It seemed like a normal morning: Hinata got out of bed, lazily dragging his almost dead weight to the shower. After being enveloped in comfortingly warm water and almost slipping twice, he threw on whatever seemed suitable and left for a day full of bickering, jokes, and classes. But on his way to that expected usual, it was anything but that.
Kageyama had slept in, leaving his friend to walk alone to school. He had only a few minutes left until he arrived on campus when Hinata heard footsteps behind him. Not thinking much of it, he quickly glanced back in pure curiosity. Admittedly, nothing seemed particularly unusual, just an every-day group of students. What he didn't seem to notice, however, was the malicious look the boys gave the smaller one in front of them. They began walking faster, with the intent of getting closer to Hinata.
About 30 seconds went by of mysterious silence. After all, shouldn't they be talking to one another back there? Then suddenly, gone as quickly as it came, were the first words.
"Hey dumbass, if you're gonna walk so slowly, at least get out of our way," was the comment made by a tall, intimidating guy with a mean look. He had dark brown hair that contrasted with the light green of his eyes. Speaking of, they stayed in a constant glare, and Hinata wasn't sure if he just looked like that normally or not. But nonetheless, the guy was nowhere near scrawny. Yet not some crazy bodybuilder (which was an oddly nerving medium).
Hinata was shocked for a second, not having encountered genuine words like that in a long time. He stood in a moment of disbelief, turning to meet the speaker's gaze.
With a quick rehabilitation, he exclaimed, "That's not a very nice way to ask, you know!"
Then came the rude decision for the guy to speak up again, "What are you, stupid? I said m-o-v-e, before I make you."
He enunciated the letters as if Hinata was a child; a mere kid that was too stupid to understand words. Once again taken aback, he was about to once again respond before being abruptly cut off by another student in the group.
"Oh man, get a load of this. He thinks he's tough or something, trying to stand up to Yuuma," the boy said with a smirk, "What a shrimp."
The first spoken guy, apparently named Yuuma, didn't say another word before pushing past a confused Hinata, bringing his squad of complete jerks trailing behind him like ducks.
The encounter was so fast that it left the ginger boy wide-eyed, contemplating the situation. He never understood how people could sound so hateful towards a person they've never seen, but yet perfectly understood how it felt to be on the receiving end of it.
It wasn't new to the short boy; it's just that he hadn't experienced being teased (and not in a fluffy-adorable way) in a long time. His guess was that they were new, they had to be! He'd never seen them around before.
Hinata distractedly got through practice, muttering "sorry" countless times when he messed up. Luckily, he wasn't physically harmed, just a little put-off, per say.
The rest of the day went smoothly, for he didn't twice see Yuuma or his friends…but he did see them once.
It wasn't vicious or anything, they didn't even talk to him considering Kageyama was stuck to his side. But something about the wicked smirk he gave Hinata sparked nervousness inside of him. It was like he formed a new hobby to shoot the boy in the back.
He had practically forgotten all about it until that evening when he received a text from the one person that could drive them off for him…
Apparently, Kageyama was moving.
It's not like he was being hauled to Russia or something, just a different area in town because his parents wanted a change in location. But as cliché as it might sound, he happened to be moving to an area where walking to school with Hinata would be practically impossible.
Sure, Hinata was upset that he'd have to try and stand up for himself, but walking to school with the taller boy was one of the best parts of his day. There are few moments where they're not right next to each other, yet being able to wander down the street alone, just talking seemed…special. So while he never in his right mind would speak of it, Hinata, and I quote, "Kinda-sorta-maybe-really likes Kageyama." The usually loud boy was petrified of any response he'd get out of talking to someone about it. If he were to choose, though, Suga would be his best bet. After all, he and Daichi have been openly dating for a while now, and it's not like he bites or anything. Now don't get me wrong, Tsukkishima and Yamaguchi have been caught multiple times kissing in the locker room, going on what could only be dates, and plenty more. Except they don't seem as calm as Suga, or understanding either. But Asahi and Noya are together too…no, Asahi is too glassy to not burst into tension…and Noya might take it a little overboard…
The takeaway is, Hinata has been thinking of confronting Suga about it in order to ask for advice. It's just that he hasn't exactly built up the nerve to even do that, let alone confess to Kageyama like an idiot.
Hinata rolled over into his pillow sulkily, mumbling, "Just my luck," as he mockingly tried to suffocate himself in the fabric of his bed. After what seemed like hours (but was actually just a few minutes) of re-assuring himself, Hinata typed back an optimistic reply to "bakageyama" before drowning out his worries in homemade dinner…courtesy of Mrs. Shouyou, of course.
But boy oh boy, was he in for something much more serious than a few harsh words.