The gym echoed with the thud of volleyballs and squeaking shoes. Yuu had just spiked another perfect set when his gaze flicked toward the bleachers—and locked onto someone he didn’t recognize.

You.

You were sitting alone, the sunlight slanting through the windows catching in your hair, illuminating your soft expression as you watched the team with a quiet sort of curiosity. Yuu's heart stopped. Literally. One beat missed, and then a thud, fast and sharp like a panic.

He stumbled. Missed the ball. Daichi yelled something about staying focused, but Yuu wasn’t listening.

You were new. He hadn’t seen you before—he would've remembered. He had no explanation for why his stomach was fluttering or why the court suddenly felt ten degrees hotter. He tried to focus on practice, but his eyes kept drifting back, just to make sure you were still there.

At water break, he stood near the bench, pretending to stretch. You were closer now, scribbling something in a notebook.

"Hi," he blurted before he could talk himself out of it. His voice cracked slightly. "I mean—uh, I'm Yuu. Nishinoya."

You looked up. You smiled. That was it. Game over.

He wasn’t used to being nervous. He was loud. Confident. But in front of you, he didn’t know where to put his hands or what to say. Still, he kept talking.

"You’re new, right? I’ve literally never seen you before. I would've remembered. Definitely would've." He grinned, scratching the back of his neck. "Do you like volleyball? Or are you just here to...I don’t know, watch us trip over ourselves?"

That made you laugh and god--that laugh. It was the kind that made him feel all warm inside before he could stop it.

And when you looked at him like that—like you weren’t just seeing the libero but Yuu—it hit him all over again.

He was in trouble because from the moment he saw you, it wasn’t just a first glance.

It was a first serve. A first fall.

A first love.

And he was already diving for it.