"Miscalculations"
Word Count: 6282
Warnings: Slight Angst

+++

There were only four primary words I'd use to describe the guess monster of our school, Shiratorizawa.

Adorable, Playful, Hot, and Loving.

I've been looking at Tendou from afar. I went to every single match of his and admired his quick-witted attitude that helped his team build up pressure to succeed. He's probably the second reason why Shiratorizawa was such a powerhouse school for volleyball.

He was simply superb at the sport.

"Ne, Wakatoshi-kun, wanna join me and the others? We're heading over to a nearby store to buy some ice cream after the match," Tendou said, casually placing his arm around the blunt ace. Ushijima didn't seem to care about his actions, simply continuing to walk alongside him.

"Sure." his response was short and quick.

I heard their voices slowly fade away after going into the court with their other team members. The roaring cheers from the audience drowned out the words that came from their mouths. I sighed sadly, resting my back on the chair once more and continued to watch from afar.

I seriously look like a stalker trying to find out what they're going to do. I need to stop.

I just need to move on.

But I can't move on! It's been about a year since my feelings developed for the red-haired middle blocker. I couldn't seem to get closer to him in any way because his schedule was so tight whilst also being a year ahead of me. He might not even like boys, to begin with!

I looked around the large gymnasium. There were hundreds upon hundreds of people sitting down on the bleachers. Each of them was cheering so loudly that you would feel like you're in one of those live sports on televisions.

I sighed. No one would notice if a single person from the audience would disappear, right? My presence doesn't give any impact or benefit to anyone. I could probably just leave and give my seat to someone else that was close to one of the members of the team.

I fixed my F/C hoodie's creases and stood up from my spot. I silently made my way towards the exit, taking one last look at my beloved senpai on the court, and left the building.

I need to fall out of love. Fast. If I still have feelings for the male, I might cry my eyes out when his graduation day comes. Little things like not attending their games would help. I don't even know anyone from the team and yet I'm watching them? It was easy to convince myself that watching them wouldn't do anything for me.

Besides, ditching this would mean that I could go home and do whatever I want.

-~-~-

Another thing I like to do to figure out how Tendou was doing was to sit near his table during lunch. I did it to hear whatever they were saying, but of course, I try to block out the other private things.

Instead of sitting near their table, I sat outside of the building on a bench. That way, I wouldn't be able to hear whatever they were saying, I wouldn't be able to even see him, and I would get distracted by the beautiful environment Shiratorizawa had.

Which, by the way, looked so outstanding.

I never even noticed how gorgeous the layout of Shiratorizawa was. I was probably blinded by the one-sided love I had that I wasn't able to appreciate everything else that surrounded me. Now that I was moving on, I could easily notice everything else that I wasn't paying attention to before.

Huh.

Falling out of love might just be easy.

The bell rang, signalling everyone that lunchtime would end in five minutes and that we had to go back to our designated classrooms. I packed my stuff and entered the building again, quickly making my way towards my classroom before the hallway gets flooded with other students.

"I don't know, Wakatoshi-kun, maybe a teacher asked to see them?"

"Tendou, she probably had something important to do. Calm down."

"I can't! First, she didn't watch our match yesterday and now, she was nowhere near us during lunch! There's definitely something wrong."

Oh.

So he's stressing over a girl, huh?

Probably his girlfriend or something.

I sighed. He's into girls, not boys.

This was basically closure.

I continued to head over towards my classroom, telling myself that it was fine and that I was going to move on from him anyway. I walked past the several students in the hall including the two who looked at me as I passed by them. I walked into my classroom and closed the door behind me, seeing that I was the last student to enter.

I sat down on my seat whilst everyone continued to talk to each other, enjoying the last few minutes of lunch with jokes and laughter.

I rested my cheek on my fist, but I was surprised when I felt a tap on my shoulder.

"Ano, L/N-san, are you alright?" my seatmate asked me as he looked at me with worry. I tilted my head sideways in confusion.

"Of course, what made you ask-?"

"You're crying."

-~-~-

I ended up joining a club to escape the loneliness and the dread I felt. The music club welcomed me with open arms, and in no time, I felt like I wasn't an outcast.

They treated me like a new friend and didn't disregard me for being new. They tested out my skills in singing and in playing instruments and found out that I had some sort of natural talent. I didn't think I would still remember how to sing, to be honest. I've joined a music club when I was in middle school, and haven't done anything related to music after about two years.

