𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐌 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐂𝐀𝐔𝐒𝐄𝐃 ━━ keiji akaashi

𝐋𝐎𝐂𝐊𝐄𝐑 𝐑𝐎𝐎𝐌

" 𝐋𝐎𝐂𝐊𝐄𝐑 𝐑𝐎𝐎𝐌 "

" have fun and please don't kill each other. ", bokuto snickered after he shut the door of the boys locker room.

" i can't believe he actually did that. ", ayaka sighed and let her body fall onto a bench.

akaashi leaned against a locker next to her. his fingers tapping against the cold metal, creating a little melody.

" would you be so kind and stop doing that ? ", ayaka faked a smile.

the boy glared at her but stopped, thankfully.

" don't you have your phone here ? just call someone and they'll get us out of here. ", the dark haired girl suddenly asked.

" i forgot it at home. don't you have yours ? "

his voice was annoyed, making the already unbearable tension even worse.

" i wouldn't have asked you if i had it, would i ? it's in my bag in the gym. "

" great. ", akaashi mumbled, his hand pushing through his messy hair, " we'll have to wait then. "

there was a fair amount of uncomfortable silence, probably a little over ten minutes. they didn't dare to say a word, though it didn't matter to them if someone would've said something. there would've been no answer anyways.

after almost an eternity passed, ayaka finally broke the silence.

" why do you hate me so much ? ", she asked in a low voice, not bothering to look in his eyes.

akaashi was taken aback by her sudden question, so he needed a moment to process it before he could find an answer.

" i don't hate you. ", he replied honestly, though it didn't sound sincere.

the girl chuckled in disbelief.

" what are you laughing at ? "

and back was the annoyance in his voice.

" you just aren't convincing. all the time, you act like i don't exist. i didn't even do something to you, though you keep making stupid remarks about me. i'm just trying to do a good job here but you make it really damn hard to enjoy being your manager. you may not know it but your words hurt. your words hurt really damn hard, akaashi-san. "

her voice was slow and quiet. reproach dripping from it.

the boy, on the other hand didn't really notice her tone. akaashi-san. it was the first time she actually said his name and it sounded so bitter sweet. he wanted to hear it again. even though she annoyed him constantly, her voice was more than beautiful.

" i- "

" no. please don't say anything. please. "

it was her breaking point. after recalling all the mean things akaashi said about her, she couldn't keep herself together anymore. a single, silent tear left the corner of her eye. the setter noticed it immediately and this time, all the guilt hit him.

he hesitantly sat down next to her, making sure too keep a distance between them.

" i'm sorry. and before you even try to shut me up, please just accept it. i didn't know it hurt you so bad. "

ayaka aggressively whipped her tear away and then turned around to stare in his eyes. his beautiful ocean blue eyes.

" say that again. ", she demanded with a shaky voice.

" i don't hate you, sakurai. ", akaashi whispered.

there was silence again.
i don't hate you.
ayaka was surprised that he actually said that.
i don't hate you.
his words repeated hundreds of times in her head.
i don't hate you.
the way he said her name made her heart race.
i don't hate you.
his voice sounded so sincere.
i don't hate you.
but what if he's just a really good actor and only said this to make me keep quiet.
i don't hate you.
no, that's very like him.
i don't hate you.

" i don't hate you either, akaashi. "

she said his name again and this time, the boy turned into a blushing mess. he broke the eye contact, not wanting ayaka to see his embarrassment.

" but even though i may not hate you, i still think you're pretty shitty. ", she laughed a little and to her surprise, akaashi did too.

" so are you. ", he chuckled.

as their laughter mixed with the silence again, the setter took all his courage to say something.

" please forgive me my bad attitude towards you. i want to make it up to you. i promise, my words won't ever hurt you again. "

" i want to apologise so you too. "

" and i want to start over. ", he said, lifted his body from his previous place on the bench and hold his hand to her face, for her to shake it.

the girl also stood up, being oddly close to him. it was the first time she noticed how ridiculously tall the setter was.

" i'm akaashi keiji, second year. setter and vice-captain of fukurōdani's volleyball team. ", his voice was a little shaky.

" i'm sakurai ayaka, first year. manager of fukurōdani's volleyball team. "

" nice to meet you. ", they said in unison.

finally, she reached for his hand, to take it in her smaller one. his skin was so soft, it almost felt like silk.

ayaka remembered how the time would stop whenever they looked at each other but this was something entirely different. it was more than time that stopped. to say that in this particular moment, the world was theirs, would be an understatement. it was so much more than that, she just didn't know how to put it in words.

the teenagers were standing like that for a while, holding hands and staring into each other's eyes. none of them dared to say a word.

after the minutes had passed by, ayaka cleared her throat awkwardly, let go of akaashi's hand and stared to the ground, blushing like crazy. the boy did the same, mentally slapping his face.

next time try to stare a little bit more obvious at her, dumbass.

" oh my god ! ", the manager suddenly exclaimed and hit her forehead with her hand.

" what is it ? ", he asked, turing his head towards her.

" the windows aren't locked ! we could've just escaped the entire time. ", she whined.

they both hit their foreheads another time, though they were secretly glad that they just discovered it now.

— AUTHOR'S NOTE
this is my favourite chapter so far, i'm obsessed.

thank you for reading && stay safe !

faithfully yours,
greta