Choosing

s i x t e e n

The next morning I decide to wake up earlier to catch Sara. We haven't really sat down and talked in awhile so why not go with her to practice? Only when I get up she's already gone. I sigh and hear my phone ring. I grab it and furrow my eyebrows.

Why is Oikawa calling?

"Hello?" I answer in a whisper. I don't want to wake the other girls up. But when I glance over I see all the futons empty. Seriously? All the girls decided to go? Way to make me feel left out.

"Why are you whispering?"

"Why are you calling?" I ask in a regular voice, only it's rough because I just woke up.

"I was wondering if you could help me out. Sara got hit, she's on the floor in pain. I don't know what to do. I would take her to the nurse, but she doesn't want to go." He says this calmly but I start freaking out. I ask him where he is while pulling a hoodie over my shirt and some black leggings. When I hang up, I rush out of the room and run all the way to where they are — only when I get there, Sara is nowhere to be found. Oikawa stands in the middle of the court with a wide smile.

"What's going on?" I ask him behind narrowed eyes.

"Looks like she miraculously got healed." He shrugs. "Anyway, now that you're here. Want to help me practice?"

Anger fuels me when I realize what he just did. He tricked me to get me down here. "I hate you so much! There is no way I'm helping you."

"What else are you going to go? Sit around and wait for Sara to get done talking to all her new friends? Atleast with me you actually get to do something instead of keeping score."

"I like keeping score, thank you very much." I lie and he knows it.

"Just toss a few balls to help me with my sets and then you can do whatever it is you want."

I shift on my feet. He's right, I have nothing better to do now that he rudely got me out here. "Fine, only a few."

"Only a few." He repeats with a smile that I cannot trust.

About a hundred sets later, we're sitting down and he's wiping the sweat off his face. I hand him a water bottle and he looks at me curiously.

"What?" I question.

"Why don't you play?"

"Play what?" I take a seat on the bench next to him. "Volleyball?"

He gives me a duh look. "It's like the best game."

"Maybe because I suck at it." I let out a breathy laugh and he shakes his head.

"I did too, at first. Now I'm the best."

Bokuto and Ushijima would disagree with him. Probably even Sara.

"I hear they call you the great king." I tease and he smirks.

"Yeah, that little shorty from Karasuno came up with it." He shakes his head a bit. "Anyway, come on. Get up." He stands and nods to the court.

"I thought you were done."

"I am. You're not." He grabs my wrist and pulls me up.

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"I'm gonna help you practice your sets."

I laugh. "Oikawa, you do realize I have no interest in this game whatsoever."

He pauses at the basket full of balls and turns to me. "You know, if you actually give things chances, you'll grow to love them. Trust me."

His eyes flash with something that I can't comprehend. "Okay, fine."

Oikawa throws me a ball and I get hit in the head.

"You have to hit them, not let them hit you." His eyebrow quirks up and I fight the urge not to run and kick him. He throws another and this one barely grazes my fingertips. He throws a few more, but I fail every single time.

"It's useless." I groan.

He runs up to me and shakes his head. "It's not, you're just doing the wrong thing."

I roll my eyes. "What's the right thing then?"

He moves behind me and pushes his body against mine. I yelp and jump away.

"What are you doing?" I demand and he scoffs.

"Will you stop acting weird? Get over here."

I hesitantly walk back and he does the same thing. The contact sets my skin on fire — but I don't know why. It's not like I like Oikawa, I think he's annoying and childish. Maybe once when I was in middle school, but the second I saw how serious he was about the game... that crush quickly went away. I've seen so many people get so uptight about volleyball that they forget about everything else in life, including loved ones. I don't want my future husband to be anywhere near this game.

Is that so bad?

"It's easier to have your right foot slightly in front of your body. Keep it balanced." He moves his right foot and nudges mine, so I do it. "Great!"

"Is that it?"

He smirks. "No, your shoulders, hips, and feet need to face the target."

He grabs my hips and positions me in the way he wants me to go. I swallow at the contact and feel my cheeks heat up.

His hands, his hands, his hands.

"Back straight, knees slightly bent. Hands above your forehead in the shape of a ball."

I do what he says but he laughs.

"Don't cup your hands, here like this..." He moves his hands up and positions mine where he wants them. Then he slides his hands from mine down my arms in a slow motion. It makes me shiver and I almost here another smirk come out of his lips.

His stupid hands!

When he walks away I try to control my face. If he sees me all red, he's going to make my life miserable.

"Stay still, don't move." He orders. "Make sure you use your strength."

"How'd you learn how to teach like this?"

"I help Takeru and his friends in my free time." He shrugs and picks up a ball. "Ready?"

I nod my head. He quickly throws a ball and I hit it. Perfectly. Well, not as perfect as Oikawa, Kageyama, or Akaashi. But it's still something.

"Did you see that?!" I turn to Oikawa and he has a proud smile on his face. Probably for himself for teaching me, but I'm too happy to care. "Oikawa! Did you see that?!"

"I did!" He runs to me and picks me up the same way Bokuto does. When he puts me down his eyes flicker down to my lips. I bite them out of habit and a little groan escapes his lips. Everything in me wants to leave right now, but a little part of me — probably my middle school part — wants to stay and kiss him.

"I should-" I'm cut off by his lips smashing on mine. The kiss is hard and full of desire and desperation. I make a little noise in the back of my throat and he pulls my waist closer to him. The hand that's not on my back, is holding my neck from dislocating from his roughness. Both my hands are around his neck moving to deepen the kiss by pushing him into me. Everything in my mind goes blank and it's just him and I. How ironic is it that my first kiss is with the one person I never wanted to be kissing?

When we finally let go for air, his lips are swollen and I don't have to check to know mine are too.

"That was hot," He teases. "If I knew you kissed like that, I would've done that a long time ago."

I roll my eyes and untangle myself from him. "That can't happen again."

"And why is that?"

"Because we hate each other and-" I cut myself off when I realize...

Ushijima