I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing out loud. It's not the first time Tobio's been hit by a volleyball in the head, but it's just as funny. I justified laughing because I knew he'd be fine. Hajime hits Toru all the time and he seems fine. Though, that little orange haired boy is in for some trouble. Tobio's rage rivaled Hajime's. That fact only made the situation funnier to me.

"Mirai! Do you think he's okay?" Aiko asked, concern written all over her features. Her hands were over mouth in shock. She's a bleeding heart.

I waved my hand dismissively, the laughter breaking through this time. "He's fine! Don't worry about it."

The game continued on into the second set. Halfway through, Kuri disappeared, presumably to get Toru cleared to play. It's not like I dislike her. She's nice and all, but it seems like she's using Toru. I'll be the first to admit that he can be a huge flirt when he wants to. He's always been like that since he was little. I mean, he's ridiculously pretty. But, his affection for Kuri was changing him. She faulted him for having fangirls, which he can't control, but I know he doesn't always turn them down when he should. It's just one big mess.

"How's Toru?" I asked. Sports bored me, but I had grown up with those two volleyball nerds, so at least I understood how the game worked. I didn't mind coming to support Tobio. He's amazing at the sport, and damn he looks good in that uniform.

Aiko smiled softly. "He's okay. Kuri broke up with him again, but he's been acting like it doesn't bother him." She chewed on her lip, thinking hard. She brightened up at an idea. "Oh! You two are close. Could you talk to him? He never talks to me about girls, but you two even—"

I panicked, reaching out to cover her mouth with my hand. That was close. Too many people are nearby and could hear her say that. "I told you that neither of us want that information getting out. It wasn't a big deal but rumors like that could hurt both of us," I said quietly. Thankfully, most of the attention had returned to the volleyball game.

"Oh! I'm so sorry! I completely forgot!" Aiko bowed over and over. "Toru told me that you wanted to keep it a secret."

I patted her bowed head. "It's fine, Aiko. I just… haven't told Tobio about it… and I want him to hear it from me." We'd been dating for over a year, coming up closer to two years. I still hadn't told him. When is the right time to tell your current boyfriend about an ex-boyfriend? Especially when it's Toru! He and Tobio didn't get along, and Tobio wouldn't understand. He'd blow it out of proportion… but I had to tell him eventually.

The girls around us began to squeal. Speaking of the pretty third year setter… My head tilted to the side. He and Kuri were walking together, no tension between them. Damn, I wonder what happened. Just this morning he was whining on the way to school about her not talking to him. Now he's kissing her in front of everyone. His relationships were strange.

My phone buzzed in my pocket, surprising me. "I have to take this," I said, grabbing my bag and hurrying out into the empty hallway. The call screen was lit up with Dad's name. "Hi dad!" I answered, excited that he'd remembered to call.

"Mirai, I'm sorry, but Mr. Necci is currently boarding a plane back to Italy at the moment. There was an emergency with one of his stage productions." Kiki's voice held a degree of sadness. She is my father's personal assistant and goes virtually everywhere with him. She's also in charge of things like answering his cell phone, even if it is his daughter.

I squeezed my free hand into a fist. This is why I shouldn't get my hopes up. He's always extremely busy and making time for his own child is too much to ask for. It's been like this since I was little, even when he'd married Hajime's aunt. It had become clear to me that back then, he simply wanted a family that would take care of me while he left on his escapades of romance and to work creatively on his projects. I'm old enough now that I can live by myself, but it didn't make the pain of having an absent father lessen.

My silence prompted her to try and remedy the situation. "I can ask him to take a second and maybe—" Her words trailed off as someone shouted in the background. Dad can cause a scene when he's in a hurry. She's probably busy and then she took the time to call me.

"It's fine, Kiki. It's not that important anyways. Just tell him to call me whenever he has time," I replied. That will probably not happen, but it sounded better than completely giving up. Shifting on my feet uncomfortably, I chewed on my lip.

