Chapter Text
A wave of calmness passes through you as you take in the view before you. The sun had just started to set, and the blend of yellows, oranges, and reds, painted over the sky as if it were a canvas itself. Who would've thought that before the beginning of your second year in high school, you'd find a perfect spot to see the sunset.
Your fingers leaf through the pages of your sketchbook, in a short reminiscence of your works before ending on a fresh page. As you reach your fresh page, you're filled with a spark of inspiration at the scene before you.
However, your strike of inspiration is cut short as your ears picked up on footsteps coming your way, the crunch of the grass pulling you out of your thoughts.
Lifting your gaze up from your sketchbook and turning your attention to the sound of footsteps, you notice a guy who seemed to be around your age, staring at you with a blank look on his face.
You return the favor, staring back while trying to process why he was just standing there. A beat passed. It was starting to feel a little awkward, as the both of you were just looking at one another for a moment too long.
Wondering if you should speak up first, the guy in front of you finally breaks the ice.
"...Ah, I guess someone else found this spot pretty great too." He looked almost shy as his hand reached up behind him to rub the back of his neck, looking away from you for a moment. His eyes glanced over at the view, as a silent way to refer to the appeal of the place you were both in. He lets out a quiet sigh before looking back at you, shooting you a sheepish smile.
Wordlessly, you blink up at him before shifting in your spot as an invitation to say that he is free to join you if he wants to. "There's room for one more if you like." You pat the empty seat beside you before your eyes catch onto his art materials poking out of his back and point towards it. "You wanted to draw here too right?"
You pick up at how his eyes light up at your suggestion and the crooked grin he sends you before he made his way over to the spot you gestured to him.
He plops down next to you, and you shoot him a grin of your own as you reorganize the art materials you shifted to the side to make room for him. As you busied yourself with putting some of your materials aside, you recall that you don't know his name.
Your head turns slightly to the side, looking to see if he was all settled so you could ask. But as you noticed him setting up his sketchbook and materials, you got sidetracked and couldn't help but curiously glance over at his open sketchbook, in hopes that you could take a little peek at what his art style was and what kinds of things he drew. You knew it was nosy of you to do, so you tried to do it as discreetly as possible.
"Is there something wrong?" He picks up on it right away, turning to face you with his full attention. Thankfully, he didn't look the slightest bit put off by your action. Rather, he looked to you with eyes with equal parts confusion but also curiosity.
Your head instinctively snaps away from him, facing forward at the sunset. You couldn't help but let out a sheepish laugh, as you felt your face warm up a bit. With your face turned away from him, you take the opportunity to compose yourself before responding to him. "Oh! I was just wondering what kinds of things you find interesting."
When you don't hear him respond, you slowly turn to the side to look at him for input.
You're met with a confused look. "How would you find that in my sketchbook?"
Blanking for a moment, you look up in thought. "Well..." You trail off for a second before continuing, "my sketchbook holds stuff I find interesting like flowers I come across or a scene I don't want to forget. So I was just wondering about yours." You take a quick glance to the side to gauge his expression, noticing a slightly stunned expression. You couldn't help but laugh, succeeding in breaking his stunned silence. "Sorry, I get a little curious for my own good."
He quickly waves his hands to dismiss your apology. "That's an interesting take on it." His eyes turn slightly wistful before he glances away from you and towards the sunset as well. "I thought it was to draw things that others found beautiful..." You notice his head tilt a little towards you, giving you a small smile.
Hearing him say that made your brows scrunch instinctively in protest, making him chuckle.
"Was I off?"
You shook your head, letting out a thoughtful hum at his thoughts. "You're not off..." You pause to collect your thoughts, before glancing back at the sunset. "Take the sunset for example. I would draw how beautiful I think it is in my own eyes rather than making sure it matches the beauty other people may see." You shrug and let out a small sigh. "At the end of the day, the sunset is still beautiful."
"..."
"..."
After your little spiel, a comfortable silence drapes over the two of you, as if this moment was the time to take in the content of the conversation and the view. The silence breaks when he rustles into his bag for his pencil and then glances over to you, giving you a soft smile.
You return the smile and pick up your own pencil, ready to continue sketching before you had to head home. Something about him made you feel at peace at where you were in this moment.
Secretly, your eyes glanced to the side as you saw him sketching away with a fervor that you knew all too well. The corners of your lips twitched upwards at his excitement. You hoped that one day you'd be able to see what he made today.
But first, you realized, it would probably be a good idea if I knew his name...
Though...seeing him so focused pushed those thoughts away for the meantime.