I regret that decision.

"L/N-san! How do you make your voice so deep and raspy?" a first-year asked me whilst we were sitting down on the floor.

"If you want to make your voice deep, I suggest you use your chest voice so that it'll sound like your voice is full and whole. If you want to make it raspy, try tampering with your throat singing style or something," I advised him. He smiled at me and gave me a small hug.

"Thank you, senpai!" he exclaimed happily and went towards his other friends, telling them what I told him.

No one has ever called me their "senpai" before.

I had no idea how good it felt.

I smiled.

Maybe love did blind me.

"Did you hear about Ushijima-san and Tendou-san?" a female upperclassman said to her group of girls. At the sudden mention of Tendou's name, I perked up.

"No-? Why?"

"They were supposed to get a new manager."

"Oooh, who's the lucky devil?"

"Apparently, she went here, to the music club, so the two weren't able to ask her anymore."

This was none of my business. I'm already supposed to move on. Why am I so interested in the topic these girls are talking about? They're looking for some other girl and definitely not me. It shouldn't bother me anymore.

I looked away, but the next words they said got me interested again.

"Huh? But L/N-san is the only one who's new to this club."

"No girl."

I froze. It was true. I was the only one who joined the club this late. If it was supposed to be a first-year, they would've asked her before the school year began.

"Maybe they meant the Choir, not music club," one corrected, her explanation seemingly believable and logical.

I frowned. Why am I even getting my hopes up? First of all, it's a girl, not a boy. Secondly, Tendou doesn't even know who I am! He probably hasn't even seen my face before. So why would they bother asking me to become their manager?

A male manager looked bad, to be honest.

The volleyball players probably prefer their manager to be female. All the other schools here in this district either had no manager or one female manager. The players would easily get inspired to do better in order to impress the girl.

Who would want to impress a boy? They all probably wanted the girl to help them out with practice by making her offer them their bottles and towels every time they needed it. If a boy were to do that, it would just be plain awkward for both of them.

So, yeah. Stop getting my hopes up, please.

"L/N-chan, c'mon! You gotta teach us your ways!" the leader of the music club, Azarashi, said, gathering everyone's attention and asking me to come forward with him. I smiled and stood up from my spot.

I just need more distractions.

-~-~-

Months have passed, and I can confidently say that I'm no longer into Tendou.

I found out that there was so much more in life than just love. I could have other dreams that aren't the ones where I yearn to be held in someone's arms. I could feel tensions that weren't necessarily sexual but were actually from excitement and nervousness.

I could have relationships that weren't even romantic.

All I needed were friends.

"Alright, everyone, take a 15-minute water break and let's get back to practice afterwards," the leader of the club announced, grabbing his water bottle and taking a drink from it. Everyone thanked him and proceeded to get their bottles of water.

Two of the first years immediately went to me and swarmed me with their enthusiasm.

"Man, L/N-senpai! I'll never get over your amazing voice!"

"L/N-senpai! You're as good as always!"

The two complimented me, eagerly forming fists and swinging them up and down in excitement. I chuckled at their actions and patted both of their heads. "Thanks. You guys can just call me M/N, by the way," I said, drinking from my water bottle.

"M/N-senpai!" they exclaimed.

Jesus, these first years are so adorable. Both of them held great potential that would probably help them in their future career when they get older. I smiled at them slightly and felt a hand drape itself across my shoulders.

"M/N-chan," it was the leader of the music club. I looked at him, surprised that he was the owner of the arm.

"How come you didn't join the music club last year?" he asked, poking my cheek. I squinted my eyes and pursed my lips before answering.

"I dunno, I kinda regret not joining, though," I admitted, remembering the times where I just wandered endlessly in the library during club time. If I wasn't roaming around the halls, I was already at home doing absolutely nothing.

The club leader went to hug my back in a friendly manner, which may look weird for others but not to the Music Club. Aside from having the capability to lead the entire club, he's also very very clingy to each of us. But he isn't a pervert, he just likes to have skinship with each of the members of the club.

We don't mind, seeing that he was extremely nice and kind to each of us anyway.

"Warm," he said softly, voice getting a little muffled because he uttered the word into my back. I smiled as a small amount of heat went into my cheeks.

