Boom Crack: The Sound of a Broken Heart
From Jo's Playlist: Better Now by Post Malone
It was her second day and Jo already had her first injured athlete.
He was a fresh faced first year who was their new lebero. He accidentally had jammed his finger while trying to dive for the ball at an odd angle, effectively causing it to shoot across the court. His team had initially dogged him before Jo rushed and snapped at them to shut up in English, zeroing on him holding his finger and the glassy reflection of his eyes.
Jo had him hold his hand above his chest as Titus ran off for a cold compress. "Just sit here and keep your hand still," she said, motioning for him to sit on the bench a few paces away from the coaches. Nekomata shot her a concerned glance and she smiled reassuringly. Seemingly satisfied, he turned back to his conversation with the visiting team's coach.
The freshmen, a black haired boy with a round face yet to lose its baby fat, reluctantly obliged. "I can still play, it doesn't hurt that much," he tried.
Jo narrowed her eyes, looking down her nose at him and settled her hands on her hips. She cocked her hip to the side and tapped her foot slowly. A stance she took from her mother's book. She did this often with her difficult patients and it always let them know that she was not taking any bullcrap.
"Unless you want the chance to play in the first game, I would wait. An untreated jammed finger can create an imbalance in the other fingers and injure them too. Don't want that, right?" She watched his face shift from frustrated to worried to crestfallen.
He sighed and slumped his shoulders. He mumbled a quick fine and watched the others practice from under his eyelashes longly.
Truth be told, he would be fine. A bit of ice and time and he would recover in time for the next practice. But it prevented him from rushing out there. She did feel bad but he was of no use injured. A practice game wasn't worth permanent damage.
"When's the next practice?" She asked, trying to ease the tension in the air. She was the mean one in this situation by preventing him from playing.
On Nekoma's side, a tall, willowy European boy with hair so blond it looked white served. The ball flew through the air and was promptly caught in the net. The team groaned and he grinned sheepishly, apologizing as the other team prepared to serve.
The Nekoma boys crouched low, tensing as the server palmed the ball. Kuroo shot the two a quick glance before snapping his attention to the game.
The boy kept his eyes glued to Yaku as he received. "Tomorrow,"
"Tomorrow? How often do you guys practice?"
"Every week day," he said matter of factly, straightening his spine a tad. "Sometimes on Saturdays if we have a game coming up,"
Jo's brows rose. She crossed her arms over her chest and stood firmly, feet hip width apart. "That's quite a lot." Too much. Their risk of injury was higher than she realized. Which meant she needed to seriously brush up on her first-aid. Perhaps her mother could help her have a few game plans set and ready.
He kept silent.
Jo pressed her nails into her bare arms. Where was Titus when she needed him?
"What's your name?" she tried to ease the awkwardness.
"Yuki Shibayama." He paused, still focusing on the game. The set was close. "Yours?"
"Jo Olsen," she smiled, though it was more of a grimace.
He nodded and they fell into silence again. Her smile fell and she let her arms drop, wrapping her left hand around her right bicep.
She felt Yuki's eyes burn into her skin. Specifically, her right inner wrist. Thin, black lines etched a design of three flowers in her olive skin. They were inked four fingers paces above the wrist bone, one of the less painful places. Two downturn bluebells curled on either side of a daffodil in full bloom. The bluebells were small, around two inches tall and the daffodil stood a few centimeters above them.
She had forgotten that tattoos were still an uncommon sight here, just like in Italy. Especially being drawn on teenagers. She vowed to never forget her jacket ever again, even if it was a hundred degrees outside. The way Yuki's eyes shifted from the game to her tattoo made her tuck her arms under her chest and shift on her feet. Heat warmed the back of her neck in a blush.
Finally, Titus appeared with an ice pack and cup of water in hand. Jo wound her way to the opposite side of the court, mindfully eyeing the ball in play. She didn't want to get nailed in the head.
"Took you a bit," she said.
He handed off the ice pack. It was freezing in her hands. "It was just a jammed finger, nothing too serious,"
Jo shrugged. She turned to the game. Kenma pushed up a set and their ace spiked it powerfully.
"Why don't you play?" she asked.
Titus hummed. "Not really my thing,"
She gave him a curious look. "You played on the city team back in the States though, right?"
