maihua jane sawamura happens to be a first year at Karasuno University after landing a volleyball scholarship, following in her big brother's shadow. her position as libero has opened up new opportunities while allowing her to get closer with the ol...
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m.j.s
"Seriously Tadashi, thank you so much. You didn't have to go back with me," I tell him as we walk back to the dorm building. We're about five minutes from Blazer now. The entirety of the trip has been filled with what started as slightly awkward questions about our lives and anything else we could come up with to fill the silence until it eventually slipped into comfortable conversation as we got to know each other better. He nudges my shoulder. "It's no problem, Maihua. Tsuki takes long ass showers anyway," I smile. Our comfortability around each other has significantly increased after the walk and I find myself wanting to talk more with the messy-haired boy. Throughout the walk, he had a lot to say about his roommate and other members of the team. He's much better at giving me information about his teammates than Daichi is. And before you ask, no, I didn't specifically ask about Kageyama. Before he has the opportunity to get too far down the hallway, "Hey Tadashi," I call. He peeks his head around the corner. "I mean it, we should practice sometime. I'd love to try to pass some of your jump floats." "Okay." He smiles at me. "Text me." I nod and swipe my ID card in the sensor on the door which allows me access into my dimly lit dorm room. Mya's door is closed and the kitchen area light is off. I drop my bag onto the floor of my room before walking through the kitchen to check if my best friend was in her room. I peek in to see that she's sprawled out on her bed with her headphones in. I roll my eyes. She was here, just asleep. I am kind of glad that she didn't wake up though.
...
My walk with Tadashi had certainly cleared a few things up for me. He told me about how he and Tsuki went to middle and high school together which explains their closeness despite their personality differences. He had told me about why he started playing, and his experience in high school. In exchange, I told him about mine. He informed me that he had just met Hinata and Kageyama when they started pre-season practice so he only knew so much about the two of them. They hadn't gone to the same high school, but they were on rival teams so they knew each other decently well despite being on separate teams. My hands run through my brown hair as water cascades down my back. I let out a sigh and replay some of his words in my head. "Yeah, Kageyama doesn't talk much but when he does it's usually short and temperamental. He doesn't really let people get close to him if he can help it." I could figure that one out myself. As I massage shampoo into my scalp, my mind wanders to the moment outside Kageyama's door. I can't help but let my thoughts drift to the sight of him standing shirtless two feet in front of me. Although I only saw his body for a mere second or so, the image was memorable enough to stay engrained in my brain. I shake my head at the thought and rinse the shampoo from my hair, hoping to get the idea of Kageyama as something other than an asshole out of my head. Instead, I allow my brain to remind me that I have a hot boyfriend already. Speaking of him, I should call him once I get out of the shower. Minutes later, I finish my cleanse and step out. My feet make their way through the kitchen area to my room, closing the door behind me before changing into a pair of spandex and one of my boyfriend's large yellow volleyball t-shirts. "Well if it isn't my big college girl." Terushima answers. A blush crawls onto my cheeks at his raspy voice and I can't help but smile into the receiver. "Shut up, you've already been in college for two years, it's not that crazy that I decided to do the same." I joke with him. I hear him chuckle. I throw my body softly onto my full-size bed, laying on my back with the phone pressed to my ear. My cheeks fail to get a break from the heat of flattery as he effortlessly breathes words of affirmation, "Still, I'm proud of you..." He continues, "How is volleyball going?" "My grades are great," I respond jokingly, laughing at the fact that volleyball is the first thing on his mind. I'm not surprised though, Terushima goes to Johzenji University and plays as an outside hitter for their team. "But no, it's going well! Mya is an amazing setter and I've been getting a ton of extra practice in. How is it there?" He goes on to talk about the team and how good they're looking for this year, of course letting me know that when they play us in the practice game this weekend, they're going to crush us. "I don't know, Teru, the boys' team is really good. We have a ton of good freshmen and Daichi is determined to win the conference this year." I explain. He laughs loudly at that. For some reason, I don't let myself go into detail about the members of the team. I don't even tell him about Tadashi or Hinata. I don't know why, but for some reason, I just couldn't bring myself to talk about my new friends. Kageyama crosses my mind too and I find myself even more reluctant to mention him. This confuses me. Teru wouldn't be mad, but I can't help but keep it to myself. "How will you ever choose to cheer for?" He asks jokingly. "You're going to be there, right?" "I should be able to. I get out of practice at 5:30 so I don't know why I couldn't," I tell him. The rest of our conversation is directed mainly by him. I don't mind though; I like to listen to things that excite him. When an opening in conversation presents itself, I take it as an opportunity to bring up the next weekend. "What are you doing for Labor Day?" "I think I'm going to the cottage with some of the boys, why?" He asks. I frown at that, feeling the excitement I had to see him deflate from my chest like a balloon. "I was planning on visiting that weekend." "Well I'm only going to the cottage on Sunday and Monday, we could still hang out the entire weekend before that." He responds optimistically. I pull the phone from my mouth to sigh in disappointment but decide that I have to take what I can get. "Okay." I smile hopefully. "Maybe you could come pick me up from campus on Friday?" He stalls for a moment, thinking the proposition over, "I'll have to see," I frown at that too but wipe it off my face after a second of contemplation. Terushima is one of those guys who flies by the seat of his pants most of the time, so I can't say I expected a solid commitment right away, as unfortunate as that may be. "Okay, just let me know cause I really want to spend time with you." "Of course," I can hear him smile which causes me to mirror it unintentionally. I hear his phone vibrate through the call. "Hey, I gotta go. The boys wanna play Apex. Call me tomorrow?" "Of course," I repeat. We say goodbye a second after that. I pull the phone away from my ear and check the time: 10:53 pm. Deciding to get ready for bed, I move my body until my feet reach the floor, carrying me into the bathroom area. Terushima and I have been dating for about three months now. He was two grades above me in high school but I always knew him as Daichi's friend. He would always come to Daichi's beach tournaments and we flirted nonstop whenever we saw each other. Finally, at the start of this past summer, he decided to shoot his shot and asked me on a date. We started dating a couple of weeks after that. It's been an experience. That's for sure. I've never had a boyfriend before so it's all kind of new to me. I've never been in love either. Me and Teru haven't exchanged the L word yet but I honestly think he might say it soon. He hints at it sometimes and says stuff like "you know I love that about you," and things along those lines. The only problem is that I don't want to look into it and say it before I'm ready or embarrass myself by saying it. Or even worse, say it and not mean it. I don't love him yet. He's too hard to understand. I just feel like he doesn't commit to me the same way I do to him. I mean, I don't think he's cheating on me or anything. He wouldn't stoop THAT low, but sometimes I feel like he's a little... disconnected from me. I don't know. It's all really new and weird. I do like him a lot though. My body relaxes against my soft mattress after I pull my fuzzy sage green blanket over my body. My lips part, and I let out a sigh as I stare up at the white ceiling above me. As I lay, my mind drifts to Terushima. Then to Tadashi. And the last thing on my mind before I slip into unconsciousness is a certain black-haired setter.