"Azarashi-kun, have you told M/N-san what sensei told us to tell him yet?" one of the girls from the other side of the room yelled. The male behind me suddenly straightened up and went in front of me, surprising me again.

"M/N-chan, I know it's too much to ask, but we and the sensei's were hoping to have you sing for the graduation of us third years," he said in a low tone as he looked me in the eye. My own eyes widened at the request he wanted. I opened my mouth to speak, but he put a finger in front of it.

"You don't have to answer us now, you can think about it if you'd want to do it. However, we really want to hear you sing before we leave Shiratorizawa," he smiled

"The principal wants to see you after club time, by the way."

-~-~-

"Have you heard?"

"What? Did Ushijima get a girlfriend?"

"No, but the topic is related to him."

"Okay, so what happened?"

"The male volleyball team lost, they didn't make it to nationals."

"Huh? That's impossible!"

Wait.

Really?

That was indeed impossible and unbelievable. How could the boys' volleyball club suddenly lose to the same opponents they fought after three years? No school was added into the fight, so I'm guessing there was an old school that got blessed with new first years that were skilled.

And unfortunately, they were skilled enough to beat Ushijima and Tendou.

Just thinking that there were others who were able to beat the dream team just made my head hurt. I don't want to even think about it. Heck, I don't want to think about Tendou in general! I don't have a grudge against the red-haired middle blocker, it's simply because I want to move on.

And to move on, I already did.

I didn't stop to continue hearing whatever the girls were saying. I quickly headed towards the principal's office, remembering that my club leader said that the principal wanted to see me.

I knocked and entered the office and immediately the old man looked up and smiled at me. He gestured me to take a seat in front of his desk. I complied after closing the door.

"Good afternoon, sir, did you wanted to talk to me?" I questioned and he simply nodded.

"Yes, yes. I'm assuming Azarashi already told you what we wanted from you, right?" he asked, voice faltering a bit. It was my turn to nod.

"So? Are you willing to sing for the third years' Graduation?" he asked, eyes staring up into my own ones with a small hint of hope. I smiled at him and answered.

"Yes," it would be nice to see Tendou one last time. I'd also like to hug the upperclassmen that guided me in the Music Club this year.

But mostly because I wanted to see my red-haired senpai one last time and probably talk to him to gain the last bits of closure I needed.

He was my first crush, so I had no idea what to do. I guess I was lucky that I had multiple distractions to help me get over him. Don't get me wrong, the male's an amazing student and I still admired him. I just needed to do something else rather than just staring at him from afar.

The principal smiled at my response.

"Great, you're going to sing just before the closing rituals or in other words, before they all say goodbye," he informed in a jolly manner, still pleased at my response. I tilted my head sideways before asking another question.

"What shall I sing?"

"Anything you want, young man. Just make sure it will touch their hearts."

-~-~-

"Tendou-san was supposed to confess to this girl,"

"Yeah? What happened?"

"He lost hope. The girl didn't attend his matches and didn't even go near him anymore."

"Poor Tendou-san."

"I was told that this girl got into a major accident but still attended school. She probably didn't attend his matches because she couldn't with her new disability. "

"Oh yeah! I've heard of that."

I looked at the box of chocolate I had and contemplated on whether or not I should give this to Tendou as a goodbye gift. He was obviously interested in girls more than boys, and it would lowkey look weird if I were to give this to him when both of us don't even know each other.

Or at least, he doesn't know who I am.

I sighed and continued, "Fuck it," I told myself, knowing that getting closure will let me heal faster.

The graduation ceremony was about to start, and the 3rd years were all lined up at the entrance of the auditorium. Most of them were practically clinging unto each other like they'll disappear, whilst the others continued to gossip about whatever.

I walked past the line and made my way towards the front of the place and sat down on my designated spot. I wouldn't need to walk in professionally like the other 3rd years because I wasn't going to graduate. The teachers who were seated beside me greeted me and smiled at me.

"We can't wait to hear you sing," one of the female teachers say.

"The principal has been talking about it a lot. He's excited himself," a male one said, only adding more pressure down on my shoulders. I visibly shuddered in nervousness but kept my smile firm. The male one laughed at my state.

"You'll do fine. Azarashi's been practising you, hasn't he?" the same male teacher asked, and I only nodded in response.

"I don't want the performance to be sad, but I also don't want it to be lively and upbeat," I fiddled my fingers in confusion. If I sang something sorrowful, they would most likely cry even more during the event. If I sing something joyous, on the other hand, It would ruin the mood.

