effervescent (nishinoya yū)

CHAPTER FIFTEEN / the request

You had to laugh a little when you exited your house the next morning. Nishinoya leaned against a lamppost and scrolled through his phone, obviously waiting for you. "Hey, Yū," you said as you walked toward him.

He brightened considerably and put his phone away. "Hi!"

"You're way too happy considering how early it is," you teased as you pulled your phone out to look at the time. "Don't you have volleyball practice this morning?"

"Not until 8:00," he replied. He peeked over to look at your phone and gasped. "And it's already 7:45! I'm surprised you don't have more energy. Look at how pretty it is outside!"

You hid a smile behind your hand for his sake as you started walking with him to school. "It's cloudy and probably going to rain soon."

He scoffed and threw his hands up in the air. "Every morning is beautiful now, especially since I have such a wonderful girlfriend to see every school day!" You flushed a little at the unexpected compliment and shot him a glare when he gave you a cheeky grin. You didn't stop him from grabbing your hand, though.

When you got to Karasuno, he gave you a little peck on the cheek and an energetic wave as he ran off to the clubroom. You watched him go with an exasperated smile and headed into the school yourself.

You hadn't expected to get to school this early, so you had no idea how to occupy yourself until homeroom started. You decided to head up to the roof and finish up what little homework you had left. The idea of doing homework this early in the day almost made you want to cry, but you had no idea what else to do.

A few minutes before the bell, you packed your things and headed downstairs. It was oddly peaceful now, seeing as how most students were already in their classes and you didn't have to worry about Nishinoya causing a huge ruckus, and you entertained the notion that it might stay that way until lunch.

Obviously, that wouldn't be the case.

You flinched and turned as Tanaka barreled toward you, who ignored the death glares of the teachers in the hallway and the whispers of the other students. He halted to a stop and bent over with his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath.

"What's wrong?" you asked, knowing that with the volleyball club, urgency did not equate to a genuine problem. For all you knew, he was just really excited to see you for whatever reason. Then again, Tanaka was really unpredictable, so it was anyone's guess.

He looked up and you gawked as you saw tears streaming down his face. "Noya...he..."

"What?" Concern seized your heart. "What happened to him?"

He drew in a dramatic sniff and straightened himself up to his full height. "He told us this morning at practice that you two were dating, but I could hardly believe it, so I needed to come find out for myself!" He pointed an accusatory finger at you. "Is it true?"

Oh, right. You gave him a little sheepish grin and scratched the back of your head. You were honestly amazed that Nishinoya had already told them. "Yeah, it is."

"Ehh?!" Tanaka drew back and put his arms out in front of him as though he were trying to defend himself. "For how long?"

You looked up at one of the clocks in the hallway. "About...thirteen hours or so?"

You let out a yelp as he grabbed your shoulders and got right in your face, a mere inch between your noses. "I am so proud of you and Noya," he said with another sniffle, tears and snot streaming down his face in a disgusting but oddly sweet mess. "I never thought he'd get a girlfriend! Sure, I'd been egging him on, but...you and him are perfect--!"