𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 ༉‧₊˚✧ 𝐰. 𝐮𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐣𝐢𝐦𝐚

t h r e e

03: the walk

.・゜-: ✧ :-　　-: ✧ :-゜・．

you wrapped up the study session after an hour at 7:30. 

"be honest," you began, breaking the silence as the two of you packed your belongings, "was this helpful at all? i've never tutored anyone, and i really don't want to waste your time."

"you're not wasting my time," he asserted.

the bluntness in which he spoke was successful in quickly reassuring you. "good." you met his gaze with a close-lipped smile. "do you live at the dorms, too?"

shiratorizawa academy had on-campus dorms for students who lived too far to commute to school. ushijima nodded.

for some reason, you were hoping his answer would be no. at least inside the cafe, you had chemistry as your topic of discussion. you didn't exactly know what you would talk about with him during the twenty minute walk back to your school. evidently, he didn't speak much. and to be completely honest, you didn't mind doing the majority of the speaking. you just worried he wouldn't care for what you had to say. 

the two of you exited the cafe, beginning the walk silently. 

"congratulations," you complimented, suddenly remembering something you recently learned during yearbook club. "i heard you got ranked number one in our prefecture."

"thank you," he responded. you looked up at him, hoping he would say more, but as expected, you were met by silence. 

you decided to just look straight forward for the remainder of the walk. at least if all your attempts at conversation were shut down, you didn't have to maintain awkward eye contact or bare the denial straight to your face. 

"my friend in yearbook, hitomi, is in charge of the sports articles for the yearbook," you continued, "she told me that your team is expected to go all the way this year."

"we'll win," he quickly assured, now looking down at you.  

you laughed a bit at the curtness of response. "i believe you," you hummed. "everyone knows how hard you work. how hard the whole team works, actually. i'm sure i'll see you playing at nationals." 

"we'll win there, too."

his absolute confidence was admirable. you couldn't even label it as arrogance since you knew he had both the reputation and the talent to support it. "do you want to play volleyball after high school?"

"yes."

after receiving yet another brief response, you decided to attempt a joke. "wow, ushijima. you are quite the chatterbox, aren't you?"

unsurprisingly, his response was short. "what?"

"i was kidding," you clarified, hoping you didn't upset him. "but seriously, i'll stop talking if you prefer to walk in silence," you said without malice. 

"no," he interjected. "i don't prefer silence... do you?"

"no! god no, i hate silence. it drives me crazy," you answered honestly. "it just felt like you didn't want to speak, so i just thought maybe i should stop talking."

"you shouldn't," he replied, rather quickly.

"what?"

"you shouldn't stop talking. i'm sorry if i made you feel that way." his eyes never left your form as the two of you walked. he hadn't realized his replies had been making you feel unwelcome to speak, and suddenly he felt guilty for his usual lack of words. 

"don't apologize," you reassured. "i was just overthinking it." 

"why does silence make you crazy," he mused with genuine curiosity in his voice.

"i think i just need constant stimulation to focus or else my mind will start wandering to every and anything besides what i actually want to be thinking about. like, when i'm studying, i need my headphones to be playing music at full blast or else i won't be able to get anything done."

he noticed how expressive you were when you spoke. each sentence was articulated with hand motions and voice inflections that made it easy to enjoy your presence. "wouldn't that be distracting?" 

you turned at him and pointed a finger, "that's what most people would think. but somehow the loud music clears out everything else going on inside my head, which helps me focus on what i want to focus on. what about you? how do you focus?"

"i think about what i want to do," he considered, "and then i do it."

"wow," you breathed, "i see why you're shiratorizawa's powerhouse. man, i wish i was that skilled at something."

"you are," he stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

you tilted your head to the side as you stared back at him. "and what would that be?"

once again, he responded as if it was obvious, "you're smart."

"everyone at our school is smart. you're smart. i want a skill that no one else has, like you. no one else can say they're the number one player in the miyagi prefecture. only you."

ushijima's chest tightened at your response. he didn't say anything, which prompted you to continue speaking.

"i can't believe i'm talking to the number one player and i haven't even been to a single volleyball game." you placed a hand on your heart to emphasize your sincerity, "truly, i am sorry about that, but to be fair, i've never attended a single sports game from our school."

you looked back at ushijima again and noticed the hint of a smile on his lips. "come to a game," he offered.

"okay. i will."

.・゜-: ✧ :-　　-: ✧ :-゜・．