Chapter 2
Chapter Two
Maki
I get out of bed, stretching my arms over my head.
I start my day the same way as I start every day; with some calisthenics and then some yoga.
It’s the perfect way to not only wake up my mind, but also my body.
As a professional athlete, my most prized possession is my body and I have to do everything in my power to keep it safe, healthy, and performing at its best.
After two sets of jumpsquats, I start going through my yoga poses. I let out a satisfying noise as I stretch my body out. I do my best to keep my mind clear, thinking back to the dreams I had last night.
There was one in particular I can’t seem to stop thinking about.
My volleyball team and I were playing but we were playing in a special underwater arena.
I kept getting frustrated because the ball wouldn’t do what I wanted it to do because of the physics of hitting a ball underwater.
I was ready to give up until someone came closer, stealing the ball from me.
It was so absurd. You can’t just steal the ball like that in volleyball. There are rules. I was planning on telling the faceless person with the striking blue hair just that, only instead of listening, they kissed me.
The kiss is what woke me up right before my alarm went off.
I sit on the floor, placing the soles of my feet together.
I put my arms out, stretching out my chest muscles, letting in a deep breath before slowly letting it out.
As I sit here, with my eyes closed, I can’t stop thinking about that vibrant blue, I can’t stop feeling little tingles against my lips.
I’ve kissed a few people before, but they never felt like that. They never left me thinking about them the next day.
Dreams shouldn’t have this sort of effect over people.
I’m an undine, not a djinn. Dreams aren’t something I’ve ever been interested in thinking about more than mild amusement at how weird they can get.
Yet, I can’t seem to get this one out of my head no matter how long I sit here, attempting to meditate.
I try to clear my mind over and over to no avail.
Eventually, I have to give up and continue on with my day.
With a sigh, I finally stand up and move to my kitchen, making myself a veggie filled omelet for breakfast. I sit at my breakfast island and eat slowly, checking my social media accounts on my phone.
My manager is always on my case to post more often but I never know what to say.
It’s easier when I’m promoting something or am posting about a sponsorship because they always just tell me what they want me to say. It takes all the guess work away.
I’m not what most people would call a people person. It’s not that I don’t like people, it’s just that I have a hard time understanding them. I enjoy watching, I enjoy being quiet. I like things done a certain way and sometimes, people don’t really like that.
I make sure to give Bo, one of my teammates, a like on his new post. I leave a comment, telling him the new jacket looks good on him.
Oli, another teammate, also posted a picture with himself and Ivan.
Oli is throwing up a peace sign while Ivan looks unimpressed.
I like that as well, asking if they had fun last night.
My notifications start going wild, people also commenting on my comment, asking what I mean by last night and if I’m trying to imply something. I simply say no, that I hope my teammates had fun spending time together last night, that’s all.
I put my phone back down, pinching the bridge of my nose.
Hopefully I haven’t started some media nightmare that Cleo, my manager, has to deal with.
A few times I’ve commented something that led to a long meeting in her office while she lectured me about how the things I say can sometimes come across wrong or rude.
It’s exhausting. I just want to play volleyball.
After eating, I put my dishes in the sink and move to the bathroom. I shower and change before grabbing my phone, wallet, and keys. Then I head out of my apartment and towards the grocery store.
Despite the wind blowing and everyone around me shivering from it, it doesn’t leave me feeling overly cold. One of the perks of being an undine fae is that the cold doesn’t bother me.
The grocery store is warm inside. I grab a cart and start heading towards the produce department.
I make sure to stick to the diet my nutritionist set out for me.
Some people on my team don’t mind cheating on their diet regularly so long as they stay in shape but I’d rather follow it as closely as possible.
The man is doing his job, making this plan for me, why would I waste his time not following it?
I walk past a man with bright blue hair and my stomach sinks to my toes. I turn away, not wanting to be caught staring. The blue hair reminds me of the person from my dream this morning.
What a weird coincidence. It feels unlikely that I dreamed of him specifically but the resemblance is uncanny.
I do my best to focus on my produce, picking out everything I’ll need for the following week. Then I move over to the meat department. I see a flash of blue from the corner of my eyes and I can’t help but look, watching as he moves across the store.
The man picks up a pack of meat, looking it over before setting it back down. I find myself staring even though I know it’s rude. I should look away, but it’s almost like I can’t.
He’s tall, probably around six-foot if I had to guess.
Shorter than my six-foot-seven, but most people are shorter than me.
His hair is long enough to be styled up while the sides are cropped short.
His ears have black studs in them. The man is lanky, his limbs all looking just slightly too long for him yet he moves with grace.
He’s wearing a pair of jeans that fit him just right and a purple hoodie with a logo on the front.
I’m not sure what the logo means but I’m fairly certain I’ve seen it before somewhere.
He turns towards me, noticing that I’m looking at him. I quickly turn back to my shopping, feeling my cheeks warm at being caught.
Hopefully he doesn’t think I’m some sort of creep watching him like that.
The man is attractive, there’s no denying that. That doesn’t mean he wants people staring at him.
I continue to shop, picking up everything I’ll need. All the while, I keep seeing the gorgeous blue-haired man. Everywhere I look, he’s somehow there and every single time, I can’t look away. There’s something about him that’s drawing me in, like a string attached at the center of my chest.
I never approach people. My teammates all tease me when we go out to places. They tell me I ‘have no game’, whatever that means. My problem is, I don’t know how to talk to people. Isn’t it uncomfortable to have someone come up to you and ask for your number? I know it’s always uncomfortable for me.
