I brought Tanaka to the festival to calm his nerves. He seemed to be pent over a rumour he's heard about Kiyoko. Hopefully it's just a rumour. I just wanted to help out my best friend.

"Tanaka-kun! Look at all those pretty girls!" I point out in amazement.

Tanaka's face lit up like a kid in a candy story. We both started cheering for the beautiful array of girls dressed in a Kimonos while performing a mesmerizing dance. Looking back at Tanaka's face, he's smiling but his smile didn't meet his eyes.

He's not the same. It's been over a year, yet he's still thinking about Kiyoko.

Tanaka notices me staring and voices out,

"I know what you're thinking Yu."

I turn away in embarrassment and ignore his comment.

"She's still here. I can still feel her presence." Tanaka blurted out. His eyes were still on the pretty girls but they were full of disinterest.

They don't give him the same joy Kiyoko did. Well, used to.

"They're not her. They'll never replace her. And I know I should move on but... I talked to (F/N) on the bus. Can't believe they're siblings. While I tried helping her when she was paralyzed on the bus floor, she murmured something about Kiyoko being here in Tokyo. I couldn't tell if she was lying or just in shock. But who would lie about their sisters whereabouts..."

Tanaka's face was stern and his voice was cold. It was unlike him to be serious. Considering how much of a goofball he was. It was odd seeing him like this. It's unsettling.

It reminds me of last year when Kiyoko broke up with him. He was stuck in a depressed state for so long, I had to check up on him constantly. At least it's not as bad as before but still, I was always scared he would crawl back into the darkness he was shrouded in.

"I believe you." I smiled weakly at my bald best friend.

"Wow! MOMMA LOOK! THE LIGHTS ARE SO PRETTY!" a child remarked as she pulled her mom towards the source of light.

We turned around and see the lanterns were being released. It was the highlight of the festival. The cascade of lights illuminated both of our faces, as people gathered near the bay to watch.

"Hey, Tanaka. Let's watch the lanterns! If we go now, we'll get great spots!"

He agreed, but I could tell Kiyoko was still on his mind.

I tug him by his sleeve and drag his mopey butt. Following the rest of the crowd, we take a seat in the sand. Tanaka let out a sigh,

"I took Kiyoko here on our first date..."

Sighing out of pity for my best friend, I let out the honest truth,

"Okay dude, enough about Kiyoko for today. We're supposed to have fun! If I hear 'Kiyoko' one more time-"

"Excuse me? Is this seat taken?"

I was in the middle of slapping some sense into your friend when I turn around to see two attractive girls waiting for my response. My facial expression changed instantly from irritation to awe.

"No girls! Not at all! Nishinoya by the way." I take out my hand to shake with the two girls.

"And this is my best man Tanaka!" I wrap my arm forcefully around Tanaka's shoulders and he looks up in surprise. The girls were dressed in skirts and tight t-shirts.

Thank you God.

"Please come sit with us." Tanaka said enticingly. He pats the sand beside him and the girls happily joined. One girl sat with me, the other with Tanaka.

I nudge Tanaka in the elbow and whisper,

"See this isn't so bad."

"We're lucky guys aren't we?" Tanaka smirked.

The girls were surprisingly conversational with the both of us. It was the best night I've had in a long time. Glancing over to Tanaka and the other girl, they were laughing and I finally saw a genuine smile form on Tanaka's face

Guess this isn't so bad after all.

I smile to myself, enjoying the company beside me. I flex my muscles in a flashy way and boast,

"Soooo, do ya like volleyball?"

~

You're sitting at the stern of a row boat with Suga on the opposite side. He's rowing the boat while you're sitting there, crossed legged. You twiddle with your thumbs as your fingers are tightly intertwined, clasping your knees. Suga was concentrated on his rowing and you were focused on staying still so the boat wouldn't flip over.

I wonder if Mika is okay. I wish I could call her but my phone died. I feel so bad for leaving her with Oikawa.

Lost in thought you look towards the horizon. The sun was setting and there were other couples out there on row boats.

