The Colorful Crow

4

"Um, Ren? Are you okay?" someone called from behind me.

I quickly clear my face of tears even though my puffy, red eyes were still obvious. I turn around to face the questioner. It was actually a face I was okay with seeing now. It was Nishinoya with a slightly worried look on his face.

"Y-You just looked like you w-were having a rough time. I wasn't expecting Kageyama to yell at you back there." he stuttered, gaining more confidence as he spoke more.

I've never seen him this nervous in front of anyone. He is the type of person that likes to get into your face.

"Yeah, I'll be okay. Thanks for checking up on me though." I said, offering a fake smile.

"Are you sure? You really don't seem okay to me." he sighs.

"Yeah, I'm sure. I'll see you tomorrow at practice, okay?" I said.

He nods his head slightly, still not looking convinced. I gave him a wave then turned around to continue on home.

~~the next day~~

When I woke up, the hickey had bruised, making it seem larger than before. It didn't hurt to touch it but it sure did hurt to look at. There was no way to cover this up either. I throw on my school uniform with a huff and straighten it out. I brushed my hair and put a simple headband in, nothing too fancy. I grabbed my school bag that I prepared the night before. I walked out the door, not waiting for Tobio. We usually walked to school together but because of yesterday, we need some space. I pull out my ear buds and begin to listen to my music. All the music in my phone contained no words. It could easily go from hard rock to classical. That's why I don't let people listen to my music with me. They will probably think it is weird.

When I walked into school, I could already feel the stares, hear the whispers.

"Does she have a boyfriend?"

"Is that a hickey?"

"How did she manage to do that?"

"She should at least cover it up."

"What a whore."

I kept my head down and went directly to class. Instead of my usual seat in the front, I sat in the back corner of the classroom. More students filed in bit by bit, filling up the class. Many whispers went around the classroom, all of which I couldn't understand. I just assumed they were about me and dropped my head on my desk.

"Psst, Ren." someone whispered in front of me.

I shifted my head to the side to look at the person.

"Nishinoya? What are you doing in a first-year classroom?" I asked.

"I came to see if you were better this morning. You seemed really upset yesterday." he smiled brightly.

My cheeks grew warm and a small grin appeared on my face.

"Yes, I'm better than yesterday." I laughed.

He chuckled softly, covering his mouth with his hand.

"If anyone gives you a hard time, tell me and I'll go and beat them up!" he beams.

"How would you beat up anyone? You're the same height as me." I said, lifting my head up from my desk.

"Oi! I can beat up anyone in this school!" he argues.

"Even Asahi?" I mused.

"Well, erm, besides him." he laughs, rubbing the back from his head.

"Thanks, Nishinoya." I smiled.

"Call me Yū," he says.

"I'll see you later, Ren!" he shouts as he runs out the door, probably heading to his own class.

I laugh a bit before sighing. I had to be more like Yū, having little to no care in the world. My heart fluttered as I thought of his smile again. I shut my eyes and grinned like an idiot.

~~~~

Finally, the lunch bell rang, giving us freedom from our miniature torture rooms. I made my way outside, carrying a cup of tea I had made.

"Heads up!" a shout called.

I looked up to see a football soaring through the air in my direction. I quickly placed my cup down and caught the football, bringing it into my chest.

"Nice catch!" the thrower shouted.

He was still across the courtyard and he was walking towards me.

"Stay there!" I called.

He stopped, looking confused. I kicked off my flats and punted the foorball back to him. He caught it but not before he flashed a smile.

"That was awesome!" he laughs.

He jogs over to me and asks me how I learned to catch and punt like that. I explained my soccer experience to him. Behind me, a girl cleared her throat rudely.

"Can you not flirt with my boyfriend?" she snorted.

"I-I wasn't, we were ju-"

"Don't even try to lie. Just because you steal other girls' boyfriends, doesn't mean I'm going to let you have mine." she glared.

"What?" I breathed.

"Don't act like you don't know, you whore." she sneered, grabbing her boyfriend's arm.

I became dejected rather quickly and sat down in silence. I didn't eat and I didn't even drink my tea. I just stirred it with the straw I was using, staring at the ripples I was making. I held my head in my hand and began thinking back to yesterday's nightmare. I unconsciously rubbed the love bite he had given me, feeling the slight scabbing that was covering it. At least I knew why people were talking about me now. They think I went boyfriend stealing. One of Oikawa's fans must have seen and started these nasty rumors. I stirred my tea around again.

"It's going to go cold if you keep doing that." a familiar voice said beside me.

My head looked over to see a smiling Yū sitting next to me.

"Are you stalking me now?" I sighed.

"No, I asked Kageyama where you usually sat. I wanted to tell you that he figure out who did that to you." He said awkwardly.

"Shit, he's going to be pissed." I gasped.

"Yeah, I could tell he was really angry. He didn't really react or show any emotion at all. He was eerily calm," Yū whispered.

"Why did you let him do that to you?" he asked.

"I didn't, he forced himself on me." I said, looking and feeling ashamed.

Boy, did Yū look furious. He was trying his best not to show it but it was still showing.

"I'm gonna kill him..." he mumbled.

"Why?" I questioned.

His face said that he wasn't expecting me to hear that.

"You're my friend, right?" he asked.

"I believe so." I said, confused.

"Friends look out for friends." he smiled.

My cheeks grew flushed at his comment.

"Thanks." I whispered.

"Anytime." he beamed.

Little did he know, I wanted to be ore than friends. I already grew into loving him in just a couple days. It's kind of like a story book love, true love. It seems a little one-sided to me though. This always ends up happening to me. I just need to not embarass myself in front of him now.