Chapter Text
You felt the same pair of eyes on you again and boy was it fun!
It was not.
Slowly lifting your gaze from your bento, you met the piercing stare of the volleyball genius, Kageyama Tobio. You immediately looked down at your food and suddenly appreciated the amount of effort you went through to make it look pretty, because it’s not easy to beautify food! Though, the thought vanished as quickly as it came because the intensity of his gaze was ridiculously difficult to ignore.
What did you do to make him this mad? He looked constipated mad! About-to-end-your-existence mad! Your mind raced to remember any interaction you had with him. There was a time during lunch break when he passed by your desk to get to the visiting orange-haired boy—Hinata, you believed—and accidentally dropped an eraser at the foot of your desk. You had picked it up and called him back, and he stiffly thanked you, and… stared at your desk. That was it, really. You can’t remember any other fateful meeting. Then what was the problem? Was it the way you probably looked irritated when you gave it back to him? Your RBF game was at its peak as always.
A small group of girls from the class next door arrived with food purchased from a vending machine. They settled at the desks that sat diagonally from yours, effectively blocking your view of Kageyama. This meant his view of you was blocked as well.
You let out a sigh of relief. That was nerve-racking, but it was finally over. Just as you picked up your chopsticks to continue your meal, you saw movement from the corner of your eye, followed up with a burning sensation on the back of your head. Kageyama was now sitting two seats behind you.
Did he move spots just to glare at you?
Uh, holy shit.
“Have you tried talking to him?” Yachi suggested after you ranted about your dilemma. The two of you were walking to your brother’s bakery. Normally Yachi had her volleyball club to attend, but according to her, she was told to have a day off. Plus, she wanted to purchase a strawberry cake to share with her mother. “Maybe he wanted to ask you about something…”
“I ain’t going near him,” you accidentally barked in English. Upon receiving a startled look, you composed yourself. “Sorry, I mean, why couldn’t you talk to him? Aren’t you like, his manager?”
“W-well, I guess I could…” Yachi mumbled, and you instantly felt guilty since you knew she had anxiety with intimidating-looking people.
“Never mind,” you sighed. “It’s my problem, so I’ll deal with it myself.”
The tiny bell welcomed you back with its familiar chime when you opened the door. Your older brother, Kazue, shouted out a greeting from the cashier station before actually looking up. His eyes brightened upon seeing you and Yachi.
“You brought Yacchan!” he said happily, regarding her with warmth. Yachi timidly bowed back.
“Wow. Nothing gets past you, Kazue,” you quipped sarcastically, ducking under the counter to the other side. You flung your school bag to the ground just as you caught the apron Kazue tossed you. Tying it on, you said to Yachi, “save us a table. I’ll get you the cake in a couple of minutes and we can study together when we close.”
“Got it!”
With that, Yachi vanished. Kazue handed you the customers’ orders and you headed off to your station to prepare the drinks for them. Falling into the same, steady routine, your hands relied on muscle memory. They grabbed mixing spoons, teabags, sugared syrups, and flavored powders. But the moment your eyes fell upon the black boba pearls, the color instantly reminded you of Kageyama’s hair. Your face scrunched involuntarily with embarrassment and you nearly dropped a carton of milk.
There were tons of other people with black hair, so why did his face show up? Though, he truly stood out with his height and sharp glare. Had you not known he was in your class, you would have thought him to be a third-year.
Your lips pursed in deep thought as you stirred the spoon, the thai tea blending its contents to the color of carrots. While it was highly likely that Kageyama had a deep grudge against you (for what, you’re not sure), there was also a chance you were wrong.
Maybe Yachi was right. Maybe he needed to ask you about something but wasn’t sure how to approach you or the topic.
But then you remembered the intense feeling of being glared at and suddenly, maybe Yachi was wrong and he wanted to end you in cold blood.
Yeah, uh, holy shit.
You had just finished cleaning up your station when the last customer Kazue was dealing with was getting a little louder than they should be.
Concerned, you quickly wiped your hands on your apron before heading over to take a peek. With no phone on your person, the setting sun was an indicator to let everyone know that the bakery was closing soon; people were slowly trickling out. You saw that Yachi was still at the table, taking her time to enjoy a slice of the strawberry cake you delivered earlier and was waiting for you to join her.
When Kazue was in sight, he was with a man with dyed blond hair that was pushed back by a headband. His hands were pressed down heavily on the counter as he leaned over to Kazue to get whatever point he was spewing out across.
Yikes, what was his problem? You sought to find out, approaching the two with a heavy frown. The customer seemed to be asking for something, his voice laced with borderline desperation.
“Come on, didn’t you and your family used to live in America?” he was begging.
“That is true.” Kazue seemed to be in deep thought, a finger under his chin that made him look like an idiot.
“So you know English!”
“That is also true.”
“Then?”
“Honestly? The situation you’re in sucks.”
“You don’t need to remind me, Kazue.”
