As Oikawa is walking down the hall, he passes by some girls and what they say catches his attention.
"Did you see Oikawa-san today?"
"Yeah! He literally yelled at all of us today; I wonder why?!"
'What?! F/n-chan yelled at my fangirls?!?!' Before he can finish listening to their conversation, he runs towards where you and the boys usually hang out during lunch--the gym. "F/--" As he was about to yell your name, he stops himself when he sees Makki and Matsu eating with you and Iwaizumi. It has been a couple of days since day one and let's just say, you were rather getting along with these two memers easily. It was difficult to open up at first, especially since you were such an introvert, but their jokes/retorts always made you laugh.
"Oh, L/n-chan! What brings you here?" Makki asks. Since Oikawa had also joined the club as the manager and already knew each of the players, being friends with them--as you--wasn't hard for him.
"I-I just needed to tell Oikawa-san something." He rubs the back of his neck. Confused, but obediently, you get up. When you guys are gone, Makki and Matsu start talking.
"Is it just me, or Oikawa isn't as annoying and childish like he usually is?" Mastu points out.
"Yeah, and his sets have gotten pretty bad... but his personality has totally improved!" They giggle as Iwaizumi just listens.
"It also seems like he isn't so into himself and he even yelled at his fans this morning when they were crowding him! He never does that," Makki continues.
"It's like, he's become a whole different kind of Oikawa... The cool gentleman Oikawa," Mastu thinks out loud as Makki nods in agreement.
"I even heard some girls totally fangirling over how Oikawa suddenly became even more 'hot' when he yelled at them!" Makki laughs.
"U-uhh, I don't thin--"
"Does L/n-san like him? L/n-san is always talking to Oikawa during practice usually, like she's giving him advice... but I don't remember L/n-san ever being his fangirl?"
"Oikawa is the same and L/n-san doesn't like him!!" Iwaizumi blurts, then realizes what he says. "I-I mean--"
"No need to get angry, Iwaizumi!"
"Yeah, we're just observing your best friend," Matsu giggles then they go back to eating.
On the other hand...
"F/n-chan, you need to be nicer to people!!! Remember, you are me! I have a reputation!" You sweat but sigh.
"I'm sorry! They were just so annoying today, I couldn't hold it in," you pout as Oikawa face palms.
"It's fine, just don't do it again. But, after practice, let's practice on your serves again!" he says as you nod obediently.
"Well, I'll see you later then." You wave and are about to walk away when he grabs a hold of your wrist. "What?" Oikawa just stares at you then let's go.
"Sorry... I don't know why I did that," he hesitates as you just nod and walk away to go back to the boys. "Why do I suddenly feel so lonely?" he asks himself and remembers how you would laugh with his friends like he used to do. Standing there for a while, he then decides to find Hime. "Hey, Hime-chan!" he waves. Hime gives him a look before returning to regular.
"You've been so different lately, F/n," she says as she looks through a magazine. Oikawa sweats.
"What do you mean?"
"You've become more outgoing and your personality... You've gotten louder?"
"Is that bad?" he asks as she smiles and shrugs.
"It's not bad; I think it's good that you're becoming more open. I just wonder why you've decided to suddenly change..."
'Was F/n-chan always quiet and shy?' he thinks.
"By the way, Oikawa hasn't been bothering me lately. That's awesome! Maybe he got bored of me," she laughs as Oikawa panics.
"What? I think he's just busy. He's always talking about you during practice," Oikawa tries to cover up for himself as Hime makes a face of disgust.
"He needs to get over me... I already like someone else." Feeling his heart break a little bit, Oikawa just lets out a hesitant laugh.
-
After school, Oikawa texts you to come walk with him and Hime in order to get him closer to her. Irritated but obedient, you listen and tell Iwaizumi that you'll come to the gym with Oikawa a little bit later. As you're walking towards Hime and Oikawa, you suddenly see a familiar face. It's the guy Hime is crushing on--Ushijima. Oikawa is obviously irritated with seeing Ushijima in front of him, but since he is in your body, he tries not to show it too much.
"I just came to bring you your jacket, Hime-san," Ushijima says in his low voice as Hime blushes and takes it.
"You didn't have to come all the way here to bring it, Ushijima-kun." Hime puts a strand of hair over her ear. As you come up to them, you remember Oikawa's words to be more nice to people.
