Chapter 6
After all the questioning from your cousin, the five of you decided you finally retire for the night, Kuroo and Kenma having morning practice while the three of you need to get up early for Fukurodani's departure from Hyogo.
You were about to make an attempt at sleeping when your phone pinged, indicating a notification.
@its.bokuhey tagged you, @akaashi_k, and two others in a post
You rolled your eyes at the notification, getting up from the bed to go to the guestroom. You opened the room before whisper yelling,
"Go to sleep!" you shut the door, not bothering to wait for the two owls' response.
Bokuto posted a selfie of him, in the background of the photo were you and Akaashi talking with Kuroo and Kenma through the video call, the four of you not even aware of the picture being captured. What made you slightly laugh is the caption that Bokuto wrote: "Sleepover! But @kuroobro and @kk.gaming is in a laptop... iS THIS A DIGITAL SLEEPOVER?"
Further scrolling through the comment section, you see the four still conversing.
@akaashi_k: Bokuto-san, there's no such thing as digital sleepover
@its.bokuhey: Of course there is! We just did it!
@kuroobro: I thought we ended the call because we need to sleep?
@kk.gaming: what is sleep? I left the call because I have a game tournament
@kuroobro: WE HAVE PRACTICE TOMORROW!
@its.bokuhey: YOU CAN HAVE VOLLEYBALL GAMES DIGITALLY?!
@[username]: GO TO SLEEP!!!
After taking a deep breath for the nth time, you closed your eyes to finally enter dreamland and have your rest when another ping went off. Hastily grabbing your phone, you opened it beginning to type knowing that it's probably the four still messing around the comments.
You halt your finger when your eyes adjusted to the light coming through your phone. You read the notification again and again not believing what just happened.
@sakusa.kiyo, @komoriiii, @tobio.k, @hina_shoyo, @k.onohaaa, @yukipie and 23 others followed you.
Your eyes widened at the number of sudden followers, 'these people are...' you checked one of the people's profiles and saw a mutual following. 'These are all Bokuto's friends?!'
You kept scrolling through the names but stopped when you saw two familiar usernames, @bestsetter.miya and @thebetter_miya. Your fingers hovered over their names but decided against clicking their profiles. You didn't have any reason to. So just turned off your device and pushed all the thoughts away, drifting to sleep.
You wake up to your head pounding and your eyes heavy. Your body doesn't want to get up from the bed but you shrugged it off and forced yourself to get ready for the day. Bokuto and Akaasi will leave for Tokyo this morning and you have to send them off.
By the time you arrived at the school gates, your body is screaming at you to lay down and rest as much as your body needs. It has been a long time since the last time you caught a fever. But you thought it is bound to happen, especially after helping out non-stop for the Art Exhibition.
"AKAASHI I DON'T WANT TO GO! WHY DON'T WE JUST STAY HERE?" Bokuto's voiced boomed. It made your headache much worse. You love Bokuto and his outgoing personality but now that your head is splitting open, you hope he'd tone it down a little. Or maybe a lot.
"That's not possible Bokuto-san. We have a practice match with a school in a neighboring prefecture and school for tomorrow." Akaashi immediately shot down Bokuto before he can get any more ideas. Bokuto deflated and faced you, spreading his arms wide, motioning for a hug.
You laughed softly at him. Sometimes you can't believe this guy is a year older than you. It's like the other way around. The embrace lasted for a whole minute and knowing Bokuto maybe it'll last more but it was cut short when he hold you an arm length away with his hands on your both shoulders.
"You feel hot. Do you have a heater hidden somewhere?" He asked innocently. You stiffened at his remark while Akaashi turned his attention to you. He slightly pushed Bokuto out of the way and placed himself in front of you.
You heard a chorus of gasps from the volleyball players when Akaashi put his forehead onto yours. For them, this seem like an intimate gesture but you know better. He's checking yur temperature. You lowly cursed as he leaned away from you, a stern frown on his face.
"You have a fever? You shouldn't have gone out of the bed" Akaashi said but it was only heard by you and Bokuto.
"Ah! It's fine! I need to see you guys off..." you trailed off whole answering him. Akaashi just sighed and ruffled your hair.
"We'll text you later to check up on your condition." he said. You just nodded, not really knowing what to say. Soon, the Fukurodani Volleyball Team left and you, together with the rest of your school's team, went back to the building to get ready for classes.
You took a step forward but you felt your vision spinning a little making you stop abruptly and leaned slightly by the wall. This didn't go unnoticed by the team, as you are walking in front of them.
"Hey, you okay?" Suna asked. You just chuckled slightly,
"Did you have to rhyme that?" You muttered trying to brush off the fact that your eyesight start spinning again.