Even so, I can’t help but wonder if I should maybe approach this man. I could tell him about my dream? No, that’s too weird. I could compliment his hair or ask about the logo on his hoodie? That feels more ‘normal’.
We both make our way over to the checkout line. Just before getting into line, he turns around and walks over to me.
My entire body locks up, my eyes widening as he gives me an easy smile.
“Hi,” he says as he stands before me. “I know that look. You want a picture, right?”
I blink slowly, trying to process this man’s words. A picture? What? I don’t understand.
He watches my face before shaking his head, looking annoyed all of a sudden. “Come on. Hand me your phone. I have somewhere I need to be so let’s not take too long, okay?”
“Umm,” I say, pulling my phone out of my pocket and handing it over, in a daze. Why does he want my picture? Does he know I’m a professional athlete? No, that doesn’t make sense. He said that I would want a photo with him.
He takes my phone and pulls up the camera. Then he turns so that he’s taking a selfie with me. He throws up a peace sign, not unlike how Oli often takes photos with fans before handing me my phone back.
“Always happy to meet a fan,” he says, slapping my shoulder before turning away and pushing his cart into the check out lane. I rub at the spot he just smacked, wondering what in the hell just happened.
Am I still dreaming or did I just meet the most beautiful asshole ever? This is one of those times I know I’ll have to sit down with my teammates and ask them about. They’re usually my compass when it comes to human interactions and this one was weird, even for my standards.
I watch the guy go before finally moving, going to the checkout line myself, wondering if today could get any stranger.
By the time I get to practice, my head is starting to hurt. I keep replaying the interaction I had earlier, still coming up with no explanation for what actually happened.
“Maki, Maki, Maki,” Oli says in greeting, his voice taking on a singing-like tone as I walk into the locker room to get changed. Most everyone is already here, in different levels of getting changed. “What’s got that frown on your face?”
“Hey,” Ivan jumps in, crossing his arms over his chest, showing off his toned arms. “What’s up with your comment this morning? People won’t stop asking what happened last night.”
I rub the back of my head. “I just assumed you spent time together. I didn’t mean anything by it.”
“We know that,” Oli says, shoving his elbow into Ivan’s stomach. “He’s just mad that people are shipping us again.”
I blink at them. “Shipping you where?”
Oli snorts. “No, it’s an online term. It means people think we’re secretly dating.”
“Right,” I say slowly, nodding my head. When I first met Oli and Ivan, I assumed they were dating. The two of them might fight and bicker near constantly, but they’re also very soft with each other, especially when it matters.
When Oli took a fall during a game and hurt his elbow, Ivan refused to play the rest of the game in order to stay by Oli’s side.
They have a very special bond, even if they want to pretend they don’t.
They’ve known each other since they were in elementary school, having lived next door to each other all their lives.
I might not be very good at reading social cues but even I can see that they belong together. I think eventually, they’ll figure that out.
I go to my locker and start changing into my practice gear. Daniel, our captain, walks past, patting my shoulder as he goes.
“Back to the initial question,” Daniel says with a grin. “Everything okay, Maki?”
“Yes,” I say right away, because despite the strangeness of the day, I’m still okay. “I just had a weird interaction. I wanted to talk to you all about it, as you guys have always been happy to help me interpret these types of things in the past.”
Bo perks up at that, his blue hair a mess after he gets his head through the top of his shirt. “I love when we do this! What happened this time, Maki, we’re all ears!”
“There was a man at the grocery store. I admit, I was watching him probably a bit too much while we were shopping,” I start to explain.
“Oh,” Oli says, stretching the word out. “Was he hot?”
I nod my head. “He was very beautiful.”
“Wow,” Daniel says. “It’s not often you see someone you’re actually interested in.”
“It is not. Which is why I couldn’t help but look at him. I was just about to approach him, when he turned around and approached me instead.”
“That’s not too strange,” Ivan says, tilting his head to the side in confusion. “People approach you all the time.”
“This was different.”
“How so?”
“He seemed kind of annoyed? And then he said that he somehow knew I wanted a photo with him. We took the photo and then he slapped my arm and left. It was,” my voice drifts off as I look for the right word, “puzzling.”
Amour walks into the locker room, his eyes widening as he sees everyone crowded around me. He raises an eyebrow.
“We’re working out a new Maki related puzzle,” Bo says in explanation. Amour just nods his head before going to his own locker and getting ready.
“That, umm, that sure is something,” Daniel says, rubbing a hand through his hair.
“Can I see the picture?” Oli asks, holding out his hand. I nod my hand and open up the picture, passing my phone over. “No fucking way.”
“What? What is it?”
“He met Blue. The streamer! That’s why he thought you wanted a picture,” he says in explanation, starting to chuckle to himself.
“Really? That’s so fucking cool, man,” Bo says excitedly. “He’s actually like super popular!”
“Oh,” I breathe out. “That would explain the situation, I suppose. Though, I still think he was rather rude. He told me I needed to hurry up because he has places to be.”
“Shit, really?” Oli asks, his eyes wide. He hands my phone back. “He doesn’t seem like the type to be an ass. Especially if he thought you were a fan. That’s more Suga’s style.”
“Neither do you, but here we are,” Ivan says, messing up Oli’s hair. Oli makes a noise of outrage, throwing himself onto Ivan’s back as they stumble out of the locker room.
Daniel chuckles fondly, following after the two of them. Everyone else files out of the locker room until I’m all alone. I finish getting ready, all the while thinking about this Blue person. I know what a streamer is but I can’t say I’ve ever watched something like that before.
I do my best to push it out of my mind as I walk out of the locker room, excited to focus on my favorite thing in the world; volleyball.