Childhood friends

18. The Heart Speaks

You stand outside of Shiratorizawa, waiting for your best friend by the gate. Your phone goes off, you take it out of your pocket to check the text.

Kawanishi
Omw
Sorry for making you wait
Practice just ended

You
It's fine
I'll wait as long as it takes
I just really need to talk to you

Kawanishi's heart raced at your messages. He turned to his teammates, getting ready to leave the changing room. "I gotta leave guys. Y/n's waiting for me at the gate."

Tendou smirked. "Oh? You've got a date tonight?"

Kawanishi blushes. "No. She just wanted to talk to me after practice."

Semi smiles at the younger male. "Alright. See you. And tell Y/n we say hi."

Kawanishi nods, starting to leave the room. "I will. See you guys." He walks out, jogging towards the entrance of the campus. He smiles when he spots you leaning against the wall. "Hey, Y/n."

You turn to him, a serious look on your face. "Hey. I really need to tell you something."

The brunette was caught off guard by your seriousness. "Oh, uh, what is it?"

"Rumors are going around my school. People think I'm dating one of the guys on my team."

Kawanishi's smile dropped. "What?"

You blinked, a sad look in your eyes. "I'm here to tell you that not only are these lies, but I hate hearing these rumors. I don't see the guys on my team as anyone but friends, or like brothers. There's no way I'd ever grow to have romantic feelings for any of them. It infuriates me that people think so stupidly and wanna claim something false without looking for the truth."

"What are you trying to say, Y/n?"

"If I were to ever get romantic feelings for anyone, I'd want you to be that person. I'd hate to see you in pain if I were to ever date someone else. You've always been the one that was always there for me. I can't really see myself wanting a relationship with anyone but you. Right now, I'm not quite sure of my feelings. All I know is that I don't want to hurt you."

Kawanishi was stunned, his eyes wide. Never, not even in his wildest dreams, would he have ever expected you to tell him something like this. "I - I don't know what to say to you, Y/n. I'm just really happy that you feel that way, but... I want you to know that you don't have to try rushing yourself. Take your time to sort out your feelings. I'll wait for you, no matter how long it takes."

You smile at him, releasing a breath you hadn't realized you were holding. "Thanks. I just wanted you to hear about this from me before word spread outside of Aoba Johsai. I wouldn't want you to avoid me or get upset, thinking something that's not true."

"Thanks for telling me. Oh, and the guys on my team say hi."

"Let them know I say hi and I can't wait to hang out with them again, even if we have to wait a while."

Kawanishi chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. "I actually thought that the next time we hang out, it should just be the two of us. And we can go somewhere so that you don't have to keep coming all the way to my school. If you're free, would you wanna go to a cafe or something with me on Sunday?"

You give him a warm smile. "I'd love to go somewhere with you Sunday. I don't care where we go, I trust you'll pick at least one place that'll be great to go to."

The brunette smiles wider. "In that case, I think I'll create a plan to have a nice day together. Does your team have practice?"

You hum, remembering the weekly practice schedule for your team. "For a few hours in the morning. I can meet you somewhere around noon, after getting cleaned up and changed. Then we can spend the rest of the day together, as long as I get back home by 10pm."