The next day at practice, I saw Kiyoko. I waved at her and she smiled, but she seemed distracted. She kept sneaking glances to the other side of the court. That's when I noticed that Tanaka hasn't run up to her like he normally does. Nor did he stare at her or shout. I hid my smile when I caught her looking for more than a few seconds. Tanaka caught my eye and I subtly gave him a thumbs up.

After practice I told the team I wanted to stay for a while longer to work on my spikes. Daichi started to protest, saying that it wasn't good to overwork ourselves, but Suga put a hand on his arm and said it was okay. Everyone, except Kageyama, headed to the locker rooms.

"What do you want, Bakayama?"

He walked over to me and nodded at the volleyball in my hands.

"I'm not going to let you get better without me. I need to stay one step ahead."

I rolled my eyes but tossed him the ball so he could set for me. We stayed behind for a while and then headed home once I was sure everyone left. We talk for the twenty minutes it took us to reach the fork in the path, where we separated.

This became my routine. I avoided another incident in the locker room by staying in the gym to practice and Kageyama always stayed with me.

A few weeks had passed and I was making my way to the gym when I heard Kiyoko's voice around the corner. I froze and tried to think of a different route I could take. I had been avoiding her ever since she tried to talk to me. I was almost positive she knew, but I never stayed around her long enough to find out.

"I just wanted to make sure you're feeling well, Tanaka. You haven't really been yourself lately."

My eyes widened and I walk forward to peer around the corner of the building.

Kiyoko was standing really close to Tanaka. He smiled at her. "I just don't want to overwhelm you. Don't worry, I'm fine."

He stepped back and Kiyoko followed him. Putting her hand on his shoulder, she tilted her head a bit. "Are you sure? We can go somewhere and… talk if you want?"

I know that they say eavesdropping is horrible, but my curiosity kept the guilt at bay. Was she flirting with him? Was this how you were supposed to act with someone you like? Or maybe she was just concer-

"What are you doing?"

I jumped at the sudden voice in my ear and whipped around, grabbing whoever was behind me and shoving them against the wall with a hand over their mouth. It turned out to be Kageyama, who was staring at me like I lost my mind.

I leaned in and whispered, "I think Kiyoko and Tanaka are having a moment."

He grabbed my wrist and moved my hand off of his mouth. "What are you talking about?"

I rolled my eyes. "Are you stupid Bakayama? They're having a moment. You know, like a romantic moment."

The change was so sudden I almost burst out laughing before I remembered where we were. His face turned as red as a tomato and his eyes got super wide. His mouth twisted like he tasted something sour.

"Romantic? Seriously? Practice starts soon. We don't have time for this."

I should have known that volleyball was the only thing on his brain. It was sad, really. I mean, I thought I was going to have trouble finding someone to like me, but I'm pretty sure Kageyama was more romantically handicapped than I was.

He pushed me aside and started walking towards the gym.

"Baka! Wait!"

I ran forward to grab him, but it was too late. He rounded the corner and froze. I bumped into his back and then peered around his body to see what was happening.

Tanaka had his hands in Kiyoko's hair and they were kissing. I saw a flash of tongue and squealed before slapping both hands over my mouth.

They broke apart, but Tanaka's eyes stayed on Kiyoko. She saw us and separated herself completely form him.

"I'm sorry, I didn't see you guys there. Practice is starting soon, why don't we head over to the gym?"

She walked away and I nudged Kageyama to get him to move. Tanaka finally looked over to us and did a double take when he saw me. He ran over and swung me in his arms. "Hinata, you little genius! I kissed Kiyoko! I'm going to marry her one day, you know?"

I laughed and he put me down before jogging to catch up with Kiyoko.

I don't really know when it started.

One day I was just looking out the window during my morning class and I saw a tall boy with dark hair walk by. I thought it might have been Kageyama, and my stomach felt weird, but not in the anxious way it usually does when I think about the team seeing me in the girls uniform. It took me most of the day to realize what I was feeling.

