Now in primary school, [Name] saw Oikawa a lot more often.
On her first day of school, she timidly shuffled into the huge building lined with rows of windows and doors. In front of it was a large grassy field spotted with trees she hoped would bloom soon. The chatter and playful screams of other children echoed from neighboring hallways, and she couldn't help but feel intimidated by the large amount of children wandering into the school as well.
She had never been around so many people before and it scared her. Her nerves were soon set aside when she recognized a familiar head of curly, brown hair bouncing in the crowd with a very noticeable spaceship held above their head. (She doubted there were many people who were into the sci-fi world of aliens like Oikawa since no one else in their neighborhood seemed to).
[Name] was unsure if he would be able hear her over so many other overlapping voices so she picked up her pace to catch up to him. Squeezing through countless other children her age, she was finally close enough where she was sure he'd hear her.
"To-Tooru!" She stuttered, for some of her nervousness still remained.
The said boy turned around questioningly, seeming confused until he saw who it was that had called his name. His mouth widened into a toothy smile. "Hey, [Name]! Didn't know you were going here, too!"
She smiled back at him. Perhaps their moms knew they would both be attending the same school but didnt tell them. "Yep! Here I am!" She giggled.
"Oh, hey! What class are you in? Maybe we have the same one." Oikawa asked, his eyes gleaming like honey in anticipation for her answer. He didn't have many friends other than [Name] (plus he thought he wouldn't have many in school either since others didn't seem to like aliens as much as he did) and he was glad that there was someone he knew at school already.
"Uh. . ." [Name] pondered for a moment and nearly panicked when she couldn't remember what her mom had told her that morning and for the past few days. "C-class 1-B I think."
Oikawa gasped, hugging his prized spaceship toy closer. "No way! We're in the same class!"
Maybe it was just a mere coincidence that the two children had ended up in the same class. Maybe it wasn't. But who really knew.
-☆-
Several years of their childhood went by as quickly as the rain would come and go on a hot, summer day.
Oikawa and [Name] were now in middle school and their friendship had only grown stronger over the years. Now in their early teen years, changes were starting to happen though they both retained a few traits that might never go away with time.
For Oikawa it was his love for sci-fi and he still possessed the spaceship though he played with it less often now. He had recently found a new interest to obsess over and that was volleyball.
He'd had a few friends over the years but they never stuck around for long except for one, who he had met near the end of his very last year in primary school. And that was Iwaizumi Hajime. They both liked volleyball and were planning on joining the middle school's team. [Name] often watched them practice and it was quite entertaining to see Oikawa be clumsy sometimes then Iwaizumi getting mad at him for doing such a thing.
As of right now, she was enjoying the latest book in a series and the soft crushing sound of sand beneath feet along with the smack of the volleyball were only background noises. It wasn't summer yet so the rays of sun only tumbled upon her back, the light touch being brushed away by the cool spring breeze. The edges of the book's pages lightly rustled in the wind ─ though not enough to bother her ─ and the blooming flowers sprouting from the ground danced along to the earth's quiet melody.
A loud thud very close to her scared her and stole her attention away from the words on paper. With a pounding heart, she looked up to see Oikawa lying on his side on the sand and Iwaizumi on the other side of the net, both of them staring at her with concern.
"Idiot-kawa! Watch how you're receiving the ball! You almost knocked the ball straight into [Name]'s face!" Iwaizumi scolded, peering down angrily at his friend and soon-to-be teammate.
Oikawa stood and laughed off his angry statements with his usual gesture where he scratched the back of his head. "But luckily it didn't though."
This made Iwaizumi frown even harder and [Name] worried that if he and Oikawa were friends for a long time, Iwaizumi would get wrinkles at a young age from all this frowning and anger. "Yeah. Luckily."
Walking over to where the ball had landed right next to her, Oikawa knelt down to pick it up. His soft, honey gaze met hers and his voice contained nothing but concern. "I'm sorry I almost hit the ball into you. I'm glad you're not hurt though." He smiled gently. "You're okay, right?"
She nodded, her heart still pounding but she didn't think it was from the scare anymore. "Yep. I'm okay, Tooru. Just scared me a little."
He broke out into a wide grin. "That's good. Now watch me destroy Iwaizumi. I am the better volleyball player after all."
Oikawa ran off right after his statement and [Name] could only giggle softly while trying to calm her racing heart.
-☆-
Another few years passed in the blink of an eye and [Name] and Oikawa were now in high school.
They both had changed even more from their middle school selves; [Name] had grown into a diligent young woman interested in books, small crafts, and studying medicine. Meanwhile, Oikawa was still playful but no longer held the same strong interest in sci-fi and outer space like he used to. Now, his main focus other than academics was volleyball. He, alongside Iwaizumi, both joined Aoba Johsai's volleyball team and both were exceptional players.
The trio had stuck to each other's sides since middle school and although [Name] secretly wished she had more girl friends, she hadn't been able to find any that truly wanted to be her friend. Because of Oikawa's looks, girls flocked to him quickly with hearts in their eyes and some would even try to befriend [Name] with the goal of getting closer to Oikawa. Despite all the fangirls and attention, he would constantly turn them down whenever one would confess her feelings for him. Over time, the rejections happened so much that fewer girls would confess to him and more would direct their spite towards her.
One day she asked him why he had rejected any of them and he simply replied with a shrug while saying, "I'm not really interested in any of them. What's the point of being in a one-sided relationship?".
[Name] didn't pay much attention to what he had just said and instead nudged him in the side with her elbow but he barely reacted to it at all. "What about that girl watching you over there? By the tree. She's pretty. I think you'd like her."
Oikawa stopped eating his milk bread and scouted out the aforementioned girl. Once the girl realized he noticed her, she scurried away into the school building. He paused to think once she was gone but [Name] could tell he wasn't taking it seriously by how exaggerated he made his thinking motions. He then shook his head and went back to eating his bread. "Nah. Not my type."
She rolled her eyes at him. "At this point I think volleyball is your one and only true love. Anyways, what's your type then?"
"Secret." He giggled and winked at her. His playfulness disappeared almost instantly though, transforming a soft smile that made [Name]'s heart skip a beat. "Besides, I have you and Iwaizumi."
