❝𝐊𝐈𝐒𝐌𝐄𝐓❞ || ᵗᵒᵇⁱᵒ ᵏᵃᵍᵉʸᵃᵐᵃ

08 - ʷᵉⁱʳᵈ

  ੈ✩‧₊˚
#CHAPTER 8, NO ONE'S POV.
"why are you being so weird lately?"
━━━━━

It had become a routine for Kageyama to make a conscious effort to avoid Y/N. The girl constantly followed him around, her presence like a persistent shadow, pestering him about all sorts of things, mostly random topics. She would appear in front of him, behind him, and sometimes even above him, her melodic voice reaching his ears unexpectedly. Each time, his heart would skip a beat, startled by her sudden appearance.

The girl approached him every single day.

Every. Single. Day.

But lately, things were different.

"Which do I get today...? I only have enough coins for the milk one," he muttered to himself as he stared intensely at the vending machine in front of him. He was lost in thought, weighing his options: milk or yogurt? Tsk, such difficult choices.

Once he finally decided, he poked the small box with its straw and took a long sip, savoring the familiar taste as he drained it almost completely. As he drank, his eyes roamed the hallway, searching for a glimpse of the h/c-haired girl.

"Where is she?"

Suddenly, he choked and coughed violently, drawing curious glances from students passing by. The question startled him; he hadn't realized he was so preoccupied with her absence.

After one last look around, he headed back to his classroom, convinced she would be waiting for him there.

━━━━━━━

"Huh?" he muttered, confusion settling in. The girl he had been subconsciously looking for wasn't there, which was unusual. It was nearly the end of the day, and she still hadn't shown up, breaking her usual routine.

Soon after, classes ended, and it was time for volleyball practice.

Stepping into the gym, he scanned the area for Y/N, hoping to see her familiar figure. Instead, he spotted her walking side by side with a certain blonde male. They chatted lightly as they made their way toward Yamaguchi, who seemed to chuckle at something she said.

"Oi, Bakayama!" Hinata's voice broke through his thoughts. Kageyama turned to see his teammate staring at him with a mix of confusion and impatience. "What are you doing there? Hurry and warm up! I need you to toss to me again," he urged, pulling Kageyama's arm.

A million thoughts raced through his mind as he reluctantly moved to join the others.

After their spiking drills, they were given a ten-minute break.

Kageyama's gaze drifted back to Y/N, anticipating her usual playful approach and the towel she would hand him. To his dismay, she walked toward Daichi instead, leaving him empty-handed.

He frowned deeply, refusing to accept a towel from Kiyoko, despite her insistence. He didn't want it if it wasn't from Y/N.

"Are you mad or something?" an orange head appeared behind him.

"What?" Kageyama furrowed his brows.

"It's just that you keep grumbling more than usual, and your tosses feel kinda off," Hinata pointed out, his bluntness a risk in itself.

"Hah? So you're saying my tosses are sloppy!?" Kageyama snapped, grabbing Hinata by the neckline of his shirt and lifting him in annoyance. The ginger protested, "I didn't say that! Put me down, dammit!"

"Okay, okay, no more fighting!" Daichi intervened, a hint of amusement in his voice.

"You guys better not fight like that during your supplementary classes," Sugawara added, walking over with a chuckle.

"Oh yeah, that's coming up in a few days," Noya encouraged Hinata with a thumbs up. "You got this, Shoyo!"

"Coach?" Kageyama's attention snapped to the voice. He locked eyes with Y/N, who was unaware of his gaze.

"I have to leave a little earlier today," she said, bowing politely, surprising the coach with her formality. "Uh, yeah, sure, okay," he replied, still slightly taken aback.

She walked away without another word, leaving Kageyama puzzled.

"Huh?" The sound escaped his lips. "Why is she leaving already?" He turned to Ukai, who simply shrugged.

"She had a meeting with some outside club activity," Hitoka explained. Kageyama didn't fully understand, but he nodded, trying to shake off the feeling of unease.

━━━━━━

It had been three days since he last had an interaction with Y/N. Every time they crossed paths in the hallways, she paid him no mind, merely walking past him. The most he received was a half-hearted nod or a limp wave that lacked energy or eye contact.

It was beginning to gnaw at him.

Had he done something wrong? Was she angry with him? Did it have anything to do with their last tutoring session?

Thoughts like these plagued his mind at night, keeping him restless.

"Kageyama, are you alright? You look a little out of it," Sugawara tapped his shoulder, pulling him from his thoughts.

"Uh, yeah. I'm fine," he brushed off the concern and walked away, trying to appear more composed than he felt.

"Should I just go ask her?" he mumbled under his breath, staring at his feet. "But if I do, it'll look like I miss her. And I don't," he quickly shook the idea away.

"Kageyama!" He stumbled over his feet and fell face-first onto the floor, attracting surprised looks from everyone around.

Y/N rushed over, crouching down and placing her hands on her knees. "Why did you fall like that? So lame, lmao," she teased, a playful smirk on her lips.

"I didn't fall!" he retorted, quickly standing up and dusting himself off. He felt a flicker of happiness that she had approached him, but embarrassment washed over him at the same time. It was harder to meet her eyes now, feeling flustered.

"There's a teacher looking for you and Hinata," she gestured toward the door, where his homeroom teacher peeked in. "Something about your supplementary classes," she added before walking away.

He instinctively grabbed her wrist to stop her, catching her off guard. She froze, and so did he, realizing what he had done. He quickly released her wrist, letting his hand fall back to his side. They stood there, staring at each other with wide eyes, unsure of what to say.

Kageyama was the first to break the silence. He couldn't continue staring at her, feeling exposed as if she could see right through him.

He averted his gaze and cleared his throat. "Sorry. I—uh, was going to say something, but never mind."

"What was it?" she asked, her curiosity evident.

"It was nothing. Don't mind it," he replied awkwardly. The tension in the air felt palpable.

He wanted to ask why she had been acting so distant lately, but the words were caught in his throat.

Boohoo, such a loser.

"I'll go then. You should get to your teacher; she's waiting," Y/N pointed toward the door again before walking away to join Hitoka and Kiyoko.

"..."

━━━━━