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Iwaizumi was never a fan of school gatherings. He didn't like being in crowded areas in the first place, but he especially didn't like anything the school hosted. Not because he had anything against school, he just didn't like the idea of being in a cramped space full of people he was forced to interact with. He would much rather stay at home or go out in the garden and catch bugs.
But his mother absolutely loved these kinds of things. And that's exactly how he found himself standing awkwardly at the edge of the school gymnasium that was covered with blue and white decor, with a cup of grape juice in hand watching all the other kids chatting and having fun.
~flashback time~
"I'm not going mom," Iwaizumi said for what felt like the hundredth time, "I don't care if it's going to help me make friends, I'm fine by myself-"
"Hajime please," his mother cut him off, a worried expression on her face, "I just don't want you to be lonely all the time."
"I appreciate your thoughtfulness mom but seriously i'm fine!" he exclaimed growing even more irritated with the conversation. "Well too bad," his mother said with a bit of edge to her voice, "I already got you a suit for the Winter Ball."
Iwaizumi stopped what he was doing and turned around to face his mother, "You didn't," he said, eyes wide.
"I sure did," she said with a slight smirk on her face knowing she'd already won. "I'm sick of seeing you cooped up in your room while all your classmates are making friendships and having fun," she walks to the dining table where a fancy looking bag was placed. Iwaizumi had a pretty good idea as to what was inside but didn't dare utter a word. He already knew that he was going to go, if he didn't the guilt of knowing his mother spent time and money getting him something nice to wear, and having that being thrown to the side to never be worn, would eat him alive. His mother continued speaking about how she just wanted him to interact with others, but he cut her off, "Alright fine, I'll go." he looked to the side not wanting to see his mother's shit-eating grin.
"I knew you'd see things through eventually!" she exclaimed.
~flashback end~
The suit itself wasn't half bad, it was just a bit out of Iwaizumi's comfort zone. It was a nice creamy white with subtle floral designs, but that just made Iwaizumi even more uncomfortable. It felt too fancy for something as simple as a winter party. He took another sip of his juice as he thought of all the things he could be doing if he was back at home. His thoughts were cut off when he heard what sounded like giggling. He lifted his head and searched for the source of the noise, when his eyes landed on a group of girls casting small but noticeable glances at him and whispering to each other.
"Oh no.."
Iwaizumi had a pretty good idea as to what was about to happen, and he really didn't want to deal with it.
"Please, dear god leave me alone-"
But his pleading didn't stop one of the girls from slowly approaching him with a soft smile and bright red cheeks. It wasn't that Iwaizumi had anything against her, yea sure she was pretty cute but he just didn't want to talk to anyone at the moment. When she managed to reach him, she asked with a shaky voice if he was interested to dance with her.
But since Iwaizumi was a grumpy bitch baby, he told her with a completely deadpanned face-
"I don't want to, go away."
-and then immediately proceeded to bolt out of the gymnasium, abandoning his drink on a nearby table.
"Why the hell did I say that,"
Iwaizumi thought as he was walking away from the gym as fast as he could, smacking his forehead over and over again. He really didn't mean to sound rude, he's just not used to these kinds of situations.
"God, this is gonna haunt me for the rest of my life-"
His moment of self-loathing was quickly cut off when he heard soft sniffing.
"Is...
is someone crying..?"
His thoughts immediately went back to what happened just a few minutes ago, thinking that the source of the noise might be the poor girl he so rudely rejected. Iwaizumi froze for a moment before giving the situation a little more thought.
"Wait, it can't be that girl. I would've seen her walk past me if it was,"
"If it isn't her... then who is it?"
He didn't want to be a jackass and ignore the crying, so he started looking around to find the source.
He kept taking turns and looking in the empty classrooms, but Iwaizumi couldn't find a single person who looked like they were in tears (let alone any person at all, since practically everyone was at the gym).
After about fifteen minutes of searching, Iwaizumi gave up.
" I must be imagining things. I've already asked some classmates about it, but they all say they can't hear any cries. I can't be the only one who hears them."
Iwaizumi thought bitterly, but as he was nearing a corner, which had a staircase leading to the second floor of the school, the sniffling grew louder.
Iwaizumi's eyes widened.
"I-is someone actually there?" he mumbled to himself.
He quickly walked over to the staircase and saw something he never expected.
He saw a brown-haired boy, presumably in his grade judging by the orange wristbands all the 3rd grades had to wear. The boy was curled up on the bottom of the staircase, his face buried in his arms. That of course would be relatively normal, but the thing that made Iwaizumi shocked was what the boy was wearing.
He was wearing a frilly turquoise skirt, along with a matching blazer.
Iwaizumi thought it might've been one of the girls, but he knew for a fact that none of them had short hair.
It didn't take long for the crying boy to notice that someone was watching him. He lifted his head up, probably to see who it was, and in that moment Iwaizumi felt like time had stopped.
Iwaizumi only had one thought when the crying boy looked up at him.
"He's really pretty.."
