Watching eagerly from the sidelines with the people who weren't playing in the practise match, you couldn't take your eyes away from the match. Or the third match, actually because these guys seriously had too much stamina. You could see the toll it was taking on Kenma and you mentally cheered him on from the sidelines, making sure you had a bottle and a towel for him when he finally got to take a breather and come back to you.

The scores were incredibly close and you loved watching the two, Kageyama and Hinata, when they did their super fast set and spike that; despite the fact that Yaku was starting to comfortably be able to touch, was still awesome to watch. It was so cool, as well, that even though it was a practise match, all of the players were treating it seriously, calling out to get a spike and running after the ball to at least get a one-touch, it was admirable, you thought.

Your eyes, however, never strayed from the boy you adored for long. Even when there was just a short rally and Kenma glanced at someone to pass a quick set, he looked focused and so serious and it made you smile, the side of your mouth quirking up a little when you then looked at Hinata who was in front of him on the other side of the net.

"EEEHHHHH?!!?!?"

Unable to keep your laugh in, you had chuckled whilst leaning your head on Kenma's shoulder as you moved your weight into him so he had to leaned more towards you to keep himself on his two feet. Kenma nodded, reaffirming what he had said so that Hinata didn't feel like he had to ask again, as if Kenma was joking with him.

But it seemed like he understood because Kenma, joking? No, you were more likely going to do that out of the two of you.

"That's right!"

And you wanted to tease the orange-haired boy for blushing, possibly because of the way you and Kenma were so close to each other, the contact being so easy and natural.

"Woah, I had no idea!"

"Well, it's not a big deal."

But you had seen something else, and maybe it was nothing, but when Hinata glanced around to look for something or someone, and when he found what he was looking for, you followed his line of sight to see the black-haired setter in his team. Your grin simmered to a smile, lifting your head to look at the boy straight on because of course, there was a chance you could be wrong but something about the earnestness in his bright eyes spoke to you, reminded you of yourself,

"Shouyou.." Gaining his attention quickly from the use of his first name, Kenma turned to you as well, mildly curious about the sincere look on your face, "fight on." Encouraging him silently, you had said two words but between the three of you, it meant a lot more.

"[Name]."

"Huh?" Snapping your gaze up, an instant smile ignited on your face, "Kenma!"

You raised the bottle to his waiting hand and he took it to take a drink, looking at the ceiling as he finally got to hydrate himself when you finally looked around to realise that practise was over. You didn't even know how much time had passed but you were glad, standing up and raising the towel you were holding so you could pat it along Kenma's forehead and down the side of his face, along his jaw bone and then to his chin. His eyes, fast and holding something heavy with emotion, snapped to you when he felt the contact become slow, like you were savouring it for yourself and when your pupils became wider with affection, he had to quickly swallow the water in his mouth and lower the bottle lest he accidentally choke on it.

"You were amazing, just like alw-"

"Kenma! Set for me, Kageyama is being stupid!"

"Huh!?" You looked around your boyfriend to see the two bickering, smirking as Kageyama almost swung at Hinata when the smaller boy, even after having been playing for so long, was still able to move fast enough to dodge, "Stop being stupid, boke-Hinata, we all need rest!"

"Ehh..." Hinata pouted and then raised his hands to his head to flattened his hair and furrow his brow, "that doesn't sound like you, mr. all-i-need-is-volleyball," Kageyama's brows furrowed deeply as he watched Hinata imitate him and he glared harshly, Kenma sighed and stayed beside you but as you stepped forward to get closer to him, he pushed the bottle against your chest softly and muttered, "I'm... gonna play a bit more, you can head home, if you want."

"Oh," mildly surprised as you knew Kenma would usually give up and want to head home as soon as practise was over, you had taken the bottle and towel in hand, holding them for a few more seconds in mild shock before turning around and placing them on the bench. A majority of the teams were getting drinks and getting ready to head home, collecting balls and preparing to mop the floors. As you realised you were no longer.. technically needed, you grabbed your bag and headed towards the exit with a final glance to see Kenma beside Hinata, Kuroo and Tsukishima.

Me [20:37]

did you get home okay

[Name] [22:20]

yep

Kenma stared at his screen for a while, his stomach twisting with uneasiness.

Kenma didn't know what it was or what had happened... but he knew something was wrong. He walked to school the next morning, his phone held unnecessarily tight in his hand while his DS was sitting in the bottom of his school bag. He had looked around as if on instinct at the train station, he had looked amongst the students wearing the same uniform on the street, who were heading the same way as him and he took a moment to think while standing at the shoe lockers because this sudden distance between the two of you felt wrong and he... didn't expect to miss you as much as he did right now, feeling a lot lonelier than he had anticipated.

He felt sad. But he didn't like that he felt sad because you were suddenly not texting or calling him because he had no idea why you were even doing it. He didn't even know if it was intentional or a mistake, as well, so he was biting his lip in worry, annoyed that you had made his mind scramble up like this.

It irritated him because it was always like you were the one who needed him, always so touchy and affectionate, not afraid in the slightest to show him how much you adored him but really, it was the other way around. After being such good friends with you, and then having started dating a few years ago, Kenma couldn't see himself without you now. He never even thought about what it was like because you were always so fond of him, of everything about him, it seemed, but now he didn't know what to feel.

Shaking his head slightly, his hair fell to the sides of his face as if he could shake these annoying thoughts from his mind as he took off his own shoes to swap them to the school ones. He continued his walk, towards his class and made it to the stairway to head up until a familiar back was spotted. He froze, watching you because he knew it was you. Because his eyes gravitated to you, instantly, seeking out your warmth and that smile you gave him that was undeniably attractive.

Half of him wanted to approach you, to see your smile grow at the sight of him and your eyes glow like he put the sun in the sky but the other half waited, for what? He didn't know. But he couldn't keep moving forward knowing you were right there... talking to a girl.

He moved his head slightly, so he could see her face from around your shoulders and he sucked in a breath at the sight of her bright, pink cheeks. Her wide and frazzled eyes and the way her lips glistened from either licking them too much or from some lipgloss that she had applied to look more cute.

"I-I.. I've been wanting to tell you for ages, [Name]-kun... I-"

Kenma, knowing what was coming, still strained his ears and held his breath just to hear her say the words,

"I've never felt like this before, so I-I.." she fiddled with her fingers in front of her and Kenma didn't know how to feel when you weren't even responding, looking down at her with an expression that Kenma couldn't see.

"I like you, [Name]-kun! Please, go out with me!"