Haikyuu - Second Best Choice (Iwaizumi x Female Reader)

Chapter Forty-Two - A Curse

Y/N's POV

Tiny droplets fall from the sky, leaving faint stains on my uniform shirt. They are more of a minor inconvenience than a nuisance, so I continue my journey home: a place I dread to arrive so badly that the soles of my shoes drag against the paved road. The music blasts from my earphones, drowning out the world around me. Even the roar of the thunder is buried under the bass of my favorite band.

Slowly, the raindrops become more constant and bigger. I pull my backpack from my shoulders and hold it over my head, not really caring about the drenched textbooks or the homework that will never see the sight of my pencil.

I run towards the closest place, crossing the doors of the public library. Its warmth quickly envelops me in a hug. The place feels warm, but not only against my skin; in my heart, it surrounds itself with the familiarity of hundreds of books.

The smell of coffee and chocolate reaches my nostrils. I look over to find the source- a small coffee shop embedded at the end of the room. There is hardly any line. The customers are only two girls who stare at the young barista with lustful eyes. He seems to be having a hard time talking to the girls as he shyly answers them and tries to reject their advances with an awkward smile on his face.

That's right, he works here, I think as I stare at the volleyball player in a different kind of uniform than what I am used to. Nevertheless, he looks as pretty as always. The brown shirt suits him. It seems a bit tight around his muscular arms, probably why the girls die to get a word out of him.

His struggle makes me laugh quietly. Something he notices even from afar. His eyes look at me up and down, surprised to see me there. Shyly, he waves at me and flashes a sweet smile.

A fluster of red paints my cheeks as I struggle to keep composed. I am never a shy person, yet this boy finds a way to make me wonder too deeply what to do next. I know I can't ignore him, but I also shouldn't intervene while he is too busy with his fanbase, something I'm sure he must be used to. So I only return the smile and walk away. As I pass the hundreds of books, I stare at their colorful spines. The sign above each hallway lets me know the genre. I grab the first one that peaks my interest- the one with the most colorful-vibrant cover. Without reading the summary to confirm it sounds as interesting as it looks, I find a seat on the closest couch.

I can't recall when the last time I picked up a book was. Months without touching the delicate pages. I don't know why I stopped doing something I enjoyed so much. I quickly remember the thrill of it. How merely words encapsulate into an adventure, the thought of my father and the argument from days ago, wiped from my head as I place all my attention on the heroine in her sci-fi adventure.

Without realizing it, I end up sitting on the edge of my seat, my hand already turning the page while my eyes find it difficult to meet the demands of my mind. The hanging sentence at the bottom of the page makes my heart stop as it awaits to read what causes the biggest-current problem of my life: what happens next? Something I never get the answer to as a cold presence shadows over me, covering the source of light, it makes me look up.

The boy from the cafe looks down at me, a small smile on his lips while he holds two coffees in each hand.

"Here," He hands it over to me, forcing me to put the book face down on my legs.

Uninvited, he takes a seat next to me. I can't exactly tell him to leave, my body doesn't really want to. The pretty boy radiates so much confidence, his eyes are playful, something that makes me get lost in them.

"You didn't have to," I smile, trying to make it seem as if it is out of politeness and not because of the close proximity between the two. "I'll pay for it."