thank you to the lovely reader who made this request! it was so fun, yet so painful to write because hinata is pure sunshine... i did him so dirty, even on his birthday T^T
...well, enjoy!
"You look lovely today, (y/n)!" a boy with short, curly brown hair handed you a single rose as you passed in the hallway. You carefully plucked it out of his hand and smiled, but it quickly disappeared once you continued down the hall.
"What do you do with all this stuff anyways? You get like, a box of chocolate every week." Yua rolled her eyes as she marched by your side.
"I usually just throw it away. Chocolate's too sweet." you shrugged.
"And the flowers?"
"In the trash as well."
Yua chuckled, "Fair enough."
As the two of you walked around the corner, you collided with a person just a couple centimeters shorter than you. It was a boy with bright orange hair that curled at the ends, and he seemed to be quivering.
"Ohmygod I-I'm so sorry!"
• • •
"Wait—come with me Kageyama!" Hinata urged his friend on for moral support as he built up the courage to confront his crush.
"Won't it just be awkward if I'm there?" he rose a brow. The orange haired boy frantically shook his head. "Fine." Kageyama faked a sigh and trudged alongside the wing spiker.
"Calm down, you won't be able to say anything if you're shaking so much." Kageyama nudged his friend's shoulder. "I'm trying!"
As the two boys rounded the corner, one of them had come into a rough collision. Hinata rubbed his forehead, wincing at the mild pain and looked up at his victim.
As soon as he realized who it was, he quickly apologized, but his words sounded more like a bundled mess if anything. Kageyama glared at Hinata, telling him that now was the time. The spiker gulped down his nerves, his hand clutched in tight fists by his side. Here we go.
"I-i like you, (y-y/n)-san!" the orange haired boy before you squeaked.
You glanced at your best friend who couldn't help but snicker at the first year's messy attempt of a confession. You rose a bow, mentally asking if he was going to continue or leave it at that.
"A-and i was wondering... i-if you wanted to um... go out with me." his eyes were tightly shut, and you couldn't help but notice the sweat forming on his forehead. He was such a wreck you almost felt bad.
Almost.
You thought for a second, pressing the tip of your index finger on your bottom lip. "Sure, why not?"
Yua furrowed her brows in confusion, the question "why?" written all over her face.
Kageyama's eyebrows rose in shock, but he was so quiet no one had noticed him.
Hinata shuffled in place. He clearly hadn't thought this far.
"D-do you like sweets?" he asked, a nervous, quivering smile on his face. You nodded your head. The spiker looked to his friend for help.
You watched as a tall black haired boy you only just noticed mouth the word "cafe".
"...Then how about the cafe across from the school?" Hinata asked. Looks like he finally fixed his stutter... You thought to yourself.
"What time?" you asked plainly. "Oh... um, is 3 okay? T-tomorrow at 3," he clarified. Never mind, I guess he didn't. You corrected yourself.
"Sounds good." you plastered a fake smile across your lips. "See you later."
The boy before you beamed back as if he were the happiest person in the world. Poor guy.
• • •
Hinata fiddled with his thumbs, mumbling greetings to use as he waited for his date. Never in a million years did he think this day would come.
He was so excited he couldn't sleep all night.
Five minutes passed, allowing the boy to calm his nerves a bit. Until another five minutes passed, causing the worry to build back up from his stomach. Then ten minutes... then fifteen.
An employee approached the first year with a faint hint of sympathy laced through his brows. "Are you going to order anything, sir?" he asked, a pencil and paper in hand.
"N-no... I'm waiting for someone, thank you." Hinata tried his best to smile at the man as he nodded his head and walked away. Not only was he paranoid, but humiliated as well. Anxiety continued to bite at him inch by inch until his entire body was consumed.
A faint laugh from outside the window caught his attention. He snapped his head towards the familiar voice, his eyes widening when he realized what he had just fell into.
• • •
"Hey, y'know that boy's friend from yesterday?" Yua hummed as she floated beside you. "What about him?" you asked. "He was really cute, maybe I should ask him out." she began to fantasize the possibilities, giggling at her own thoughts. You couldn't help but snicker, "You could do better Yua, c'mon."
"Hey! He's really cute okay," she barked back. "Even if I can do better, he's the one I like," she mumbled the last bit to herself, afraid that you would snap at her if she spoke back.
Yua rose her hands behind her head, her fingers intertwined as she continued to match your pace.
"Poor guy..." she sighed.
"Who?"
"That kid from yesterday of course! He was so excited... he probably rehearsed that the night before or something." your friend pursed her lips. "Well, did he really expect me to say yes?" you laughed, yet it sounded more like a scoff if anything.
"I dunno... you shoulda just told him "no" on the spot instead of standing him up, you're just rubbing salt into his wounds-" Yua's voice cut off on her last word, knowing she had said too much.
As she finished, your gaze met with the same boy from yesterday. Through the glass of the cafe, he stared back at you with a face you had grown quite accustomed to seeing from others: one of sadness, anger, and rejection. Except his was different, as much as you examined it, you couldn't find a single hint of rage.
You quickly averted your eyes. "That doesn't sound like my problem." your words came out hostile and venomous, forcing Yua to walk a step behind you.