I had no idea what to sing.

"Then sing something that will cheer them up. I'm sure most of them would cry anyway," the leader of the music club suggested.

"But what could cheer them up?" I asked, now even more confused. Azarashi smiled at me before he opened his mouth to reply.

"Something that everyone could relate to-"

"Including me."

-~-~-

I left the wrapped box of chocolates on my seat as I stood up and approached the stage. The teachers grinned at me in encouragement and ushered me to hurry up.

"And now, a surprise performance before the closing ceremony from one of our second years. L/N M/N~!" the host proclaimed enthusiastically, resulting in a few gasps from the audience which were the 3rd years.

I walked up the stage, my hands slightly fidgeting whilst I looked at the large number of students in the auditorium. Some of them looked at me in anticipation whilst the others were simply chatting the day away with their seatmates.

Including Tendou.

Of course. Why would he want to listen to someone who he doesn't even care about? Why would he bother listening to someone he doesn't even remotely know in the first place?

Why do I still care? I moved on, haven't I?

I sighed. No. I haven't.

I approached the piano in the middle of the stage and took a seat on the stool behind it. I tapped the microphone and played a small chord to test if the instrument and the microphone worked properly. I took one last look at the audience, seeing Azarashi give me a thumbs up and Tendou still not paying attention. I smiled slightly and began to play. At the sound of the intro, everyone quieted down.

...

"Samishisa wa kyouki da
(Loneliness is insane)

Hito wo kizutsukete shimau
(It hurts one's feelings)

Sore ni kizukenakunaru
(And it's difficult to realise it)"

At the first few lyrics, everyone from the audience had their eyes widened.

"Itoshisa wa byouki da
(Love is an illness)

Mune ga kurushiku naru yo
(My chest began to ache)

Naoshikata wa nain da
(There's no way to treat it)"

Everyone was confused. Sure, the male's voice sounded heavenly, but was the song appropriate for this occasion? Did he want to make the third years leave the place filled with tears?

"Kono hibi wa kiseki da
(These days are like a miracle)

Demo nanika ga tarinai
(But nothing is enough)

Umaranai kuuran
(To fill up the emptiness)"

As the male paused like how it was supposed to stop, he looked up at his crush and made direct eye contact with him.

"Kimi wa fushigi da
(You are strange)

Sono sonzai ga boku wo
(You make me feel)

Tsuyoku mo yowaku mo suru
(Both strong and weak)"

The performing male looked back at the piano and focused, getting ready to hit the high notes.

He sang each lyric so gracefully. All of them had their own special feeling to it and unique tone that everyone was taken aback by the delivery of this performance. How could a single male with a piano alone make an entire building have goosebumps?

He sang the second verse with much more feeling. Gradually, members from the music club began to walk on stage and play alongside the male, giving him extra boosts of confidence and a wonderful accompaniment. Everyone now was in awe at how cool the music club was.

They didn't really think much of this club because it didn't have any popularity, but after this performance, Azarashi knew that there will be a lot of new members next school year, and he also knew that M/N would be there to guide them.

"Bokura wa dou ka na umai koto
(But what about us?)

"Renai" wo dekiteru ka na
(I wonder if we can fall in love)"

The male glanced back at the redhead who watched him perform.

"Dou ka na dou ka na
(I wonder, I wonder)

Kotae mo naku marutsuke
(I'm checking for answers
but finding none)"

The beat dropped.

"Bokura wa dou ka na futari de
(But what about us?)

"Jinsei" wo yareru ka na
(I wonder if we can
live our lives together)

Dou ka na dou ka na
(I wonder, I wonder)

Negai wo kome marutsuke
(I'm checking for answers with hope)"

Everything seemed to fade out slowly, the violins and the supporting vocals slowly went to a halt as the piano and the main performer's voice was left.

The students continued to watch and listen, not sure how they would feel after the performance would end.

""Jinsei" wa tenki da
(Life is like weather)

Haretari furaretari suru
(Cloudless, raining, snowing)

Dochira mo okoriuru
(Either can happen)

Dou ka na kasa nara
(What about an umbrella?)

Boku ga motte oku kara
(I'll keep holding one)

Futari de hitotsu ni narou?
(So let's get underneath it together)"

As the male played the ending keynotes, he couldn't help but shed a singular tear and smile. This was it. This was his goodbye to the third years.

