You know all those cliche stories where the girl is stuck between her two leading men, both of them in love with the oh so nerdy yet beautiful protagonist, one bad boy or playboy while the other is a literal angel who would do anything for her. Yet everytime in every freakin story, the protagonist would always pick the bad boy/playboy.
You, L/C Y/N, was a part of a similar situation. Unfortunately, you weren't the lucky protagonist. You were the girl who loved the good guy.
If your life was a movie, you thought maybe you wouldn't even appear in any scene. Perhaps only once for a few seconds. You would be in the background, staring hopelessly at him, Iwaizumi Hajime, the good guy that Furushita Nagi –the protagonist– didn't choose.
It had been a month since the story ended with Furushita and Oikawa becoming official. The protagonist once again, had chosen the playboy.
You knew the details of their love story for you were actually seated next to Iwaizumi in class. The first time you talked to him was on a free period where you noticed how he looked very upset. Usually whenever you look at him, he would look rather grumpy or focused. Thus, the sight of him being upset bothered you.
You then pulled out your phone from your bag –trying your hardest to hide it from your classmates– and went to tumblr to distract yourself. You accidentally let out a slightly loud snort before covering your mouth to prevent yourself from laughing when you were scrolling through your feed and saw one of the funniest meme.
Realizing how awkward your accidental burst was, you looked around to see if anyone had heard you. Unfortunately there was someone who did hear your awkward snort.
You turned your head and saw Iwaizumi staring at you, his eyebrows raising a little. Just as you were about to explain yourself, an idea then suddenly popped into your head.
You offered your phone to the blackette making him raise his eyebrow a little higher before he finally took it. He looked at your phone and saw the meme you were trying your hardest not to laugh at a few seconds ago.
His sudden chuckle kind of surprised you for you didn't really know if he was even into that type of internet humor. But memes were always funny and you knew it wouldn't ever disappoint you. You internally thanked the god of memes when you heard Iwaizumi's chuckles turned into laughs.
You smiled as you took a deep breath, admiring the sight before you. He might not be the guy who would always stand out, but you couldn't deny it, Iwaizumi Hajime was stunning, his smile and laugh was amazing.
"These are hilarious!" The ace said, handing you your phone.
"I know right? So funny that I needed to show it to someone."
He chuckled once again. "Well it actually made my day. Thanks, L/N."
"You're welcome. You know you should smile more. It suits you."
You noticed his slight flinch. "It does?"
"Yup."
"Show me more of those then. I'll give you my number so you could send me some."
Since then, the two of you became close friends, telling each other the funniest and craziest stories, helping each other understand some difficult lessons, teasing and banting at the most random times. When Iwaizumi told you about the heart aching story of how he and his best friend, Oikawa Tooru fell in love with the same girl, you couldn't help but feel a bit surprised for you didn't knew those love triangles between best friends could happen in real life.
Iwaizumi was known to be the tough guy, the beloved ace of the boys volleyball team, the one who could beat anyone up just by staring at them. But he was so more than that. He might seem intimidating but he was actually easy to talk to about anything. He was also very easy to read, you would know if he is mad, sad, or just really focused as easy as abc. Iwaizumi was also a bad liar, so if you would ask him if he is okay and he say yes but his gaze avoids yours, he is totally lying.
You enjoyed finding out new things about him almost everyday, you enjoyed being with him. It took time but you eventually realized how you were slowly falling for him.
You couldn't accept the fact that you were having actual genuine feelings for the guy at first because you knew it was going to be really difficult. Having feelings for a man who's in love with someone else is awfully painful. And soon enough after you had realized those feelings, you then felt the torture that came with it.
Iwaizumi confessed to Furushita even before she met Oikawa. The ace did almost everything to get the girl yet, based from the things that he told you, you thought it was obvious that she was only blinded by Oikawa's looks and status. Furushita was pretty lucky to have Iwaizumi falling for her, doing every effort just to make her love him back, yet she still didn't choose him.
"Iwaizumi?" You called, approaching the blackette who was sitting on one of the school benches, head low, looking even more upset than ever.
He didn't even need to look up to know it was you. "Hey, L/N." The ace said, almost sounding like a mumble.
"You don't look so good. What happened?" You asked with concern, sitting close beside him.
"You don't have to know. I'm fine."
"You know you can tell me anything, Iwaizumi."
He then finally looked at you with the saddest eyes, making you notice how they were a bit swollen and red. Iwaizumi was crying –or had cried for you still could see a couple of dried tears on his face– and you flinched at the sight before you, just the thought of him crying made you feel like a million swords had stabbed you on your chest.
"I lost." The wild haired it said to you like he had lost the biggest volleyball tournament. But you already knew it wasn't volleyball related. He could have said 'we' if it was.
A tear fell from his eye before he spoke again. "She chose him." And that was the final blow, you couldn't help it anymore. You made a 'tsk' sound before suddenly hugging the man beside you. "Crying doesn't suit you." You said, jokingly, yet it was half meant. You just didn't like seeing him crying.