"(F/N)"

Suga catches your attention as he stops rowing the boat. You give a sideways glance towards him and his lips form into a smile.

"We're headed to the most perfect spot!" he gleamed

You tilt your head in confusion and give him a weak smile. It's not that you weren't fond of water or anything. You could swim perfectly fine, but you were just worried about Mika.

"Something wrong?" Suga asked with concern.

You snap out of your thoughts and reply,

"No it's just I feel bad for leaving Mika. We should've contacted her or something." you mumble and look up towards the sky. Pink and purple clouds shrouded the setting sun.

"Well, I'm sure we'll find them after! Here, maybe this will take your mind off things"

Unzipping his backpack, Suga rustles through it and pulls out a foldable lantern. He also pulls out a black marker, a candle and a box of matchsticks. Suga passes everything to you gently while taking his hold back onto the oars at boat sides.

"Hey, when did you get that?" you ask in surprise.

"I got it when you went to the bathroom!" he exclaimed. He pushed the boat further into the water. You were headed to the centre of the lake.

You cheerfully take the lantern in your hand and unfold it to its shape. It was a beautiful gold paper lantern that glistened in the night. You uncap the marker and hold the cap between your teeth. Carefully balancing the lantern between your legs, you hover the pen over the lanterns surface. You were contemplating on what to write. Suga sees you staring at the lantern for a while and chimes,

"Usually people write wishes."

You almost reached the desired destination as Suga slows his rowing motion.

"W-we can, um, write something together?" you stutter.

It would feel selfish of me to just write for myself, but I can't believe I suggested that.

"For sure! I'll write on one side and you can write in the other."

You warmly smile at the silver haired boy in front of you as your heart starts to beat faster. Though you were always a nervous-wreck, something else was also on your mind. You were hesitant to tell Suga because you didn't want to ruin the moment.

Maybe I should tell him what happened earlier in the bathroom...

You look into the mirror and sigh. Washing your hands you thought to yourself,

I wish Mika was here. I need to tell her everything.

Exiting the public bathroom and walking past a few tree's along the way, someone suddenly grabs you from behind and covers your mouth, pulling you into the trees. You try to let out a scream but it was muffled by the person's hand.

SOMEONE HELP ME! SUGA! MIKA! ANYONE!?

You're struggling against the person's grip but they were much stronger than you. What you learned from Mika's expertise was that you'd have to bite the person's hand and place your footing behind in order to trip the person. You did just that in the spilt second you had and the person yelps in pain. He releases you as you turn around, ready to attack the person. You swing your leg out and stop to see...

"Hajime?!"

He's crouched down on the ground as he whimpers in pain from your bite. He looks up to you and sighs. You were still pumped up with adrenaline as you were huffing with your fists still clenched tightly.

"(F/N). Damn it, I thought you were Mika. Sorry I didn't mean to sneak up on you."

"W-What? You were planning on attacking your sister?!" you gasped

"No not really... I just wanted to talk to her."

"By attacking her?! What's wrong with you? You know she's just going to beat your ass?"

"Well, yeah I figured." he grumbled, still clutching his bitten hand.

"What are you doing here anyway?" you questioned with concern.

"I'm just a protective older brother." he spit out. He emotionlessly shrugged his shoulders but his face spoke something else.

No. That can't be it. He wouldn't of done this to Mika if 'protective older brother' was his only motif. He's always been a protective older brother but heher to go on this date. Did he have a sudden change or heart or... You recall your cousins' text that suddenly flashed in your head: 'Know that Hajime is gay?'

He wasn't here because of Mika. He's here for Oikawa.

"There's no way you could've mistaken me for Mika. I'm practically a foot shorter than her... You weren't looking for Mika, you were looking for me"

Hajime didn't say anything after your sudden discovery. You were spot on but you didn't want to say more. Observing Hajime's face, he had dark circles under his eyes and his hair was a mess under his hoodie; He looked like he hasn't had a wink of sleep in days.

"Hajime." you call out to him. His solemn eyes fall on yours and his lips form a straight line. He sighs and admits,

"Yeah I was looking for you." He leans his back tiredly against the tree trunk, with his arms resting on each knee. He slumped his head down between his knees and pulled the strings of his hoodie.