His farewell to Tendou.

It felt so fitting.

You would think that the beginning was a bit too harsh and would most likely not be appropriate for graduation, but as the song ended, you would realise that it had so many beautiful quotes and a lot of life lessons.

But there was one sentence that the male was aiming to tell everyone during his performance. He was pretty sure that he succeeded already.

"Even though I am nothing to you, I'm here for you."

It was as if the singer was hurting and was in pain; he was still able to offer his hand to the people, and those people don't even know who this man was. He practically gave everyone a cold hug. A hug from a ghost. An embrace from a random person none of them even know, yet he was able to make them feel comfort.

The club leader of the music club was the first one to stand up and clap for the male and his friends, silently muttering "I raised them so fucking well."

Soon, the entire gym erupted in applause.

...

I stood up from the stool, completely out of breath. Some of the first years who were behind me rushed up to me and hugged me (after placing their violins down). My fellow second years grinned at me and clapped alongside the audience.

I smiled.

"Ladies and gentlemen! L/N and the music club!" the host proclaimed happily, earning an even more loud applause. I looked at the host weirdly, wondering why he disregarded my friends as just "The Music Club". The first and second years didn't look like they cared though.

-~-~-

"Goodbye, senpai!!" the first years exclaimed sadly as they practically clung unto their club leader. The other second years greeted the other third years.

"Ano, senpai... I have something for you," I hesitantly gave him the boxes of chocolates I was originally going to give Tendou. Now that my performance was over, I realised how awkward it would be now to approach him, considering I looked at him in the eye whenever I sang a specific lyric.

He took it by surprise and scanned the object. He smirked slightly and returned it to me, making me confused.

"Senpa-?"

"This isn't for me, is it?" he asked with a sly smile.

"Originally... I was going to give it to someone else, but I thought that it would be useless so I wanted to give it to you instead." I explained, shocked that he knew that he wasn't part of the original plan. Azarashi rose a brow at my reply and refused to take it.

"Just give it to Satori already. I'll help you if you want," he said, dragging me away.

HOW DOES HE KNOW THAT THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE FOR TENDOU?

I internally panicked as he practically chained my hands onto his own, walking towards Tendou and the other volleyball club members who were gathered in a group. We approached them and one of the members acknowledged Azarashi.

"Oya. Hello, Aza-chan~!" a white and black haired male waved at the music club leader. The said male smiled. "Hey, Eita," he replied.

My entire figure began to sweat when Semi noticed my presence. He looked at me weirdly before his eyes widened.

"Oh! Hello, L/N! Nice performance, by the way," Semi exclaimed, making the others who were with him take a look at my figure as well. I shrank. Even Tendou noticed me.

Most of the male volleyball club members greeted me and praised me for the performance I gave them. I hid behind my club leader throughout all this, whilst the Guess Monster just stared at my small figure.

He's just... Staring at me. He holds an indescribable expression that slightly made me tremble.

"All right, guys. May I borrow Satori for a whilst?" Azarashi asked, smiling slightly at the group of males. Semi nodded and lightly smacked Tendou's shoulder to bring him out of his daze. The latter blinked his eyes repeatedly and shook his head. "Okay."

The Music Club Leader grabbed mine and Tendou's arm. He dragged us away from the group and into the backstage of the auditorium.

The three of us remained silent the entire trip with Azarashi occasionally taking a glance at the both of us. I was just trying to stay calm because I knew for a fact that I'm going to have to do this and there's no backing out now. Remember. I just came here for the closure. Just say what I want to say, give him what I want to give him and leave. Be sad later.

We slowed down for a bit. The club leader gave me a serious look and sighed first. "Don't be afraid," he tried to comfort me. Tendou rose his brows in confusion but didn't bother to ask why.

I nodded and we stopped.

"Satori, M/N-chan here has been wanting to talk to you. I'll wait for you both to finish back at the others," Azarashi smiled and gave me a thumbs-up before leaving. I sucked in a breath whilst waving at him.

Tendou turned to me once Azarashi disappeared. I gave him a shaky smile and looked down for a moment, trying to get used to his eyes being focused on me with his neutral expression.

Is it just me, or is does his downturned eyes look more... sleepy? It looked like he had more bags under his eyes. This was also the first time I'm seeing him having a poker face, and it only made it harder for me to calm down.