It wasn't until I ran up to him and punched his shoulder on my way to the gym. He turned and grabbed my hair tight in his hands like he normally does, but I wasn't mad. I was staring at his face and couldn't stop the smile from forming on my lips.

And that's when I knew what the feeling was.

I didn't realize I was staring at him for more than what was a normal time period until he bonked me on the head.

"Oi, dumbass. What's wrong with you?"

I shook my head and cleared my thoughts completely. Without answering I just ran towards the gym.

This was bad. There was absolutely no way I could have a crush. On Kageyama, of all people. I mean, seriously, he kind of sucks. He only cares about volleyball and he's too egotistical to be a good boyfriend. Except for the fact that he can be really sweet, and he always cares about what Suga thinks of his setting skills, and-

I stopped and put my palms to my eyes. I was in such shit. Because I was supposed to be a boy. Meaning I shouldn't even be having these thoughts about my teammate who was straight and would be weirded out if he thought his guy teammate was crushing on him.

Someone's palm landed on my shoulder and my bladder threatened to release all over the steps of the gym. Thankfully it was only Suga, and I smiled at him before heading in. I was determined to ignore these thoughts and focus solely on volleyball. Today was going to be a great day.

Today was the worst day of my life.

After admitting to myself about my unfortunate crush, Coach Ukai told us we'd be spending the following week at a training camp, and we would be leaving at the end of this week, approximately four days from now. At first I was ecstatic, because I've never been to a training camp. And then I remembered that I was a girl, and we would all be sleeping in the same room and showering in the same room and I was going to die because my stupid idea of pretending to be a boy was going to backfire in my face. I tried to get out of it, but I'm a horrible liar and I kept stuttering out excuses that I don't even think made sense. Kageyama ended up interrupting me, saying, "The idiot will go, just ignore him."

After cleaning the gym, I walked side by side with Kageyama on the path to our houses. My thoughts were spiraling and becoming pretty self destructive when he broke the silence.

"Spend the night at my house tonight."

I choked on my own spit. "What?! No! I mean, I can't. I mean-"

"Listen. You're a really weird person, but we're friends and I need you for our quick. We're going to win and go to nationals, but we need to practice more, which means you need to go to the training camp and be with the team. I'm not taking the chance that you're going to back out for some reason, so we're going to your house so you can tell your mom and then you're coming to mine and we're going to talk about whatever it is that's bothering you. Because we're friends… right?"

My mind blanked as soon as he said the word 'mom'.

Shit, my mom CANNOT see him. Oh sweet sesame buns, if he goes to my house he'll find out I've been lying. Crap. What do I do?!

Kageyama had stopped walking and was clearly waiting for me to acknowledge him.

I took a deep breath. "I'll sleepover at your place… but my mom is weird about strangers. Give me your address and I'll meet you at yours."

He looked skeptical.

"I promise, I'll be at your house within the hour!"

He finally nodded and continued walking. We eventually parted ways and I practiced my speech for when I saw my mom.

My house came into view and I started sweating profusely. My palms were shaking and it took me forever to open the front door, with how clammy they were.

"Hi, Shouyou darling. How was practice?"

"Um, fine. We're going to a training camp for a week to play against another team."

"Oh, that's fantastic! It'll be so much fun for you to bond with the other girls."

I cringed. "Yeah, and one of them wanted to have a sleepover tonight so we can get to know each other better and-"

My mom gasped and jumped up. "Yes! Of course! Go pack!" She shooed me towards the direction of my room and I breathed out a sigh of relief. Although, I guess I shouldn't have been too surprised. I think she thought I was gong to be a friendless freak who only cared about volleyball. All of which was pretty much true.

Fifty-five minutes later, I was standing in Kageyama's room as he was arranging a futon next to his bed. When he was done he grabbed a volleyball off his desk and sat at one end of the futon, nodding for me to sit in front of him. I did and he tossed the volleyball in the air towards me. I caught it with my fingertips and tossed it back. This lasted a few seconds before he caught the ball in the air and lowered it to his lap.

