Friendship [Oikawa Tooru]

"Oikawa, you sure love being in the center of attention," you teased, snickering.

He smiled. "I only do it for my dear fans, y'know."

"Liar, you just like receiving all their cookies and food."

You both laughed in enjoyment, and he soon shot a line right back at you.

That was the complete basis of your relationship, and for the entire summer, the volleyball player would often message you whenever he could; before practice, after practice, early in the morning, right before he went to bed. You were amusing and kept him up all night laughing with your stupid jokes and puns. Teasing was often included in your conversations, but neither of you minded. You both knew the teasing was only out of affection and love for one another.

You told him your deepest insecurities and most personal problems, and in return, he did the same. You cried on his shoulder, and he would gently pat your back and tell you it was going to be okay.

He would punch his wall for losing to Shiratorizawa, that damn Ushijima, and then he would immediately call you and pour all his frustration onto you, who listened attentively to his silent tears behind the device.

You were always there for him, and he was always there for you. You lived for his sake, and he did the same. Never before had the two of you found such a wonderful friend.

(Of course, Iwaizumi wasn't forgotten; he was your and Oikawa's friend too, of course.)

People would often mistaken you for his younger sister, for you were two years younger than he was. Either that, or they would think you were his girlfriend, and you'd always laugh and correct them. Oikawa was always grinning and tried convincing you to just let them be.

The friendship was perfect in your eyes and his; the two of you felt as if the bond could never be broken.

But of course, good things never last.

Then, school started. He went back to Aobajousai, and you enrolled in Karasuno. You started seeing each other less frequently. There were still texts exchanged, but less often, and every message seemed to have gotten shorter with less enthusiasm.

Then, it almost completely stopped. He began occupying himself with volleyball practice, and you tried to make other friends at your own school to get rid of the loneliness.

It so happens that you chose the person who sat right next to you in class, Kageyama Tobio. Contrary to popular belief, he was actually really amusing, and you found yourself laughing quite often when you were around him. You exchanged numbers soon after, keeping each other up with jokes until three in the morning.

However, Oikawa did not approve.

"Kageyama Tobio?" he exclaimed one Saturday morning.

You flinched, and put the phone back to your ear. "Yeah, what's wrong?"

A pause. "(Y/n)-chan, you do know how much I detest that...guy, right?"

You raised an eyebrow. "Okay, so? Just because you don't like him doesn't mean I'll harbor the same feelings. He's actually pretty cool, y'know."

Frustration began arising in his throat. He felt a sense of possessiveness, and his next words were out of rage.

"Congratulations, (Y/n)-chan, you made friends," he snapped. Three seconds later, when the other line went dead, he immediately regretted it all.

You never answered his string of calls and texts after that. He tried his hardest to apologize; there was not a single day when you glanced at your phone and did not find a text from him saying sorry. He even showed up at your house once, but you ran past him and slammed the door shut.

He could only stand there, feeling an emotion that made him want to break down into tears.

He wanted to reverse time, to take back those venomous words and shove it back into that big, stupid mouth of his. He wished he never said such a thing. Why, why did that have to happen? If he tried harder to contact you, if he wasn't so devoted to volleyball, the once unbreakable friendship would never have been broken.

Still, he tried to mend it. Three weeks later, when he thought your anger had cooled down, he waited by the front gate of your school with a letter of apology in his hands. For ten minutes, he was tapping his foot impatiently and desperately searching for you in the crowd of students.

He finally found you, and a smile was brought to his face.

It was instantly brought down half a second later.

A hand, that brat's hand, was laced around yours. You were giggling as Kageyama clumsily stumbled over his own words. Not an ounce of pain was on your face.

He stood still, mouth parted in shock, then ran away. Ran back home. He ran to his room and locked it shut, then cried out and ripped the letter to shreds. Tears streamed down his red cheeks as he buried his face into his pillow, the pieces of the letter scattered all over his floor. Those four pages of emotion he had poured in there were now gone, destroyed the same two hands that had written them.

It was Kageyama, that damn Kageyama Tobio's fault. If he had not existed, this would not have happened. Your friendship would still be there, strong as ever, not damaged in any way. If only that brat was never there.

But deep down, Oikawa knew the fault was his. He should blame himself, but the easier option was blaming someone else. It was human nature, he knew that. But since then, every time he looked in the mirror, he saw himself as the ugliest creature ever.

After that, he never tried to call you again, and neither did you. If he saw you in public, he would quickly shuffle past, head down, the feeling of regret attacking him all over again. Not even a greeting, a gesture of acknowledgement, was given.

Those summer messages and memories still lay in his phone, unforgotten. Whenever he unlocked mobile device to text someone, he would see them, and regardless of what his mood was before, a tear would form in his melancholic brown eyes.

He made new friends, had more bonding time with his team mates. But none of them could be compared to you, one of the lone rays of sunshine in his life. You were one of the only ones who he had ever confided so deeply in.  You were one of the only ones who could brighten his day with a single grin. You were one of the only ones who he gave his most genuine smiles and laughs to. You were one of the only ones whom he had deep feelings for. You were special to him.

And to this day, he still loved you regardless, despite how hard you had broken his heart. But, even though he tried to convince himself that wasn't true, he knew such a bond would and could never be fixed.

---

Extra

"Hey, I just saw the Grand King over there," Hinata chirped, skipping next to you.

Kageyama frowned. You widened your eyes. Oikawa was here?

"I think he was holding something," he continued. "A letter, I think?"

"That bastard..." Kageyama seethed, thinking the third-year was trying to take you away from him.

You stayed quiet. Oikawa... After you had treated him so harshly, for all that time, he was waiting for you by the school gate? With a letter?

You could deduct what the letter was about, and you would've most likely taken it, in fact. You had long forgiven the boy; you were just waiting for him to approach you first. You were afraid of making the first move, for you were not sure if he would accept your own apology after you ignored him for so long.

The first-year setter studied you, then tugged at your hand. "C'mon, (Y/n), let's go home. You promised to help me study, didn't you?"

"Hey, me too!" Hinata piped.

"You shut up, dumbass!"

You nodded absentmindedly and followed, taking one last glance at the school entrance, where Oikawa had once stood and ran away.

Then, you felt the feeling of regret etch itself onto your heart again.