"I'm sorry. It's just– it hurts you know? I already knew she wasn't going to pick me. I expected it." He sniffed. "But why is it still so goddamn painful?" You felt his grip on your uniform tightened as your hands moved gently on his back for comfort.
"That's just how the world works, unfortunately..." You said in the most soothing tone. "Love isn't always mutual."
"Or maybe it's just too impossible for anybody to fall for someone like a me."
Hearing his total downer words, you quickly broke the hug and intentionally slapped his arm.
Iwaizumi made an ouch sound. "What was that for!?" He asked after.
"I never knew you were this emo, Hajime." You said, a little offended, also accidentally using his first name. "What do you mean someone like you? That's not a very good way to roast yourself. I think you're amazing and it's not impossible to fall for you! In fact it's not even that difficult! It took just a solid two months for me to fall in love with you, can you imagine that!?"
For a moment, everything was silent. It was like the universe was trying to help you realize how fucked up it was to accidentally confess your feelings to someone who just got rejected. Iwaizumi stared at you with wide eyes, mouth slightly opened.
"Oops." You said, staring back at him as your heart pounded like crazy on your chest. "I-I have to go." You quickly stood up and was about to walk away when you felt Iwaizumi's hand gently gripped your wrist.
"Wait, Y/N." He semi intentionally called you by your first name for he thought it was okay since you called him by his.
Your head turned to look at him and your eyes met. It took a moment of him just staring at you, trying to find the right words to say before finally speaking. "Thank you. I appreciate it."
Thank you zoned huh? You thought, pitying yourself as your lips formed a sad yet grateful smile. "You're welcome. I'll always be here if you need anything."
You thought after that accidental mess of a confession, your friendship with Iwaizumi was going to be scarred. You thought there would be a lot of awkwardness and such, but thank heavens you were wrong for the next day after that, you walked into your classroom and sat beside him as he gave you his usual greeting. The day went on with the two of you still telling each other stories, laughing at memes, the usual bants. It was like nothing had happened and you were thankful that it didn't affect your friendship.
Well, not really. There were actually some small changes. After what happened, you noticed how the two of you had started to blush intensely even at the simplest touches. Iwaizumi had also started to invite you to watch him practice at random times. Whenever he does though, he would always walk you home. A true gentleman.
It was like the two of you became much more closer than ever. It somehow bothered you but on the other hand, you were actually thankful that you got to spend more time with the blackette.
You really did mean what you said, you were always there whenever he needed anything. Without realizing it, you were then starting to make efforts just to make him happy and forget about Furushita. You started making efforts and tried, hoped that maybe someday he would fall for you back.
"Hajime, listen." You said, standing in front of him at the most cliche confession setting. The rooftop.
"What is it that you have to say?" Iwaizumi asked, although he already had a feeling what it was.
"You do know that I haven't confessed to you properly right?" You chuckled, trying to lessen the weight of the atmosphere between the two of you. "Well, here I am, trying my hardest not to puke in front of you cause the butterflies in my stomach just won't stop bothering me. I don't know when or how but these butterflies would always riot whenever you're around."
Iwaizumi's heart rate raised at your slightly poetic words. Your voice was soothing like you were actually reading a poem to him and he couldn't help but to think of how adorable it was. He listened carefully yet a little nervously but never spoke for he knew confessions wasn't supposed to be interrupted by the one who's being confessed to. Also, he just loved listening to your voice.
"But the thing is..." You continued. "Even though those butterflies bother me, I still like having them. I like the feeling of falling in love with you, Hajime." You said with so much sincere, your eyes meeting his, making his face heat up. "It hurts me whenever you talk about Furushita and how you love her so much. It hurts me whenever you compare yourself to Oikawa and how you would always think low about yourself just because she didn't love you back. It hurts because I love you and I think– I know you deserve better. You deserve to be loved, you deserve happiness." You paused to stare more deeply into his eyes. "And I'm willing to give you that. Just give me a chance. Be mine and I'll try my hardest to help you forget about her, to help you move on."
"You want me to use you as some kind of rebound?" The ace half shouted. "You're the one who deserves real love, Y/N."
"I know. Everyone does. I might seem desperate, perhaps I am, but I just want to make you happy. If I fail to do that then you can break up with me. And I promise when she comes back... I'll let you go."
He flinched knowing exactly what you meant. His eyebrows furrowed a little more as he tried to make a decision. You were one of his dearest friends, he didn't want to lose you or your friendship. Most couples would break up and hate each other after. He didn't want the two of you to hate each other, he didn't want to change anything. But on the other hand, there was still nothing wrong with trying right? You were already making him happy even before you confessed to him. You could make him laugh, smile, and feel better even in his darkest times. He already loved you as a friend, so he thought maybe... Maybe he could try to love you back like the way you loved him.
Iwaizumi's lips then formed a small smile before giving her an answer. "Alright."
———
another over dramatic, shitty one shot (lol there's going to be a part two though prepare for angst) from yours truly ❤ and yes i am once again vv grammatically drunk