"Hey, you alright?" He heard a voice say, but Oikawa didn't bother to respond, his emotions running high as he processed the parting words. He was trying his best to compose himself in front of his classmate, although Tooru could tell he was failing miserably. It wasn't like he hadn't expected Hajime to move on, to find someone else to love and cherish the way he had done with Tooru, but Oikawa had always pushed it to the back of his mind.
Sure, Iwa-chan sleeping around was something the setter could handle hearing about, even if it usually put him in a bad mood. But moving on? It hadn't crossed Oikawa's mind until he overheard Hajime's phone call. The affectionate voice, the small smile that graced his face as he spoke and the effortless love you too as he hung up the phone were all indications of how much Iwaizumi had fallen for his new lover.
And it bothered Oikawa. It left him feeling like someone had dropped a bucket of cold water on his head as a way of telling him to wake up from his delusional thoughts of getting back together with Hajime. What had he been expecting?
"Hey, if you're not up for studying tonight it's fine you know." He heard the voice say again and this time Oikawa shook his head in response before turning to his classmate with a fake smile.
"No, it's nothing. I'm just a bit tired after practice today." He lied already closing his laptop. "I think I'm going to head home and grab some dinner. We can meet up later?"
His friend took a few seconds to process the offer before nodding in agreement. "Sounds good. I'll text you when I get back to my place. Even if it's a few hours it'd really help."
"Alright." Oikawa said as he begun packing his things into his bag and saying his final farewell to Kitamoto. Once he was outside, he immediately walked towards his parked car that he had left near the gym.
It wasn't until he was sitting in the car that he finally let out the emotions he had been bottling up. He slammed his hands on the steering wheel in anger, and mostly regret, before he leaned forward and rested his head on it, letting himself cry for the first time in awhile. Oikawa wasn't sure how long he stayed that way, letting the tears roll down his face and into lap as he replayed the encounter in his head, but eventually he lifted his head and pulled out his phone.
He had never gotten a response from Suga, and he only guessed that was because the former setter was probably busy, however he did get a response from Kuroo.
[Tetsu-chan] Ohh, come on. I bet all you've done today is go to practice and study. When's the last time you went out? Plus, Akaashi's gonna drive us home so if you're interested you can get wasted ;)
Oikawa rolled his eyes at his friend's text. It wasn't like he didn't party, he did, although it was mostly when he didn't have to worry about volleyball and midterms. Nonetheless, he was tempted as he read the last part of the message. It had been awhile since he had actually gotten wasted. That was probably because he never liked the taste of alcohol and he was usually the responsible one of the group. More often than not he was the one driving Bokuto and Kuroo home from their night of fun. Akaashi rarely liked to tag along, considering he was always busy with school and Suga would usually get a ride home with his boyfriend, Sawamura.
[Oikawa] I'll think about it, I might show up later.
Pulling out his keys, Oikawa finally started the car and pulled out of the parking lot. His place wasn't too far from the university, but he preferred having the car since practices tended to end late and start early. He was too lazy to walk and hated to wait for a bus after a long day which was why he invested in the car.
He decided it would be better to pick up some food rather than attempt to cook dinner considering he was never the best in the kitchen, and he wasn't about to try to improve his skills now. Eventually he was fumbling with his keys in front of his apartment door, trying to unlock it without dropping the food and bags in his hands.
"Need help with that?" Oikawa heard and he turned to his left to see a brown-haired man starring at the keys in his hand.
"Ahh…If you don't mind." Tooru accepted politely as the guy took the key from him and inserted it into the slot. He also pushed the door open to allow the volleyball player to walk in without dropping the bags.
"Thank you so much."
"No problem." Oikawa heard before he finally let the bags drop in the front entrance and shifted his attention back to the stranger, accepting his keys from him. "My name's Oikawa by the way. Do you live here?"
He never had the chance to get know his neighbours after he had moved in last year summer due to his busy schedule, but he figured most of the tenants were university students and from the looks of things the stranger looked around his age.
"Yeah, right next door." He said gesturing with his head to the left. "I've been living here for a few years now, but I'm usually really busy with school. And my name's Nakamura."
"Ughh, same here." Oikawa nodded in understanding. "And nice to meet you Nakamura-kun. Thanks for the help, I'll see you around."
"Bye." He said with a small smile before he turned to leave. Closing the door a few seconds later Oikawa kicked off his shoes and picked up the bags again as he walked into the kitchen. Although he had been living in his new place for less than a year he had to admit it was convenient. It was close to school, large enough for him to live comfortably and relatively quiet.