It was a stupid thought to have, especially in a situation like this but he couldn't help it. The boy had the most beautiful soft brown eyes Iwaizumi had ever seen, although it was a shame that they were filled with tears. His hair had a little bounce to it when he had swiftly lifted his head up, which Iwaizumi thought was adorable. The boy looked like he was practically glowing.
Iwaizumi just stood there, face flushed, eyes wide, and mouth agape. He was frozen in his place not knowing what to do. He'd spent all this time looking for the source of the cries but he never thought of what to do when he actually found it.
But before Iwaizumi could even think to do anything, the crying boy bolted up the stairs as fast as he could.
Iwaizumi didn't know what had gotten into him, but before his brain could process what was happening his body moved on its own, following the boy up the stairs. He didn't even know why he was following him, if the boy ran away then he obviously didn't want someone to chase after him. But Iwaizumi didn't care about that at the moment. All he wanted was... actually he wasn't sure what he wanted front the boy. Answers maybe? He would be interested to know why the boy was crying, or why he was wearing a skirt.
He shook his head, "I'll think of a reason when I get to him,"
Iwaizumi made another quick turn, taking deep breaths every once in a while. His lungs were burning and his legs were aching, and it was even worse since he was in a suit. But Iwaizumi was determined to reach the boy.
"Damn, he's fast."
He thought as he turned to climb another set of stairs. When he reached the top and looked around he couldn't find the boy anywhere. He'd already reached the top floor so it was likely that the boy was still on the same floor he was in.
Iwaizumi let himself rest for a bit before walking slowly and cautiously, peeking his head into each of the rooms, his eyes looking for a mop of brown hair or a flash of turquoise. He looked under the desks in the classrooms, the janitor's closet, the bathrooms, and even the club rooms. But he found nothing.
Then he remembered,
"I'm on the top floor, which means he could be hiding out on..."
"The rooftop." he softly whispered to himself as he made his way to the doors that led to the rooftop. It was the only place he hadn't searched yet, and it would make sense to hide there since barely anyone goes up to the roof. Iwaizumi just hoped the doors weren't locked like usual.
He put his hands on the door and gently pushed it.
It opened, and Iwaizumi had never been more excited in his life. He couldn't help the grin that was slowly forming on his face. A cold breeze blew at him making him shiver a bit, but he moved forward looking for the crying boy. Iwaizumi's eyes quickly scanned the area trying to find him but to no avail. His smile immediately dropped when he realized that the boy wasn't there. He let out a miserable sigh as he dragged himself back inside the building with a glum look painted on his face. He made sure to close the roof door and continued walking out. But as he was making his way down the stairs he heard it.
The crying, he heard it again. And it was if a newfound flame was lit in Iwaizumi's eyes. He straightened his back and looked behind him, eyes scanning every nook and cranny of the hallways. He followed the sound of the crying, where it led him to a small hidden corner at the end of the hallway right next to the janitor's closet.
And there he found a white figure curled up with soft whimpers emitting from it. It didn't take him long to realize that someone was hiding underneath a white cover. Iwaizumi slowly knelt down in front of the figure as he grabbed the fabric from the bottom of the figure and lifted it up.
"I found you," Iwaizumi said softly to the boy he'd been chasing for god knows how long. The boy looked up at him just as he did the first time they met and pushed Iwaizumi away from him. The boy quickly covered himself with the long white sheet once more.
"H-hey!" Iwaizumi pouted and sat back down in front of the boy. He tried lifting the cover once more but he felt the other boy's hands holding it to the floor as tightly as possible. "I'm not gonna do anything to you," Iwaizumi told him with the most gentle voice he could. "I just want to talk, I promise!" He said with a bit of desperation and he held the boy's hands through the cover.
"G-go away,"
Iwaizumi froze. "Damnit his voice is pretty too," He thought as his face turned beet red at how soft the boys voice was. He shook his head and smacked his face hard with both hands, earning a startled jump from the boy. He took a deep breath and attempted lifting the cover again. The boy didn't try to hide again and instead opted to stare straight into Iwaizumi's eyes.
"Umm, h-hi..?" Iwaizumi cringed as he said that, but to his surprise the boy let out a tiny smile.
"H-hey..?" The boy replied. "Y-you said you wanted t-to talk..?" The boy turned his head to the side, a few tears still lingering in his eyes threatening to fall.
"Yea.." Iwaizumi replied, still shocked that the boy was actually willing to speak with him. Considering that he chased him down all over the school like a serial killer hunting down a witness who had seen them commit murder. "Uhh why are you crying?" Iwaizumi said trying to ignore how creepy it probably was for the boy to have a random person chase him down.
The boy let out a soft laugh, and Iwaizumi's heart felt like it had skipped over an entire bridge. "So you're telling me," the boy said with a goofy smile, "you c-chased me down for the past hour or so to ask why I'm crying.?"
"Uhh yes...?" Iwaizumi's face flushed with embarrassment. "I should've thought of a better excuse, now he probably thinks I'm some kinda creep." He thought with a panicked look in his eyes.
"I-I don't think you're a creep,"
"Fuuuuck-"
":.Did I say that out loud?"