You had a feeling you'd see him again, sooner than later.
~~
Now it just felt like a coincidence.
Somehow, you didn't realize how right your gut feeling was until you were in your first day of class, in homeroom, and the guy you met yesterday walks right through the door.
One of the girls chatting with you in your little group stops talking when she notices the distracted look on your face. "Oh~ Is this what they call...love at first sight?" She giggles and turns around to see who you're looking at. "Which one?"
"Already, huh?" Another of the girls teases you playfully, nudging your side.
Your eyes dart back towards them before responding with a raised brow paired with a lazy wave of the hand to dismiss their comments. "Ah, nothing like that... I just, I think I saw him before." Your brows scrunch at the intense look you were getting from the girls you were with, their stare feeling like it could burn a hole through you if you let them look at you long enough.
You inwardly sigh at their persistence, knowing they were only bored and wanted something to talk about other than their summer break. Rolling your eyes, you tilt your head back up towards them and drawl out, "Oh right, have you guys have already pinpointed the best looking one in the class?"
You're met with an overwhelming response as they take the bait, the conversation moving on to discuss which of the guys in the class was most attractive.
"Oh, but my bias is still Oikawa!" One of the girls pipes up, gushing about an up and coming volleyball player in the school.
"Wait! Isn't that...Iwaizumi? He's close with Oikawa, right?" Another girl calls out in a whisper towards the group, pointing discreetly towards a guy with dark brown hair and an unusually irked expression on his face making his way to his desk. "Eh...But I feel like I can't ask him...why does he look so angry?"
Your eyes glance over at the irked-looking classmate, the corner of your mouth quirking up slightly in amusement. That guy probably had to listen to a lot of girls fawning over his friend as he was making his way here. You noted his tense posture as you noticed the girls you were sitting with were now eyeing him with the same intense stare you had just experienced, trying to figure out how to speak to him.
Clearing your throat to disperse their attention on him, you successfully brought the attention back to yourself for a moment. You bring your hands together in a single clap as a way to cut off any other thoughts they may have regarding your poor classmate, Iwaizumi. "Focus girls," you gesture over to the rest of the class, "lets start with finding out who's your top pick in this class."
"Oh, right!"
"Hm, lets see~"
While the girls were distracted, you checked back on the Iwaizumi guy, noticing that his posture has relaxed a little bit. You smile and give yourself a mental pat on the back. You hope he gets some time to wind down before homeroom starts.
"Oh!" Your classmate beside you cuts through your thoughts, nudging your shoulder. "Hey, he's pretty cute, isn't he?" She urges you to discreetly look over to where she was.
When you try and follow where her eyes were looking, you lock eyes with the same guy you saw yesterday. Startled, you instinctively look away and off to the side before responding to your classmate. "Oh! Uh, yeah. He seems nice?"
She rolls her eyes at your noncommittal tone, the bottom of her lip jutting out a bit in a pout. "Still the same as ever I see~"
Another girl laughs at her pouting friend. "Aw, leave her be. You know what takes up most of her thoughts." She grins at you, leaning over to your side. "I heard the art club is looking for more members! Just a heads up when we can sign up for clubs."
Your eyes sparkle at the newly attainted information. "Good to know, thanks!"
The two girls giggle at your excitement, looking at each other before shrugging to themselves.
"Hey, should we tell her that about that guy who keeps looking over here?"
"Nah, let it play out. I want to see how long it takes for her to figure it out."
Your ears pick up on their hushed whispers, but you not enough to hear what they said. Turning towards them, your eyes squint a little in suspicion. "...What are you two planning over there?"
They only grin at you, which makes them fall into even further suspicion. "Nothing you need to worry about! For now at least~"
You blink at their cryptic words before shrugging it off. If it was that important, you'll find out eventually.
~~
The school days trudged on, students falling into a monotonous cycle of going from class to class. Before the start of your next class, you take a moment to just rest your head on your desk. You know it was the sign-ups for clubs today, but you have yet to hear about the art club.
You heard the classroom door slide open, a couple footsteps following after the sound. Lifting your head slightly from your desk, you turn your attention to the front as your teacher calls for everyone's attention.
"Before I start class today, a few of the art club members are here to talk about their club for sign-ups."
As if a surge of energy went through you, your head jerks up from your desk, ears perking up at the next words from the two students at the front of the classroom. They said something about having a sign-up sheet on their art club door and that whenever we had time in the next week to just write our names on it if we were interested in joining.
