日食 eclipse. || tsukihina

一

Hinata's POV

Smile. Smile, and get ready to spike. No one will ask questions. Everything will be just fine. All you have to do is jump, hit and be hyper. That's what they think is normal, right?

I was brought back to earth from the feeling of a thump to my head. I slowly reached up to rub it and realized that I was crying. Was I crying the whole time? I finally looked up only to make eye contact with someone I wished I hadn't. Tsukishima. He raised his brow at me and tilted his head. I only continued to stare before quickly looking back down.

"Oi, boke," Kageyama started, "You actually have to ju-" he stops mid sentence. "Why are you crying?"

"What?!" I wiped my eyes before anyone else noticed. "I'm not! What are you talking about?"

"But I just saw you wipe your-"

I glared at him, and he stoped talking. He nodded, signaling he understood that I didn't want to draw attention. I mouthed a thank you to him.

"Hey everyone. I have some personal business to take care, so I'm cutting practice short today. Clean up, and you're all dismissed. Eat a proper meal, and get some good rest. See you tomorrow morning," Coach Ukai turned to Daichi. "Captain," he nodded and exited the gym.

"Alright everyone. Let's clean up and clear out, then we can all go get meat buns!" he said eagerly.

He must've had a good day. Wish I could say the same.

"Right!" Everyone yelled and proceeded to clean the gym.

After everyone changed, we all headed out for meat buns. I walked a little further behind everyone and just thought to myself.

          I hope Tsukishima doesn't ask about what happened earlier. I don't want to have to explain.

I began to feel a pair of eyes on me and looked up to see him staring at me again. He immediately looked away, and I looked back down. A few moments later I bumped into someone. I looked up to see Asahi staring down at me.

"S-sorry Asahi," I lightly smiled and rubbed the back of my neck. He laughed a bit and shook his head, walking after everyone into the store.

I decided to wait outside for everyone, and Tsukishima stood a few steps from me. It was silent for a moment before I finally spoke up.

"What do you want, Tsuki?" I turned to look at him. He was closer to me than I'd thought. Just a few inches really.

"I just um... wanted to ask if you're okay, and d-don't call me that." He said, not breaking eye contact.

I found it odd that he had stuttered in the middle of his sentence. He wasn't the type to seem nervous around anyone.

"Yeah. I'm fine. Why do you ask?" I tilted my head. It wasn't like him to be concerned for anyone, especially me.

"Oi. Don't lie. Do you think I only have one brain cell? Something's wrong, and I can tell."

"And how can you tell, Tsuki?"

"Well for one, I saw you crying at practice today, and you didn't get excited when Daichi mentioned meat buns. That's not like you, and again, don't call me that."

Not like me? Does he actually pay attention to me?

"Sorry and fine. Yeah, but I don't want to talk about it."

"Look, I know I'm always teasing you, but I'm here if you need someone to listen."

His eyes began to look gloomy, and I couldn't help but wonder why. Why did he care? It wouldn't hurt to talk to someone about it. I wouldn't exactly tell my whole life story, but getting something out would be nice.

"Hinata? Why are you staring at me like that?"

"Can you walk me home? Please?" I sighed.

"Sure."

And with that, we began to leave the store, not even thinking to tell the team we were going.

          The walk was rather silent, but I didn't mind it. It was the kind of silence you wished for when you were exhausted. I would glance over at him every so often, wondering if he meant what he said– that's he's here for me. It felt too good be true since I'd been betrayed so much in life already.

          Our walk came to a halt as I watched him take a seat on a bench. He motioned for me to sit next to him, and I hesitated before doing as requested. I buried my face in my hands, and before I knew it tears were puddling in them.

If I could only just say it out loud. Maybe I'd feel better.