CHAPTER 2

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"If anyone asks, you fell down the stairs." Oikawa stared bleakly at her frame. She was facing away from him, haphazardly pulling clothes on. He sniffled half-heartedly, too sore to cry properly. He couldn't calm down enough to stop the tears, or to wipe them away, so instead he just sat there, choked sobs bubbling up at odd intervals.

His ribs ached. He was oddly aware of his own heartbeat, feeling it pound through his whole body every few seconds, an upsetting reminder that he was alive.

Oikawa stayed where he was for a moment, staring blankly at the ceiling. He could hear Setsu banging around, switching on lights and sorting through clutter. Dropping his head to the side, he spotted the pink skirt that was tossed carelessly to the floor after Setsu had slipped out of it. Then she had sauntered over to him, predatory look in her eyes. Pushing him down, hands all over him. Breath hot on his face.

Even now, the overpowering scent of her stifling fragrance permeated around the room, flowery and artificial, choking him. He could taste it on his tongue, and feel it everywhere. Feel her everywhere. He could see it, too, he could see where her handprints left indigo marks on his chest and on his thighs, where her fingernails had dug into his flesh.

They had dated for half a year now and it was becoming a regular thing.

Oikawa took a deep shuddering breath. He had morning practise in less than an hour, and it took twenty minutes to get to school. He dazedly made his way to the bathroom, head swimming with sleep.

She was smoothing foundation over her face with even movements when he entered. Her eyes flickered over to where he stood in the doorway.

"Give me your arm." Oikawa obeyed, and Setsu smeared the cool liquid over his wrists. It stung, the product irritating his fresh wounds. She rubbed it onto his bruises as well, rough and unforgiving.

Then, with her tongue stuck out of the corner of her mouth in a cutesy motion that didn't suit her, she dabbed some setting powder over her work of art, sealing the cosmetics in place. His wounds had completely disappeared, leaving only smooth, flawless skin.

"Like it never happened," he said, admiring how good his skin looked.

"Yeah. Here, do your face as well," she shoved the compact into his arms, as well as a few brushes and other bottles. "You'll definitely need some concealer for your face. You look like a mess. Maybe use some blush as well, get some colour into your face. Oh, and don't forget your neck."

She turned away to go back to working on her own makeup. Oikawa surveyed himself in the mirror. Setsu had been right, his face looked terrible. His left eye was swollen so much that he could barely see out of it, and he had several different shaped scratches on his cheeks, forehead, and jaw. Tilting his head, he could see the dark bruises on his necks. They looked like hickeys, although he could see a few imprints from where her fingernails had dug in.

He picked up the same foundation she had used on his arms, as it seemed to have pretty good coverage. Mirroring Setsu's motions, he began applying it on his face in circular motions. He spread it across the whole expanse of his face, going gently over the especially tender spots.

"You can keep that. It was expensive, but it's your skin tone. Too dark for me."

"Thanks." They fell silent. It was unsettling domestic, comfortably sharing makeup and helping each other apply it. Oikawa wasn't wearing a shirt and her uniform was unbuttoned, her bra peeking out. It almost reminded Oikawa of how his own mother and father acted around each other; completely content and without embarrassment. If Oikawa wasn't using his girlfriend's makeup to cover the bruises that she gave him, it would be perfect.

Afterwards, over a cold bowl of cereal, Oikawa checked his phone. Six missed calls from his mother. He had forgotten to let her know that he was spending the night out. Oh well, he could just use Iwaizumi as a cover story. His mum positively meltedwhenever he mentioned Iwa-chan, she probably liked him even more than Oikawa did. Except… not in a romantic way, of course. Because Iwaizumi was only eighteen, the same age as Oikawa, and it would be really weird if his mum liked boy that was the same age as her son. It was weird enough that Oikawa liked Iwaizumi.