That's when the boy let out a loud laugh and completely removed the white sheet that laid on his head. Iwaizumi could've died right then and there, he couldn't handle the amount of cuteness that was radiating from the boy.
"M-my name's Oikawa Tooru," the boy said with a little red tinting his cheeks as he lifted a hand in front of Iwaizumi. "What's yours?" The boy- no, Oikawa asked him.
"I-Iwaizumi Hajime." Iwaizumi said and lifted his own hand to give Oikawa's a shake. They sat in silence for a bit after introducing each other. After a few minutes Iwaizumi couldn't take any more of it and asked Oikawa once more.
"So, why were you crying?"
Oikawa's eyes widened a bit as if remembering the situation he was in. He looked away from Iwaizumi as more tears started to form.
"Y-you don't have to tell me if you're uncomfortable!" Iwaizumi said quickly. The last thing he wanted was for Oikawa to start crying again. Oikawa stole a quick glance at Iwaizumi, as if questioning wether or not to tell him. Then after a moment of silence, Oikawa let out a soft sigh and started talking.
"T-they were laughing at me.." Iwaizumi's protective instincts immediately took over and he held Oikawa's hands tightly. "Who was?" He asked, his voice unwavering.
"T-the fourth grade b-boys... t-they said that I l-looked s-stupid in a s-skirt," Oikawa said his head looking down in an attempt to hide the fresh tears that were forming. "T-they said boys c-can't wear skirts." He continued unable to keep the tears from falling down his face. "They c-called me ugly a-and they p-pushed me and-" He couldn't continue as the tears came pouring down.
Iwaizumi's heart was aching at the sight of Oikawa. His blood boiled at the thought of Oikawa being bullied. "How the hell can anyone think he looks ugly?! He's absolutely stunning, what are people blind?!" He thought bitterly as he tried thinking of something to say to help comfort Oikawa.
"Y-you think i'm-" Oikawa couldn't finish his sentence, partly because he was crying so hard and partly because his face was redder than a cherry. Iwaizumi's blood ran cold as he asked for the third time.
"Did I... did I say that out loud?" He practically whispered, his face growing hotter by the second. He quickly hid his face in his hands, not wanting to look at Oikawa.
"Now he definitely thinks I'm a creep,"
But just like before, Oikawa just let out another one of his adorable laughs. Iwaizumi was praying that he wasn't laughing at him.
"S-sorry I'm not laughing at you or a-anything," Oikawa said as if he read Iwaizumi's mind, "I-it's just that, I-i'm really happy that someone finds me a-attractive." He said with a quiet voice, quickly facing away his face still beet red. Iwaizumi slowly removed his hands from his face and looked at Oikawa, his expression suddenly serious.
"Has no one really told you that?" Iwaizumi blurted out. Oikawa looked back at him with a surprised expression.
"W-well my mom used to, but she moved to another country l-last year." Oikawa said hesitantly. It seemed like family was a bit of a sensitive topic for him. Iwaizumi didn't want him to feel uncomfortable so he opted to avoid the topic for now.
"Well I just want you to know that uhh you're really pretty," Oikawa couldn't stop the blush that crept up his face, "and if anyone says otherwise I'll punch them." Oikawa laughed yet again at Iwaizumi's bluntness as he wiped the remaining tears off his face. Iwaizumi soon joined him, they both sat there at the corner of the hallway laughing. Iwaizumi felt like he was in heaven, he never had someone who he could talk to so easily. Sure it was a bit awkward at first, but after a couple of minutes they started talking more and more. Iwaizumi learnt that Oikawa really likes playing volleyball, and he even asked if Iwaizumi wanted to play with him one day. Of course Iwaizumi agreed without hesitation and that caused them both to crack up once more. Oikawa felt as if he was on top of the world, he finally had someone he could call a friend. Someone who didn't judge him for his preferences or his appearance.
"Thank you for helping me feel better, Iwa-chan." Oikawa said with a soft smile.
"I-iwa-chan?" Iwaizumi stuttered at the sound of the nickname. Oikawa looked at him, his smile wavering a bit. "D-do you not like it?" He asked, his smile turning into a small frown. Iwaizumi's eyes widened and he rubbed his hand against the back of his head.
"I never said I didn't like it... idiot," He said with a small blush, his eyes glancing at Oikawa hoping that assured him that Iwaizumi was more than okay with his nickname. Oikawa's face glowed and his golden smile returned. But it left as soon as he realized what Iwaizumi called him.
"H-hey that was mean," Oikawa pouted and crossed his arms. Iwaizumi just laughed at how cute he looked when he was angry. "You're mean Iwa-chan," He said as he turned his head to the side and pouted even more. Iwaizumi couldn't handle this, he was laughing so hard his stomach began hurting. Soon enough Oikawa began laughing as well. They spent the rest of the night curled up together talking and laughing. The party was long over by then but they didn't care. They exchanged phone numbers and addresses, and when their parents came by to pick them up they found Oikawa and Iwaizumi sleeping soundly, with Oikawa's head resting on Iwaizumi's shoulder.