A.N: To the non-existent people reading this ; u ;, please feel free to leave a review requesting future chapters. I am an unoriginal piece of trash, so I can't come up with good plots.

Enjoy, though.

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"Have a good day, madam."

"Thank you, you too."

You wrap your translucent silk scarf around your bare neck. The winter cold bites at your skin. There is no coherent thought in your mind as you walk down the empty street. You feel unusually lonely. Typically, when you walk down these streets, it's at noon or in the evening. The area would be filled with life. Hot dog vendors would be selling their goods, couples would be eating lunch with each other.

Couples...

The atmosphere now contrasts sharply with the bustling crowds you are so familiar with. There is almost no life. Occasionally, you see a bug scuttling on the concrete, or a raven cawing. It's like you're in a post-apocalyptic movie. The dim glow of the streetlights flicker as you walk by. The only audible sound is your heels clacking against the sidewalk.

You slam the door behind you as you storm into your house. You kick the couch in your living room. Damn you, Haizaki...

The basketball player had invited you to a fancy dinner, so you gladly accepted. Little did you know, he would dump you after both of you finished eating. He left before the waiter could get the check, forcing you to pay for the lavish meal.

I shouldn't have trusted him... you think.

The only emotion you can feel is anger, but sorrow overcomes you and you fall to the ground. You begin to wail uncontrollably, slamming your fist on the ground. You shout strings of curses and insults at Haizaki until your voice grows hoarse and your throat is dry.

Your cellphone rings.

You shakily take out your pale (F/C) cellphone. Midorima Shintarou is calling you. You accept his call. "Shintarou...?"

"_?" Midorima is clearly concerned. "I heard Haizaki just dumped you."

"What? Oh, yeah... I'm okay," you respond, but your voice cracks, and you begin to cry quietly.

"_? I'm coming over right now!"

The line disconnects, and you put your phone back in your bag. You had met Shintarou way back in Teiko. You were, and still are, a big fan of Oha-Asa, just like Midorima. Sometimes, you would lend Midorima his lucky item. Most of your classmates thought you two were freaks, but you didn't really care.

You heard a few ginger knocks on the door. You open it a small crack. Midorima pushes the door all the way open, and he embraces you. Tears well up in your eyes again. You laugh weakly. "Oha Asa predicted that today was a bad day for (Your Astrological Sign). I didn't have my lucky item today, either."

Midorima nods. "I heard that. Did you also hear that Cancer and (Your Astrological Sign) get along well today?"

"...Yes."

Midorima caresses your face and wipes away your tears. "Haizaki isn't to be trusted, _. You should know that."

"I know, but..."

"Don't ever get close to him again, okay?"

You nod numbly. Midorima flashes one of his rare smiles. "_, I had liked you since middle school... but I was too shy to confess."

"You tsundere!" you giggle as you push Midorima playfully.

"When you started to date Haizaki, I felt devastated. Then, I realized, if I actually loved you, I should let you date who you want to. That's why I didn't want to tell you that Haizaki wasn't reliable."

Midorima kisses the back of your hand. "_, I know Haizaki just dumped you, but will you date me?"

A blush creeps up your face. "I know it is a bit sudden," Midorima looks away, "but can you think about it?"

"Shintarou..."

You do not want to accept because you think it will make you sound desperate, but you need somebody at times like this. If you reject him now, it will only deepen the horrible feeling of loneliness. This pang of emotions hasn't been inside you for a while now. The first time you experienced it was when your parents were killed in a drunken fist fight. Both of your parents were heavily alcoholic, but they still loved you just like regular parents would love their children. One day, they were out drinking, and they got into a fight. Their opponents were also drunk, but they had firearms, unlike your parents. They shot your mother and father without hesitation. When the police told you the next day, you thought that you would never experience happiness again. You thought you would never recover.

Haizaki was your only consolation. Nobody else would love you. In a way, it was like he was the only person you could cling on to, even if you didn't want to. It was like you were looming above a cliff, but the only thing you could hold on to was a thorn bush. You wanted to let go, but you knew that, if you did, your death awaited. You desperately wanted to leave Haizaki, but you knew that he was the only one who cared about you.

After he dumped you, you realized that Haizaki didn't care for you at all. He was merely using you for his own amusement. Of course he didn't care for you; it was too good to be true. You were a puppet, and Haizaki was the puppeteer. He controlled you.

Here you are. You are feeling like you will never love again, you will never experience happiness again. And here's Midorima, offering his affection to you. You don't want it to end like it did with Haizaki. You don't want Shintarou to use you. You don't want him to treat you like a toy.

But still, you trust him. After all, he was your classmate in middle school. Of course he was to be trusted. Even so, your ability to trust has been broken and tampered with by Haizaki. You don't want to trust anybody, not even your childhood friend.

Your conflicting emotions get the better of you, and you break down sobbing. Midorima wraps his arms around you, and he gently runs his fingers through your hair. "It will be okay, _. I know that you think it won't get better, that your life will only deteriorate from here. I promise, everything will get better."

Midorima plants a kiss on your cheek. "So don't cry, okay? If you cry, it will only make you feel sadder. I admired you when your parents died, and you still came to school with a smile on your face everyday. When the class heard, we were uncomfortable being around you, but with your happy attitude, that feeling of unease faded, and we were able to talk to you. I hope you can go back to being like that, _. Once we got into high school, you stopped smiling. You always had a stern expression on your face. I want to see you smile again, _. I want to see a happy look on your face."

"I want to date you, Shintarou."

"_?"

"Please. Just your presence has made me feel a dozen times better. Your speech and low voice comfort me, and it makes me feel like my dad is helping me get over bullies or a bad grade. There's a heavy sense of nostalgia, but it's soothing."

The feeling of being next to Shintarou is the polar opposite of being with Haizaki. With Haizaki, there would always be a dreaded feeling of unease, like he was going to snap at any second. He intimidated you. It felt like there was a strange tension in the air. With Shintarou, you feel like you can relax. You can finally let the stress fade away. Your tense muscles unwind. The gentle warmth of being in Midorima's arms reminded you deeply of your father. Whenever he was sober, you would tell him all your problems, and he would hug you as you cried. Your dad would speak comforting words to you, and in a few minutes, you would recover.

You wrap your arms around Midorima and breathe in his scent. The slight scent of green tea reached your nostrils. "I used to love you too, Shintarou, but I thought you liked your manager, Momoi Satsuki."

"Momoi?" Midorima scoffs. "She was a bit annoying, in my opinion."

You chuckle softly. "I love you, Shintarou."

The corners of Midorima's lips raise in a smile. "I do too, _."

Midorima fumbles around in his pocket. "I almost forgot to tell you; I have your lucky item."

"My lucky item..."

Midorima hands you a golden heart locket. It is smooth, and there are no dents in it. You open it to find a picture of Midorima. He is smiling in the picture, and he is dressed in a casual t-shirt. "The lucky item for (Your Astrological Sign) today," you mutter a quote from Oha Asa, "is a golden heart locket containing a picture of your lover."