Bully

14

You quickly left the locker room the moment you were changed into your track suit. You didn't utter a word to anyone. You just made your way to the entrance of the school, ready to meet up with Shiro and go to your house to study.

This day went by poorly. You felt miserable and tired after the moment you shared with Atsumu. You went out of your way to avoid him all day, not daring to even look in his direction. You even heard him talking to some of your classmates, telling them horrible lies about you. Things that made you feel sick to your stomach. Because of the situation, you barely talked to anyone in either volleyball club. You knew for a fact that Kiku would take Atsumu's side. The others, you had no clue how they would react. But you didn't want to involve them. Instead, you spent all of your free time with Shiro. At least he was a break away from everything that reminded you of Atsumu and all the cruel things he said.

Shiro looks at you as he arrives at the entrance gate. "Hey, Y/n. Ready to go to your house and study tonight?"

You nod, trying to smile at him. "Yeah. Let's go. I want to leave before the others get here."

He frowns, walking beside you. He gently placed his arm on your shoulder. "Are you alright? Did something happen between you and everyone else after I left?"

You sigh. "Atsumu and I had a fight. He threw me to the ground and said some awful things. Then, all day today, he was telling horrible lies about me to our classmates."

"He's bullying you?"

You nod. "He's always been rude to me, and I was ok with that. But - but this time he went too far." You felt tears pricking at your eyes. You quickly reach up, wiping them away before they could fall.

Shiro looks at you, concerned. "I'm sorry to hear that. I guess you want to avoid them tonight, don't you?"

"Yeah. I just wanna stay up in my room and study. I'll ask my ma if she can bring dinner to us at some point."

"Sounds like a plan." He removes his hand from your shoulder, instead wrapping it around you. "I'm here for you if you ever need someone to talk to, or a shoulder to lean on."

From afar, by the gate of the school, Atsumu watched you walk off with the boy he was growing to hate. A glare rested on his face as he watched you walk away from him, someone else's arm wrapped around you.

Osamu sighed when he arrived with everyone else. "I'm only gonna ask this once. What did ya do, Sumu?"

"Nothin'."

"I know yer lying. But I said I'll only ask once, so imma leave it at that. I have a feelin' this is yer fault, though."

Aran glanced around, eventually spotting you from far away. "Why is Y/n walking so far away without us?"

Atsumu clenched his hands into fists. "She's too busy with her new friend. I doubt we mean anythin' to 'er."

Osamu rolled his eyes. "So ya said somethin' to 'er outta jealousy last night. Now there's a rift between us and 'er today. Good to know this is all yer fault."

Mai sighed, walking ahead of the rest. "She barely said a word to the team. She seemed miserable all day. She also looked exhausted. If you did something, you really got to her. I hope whatever you've done was worth it."

Kiku frowned. "You're just being mean to Atsumu-kun! I bet he did nothing wrong! Y/n started it by leaving us for some boy!"

Mai halts midstep, slowly turning to face the other girl. "Y/n is tryna worry about her grades right now. She's only ditching night practice because she's trying to get her grades up so she doesn't always have to be in a class with Atsumu, who is always mean to her for no reason! Y/n did nothing wrong! Stop defending a bully just because you have a thing for him! If you really cared about Y/n, you'd be taking her side!" She whips back around and starts walking to your house.

Osamu quickly follows after her. "I'm with Mai on this one. I hope Y/n's alright."

Aran quickly chases after those 2. "Wait up! What's even going on?! Did I miss something?!" No one answered him.

Atsumu trailed after the others, Kiku remaining at his side. "Yer Y/n's friend. Get away from me."

Kiku grabs his arm, pulling it to her chest. "Yeah, but I like you more."

He rips his arm away from her. "The feelin' ain't mutual." He stalks off, making his way for your house.

***

Your  mom is in the living room when you walk through the door with Shiro. "Welcome back, Y/n. How are ya?"

"I'm fine. Shiro and I are gonna work in my room. Would ya mind bringin' dinner to us later?"

"I can do that." She looks over at the guest. "Nice to see you again. Good luck with homework, ya 2."

You both walk up to your room, where you close the door and head to your desk. You pull up a chair for him, sitting in one for yourself. "Let's just get started."

Shiro sits down, looking at you with his brow furrowed. "Talk to me. Tell me what's on your mind?"

A sob escapes you as your mind fills with what a certain setter has done, tears rolling down your face. "What he said - it just hurts so much! He degraded me, judged me for my choices, then told me he hates me. I've done nothin' to him, yet he does all that!" You lean against the boy, crying onto his shoulder.

He wraps his arm around you, gently rubbing circles onto your back. "It'll be ok. If he's mean to you for no reason, then he's not worth your time. He doesn't deserve your kindness if all he's gonna do is hurt you. You deserve better than that. You shouldn't be treated like that."

For the next few minutes, you contiue to cry on him. You cry until there are no more tears left to shed.