Once you received all the relevant information about joining the club, you started to zone out. You wondered if your friend Ami would be interested in joining you. It would be nice to spend time with her since you weren't in the same class.
Then, another thought passed through your mind. Taking a quick glance to the side, you noticed that guy again. Tadashi Kouta. You knew his name now as your homeroom teacher got everyone to introduce themselves to the class. From what you could tell from your first meeting with him, maybe he'd sign-up for the club too.
You hadn't gotten an opportunity to speak with him more as he seemed to be surrounded by your classmates more often than not. He didn't exude a bright and bubbly aura like one might assume, rather, there was this warmth and calmness that he exuded that people gravitated towards. Of course, you weren't exempt from it, but you noticed that he looked a little troubled sometimes so you made sure to be mindful of his space.
You clicked your mechanical pencil a few times before pushing the lead down again. Whatever happens, happens. For now, you'll focus on signing up and seeing if Ami would be up for joining you.
~~
"Finally, a chance to see the work my dear friend makes~" Your friend Ami teases you lightly in response to you asking about her joining the art club with you. "Of course I will, silly! And hopefully I can learn a thing or two from you, since my drawings are quite...uh, unique." She cringes at herself as if recalling her drawings from the past.
You roll your eyes playfully and lightly nudge her shoulder. "Abstract as it may be, you could very well become the next Picasso or something."
"Alright, that's the bar you've set for me, huh?" Ami's eyes twinkle mischievously at your comment. "It'll happen, mark my words!"
"Yes, ma'am." You raise your hand in a mock salute, chuckling at her antics. "Before we get too far into the future, maybe lets start with this." You point to the sign-up sheet for the art club.
While Ami goes to grab her pen to sign up, you glance over at the list. It's been a day or two since you've last seen it and you were curious who else signed up, as you were the first one to put your name on the list.
Your brows rise a bit at the name directly under your own.
Tadashi Kouta.
Ami calls out your name, shaking you out of your thoughts. "I'm done!" She grins at you, patting your back once. "You zoned out for a bit there, you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm good." You let out a soft sigh and comb your fingers through your hair. There were just too many coincidences. "Let's go home."
"I'm all for that notion!"
Whatever the world is telling you, you didn't want to overthink it.
But you can safely assume that you guess you'll be seeing him around more.
~~
Tadashi
It was the last day before Tadashi went to school as a second year and he was currently stuck at his dad’s art exhibition.
Tadashi politely smiles at the funders of his family’s business with his dad, shaking their hands and getting through all the pleasantries. As years went by, Tadashi’s dad became more adamant about him tagging along for these types of networking. His family was quite talented in scouting out starting artists and showcasing their works in their exhibit. Unfortunately, Tadashi wanted more than to just show art, he wanted to make his own works.
His dad let him do as he wished, although he said that he wouldn’t be able to show his works in their exhibit if he wished to follow through with it. Tadashi agreed with his condition, vowing to find his own way of making a statement with his work.
But that was where the problem lies. Tadashi was surrounded in different styles of art all day that he found it difficult to find his own style. His train of thought was cut off once an art patron called for his attention.
“Oh, Kouta! I heard that you were making your way into the art world!” The patron shakes his hands with Tadashi, their gaze interested. “I would love to see your work!”
Tadashi lets out a small laugh and pairs it off with a soft smile. “Thank you for your interest. What would be a reasonable time to show you my portfolio?”
The art patron looked delighted at Tadashi’s response and pulls out a business card from their pocket. “Anytime you’re able to pull your portfolio together! I understand you recently just started so I don’t want to rush you. Give me a call when the time comes so I know you’re dropping by!” They end it off with a smile before they excuse themselves. “Pleasure doing business with the Tadashi family!”
Tadashi stares at the patrons retreating back before staring at the card in his hand, dumbstruck. “Hey dad, I still don’t feel right about this…” He clenches the card in his hand. “I feel like I got a chance before I even showed any work.”
Tadashi’s dad gives him a light pat on the back. “Well, I guess you’ll have to make sure that chance stays there when you show them your work.” He gives Tadashi a reassuring smile. “You’ve networked enough that most of the patrons here are familiar with you and how well you treat everyone.” He nudges Tadashi, making him stumble forward and turn back to his dad with a questioning glance. “There’s just a little bit left to do here but I can do that myself. I’m sure there is somewhere else you’d rather be right now?” His dad gives him a knowing smile.
Tadashi nods at his dad gratefully. “Yeah, thanks.” He steps out of the exhibit and walks to his house a few blocks away.
