Chapter Text
Growing to like someone is strange. It can happen rather fast or it can be a course over several years. With you, it's the former.
Aone first noticed you when he was sitting in his usual spot in the train to school. And besides it being crowded, several seats remained empty. Two of these empty spaces were on both of his sides and that once more fuelled his fear of nobody wanting to sit next to him. Just the mere thought caused his hands to clench on his knees, making a young woman sitting close to him flinch and hurriedly stand up, most likely to search a seat elsewhere. Realizing that, Aone loosened his grip and and his shoulders slouched the slightest bit. His demeanour could easily intimidate others, the middle blocker knew that thanks to many years of experiencing others being scared of him. But it still hurt every time someone showed their fear so openly.
Lost in his thoughts, Aone failed to notice someone sitting down next to him. He only realized that an other passenger sat next to him, when someone's knee bumped against his, an apology following shortly after. His eyes widened a minimal bit and he pulled his leg instinctively away when he remembered that his long legs took up a lot of space, probably causing the other person to bump into him in the first place.
“Thank you.”
Aone heard the soft voice again and suppressed the urge to swallow. You had noticed his attempt to make space instead of mistaking his reaction as avoiding contact? He nodded and looked at the person next to him for the first time, out of the corner of his eyes. The middle blocker caught a glimpse of (h/c) hair, which somehow looked extremely soft to him. Then he noticed the concentrated look, eyes trained on the book in your hands and last but not least, the uniform. It was the same as his. Aone studied the girls face again, pondering if he had already seen it before. He had not.
The 2nd year student was just about to stare straight forward again, when you looked up and smiled at him. You had caught him staring out of the corner of his eyes and instead of showing any negative reaction, you smiled. It showed a bit of nervousness , but the smile was still sincere. Out of reflex, Aone fully turned his head to you and stared you dead in the eyes, having no idea how to act. Your smile wavered for a second, clearly surprised by his sudden action and came back even brighter, a bit amused now. To say Aone was surprised was an understatement. Not many people could put up with his intense glares and nearly nobody was so calm at the first encounter. You managed to hold his gaze a bit longer, then turned your attention back to the book in your lap. Aone stared for a few more seconds, then remembered his manners and proceeded to look away, his head swirling with questions.
The second time he saw you was in class, in his class. The teacher announcing a new student switching to the school at the start of a new year was nothing unusual and at first, the middle blocker paid as much attention as he usually did in such a situation, but when you stepped in, his interest was peaked. It was his turn to be amused then, you seemed to struggle with words, stuttering a few times to properly introduce yourself. He pitied you in that moment. (Y/n) (L/n). It had a nice ring to it, seemed fitting. While you said a few words about why you joined the school, your gaze met Aone's again and once more, a smile graced your features, a bit more certain this time. He nodded in return and studied you once more, a bit more attentively. Your hair seemed even more silky now, slightly hiding your (e/c) orbs, as you seemed uncomfortable standing in front of many unknown students. The middle blocker was not deaf either and could easily make out the hushed whispers of several students, talking about (L/n), so it was not hard to guess that the sheer amount of unknown people made you want to be somewhere else.
When you finished your introduction, never breaking eye-contact with Aone once, the teacher assigned you a seat. More specifically the seat right in front of said male. Since nobody wanted to have his stern glance at their back all the time and his friends sat next to him, the seat has remained empty until you joined his class. But you didn't even hesitate one second before sitting down and once the teachers resumed his class and the other students, except Aone, focused on the lesson instead of you, your frame became much more relaxed. He could practically see the muscles in your shoulders relax. And that even though his gaze never left your back and you had to feel that. Most students already noticed his gaze when he barely glanced in their direction. He certainly was happy about that.
The third time the two of you met would be the start of your friendship and also the start of something … darker.
You met once more in the train. Aone already sat in a seat, a bit worn out from a particularly hard training, causing him to almost miss you entering the train. Your eyes fell on him and an even wider smile appeared on your face, eyes gleaming. No doubt you were glad seeing a familiar face. Saying he felt otherwise would be a lie. He followed your movements with his eyes as you sat down next to him, even though there were more then enough seats available at such a late time. What exactly caused you to drive home this late too?
