chatter filled the air as the third-years sat at their usual lunch table. at the current moment, semi was ranting about one of his classmates while tendō egged him on.
"she wouldn't stop asking stupid questions!like, do you not have common sense?"
the redhead chuckled as semi's voice got louder the more he got angry. "awe, semi-semi! you weren't mean to the poor girl, were you?"
semi's shoulders slumped as she let out a sigh. "no, i didn't want to be mean. i just glared at the back of her head." ōhira patted the setter's back in an attempt to comfort him.
"such a sweetheart! you're a real softie."
"shut up."
tendō continued to laugh at his friends misery. noticing something was off, he craned his head to get a better look at the table. ushijima sat beside him, silently playing with his food. it looked like he was deep in thought, unfortunately taking it out on his rice. "wakatoshi-kun, you've been awfully quiet today!"
"how can you tell?" the setter questioned, shifting his attention to the ace. "he's always quiet."
"is everything okay?" concern laced ōhira's tone.
ushijima used his chewing as an opportunity to collect his thoughts. "i got called funny today."
semi's face contorted in confusion. "and that bothered you?" the ace shook his head, making him even more puzzled.
"i'm not bothered– it's just that hashimoto-san said it and i don't know why. i didn't make a joke."
tendō felt his interest pique at the mention of the other redhead. "what did you say?"
the olive haired boy explained what happened this morning before and during class while the group listened intensely. once finished, tendō started laughing maniacally while semi and ōhira had small smiles form on their faces.
"man, wakatoshi-kun! who knew you were such a flirt!"
"what?"
semi started snickering before ōhira flicked him. "ow!" semi whined while rubbing his arm. "anyways, ushijima having a crush on hashimoto-san is not something i expected out of our third-year, but i guess anything can happen!"
"wakatoshi and hashimoto sitting in a tree–"
"i don't have a crush." ushijima interrupted, effectively making the group shut down their teasing.
"but, you called her pretty! how do you not have a crush?"
ōhira patted the boy next to him on the shoulder. "calm down, semi."
"we aren't friends. how could i have a crush?"
tendō sighed at his friends obliviousness, lips curling into a soft smile. what a plot twist for their third year.
~ ✿~
i had a tournament in kentucky (where they don't have a mask mandate) over the weekend, so i got tested for covid. test results came back neg today!!