This beautiful lie,
My one last lie to you,
Even if it hurts,
I hide myself under a mask to hide the truth..

"Kuroko, how could you?" A trembling voice asked over the phone, making the one on the other line shake slightly. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry.. Ogiwara-kun, please forgive me," the other voice asked in a pleading voice, but the reply he got made him burst into tears. "I'm sorry, but I can't. I can't do it anymore. You're just the same as the other miracles. Cruel and selfish, just like them." The call ended like that, making the tealnette fall to his knees, hot tears streaming down his pale cheeks as he covered his mouth with his hand, trembling violently.

Thump. Thump. Thump. Swoosh.

The sound of the rubber ball being repeatedly dribbled across the floor of Teiko's third gymnasium resounded across the room, only stopping when the basketball player stopped running to throw it into the hoop. The friction between the shoes and the floor, the feeling of a basketball between his hands-

THUMP!

The sound of the ball bouncing to the rim and to the board and to just make its way back to the floor without shooting; made the player wince, soon his legs gave up and he was kneeling on the floor, beads of sweat running down his neck as he breathed heavily. No matter how many hours I practice, no matter how many times I shoot, not even one would go in... Shaking his head, he took a few deep breathes and stood up, retrieving the ball that rested by the wall soon after he took a shot. He spun on his heel and made his way towards the hoop at the other side of the room, only stopping when he heard the door slide open. Is it time to go back already?

"'Sup!" A not so familiar voice greeted, his eyes scanning around the barely used and the rumored haunted gym. The tealhead player held the orange coloured ball between his hands, staring at the male who just entered. It was rare for someone else to use the third gym, considering it was quite far from the school gate, and some students were just too scared to practice alone or in small groups during the night. It was isolated from the Basketball Club's First till Third Stringers, he had the whole gym completely for himself. The tealnette walked towards the other, about to greet him when he noticed him take a step back, looking slightly (absolutely) terrified.

"Excuse me.." He started, extending his arm to tap his shoulder. The player immediately squatted down, his hands covering both sides of his head.

"I'm sorry for what I did, oh Gods and Goddesses! Dispel evil!" He screamed, his whole body trembling. It would be a lie if the so called 'ghost' denied that he didn't find the male cowering to be an amusing sight. He didn't bother portraying his amusement though, that would be terribly rude. Wait, don't I know him?

"Aomine-kun?"

Aomine stopped chanting prayers and enchantments and slowly turned around, finally noticing the boy who he didn't think he's ever seen nor noticed throughout the entire school year before.

Our first meeting after we enrolled into Teiko Middle School was on the first day of Autumn.

Ever since we met you brought out the bad in me,
Every mirror that I shattered was a sad ending,
As we kept fighting, you told me that I was changing,
All the good things about us were slowly fading.

"Oi, Tetsu!" Tetsuya heard a familiar voice call out to him, but before he could even move to glance who it was, he felt the weight over his shoulders shift, feeling something heavy lean on him. When he looked up, he saw him; the one that encouraged him to play Basketball. The one who taught him to never give up, to persevere his passion for the sport. The one who was his everything.

"Where ya' goin'?" Daiki asked, and as a reply to the question, Tetsuya shook his head lightly. "Nowhere. I was just thinking about taking a walk before heading back home." Soon, they both heard light footsteps, quickly running towards them, getting louder and louder. When they looked over their shoulders, they saw a familiar girl rushing towards them.

"Aomine-kun!" She called, shouting exasperatedly as soon as she reached the two males. "You skipped class today, too! Do you really think you can pass the exams if you keep on acting like this?" She began nagging at the tanned male, reprimanding him firmly to keep his act straight, acting as if the other wasn't there. It was always like this, though Kuroko was quite used to it, actually.

"Tetsu-kun, help me! If he doesn't pass the exam next week, he won't be able to play in next month's game unless he gets an above-average score!" And that's when realization shot through Aomine's mind. "Ha? What do you mean by that?"

The Aquarius released a sigh, pushing him away and standing up properly. "During our basketball game next month, retests will be held by then. If you fail the exam, you'll have to sit in for the retests and thus, taking you right away from playing until the examinations are over. Simply put, fail and you won't be playing basketball. Nijimura-san also said whoever fails cannot practice, either. You'll have to run around the field, until practice is over for one week." That's when the tanned male's face paled, much like a white sheet of paper.

"What?! Why didn't I know this?!" He screamed, making the innocent tealnette cover his ears so he wouldn't have to resort to buying hearing aids. He subconsciously jabbed Aomine's side to stop him from whining and yapping about how he badly needs help. "Maybe if you bothered to attend classes and assemblies, you would've known that, wouldn't you?"

Flinching by his reply, he felt something wrap around his arm and when he turned to see what it was, Momoi was clinging onto him. "That's right, Tetsu-kun~!"

