Song: I'm Sorry- Swell ft. Shilou

The next few days, Hinata spent catching up on homework and avoiding Kageyama.

He knew something, Hinata knew he did. But would Tobio really tell everyone in the club?

No, no, no, that would be bad. If he told everyone... He didn't think he'd be able to go to garden club anymore if they found out. But how did he find out?

Shouyou chewed on the end of his eraser.

"You're doing it again." Suddenly, Hinata noticed the golden pair of eyes staring at him from the edge of the bunkbed.

He tossed a sock at Kenma. "Doing what?"

Dodged it easily. "Worrying... Probably why you got so sick last time, too."

Kenma climbed up onto the bed. Hinata scooted over to give him room, but their feet ended up having to overlap. "What if they find out, Kenma?"

Kozume blinked. "Then they find out."

"You don't get it. They're my friends, and I don't want to lose them, and, uh..."

"Why would you lose them?"

"You really think they'd want to be friends with me after finding out? I'm a terrible person, Kenma."

Kozume stared at the orange haired boy, trying to tell what he was thinking, but it was hard. Something about Hinata just made it hard for him to read, unlike everyone else. "No you're not. You're my friend."

Hinaya gave him a sad smile but couldn't find the energy for anything else. "Thanks. I feel better now, really, you don't need to worry about me."

"Okay." Kenma knew he was lying, but from everything he knew about Hinata, he understood that trying to get him to open up when he didn't want to was a tiresome and fruitless effort. He left the bed with a, "Talk to me if you change your mind," and climbed down to his bunk.

It scared Kenma to think about how little he really understood the boy sitting above him.

+++

"If I've told you once, I've told you a thousand times. Only Yamaguchi can call me that."

Tobio Kageyama sat across from a flustered Tanaka, who sat next to a tired Daichi, who sat next to a smiling Sugawara, who sat across from a barely-witholding-a-laugh Yamaguchi, who sat next to an irritated Tsukishima, all of them barely managing to fit sound the tiny glass cafe table.

Tanaka laughed loudly- enough to catch the glares of many a middle-aged woman in the cafe, and pounded his palms against the glass. "What're ya' gonna' do about it, Tsuki?"

Tsukishima pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "I'll tell you what I'm gonna'-" He muttered under his breath, huffing until Yamaguchi pecked a kiss on his cheek.

"I think that's enough, right Tsuki? Tanaka?" He raised an eyebrow at the two, silently daring them to say otherwise. It was times like these that a whole new side of the boy came into light.

Both boys looked away in defeat.

Yama cleared his throat. "Anyways, since I called this club meeting- and brought along Tsuki, for moral support-, I think it's only fair that I tell you why we're here." He looked around the table, seeing eager faces all around. It gave him courage to go on. "I think something's wrong with Hinata."

There were a few narrowed eyes, a few blank expressions, a few nods. Suga spoke next. "Yamaguchi is right, you guys. Shouyou hasn't been showing up to club meetings lately, he rarely answers his phone or texts, and he just got over a really bad sickness. I'm worried about him."

The aura of the group changed instantly. One of their own was in trouble. Everyone- except Kageyama, that is- sensed this.

Tanaka stayed out-of-characterly quiet. Daichi noticed but said nothing. Even Tobio, thinking back to their conversation about Hinata, kept his mouth shut.

Yamaguchi looked around, waiting for someone to say something. No one did. "What? You're just going to let one of your friends be in pain by themselves?"

Daichi cleared his throat. "I mean, you're right about him acting odd, but that doesn't necessarily mean there's something wrong with Hinata. Maybe he just doesn't want to be in the club anymore."

Yamaguchi deadpanned, "You really believe that? You saw how excited he was when he came back." He looked to Tsuki for support, but the boy only shrugged.

"Yamaguchi is right guys, we need to go visit him." Suga looked determined.

"I think it'd be best to talk to him in pairs. We don't want him getting freaked out if he... If he really is trying to avoid us."

Yama split everyone up. He decided that he would go with Tsuki, Suga and Daichi would go together, and Tanaka and Kageyama would be the last ones.

+++

Tsuki knocked lightly. Yamaguchi was clinging to his arm, and he couldn't help but smile at how cute he was sometimes.

Damn, how did I get so lucky to have you?

Yamaguchi and Tsuki had met in high school. They'd both been on the volleyball team in their own respectful positions, and quickly became friends their freshman year. Unbeknownst to the other, both boys had fallen for each other a few months after becoming friends. When they found out they were going to the same college, they decided to dorm together.

Tsuki had confessed to him at the beginning of their freshman year. They'd been together ever since. Now, he still felt as strongly about Yamaguchi as he had his freshman year.

It wasn't like he knew Hinata personally. They just shared a class, and he'd spoken barely a word to him all year, but he promised Yama he'd go with for moral support.

A blonde boy opened the door.

"Hi, I'm Yamaguchi. Is Hinata there?" Yama started, blushing as he let go of Tsuki's arm.

Kenma didn't bother introducing himself and let the boys inside. Visitors for Shouyou seemed to be a reoccurring theme lately. He left the room and went to the college lounge so the three could be alone.

Hinata didn't seem surprised to see them. In fact, he'd looked embarrassed and a little cornered. After introductions, Yama jumped right into the meat of the conversation.

"Is there a reason you haven't been coming to gardening club?"

At the back of his mind, Hinata realized that Yama hadn't called it Flower Power Club. The thought made him sad.

"I, uh... You know, busy with catching up on schoolwork. All that."

His eyes wouldn't meet theirs. Tsuki took Yamaguchi's hand discreetly to reassure him. When Hinata saw it, he looked away, trying to keep his tears down. That could've been Natsu. She could've had a partner to hold hands with.

"You seem tired. This is a stressful time of year." Tsukishima added, trying to be semi-helpful. It was a rather weak attempt.

The boy shrugged, smiled. "Yeah, I guess."

To be honest, every time of year was stressful for Hinata Shouyou. He'd just gotten better at hiding it.

They talked a little bit about things here and there, but none of them seemed to actually be there in the conversation. They were just empty words taking up space where the truth should've been.

When the conversation died down, the couple made up an excuse about having to be somewhere. "You know I'm here for you if you need anything, right?" Yamaguchi nudged Tsuki to go first, slowly following behind his boyfriend. "See you around, Shouyou."

The door closed softly behind them.

Hinata didn't bother to lock it.

A/N/// ik ik, it's taking a long time to actually reach the whole Kagehina level of the book, but please bear with me. I have a lot of ideas n they're taking a while to sort out and tie up loose ends. Plus, hinata's back story plays a large role throughout the whole book so I can't just ignore it completely

Again, sorrysorrysorry