He sent her a short message, a complete lie about how he had fallen asleep after an intense night of video games and Iwaizumi didn't think about calling her and telling her where Oikawa was. Then, he explained a modified version of the story to Iwaizumi in a different text, begging him to cover for Oikawa. Hopefully Iwaizumi would spare him the questions and go along with his story. Wishful thinking.

"How do you think I did in the match last night?" Setsu mentioned.

"The practise match against Karasuno's girl team? You won every set, do you even need to ask?"

She shrugged lightly, tilting her head. Oikawa recognised that motion. That motion was the calm before the storm. Damn. He had thought that morning was going a little too well. "Just checking. You didn't really seem to be watching me."

"If that's the case, how did I know that you won every set?" he challenged.

"You could have asked someone."

Oikawa huffed, searching for the right words. "That's absurd. I watched you the whole time, for your information. You were very good. You'll make an excellent captain."

"You really watched me the entire time…? Oh, yeah, that's right. I remember hearing you cheering for me. Your applause is still ringing in the back of my ears."

"You're mad because I didn't scream and carry on whenever you hit a ball?" Oikawa said, incredulous. "My bad. I'm so sorry, I've been a terrible boyfriend. Next time I'll jump up and down every time the ball makes it over the net. Maybe I'll even make a banner. I'd make it real obnoxious, too. What do you think the slogan should be? Setsu is the number one? And I'll colour in the letters with glitter, for extra pizzazz. Would you like that?"

She was silent for a moment. "I don't understand why always get mad for no reason."

"Well, you're the one that got upset over nothing." Oikawa was still feeling snippy.

She shook her head, then laughed shortly. It made Oikawa feel a bit stupid.

"Do you want to come over for dinner tonight?" He offered in a peace-making gesture.

"I think I'm working. Who's cooking?"

"Well, me. Mum's not going to be home until really late, because it's a Thursday, and I wouldn't want the guest to have to pull something together." See, Oikawa could be courteous and polite. He had manners, at the very least.

"Great. Instant ramen, then." Setsu winked at him playfully.

"Are you up to the job then, Chef Setsu? What's on the menu?" He joked.

"Don't call me that. You know that I hate it," she chided. Oikawa hated that about her. She always just picked one part of a sentence to comment on, even if it was completely out of context. He held his tongue, though. Stiff upper lip and all. No use starting up another argument, no matter how tempting.

"Sorry, it's hard to get out of the habit of calling people by their last name." He explained with the jaunty flick of a hand.

"Really? Because you never even talked to me before we started dating. It makes me wonder why you don't just call me Rui when you never knew me by anything else."

"Still, it's engrained in me. I don't even call Iwa-chan by his first name."

"There is the cutesy honorific, though. I don't see you calling me Setsu-chan. Anyone would think that you were dating Iwa-chan, not me."

A pause. Oikawa decided to throw that 'stiff upper lip' bullshit to the wind. "Jealousy's not a good look on you."

"If you're implying that I should be jealous-"

"Ugh!" Oikawa moaned. "Just shut up."

"You're telling me to shut up? How dare you."

Oikawa groaned loudly. They had to leave soon, and Oikawa didn't want to bicker the whole way there. Then he would be in a bad mood for the entire day, and so would she, and then when they saw each other again she would probably push Oikawa down the stairs or something.

"Look, you're being a bitch for no reason so I'm just going to leave. Bye!" He waved exaggeratedly, grabbing his bag without bothering to put any food in there.

"Oh, okay. Sure, run away from any conflict that isn't volleyball related. Have fun walking to school on your own."

"I'll actually be walking with Iwa-chan, actually. It'll be really fun, because you won't be there," Oikawa said meanly. "In fact, we'll be able to make out with each other the whole time without any interruptions. Since we're so gay for each other, you know."

She sneered at him, but he could tell that she was trying to cover up that she was upset. Good. He was glad that he hurt her feelings. She was the one that had left bruises, not him. She deserved to feel sad. Oikawa sneered right back at her.