"Did I say that right?" you asked.
"You need more help than I thought" Tsukishima snorted while smirking at you.
You pouted and stuck your tongue out at your step-brother.
"Yah!" you smacked his arm "I knew enough to speak to that social worker...
That was what how I dealt with the messages. Was it a stupid idea? Probably. Yes. But what could I say to that? What could I do? The number was unlisted, random, and the messages didn't give away any ideas to who it could be. Did I even know this person? If I did, then who? I was on good terms with everybody. Right?
"Time to get up for school, Hon!" Kaa-san called from behind my closed door. School? I shot up out of my bed and opened my curtains, only to be blinded by the early morning sun. I didn't sleep. Oh my god, I got no sleep. A rush of panic flew through me. There was no way I was fit to go to school, especially on a Monday. You can't worry her, you can't do that to her. You cause enough problems as is... I thought, cringing at the possibility of causing Kaa-san anymore stress. She didn't deserve that.
Gathering up all the spare energy I had left, I threw my uniform on, brushed my teeth, washed my face, and went downstairs. "You look awful." I heard Kei comment, I shot him an unimpressed look. "Thanks, I really needed to here that." Begrudgingly, I slumped over to the kitchen and grabbed a spare Onigiri from the fridge. I took a bite, the taste blessing my tongue as I silently thanked Kaa-san for making Onigiri in advance.
"Here," Kei said, sliding some money over to me. "What's this for?" I eyed the 1000 yen note. I had my own money, when I moved her I exchanged all the money I made in (Hm/C) to yen, knowing that I'd need it at some point. "Kaa-san gave it to you so you could pick something up on the way to school for lunch." Kei explained, holding up his own 1000 yen note, "I got one too."
"But I have my own money...?" I questioned.
"She knows,"
"Then why give me the money?"
"Cause she's your mothe-" Kei stopped himself mid-sentence, quickly changing his wording, "Because she cares about you." He obviously wanted to drop the subject, embarrassed about the slip up he made. I didn't say anything, the subject of parental figures still being a sore spot. Kaa-san may be the equivalent to "Mom" but did I really see her as such?
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We entered the convenience store, the harsh cold of the AC bitting at the tips of my ears. "You go one ahead, you know where I'll be." Kei said, ruffling my hair before he went off somewhere. I didn't know what to get exactly, so I wondered around for a bit, settling on some chocolate-covered Pockys, melon flavored marble soda, and 2 pre-wrapped Pizza-man, knowing that one of the cheesy bites of heaven would not satisfy me fully.
"Boo!" A voice behind me exclaimed, causing me to jump. I heard laughter and turned around to see the one person I didn't want to run into. Nishinoya. He calmed down, looking up at me with a gigantic smile. "Sorry! I couldn't help myself, you seemed so out of it." He explained. He wasn't wrong, I was running on fumes at this point and it was probably obvious to anyone, but I didn't say anything, opting to turn away blushing.
"Are you okay? You don't look so good Y/n-chan." I ignored the butterflies in my stomach at the act of concern Nishinoya held for me, and muttered up a quick, "I-I'm okay Nishinoya-senpai... Um... Kei's waiting for me..." As I walked off, red faced, trying to find the blonde that was my grounding tool. Luckily, he was at the counter talking to the store clerk which I was surprised to see was his volleyball coach.
I walked up next to Kei, and both boys turned their attention towards me, "Ah, we meet again," Then man, Ukai was his name? Joked. I nodded, gently placing my items on the counter for him to ring up. "You know Yamaguchi-kun is probably going to still one of your pizza-men?" Kei snickered, "He'll have to pry it out of my cold dead hands." I snarled, knowing too well what the food thief was capable of. "Don't worry, if he steals it you can tell me, I'll make him run laps." Coach Ukai commented, causing me to laugh. I liked him, he was funny.
"Your total is 950 yen," He told me, and I handed him my 1000 yen note. He bagged my things, waved goodbye, and we left the store. But I didn't miss Nishinoya gazing at me as we walked out.
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"Y/n-chan? Are you listening?" Hitoka shook me out of my daze, "Hmm? Oh, sorry... I didn't get much sleep last night." I explained, struggling to keep my eyes open. "Do you need to go to the nurse?" She worried, rubbing my back soothingly. I smiled, appreciating the friendly gesture. "I'm okay Umetoka-chan, thank you for your concern." She gave me a bright smile, "That's what friends are for!" She exclaimed.
The bell rang and Hitoka quickly pulled me towards the courtyard, excitedly telling me about her weekend adventures. I sat down next to her, her energy rubbing off on me a bit. I pulled out the convenience store bag and hummed as I bit into one of my pizza-men. Hitoka and I casually shared lunch snacks, Pockys and matcha puffs. "Y/n-chan!" Yamaguchi exclaimed as he sat down across from us, usual cold Kei in tow.
"Hey Yama-kun, how was your classes?" I asked and he smiled. "They were slow as usual, but we were held up by another one of Kei's love confessions." I couldn't help but laugh as Kei groaned, obviously annoyed that it happened. "Wow, Nii-san, you're a lady's man, huh?" I joked and Kei looked ready to jump across the table and tackle me. Everyone noticed his face, Hitoka and Yamaguchi snickering while Kei and I had an epic staring contest.
Lunch with the three of them was always fun. All of them made me feel at home, relaxed, happy. From Hitoka's excited talking to Yamaguchi's annoying food stealing. They gave me life when I seemed so dead. "Hands off lettuce head!" I yelled, swatting Yamaguchi's hand away from my other Pizza-men. "Hey! I'm not a lettuce head." He pouted. "Yes you are," Kei snickered.
"Coach Ukai said that if you steal it, he'll make you run laps!" I stated.
"What?! When!" Yamaguchi exclaimed.
"This morning, when I bought them at Sakanoshita market."
"He wouldn't!" He gasped.
"He totally would!"
"Speaking of coach Ukai," Hitoka interrupted, "Will you be coming to practice again Y/n-chan? Please? I like it better when your there." She begged, giving me puppy eyes. Yamaguchi also joined in, getting a look of "What the hell are you doing?" from Kei. "At this point I might as well join the team." I snickered. "Sure, maybe it'll become a daily thing." The two puppy eyed individuals rejoiced, making Kei smile and laugh a bit. He wouldn't admit it, but I saw it. I knew he valued our little group just as much as I did.
We heard the bell ring as I stuffed the rest of my pizza-men in my mouth. We cleaned up quickly and walked back together, Yamaguchi teasing Kei about getting another love confession with Hitoka and I laughing along. For a minute, I forgot my exhaustion; I forgot the threats; I forgot the looming dread that hung over my head like a rain cloud, getting heavier and heavier before it would finally drench me in sorrow. I forgot that. But maybe I shouldn't have.
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A/N: Surprise! An early update! Inspiration hit me early :) I wanted to thank all of you for 1k reads, it's unreal! All the support you give me is so special in my heart. Thank you so much! I thought I wrote like a 5th grader and no one would want to read my books, but who knows, maybe I write like a 5th grader and you guys power through it? Again, thank you so much! All of you beautiful/handsome/stunning beings have a place in my heart :) Luckily, I decided not to take a break even if my BTS Oneshots book is posted, not much is going on with school so I find myself with a lot of downtime that I'd like to use to focus on writing. Thank you again! I love you all <3
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