“I’d help, but I don’t have the time to—oh, [Name], good timing.” He placed both hands on your shoulders to guide you in front of him and promptly announced to the customer, “she can do it.”
“Do what?” you asked dumbly.
“[Name]’s also a first-year,” your brother went on, ignoring your confusion. “And she can speak fluently, just like me.”
“Uh, English?” you clarified.
“[Name]-chan, I’m here to return the utensils—Coach Ukai?”
“Oh, Yachi.”
“You two know each other?” you and your brother uttered aloud.
“Y-yes, I’m the assistant manager of the volleyball club,” Yachi explained.
You eyed Ukai with skepticism. “You’re a coach?”
“Oi, you don’t have to look so suspicious,” Ukai muttered.
“Class 1-5 and assistant manager?” Kazue whistled to Yachi, drumming his fingers on your shoulders. “My sister could never!”
“Shut up,” you snarled, jamming your elbow into his stomach.
“Hey, don’t speak English and hit me in front of other people,” he responded airily. “It’s rude. And painful.”
“Then don’t insult me, asshole!”
“Anyway… Ukai,” Kazue coughed. “Why didn’t you ask Yacchan since she’s in your club? It would make sense to go to her first. And she seems to be a lot more capable.”
You elbowed him again. A weak gurgle escaped his throat.
Ukai, who had been watching your little sibling spat with a bemused expression, shook out of his stupor. “That’s kinda the problem, actually.”
“I’m a problem?!” Yachi suddenly bemoaned. “I knew it…”
“You could never be a problem,” the rest of you immediately said in unison.
“I don’t want you to overwork yourself,” Ukai added. “You’ve already helped those two muscleheads a lot.”
“Helped them with… oh, that? I could do that again—”
“No,” Ukai said firmly, and it was a little hard to watch Yachi wilt on the spot. “I’m asking Kazue in your place.”
“But,” Kazue interjected briskly, “I’m busy running my bakery, so [Name] could do it in my place.”
“Do what?” you almost cried. “I have one, singular brain cell! I don’t understand what’s going on! What am I supposed to do?”
Kazue was puzzled. “We didn’t tell you?”
You almost exploded. “No!” you howled.
Ukai and Yachi wisely leaned away from you.
“Coulda swore we did.” Kazue shrugged. “Ukai, you tell her.”
“What?” Ukai blanched. “Why me? Why are you even forcing this on her?”
“It’s for her own good. She needs to spend time away from the bakery and make new friends other than Yachi. No offense, Yachi. You’re good for her, but one person is not enough.”
The tip of your elbow stabbed him. Kazue wheezed. Ukai took that as his cue to butt in, giving you a wary eye as he explained his situation.
“Two of the club’s first-years’ grades are dropping. If they go any lower, they’ll have to be suspended from playing since they’re students first before athletes, and this isn’t a good time for that.”
“So… you want me to tutor them?”
“If you would.” Ukai gave a short bow. “English is probably their worst subject, which is why I went to Kazue for help.”
“Why couldn’t you do it?” you demanded, squinting in disbelief.
Ukai straightened up to look you in the eye. You almost took a step back from the grave seriousness he alluded and wondered if you should apologize for your blunt rudeness. “Do I look like someone who got good grades?” he questioned roughly, the piercings on his ear glinting as if daring you to speak.
Kazue opened his mouth. “I’m so sorry fellas, but was that a rhetorical question? I couldn’t tell.”
You slapped your forehead. “Kazue, please shut up. Ukai-san, it’s true my brother can’t help you but… maybe I can. I can read, speak, and write in both languages. I’ll help if it means Hitoka-chan won’t stress herself out.”
“I think I’ll be even more stressed,” Yachi mumbled.
Your eyes narrowed. “What do you mean?”
“Um… one of them is—”
“Everyone!” Kazue called to the lingering customers. “We’re officially closed for the day! Please come back tomorrow!” He turned to Ukai. “[Name] said yes, yes? Alright, I’ll clean up while you guys talk it out. Now shoo!” He swatted his hands as if the three of you were flies.
Rolling your eyes, you removed your apron and ducked under the counter to where Ukai and Yachi were.
“So Hinata-kun and… K-Kageyama-kun, right?”
“Hinata is fine!”
“Okay, Hinata it is then.”
There’s a bit of shuffling of quiz papers. Red marks blared their imaginary horns at you, and you did your best to not give any sort of reaction at the not-so-great scores.
Kageyama, a dumbass? You were surprised. He seemed really smart.
As if he heard your thoughts, you felt The Stare on you. You felt like you had to apologize to the deities above.
“Thank you so much for giving us your time!” Hinata suddenly shouted, shooting out of his chair to bow at a ninety-degree angle.
“Hinata…” You were flustered. It was embarrassing when people bowed like that.
Hinata elbowed his teammate. “Oi, say something too.”
“Yes.” Kageyama bowed his head, boring his eyes into your soul. “Thank you.”
You were so doomed.