"You don't feel well. Just go to the clinic. I'll tell our teacher." He didn't ask if you were not feeling well. He knows that you're not. You sighed softly and slowly nodded. He turned to the team still waiting behind you,
"You guys can go ahead, it's almost time for classes. I'll just take [name] to the clinic." The others nodded while starting to walk forward after sparing you a worried glance, two among those slightly lingering.
The day passed and you just spent the day in the clinic. The nurse said something about being stubborn and not knowing how to take care of your own health but you didn't bother listening for the details. Your head hurt as it is.
By the time the nurse released you from the clinic, the sun already set. What time is it even? You sighed and trudged towards your classroom to get your bag. You remembered that your phone is inside that bad, you winced at the thought. The groupchat is probably blowing up with messages knowing that Bokuto won't shut up to Kuroo about me having a small fever.
"Yes, we're on our way to the clinic to fetch her."
You abruptly stopped in opening your class door when you heard that voice. Atsumu's. What is he doing in your classroom? This late no less. Oh right, volleyball practice. You took a peak inside the room and saw the twins huddled infront of a table, Osamu holding a bag and Atsumu speaking with someone on the phone.
Wait.
That is your phone!
"Yeah yeah, I know. We'll walk her home. Okay I get it, bring her home, make sure she's alright and among other things. And yes, you already said you'll kill us if she's not fine-" you snatched your phone away from Atsumu's hand and viewed who is he talking to, Kuroo-nii. The contact name flashed.
"What are you doing here? With my bag and phone?" you asked the two of them, trying to glare. You didn't wait for what they have to say and pressed the phone to my ear,
"And you. I can take care of myself. I'm fine now." Kuroo just sighed in the other line. You sure are stubborn.
"I don't believe you. Those two idiots there said they're going to take you home. Let them" you were about to retort but you heard a beep indicating that your cousin actually hanged up on you. That sly cat.
After pocketing your phone, you faced the two of them. The three of you just standing still as if feeling each other out, finding the right moment to speak to one another.
"I'm going home." you reached for your bag, only for it to be raised up in the air where you can't reach by Osamu. What a jerk.
"Just let us walk you home." he said. You stared at him for two full seconds and him looking at you pleadingly.
"Fine." you turned your back to him and faced Atsumu. Just like with Osamu, you stared at him intently as if you're assessing him. After a moment you raised both your hands up. Atsumu, in turn, grinned back slightly and dropped to his knees, his back facing you. You mounted on his back, your head resting on the crook os his neck.
"Still the same as ever, [nickname]"
The walk home is silent and awkward. Well, what would you expect? After all that has gone down. You feel Osamu's glances at you and Atsumu's headshifts to have a look at you.
"Can you stop glancing back and forth at me?" you asked loudly at the two of them. Atsumu suddenly stopped walking, soon followed by Osamu.
"We miss you, [nickname]..." Atsumu whispered lowly. It's just one sentence. He just said your nickname the two of them call you. It's just words, but still you feel the hot tears wanting to escape your eyes.
"Why can't we go back to the time when all was fine?" Osamu asks.
"When was the time that it was 'all fine'? I..." you stopped yourself from talking when your voice almost cracked, the twins still silent.
"We all know that things have been bad even before that nationals... it just served as a breaking point..." you continued, each word lower than the last. But you knew they heard it.
"What made it bad? I don't think anyone of us knows the specific moment. Is it the time when girls bullied you for always hanging out with us? Or that time when we had a fight about your two-faced friends? Did we just drift off without knowing why?"
Osamu can't help but ramble on and on about the possibilities. His mind is boggled and he just want to let it out. Everything is so wrong. Not having lunch with you, not walking to and from school together, not hanging out on weekends, it feels out of place. He kept it bottled up in for how many years but for some reason, it keeps leaking out.
Everything is so wrong in their life without you.
And he wants to fix it. To make it right.
"I don't care about all that." Atsumu's voice rang out.
"I said it to you guys years ago, 'We don't need things like memories'. I'll throw all of it away, it's all in the past. What matters is now. What am I going to do in the present..." Atsumu continued, you just stayed silent, wanting to listen to their side.
"And I have decided, [nickname]. What I am going to do now is to be your friend again. I don't care if you won't forgive me right away. That is my goal in the present. I'll bring my best friend back." You stared at his eyes and just slowly nodded. The determination in his voice is heard. It's like the time when the three of you made the promise.
"She's also my best friend, you know. Don't go claiming that title" Osamu grumbled. It put a smile on your face.
It feels like the old times.