"Are you uncomfortable going to training camp because of me?"

I was too shocked to answer that question and he turned his head away, looking at the wall.

"I overheard what you and Suga were talking about that day in the locker room… about you being gay."

My mouth dropped open, but still no sound escaped. Even if I wasn't struck speechless, I wouldn't even know how to respond.

"I don't care that you're… you know. But I thought maybe you saw me looking at you and it made you not want to be around me…"

He lowered his gaze and I saw the tip of his ears turn red. His words registered a second later, and I finally snapped out of it.

"Wait! You're gay?!"

He brought his head up and held out both hands. "No! I mean, maybe not? I don't know. I never thought about it before, because I never wanted to leave the court long enough to date someone. And then we were becoming friends and I was thinking about eating lunch with you from now on so I wouldn't even need to date anyone anyways, because I have you and volleyball… but then I overheard you and Suga talking about being gay and I realized that I liked looking at you, and talking with you, but I never thought about being with a boy before and I don't think I would like that, but if it was you, then maybe I would like it? Maybe I like both girls and guys, but only certain ones? I just know that you're very cute and I have been really confused, and I thought you were being weird around me because I was staring too much and making you uncomfortable!"

His entire speech was rushed and I tried to process everything he was saying, but my brain kept catching on the fact that he wanted to start eating lunch with me. My heart sped up at the thought of him coming to my class, which could never happened because he would see me in my uniform.

I glanced over at him and he looked so distressed at the thought of me not wanting to be around him that I felt guilt consume me. It was so overwhelming that my mouth started moving before I knew what I was saying.

"Kageyama-kun, you could never make me uncomfortable. I think you're one of my best friends now, even when you're being an asshole." His shoulders relaxed a little. "But I am nervous about going to the training camp. I haven't been honest with you guys…"

He raised an eyebrow at me and the words lodged in my throat. I couldn't bring myself to continue. What if Kageyama decided he didn't want anything to do with me? What if I lost volleyball and the only friend I've made since starting high school?

"Never mind."

He started to say something, but I cut him off. "I'll tell you soon, I promise. But can you just let it go for now?"

He nodded, but didn't look happy.

It was silent as we got into our beds. I stared at the ceiling and wondered, not for the first time, what the heck I was doing. It had been almost two months since the first day of school, and each day I came closer and closer to someone finding out that I was a girl. I sighed and forced myself to close my eyes. After an hour of my brain running a thousand miles a minute, I finally fell asleep.

"Hinata! Some boy is here for you!"

I looked up from the bento my mom had packed for me, right before I left for Kageyama's house the night before. It was lunch time and I was so focused on my rice that I didn't even notice my classmate standing in front of my desk until she spoke.

For a second, I just stared at her in confusion. I didn't talk to any boys so there must have been a mistake. Suddenly the words from last night replayed themselves.

I was thinking about eating lunch with you from now on.

I whipped my head towards the door and saw Kageyama standing there, staring at me. He had his head tilted and his eyes were focused on my legs. My bare legs. Because I was wearing a freaking skirt!

I cursed and ran over to him, avoiding my classmates who were clumped in groups, spread throughout the room. I grabbed his hand and dragged him down the hall and into the first place I found, which happened to be the janitors closet.

I shut the door behind us and turned to him.

He was still staring at my legs, as if he's never seen them before. I snapped my fingers in front of his face.

"Hey baka, you've seen me in shorts before."

He slowly dragged his eyes up to my face, and the confusion in them made my throat close.

"Hinata… why are you wearing a skirt?"

I ran my hands through my hair and turned my gaze away. His hand grabbed my chin gently and tilted my face up.

"Please look at me." My eyes flew to his in shock at the word 'please'. It was something I never thought I'd hear him say.

"Tell me what's going on."

I closed my eyes and breathed deep. And then I told him. Everything. When I was done we stared at each other for almost a full minute before he covered his face and turned away so I was facing his back. I heard him groan.

"Um, Kageyama-kun, what are you doing?"