Kiki shuffled around, speaking to someone else before returning to me. "Good luck on your audition tomorrow—"

That's the last thing I wanted to hear from her. It should be my dad saying that. "Yeah thanks. I have to go," I said and hung up before she could say anything else. A normal person would call again, worried about the way that ended, but Kiki had other things to deal with. Slipping my phone into my pocket, I pressed the heel of my hands against my eyes. Dammit!

"Mirai," Tobio's voice came from behind me. The match had ended already?

I tried to wipe my eyes before turning around to smile. "Hey," I said, my voice shaking. Keep it together. There's no reason to have a mental breakdown right now. This happens all the time. It's nothing new.

He narrowed his eyes, trying to figure me out. Tobio's never been very good at reading people. "Were you crying?" He asked.

"Kageyama!" Hinata yelled, sprinting around the corner. He froze, backing up slowly. "Uh, s-s-sorry! Daichi says we're leaving." He knew he'd interrupted something. That seemed to be a habit of his. This boy had a strange innocent vibe about him.

I waved my hand dismissively, linking my other arm around Tobio's. "No worries. I'll walk with you out since I'm headed that way, too," I replied. Keeping Hinata around would get me out of this conversation. It worked. Hinata talked to me about how he and Tobio were kicked out of the club until the two of the worked together, which was an entertaining story.

His teammates were waiting outside. A mixture of emotions and confusion played across their faces at the three of us. The first to speak up was the bald one. "Who's the chick, Kageyama?" He asked, blatantly checking me out. He's the rough, bold type.

It hadn't occurred to me that Tobio hadn't mentioned me, but I wasn't too surprised. I smiled and said, "Oh, I'm Mirai Necci, his girlfriend." That word sent another wave of shock through his teammates. That's the reaction we typically got. The two of us were an odd pair to onlookers, but at our core, we were both so alike. We dedicated our time to our passions and spent the remainder with each other, but we weren't codependent on each other. That's why the two of us worked well as a couple.

"You're joking, right?" The tall blonde asked, scoffing at the thought.

The boy who had been standing on the sidelines for the game immediately scolded him. "Tsukishima! Don't be rude!"

I laughed, but my eyes met his with a threat beneath them. That's something I heard a lot. "I don't take offense to things like that. We've been dating for two years now." I wanted to solidify the fact that Tobio and I weren't new to this, and this Tsukishima boy wasn't a threat to me.

Tobio narrowed his eyes at Tsukishima as well. "Don't insult her like that."

"The insult is that she's settling for you," Tsukishima replied. He's overcompensating for a boy who doesn't seem to be dating anyone. It's safe to assume he's probably never had a girlfriend.

I released my hold on Tobio and closed the distance between the two of us. He towered over me with an indifferent expression. Reaching up to grab the front of his jacket, I jerked him down to be eye level with me. "Let me make one thing very clear to you," I started, silencing all the boys around us. No one wanted to get in the middle of this. "I don't settle for anyone and you'd do well to keep your unwanted opinions to yourself." I smiled and let go of him. "I mean, you'll never get a girlfriend if you keep that egotistical attitude."

The boys were stunned in silence.

Clearing my throat, I turned on my heel to return to Tobio's side. "I think it's time for me to go home. I do have an audition tomorrow," I said, placing a kiss on his cheek. "Call me when you get home, okay?" As soon as Tobio nodded, I walked away from the boys to the front gate. That was a great first impression, Mirai. They'll definitely want to see you again.

Sighing, I sifted through my bag for my script. For a moment, I'd almost forgotten that this was tomorrow. I don't have time to worry about what his teammates think about me. Chewing on my lip, I knew that I was worried. Maybe I should apologize the next time I see them. That Tsukishima boy was just so rude! I don't like when someone insults Tobio like that. Kindaichi does it all the time, and now I have this new kid joining in? Smacking the script against my face, I groaned. Why do we always to have explain ourselves to everyone? Why I can't I just be in love with him?

My step faltered.

Did I just say that I love him?