Without Me (kagehina)

Chapter 14

Hinata and Kageyama walked hand in hand to school. Hinata's leg improved over the night, allowing him to (mostly) walk normally.

They walked in a comfortable silence, glancing at each other every couple minutes. Kageyama was overjoyed with the fact that Hinata felt the same way towards him, and Hinata was glad that his newfound feelings didn't need to be pushed aside.

•••

Throughout the school day, Hinata and Kageyama didn't speak very much. Not with words at least. They would find themselves stuck staring at each other from across the classroom, smiling and making faces at each other. It was like a new way of communication, a small look or hand gesture and the other would know exactly what was being 'said'. They understood each other all too well.

Hinata also noticed how touchy Kageyama was. Typically, Kageyama distanced himself from others and wouldn't allow people to get too close to him, but with Hinata, he always found a way to make contact, he wasn't even aware of it most of the time. For instance, when Kageyama was holding Hinata's hand on the way to school, he gently rubbed Hinata's hand with his thumb, and whenever he was near Hinata, he would touch his shoulder or put a hand in his hair. It was nice.

The school day went by fast, allowing practice to come sooner.

•••

Hinata got to the gym just after sugawara, everyone else was either still held up with class or in the clubroom.

"Hey Hinata! How are you, is your leg feeling better?" Sugawara jogged up to Hinata and gave a caring smile. He always checked up on his teammates, wanting to make sure everyone was doing okay mentally and physically. "I'm doing good! My leg feels much better since last night, I think I might be able to do some receives and possibly try a quick!" Hinata eagerly said. Not being able to participate in practice was killing him, he craved the sting of the ball on his hand after hitting a perfect set. 'I need to hit Kageyamas sets' he thought to himself with a light blush creeping across his cheeks.

Sugawara pulled Hinata into a sudden hug "I'm glad you're doing alright. I was worried about you yesterday...you seemed so out of it when you were called to the office. I won't ask about it since you seem like you're back to your usual 'cheery' self, though." Hinata pulled away and grinned 'hm? Cheery? I wouldn't quite say that' he thought to himself. Although Hinata was definitely happier, having a friend and possible boyfriend, he still didn't feel complete. Something was missing. He just needed to figure out what. It was like a hole inside of him. Anytime he felt happy or smiled and laughed, a darkness would take over his mental state and thoughts, causing him to force a display of true happiness. His own feelings never lasted very long before having to put up a front. This same feeling was starting to take place, it made Hinata want to curl into a ball and hide from the world.

"Yeah sorry" he continued with a laugh "I wasn't feeling well yesterday and I guess being called to the office was stressing me out a bit. But no worries, I only had to explain to my mom why I was failing math...it could've been worse." He lied. And he lied good too, making his words sound sincere and believable. Hinata was slowly building up the talent of "lying on the spot". (You guys with strict parents know)

Sugawara stepped away "Good" he smiled warmly while walking back to the court "As long as you're doing well. And try getting your grades up, you still want to go to nationals, right?" He laughed teasingly, but was wholeheartedly joking. Even though it was a lie, Hinata's grades could be doing better.

Before Hinata could build up another thought, he felt a hand rest on the top of his head, a very familiar hand. "Hey shrimpy." Tsukishima stated bluntly, seeing Hinata tilt his head back to look at him. "Hey tsukki!" Hinata said as he turned and smiled, though this smile wasn't all that real, having just felt a wave of unease intrude upon his body and thoughts.