𝑇𝐻𝐸 𝐶𝑂𝑁𝐶𝐸𝑃𝑇 𝑂𝐹 𝐵𝐸𝐺𝑈𝐼𝐿𝐼𝑁𝐺 ┊ 𝐻𝐴𝐽𝐼𝑀𝐸 𝐼𝑊𝐴𝐼𝑍𝑈𝑀𝐼

𝟭𝟳 - 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗼𝘂𝗯𝘁

┅ ┅ ┅

"Good morning, Iwaizumi," Naomi smiled, opening the gate and joining him on their walk to school.
"Morning, Itsuwaru. Did you walk home okay last night?"
"Y-Yeah, of course I did," she answered, knowing full well that Oikawa was the one that walked her home.
Grabbing hold of her hand, Iwaizumi shook his head, "did Oikawa draw on your hands? I swear that dumbass can't keep his hands to himself."

"It's fine," she told him, "I don't mind."
Letting go of her, Iwaizumi stuck his head down and stuffed his hands into his blazer.
"Are you pouting?" She teased, "That's cute, but there's no reason to."
Raising her arm up, Naomi ran her thin fingers through his short hair.
He melted at her touch.
"Oikawa was just being friendly."
"That's how it always is," Iwaizumi sighed as they came to a crosswalk. "He's always just being friendly and then suddenly he believes he can have more."

Grabbing his arm and pressing it against her, Naomi shook her head, "Oikawa knows we're together though."
"Like that's ever stopped him," Iwaizumi grumbled, fidgeting with his fingers.
"But...I thought he lik-liked Riko."
"He always thought she was too good for him. He took out his insecurities by getting with easy girls."
Continuing to walk to school, Naomi's mind raced with ways to make Iwaizumi feel better.

"I'm not an easy girl," Naomi smiled, "and you're his best friend. You have nothing to worry about."
"I appreciate it, Itsu...but-"
"No," She insisted, stepping in front of his path, making his body stop. "I am yours. And I like you, Iwaizumi, so there's no reason to think I'd run off with him."
Iwaizumi took hold of her hips, wrapping his fingers around the hem of her skirt.
"I don't think you'd do that; It's him who might test his luck too far."
She grabbed hold of his tie and leaned forward.
"We'll just have to show him that I belong to you, then," she whispered.

Naomi pressed her lips to him, making him pull her body towards him.
She pressed her tongue to the roof of his mouth before escaping for air.
"Let's get to class. I don't want to be late."
Iwaizumi nodded, his face colored red.

Naomi was unsettled by the quietness of Riko. She didn't have any sort of snack on her desk and from what Naomi could see, no pack of Oreos was sitting in her bag.
"Riko, are you okay?" Naomi whispered as they began to do a worksheet.
She was quiet for a moment.
"Oikawa drew on your hands?"
Naomi nodded, "Yeah? Are you okay? You seem weird today."

Riko scratched her head, sighing softly.
"It's-I don't know, Naomi. I'll tell you at break."
Naomi anxiously listened to the clock tick down wondering what Riko wanted to tell her.
Naomi knew Riko was smart. She knew Riko had been friends with both Iwaizumi and Oikawa for a long time. If anything was wrong, she'd know.

"Hey! Riko-Chan!" Oikawa smiled once break started. He began to push his way to her seat.
Standing, Riko took Naomi's arm, her grip tough on her skin.
"We're going to the bathroom. Tell Iwaizumi we'll be back."
"But-!"
The two girls left the classroom, Riko's steps much faster and making quick stride to the bathroom.

Stopping at the fountains outside the bathrooms, Riko crossed her arms.
"Naomi, I love you, you know that, don't you?"
"Yeah-?"
"I'm just a bit worried about you."
"Why?"
Riko rubbed her neck.
"Do you—I hate to say this—do you actually love Iwaizumi? Like, you're both my friends and I don't want either of you to get hurt."
FUCK! SHIT! FUCK!
How the hell did she suspect me?! I'm paying attention to him! I hug him! He walks me places! What else must I do to convince her?!
"Of course I do," Naomi claimed, "Why would you even ask that?"
"You got together right after Oikawa denied liking you. I went along with it, but I thought maybe that you agreed to date him because it—how do I say this—it would make up for Oikawa not liking you?"

"I'm-I'm not catching on, Riko," Naomi pressured.
"I just wanted to make sure you weren't teasing Iwaizumi just because you were denied. You need to be sure the you are dedicated to being in your relationship. I don't doubt you," Riko shook her head, "I don't doubt you, but I don't want Iwaizumi getting into something that won't mean anything."
"I love him," Naomi insisted without a second thought. She wished she hadn't said it the way she did. "I know it's weird timing, but I like him."

Riko tugged on the folds in her skirt, her eyes shifting back and forth.
"Okay then...good to know. That means you'll be spending the senior trip with him then?"
"Yeah of course."
Riko nodded slowly, "then you wouldn't mind if I spent mine with Oikawa?"
Her toes curled and Naomi felt tense anger crawl up her arms and rest upon her shoulders like a blanket.
"No," Naomi lied, "I wouldn't mind at all."

The friends returned to their classroom where Naomi grabbed at Iwaizumi's hand, squeezing it tight.
She watched as Riko opened up a pack of Oreo's and Oikawa took it from her fingers with his teeth.
"Gross," she mumbled, eating one for herself.
Naomi could feel her chest collapse, the blanket of anger on her began to hold her tight, suffocating her.

"Itsu," Iwaizumi whispered into her ear, "you wanna go to the library after school today? Practice is canceled."
He watched her eyes as they continued to blank at the scene in front of them.
"It's not a volunteer day," he moved his lips closer to her ears, his warm breath blowing across her sensitive skin. "We don't have to read if you don't want to."

Turning to look at him, Naomi looked into his hazel eyes, the light scent of pineapple wafted towards her as she leaned into his ear.
"I want to," she told him, "without a doubt."

Things will get a bit fun in the next chapter! Including more and more angst...
Thanks for reading!
-May