stubborn |tsukkishima kei|

*7*

Still elated by the boys' win, [Name] couldn't stop smiling as she was gathering all of the water bottles scattered by both of the teams. The least she could do was clean up after both of the teams after arriving so late and failing to aid in the match's setup. She felt a presence behind her and turned around to see Oikawa standing there with a smirk, irking [Name].

"Why didn't you tell me that you were on the other team? And why were you so late to the match?" questioned [Name], annoyed at the male's carefree attitude and freakishly good volleyball skills.

"I like to be mysterious," Oikawa heartily replied, puffing out his chest to make it seem like he was all high and mighty. It suddenly made sense to [Name] why Hinata called him the "great king." She just rolled her eyes in response and walked away from him, on a journey to organize the water bottles. To her disappointment, Oikawa followed her.

"What did you think of the match? I was pretty cool out there, don't you think?"

"What I think is that you are a third-year flirting with a first-year," [Name] said, raising an eyebrow at the tall brunette, who cheekily smiled and put his hands up in response.

Across the gym, Yamaguchi noticed [Name] speaking with Oikawa for quite some time, due to Tanaka's fuming rage at the opposing team's captain for doing so. He wondered what they could possibly be talking about.

"I wonder what's going on over there," he wondered aloud, sitting down next to Tsukki, who was more preoccupied with his aching fingers. He didn't reply to the freckled male but flickered his eyes up for just a second to see that [Name] was still engaged in conversation with Oikawa, looking away just as fast. Something about Oikawa made the blonde angry- he was extremely talented, but his boastful nature almost canceled it out. Tsukkishima rolled his eyes.

"How about we talk more later? Off the court?" Oikawa asked [Name], despite her earlier comment concerning their age gap. He handed her his phone, which was already opened to a new contact page. [Name] couldn't help but scoff at his confidence, but was impressed enough to put her number in, and handed him back his phone.

"I'll text you," Oikawa said with a wink," it was nice to meet you..." he looked down at his phone, realizing he hadn't even caught her name," [Name]." Oikawa smiled and walked away, and [Name] watched as he walked over to his team to get yelled at by a boy with black spiky hair. She rolled her eyes and continued to tidy up the gym, smiling internally about the way she handled the situation, surprised by her own extraverted behavior. As soon as she walked over to her team, Kiyoko and Yamaguchi confronted her, both with very different expressions on their faces.

"What were you two talking about?" questioned Kiyoko with a knowing grin, causing [Name] to blush, prompting a frown on Yamaguchi's face.

"It's not a big deal," [Name] chuckled lightly," he just asked me for my number."

"That's really funny," Tsukkishima inserted from behind the trio, wiping the rosy tint right off [Name]'s face. Just to spite him, she whipped out her phone to show the gleaming notification, a simple text from Oikawa that indicated the number was his. Kiyoko giggled at [Name] and patted her on the shoulder in congratulations. Yamaguchi laughed dryly, unsure what to say to the girl. He looked up at Tsukki, who surprisingly had a similar reaction, his face displaying pure distaste. The trio's staring match was broken up by the booming words of Daichi, who announced that it was time to send off Aoba Josai. [Name] rolled her eyes at the two boys and walked off to join Kiyoko in organizing the rest of the volleyball gear.

The entire team assembled to wave off Aoba Josai. The teams had fun learning about- and from- each other, after all. [Name] watched as Daichi shook hands with Oikawa, she sensed the tension between the two captains and shuddered, but felt at ease once Oikawa gave her a smile and a wave before he turned and left.

The events of the entire morning shocked [Name], from showing up late to the game to "mingling with the enemy," as Tanaka and Hinata put it. [Name] was more surprised at her willingness to even interact with Oikawa, something that even surprised both Yamaguchi and Tsukkishima.

The team said their goodbyes for the day and [Name], Yamaguchi, and Tsukkishima set off on their walk home, awkward energy surrounding the trio.

"Congrats on the win again, guys," chirped [Name], attempting to break the ice, confused why the two were quieter than usual.

"Thanks, [Name]. I just wish I could've helped out," Yamaguchi said with a sigh.

"It's just the first match. You'll be able to play soon, I know it!" [Name] said, patting him on the back reassuringly.

"Someone's in a good mood," Tsukkishima said with a scowl, as if he hated seeing her happy," We probably wouldn't have won if your boyfriend the great king was there the entire time," he continued, making [Name]'s cheeks hot. Little did the blonde know that it wasn't her happiness that annoyed him, but who was making her happy that did.

"He's not my boyfriend, you dumbass," she explained," I literally just met him today when-"

"When you showed up freakishly late? I figured," He smirked, knowing it would make her mad. Yamaguchi sighed and didn't even bother attempting to dial down their bickering.

"I don't usually wake up this early on weekends," [Name] said, her voice getting louder as she grew more and more annoyed with Tsukkishima. Yamaguchi walked off the path and into his house without notifying the two, too tired from cheering to try and speak through their insults.

"I'm sure you don't. You probably sleep all day considering you certainly don't spend that time studying," he snapped back.

"Not everyone is as smart as you, professor Tsukkishima," she retorted smugly, proud of her use of the nickname she knew he hated.

"Whatever, chibi-chan," he shot back, smacking her on top of the head, causing [Name] to retaliate with an elbow to his side, making him stumble away from her with a scowl. It was as if their fight reflected the weather, as the sky thundered and rain began to start pouring down and drenching the fighting duo, further ruining their moods.

"Great," [Name] mumbled, clutching her sides. She was in such a rush this morning that she forgot to grab an umbrella on her way out. The rain slowly crept down [Name]'s messy hair, flattening it to a big wet mop. She shuddered in the cold and quickened her pace, eager to get home and out of the rain. The two soon reached Tsukkishima's house, and [Name] didn't even bother to say goodbye to the male, until she felt a rain jacket plop onto her head. She turned to see Tsukkishima walking into his house, not turning around for even a second. [Name] huffed and slipped Tsukkishima's rainjacket on, continuing on her fast pace home.

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