His neighbours never played loud music or threw parties and Tooru was grateful for that. He had heard horrible stories of rowdy neighbours that kept some of his friends up late at night which was something he didn't think he could deal with. Nakamura also seemed liked a pretty good guy which was always a good thing. It never hurt to befriend someone that lived next door, especially considering he was still getting used to living alone.
Oikawa begun to unpack his food and eat as he sat down at the kitchen table. He took the time to also pull out his phone and check his missed messages. There were two.
[Tetsu-chan] Where are you right now?
[Oikawa] Home
[Oikawa] I'm heading out to study with someone for a bit. I'll probably show up late. Where are you guys going tonight?
[Tetsu-chan] Some party off campus. Akaashi's friend is throwing it but it looks like its gonna be huge.
[Tetsu-chan] And are you gonna bring the person you're studying with?
[Oikawa] Should I?
[Tetsu-chan] Up to you and here's the place
Oikawa read the message before clicking on the link Kuroo included. It showed the location of the house on a map.
[Oikawa] Thanks I'll see you later
He exited out of his conversation with Kuroo and opened his other new message as he continued to eat. Kitamoto had texted him his address and he immediately replied.
[Oikawa] Thanks what time do you want me to head over?
[Kitamoto] In 30 minutes?
[Oikawa] Alright I'll be right over
"Okay, that's all of them." Kitamoto said as he leaned back on his chair in the kitchen. "I think I'm getting better at this."
Oikawa nodded as he closed his laptop with a smile, feeling surprisingly accomplished after they finished going over all of the practice midterms. He still needed to do a few more hours of reviewing but for the most part he understood the major points of the material they had been taught.
"You think we should call it a night?" Tooru heard and he quickly checked the time on his phone. It was just after ten thirty and he figured it would be a pretty good time to head over to the party.
"Yeah, I'm done for tonight." He said before pulling up the message Kuroo had sent earlier and finding the directions to the party from Kitamoto's place. Thankfully, Kitamoto lived close enough to the university that Oikawa had been able to park his car on the street and walk over to the apartment. He intended to leave his car for the night and have one of his friends give him a ride to it the next day.
[Oikawa] Hey, are you guys there yet?
Once he sent the message Oikawa looked up to his friend and asked. "Are you busy after this?"
"No, why?" Kitamoto asked as he stacked his notes into his backpack and placed it near the table. He lived with a roommate but Tooru had to admit the place looked surprisingly clean for a university student's apartment.
"I'm heading over to a party right now, wanna come?" He asked, feeling it odd to extend such an offer to a classmate. Aside from studying, he rarely spent time with people from his classes, but he figured Kitamoto probably needed to take a break from all the cramming. Besides, he had been pretty helpful despite all the of questions he asked.
"How many people are going?"
"I'm not sure, a friend of mine invited me but I think it's gonna be pretty big." Oikawa replied honestly. He had only been to a few large parties in university, preferring to go to clubs once he was old enough, but they tended to get pretty big sometimes. He never really liked such a large crowd, but he guessed it was something that appealed to single college students looking for a good time.
He inwardly scowled as he recalled all the parties he had attended throughout his university life. Hajime had always been by his side, dancing with him or pulling him into an empty room to continue their make out sessions. He had never been single at one of these parties and it made him feel uneasy at the thought of being back in the dating scene. As much as Oikawa acted like a flirt, he had only been in short relationships in high school before getting together with Iwaizumi. Now that he was single would he know how to act in a serious relationship?
When he and Hajime had started dating their friendship had already been there, which let them skip over getting to know one another. He didn't have to worry about going on dates or looking good in front of the other because Iwaizumi had already seen him at his worst. He had been there through every set back and problem Tooru had encountered and had given him a push, or punch, when he needed it.
It was terrifying to think he had to start over again with someone else.
"Sure, I'm up for it." Kitamoto said. "How are you getting there?"
"I drove here but I'm planning on drinking. We could split a cab? It's a five-minute drive from here." Oikawa said as he looked at the directions.
"Sounds good." His classmate said before getting up. "I'll get ready."
Nodding, Oikawa pulled up a number for a cab and called it. He wasn't too excited on going out tonight, but he sure as hell wasn't going to spend his night alone with his thoughts.
The cab pulled up in front of the large house around eleven and the two men quickly paid the driver and exited the vehicle. Tooru was dressed in a plain white shirt and basic ripped jeans where as Kitamoto wore a black hoodie and khakis. He pulled his phone out and checked his messages again.
[Tetsu-chan] Yeah, we just arrived.
The message had been sent a few minutes ago. Walking towards house he quickly replied asking Kuroo where he was. Entering the place Oikawa looked around and noticed a few familiar faces but no one he was particularly close with.
"Hey, you said your friends were here? Did you wanna meet up with them?" Kitamoto asked from behind him, as he looked around the place to see if he knew anyone.