"I needed your advice." he mumbled.

You acted ignorant to the fact you knew about his secret, but you wanted him to confess it himself.

I can't believe for this long, Hajime, my best friend's brother, hid this for so long. It must've pained him to keep it to himself.

A wave of empathy hit you as you crouch down beside him and place a hand on his shoulder. You rub it comfortingly and whisper,

"Hajime. You don't have to lie to me. There's no use anyway, I can tell if you're lying."

He was silent for a moment as you take a seat beside him. Feeling the cool grass beneath you, you wait patiently for his response. You didn't want to force him to speak. You just wanted the truth.

"I just wanted to ask if Mika's in love with Oikawa. Because if she is, then I should just go home."

"And would that bother you if she was?" you question.

You gaze upon his tired face as looks upwards to the tree branches, decorated with lights. The chattering of people passing by seemed distant. With Hajime, all was quiet.

"I just want what's best for her. That's all."

"What about what's best for you?"

He gave you a weak smile but his eyes didn't meet yours.

"(F/N). I don't even know what's best for me." he murmured into the cold air.

"I doubt that." you smile at him, still rubbing his shoulder

"I think you know exactly what you want." you say reassuringly.

You both sit there in silence as Hajime looked like he was contemplating on telling you his secret, which you already knew. Him being here confirmed it. Biting the inside of your cheek you were so tempted to just blurt it out, but you knew it wasn't your place.

"I'm gay (F/N). I just haven't had the courage to tell Mika or Oikawa."

"But it's what you want. I can tell. Deep in your heart you want to scream it out. Let that inner voice out. Tell him that you love him."

"Wait, love Oikawa? I didn't say tha-"

"You look at me the same way Kageyama looks at me." you interrupted. You flashed a grin at him, making him blush a bit.

Silence fell after your bold statement. It never occurred how much you've changed a lot within a week. High school must've really gotten to you. Either that or volleyball being part of your life again has really influenced you.

"Well, I should go back to Suga. He's waiting for me." You get up from your seat but Hajime remained by the tree. Before leaving you say over your shoulder,

"You should do what's best for you too, Hajime."

You saunter past the booths blasting their festive music and eventually rejoin with Suga near the bay.

"So what do you want to write (F/N)?" Suga questioned.

You sit there, still debating on what to write on the lantern. Fiddling with the pen in your hand, you hover it over the golden surface and peer at Suga. He was holding the other end of the lantern with a pen as well. The movements of his pen were slightly moving the lantern up and down.

"I'll write something, but don't look. I heard it's bad luck to know a person's wishes." you giggle and start writing on the lantern.

You wrote: 'I wish for purpose and love.'

Your eyes shift from Suga and back to your wish.

Is this too cheesy? Should I change my wish? What if he sees this.

"I'm not peeking." he laughs and he finishes writing on his side as well.

"What did you write?" You try to glance over the lantern to his side, but he shyly covers it with his hand.

"You said it yourself. No peaking." he laughs making the boat bob in the water.

He puts his hand out, gesturing to hand over the lighter. You hold the candle out on the palm of your hand and Suga ignites the lighter. The wick catches on fire, illuminating both of your faces. The shadows fluttered on Suga's face as the small flame brought just enough light to see only each other. You shuffle your weight a bit closer towards him and you didn't realize your hand was on top of his, clasping the lantern. Your knees were touching as you hold the candle in the other hand. Suga places his hand under yours and gently guides it; together, you both place the lit candle into the lanterns' candle holder. Holding both sides of the lantern to keep it in place, you could feel the lantern eager to fly away.

Holding the lantern, Suga places both his soft hands over yours and says,

"Ready?"

You nod and you both let go of the lantern. It flies slowly above your heads as it delicately spins in the cold air. Mesmerized by the lantern, your eyelashes fluttered as the lantern became smaller and smaller over time. Just as your lantern was released, hundreds of other lanterns were brought into the air, creating an array beautiful colours.

Wow.