“Hello, Aone-san, was it ,right?”, he blinked surprised at hearing your voice again, turning to you and nodding shortly. When had you learned his name? “Is it okay when I sit here?” He nearly remarked that you already sat down, but settled for a nod once more. This caused you to giggle softly and his expression shifted to being confused. Aone did not understand what amused you in this moment and … he liked that sound. His facial expression softened the slightest bit without him noticing, causing you to laugh quietly before you returned to smiling. This expression had a calming effect on him, he could feel it. “You're not one for many words, huh?”, your tone was friendly and he returned a smile so minimal, you would have nearly missed it, before he nodded once more, glad that no explanations were needed.
After this, driving to school together and back home became a routine. You had joined a club yourself, syncing your daily routines. And it soon became a habit of you to wait for Aone if he stayed longer than usual for an more intense training session. At first, you waited in the main building or looked for a quiet, isolated place on school grounds, but the middle blocker convinced you to watch him train instead. He was very consistent about it, wanting to make sure that you didn't get in any trouble or caught a cold from being out in the open for too long. His arguments were not exactly the best ,but his sincere concerned look broke down any resolve of yours in seconds and you agreed, starting to hang around the volleyball team from time to time.
The more time you two spent together, the closer you became. And that caused Aone to notice things he did not notice before. Or at least not like that.
You were perfect in his eyes, he came to realize that maybe half a year after your first train ride together. Everything about you was flawless. Your voice was soft to his ears, he loved the melody in your tone when you spoke. Just as your choice of words, always considerate and friendly, no matter how upset you were. The feel of your hair in his fingers was amazing, he actually patted you a few times on your head, mostly to comfort you in some occasions or as an really awkward goodbye. It really was silky, just as he had first imagined it to be. Your eyes, vivid and full of emotions seemed to put him under a spell, he could spend hours just staring at them and watching the shift of emotion when you became happy or amused. Aone especially liked that caring look in them when you two talked. Your mouth was just as enchanting, being able to steal his attention away from anything else. The way it curved up when you smiled and how you sometimes bit on your lip while being concentrated made him go wild. He could practically hear your velvet voice while staring at your lips ,but simply looking at them also flooded his mind with thoughts of actually kissing them. Aone couldn't even count the times he imagined kissing you, holding you close, his fingers tangled in your hair, your eyes fluttering closed. And the rest of your body had the same effect on him. He loved to steal glances at what your school uniform gave away when you were not looking, admiring your statue over and over again and got even more exited when seeing you in your normal clothes on weekends or other occasions. Aone just loved everything about you, mind and body, unconditionally. Not that he ever mentioned it though, being too insecure and scared of your answer should he confess. As long as your friendship stayed the way it was, Aone was content... most of the time. It irritated him sometimes that he had to refrain from kissing you but he soon learned to ignore such wants for the time being. He had enough time dreaming about you at home and enjoyed your company while it lasted.
Nevertheless, the one thing he loved most was your attention. When every fibre of your whole being was concentrated on him and him only. Your eyes meeting his, that cute smile appearing on your face, your voice accompanying the beautiful sight. He craved your attention more than anything, for once using his intimidating appearance to scare others away if he wanted you to himself. You never noticed though, or at least never commented on it, obviously being happy to spend time with him.
But that was when the trouble started. With you spending more time with the middle blocker, you automatically spend some time with the team. All of the team. And most of them sure enjoyed talking to you, stealing away his precious (Y/n). He would always observe you while you talked to them, paying close attention to their words and actions, as well as to your reactions. He never really hid it too, but no one ever thought much of it. Sure, the persons being actually able to understand and read him could see his quite obvious crush, except for you of course, but other people did never even think of the possibility. … Though crush might be a little weak to express what he felt towards you.
He could deal with the others and their affection somehow. Futakuchi Kenji was a different story though. The wing spiker knew exactly of Aone's attraction to (Y/n) but he didn't seem to care, or maybe it was part of his provocative nature. Futakuchi never failed to flirt with the girl, sometimes more blunt than other times, but every time he met her, the wing spiker complimented (Y/n)s features. And even though she always ignored his attempts to flirt, Aone had a hard time to not drag her away or make Futakuchi shut up, this way or another. But he refrained himself, stayed calm, for your sake. Still, his patience was wearing thin, it became harder for him to hold back. And one day, Aone snapped.