- he values his friends so much

"So why don't you confess then?"

He watched as your eyes grew, snapping your mouth open when you really heard what he said. Confess. Confess? That wasn't something possible. It couldn't be accomplished. But, was it really that unattainable? All you wanted was for the boy you liked so much to like you back just as much. You wanted to be able to tell him everything you felt and thought with a smile which also made him smile, or grin at you.

You just wanted the one thing you ever really wanted. You haven't wanted something as much as you wanted him. The person that both Kuroo and yourself found yourself calling, 'Kuroo' just to make it a bit easier. He didn't smile until he heard you breath again and he was almost relieved when he took a step forward and you swore you almost forgot you were leaning on a desk by the way your foot almost rolled.

You couldn't even stand properly around this boy.

He smiled, smirking a little and his eyes weren't teasing when you thought they would be after saying such a thing.

"What? Confess? I-I couldn't do that."

You thought he was going to laugh at you but he looked to the window as if thinking quietly to himself and you hated that you couldn't read the expression he wore so visibly on his face. His brows weren't furrowed but they were low making him look serious, "You can do it, you're just really nervous."

He faced you and you hated how he could be so calm and level-headed when discussing something so personal, "I'm jealous [Name]-chan, that there's someone you care about so much that it makes you like this~" He chuckled quietly and you frowned with red cheeks, "Hey! Don't teas-"

"Pretend I'm him."

...

"Wha-.. What?"

"Come on [Name]-chan. I'll help you, just pretend I'm that guy and say it, you can just say those three words."

His voice was unlike his usual self and it made you a little bit frightened, he was being completely serious and offering to help you but the situation was so wrong. You could do it now if you had the confidence. If you had the right determination but it was so daunting as well. Because he was so attractive and he knew how to make you laugh or smile so easily. He made you feel so safe and he always makes you feel worthy. The third-year always knows when something isn't right with you and he always made you look for him, for his two hazel eyes you fell in love with.

You hated him for always making you think about him.

"We're best friends, right? I'll help you."

"Best friends.."

How you hated the words. The title. You hated it so much that you loved it. You loved being his best friend but you hated the feeling it gave, like being punched right in the gut. The type of punch that made all the oxygen in your lungs spill from your mouth like it was nothing. The type that left you breathless for a few moments as you're panicking to try and catch a single breath, hanging onto it for life.

He caused it but he was also the oxygen you were hanging onto.

"I LI-"

He stifled his laugh when you squeezed your eyes shut, "I LIKE YOU, PLEASE GO OUT WITH ME."

"Wo-woah.."

"What?!" Your eyes popped open to see Kuroo's surprised face, he was beaming and you could see some pink on his cheeks but he didn't hide it, or maybe he didn't realise it, "I didn't think you'd say the whole thing, [Name]-chan. That's bold."

You mumbled incoherent curses and he seemed to giggle at your reaction, "That was good, but maybe you should keep you eyes open. You don't want to confess to the wrong guy, do you~?"

"N-No way! There's no way I'd every say that to someone else!"

"Oya-"

The door slid open, it slammed against the wall and then the doorway was blocked by a bunch of people, boy specifically. Kuroo made a somewhat awkward look when he eyes were on his team and you were blushing when Taketora Yamamoto grinned and laughed obnoxiously, "[Name]-chan you're blushing so much! You're so cute!"

You gasped and looked away and Yaku Morisuke glared at him, while Kai Nobuyuki only approached you quietly as Kuroo slapped Yamamoto across the head, "[Lastname]-san, are you feeling alright? Your face is quite red."

You were blinking rapidly, hugging the oversized blazer to yourself when you realised it wasn't yours as you threw it to Nobuyuki-kun's arms when you grabbed your own to put in on. Kenma had been waiting outside as the commotion inside was too loud and full of people. Fukunaga Shōhei stood by the door as he watched his classmates walking in boisterously towards their captain, you watched as Kuroo nudged them with a grin, speaking as they laughed with a smile on his face, his eyes meeting yours for a second as you observed the way they all interacted with each other.

Haiba Lev grinned as he saw Yamamoto speaking about your face, walking forward to grab your cheeks when you shrieked as he flt the warmth, "Uwah~ your face is so warm, [Name]-senpai Are you sure you're okay?!"

Inuoka Sō and Kenma watched their captain, Yamamoto hiding his smirk by the way Kuroo's eyebrow twitched when Yaku got closer to Lev just as he let you go to grab your school bag and initiated a roundhouse kick which had the half-Russian jumping as he held his behind, "Ittai~! Yaku-san! That hurt!"

"Don't treat your senpai like that, you idiot!"

"What did I do!?"

Kuroo offered to leave school with the team, the majority nodding as Fukunaga-kun, Nobuyuki-kun and Shibayama-kun decided to head their separate ways to study and whatnot. You found Kuroo looking for you other his team mates and you had been lifting the bag to place it on your shoulder. The boys shuffled out and Kuroo waited until you were at the door when you saw an outstretched hand and his arms; his muscles, and then his face when he looked forward and not at you.

You slowly grabbed his hand, feeling him flinch a little before tenderly wrapping his fingers around your own. They fit nicely, snug and comfortably like it wasn't the first time, but it was. You were actually holding you best friends hand and he was leading you away.

"I hope the guy you like isn't on the team, that'd be awkward, right?" He grinned down at you and you bit your lip to contain the massive smile that threatened to break out and crack your cheeks,

'He is but.. It doesn't matter.'