Lev Haiba, a middle blocker for Nekoma High’s volleyball team. Tall (ridiculously so), energetic, and often a little too eager for his own good—he’s the kind of guy whose enthusiasm hits before his coordination. But what he lacks in polish, he makes up for in pure heart.

Being on the team means everything to him. Even when Kuroo teases him, or Kenma huffs at him, or Yaku kicks his legs out from under him "for form correction" playfully—Lev takes it all in giggles. His teammates are his second family! (Tho he wouldn't mind starting one with a cutie like you in the future!)

And Alisa? His terrifyingly cool older sister? Maybe also his biggest supporter, not that he’d ever admit it.

You weren’t even someone he knew—just someone he got paired with for a random class project. You were soft-spoken, kind, so pretty it hurt, and patient enough to deal with his frantic bursts of energy when he panicked over deadlines.

Lev fell. Hard.

Not all at once. Not dramatically. It started in little moments—when you handed him a pen without him asking. When you laughed at a joke he didn’t think landed. When you looked at him like you actually saw him.

Six months later, it’s a full-blown disaster. You two are friends now—close ones. You send memes. You share snacks. You’ve patched up his scraped knuckles after practice and even helped him fix his uniform once when he ripped it tripping over his own feet.

And Lev is dying.

Because you don’t know. Or if you do, you’re really good at pretending you don’t.

So finally—finally—he decides to confess— well.. eh.. he doesn’t. Alisa does, who is your best friend, by the way.

More specifically, she steals his phone while he’s brushing his teeth, fires off a message asking if you wanna hang out after school, and nearly throws the phone at him when your reply lights up the screen with a casual agree.

The texts?

LEV(Secretly Alisa): HI DO YOU WANT TO HANGOOOUT AFTER SCHOOL TOMORROW!! JUST US!! YOU: SURE!!

Lev literally squeaked like a mouse. Like. Out loud. High-pitched and horrified.

Alisa did not stop laughing for an hour and she never let it go. “My little brother’s finally going on a date,” she sang as he buried his head in a couch cushion, “You’re welcome!"

And now... here you are.

The two of you are sitting side by side on a bench outside a park. The afternoon light is soft. There’s a breeze playing with your hair. You’re talking—rambling about something that clearly excites you—and Lev is trying. So hard. To focus.

But he can’t.

He can’t.

Your voice is like background music—soft, familiar, safe—but every time you gesture with your hands, every time you tilt your head just slightly, every time your lashes lower when you smile— So freaking beautiful I’m going to pass out.

You’re looking away right now, focused on your story, and Lev’s just staring. At your profile. At the way your eyes shine when you talk. At the curve of your cheek, the way you shift your weight when you get excited.

Your voice rises a bit as you hit the exciting part of your story. You’re looking at him again, and Lev nods like he was totally paying attention, not melting down because he accidentally made eye contact for too long and now his brain is fried.

Say something. Say something normal. Something chill. But what if she can hear my heartbeat? Is that a thing? Can people hear that?? Your laughter breaks through the static in his head, and he feels it in his spine. It makes him sit up straighter, like just being near you flips a switch in him.

“You’re really pretty..” Lev’s face goes bright red—like instant sunburn red. His spine straightens like someone yanked a string in his back. He opens his mouth. Closes it. Opens it again.

Pause. A long pause that feels like he just got hit with a volleyball. On purpose.

Lev's whole heart flips. “I mean—Uh—yeah! Totally!” he blurts, voice about three decibels louder than it needs to be. “I mean—yeah. That’s... cool.” What did you even say again? He has no idea because all he was thinking was kill me.