EXPERIENCE | t. kei

#15 | no french fry by my side

* hi ily, pls drink some water & eat something *

[ third person ]

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The new Monday morning had already begun oddly when [y/n] exited her house to find the blond boy, surprisingly, not waiting for her out front. He was usually perched against her fence or standing in front of the gate with a sour look on his face because she had taken twelve years to get ready and come out. Today, he wasn't there, and she felt somewhat disconcerted. It was the first time in a while that they had strayed from their normal routine.

Shaking aside the slight inconvenience, she decided to just head to school on her own for once. It felt a little strange to walk down the street by herself, silent from the lack of companionship Tsukishima would have provided if he was here.

The short journey to school felt longer than usual without her buddy at her side who'd she bother until she realized they had arrived at the school.

She made her way over to the gym, knocking on the door lightly before sliding it open enough to peek her head inside. Within the muggy, bustling gym was majority of the team, excluding Tsukishima, and they all gathered near the door upon seeing [y/n] arrive.

"Good morning, [l/n]-san." Sugawara greeted with an easy smile as he approached her. He stood before her with his hand on his hip, eyes taking in her expression before following her eyes to look where she looked. The silver haired male wasn't stupid. He was possibly the most observant person in the room, instantly picking up on how she searched for Tsukishima within the sea of sweaty volleyball boys.

Unfortunately for her, Tsukishima was nowhere to be found.

Suga turned to her with a mild smile. It took everything in him to resist grinning so widely at her. "Tsukishima's in the club room. He went back to grab something for us."

"I'm surprised he even agreed to go." She snorted, peering in the direction of the club room. It was practically pointless to try looking for him from where she stood since her vision wasn't all that great to begin with. "He's been so cranky lately. Ya think it's the lack of sleep?"

Majority of the boys glanced at Yamaguchi, hoping that he'd be the one to answer the question. When they attention turned to the green haired boy, he shied away for a second before shrugging awkwardly. "I'm not sure. He seems fine to me."

She nodded. "Ah, I see. Now that I think about it, I feel like I haven't seen you in a while, Yamaguchi. I miss you."

Taking the sudden shift in conversation as their cue to head out, the boys returned to setting up the nets while Yamaguchi hung around to talk to [y/n] for a bit. Tanaka and Nishinoya brazenly glanced back at the two by the door, snickering while whispering stupid nothings to one another.

"Ah, I miss you, too." The boy said with an easy smile as he lifted a hand to scratch the back of his neck. He awkwardly shuffled in place, not very familiar with the honest words from a female his age. I mean, he had been told a few times before that he was missed by females but it never really hit until he reached puberty. Nowadays, anything could make him feel shy. "Have you spoken to Tsukki?"

The girl shook her head. "I haven't seen him since last night. It's probably because I forgot to bring home some snacks for him."

"Yeah," Yamaguchi trailed off with a weak laugh. When it grew awkward for a second, he switched up the topic. "I heard you went on a date with Oikawa-san the other night."

The green haired male noticed how her expression brightened at the mention of the date. It made his stomach sink when he thought about Tsukishima's thoughts about her date that had gone well.

"I did! It was lots of fun. We just went to the movies and went to eat before he took me home." She explained, leaving out the part where he had attempted to kiss her and she chickened out last second.

"Are you guys going out again?" Yamaguchi questioned. As much as he wanted to root for her happiness (with Oikawa), he wanted to protect the friendship between Tsukishima, [y/n] and himself. He couldn't dare call himself a friend to Tsukishima if he wasn't prepared to be wingman for him at all costs.

She faltered for a second before chuckling softly. "I'm not sure. He texted me that we'd see each other soon, but I don't know if he means a date or anything. I do kind of hope he asks me out again soon." As soon as she finished her sentence, she shook her eyes with furrowed eyebrows. "I don't know why I'm telling you all this. Let me know if you see Kei around and tell him that I want to talk to him. Bye, Yamaguchi-kun."

"Bye, [y/n]-san." He waved awkwardly, watching as she left in the direction of the school. Once she was out of view, Tsukishima came around the corner and entered the gym door. Changing into his indoor shoes, the male didn't say anything to Yamaguchi and Yamaguchi didn't say anything to him. They both knew he had heard everything.

Tsukishima tapped his foot on the ground adjust fit his foot inside of his shoe better. The sigh that slipped past his lips didn't go unheard by his freckled friend who pursed his lips.

"Avoiding her isn't going to end well," he blurted thoughtlessly, covering his mouth once it reached the blond's ears. "I mean— I just think that it won't be good if you avoid her for a long time. Your emotions might-"

"Shut up, Yamaguchi." Tsukishima muttered bluntly, waving a hand around to dismiss him. "It's none of your business."

Yamaguchi paused in his spot, glaring at Tsukishima's back before sighing softly. He knew it wasn't his place to say anything but it sure did hurt knowing he couldn't do anything to help either of his friends.

For now, all he could do was watch them fall apart.

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[ a/n : short chapter bc im tired and lazy. i'll update this every other day(?) idk HAKSJKS ]

published : july 8th, 2021