Bet (Oikawa Tooru x Reader) Haikyuu!!

Eighteen: Promise

"[Name]...", Oikawa was surprised by the girl's unexpected reaction.

All this time she managed to keep her composure, but the sole mentioning of the girl from the photo was enough to break [Name] apart. Who was she? Was she the reason why [Name] was so withdrawn? Was she the one who hurt her to the point where [Name] was unable to trust others?

Oikawa peeked at the photo once again. [Name]'s shy smile... It was light, barely visible, but one thing was certain - it was honest. It was a smile of someone who had fun, who wasn't scared of others. It was the smile, which Oikawa had never happened to see.

Even though it was just an assumption, Oikawa was nearly sure that this girl - this cheerful person embracing the little, innocent [Name], was also someone who deeply scarred [Name]'s heart. No matter how much the boy wanted to ask [Name] about it, he knew that he shouldn't do it. He knew that the girl didn't trust him enough to tell him about her past. And today's event only seemed to bring him further from gaining her trust.

[Name] slowly collapsed on Oikawa's chest and gripped his shirt tightly. Her tears quickly soaked into the material, but Oikawa didn't mind. In fact, he was too focused on the shaking figure clinging on to him to even notice it. He embraced the wobbling girl and moved her closer to him. With her every sob, his own heart seemed to be clenching in pain.

Suddenly everything - his pride, the bet seemed to be so small and unimportant. The only significant matter right now was kneeling in front of him, full of doubts and wariness.

[Name] inhaled deeply, slowly calming down. She was thankful to Oikawa that he didn't inquire about the photo. He could be noisy and self-confident, but he knew when he should keep quiet.

"Shizuku", [Name]'s faint voice clashed through her room, "is somebody who I once called a 'friend'. She was my first and last best friend".

Oikawa guessed that [Name] was talking about the girl from the photo. He kept quiet, waiting for her to continue. He felt the girl's grip on his shirt getting tighter.

"But by the end of the primary school we were complete strangers to each other", she said.

No further explanation proceeded. Oikawa didn't get to know what happened between these two, but he was happy to know at least this much.

"I understand", he replied without any inquiring. He released [Name] from his embrace, seeing that she was already cool.

The girl looked up at the boy with her wet eyes and smiled to him awry. But after a moment, some strange feeling overflew her. Oikawa's face, his expression, his moves - something in him was making her want to speak up. She needed to speak up, to tell him about everything she had been hiding so carefully from the outside world for so long.

She shivered.

It was dangerous. This boy was dangerous for her and for the barrier she created. The barrier which was supposed to prevent her from harm coming from other people. Fortunately, it was too strong to make her speak up. She knew that she would regret telling Oikawa about everything later on.

She knew this. She could feel it already when she first met him. That's why she decided to watch him from the distance. To keep away from any contact with him.

And yet, there she was, crying in front of him, revealing the part of herself which nobody had ever seen.

"I hate it", she said, and Oikawa widened his eyes in surprise.

"What?", he asked, confused.

"I hate that being next to you makes me want to tell everything. I don't know how you're doing this, but stop it. It's annoying", she pouted jokingly.

"So why don't you tell me?", Oikawa asked, even though he knew the answer.

"Because you'll hurt me at some point", the girl replied.

"I won't", Oikawa fired back.

"You will", [Name] insisted.

"I won't", the boy repeated.

"Stop lying!", she suddenly exclaimed. "I already told you that everybody thinks only about himself. No matter what you say now, you'll hurt me eventually".

Oikawa furrowed his eyebrows.

Maybe this would be the case if he still cared about the bet. But right now, everything was different.

"So let me promise", he replied calmly. "Let me promise you that I'll never hurt you. And if I do, you can forget about me and about everything I've said and done. You can never talk to me again. Just give me a chance to show you that people aren't as scary as you think".

[Name] has never heard Oikawa being so serious.