Take Me Home (Tendou x Reader)

Chapter 39

The schoolyear progressed with most students getting busier and busier with entrance exams and preparing for the future.

It was no different for you and Tendou and the closer you got to graduating, the less you saw or heard of him outside from classes.

In the beginning, he still had some volleyball activities after class, helping the younger members run the club smoothly, helping at training camps, ...

But that also came to a stop as the year progressed. The less involved he became with the volleyball club, the worse he looked.

You tried to figure out what was wrong at first, but after getting snapped at about him having to study a few times, you decided that he was just under a lot of pressure with college applications and his parents were probably already on his back about it as well.

So you concluded that it would be better to leave him be a little and trust that he would be able to get through this on his own and come to you himself if he really needed it.

You regularly sent him texts to ask how he was doing and inviting him out to do stuff, but the answers were always 'fine' and 'too busy'.

It was not what you had expected from your first and second year in high school, but it seemed that the last few months were effectively creating a wedge between the two of you. How close you had felt to him once was as far removed you felt now, with only a few weeks to go until graduation.

You had asked Semi about him a few times, but he just confirmed what Tendou had told you as well: he was too busy studying.

At graduation, you found that he was looking particularly worn out, but the way he was acting with his friends from the volleyball club suggested that all he needed was a few nights of good sleep before he would be fresh to start his first day in college.

He wasn't the only one who could use a good rest though. You had been working very hard as well preparing for your new college.

You had been able to get into your first choice, which was only a short train ride from home so you did not have to stay at any dorms anymore. While you were excited to go, you were also exhausted from taking entrance exams and stressing out while waiting for your results to be posted.

The two-week break before college actually started was a very welcome opportunity to get your last things in order and rest up.

That was exactly what you were doing when the doorbell rang unexpectedly four days into the two-week break.

The first day you had made sure to make a list of all the things that needed doing and all the stuff you needed to buy before you would be ready to go off on your first day. You had made an estimate of how many days those preparations would take and added two extra days just to be safe, and the other days had officially been labeled 'sit around and do nothing' days.

The only thing you had agreed on doing was to attend a last get-together with some friends from high school.

So when you first heard the bell, you were hesitant to answer.

You had just gotten comfortable on the couch with a mug of hot chocolate in front of your favorite show.

When it rang again though, you got up with a sigh and moseyed toward the front door. Your annoyance faded away as soon as you answered the intercom and Tendou was on the other side.

You hurriedly opened the door and jogged outside to open the gate. The cold hit you as soon as you did, since you hadn't bothered to put on your coat and April was just around the corner.

As soon as you came eye to eye with him, you noticed that something was terribly wrong. It was hard to tell, but you thought he might even have cried.

You hadn't heard from him anymore since your graduation and you figured he was either still busy or resting up. The thought also went through your mind that maybe he just didn't feel like keeping in touch with you anymore. He had a whole bunch of friends now, so maybe you had become one of the ones that hadn't 'made the cut'. Thinking that had hurt like hell though and that's why you had refused to contact him first.

It hurt that he didn't initiate a conversation, but it would hurt even more if he didn't respond to your messages.

"Are your parents in?" He asked, his voice small and detached.

"No, come on in." You told him, rubbing your arms to try and keep warm. He followed you inside and you both sat down on the couch.

"I'm sorry for interrupting." He said as he saw that the tv was on.

"Don't worry about it!" You said, trying to keep the air light and waited for him to open up about why he was here in the first place. It took some time of both of you staring at the tv, not really watching, before he finally spoke again.

"My parents kicked me out." He said, voice dry but fragile at the same time.

It took you a whole moment to process his words and before you were able to ask him why, he continued.

"I decided I'm not going to college, so I get why they're angry." He sighed and leaned back, staring up at the ceiling. "I hope you don't mind that I came here, I can leave if you want."

"No, no! Of course, it's fine!" You reassured him, even though in your mind you wondered why he had come all this way. There must have been someone that lived closer to him among his friends.

Silence fell upon you two again and when you started to feel it get awkward you got up. "Do you want something to drink?"

A nod was his only reply and you went to the fridge to see what you had. "Did you have dinner yet?"

"No, but I'm not hungry." Came his reply and your motherly instincts took over in an instant.

"Have you eaten anything today?" You asked, even though you were pretty sure you already knew the answer to the question.

A quiet 'no' confirmed your suspicions and you shut the door to the fridge a little harder than intended. You marched back over to him and pushed the drink into his hands.

"You drink this while I'll go get you something to eat okay?" You told him sternly as you already made your way towards the hallway. "And don't you leave while I'm gone!"

You didn't know why you felt the need to add that last part, but something in your gut told you that there was a lot more going on than what was obvious from the outside.

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A/N : 

Hi guys! Finally another update...

I'm going to be real with you, when the war first started and me living in Europe I was a little worried. And one of the things that I wanted to do should the worst happen, was get these next chapters out for the readers who are waiting for my fic to update.

So that's why I kind of skipped over those last months of high school to get to this point. I have a big portion of what's coming up written out in draft already and will probably be uploading a  few chapters in the next few days.

After those chapters are published I'm going to temporarily end this fic. This is not where I originally planned on ending this story so there should come a part two if I find the motivation to continue.