"Tendou-Senpai, I know you don't really know who I am, and calling you here out of the blue seems a bit suspicious, but I've been meaning to tell you something for a whilst now."

I forced in a breath and turned back to him completely, making my lips firm and my eyes directly staring back at his own.

"I like you."

"I've liked you for a whilst now, actually..."

"...I went to your games and I admired how you would always be so confident in your decision making. You showed me that letting loose and being yourself will let you achieve a lot..."

"...I couldn't find any time to introduce myself or let myself slip into your life, so I just stood and watched you from afar."

"...I'm telling you this now because I wanted to clear my mind. You were always on my mind, and now that you were graduating and going away, I thought I'd at least say goodbye to clear off the weight in my chest."

I handed him the wrapped box of chocolates. He gently took it out of my hands, staring at it with the same expression. Our hands brushed against each other for a split second.

"I love you, Tendou-Senpai," I gave him a shy smile, hoping that my confession wasn't that bad.

We stood for a few moments with him just staring at the wrapped box of chocolates that I gave him. I eagerly awaited for his response, knowing he'll just turn me down because he has an interest in a girl.

And I still wasn't sure if he was interested in other boys as well, but as I said, I just wanted to say this to get it off my chest.

I waited for his reply. I grew wary when he wasn't even looking at me and when I noticed that his facial expression remained the same throughout the entire confession. He remained silent through it all and didn't bother to ask any questions. He just stood and stared.

...

"Liar."

He suddenly pursed his lips whilst my eyes widened at his response. "What-?"

"You didn't go to any of my matches for the past eight months," he stated, clutching the wrapped gift he was holding.

"You say you couldn't find a way to come into my life, but you fucking avoided me," he snarled, making me flinch "I-"

"YOU LIAR! YOU DON'T LOVE ME! Y-You hate me and you're just pitying me," he exclaimed, finally looking at me and frowning. His usual blood-red eyes were wavering and teary. I grew shocked at his outburst.

A single tear escaped his left eye. It dripped and landed on the now slightly crumpled wrapped box. I panicked.

"What-? No no no! I-"

"Just stop lying, please. I don't need pity, especially from you," he says, dropping the thing I gave him on the floor and he began to walk away.

I wasn't allowing it to end this way. I grabbed his wrist and pulled him back.

"Tendou, listen to me," I stated, my tone being firm and my brows slightly furrowing.

"I was trying to avoid you because I wanted to move on. Because I knew that I didn't have a chance. You don't even know who I am. You were even chasing after this girl, so I knew I had to back off," I explained, furrowing my brows even more and biting my lip before speaking again.

"You were everything to me and I couldn't even utter a single word to you. Don't you dare think that I'm just pitying you. I'm not bullshitting you when I say that I love you," I finished, letting go of his wrist and picking up the wrapped box he dropped. I gave it back to him, a bit forcefully this time, and looked at him dead in the eye.

"At least accept this. Please. I just wanted closure. I know you don't like me back, but I just want you to know how I feel about you," I finished, looking back down on the floor and frowning.

Both of us stood there for a moment in deep silence. It felt like the atmosphere was ready to crumble the next time someone says something wrong. I felt nothing short of conflict. I did not expect it to end this way.

I at least hoped he'd collect the gift I have offered to him. It didn't matter if he would accept my confession or not; I just wanted to show him my gratitude.

At first, I admired the male so much. So much that I didn't realise that he was basically taking over my mind and my everyday activities. Dare would I say that I became addicted to him, but that wasn't the case, seeing that I couldn't even walk near his vicinity without having to run away.

Slowly, I came to a conclusion that I wouldn't be able to befriend him or enter his life. He was a busy man and I was a busy nobody. We had no reason to talk to each other at all. We were completely different people.

Despite realising that I'm no one he wanted, I learned how to be independent because of that. Although I still held an interest in the redhead, I managed to use that interest as an inspiration. He was good at volleyball, so I tried to be good at something too.

Generally, he just simply makes my days better whenever I watch him energetically tumble around the court. It was refreshing, something like a comic relief.

A cute comic relief.

I heard him inhale a long painful breath; he let out a shaky sigh after that. I allowed my pupils to travel and look up at him, but I remained my head still slightly bowed.

