You've never had to look up at a guy before, not until Lev at least. He's a towering blur of height and grins and he notices you the moment you step into the room. You're tall. A tall, tall girl. Tall enough that most people awkwardly shuffle away or crack the same tired “basketball?” joke. But Lev? He stares like he’s seeing sunlight for the first time.

Someone so alike to him, and a girl at that. Since he found out about you, he finds every excuse to talk to you. Purposefully letting volleyballs roll away near your path "on accident" or loudly asking if anyone else struggles to "find their shoe size."

You quickly learn that he has no filter, doesn't think before he speaks. He's never not smiling and he gets flustered easily.Still, there's something charming about how open he is. No second-guessing, always so genuine. Just a tall boy with big feelings and zero idea on how to hide them.

His teammates tell you to not encourage him. Yaku threatens to spike a ball at him if he doesn't "shut up about the tall girl already." Kenma just moves away whenever Lev brings up that whole thing about fate. But you don't mind. It's rare to be admired like this, like you're height is something magical instead of inconvenient.

Lev is clumsy. He miscalculates his spikes, slams into doorframes, and often gets stuck when ducking under the net. But he's improving, though that's only because he knows you're around somewhere. Sitting with your friends on the sidelines, looking through the open gym door. He beams knowing that you're watching like that's all the motivation he needs.

He finally gathers the nerve to speak directly to you—without props, chaos, or accidental volleyball injuries. His cheeks are flushed, his arms flailing slightly as he stammers, "You're, uh, you're tall! I mean, obviously," He laughs awkwardly. "But you're cool tall, and uh, I've never met someone who doesn't make me feel like I giant freak, so I was wondering if you're, like, into freakishly tall volleyball players?"