"Why don't we get a drink first?" Oikawa offered as they walked towards the living room where people were standing around talking or dancing to the music playing through the speakers. Scanning the room Oikawa had to admit the turn out of people was pretty decent, although not enough to make it uncomfortable to walk around. In all honestly he didn't like partying too much, preferring to spend the night wrapped up in a warm blanket and watching the latest episode of whatever show he was interested in at the time, but tonight was different. He was beginning to realize that although everything in his life was looking up at the moment, he still felt something was missing.
It wasn't hard to figure out what that was. Tooru knew he was kidding himself if he thought he would be able to go about his life without attempting to move on from his previous relationship.
Hajime aside, all of the other relationships he had been in were ones he knew weren't going to work out in the end. The girls he had dated always wanted something from him, whether that was attention or status, he was nothing more than arm candy to show off. It hadn't bothered Tooru, considering he hadn't put his all into those relationships either, but when he started dating Iwaizumi everything changed. They had just known each other to the point where Oikawa didn't feel like their relationship would ever break apart. Yet it had. And in the months that followed he had buried himself in school and volleyball to get away from the horrible feeling that he hadn't been enough to make Hajime stay.
Now, almost a year later, he knew he would have to come to terms with reality and close that chapter of his life. Turn over a new leaf and attempt to be happy with someone else. Although, Oikawa knew that was easier said than done.
"I'll grab us a few beers." He heard Kitamoto say from behind him and Oikawa nodded in response.
He silently watched as his classmate walked towards the kitchen seconds later, taking the time to linger on his back before turning away. Kitamoto was nice, but Tooru wasn't stupid enough to start something like that with a classmate. Besides, he didn't even begin to compare to how Oikawa had felt when he saw Hajime earlier that day. Regardless, it didn't hurt to try meeting someone tonight.
Sighing, Tooru looked around again to see if he could spot Kuroo and the others but came up empty. It shouldn't have been hard either, considering they were all tall but he figured they must be outside somewhere. From his position in the living room he could see into the open concept kitchen as well as the backyard where a good amount of people were standing around.
Pulling out his phone, he checked his messages but Kuroo hadn't responded yet. He'd just have to wait until Kitamoto came back before they searched for Kuroo and the others. Nonetheless, he quickly sent a message to Akaashi asking him where they were.
"Hey, you're Oikawa-san right?" He heard from behind him and the brown-haired setter turned his head to look over his shoulder. Upon seeing who it was Tooru smiled a little in surprise as he recognized his neighbour looking back at him.
"Nakamura-san?" He asked, utterly taken back at the coincidence.
"Yeah, it's me. I thought you looked familiar." He laughed as Oikawa turned his body to talk properly. "I didn't know you knew Takashi."
Pausing Tooru gave him a confused look and Nakamura quickly clarified. "He's the one that threw this party."
Feeling slightly embarrassed, Oikawa explained himself. "A friend of mine invited me last minute actually, he's the one that knows him."
Nodding in understanding Nakamura shifted the conversation elsewhere and they soon fell into a comfortable discussion. They talked about school and what classes the other was taking, quickly figuring out they went to the same university, before they brought up what they liked to do in their free time.
"Well I don't usually have much spare time, between work, school and being in a relationship." The brunette sighed before adding, "but my boyfriend's pretty understanding. What about you?"
Slightly surprised Oikawa almost wished he had the energy to juggle being in a relationship with everything else in his life, but he knew he couldn't. "I usually just waste my time watching TV in my free time, but honestly school and volleyball is stressing me out right now. Midterms are coming up too fast."
"Volleyball? Do you play for Tokyo University's team?" The brunette asked in curiosity.
"Yeah, I've been playing since first year." Oikawa nodded.
"Ohh, my boyfriend loves volleyball, he always watches the games when he has the chance, but I don't really have the time to keep up with it." Nakamura said with a smile, happy to hear Oikawa was a player.
"He's a fan?" Tooru inquired.
"Completely, I think he said he knows a few members on your team actually, although I don't know which ones."
"He sounds like a good guy." Oikawa said.
"Yeah, I'm actually waiting for him to come back with some drinks for us." He said, looking around to see if he could spot the man in question. At that moment, Oikawa also wondered where Kitamoto had disappeared to just as he heard a familiar voice coming up behind him.
"Hey sorry it took so long." Tooru heard before completely freezing for the second time that day.
He paused for a moment as he watched Nakamura smile at the person that had spoken, before turning his head to glance over his shoulder. Clenching his fists and calming his face Oikawa caught the gaze of the man that had broken his heart less than a year ago.
"Oikawa-san, this is my boyfriend Iwaizumi Hajime."