I don't think I'd consider it hyperbole if I say that my eyelids vanished by how wide my eyes became. I tilted my head upwards and my mouth went agape. I saw Tendou.

He was still crying, but he had a smile.

A genuine smile.

The smile I grew to love for the past years.

He sniffed slightly and brought an arm up to wipe his nose. It felt like he was trying to fight back his smile because it was shaking abnormally. He looked at me with teary eyes and cried harder.

"M/N-CHAAAAAAN!!" he yelled, dropping the gift and practically tackling me to the floor. I froze as both our bodies fell with him holding mine in a tight embrace. My mind went blank as I was trying to process what was happening. What-?

"I really really really really really really reallyreallyreallyreallyreallyreallyreally REALLY like you too!" he practically screamed, pulling me out of my trance and putting me back into a confused one. If you didn't see the question marks on top of my head, you're probably blind.

"What- but you don't know who-"

"Of course I know who you are! Your voice, your clothing style, your pretty H/C hair! I saw you almost every day last year along the corridors. In games, you're the only one I look for in the crowds!"

"But you don't even look at me-"

"I usually ask someone else to tell me if you're there. You do make me a bit nervous... Hehe... BUT OVERALL, YOU INSPIRE ME TO DO BETTER TOO!" He sat up from the floor and loomed over me. I squinted my eyes at him.

"You were focused on volleyball; you even wanted a new manager!" I denied the position he put ourselves in by pushing him lightly and sitting up, still facing him. He pouted slightly before answering.

"I was focused on volleyball because this was going to be the last year I'd play the game. Yes, I wanted a new manager, and we were supposed to invite you, but you went to the music club which I don't really mind because you're so good at making music."

"Huh? But didn't you want a girl for a manager? Weren't you also stressing over a girl for a whilst now as well?"

"That girl is you!!"

"I'm not-" before I could say that I wasn't a girl, he quickly covered my mouth with his right hand, to which I squint my eyes at. He grinned cheekily before continuing to explain.

"Wakatoshi-kun thought it was best to keep my gender a secret for the benefit of our reputation, especially his. So we both agreed that I should act straight," he explained smiling sheepishly, removing the hand from my mouth but still keeping it on my face. Slowly, he dragged it to the side of my face and softly rubbed my cheeks with his fingers. My face lightened up.

"I-"

I was visibly perplexed. I was speechless. I was flabbergasted, and I still could not believe what I was hearing. What just happened? Did I even consider the chances of him liking me back?

Yes, I did. I thought it was 0%.

...but from his reaction and lit up expression, it was probably 100%.

I sat up straight, confusion written all over my face as I tried to evaluate the situation I was in. However, no matter how hard I try to think of something, my mind continues to stay blank. Yes. I dream about scenarios in which me and Tendou would do romantic things, but I already concluded that none of those would become a reality.

Yet, it seems as if I miscalculated everything.

Tendou seemed to notice the look of distraught on my face. He inched closed and tapped my nose. "We had the exact opposite reactions," he grinned, making me blink.

"I wasn't expecting such an outcome..." I trailed off beginning to stand back up with the gift, but Tendou beat me to it. He jumped up and lifted me in his arms.

"Are you free this Sunday? Do you wanna go out?" he asked excitingly, hope sparkling in his eyes as he held me in his arms. I coughed awkwardly and blushed at the question. "I-"

Before I could even reply, he spun me around and made me lean on his back. I let out a groan of discomfort as he lifted me in a piggyback position. Despite the slight discomfort I felt, feeling his warmth and being able to be close to him felt nicer.

"This wouldn't be as suspicious as carrying you bridal style, right?" he questioned softly, turning his head towards my face. The closeness made me flustered.

"I-"

"Wait, this is okay, right? You aren't uncomfortable? Is this fine? Sorry. I got too excited I didn't know any better," he suddenly began to ramble, his insecurities getting the best of him as his grip in my legs tightened significantly.

"Are you sure you really like me? Do you want to do this? I feel like I'm rushing it now. I-"

"Satori," I said to get his attention. He looked at me again, face filled with worry.

But that worry seemed to fade away once I gave him a soft smile.

"This is fine. I like this," I finally was able to answer; the redness in my cheeks seemingly looking like it'll stay there forever. His eyes were filled with joy as he returned the smile with a toothy grin.

"YESSS!! I LOVE YOU, M/N-CHAN!!"

"I love you too, Satori."