***Author's note: Oh my gosh, why am I doing this to myself?! I have an exam in two days and I haven't even started studying! WHY WHY WHY. Its my own fault though. Pls enjoy the story.

Chapter 8

Free Day Part One

"Mmmmmmm" Kaeshi mumbled. She sat up and looked around the room. Empty? She thought. She glanced at the clock hanging on the wall. It read 08:27 a.m. She was not a morning person but if she didn't get up, she knew she would miss breakfast.

She went to brush her teeth then headed towards the cafeteria. When she looked inside, a majority of the players were already up. They all talked leisurely.

"Saito-san, Good Morning" Sugawara said, entering the cafeteria right behind her. She nodded her head. "Morning." She said quietly.

"Did you have a rough night?" He asked her. She looked at him in confusion. He smiled and pointed to his head. "Your hair is standing up". She turned red out of embarrassment and scrambled to fix her hair. She wasn't used to seeing people other than her teammates and her family in the morning, so she didn't really think to brush out her hair.

There was a table that had breakfast food laid out. She walked over and grabbed a cup of water and grabbed a piece of toast. She sat down at the very edge of the table. "Kaa-chaaan! Come sit next to us!" Hana yelled from across the table. Kaeshi's eyebrow twitched. She knew Hana was just trying to be nice but she was too much sometimes. Kaeshi waved her hand to decline and went back to eating her toast.

"Saito-san is pretty quiet." Asahi said.

"Ka-chan? Yea, but she is still fun to be around. She is so honest, it makes you want to talk to her even more" Hana said. Kaeshi didn't like being the subject of this conversation.

Yuki leaned over and whispered in Hana's hear. " Look look, Kageyama and the others are walking in ~" she teased. "Yuki! Stop teasing me!" Hana cried. When the boys came in, Hana's attention immediately went to Tsukishima.

"Tsukki-kuuun! Have you changed your mind? You're going to come and play with us, right?" she asked, walking up to him.

"I have to run some errands." He said, walking past her. He walked towards the table to grab food. She frowned and went to her seat.

When Tsukishima walked past Kaeshi, he mouthed "Good morning" to her. Kaeshi furrowed her eyebrows and let out an irritated breath. When he came back towards the table, the only available space was on Kaeshi's side. He decided to take the seat across from her. Kaeshi glared at him. She had completely forgot about the deal (more like blackmail) that they had.

"Tsukki-kun! Come sit next to us! It doesn't look like Ka-chan likes you very much." Hana said.

"There isn't much room there to sit, plus I don't think she minds, right Saito-san?" He said. That last part sounded too fake. He shot her a fake smile as if to say, "go with it or I will spill all the beans".

"Its fine." She said blankly and went back to eating her toast. Hana frowned. "Fine, but its not my fault if Ka-chan is mean to you, I warned you~" She said.

Granted, Kaeshi wasn't the friendliest person, but its not like she didn't try. She had trouble talking to people. She would get frustrated and make weird faces, but before she had a chance to explain herself, people would get the wrong idea. It got to the point where people would assume she didn't like others, saying things like That's just how she is. Soon, she stopped trying to change the minds of others all together.

Tsukishima spoke quietly " We leave to town after everyone else. I don't want to have to deal with others." She looked at him with a questionable look. "We are just going into town. I have to get some shopping done." He responded. She nodded her head. She is taking this well. Tsukishima thought.

****Time skip (brought to by Tanaka's bald head)

At the Bus Stop

After everyone else had left, Tsukishima and Kaeshi met in front of the school. "Where is the bus stop?" he asked. She pointed down the street to a sign. They walked towards the bust stop. Kaeshi sat on the bench in silence. She was so nervous, she didn't know why. Tsukishima let out a short laugh.

"You even dress plainly." He said looking at her. She was dressed in a black zip-up jacket and some light blue jeans. She blushed embarrassingly, "Th-There is no need for unnecessary clothes. We are just going to the store!" she stammered out. She looked at his clothes. He was wearing a plain white shirt, a black jacket, and some dark blue jeans. He had headphones hanging around his neck. Tsukishima notice her checking him out.

"Saito-san, what are you doing hm?" he said. She looked away saying "tch, don't flatter yourself. You sound lame."

"Not as lame as you though" he retorted. She puffed out her cheeks again. He had to admit, she was pretty cute when she was trying to hide the obvious. He could read her so easily that when she denied it, he just wanted to tease her even more.

The bus soon began to pull up. They walked inside and dropped their money in the box. Tsukishima looked around the bus. All the seats were taken and they were going to have to stand.

Tsukishima walked down the aisle and grabbed a ring. Kaeshi stood behind him. She reached up to grab a ring but she was too short. Tsukishima let out a teasing laugh. She shot him a glare and decided to grab the pole instead. She always hated the bus. Every time it moved, she was pushed back or forward because of the momentum. She was surprised she hadn't tumbled down the aisle yet.

The bus took off and she stumbled forward, her face crashing into Tsukishima's back. He looked over his shoulder and smirked. She regained her footing and held tighter on to the pole. After the fifth time of her running into his back, he was getting annoyed.

"tch, If you are going to keep crashing into me, then just hold. Stop making this an occurrence every time the bus stops." He said.

They bus took off again and she stumbled forward. "Just hold on." He said. She was hesitant at first, but then grabbed on the back of his jacket. She rested her forehead against his back. She could smell his scent on his jacket. He smelled nice and comforting. She just wanted to nuzzle in it.

What the hell am I thinking?! I can't do that. The only reason we are in this situation is because I kept running into him and he got irritated by me! Stop blowing the situation out of proportion! And its not like I like like him. I mean I know he is cute, has a strong back, and smells nice, and feels warm and WHY AM I DOING THIS AGAIN?

She wiggled her head to try to push the thoughts to the back of her mind. The sudden movement made Tsukishima jump. She had tickled him when she moved her head. He looked down at to see her with her eyes squeezed shut. She was so caught up in her thoughts; she didn't even notice her look at him.

The bus came finally came to their stop. "We're here!" she said and quickly jumped off the bus. He followed behind her, thanking the bus driver on the way out. They walked down the street towards the stores.

"Hm? Is something wrong Tsu- Tsukishima-san?" It was the first time she said his name. When she looked at his face, it was slightly red. He brought his had to cover his face. "What are you talking about? Its too hot here." He said. She thought it was nice today, but maybe they had different kind of weather in his town. They continued to walk down the street.

This girl. She really is dense. He thought. He too, pushed back the warm feeling he had when she tightly held on to him on the bus. He would save that moment for himself.

Tsukishima walked into a random store. "Lets look in this one first" he said. She followed right behind him.

***authors note: Ok Ok Ok , the bus scene! I wrote that from my own experience! I would constantly bump into people because it would get so crowded and there were never open seats! The rings were also a bit to high, and it would hurt my arm after a while cause I was on the tip of my toes. My friends decided to form a wall, where one tall friend was in front of me and the other tall friend stood behind me. I was like a pinball, bouncing back and fourth!