10 Stages of Me and You [Tsukishima Kei x Reader]

Stage 7: Him

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Kei moved the right side of his headphones to the back of his ear.

He was sure he heard something, and he was right. The girl beside him was humming to the theme song of the game she was playing. It was an adorable scene to watch, to say the least.

The blond continued to watch the girl as she kept her eyes on the phone. She was still humming to the tune while she walked, paying no attention to her surroundings.

Kei still listened to her while looking ahead.

Recently, he's been really enjoying himself around the girl. She was a pain at times, but still, fun. The boy could never really express just how much content he felt being around her. Her presence gave him a sense of comfort, if he tried to describe it. It just felt nice to be around her. Maybe it was because he liked her?

"Hey, our practice match with Nekoma is coming soon. Are you nervous or something?"

Kei didn't really realize when the girl stopped humming or playing her game. All he knew is that at some point, she put away her phone and decided to start some conversation.

"Not really."

"How about being eager? Are you excited for the practice match?"

"No."

[Name] looked at blond, confused. Normally, players would either be really nervous or really excited for matches and yet the one in front of her wasn't.

"How come?"

"I don't really care that much about it."

"I see."

Kei looked at the girl who suddenly became quiet.

"Do you play any sports?" he asked.

The girl smiled to herself before shaking her head.

"I don't really play sports," she said, looking at Kei. "Besides, I have low stamina and I like staying up late. I'm not really a healthy person as you can see."

"Why do you always stay up late?" Kei asked, curious with what the girl was spending her time on rather than sleeping.

"Different reasons. I mostly like to look at the night scenery though," [Name] said, looking up. "My room has this really nice window where you can look at the sky from a great angle. It has a clear view and it's easy to look at from there. When such a sight is right in front of you, why dare to look away?"

While [Name] talked about the night sky and her love for the scenery by her bedroom window, Kei couldn't look away from her. She was right. If something so breathtaking was there in your sight, who dared to look away?

The best and worst part about liking someone was feeling how you're falling for them more than you already have. It was a really dangerous play that could cost a lot of damage in the future.

'I'm never the type to take risks that would probably hurt me. But they (my feelings) have already come so far. And I don't think stopping them without hurting myself in the process is an option anymore.'

Every moment he spent with the girl might only make him regret it more in the long run. But she made it seem pointless to worry about such things. She held so much power over him that it drives himself to do things he never has done before, be passionate about something, or rather, someone.

"I actually want to play, you know. I want to get into a sport. But team sports are not for me, I think."

Kei raised his eyebrow at the girl.

"Why?" he asked.

"I can't understand it. Like in basketball. How do you know who to pass to? How do you know that you should take that shot? At least in volleyball, there's a limit to three touches to the ball. But still, I don't think I can see the ball as fast as I should." [Name] sighed to herself before continuing. "I guess what I'm truly scared of is bringing down the team. I don't want to be the reason my team loses. I don't want that guilt. I don't think I can handle it."

Kei could only nod at her. He understood what she was saying, but he didn't know what to say. He wasn't in the place to talk about exerting effort towards a sport.

"You seem great at cheering," he said.

"You think I should become a cheerleader instead?"

Kei only shrugged, not really knowing how to reply.

"If you want to try something, you can try just doing them as a hobby."

"I don't think I want getting hit by a ball to be my hobby," [Name] said, slightly implying that she'd like to try volleyball.

"It won't be like that if you don't receive with your face like Hinata."

[Name] laughed the moment Shoyo's name was mentioned.

"Don't act like your receives are any better lamppost," she said, earning a click with his tongue from Kei. "Although you are getting better."

"You want to try volleyball?"

"I mean, I think it would be nice, you know? Especially since I'm a manager." [Name] admitted. "Getting to be connected with the team and stuff, I really want to know how that feels. But, you can say my fears really get in my way."

The blond knew what that meant, how that felt. He looked at the girl as he saw a new side of her. The cheerful and supportive manager of the club started to bring down her sass wall and show just what she looked like inside.

[Name] was enclosed in a cage of her own insecurities. She was a prisoner of herself who was standing on top of the key. And Kei wanted her to realize that.

"You can try. These things are developed over time."

The girl looked at Kei and grinned before looking away again.

"I'm looking forward to you teaching me, then."

Kei's eyes widened a little when he realized what had happened. [Name] was able to trap him into teaching her volleyball without him realizing it. The blond then chucked as he thought to himself.

'Looks like I don't need to worry anymore about spending more time with you, [Full Name].'

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