See you on Mars

6

  There was a soft knock at the wooden door too quiet to be heard as the door was opened by the same nurse as the day before. She woke up Hanamaki first and he stared one last time at the room he had been trapped in for the past two years.
      "You're leaving today" Mattsun stated earning a nod from Hanamaki
       "Yeah, starting today I'll be back in the real outside world" He said slightly spaced out. Hanamaki grabbed the backpack he packed the night prior and sat it on his lap.
     "Are you nervous?"
    "I don't know honestly. This is the hospital room I've been in for the past two years and these are the people I've spent all that time with. I really want to see them again, but I'm not stupid and I know that probably won't happen."
    "Hey come on now Makki, I don't want to see you frown. I promise I'll make it out and I'll see you in that coffee shop." Mattsun smiled trying to spread his cheer along.
   "You can stop smiling," Hanamaki said, staring at Matsukawa getting a puzzled look. "Your smile, I can tell it's fake. It just doesn't feel genuine. You don't have to put on a fake face for me, I know you better than that."
   "I just didn't want the last time you see my face to be with me frowning"
    "But, It's not going to be the last time. Remember you just promised to see me? It's too early to give up." Hanamaki stuck out his hand with his pinky finger out. "Pinky swear to me, I know that you can't promise to stay alive but promise you won't give up" Mattsun nodded before joining their pinkies.
     "I promise I won't give up," Mattsun said, chuckling a little. Even if his smile wasn't huge, Hanaaki could tell it was at least genuine so he smiled too. Hanamaki left that room and walked into the hallway he remembered entering from all those years ago. He walked down the long white hallway and stared at the two glass doors which entered into the lobby.  He breathed in the familiar scent of the hospital one last time before opening the doors and walking into the lobby waving his old way of life goodbye.
    He walked outside, it was cloudy and kind of cold. There were orange leaves blowing through the wind and all the trees were colorful. He scanned the parking lot and saw his mom standing in front of a new car which he didn't recognize. He ran up to his mom and was pulled into a big hug. He felt tears on his shoulder as he was now taller than his mom unlike the last time she saw him.
   "You've gotten so much bigger Takahiro" His mother said
   "Yeah, thanks," Hanamaki said, not knowing the appropriate response.
   "Wow and your voice has gotten so deep. I  missed my baby grow up. I'm so sorry I left you here for so long"
    "No, mom it's OK. I'm happy I went" Takahiro smiled looking back for the first time. His mother went silent and walked to her car door which she opened and Hanamaki opened the door after her. And sat in the passenger seat.
    "Hey mom" Hanamaki started "Is it ok if I start going to that one coffee shop on 12th street?"
    "Yeah sure but you've never been there before, what makes you want to start going now?"
    "I made a promise and I intend to keep it" Hanamaki looked up at the sky and stared at a cloud. He wasn't sure how but in some way he knew that Mattsun was staring at the same cloud and he felt a sense of peace.
   "What are you doing?" Iwaizumi asked Matsukawa who was staring out the window.
   "See that could? I don't know how but I can feel Hanamaki staring at it." Mattsun smiled and Iwaizumi just shrugged off the weirdness.
    "Well we should probably be going" Yahaba said standing up and heading for the door.
   "Oh yeah Oikawa's coming with us today right?" Watari asked and Oikawa turned towards Watari and nodded.
  "OK, come on, let's go,'' Mattsun said walking away from the window and towards the door. Oikawa followed Mattsun out the door and they began walking to class. They walked down the long white hallway which seemed to be in every hospital. They opened the door and the girls were already in the room not really paying attention to the boys walking in.
   Oikawa walked through the door and all attention was immediately drawn to him. The girls sat there with their mouth open and blush forming on their face.
   "Well it looks like we have another new student" Mr. Takeda said "Would you like to introduce yourself?" Oikawa looked over and nodded at the teacher before standing in the front of the room.
    "Hey my name is Tooru Oikawa, I'm seventeen I used to play volleyball and I've been here for a month" Oikawa held up his signature peace sign and giggled.
    "Does anyone have any questions for Oikawa?" Mr. Takeda asked the class. Sasiki raised her hand and Mr. Takeda nodded giving her permission to speak.
    "Do you have a girlfriend Oikawa?"
    "No, I've been waiting for someone as beautiful as the girls in this class" The setter winked and all the girls squealed except for Kiyoko who was quiet, yet mesmerized. Iwaizumi saw her eyes on Oikawa and turned to look away. It annoyed Iwaizumi how Oikawa got all of the girls but he kept quiet.
   "Oikawa what's your favorite color?" Velarti asked wanting to learn more about the boy
    "I'd probably say cyan because it reminds me of my old volleyball team"
    "What position were you? I'm sure wherever you were you were amazing" Haibia said with her head in her hand.
