Set Point.

12/15

Wing Spiker.

Iwaizumi approached you at lunch, which surprised you since Oikawa was nowhere in sight. You knew you had hurt him by unexpectedly resigning from your position. He had been the one who offered you the job. He was the one who convinced Irihata-kantoku and Mizoguchi-coach to let you join the team as their manager. He was the one who started this whole thing.

And yet, you had let him down. You had treated his efforts without care. You had failed him.

"{l/n}," Iwaizumi called out, before placing a bento on your desk. Something told you Oikawa had told him you didn't eat lunch unless you remembered to bring money, and you silently chuckled to yourself at the thought. A little voice told you Oikawa liked talking about you for hours, but naturally, with your feelings toward him, you denied the idea. "Come eat with me on the roof."

He turned away before you could reply, retreating out of the classroom, leaving you no choice but to follow him.

The rooftops were bare, without a trace of human activity, as though abandoned for decades now. Iwaizumi sat down near the ledge, and once again, you couldn't do anything but reluctantly oblige. He pressed his back against the short wall, opening his own bento and unloading its contents. Quietly, you thanked him for the food, unravelling your own. The two of you sat in silence for a while, before Iwaizumi broke the tension.

"I wanted to talk about Oikawa," he admitted, pressing his lips together.

Your heart stopped. "Oh," was all your replied with, picking at your food. "What about him?"

"I figured out why you left."

A blush tinted your cheeks. "Oh."

"Yeah." He nodded. "He hasn't, though. But that's not what I wanted to talk about."

You halfheartedly chewed on your food, swallowing it down. "Okay."

"That Assikawa's slacking off," he clarified, jabbing his lunch into his mouth. He chewed for a while, before forcing it down his throat. "At least, that's what I thought he was doing at first. But it's more than that. He's upset."

"Oh," you responded. I know, you wanted to say.

"{l/n}, I know you're confused about your feelings. But he's really upset you left. He can't even do his stupid serve right, and that's hurting our performance as a team. Mizoguchi-coach already chewed him out during this morning's practice, but I don't think he's going to be okay."

"What do you want me to do?" you whispered, setting the bento aside. You didn't see how you could help without going back and resuming your position, which you, truthfully, did not want to do. The feelings you harboured were only strengthening, and the mere sight of the stupid setter made your heart beat faster, your mind go wild, your blood pump insanely. Your breath would hitch, and you would find yourself walking the other way. If that were to occur during practice, it would not only distract Oikawa, but also the rest of the team.

You couldn't let that happen.

"I can't resume my position, Iwaizumi-san," you interrupted, pursing your lips. "I can't risk being a distraction to both Oikawa and the team."

Iwaizumi sighed. "Of course." He stood, tucking his bento beneath his arm. "At least talk to him again, okay?"

You smiled. "I'll try," you promised, which earned you a smile of gratitude.

Oikawa grumbled in frustration, rubbing the knuckles on his right hand. He had just witnessed his best friend experience what seemed to be an intimate moment with you, and, even though he couldn't hear your conversation, the smile the two of you had shared was enough to make his blood boil. He could still feel the impact of the wall against his skin, how it shot a burst of pain up his arm and into his heart. He couldn't hate Iwaizumi; he was his best friend. But it didn't mute the pain within him, didn't help control the anguish he felt.

He sighed, pressing his back against the darkness of the abandoned hallway, the one nobody travelled down anymore. Silently, he swore he was going to win you over, if it was the last thing he did.