Is this inspired by All Too Well by Taylor Swift? Yes. Yes it is. That's my current favorite song.
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In middle school, Tooru Oikawa realized his dream of being the best at volleyball. He refused to believe that anyone could be better than him. In high school, he wasted no time in joining the team and worked harder than anyone. Come his second year, he started feeling comfortable with his position.
That was the year he met you.
Something about Oikawa is that when he falls for someone, he falls hard. The first year of your relationship was filled with romantic dates, constant sleepovers, and lots of PDA. He'd make sure you would always have a front row seat to every one of his games, dedicating all of his serves to you. He treated you like royalty.
The start of his third year started off the same, except now Tooru was getting recognized by professionals since he was close to graduating. He had a promising future ahead of him and he had wanted to spend it with you. However, Karasuno, a rival school, had gotten stronger since Aoba Johsai last played them. Oikawa fell into a routine of ignoring your texts, opting to train until every muscle in his body was sore and Iwaizumi had to threaten him to go home. In lieu of sleep, he would analyze Karasuno's video tapes to see their usual strategies.
If you watched the team during practice, Oikawa rarely ever smiled. His voice remained as warm as ever, but his jovial expression was replaced with a terrifying glare. The Tooru you had fallen in love with seemed to have disappeared.
After practice, the two of you would walk home together. What once was a way for Oikawa to cheerfully ramble to you alone had become him speeding past you with a quiet scowl.
You jogged to catch up with him, "Tooru."
"Yeah?" He refused to look at you or slow down.
"What's wrong? You're not as cheery as you usually are."
He sighed, "Nothing's wrong. Just stressed."
"I'm worried about you though. You've been doing nothing but practicing for days on end. You should take a break."
Oikawa finally slowed down before replying, "I can't! This is our final time to go to nationals in high school. If I let Karasuno beat us..."
"It'll be okay if you don't go to nationals! I know it'll hurt but it wouldn't be the end of the world. You're gonna go pro. You're an amazing player even if you lose."
"It wouldn't be the same! This is the last time us third years will be on the same team together!"
"They're your friends, Tooru! I'm sure they'd be fine knowing everyone gave their all in the end. Karasuno's third years probably feel the same way as you! Losing does not mean you're weak."
"Yes it does! In middle school, I was overshadowed by a kid that's now a first year on Karasuno's team. He's younger and dumber but he still stole everything from me!"
"He's a kid, Tooru! He probably looks up to you-" Before you could finish, Oikawa rolled his eyes and walked up to his house, slamming the front door closed. You tore your defeated gaze away from his house to make your way into yours.
Oikawa refused to talk to you after that day. He continued his toxic routine up until the day of the match against Karasuno. He didn't notice that you were in the audience, in the front row along with other peers cheering the team on. You tried not to stare at Tooru the whole time but found yourself constantly drifting back to him.
You witnessed the team's demeanor deflate at Karasuno's win. You gripped the rails in the stands as you saw the boys begin to tear up one by one.
As Oikawa gathered his things from the locker room, Iwaizumi pat him on the back, saying that their loss wasn't the end of the world despite how much it stung in the moment. That's exactly what you had said too. After his friend walked away, Tooru's fist weakly pounded the locker he slumped in front of.
You were right, he had realized. You were right and he had blown you off like you weren't important to him. You cared about him and he ignored you, blinded by the thought of proving his talent.
"I'm sorry." He whispered before breaking down into sobs, no one left in the room to hear him.
