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We had been studying for the better part of an hour, the letters on the page starting to blur together making my eyes cross. I blearily rubbed them hoping to wipe away some of the fuzziness from them to no avail. I looked over to my right to see Hinata doing the same thing.
We had decided to partner up to help each other study for class since we were both doing poorly in it. Usually, his teammates would come over as well but today, it was the two of us at my house since he had a long practice and my house was closer.
I blinked my eyes again and finally let out the sigh that I had been holding back. Hinata looked up from his textbook at the sound, seeming to come back to reality from whatever hazy study euphoria he had been stuck in.
“You ok?” he asked me, looking just as bored as I felt.
I crinkled my nose in thought, “No, actually.” I sighed again and thumped my head down onto the table, mumbling into the textbook, “I am so bored.”
I heard him chuckle at my antics, “Yeah, same.”
I heard a thump beside me and turning my head I saw that Hinata had copied my movements and thunked his own head into his textbook as well. I giggled.
He turned towards me with a big grin on his face, then as if a lightbulb went off he jumped up with another thunk as his enthusiasm knocked over the chair he had been sitting in.
“I had a great idea!” He rushed over to me, his eyes sparkling, and squatted down to meet my eyes.
I was a bit taken aback by his excitement, but still intrigued I said, “Uh, ok? What's up?”
“We should head to Coach’s shop for some snacks!”
“But, I mean…I have some snacks here…” I looked around the kitchen, there were a couple of bags of chips, some fruit, I was sure there was more in the fridge if I got up to look.
“I know, I know, but I mean, stretching our legs, getting out of the house, fresh air, it'd be good right? RIght?” He was practically vibrating with energy.
I squinted my eyes at him, “You want to go to your Coach’s shop…for snacks?”
He bobbed his head up and down vigorously.
“And this has nothing to do with the fact that you have a big game coming up and you want to talk strategy or get tips for your own practice?”
He continued to bob his head then the question actually penetrated through his excitement and he very quickly stuttered, “No, no! I mean, if he happened to be there, I could ask- but no! It’s really to take a quick break! I promise!”
“Hinata…” I started to lecture him, “We really really need to study. Neither one of us is doing good in this subject-”
“I know! Trust me! If I don't get my grades up, I can't play. I get it! But…please?” He grabbed my hands between his and looked at me imploringly. “It’s just a quick walk, a few volleyball questions- a few!” He squeezed my hands.
I desperately tried to keep the blush from rising to my cheeks. I knew how much he loved volleyball, how dedicated he was. Even now he was covered in bruises from the constant practice he put in. It was one of the many things about him that I liked. Not to mention how cute he looked right now trying to convince me to give in.
I sighed, looking down, letting my hair cover the bright red on my face, “You know I can’t say no to that face.”
He immediately jumped super high with a loud and happy “Yes!”
I laughed, “Ok, ok. Just let me grab my purse.” I moved to get up, removing his warm grip from mine. I then proceeded to swipe my phone off the table beside me and sent my mom a quick message saying I was going to walk to the store for a break with Hinata.
“Nope! Come on!” He grabbed my wrist as I finished typing and bounded for the door, dragging me along behind him.
“Huh? Wait a sec-” He didn't slow down till we were out the house and on the sidewalk.
“My treat!” He said brightly moving his hand from holding my wrist to holding my hand as we walked.
I felt my face start to flush again, “O-oh…uh. Um. Hmm.” My brain had screeched to a halt causing my tongue to stop working altogether.
He must have noticed how tongue-tied I was because we came to a sudden halt with our hands still joined.
“Hey, you ok?” he ducked down a bit so he could peer into my face.
I cleared my throat and willed my betraying flush to go away, “Y-yep! Just wasn’t expecting you to treat me today.” I gave him a bright smile hoping to distract him and began walking again. When I realized that he wasn’t following nor letting go of my hand I stopped, looking back at him curiously.
“Hinata?” I called his name quietly, suddenly worried that I had said something wrong.
