Pterodactyl - Tsukishima Kei x OC

Chapter 11: Iceland

"You don't have to pretend with me, you know." He revealed, crossing his arms.

"I... I'm not." She cleared her throat, not meeting his gaze. 

She gazed at her hand, which he had held just a few moments ago.

"You do pretend. You try really hard to be happy and cheerful, but I know that's not you." He stated quietly.

"How could you possibly know anything about me?" Rina scoffed angrily, glaring at Kageyama. 

As soon as she had realized that she had snapped at him, her face softened with guilt.

"Sorry. I... You're right." She mumbled, sitting on the pavement floor as he leaned against the gym wall.

"I didn't mean to eavesdrop. I was on my way to class when I heard them say those things about me." She admitted, frowning slightly.

"And you stayed to listen?" Kageyama continued with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes. It's alright though, I'm used to it." She bit her lip.

"Used to what?" He asked curiously.

"Not being liked. Or, people wanting to be friends with me because of my sister. Or, because I'm rich." She listed off a couple of reasons from personal experience which made Kageyama wonder if he really knew what she was going through.

"That sucks." He mumbled, sitting beside her.

"Yeah. Anyway, thank you-" Before she could stand up, Kageyama interrupted her.

"For them." He laughed softly.

"What?" She looked at him with a confused expression on her face.

"It sucks for those people that don't want to be friends with you," Kageyama nodded, closing his eyes, "It sucks that they're idiots."

Rina blinked a few times because she couldn't believe what she was hearing. For weeks she had been teasing Kageyama about volleyball, his schoolwork, and Mizuki and he thought of her as a good friend?

"You don't mean that, Kageyama." Rina shook her head - at most, she thought of them as friendly acquaintances. The word friend seems to be out of reach, at least that's what she thought.

"Why would I lie?" Kageyama grimaced, which surprised her.

Rina thought that the only reason he was hanging around with her was because of Hinata and Mizuki.

"For the record, nobody likes me either." He continued as he sighed deeply.

"That's not true." She shook her head again.

"It is." He retorted back.

"I like you." Rina admitted, feeling her face run hot. Why was she feeling so warm all of a sudden?

Kageyama smirked, "... Now, who's lying?"

Rina stared at him before she burst out laughing. The two were laughing so loud that a teacher had to yell at them to get to class.

"Don't listen to those girls. You have lots of friends that like you, including me." Kageyama mumbled bashfully.

"Aw, Tobio-kun," Rina winked, "Thank you."

As Kageyama waved goodbye and headed to his class, Rina finally understood why what Mizuki said about the two of them bothered her.

~

Mizuki and her friends were helping the Karasuno boys volleyball club with their techniques when a short, rambunctious boy approached her.

"You're Toma Mizuki, right?" His eyes glimmered with affection.

"Yes..." She scratched her head shyly, "You're Nishinoya-kun, right?"

"You know of me! My reputation as a ladies man is truly unmatched." He nodded enthusiastically.

Mizuki laughed softly as she noticed Kei look at her. The two haven't spoken in two days which made her upset and unable to sleep. She couldn't find the right words to explain to him why she didn't tell him about her ex-boyfriend, whereas he didn't want to talk to her because he was ashamed at the way he handled the confrontation.

"So, I heard that you've been helping the team in my absence," He grinned, giving her a thumbs-up, "Thank you!"

"Oh, it's no problem. My friends have been helping too." She smiled as she pointed at Rina who was berating Hinata alongside Kageyama and Mina who was helping Yamaguchi with his jump float serves.

"Oh! Rina-chan told me that she was a libero in junior high!" Nishinoya mentioned before frowning slightly, "How come you guys don't want to join the girls volleyball club?"

"Ah..." Mizuki uncomfortably twiddled her fingers.

"Oi, Noya!" Tanaka shouted from across the gym, "Come over here! I have to show you something!"

"Okay!" Nishinoya sprinted across the gym after saying bye to her.

Kei walked by her to get his water bottle from the bench and the two remained silent. He drank his water as she pretended to look at the clipboard Shimizu-san left for her. Sugawara jogged towards them to get his jersey on the bench.

"Woah, it's like Iceland here..." Sugawara commented, whistling a jaunty tune innocently. 

Mizuki couldn't help but tell Sugawara what happened between her and Kei after the Aoba Johsai game. She thought of him as an older brother who she could always get advice from.

"I think you mean Greenland, Suga-san..." Kei answered, adjusting his glasses.

"I think you both know what I mean," He sighed, crossing his arms, "You two need to talk to each other. It can't remain icy forever."

Sugawara jogged away as he continued whistling. They both wanted to say something but it just didn't feel right.

"Noya-senpai!" Rina laughed excitedly, "Show me rolling thunder again! It's amazing!"

"I know!" He guffawed, getting into position, "Watch and learn everyone!"

Ennoshita quickly threw the ball in his direction as he rolled his whole body, expertly sending the volleyball on the other side of the net. Everyone in the gym cheered and clapped when Nishinoya successfully got the ball on the other side.

"He rolled like a dog." Kei snickered, which caused Mizuki to look at him. He looked at her briefly before clearing his throat.

She smiled softly, "Yeah."

"You two!" Tanaka exclaimed at Kei and Mizuki, "Are you going to join us?"

"Yes, coming!" Mizuki replied back, but just before she could walk away, Kei touched her shoulder.

"Do you want to come over, after practice tonight?" His eyes stared directly at hers. He seemed so serious which worried her a little.

"Sure. I'd like that." She answered quickly, turning away before he could see her blush deeply.

This was the first time that she was going over to his house since they were kids and possibly see his room. His parents and brother might be there too. And, technically, they were still fighting. What could possibly go wrong?