He quickly opens the door of his home and runs up to his room, changing out of his stuffy formal outfit and into more comfortable clothes. Looking up at the time, he speeds up even more and swiftly packs his art supplies into his bag before rushing out the door.
It was almost sunset and he always managed to miss it with all the art exhibitions his dad wanted him to attend.
Just a few steps away from his favorite spot to see the sunset, he spots someone else occupying the space. His steps slow down but the noise was still enough to attract the person and turn their gaze to him. His breath caught in his throat.
You turned to Tadashi, your pencil hovering over your sketchbook. You didn’t say anything, and you didn’t really have to since Tadashi quickly broke the ice as he walked closer to you.
“Ah, I guess someone else found this spot pretty great too.” Tadashi rubs the back of his neck in an almost shy manner, glancing at you with kind eyes.
You blinked at him before you shifted in your seat, opening up a space for Tadashi to sit. “There’s room for one more if you like.” You lightly pat the empty space once before you point at his bag. “You wanted to draw here too right?”
Tadashi chuckles at your friendly manner and takes up your offer, sitting beside you. He pulls out his sketchbook and opens to a fresh page. Tadashi readies himself to start sketching until he notices you staring at him curiously. “Is there something wrong?” He turns to you, giving you his full attention.
You snap your head back forward, embarrassed but speak anyway. “Oh! I was just wondering what kind of things you found interesting.”
Tadashi gives you a confused stare. “How would you find that in my sketchbook?”
You stare at him blankly for a moment before looking up in thought. “Well…my sketchbook holds stuff I find interesting like flowers I come across or a scene I don’t want to forget. So I was just wondering about yours.” You let out a small laugh at Tadashi’s expression. “Sorry, I get a little curious for my own good.”
He waves his hands, as if to dismiss your apology. “That’s an interesting take on it.” He voices out the thoughts that had been drilling his mind for ages. “I thought it was to draw things that others found beautiful…”
You scrunch your brows at his comment, making him laugh. “Was I off?”
Shaking your head slightly, you let out a thoughtful hum. “You’re not off…” You glance at the sunset before the both of you. “Take the sunset for example. I would draw how beautiful I think it is in my own eyes rather than making sure it matches the beauty other people may see.” You give him a shrug. “At the end of the day, the sunset is still beautiful.”
Tadashi was silent, pondering your words. It felt like things suddenly made sense and he wondered how he never understood it in the first place. He smiles at you softly before he picks up his pencil again, ready to make some art.
You return his smile and do the same, picking up your pencil and focusing back on the sunset.
Unknown to you, Tadashi’s eyes travelled to you and the sunset, his hand sketching out to what he can proudly call his own style.
His first work would be called Sunset Muse.
~~
The first day of second year had finally begun, Tadashi blending in effortlessly with his old friends from last year as they talked about what they did for the break. As the rowdy group of boys entered their new classroom for the year, Tadashi’s breath once again got caught in his throat.
There you were, sitting with some of the other girls in class, possibly also talking about how their break was.
Tadashi didn’t even notice he stopped walking until one of his friends nudged his shoulder. “Oh~? Did someone catch your eye already?” His friend eyed him teasingly.
Tadashi let out a laugh to dismiss any suspicion and brought the question back to his friend. “I’m sure someone already caught your eye I presume?”
His friend took the bait quickly and put a friendly arm around his shoulder, talking animatedly about the cute girls this class seemed to have. Tadashi couldn’t help but nod at his friend’s comment, his gaze turning to you every so often. Cute girls indeed. He agreed in his thoughts.
~~
Weeks passed and the school finally announced club activities for the year. Once he heard the words ‘Art club’, he took a small glance at you and noticed that your head jerked up from your desk.
Although you and Tadashi greeted each other that first day back at school, he couldn’t help but be disappointed that your relationship had not progressed past classmates. Tadashi was a friendly guy and everyone seemed to be comfortable around him, which had its downsides when he just wanted some space. The one person he wouldn’t mind being around him all the time seemed to be the only one who was mindful of his space.
His mind sparked a new idea as he recalled the memory of your blatant interest in the art club. If he could be classmates and clubmates with you, maybe you could even be friends.
That very same day, he walked up to the art clubroom door and glanced at the sign-up sheet. Unsurprisingly, your name was written there already. He takes out a pen and writes his name on the sheet as well.
He let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding and placed his pen back in its case and walked off to his locker. He could only hope that with this small leap he could close some distance between him and you. And maybe...just maybe...
...The things he couldn't do before in another time, he would have the courage to do them this time around.