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Naomi hadn't expected Iwaizumi to hug her, but what else could she have expected. "I'm sorry a misunderstanding made you feel sad. I like you so much, you've made me so happy." Naomi hesitantly put her arms around him, her palms resting on his back. She felt him lift off of her and his smile was something that will remain engraved in her memory.
"I'll bring you back to your classroom," Iwaizumi smiled, standing and offering his hand. She accepted his hand and stood up. He didn't let go and took her by the hand inside the building. They stopped in front of the door of her classroom. "I'll see you after-school. You'll come to our practice again, right?" "Y-Yeah of course." "See you soon, Itsuwaru-San." "Bye, Iwaizumi-San."
Naomi entered her classroom and sat beside her friend who eyed her carefully. "How'd lunch go?" Riko asked. "Well." "Did you talk to anybody?" Naomi squinted at her friend. "I talked to Iwaizumi-San." "And-?" "He was very kind." "That's it?" Naomi decided to keep this to herself. "That's it."
Riko grinned and turned to the front as the teacher returned to the room. Iwaizumi now had two reasons to go to class 3-6 after school. He opened up the door after the bell had rung and walked up to Naomi as she closed up her bag. "Hey, you wanna walk with me?" Riko looked between the two of them. Naomi had given a hint that Riko was her usual companion. "You two go on. My mom needs me home early today." Naomi nodded and accepted Iwaizumi's presence.
"Hey! I stayed at that trashcan all lunch and you never came back!" Oikawa complained as he walked up to his friend. "Not my fault you're a dunce." Naomi held in a laugh. "Are things going well?" Oikawa asked, shifting his gaze between the girl and his friend. "Very well," Iwaizumi answered. Naomi was so busy looking a the features of Oikawa's face to even hear Iwaizumi beside her. "We're going out now, but can you please shut your mouth for once and keep it low-key?"
Oikawa smiled wide and turned to Naomi. "Congrats!" His smile always made Naomi melt. "On what?" She mumbled as she took in the bright light that shimmered in his eyes. "You got a boyfriend and a handsome one at that! Iwa-Chan is such a lady killer!" "Stop talking like that," Iwaizumi scolded, pushing his friend away by the shoulder. He held his hand out to Naomi. "Shall we?"
Naomi took her eyes away from the deep brown of Oikawa and looked into the light hazel of Iwaizumi. "O-oh uh yeah." Hand in hand once again, they two walked to the gym where Naomi headed upstairs and Iwaizumi went to go change.
Naomi hadn't known exactly why she accepted Iwaizumi's confession. It wasn't like her to do things on whims like that. Her mind was so focused on Oikawa at the time, that even speaking to another boy was strange. Nonetheless, she was Iwaizumi's girlfriend and it hadn't even set in yet.
Naomi watched among the other girls as Oikawa walked in and started stretching. She always liked to watch him stretch. Watching him serve was always eye-candy. Naomi didn't even have the ability to look at Iwaizumi. She smiled down at her crush as he served and received. There was no one she'd rather watch play volleyball.
Once the practice was gone and most of the girls had left, Naomi headed down and waited for the boys to finish changing. Oikawa exited the club room first, waving down Naomi. "Hey, it's Itsumara Naomi, correct?" "Itsuwaru." "Right, right. Sorry. I'm really happy for you! Iwa-Chan doesn't have to hide his emotions anymore. He's always so stingy with that sorta stuff! Now he has no option but to show you off!" "Ha, yeah."
Naomi loved the way Oikawa looked at night. He blended in nicely among the dark sky behind him. "Oi, don't you have a bus to catch?" Oikawa and Naomi looked over at Iwaizumi as he strutted down the steps. "Ah! Thanks! I'll see you around Itsu-Chan!" Naomi felt the heat rise to her face at her new nickname. Chan! Chan?! She couldn't believe he was finally calling her that! It was a dream come true.
"Ah, Sorry. He calls people that whenever he gets close. I've been stuck with that honorific since I met him. He's so childish." "Oh! I-it's okay! Perfectly okay!" "Good. How about I walk you home?" "Yeah, Yeah that's good."
They walked together down the street in silence. Neither really knew what to say. Crows flew above them and Iwaizumi decided he was done with silence. "So, What would you like me to call you?" Naomi clicked back into reality. "Call me?" "Yeah, Like honorific and name wise. I can continue with Itsuwaru." "Yeah, I'd prefer that. You don't have to add San to it though." Iwaizumi nodded and breathed in the crisp air.
"You can call me whatever you'd like. I'm pretty used to nicknames by now." Naomi nodded slowly, her mind slowly going back to day-dreaming. "Sounds good," she trailed off. Iwaizumi thought she was just nervous. As far as he knew, she'd never dated anyone before. Naomi wasn't one to announce those things grandly though, so he'd have to ask if he really wanted to know.
They stopped in front of her small home and Naomi had already begun to walk towards the door, not giving Iwaizumi a chance to even say his leave. "Itsuwaru, would you like me to come to get you in the morning?" Naomi took a few seconds to turn around and realize he was still there. "No, it's fine." Iwaizumi bit the inside of his mouth and picked at a stray piece of thread on the cuffs of his shirt.
"Itsuwaru, can I ask you something?" Naomi has turned back around. He stepped up towards her, feet clicking against the rocks embedded into the ground. "Yeah?" "Do you like me? Like, do you actually like me back?"
Naomi was being given a second chance. He wanted to make sure she really meant what she said. He wanted to make sure she wasn't just feeling emotionally vulnerable when he had asked. He had to make sure.
Naomi felt her shoulders get heavy. A force in her body moved her hand up to grip onto his arm. She moved it away from his shirt where he had been nervously picking at. She gave him a close-mouthed smile and focused on his face.