"You remember that?" he raised a brow, taking a sip of the water.
She scratched the back of her neck. "I had some friends on the girls' team. We would sometimes watch you guys." A sly grin grew on his face. Jo flattened her lips and rolled her eyes. "Don't get too puffed up,"
He chuckled softly, taking another drink. His light green eyes sparkled as he watched the team play. "That was sand volleyball. It's a bit different. I tried court for highschool but it just wasn't the same. But being around these guys gives me the same rush I felt with my teammates. I've missed playing." His eyes tracked the ball as it soared over the net. Yaku dug it effortlessly. "But this is enough for me,"
Jo's fingers curled around the gel cold pack. She understood. The tug in her heart telling her to join track or find a dance studio so she could do it again. But it wouldn't be the same. And that's truly what she wanted, the exact experience she had back then. Feel the old rush of adrenaline when the music started, or the jittery nerves before a track meet. Share the familiar laughs with the old friends before and after a meet or recital.
Her phone buzzed in her sweats pocket. She pulled it out and her heart skipped a beat at the name sprawled across the front. Matteo.
"I have to take this call," she said, handing off the cold pack and sliding across the screen to answer.
"Hello?" she asked, hurrying around the court. Kuroo caught her eye and tilted his head in question. She waved him off, stepping into the cool afternoon air.
"Hey, Jo," Matteo's easy voice said on the other line.
"You're up early," she said, holding back a grin. She had missed him so much. Her heart thudded quickly in her chest. Their dating period had been very short, but their friendship had been very real. Real and true.
A huff of static on the other side indicated his chuckle. "It's about nine in the morning here,"
The grin finally appeared. "You always were a morning bird," she said, leaning her back against the gym wall. The squeaking of shoes faded in her ears as her attention zeroed on him.
He hummed. "Jo, there's something I wanted to tell you,"
She straightened her shoulders. His tone had shifted. Just like the day when they decided to break things off before she left. "Yes?"
"Bri and I," he began slowly. Jo's heart sank to her toes. "We started going out. I wanted to tell you before you saw anything on social media. I felt like you deserved to know."
Jo stared at the grass bending in the soft spring wind, falling away from the present moment. The air rustled the stray wisps of her hair and cooled her warming face. A lump formed in her throat.
It made sense. He would move on. She would move on. They had only dated for three months, it wasn't anything serious. But it had only been four weeks since she left. And he decided to date her friend. It hurt far more than she was willing to admit.
"Jo?" His voice filled her ear. Warm and firm. Steady. A voice that had been hers.
The slam of the volleyball on the court and yelling from the teams rushed into her ears. The wind chilled her skin. "Yeah. Yeah I'm here. I think that's great," she said, struggling to not let her voice sound as thick as it felt.
"Really?"
Her face felt heavy. "Really. That's wonderful. Hey, I gotta go, I'm helping with a club,"
"I'll call you tonight,"
"Sure." She hung up. The photo of the two of them stared up at her mockingly. Really, did she honestly think he would be that hung up on her? It had been a short, fun relationship that wasn't meant to last. And it wasn't as though he expressed taking it deeper than the breakfast dates and the kisses shared in the abandoned Roman alleyways.
Bri was a perfect match for him. They would make a great team.
Blinking back the angry tears that swelled, she changed her background to one of a golden sunset. She took it while she and Matteo were on an evening hike, but the mountain range was beautiful and she refused to let him take that away from her. The Italian sky was something that stole her breath from her lungs.
When Jo stepped back inside the game was finished. The boys mingled about, taking sips of water and wiping their foreheads with towels or the front of their jerseys., leaving splotches of sweat behind. Their eyes were bright and faces carefree. Glancing at the scores, she saw that they had won. She couldn't stop a small surge of pride swell in her chest.
Kuroo's eyes found hers. His grin faltered. Jo read the question burning behind his eyes: What's wrong?
She nodded her head, turning away from his observant gaze to find Titus. Kuroo's gaze was heavy on her back but she ignored it.
Titus's bright eyes narrowed when she walked up. "You good?"
She rubbed at her eyes with the back of her hand, making them a light red. "Yeah, I'm fine. Let's clean up."
AN: Thank you for those reviewing! I'm making slow but steady progress :) I love you all, stay safe and healthy!