Sober | Iwaoi

9 | 사랑

a/n for those of you that haven't read the revised chapter 8, please do. I didn't change much except for the ending :)

Neither of them said anything as Iwaizumi dropped Oikawa off. Oikawa smiled ruefully, then stepped out of sight.

Iwaizumi was glad, for two reasons. One, because he didn't think he could string together sentences in his current state of bewilderment, and two, because he was overwhelmed by a strong wave of guilt.

He couldn't decide whether Oikawa was serious. The timing- albeit off by a few months- was almost perfect. Perhaps Oikawa wasn't over Nakano and decided to take advantage of him (the thought made him want to bury himself in a hole).

The other possibility was that Oikawa had never liked Nakano in the first place, used her as a way to make him jealous, and hopefully, admit to him. 

This thought, though less plausible, was even worse than the first. Even if he hated Nakano, he couldn't deny that it was cruel for someone to do that.

It was a strange coincidence when Nakano's name appeared on this phone. He picked it up hesitantly. "Hello?"

"Iwaizumi?"

"Yes?"

"Hello," she laughed weakly. Her voice was scratchy and hoarse, which made him feel terrible. "How are you?"

"Okay," he muttered.

She paused, then, "Did Oikawa call you?" 

It was a question filled with desperation and regret, but her voice was controlled, so Iwaizumi couldn't tell the answer she wanted to hear.

"Yeah."

"Oh," she exhaled. "Oh. That's good."

She was being so calm about it. Kind, even. Iwaizumi couldn't bring himself to tell her, so... "Why?"

"Well, I did tell him to."

Ah. 

It took a second for Iwaizumi to fit together the pieces. And when he did, he suddenly felt extremely bad for Nakano and decided it was better she know.

"You broke up with him so we could stay friends?" he asked, a confirmation of her intentions. Iwaizumi was afraid he'd accidentally ended the call when she didn't answer, but when he looked to check, the call time was still running. "Hello?"

"I knew," she blurted, on the verge of tears. "I know."

Iwaizumi's heart stopped, then broke for her. 

Nakano's unwavering voice began to show cracks as she continued. "All he talked about was you. All the time," she sputtered. "Of course, I didn't want to ruin your friendship either, but I guess- I guess... I thought maybe, he'd find a way to love me if I listened," she smiled bitterly.

He didn't blame her frustration. Iwaizumi couldn't, even if he tried, find a single fault in what Nakano had done.

"I didn't know you liked him back. Otherwise, I would've done it earlier. Oikawa didn't want to tell you, you know? Too scared," she murmured.

"That's what he said to me." He instantly regretted it, because what kind of shitty person told that to someone who was crying?

Nakano laughed. "I'm being sort of a jerk right now. Oikawa finally confessed and you should be happy. I just wish-"

wished it were her. He knew that feeling. "No," he said firmly. "I was really horrible to you."

"I should've known sooner," she snorted. "He only treated me like his girlfriend when he knew you were looking."