   "I was the setter and the team captain"
   "Wow really that's so cool!" Yachi said
    "OK OK, I know we're all curious about our new student but we have to get this show on the road. Oikawa you can sit in Hanamaki's old seat right behind Iwaizumi. We were working with groups on projects so you can have his old partner who is Velarti" Mr. Takeda pointed to Velarti and Oikawa took his seat behind Iwaizumi. The teacher passed out the books and everyone got into their groups. Velarti pulled her chair next to Oikawa and the began talking about the work.
     "Oikawa, I can do all of the work for you. You don't have to worry about it at all." Velarti said, trying to get him interested.
    "I couldn't leave a cute girl like you to stress about all this work, how about you can draw or talk to your friends while I catch up with you."
   "Ok that sounds like a good plan" Velarti said, a little embarrassed that her plan didn't work. Yet, she was somewhat happy Oikawa was willing to help and she was left a blushing mess.
   "Oh, by the way what's your name?" Oikawa asked
   "My name is Natsuki Velarti, you can call me either one" Velarti giggled nervously hoping she wasn't coming off too strong.
    "I like Natsuki, it's a really pretty name" Oikawa flirted, tucking her soft brown hair behind her ear. Oikawa took out his book and began reading as Natsuki stared at him taking in his pretty features.
   "Hajimine" Kiyoko said
   "Yeah, what's up Kiyoko" Iwaizumi asked
    "Is that your friend?" She asked
    "Yeah I'd say we're friends" Iwaizumi answered curious as to why she asked the question.
     "He seems kind of shallow, flirting with every girl like that" Kiyoko said
     "Don't talk about him like that, I know he seems shallow at surface value but I don't think that's the case. He is my best friend in this hospital and I know for a fact he isn't shallow"  Iwaizumi thought back to the time Oikawa told him about his school life. He was probably just trying to break free from the fear of being called names and losing friends due to something he couldn't control.
    "Oh, I'm sorry" Kiyoko said "I didn't mean to offend you I guess I just get annoyed by play boys who only care about boosting their own ego" As much as Iwaizumi hated to admit it she wasn't wrong. Part of the reason Oikawa was flirting was probably to boost his own ego which did slightly annoy Iwaizumi. He didn't know why but even knowing the reason it annoyed Iwaizumi that Oikawa was flirting with all these girls.
   "His flirting annoys me too. I don't know why but it makes me feel like shit. It makes me really angry but I'm not sure why" Iwaizumi said, looking down at his clenched fist. It made him so angry he wanted to run away and cry, but he also wanted to confront Oikawa and make him stop. The ace still wanted to be around him though because running away and being without Oikawa made him feel even worse.
   "Hajime.... do you swing that way?" Kiyoko asked. She knew it wasn't her place and she knew she probably wouldn't get an answer but that wasn't the point of the question, the point was to get him thinking about the question. Iwaizumi looked back at Oikawa who was wearing glasses reading a book and his heart fluttered. He stared at him along with Natsuki before he looked up.
  "Iwa Chan, were you staring at me?" Oikawa teased poking fun at the boy
   "No way Crappykawa, I was just looking that way"
   "Iwa Chan don't be so mean to me" Oikawa whined
    "Would you rather me call you Shittykawa?"
     "Fine Crappykawa then," Oikawa said loudly, clearly annoyed.
      "As you wish" Iwaizumi smirked
      "You don't have to be so condescending about it"
       "Yeah be nice to Oikawa!" Natsuki defended Oikawa in an attempt to impress him. The attempt wasn't successful as he secretly loved their bickers.
     "Have you finished reading the first five chapters yet?" Natsuki asked
      "Yep! I'm ready to start working whenever you are" Oikawa said as they began working.
     The bell rang and  all the girls swooned at Oikawa as the boys were standing by the door. Yachi was too nervous and Kiyoko was uninterested so they left. Oikawa was shamelessly  flirting with the girls telling them all about himself.
    Iwaizumi yelled "Come on Lazykawa" Oikawa looked at him and back at the girls before leaving and breaking their circle.
   "Well, see you tomorrow!" Oikawa smiled and held up a peace sign before leaving the room.
   "Oikawa" Iwaizumi started as he stopped walking, Oikawa stopped too and the other boys turned around. "Come to the roof with me" Iwaizumi turned the other direction and started for the stairs. Iwaizumi started walking up the stairs and Oikawa followed him.
   "Are we allowed to be doing this?" Oikawa asked
    "No"
   "What do you mean no?! You're going to get us into trouble!" Oikawa yelled. They climbed the stairs and Iwaizumi opened the door to reveal a roof with no one there. There were two benches, some flowers, and railings but other than that it was pretty empty. Iwaizumi sat down on a bench and Oikawa stared down at him, hair blowing in the wind.
     "Oikawa, I just wanted to talk to you. I don't know I just feel like talking about me for once and you're the only person I trust to talk to. Is that alright?"