'Here goes nothing,' you think to yourself and take a breath. "Hello, Ume-chan, F/n-chan, and Ushijima-san!" Oikawa, Hime, and Ushijima all look at you with shocked eyes. Why? Because... OIKAWA ACTUALLY POLITELY GREETED USHIJIMA NICELY.
"U-uh... Oikawa... are you okay?" Hime asks as you sweat.
"Of course I'm fine, Ume-chan. I just saw Ushijima with you guys and wanted to say, hi. We've played against each other a lot and it's always been a fun game," you converse as Oikawa is mentally screaming in his head.
'WHY IS SHE BEING SO NICE TO USHIWAKA?!?!?!?!' Ushijima's eyes widen, then they relax.
"It's nice to know that, Oikawa-san," Ushjima innocently replies as you give him a smile. That smile almost killed Oikawa while it surprised Hime and Ushijima. Oikawa NEVER smiles at Ushijima... Never.
"How have you been lately, Ushijima-san? How's practice?" you continue to ask and even ignore Hime which shocks her as well.
'Oikawa's changed,' Ushijima and Hime think. On the other hand, Oikawa is biting his nails to prevent him from bursting out.
'Why is she initiating a conversation with him?!'
"I've been good, Oikawa-san. I hope you know that I still think you should've come to Shiratorizawa." Okay, that cut it for Oikawa. In anger, he took hold of your wrist.
"Sorry, but we have to get going to practice! Bye byeeeeeee!" Oikawa hurriedly says before pulling you away from the two.
"What's wrong?" you confusedly ask as he brings you somewhere private.
"What's wrong is, why are you being so nice to Ushiwaka?!" You give him a face of confusion.
"You told me to be nice to people?!" It then hits him and he sighs.
"I meant nice to everyone EXCEPT HIM!!!!" You give him an unamused face.
"You know, you're a jerk, right?" you ask as steam comes out of his ears.
"How rude, F/n-chan!"
"Well, I'm trying my best, okay? Plus, it's not like you're exactly talking like me either," you say as Oikawa stops.
"I know... I'm sorry," he apologizes as you sigh.
"Let's just go to practice, Oikawa-san. I'll come home a little later because I need to go grab something, so you can go home with Iwa," you say as he just nods.
-
After a little extra practice, like you usually do, you lock up and leave the gym. Thankfully, being in Oikawa's athletic body, you were able to get better at playing. Now, you were at least able to control where to set the ball after many late nights of practice. So, the boys were less suspicious. As you walk out of the convenient store and back home, you pass the park to hear someone crying. Curious, you look closer to see Hime crying. As your best friend instincts kick in, you immediately walk over to her.
"Ume-chan?" She immediately lifts her head and wipes her tears.
"W-what are you doing here, Oikawa?" she irritatingly asks. You sit next to her.
"Well, I was just passing by and heard someone crying..." As you see that she's trying to stop her crying you stop her by putting your hand on her hand. "You don't have to stop crying; just let it all out," you softly say and with that, she continues to bawl her eyes as you wait for her to calm down. After a couple minutes of her crying, she finally calms down and you hand her a napkin that she accepts. "Wait here; I'll be right back!" you say and run off. When you come back, you see that she's thankfully still there and hand her her favorite ice cream you guys usually get when you guys used to hang out. She gratefully takes it and starts eating while you eat yours.
"Why are you being so nice to me?" she asks as you eat.
"Because, I care about you, Ume-chan," you simply say.
"You're not going to ask me what's wrong?" she suspiciously asks as you shake your head.
"Sometimes, what people need is just silence and not advice. Then, whenever you want to tell me, I'll just listen." Hime's eyes widen and she feels her heart beating quicker.
'Oikawa's different,' she thinks but decides to tell you her problems.
"I confessed to Ushijima-san earlier and he rejected me," she confesses as you just listen. "I really liked him!" Seeing her hurt made your heart ache as her best friend. So, you did what you would do in your usual body, you pulled her into a hug. The contact causes Hime to blush but it was comfortable in Oikawa's arms.
"It's okay," you whisper after a while of silence. "I think you're wonderful and if he can't see it, then that's his own problem." Suddenly, your phone beeps and you see that it's Oikawa. "I'm sorry, Ume-chan, but I have to get home. I hope you feel better okay? And if you ever need someone to talk to, you can always talk to me." You give her a soft smile which causes her heart to beat faster and her face to grow warm. As you leave, she watches your back and smiles.
'Thank you for being there for me, Oikawa.'
Date: 27 June 2020