I grabbed his shoulder and he whipped back around.

"I called you cute!"

"Huh?"

"Last night! In my room! I said you were cute and that I thought about you sometimes, like, in a romantic way! And that I thought I might have been gay… for you!"

His face was bright red and he was breathing heavily. The his eyes widened to almost comical proportions. "Oh my gosh, you spent the night! A girl slept in my room!"

"Hold up, I told you the biggest secret I've ever kept, and you're stuck on the fact that you called me cute and had a sleepover with me?"

He titled his chin up to look at the ceiling and put his hands on his hips. I could see the blush spreading down his neck and rolled my eyes.

"My mom is going to kill me. She's going to think I'm some kind of Casanova! bringing girls into my room for sleepovers and such!"

A laugh left my mouth before I could contain it. "Kageyama, I can assure you that no one will think you're a Casanova."

He tilted his head to glare at me, but the second his eyes met mine, he gave an extremely dramatic groan (which was completely unnecessary) and looked back up at the ceiling.

"Listen, I'm sorry that you thought you were gay for me-" He made a choking sound and I saw his neck get even redder- "but I want to know what you're going to do now?"

He finally looked down at me. "What do you mean?"

"I can't be on the boys volleyball team as a girl. So, now that you know, what are you going to do?"

I could see in his eyes, the minute he fully understood my issue. Before either of us could speak, the door to the closet opened and we turned to see a startled janitor staring at us. Kageyama bowed and apologized. He grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the closet, back towards my classroom. He paused when we got to the door and turned to me.

"I don't know where your desk is."

I just stared at him, and he rubbed the back of his neck. "I was planning on eating lunch with you, so why don't we still eat lunch together and continue our conversation?" I nodded and led him to my desk against the wall, next to a window.

Theatrics aside, this was going a lot better than I thought. Kageyama still wanted to hang out with me and he wasn't outwardly panicking about the fact that he has been playing volleyball with a girl. Just that he called me cute. I turned my face to hide my smile.

"I need you."

My knee jerked up and hit the desk loudly. I turned and gave him my most sophisticated, "Huh?"

"For volleyball. You're the only one who hits my tosses the way I want. I want you to stay on the team."

Oh, for the love of pork buns everywhere. I should have known he was talking about volleyball. I mean seriously, he's still Kageyama. This was both a blessing and a curse.

"So, you're not going to say anything?"

He shook his head. "No. Not yet anyways… Although it will be really hard to hide this at training camp since we'll all be together-" He cut himself off and glanced down and then looked up at me with a shy expression. "That time in the locker room… did you, you know… see anything?"

"NO! No no no no! I promise I didn't look! I mean maybe a little, but I wasn't trying to! And I didn't really see anything! Except maybe your chest, but that's it! And maybe a little below your belly button, and also-"

"Okay, I don't want to know." His head slammed down on the desk, and I saw some other students looking at us.

He lifted his head and I saw him take in a big breath. His face was still red, but he didn't look as embarrassed as before.

"It's weird. That day in the locker room, I removed my shirt before I got your attention because I wanted you to look at me. I had just started feeling slightly confused about you, and I wanted to see if maybe you were having similar thoughts. Now that I know you're a girl, it feels different. Maybe because I didn't think I was gay, so I had a hard time with what I was feeling towards you, but I know I at least like girls in that way, so it feels more real. If that makes sense."

I wonder if my face is as bright as my hair, because I felt like this conversation was making me overheat.

"You wanted me to look at you?"

"I want you to look at me." His hand stretched out against the desk and his fingertips brushed mine. "Is this weird? Because I told you that I had a slight confusing crush on you when I thought you were a boy?"

Before I could answer, the bell rang for class and everyone started packing their bentos. Kageyama jumped up and gathered his stuff. "We can talk later right? After volleyball practice… On our way home?" He sounded hopeful, and so unlike the asshole I first met and despised, that I couldn't help but nod and smile at him. My eyes followed him as he left the classroom and I thought that maybe it wasn't so bad he discovered my secret.