Our hands were still connected so when I felt him tighten his grip I stepped a little closer, turning towards him fully, squeezing his hand a bit to get him to look at me. My breath caught in my throat as our gazes met. He had a serious look on his face, the smile from before replaced with a look of determination.
“I’d treat you every day if I could,” he said simply.
My heart fluttered, “Oh…” I didn't have the breath to respond, my chest felt too tight, constricted like someone had caught me in a tight bear hug, not to mention that his gaze had me pinned to the spot.
I knew my cheeks were betraying my feelings as I could feel the burn hit the tips of my ears. I finally dragged my gaze away from his, wanting to crawl away from his stare. I didn't even realize that I was gripping his hand tightly until I felt him squeeze my fingers.
“You know you are super cute when you’re embarrassed,” he chuckled quietly.
That just made my face burn hotter, not to mention the butterflies in my stomach were doing barrel rolls.
“Do you-,” my voice came out squeaky, so I swallowed and tried again, “Do you like me?” When he didn't reply immediately I snuck a peek at him from the corner of my eye.
He looked surprised, then it quickly morphed into one of his signature grins. He turned and started walking, tugging my hand and forcing me to walk alongside him.
“I like you very much,” he admitted and I felt my heart stop.
My heart started again only now it was beating way too fast. I looked down at where our hands were joined. I knew that I had to ask him, the question was burning the tip of my tongue.
“And how do you like me?” It came out softer than I anticipated and I wasn’t certain if Hinata heard me at first. He kept walking, looking straight ahead. I took a breath, trying to psyche myself up to ask him again when he finally responded.
“I want you to be my girlfriend,” he stated so boldly, with such confidence that it caused my feet to stutter along with my heart.
He finally stopped and turned towards me then, worry lining his face, “Woah, you ok?”
I blinked stupidly at him, my brain trying to catch up until finally, “WHAT? Hinata!! You-you can’t just-! How am I-!” I brought my other hand up and smacked it over my forehead. I took deep breaths, willing myself to calm down. My head felt like it was spinning, emotions warring inside, ranging from pure joy to exasperation back to giddiness then shock. Hinata’s laughter brought me back to reality.
“Damn, you really are just so cute!”
I looked at him between my fingers. He was standing with a hand on his hip, a wide grin on his face, looking far too pleased with himself and my predicament. He took his other hand and gently pried my hand off of my face. Now we were facing each other, both of my hands in his. I let my gaze drift over his face, gauging the seriousness of what he said.
“Hinata did you…” I bit my lip and looked him in the eyes, “Did you mean that?”
He gave me the sweetest smile and said, “Yep. Every word.” He looked away for a second, suddenly nervous. “But, well, uh…” He cleared his throat.
My insides seized again and I tried to not let it show. Awful thoughts began to rise unbidden to the forefront of my mind, but I tamped them down. I had to hear him out first.
He closed his eyes with a deep breath and when he opened them, he seemed calmer, not quite as nervous as he had been.
“You see, ugh, this is harder than I thought…” he trailed off and took a rapid breath in and very quickly stated, "I want you to be my girlfriend but I can’t ask you till after nationals because I’m going to be devoting my time to that so I can’t give you the attention you deserve and will you wait for me?”
Everything came out in a rush so it took a bit for me to process what he had just asked me. I stared at him, watching as he got tenser the longer the moment dragged out. The second it clicked, I just started giggling. I knew it wasn’t the response he was expecting because Hinata kinda just froze. After a few seconds of me trying to get my nerves under control, I threw my arms around him and hugged him as hard as I could.
“Of course I’ll wait for you, Hinata. I’ve waited this long, haven’t I?” I whispered into his ear. Then feeling super bold, I pressed my lips to his softly. I pulled back enough to see the complete shock on his face, making me grin like an idiot.
He stared straight ahead, not moving for what seemed like forever till he finally made eye contact with me. His classic grin spread across his face with lightning speed and before I could stop him, he grabbed my hand and started running at full speed, crowing at the top of his lungs, “SHE KISSED ME!”
I laughed, letting him drag me along for the ride.