I like being around them. But...

"I don't understand, Tetsu. The more I try, the more it makes it boring." Tetsuya heard the unmotivated tone in his voice, and it made the phantom stop on his tracks. "That's ridiculous, Aomine-kun. You'll find someone soon. I won't say you definitely can do it, but if you quit, you'll definitely won't." Aomine's eyes widened hearing those words, making him turn to the smaller tealnette. "Seriously.." He dragged the other to an alley, leaning towards his ear.

"This is why I love you." The last sentence made the sapphire eyes widen in surprise, and before he knew it, he felt cold lips on his right cheek. "Thanks for always being here for me, Tetsu. I really appreciate it." The Ace wrapped his arms around the shorter male, head resting on his shoulder. "I don't know what I would do without you.."

"Aomine-kun is such an idiot." He blurted out. "I would say the same. If you didn't tell me to stay, I know I wouldn't be here, making all kinds of memories with you and the others." He smiled, and for the first time, Aomine blushed. Wow, teasing him was fun.

"Seriously Tetsu, you're gonna pay for that." With that said, the tealnette felt the same lips again, but on a different place.

They were on his lips.

When they parted, Kuroko froze on his spot and Aomine let out a chuckle. "So cute.."

Soon after, Kuroko pushed him away and turned around, obviously embarrassed with the other's actions. "Idiot."

And they spent the rest of the evening teasing each other.

So, I locked myself up in out dark, cold memories,
As I replay our worst moments like a tragedy,
I was a monster at night who kept coming back,
But when the sun came out, I felt I was under attack.

"Hey, Tetsu. Remember that time when you said I'll find someone worth playing with? Someone worthy enough for me to call a rival?" He asked, and Kuroko nodded. "I do, why?" The taller male stopped and the shorter male looked at him, head lolled to the side.

"I can't find that person." The bluenette went straight to the point, making the Aquarius sigh. This again? "You'll find some-" Before he could even finish talking, the other cut him off with a harsh and tired tone. "When?"

"I'm not sure, but you'll find him." Aomine began laughing, shaking his head. "You just don't get it, do you?" Turning to face his teammate, Kuroko's own sapphire eyes widened when he looked into the other's own eyes.

They were dead.

It didn't have the colour nor the spark it usually did. It didn't have the shine that always reflected the light. His eyes were void of life, needless to say it made Kuroko's heart break. It was just... empty.

"Don't say something that isn't going to happen, Tetsu. The only one who can beat me is me. We both know that." Turning around, he began walking, leaving the petite man all alone by the school gate, deserted. The said male looked down before turning around and walking away, taking a different path home as the lingering feeling of isolation began to grow in him.

Kuroko felt useless. Aomine was there for him, cheering him up, putting a smile on his face, so why couldn't he do the same? He was frustrated by the fact that Teikō's ace was so stubborn. That, or the fact that his friend needs him and he doesn't know what to do. Ignoring him wouldn't do any good, but neither would trying to help him because he rejected all the needed help. Maybe I'll just try one last time..

After practice, Kuroko met with the other, saying that he'll be the one that Aomine was looking for. To his surprise, the latter laughed at him before standing up, pinning him on the lockers. The blue jewels looked bored into the other's, it made Kuroko feel weak and his legs trembled.

"You know Tetsu, you've been really annoying

lately." Tetsuya's eyes widened, not believing that the one that was saying this was Aomine. Was the one before him truly his best friend? The one who said 'don't you ever give up'? The one who made his miserable days happy? Him? Aomine Daiki?

It was hard to believe that this was that same boy.

"Remember the time I kissed you? That was so you would just shut up. You actually had the guts to use my words back at me? Pathetic. I never actually had feelings for you, stupid. That's disgusting." Hearing those words, Kuroko looked at the floor, subconsciously clenching both of his fists as tightly as he could. "I don't need you anymore. You're completely worthless to me." With that said, his light took a step back, turned around and walked out of the locker room. And as the void in Tetsuya's heart continued to grow, his world turned dim and so did his hopes of finding the light in Aomine's eyes.

"He left..?" He placed a hand on his chest, clutching it. Looking down, Tetsuya felt as if he couldn't breathe. Those cruel words that his light- no, former light said, was it true? Was that what he felt? Did he really have no feelings for him at all? "It hurts... Is — Is this what how pain feels like?"

Suddenly, the door opened, revealing a blond boy that the heartbroken child knew all too well... "Kurokocchi.."

I wanna let you go but my heart stays the same,
I think it's best to move on,
I feel like letting go, let my heart drift away,
I think it's best if we just go our separate ways..

That's the end of the first chapter! Hope you guys enjoyed it! Do leave your review!
Credits to my saltmate for editing

Here's the link to the song: watch?v=S3qlD5mwkfQ

Until next time!