   "Of course, it's fine, if something is bothering you, you can tell me."
   "I'm scared, I'm terrified actually. My dad, he died when I was 8, so I still remember him. I remember his smile and how much fun we had. We'd always play games, watch movies, and he even taught me how to play volleyball. My mom would always be home and we'd read stories together, cook, and she taught me how to sew. We were one big happy family, until one day my dad didn't come home from work. My mom was a stay at home mom and got really worried so she started freaking out when he was 2 hours late. She drove to his office and he had gone to the hospital so we drove there and found out he had a heart attack and was beyond saving. That was on December 24th. I was heartbroken and my mom even more than me. After that my mom had to get a job which is really difficult for a woman to do. So she found 3 part time jobs that were willing to take her on so I got the house all to myself. She started seeing this guy and he seemed really nice at first but they'd constantly fight in their room trying to be quiet so I couldn't hear. That guy would hurt my mom, he'd hit her and he would always yell at her. I felt so bad for my mom but there was nothing I could do. I just watched him, he'd yell at her and he'd hit her and there was nothing I could do, I felt so useless. One day I talked to my mom about him to try and get her to leave, but then she flipped out on me and said I didn't know what I was talking about. 'You're just a little kid, how would you know anything about this. Go to your room and mind your own business' She'd say and I listened. I couldn't do anything and I hated seeing her in pain so I joined the volleyball club and it was a great way to get all of my anger and stress out. One day I came home and my mom was passed out on the floor surrounded by booze. She never drank with my dad but today she was asleep and wouldn't wake up. I had my license since this was only a year ago and drove her to the hospital. She had alcohol poisoning and died so my uncle was sent to live with me. He had an important job so he was always away on business trips, I never saw him much but he left me money for everything I needed and he would visit once every few months. Then I got sick and went to go get it checked out and here I am. I doubt he even knows I'm here, It's not like he doesn't care he's just a busy man. Everyday I think about how if my dad didn't die I wouldn't have lost the most important people in my life. Actually it was this hospital where he died, funny how we'll probably end up dying in the same place. " Iwaizumi chuckled with tears in his eyes.
    "Don't say that, we'll both make it out of here alive. We already made it through the first step, we started classes, so don't give up because we started so we're going to see this through" Oikawa put up his fist for a fist bump but Iwaizumi didn't react instead he stood up and started towards the railing. He rested his hands on the ledge and stared at the ground.
    He looked back at Oikawa and said, "Oikawa, I don't want someone I love to die again. I'm so cold to you because I deny my feelings but no matter how much I try to ignore them, they're still there. I'm terrified of losing you and I don't want to do this anymore. There's no point to the treatment, we're just going to die anyways. I think you'd be happier without me." Iwaizumi lifted up his leg over the railing and Oikawa ran behind him. He pulled Iwaizumi into a hug and started sobbing on his shoulder.
    "Iwaizumi if you do this I'll never forgive you!" Oikawa yelled "Iwa please remember what happened to your mom when your dad died? That's going to happen to me because I love you. You're what gave me hope, you're the reason I haven't given up yet. I'm living because I want a life with you. So, I know that we might not make it through but if you jump, I'm going to jump with you" Oikawa let go of his hand and Iwaizumi looked at the drop then back at Oikawa. He put his leg down and walked away from the ledge.
     "I'm sorry" He said with his head down, "Kiyoko gave me a new way of looking at and she never told the person that she loves that she loves him and now she regrets it, but if I say something then it'll make it harder for you to lose me... Please, let me be selfish just this once. I love you Tooru Oikawa, I love you so much I don't know what to do with myself.  If hope had a human form, I imagine it'd look and act like you." The boys felt rain starting to trickle down but Oikawa didn't care.
   "I-" Oikawa started but was cut off by a nurse slamming open the door.
   "What are you boys doing out here?! You don't have permission to be up here! Get inside now!" The nurse yelled and Oikawa and Iwaizumi went inside as fast as they could. The nurse closed the door behind them and looked pissed. "What were you doing out there?! You know you could die?! It's not good for you to be out in the rain!" The nurse took a deep breath before continuing "Look, I don't know what you guys were doing and I don't really care to find out. You're not going to get in trouble just don't let it happen again. Now get back to your rooms" Oikawa and Iwaizumi hair was wet and their slippers were soaked but they didn't pay attention to it and instead walked to their room as ordered.
     They walked into their room and everyone stared at them as the nurse followed them into the room. "If I find out you ever do that again, I'll make sure to have you guys be punished. Now stay in here and don't leave without permission" The nurse eyed Iwaizumi and Oikawa before slamming the door shut to leave. 
   Oikawa stared at Iwaizumi with his mouth wide open studying his features. The ace didn't say anything instead rolling over and going to sleep. Everyone stared at Oikawa wondering if something happened but kept quiet.