Chapter 6 | Braids

——————————CHAPTER 6Braids——————————

+81-907-2658-248Today 16:43

We lost.

---

You sighed as you read the message, frowning as you thought of what to reply. Although you didn't bother to save his number or anyone's number in general, you knew who it came from based on your previous conversations.

No longer being good at saying things that will cheer people up, you typed up a reply, but deleted it soon after without sending. You didn't know how to cheer him up, you could remember a bunch of inspiring lines from animes and mangas, but none of them seemed to fit in. Sighing again, you typed and pressed the send button.

+81-907-2658-248Today 16:44

We lost.

Aw man.

---

"Damn, I'm always so useless." You muttered to yourself, staring at your phone's screen as you waited for Kuroo's reply.

After you two watched Spirited Away a week ago, he had kept in touch with you. Though his way of getting your phone number was quite lame as he pretended to have lost his phone and asked you to call it, you still decided to reply whenever he'd send you texts about his day.

You have considered him a friend, and you're thankful that you're not having negative and anxious thoughts about you trusting him. In the end, you were still seeking for people you could talk to, just like how you were before.

Minutes after staring at your phone, you decided to drop it when it still wouldn't vibrate for a new message. You wondered how he was feeling right now, knowing he always gave his best. It was the quarterfinals, if you were remembering correctly.

You decided to continue the digital drawing you were working on, but your thoughts constantly wandered towards Kuroo. You knew he was feeling upset, and there's nothing you could do to help him.

'Ah, fuck. Why am I even stressing over people.' You irritatedly thought to yourself, clutching on the side of your head as you sighed heavily.

When your phone suddenly vibrated again, you immediately grabbed it to read the new message.

+81-902-3904-478Today 16:51

Hey :)

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It was a different number, and you also knew who it came from. Your heart felt heavy once again, and you deleted the message like usual. Sighing for the umpteenth time, you rolled on your bed, now facing the under part of Kenma's bed. You already lost motivation to continue your art, and you didn't feel like doing anything else.

Closing your eyes, you stretched your arms out and pictured events with your favorite anime characters in your mind until you drifted off to sleep.

---

The sound of hushed chatter, gaming BGM and sound effects cut off your slumber, the dream you were just having slowly disappearing from your mind. Yawning, you opened your eyes as you turned to the side, a racing game displayed on the TV at the other side of the room. You then noticed two figures sitting on the floor, their backs facing you as they played the game.

"—tomorrow, we're going to practice 3 times harder."

"Can't we slack off for a while?"

"No!"

You rubbed your eyes, grabbing your (F/C)-framed glasses from the side of your pillow and putting in on to see clearer. And you were right, it was Kenma and Kuroo. Who else, anyway?

Checking your phone, the time read 19:32. You shifted to the other side, your back now facing them as you opened your laptop. While still laying down, you also tilted the gadget as you inserted a DVD and continued an unfinished anime you were watching.

You were watching for a while, not really minding the one-ear-working earphones you had on, until a hand suddenly touched your shoulder, catching you by surprise and making you yelp. "Fuck!"

"Mornin'!" Kuroo's familiar voice chuckled beside you. You glared and cursed at him before turning back to your laptop. He sat on the side of your bed, taking a lock of your long and messy (H/C) hair as he combed it with his hands habitually. "Ever thought of getting a haircut?" He asked with a casual tone.

"Why?"

"Your hair's always messy."

Keeping your eyes on your phone, you playfully scoffed. "Coming from you, seriously?"

"I'm looking for solutions!" He argued.

Kuroo opened a drawer at your bedside table, grabbing your hairbrush that you don't regularly use. Carefully, he gathered your scattered hair over his lap and started brushing it. It felt relaxing and soothing, so you didn't complain. "I've never met a girl who doesn't even take care of her looks." He mumbled.

"Did I ask?" You snapped back, frowning as you glanced at him. There it was, your short patience showing.

"I'm not saying anything against it!" The black-haired male defended, accidentally pulling a few strands of your hair that entangled on the brush. It didn't really hurt, but you still hissed at him. "I think you're still pretty even with messy hair." He added with a playful smirk, watching as a faint tint of pink dusted your oily cheeks.

"Gross." You muttered, another voice coincidentally saying the same thing.

You two turned to the other person in the room, only now realizing your blonde cousin was also there. He looked at you two with a disgusted expression before climbing on the top bed.

"Heh. I'm just being honest." Kuroo replied with a grin.

"Go home." Again, you and Kenma said the same thing at the same time, earning a hearty laugh from the taller teen.

"I'm sleeping over, right?"

"Oh..." You sighed depressingly as a joke. You didn't mind him anymore and is actually happier when he's around, and you were just glad that he seemed fine now. He could still be frustrated, but seeing how he's laughing, you knew you didn't have to worry anymore.

You see Kuroo as a strong guy, and although he's goofy and playful around you as well as sly and scheming, you know he's also a responsible and a dependable person. He's a team captain of an elite volleyball team, an athlete, a college preparatory student with good grades, a senior, and all of those takes a lot of effort to maintain. You can't even be any one of those anymore, so you held a huge respect and (non-romantic) admiration for him. But of course, you never told him that and kept it to yourself. You didn't want him to think you had a crush on him.

"Hey (Y/N), sit up for a while." You heard him say, pulling you by the arm. Being called by the last name or first name wasn't a big deal to you, but you hated nicknames which made him drop the -chan suffix he first tried to use on your name.

You groaned in annoyance. "Huh? Why?" Pushing yourself up to a cross-legged sitting position, you looked at him in question as he moved to sit behind you.

Kuroo grabbed your hair and started fiddling with it, making you confused as to what he was doing, but didn't question him anyway. You just continued watching on your laptop — now upright — while you let him play with your hair.

After a few minutes, you didn't feel movement on your hair anymore, so you reached your hand towards your no longer messy hair, confusion rising when it felt different. Pulling it over your shoulder, you realized it was now tied in a braid — imperfect, but quite neat. "Oh, wow?" You mumbled, twisting around to face him.

Kuroo smiled warmly at you, leaning back with his hands planted on your bed behind him. "Well?"

"I didn't think you'd know how to do this..." You trailed off, raising the braided (H/C) hair in referral.

"Ah, well..." A pink tint dusted his cheeks, but you weren't able to see it from the dimly lit room. Kuroo averted his gaze as a faint shy expression crossed his face. "I studied?" He thought it would look good on you, and it did.

'Did he really study so he could braid my hair?' You wondered internally, blushing at the thought but quickly dismissing it. You didn't want to jump into conclusions.

Still, you appreciated the effort. As much as you were more comfortable having your hair over your face when going out, the weather was too hot and having your hair neatly tied was actually helpful.

You flashed him a small smile. "Thanks!"

It was a small action, but it made Kuroo's heart skip a beat and his smile grew wider. Since he usually sees your blank or frowning face, your rare smile was something he considered a treasure. He loved it.

The interaction led you to watch another Studio Ghibli movie with him on your laptop, sitting beside each other leaning against the headboard on your bed. But before the movie even finished, Kuroo had fallen asleep and his head fell towards your shoulder.

Under normal circumstances, you would've kicked him off your bed instantly, but at that moment, you can't help but glance at his face, finding him cute as he slept that it made you smile.

You gently moved away and replaced yourself with a pillow for him to lean on, before settling down on the futon at the floor that was supposed to be his bed.

——————————To Be Continued——————————