He was watching one of Shiratorizawa's recorded matches, probably one of the Interhigh tournament, and looked completely focused on it.

You waited for a few seconds, thinking maybe he was gonna turn around, but he didn't, so you slowly put his headphones off his ears, and he turned around, a frown on his face.

"Why- oh it's you."

You put your hands on your hips. "Yes it's me. Why the hell aren't you in the dining room with everyone else ?"

He yawned. "I'm not hungry."

You sarcastically laughed. "You're not hungry ?! Are you f*cking kidding me ? First of you train more than ten hours a day, you're not sleeping enough and now you're not hungry ? Are you tryna kill yourself ?"

He sighed and stood up from his chair. His hair was still wet from the shower he took. He walked toward you and was now only a few centimeters away.

Suddenly, he wrapped his arms around you, pushing your head against his torso, and hugged you.

"Oikawa what are you-"

"Shhh... let's stay like this for a while please." His voice was a soft whisper.

All the frustration you had left your body and you closed your eyes, placing your hands behind his back and hugging him back.

After a little while, you both let go of each other, a bit embarrassed. You gave him the apple you bringed and left the room before the other boys from Seijoh arrived and found you both together.

____________________________

I'm crying...

Hope you liked it 😩

(1359 words)

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