stubborn |tsukkishima kei|

*5*

[Name] picked up her Nintendo switch, tired from doing- well, staring- at the blank pages of her English homework that she decided to neglect. She rolled over on her bed so she was holding the game over her head. She smiled as the soothing Animal Crossing music poured out of the tiny speakers.

"[Name]- CHAN!" yelled Sora, bursting through the door, startling [Name], and making her drop the switch right onto her already bruised nose. She groaned and sat up.

"What the hell do you want, Sora?" [Name] asked.

"Why were you home late today?" he asked. [Name] blushed and looked away, not wanting to admit that she had to get a tutor for her math class.

"I was just hanging out with a friend," [Name] muttered, hoping that the phrase would be enough to get Sora to shut up.

"I'm glad you're actually making friends this year," Sora teased, annoying [Name], but relieving her of further questioning. Sora left after his snarky remark, leaving [Name] with her Switch in solitude. As much as it annoyed her, Sora was right about that. She never really did have many friends, not ones that stayed for over one school year. It didn't really bother her though, [Name] liked the quiet. She figured that Yamaguchi and a few of the volleyball boys would follow the same trend anyhow.

'It's best not to get attached,' she thought to herself as the tiny clicks of the buttons filled the otherwise silent room.

-

The rest of the school week continued on per usual, with [Name] dozing through her classes to stay awake during volleyball practice. She began to look forward to seeing the boys play each day, as it was an entertaining break from everything educational (even though she wasn't engaging with her schoolwork anyway). She watched as the balls flew over the net and made the satisfying slam on the ground when a point was scored. Kiyoko had been showing her the ropes throughout the week, and volleyball was one of the only things she understood in her current life.

[Name] was picking up a few clipboards when Takeda-sensei burst through the door, out of breath but with a smile on his face nonetheless.

"I managed to get us a practice game! It's with Aoba Josai this weekend- tomorrow actually!" he exclaimed, immediately falling flat on his face right after in exhaustion. The boys cheered and [Name] couldn't help but grin at their reaction and her own excitement about witnessing a game, even if it was just for practice.

"Alright guys, we'll call it a day today then. Give your muscles some rest before tomorrow, and please don't do anything stupid." Daichi said, motioning for the team to begin cleaning up.

Chatter filled the gym, both in anticipation and nerves, With what [Name] could gather, Aoba Josai was no joke of a team, one they called a powerhouse school. She jogged over to Yamaguchi to help him with the net, curious to see how he felt about the upcoming match.

"Hey, Yamaguchi! Are you excited for this weekend?" asked [Name], grabbing a hold of the pole and helping him yank it out of the ground.

"Thanks, I'm not sure how to feel about it. I probably won't be playing yet, but I'm not mad about it," he said with a smile, taking the pole from her and continuing to put it away.

"I'm sure you'll play next time," said [Name]. She didn't really know what else to say- she wasn't very good at comforting people.

"I personally am not looking forward to this," a voice said from above her. She looked up and to her distaste, the voice came from a certain too-tall blonde.

"You're gonna do great anyways, Tsukki!" chimed in Yamaguchi. [Name] was glad Yamaguchi had said something before she did because she really didn't know what good she could've said to Tsukkishima. She felt confused about his behavior- one minute he slammed a volleyball into her face with no remorse, and the next he saved her from a creepy guy on the street. [Name] scowled at the blonde and decided to be the bigger person and ignore his nasty attitude- at least for now.

Once the gym was fully clean and everyone said their goodbyes, [Name] waited for Yamaguchi to walk home, sighing at the fact that Tsukkishima would, unfortunately, be with him.

"I'm actually really excited for your game this weekend," [Name] said, breaking the silence between the trio," I haven't seen a volleyball game up close, so I'm really looking forward to-"

"It's not even a real game," Tsukkishima scoffed, making sure to cut [Name] off before she finished her sentence," We're probably going to lose anyways."

"Don't say that, Tsukki!" said Yamaguchi, making sure to interject as he sensed the tension growing between [Name] and Tsukkishima," Even if we do lose, we'll get a lot of great experience out of this game!" Tsukkishima rolled his eyes at Yamaguchi's response and stared straight ahead, as usual.

"You are SO pessimistic. If you hate volleyball so much, why even join?" [Name] snapped, ignoring Yamaguchi's attempt to divert the conversation.

"You're so stupid you wouldn't even get it," retorted Tsukkishima, the corners of his mouth turning into a frown. Yamaguchi sighed, glad that they had reached his house by then.

"I'll see you guys bright and early tomorrow!" Yamaguchi said quickly, waving at the two as a last attempt to change the topic, and turned to walk into his house. [Name] waved back with a small "bye," crossed her arms, and began to walk in front of Tsukkishima, so she didn't have to see his stupid face. There wasn't a point in trying to be polite to him if Yamaguchi wasn't around. She didn't even bother waving to him when they reached his house until she felt a hand around her wrist. Her head snapped back to see Tsukkishima looming over her, the frown still occupying his face.

"W-What do you want?" [Name] stuttered, trying to pull her wrist away.

"I don't hate volleyball," he said, then dropped her wrist and walked away without a word, leaving [Name] standing there stunned. The warmth of his hand lingered on her wrist as he disappeared into his house, and all she could do was scoff.

"What a weirdo..." she muttered, walking the rest of the way home in silence.

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