It's been five months since you confessed to Oikawa Tooru, the setter of your school, Kitagawa Daiichi Junior High. You've been crushing on him since you transferred here, but couldn't find the courage to tell him how you felt.
Once you did, you thought he wouldn't accept your feelings, but fortunately he did. To your surprise, it all worked out. Both of you felt thrilled, despite his busy schedule filled with practices. However, these past few days he smiled less and spent almost all of his time at the gym, overworking himself.
It's your birthday today, so you waited patiently for Oikawa beside the school gate. It was the time for club practices and you grew anxious while waiting for your boyfriend. The sun began setting, a bright orange hue covered the skies.
"l/n-san," a familiar voice called out to you. It's Oikawa's best friend, Iwaizumi Hajime.
"Iwaizumi-san, have you seen Oikawa?" you asked, eyes almost tearing up as you grew anxious.
"Oh, he's at the gym practicing his serves again. Ever since our new setter joined our team he has been practicing a lot more these days. What's wrong?" His face showed concern as he sees the glossiness in your eyes.
'So he did forget' you thought to yourself. You grip the handle of your bag tightly and fake a smile.
"Nothing, tell Oikawa to stop overworking himself, okay? And please tell him to greet me a happy birthday when he gets home."
His eyes widened in shock. "It's your birthday?" Iwaizumi asked.
"Yeah... Well then, I'll be going home now" Leaving Iwaizumi in surprise, you walked further away from the school. Tears streamed down your face like rain. Oikawa Tooru has broken your heart for the first time.
You weren't expecting a lot from him, a simple greeting would have sufficed-- but you never thought that he'd forget your birthday like that, especially since he seemed excited about it the week before. You've never felt this insecure about yourself. All your fears about him finding you unlikable resurfaced.
'Maybe he lost interest in me,' you thought negatively.
__________
Iwaizumi was left in shock after what you told him.
'It was her birthday yet that dumb-ass Oikawa was more concerned about practicing his serves, ' Iwaizumi thought to himself. He walked towards the gym. The sound of balls getting aggressively spiked got louder and louder.
"Please teach me how to serve!" The voice of the young setter echoed throughout the gym. Iwaizumi quickly opened the door to see what was happening. His eyes shot wide open as he saw Oikawa raising his arm to slap the innocent boy. Iwaizumi quickly ran to stop his friend from committing an act of violence.
"Oikawa! what the hell is wrong with you!" He shouted out loud and grabbed his best friend's gym shirt. It was loud enough for Oikawa to snap back into reality. The young setter, Kageyama Tobio, sensed the tension and immediately ran away.
Oikawa's breaths paced awkwardly. It was as if he was out of his mind.
"To beat that bastard Ushiwaka, I have to perfect my serves and my tosses..." Oikawa replied.
He looked at Iwaizumi in the eyes. "I want to go to the nationals Iwaizumi! I want to win every match-"
"Cut the bullshit. I'm tired of your 'I want to' or ' I need to'..."
"There are six people on the court dammit! We have to work together as a team! Stop thinking selfishly!" Iwaizumi finally let go of him, letting his best friend reflect on what he said.
He placed his hands on his waist and glared at Oikawa. "--And why are you so worked up on that when you clearly forgot L/n-san's birthday!" Oikawa dropped the ball he was holding. He finally just remembered, guilt had filled him up and he couldn't say a word of reply. Oikawa could only squeeze his eyes shut and scold himself.
"Oikawa, if you keep acting this way you're gonna lose her," Iwaizumi dropped the final warning as he picks up the balls on the ground and put them back in the bin. His best friend stared blankly at the wooden floors.
"Is... Is she waiting outside for me?" Oikawa asked, his voice had gotten worried.
"She was five minutes ago. It looked like she waited for a while, but she finally went home."
Oikawa felt guilty and bad. But the thought of his serves nearing his goal made him want to act selfishly for the last time.
"Tch." Oikawa's grip on the ball tightened, causing a deep crease on its surface. Deep inside he was feeling guilty and felt really bad but he thought he couldn't do anything at this point, which was the huge mistake that cost him his girlfriend. As if he knew what was best for you, he decided to leave you alone for a week. Oikawa thought you needed all that time for yourself, which was something you never even wanted.
___________
Today marks the day of your boyfriend's game against their rival team. For a week, Oikawa had ignored you, and you didn't understand why. You were extremely hurt, but because you were blinded by your love for him, you tried your best to understand why. You've always been understanding of Oikawa's passion for volleyball. Even though he has spent less time with you, you loved him very dearly. However, what happened last week drew the line for you. You couldn't understand him anymore. If only he would tell you his problems then maybe you would understand, but Oikawa rarely does.
The match shocked you. You thought that Kitagawa Daiichi would ace the game but unfortunately, they didn't.
'What the hell' you think to yourself.
'He overworked himself for this match yet he still couldn't beat them,' you clenched your fist.
'What was the point of all of that? He just wasted his time only to be beaten by them again,' you selfishly thought. You had no right to think about it that way but you did. And that was your mistake.
After the match, you sat outside the main entrance, hoping to see your boyfriend. You were going to break up with him, letting your emotions take control of you.
"y/n-chan?" You stiffened up as you heard Oikawa's honey-like voice. He walked closer to you, leaving his team behind.
The two of you made eye contact. Oikawa's brown eyes were filled with guilt.
"I'm sorry you had to see me lose today..." He looked down, heavily disappointed by his performance.
Your eyebrows furrowed. 'Sorry? Out of all the things, you apologize for a stupid game?' You selfishly think to yourself once again.
"I don't care for volleyball really," you finally spoke your mind, causing his eyes to widen in shock.
"I also don't care that you lost Oikawa. You know what I care about? About the fact that you ignored me for a week." Calm at first, you tried to look at him in the eyes, but your voice shook. You wanted to tell him all these things for the longest time but your love for him stopped you from doing so.
"F/n I'm really sorry-"
"Cut the crap Oikawa!" Your tears finally fell down. You now realized how it was all along. Every time you two would go out he'd always talk about volleyball, he'd tell you how much he wants to win the nationals and he'd always spend more time with a ball than with you. The answer was in front of you all along, yet love blinded you from seeing the truth.
"I was never your priority." You stared deeply at Oikawa in the eyes. "You never cared for me at all, huh?"
"That's not true. I cared for you! I love you, Y/n-chan," Oikawa replied, his eyes were nearing tears.
"Then I want you to choose between these two things, me or volleyball?" Even though it was selfish, you hit him hard with the question. Somehow, you already knew what he'd choose, which made you clench your fist. He gave you a look. A look that clearly said he didn't want to do this.
"F/n, you know how much I love volleyball."
You sighed, expecting the answer and wiped your tears away. "Never mind, that was a dumb question."
"I'm breaking up with you Oikawa. I'm sorry for getting in the way of your dreams. I should've known from the start," you said your last words and finally left him. You felt saddened, proud but mostly heartbroken. There was an array of emotions inside you. You realized how selfish you were for doing this. And that made you feel even worse.
You went back to the stadium to go to the washroom. To check if your tears didn't cause too much mess on your face. But on the way there you burst out crying. Embarrassed, you sat on a bench near the washroom and covered your face in shame.
"Man, that was easy! Their setter was a bit intense though." A group of boys wearing purple jerseys walked past you. Realizing it was the team that beat Oikawa, you stiffened up. A tall, olive-brown haired boy towered over your figure and stared intensely at your eyes.