When The Timer Hits Zero. ~Iwaoi~

~Part Five~

I have to find out what the timer means, and quickly. I have a few weeks left. Iwa's timer runs out on Tama's wedding. Mine runs out just 3 days before. I grab a notebook and write down everything I know.

My mom. My aunt. My cousin. Tama. If their timer runs out, their skin starts glowing. Sometimes it's faint, sometimes it's bright. The timer shatters to pieces, turns into dust, gets blown away. Nothing else happens; they don't die, they don't act weird. The bad things come later. In some cases, a new timer appears. In some cases, they disappear.

For Tama's sake, too, I should find out what it means. I stay up nights, days, trying to find out the meaning. Looking for people whose timer will run out soon, watch them, almost stalk them.

Two weeks later, and I still haven't found out anything. I'm tired. I haven't slept in days. My dad is worried, he's trying to get me to stay home, call in sick, but I can't. In just 10 days, my timer will run out. In just 13 days, Iwa's timer will run out, and Tama will get married. Everything will change. I have to enjoy the last days of my normal, daily life as much as I can.

'Bye dad. I love you.' I yawn and then kiss him on the cheek. 'Tooru. Be careful. You can come home anytime, alright?' he says, obviously not wanting me to go. 'I know, I know, I'll be fine. School's important. I'll get better when vacation comes.' I try to comfort him. Vacation starts right after Tama's wedding, which is at a thursday. Only a friday seperates the two.

I step into the gym, being the first to arrive as usual. I change into my volleyball gear and put up the nets right as Iwa, Mattsun and Makki walk in. They're obviously annoying Iwa, judging from the scowl on his face and the loud laughing of the other two. 'Iwa-channnn!' I sayas energetic as possible while I walk up to greet him.

As soon as he looks at me, his scowl turns into a frown. 'Trashykawa. You haven't slept again?' he whispers. 'I'm fine, Iwa, really! Are you worried that I'll ruin my pretty face?' I try to convince him. 'Pretty face? All I see is a tired monstruous being in front of me.' 'So mean, Iwa-chan!' I pout. We continue to put up the nets while the rest of the team walks in and gets ready.

I'm setting some balls to Iwaizumi, who lazily spikes them over the net. 'By the way, Asskawa, I've been able to get free from work for Tama's wedding.' 'Really? That's amazing!' I smile. Iwaizumi and Tama have become good friends over time, thanks to the both of them coming over to my house a lot. That's why he too got invited to her wedding.

Tama's wedding... I frown. My heart sinks and my whole body feels heavy whenever I think about it. It is supposed to be the best day of her life, but something will go wrong.

Suddenly, I feel someone flick my forehead. 'Owwwww! Makki!' I cry out. 'What was that for?!' I rub the spot he hit. 'You were spacing out with a biiiig frown on your face, and Iwa looked like he was about to go hit you, so I did it for him.' Iwa does indeed look angry. 'Iwa-chan?' I ask. 'Oikawa. We need to talk. Now.' he drags me outside despite the looks it draws from the other members and my loud and clear protest.

'You need to tell me what's wrong. It's been getting worse and worse and I can't stand it. Why can't you trust me?' he says angrily, but mostly worried. 'I can't. Sorry, Iwa. I don't want to bother you, really. I'll be fine as long as you keep our promise.' My answer didn't please him at all. 'Can't you see that it does bother me? You're clearly not okay and you're hiding it from me. Why? Don't you know I would do everything to help you?' There it is. Iwaizumi's sweet, sensitive side. A real piece of him that only me and few others know of.

'Sorry, Iwa.' I say softly. 'I really can't.' 'Oikawa, please. I- I really.. Care about you. A lot.' He grabs my wrists. 'Thank you.' I say, not daring to look him in the eye.

We stay there for a minute in silence, until Mattsun and Makki come outside. Iwaizumi quickly pulls away and clears his throat. I can feel my cheeks warm up a bit as they caught us in a confession kinda pose. They burst out laughing, immediately making all sorts of jokes about how Iwa must love me. Iwa blushes at least three different shades of red as he yells at them. How cute.