What the hell is wrong with him? Doesn't he get it? You sneered as you checked the time. He had been waiting for an entire hour.
Maybe Yua was right.
• • •
Hinata sat there, frozen in disbelief. "She stood me up..." he mumbled to himself. It was all going too well, he knew something would turn around eventually, but he didn't expect it to be this soon
He stood up, the ear piercing scrape of his chair interrupted the cafe's peaceful atmosphere. The three jingle bells on the door frame rung as the boy dragged himself out of the building.
Unsure where to go, Hinata found himself nearby the school where he'd normally practice passing with Kageyama. It was dark by now, and the street lights began to illuminate one after another.
The boy slowly shrunk down onto the grass as tears began to form in his eyes. He rolled over onto his stomach, his face buried in the ground.
"Hinata?"
The black haired boy arrived almost as if on cue. "She stood me up," he mumbled, but his words came out muffled. "Idiot..." Kageyama cursed under his breath, and for once it was directed towards someone other than Hinata.
"Come on, get off the ground." he nudged the shorter boy with his foot only to receive a pitiful groan in response. "You shouldn't be sulking over her... aren't you angry?" Kageyama asked, because he knew he sure as hell was.
"I can't bring myself to be mad at her." Hinata rolled onto his back, wiping his wet face with his arm. "Why not? She's a jerk."
"But I've liked her for so long..."
"Well not anymore, you shouldn't waste your time on (y/n)."
"You don't have to be so harsh!" Hinata snapped. Kageyama was trying his best to console his friend, but he wouldn't consider himself the best at these types of things. Oh well...
• • •
You blew a tuft of hair out of your face, holding your head with your hand as your elbow dug into the wooden desk. The piercing stare you usually felt in the back of your head was gone today.
The person who sat behind you was Hinata.
His downcast eyes stared into the surface of his desk as he tried his best to look in any direction but yours. There was no way he could face you again.
Later that day, you were approached by the boy Yua was going on about. You crossed your arms and glared up at him, not fully aware how hostile your expression was. "You didn't show up," was all he said.
Nodding your head, you admitted in a neutral tone, "I didn't."
"So apologize."
You stared at the boy with bewilderment. "Apologize?" you scoffed, "And why would I have to do that?"
"Because you made him cry..." the boy paused as you noticed his hands ball into tight fists.
"He was fucking crying after you decided to be a piece of shit and stand him up like that. Do you have any idea... how much that meant to him? How many nights he stayed up trying to build up the courage to talk to you, how many hours he spent attempting to gain confidence and drown his insecurities—now you've gone and pushed him down to rock bottom and he has no damn will to climb back up!"
You froze. Never have you been confronted so boldly. He didn't stutter, he didn't back down, he didn't lower his gaze once. You began to take the words into consideration for the first time in your nightmare of a life.
His rage filled glare forced you to shrink down as if you felt like nothing, as if every last word that came out of his mouth was entirely accurate. You were a piece of shit, a monster who felt no empathy, someone who finds joy in seeing others suffer. What's wrong with me?
"What was your name again?" you asked, looking at him with eyes that held no emotion.
"Kageyama."
"I'll keep that in mind, Kageyama." you stepped aside him and walked past.
Kageyama held back the urge to grab you by the collar and punch you straight in the face. He felt like a vein was about to pop out of his hand, his knuckles pure white.
But this—this wasn't what Hinata would want. Kageyama was doing this purely for himself. He couldn't just sit by and watch his friend's heart get shattered into a million pieces. And yet, violence wouldn't solve anything. He finally relaxed his hands, took in a deep breath and let it back out. How selfish.
• • •
"...after you decided to be a piece of shit and stand him up like that."
"...how many hours he spent building up his courage and drowning his insecurities."
"...you've gone and pushed him down to rock bottom and he has no will to climb back up."
The words clawed at your mind all day, peeling away pieces of you one by one until it almost felt like physical pain. It was unbearable.
After your confrontation with Kageyama, you couldn't help but reconsider all of your social relationships. Come to think of it, there weren't that many. Any word of you being "popular" was practically an illusion. People didn't really like you—they only liked your face.
How is Yua friends with me? Does she really like me, or does she only stick around because she's afraid? Your thoughts began to spiral, sending you into a bottomless pit of insecurity. Maybe it was a good thing that all of those boys were rejected, you didn't deserve any of them anyways.
Although the hallways were so lively, you couldn't help but feel this heavy sense of loneliness drop onto your shoulders. Seeing other students surrounded by their own friends as you walked through the crowd felt like they were taunting you. You were an outcast that placed herself too high on a pedestal that no one could ever dream to reach.
It felt as if the world was rubbing salt into your sliced up body.
You caught a glimpse of the familiar bright, orange haired boy surrounded by a couple others. They were talking and laughing and simply enjoying each other's presence. Though you could still notice how different he was from a day ago, the sorrowful undertone in his laughs, the fogginess in his eyes that wasn't there before. Your head hung low with shame.
I'm sorry, Hinata.
i have ideas for a part 2, so that's definitely a possibility. i'll do my best to keep you all entertained as our world goes to shit
please stay safe everyone ♡