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Tsukishima Kei is my teammate.
We play volleyball together.
I admire him because of his blocking skills.
His thinking process and decision making skills are top notch for me.
But, I'm not friends with him.
We first met when me and Hinata practiced late outside the campus.
He's got height and can easily grab the ball above the orange-haired dumbass.
He's also calm and he's a great opponent when we faced him that Saturday.
But he kept talking about my past.
That's why I'm not friends with him.
He's smart, he gets good grades and is in a college preparatory class.
He can ace an exam if he would really try.
But he's a laid-back guy with a hell of an attitude.
He never makes the best out of his abilities.
That's why I'm not friends with him.
Yesterday he taught me and Hinata about the subjects we suck hard at for the midterms.
His notes are so easy to read, unlike mine.
Thanks to him I might be able to pass the exams.
But he kept grumbling on how hopeless we can be without his help, it pissed me off.
That's why I'm not friends with him.
I know that he's talented, despite of those slender physique he has.
But he seems like slacking off, like in the tokyo training camp.
He was being pestered by the captains of Nekoma and Fukurodani but kept refusing them.
If that was me, I would love to go practice with them.
That's why I'm not friends with him.
When Sawamura -san treats us meat buns, it surprised me when he actually took one.
But as soon as he finished it, he already went ahead.
I don't know what's the drag of going home with everyone and why doesn't he like it.
That's why I'm not friends with him.
Sometimes when I'm standing beside him, I cannot help but sneak a glance at him.
I really think he's not as salty as everyone thinks.
But then he would tease me for being a creep which made me take the thought back.
That's why I'm not friends with him.
When Sugawara -san suggested that I should be able to know my spikers well, he already said that Tsukishima was never an exception.
Is he annoying me that much that other people can already read it from me?
But maybe, I want to be friends with him.
One time, we first years had a group study in a new cafe near the campus.
I never knew Tsukishima liked strawberry shortcakes.
Aren't those super sweet?
We never get to finish any work actually, the day is full of Hinata doing stupid things every now and then making everyone laugh at him.
It's the first time I've seen Tsukishima laugh too. I sometimes forget that he's also human.
Maybe, I want to be friends with him.
I once spotted him during break, drinking Strawberry-flavored milk from the vending machine.
And I noticed that he plays with his fingers whenever he speaks his mind. It's a rare sight of him to be nervous like that.
Is he perhaps also having a hard time expressing his thoughts like I do?
Now I sometimes think we have something in common.
Maybe, I want to be friends with him.
We also held a group study session in Tsukishima's household before.
His bedroom was full of books, and there were Dinosaur figures all over the shelves.
No wonder he has a lot of knowledge about them, it's kinda cute actually.
Though I shouldn't speak bad about it, maybe he'd refuse to teach me as a result.
Maybe, I want to be friends with him.
I've always wondered how amazing his eye color is.
And how light his hair would be, since it's always swaying along everytime the wind blows.
I kinda get it when I got called as a creep by him before, to be honest I'm surprised on how observant I can be.
Maybe, I want to be friends with him.
Even when I'm trying so hard not to give anything away, it's always Tsukishima who would notice first if something was wrong with me.
He was the first to feel my forehead one time I caught a cold.
"I never knew simpletons catch colds." He snickered.
I wanna know more, I know he's not a bad person.
That's why maybe, I want to be friends with him.
I wanna know more.
It's been almost three years since we became teammates.
Yamaguchi became the captain, and me as the vice.
Hinata became more independent with himself in mid-air battles in matches.
And Tsukishima became more mature and became the middle blocker we all believed he would be.
He's still calling me King, but it doesn't really affect me like before. I know there's a reason on why he's calling me like that.
He also became more easy to approach.
And is spending more and more time with the team.
I realized I actually liked how we bicker on things.
I like how he's been easy to talk to now.
I feel at ease within the range of his presence, it makes me wanna know about him more.
If I want to be his friend, at least knowing a few more things wouldn't hurt.
I wanna know more.
But Hinata is intrigued on how close Yamaguchi and Tsukishima to each other.
I just shrugged. I mean, they've been the best of friends since middle school.
But it has been held true when we saw how they looked, going red at each other.
I wanna know more.
Whatever is going on between them, I wanna know. I wanna be part of it.
I feel like I'll be left behind again if I wouldn't.
I've gotten this far, I really want to be friends with him.
I really want to.
I really, really want to-
"Kageyama!"
"What?"
"Yamaguchi and Tsukishima are together!"
Oh.
Oh....
I, should say congratulations to them.
"W-woah , congratulations, y-you two."
"Thanks, King."
"Thank you, Kageyama!"
I remembered how my lips kept quivering, twitching, trying so hard with my fist clutching inside my pockets...
But, a smile never came.
I never knew a simple word of gratitude could hurt me so much.
I don't know why did that make me feel sad.
Everything came back to reality, and I realized everything.
Tsukishima Kei is my teammate.
We playing volleyball together for three years now.
I still admire him because of his blocking skills.
His thinking process and decision making skills are top notch for me.
But, I'm not friends with him.
I like how smart and calm he is.
He's tall and good-looking too.
He has a salty attitude but that's what makes him just like himself.
Once you get to know him, he's not as salty as you think he is.
He cares for everyone, a lot.
And now he's in love.
And I'm feeling kinda upset that it's not me.
I like him.
Maybe I already love him.
Maybe that's why I'm not friends with him.