What did Japanese girls wear to parties? I don't think they are as sluty as we are. I took out some skinny jeans and a short but loose crop top and stared at the outfit laying on my bed for some minutes. Mhm, not sure. I threw in a jean jacket. Too much jean, they'll think you come from Nashville. I replaced the jean jacket with a leather one and was way more satisfied with the result. But would I really fit in? Maybe I could ask Tanaka's sister, Saeko, when she comes to pick me up.
I got dressed, trying to convince myself I wasn't going to stand out that much, and put on some makeup. It was going to be my first party since I had landed in Japan, and I was feeling kind of nervous. I still found talking to Japanese people quite a challenge, most of them are shy and would rather keep their distance, especially when they come across something they are not used to (ejem - that would be me). I remember how long it took for me to get close to Karasuno's team members. None of them knew how to handle me, (except for Tanaka and Nishinoya, who were the ones that dragged me to the volleyball club in the first place) and they used to act really weird around me, as though I were an alien. But I eventually gained their trust and got close to them - they finally understood me and I understood them. Ugh, if it only were that simple with girls as well, I thought. The truth is that I hadn't made any girlfriends yet, and that was unusual in me. Back home, I had tons of girlfriends and we had such a great time - I barely even spoke to guys, to be honest. But here in Japan, everything's different. When I tried approaching this little group of girls on my first day at school, everyone had shut up and looked at me with mistrust. In the beginning, I thought it was just those particular girls that didn't like me, but soon enough I realized none of them did. I didn't know why - I still don't - but it was impossible for me to build a bond with the girls in my class. I talked to the guys and Kiyoko about this, and they all agree on the fact that Japanese people don't know how to deal with whatever's different, they are scared of what "escapes normality". They try to avoid unusual situations as much as they can, staying safe in their comfort zone.
It wasn't hard for me to understand that, I already knew that before coming to Japan. My point was: why I can be friends with guys, but not with girls? Because guys had the same mentality they had just described, and the volleyball team didn't seem to have any problems with me. I remember Tsukki had said: "Girls here are...complicated. They usually gather in groups and suffer from more peer pressure than we guys do. So, if the word gets around that the popular girls or the sort of leaders in the class don't like you, everyone will agree with them just so that they can fit in as well." So that's how I learned I was an official outsider, and that I was probably never going to able to get close to girls in my class - I just had to make do with Kiyoko and Saeko.
I laid down in my bed, carefully so as not to mess up my curls or makeup. It had been a busy day, and I was kind of burnt out. After the little incident with Kuroo, the boys and I got into an argument about them controlling who I could hang out with. They were worried about me because Kuroo is sort of seen as a womanizer and a bad influence. Daichi had been especially insistent on this topic - he had said things like "he's always drinking", "has no self-control whatsoever", "he's always with that stupid arrogant smirk of his printed on his face" - but I had made it clear that I could do whatever I wanted, and I could date whoever I pleased. Plus, I kept going on and on about how nice he had been, how kind I found him when he offered to carry the drinks, how much of a gentleman he had been when he caught me mid-air...The point is I finally convinced them, and they had ended up saying things like; "yeah, he is a good guy, though", "such a great captain, always caring for others", "he's so fun to be around, I think you'll like him". They had all relaxed and laid down again, trying to regain the peace I had disrupted with my clumsiness, but they were interrupted midway by coach Ukai, who announced that it was time to go back home. As soon as everyone sat on the dirty seats of the bus, collective snoring pierced through the silence. They had all fallen asleep instantly. We were back in Miyagi by noon, and everyone was dismissed to their houses. I had headed back to school, I needed to attend my special courses assigned to me because of the exchange program.
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Bandaids
Fanfiction"My legs were jello. My mouth was a pool. My crotch was a tap that had been left running. Images of the two of us flooded my mind. I couldn't move. I couldn't think of anything else but Tetsurou Kuroo running his long slender fingers through my whol...