You were in loss for words as Suga entraps your hands in his. He looks into your eyes as yours was still fixated on the multiple lanterns in the air. You carelessly intertwine your fingers with his and smile,

"Thank you Suga."

"What are you thanking me for?" he smiles back at you.

"For this. I love it. You were right, this is a perfect spot." you murmured.

Finally looking his way, his gaze was fixated on you; he wasn't looking at the lanterns. His hazel eyes pierced through yours, locking them in place.

"It is perfect. (F/N), I- " before Suga could finish his words, you could hear a splashing in the distance. A boat had tipped over and the people on board were treading water. The splashing continued and the people were screaming for help.

You were speechless as the sight of them near drowning make you freeze in fear. Without another word, Suga turns to you and kisses you quickly on the forehead. He immediately removes his shirt, making you even more flustered.

"I'll be back okay? Wait for me." he whispered. And before you knew it, he already dove into the water.

"SUGA!" you call out, but it was already too late. Suga was swimming as fast as he could to rescue the couple. He left without saying another word and you were stranded on the boat alone.

Well, here goes nothing.

You try to lay back on the small seat the boat provided and let it drift away. Sitting on the edge of the seat you start tapping your fingers in a musical manner on the boat.

Don't be nervous. He'll coming back...

A few minutes passed and you started to feel sweat forming on the back of your neck.

Remember what your therapist taught you...

You start drumming against the boat again and start humming a tune. Eventually you closed your eyes and opened your mouth unexpectedly, starting singing. It was a song that reminded you of your dad.

'How deep is your love? How deep it your love, I really mean to learn...'

After drifting off on the tiny row boat, it creates small ripples in the water. You're basked in the beauty of the lanterns still climbing higher into the sky. A sudden bump from something jolts you awake and you stop singing. A person's hand shoots out towards you and you blink a few times adjusting your sight. Due to the lanterns, the lights still danced in your vision.

"Take my hand." the familiar voice called out.

As your eyes finally adjusted, you look at the dark figure looming over you.

"Kageyama?!"

~

"Mika, what's the deal with you and Tsukishima?" Oikawa asks as he continues to row the boat near the centre of the bay.

I stopped gazing at the vibrant paper lanterns in the sky and look directly at Oikawa's stupid face. I make a huffing noise and cross my arms, eyebrows raised in irritation.

"What about him?" I state blankly. He smirks at me and continues,

"Like why is he your boyfriend? What did you find so attractive in him? He seems so grouchy all the time. Not good for your skin you know. Wrinkles." he laughs at his own comment and propels the boat even further.

Oh yeah. 'Boyfriend' The reason why he's my so-called 'boyfriend' is beyond me. I don't know how long he's willing to keep up this act.

I chided him and loosen up my tightened posture. Clearing my throat, I reply,

"He's just you know... nice to me."

Now that I think about it... why is he nice to me?

I recall the times when he was always mean to everyone except for Yamaguchi of course. He'd practically make side remarks at everyone except for me. Well I hope not, but still... it was so odd.

I remember during practice he would laugh at everyone who couldn't get past his blocks. He blocked me so bad during practice, but he didn't say anything.

I think he even tried encouraging me? I remember him muttering to me, 'It's okay Mika. I know you'll get the next one'. Was it a compliment?

"C'mon Mika-chan. I know that you have a crush on meee." he sings.

Oikawa's eyes gleamed and he was grinning from ear to ear. My face turned red, but you thanked God it was already dark outside. I couldn't make out Oikawa's face but I knew he just loved to tease me. My hands were at my lap as I squeeze upon the fabric of my dress.

"N-no I didn't you douche-face." I stuttered.

Oikawa swiftly leans forward, making the boat rock unsteadily for a moment. He's close to me as he places both his hands to the sides of my seat. He was maintaining his balance while kneeling in front of me.

"W-What are you doing?!" I yell at him in surprise. He doesn't waver in his place as he looks at me all seriously.

"Mika, I like you." he says in a sultry voice.

"What?" I blink at him and he still doesn't move an inch.

"I didn't take you on this date to spite you or four-eyes. I like you. I really like you."