Author's Note: Heyo! So I'm back. Hasn't been too long, has it? Mild cliffhanger last time, but this chapter should clear up some things. (Sort of.) Hope you guys enjoy!

Chapter 4

I burst out laughing.

Be my girlfriend.

The idea is so preposterous that he can't possibly be serious.

Looking back on it, laughing might've not been the best choice, but perhaps I was so shocked that my body just reacted without thinking.

Still lying on the ground, Aomine just sighs, looking up at the sky as he waits for me to finish. He even has the nerve to close his eyes again.

I suddenly stop laughing.

"Wait," I say. I hold my hands up before me. "What did you just say?"

He cracks his eyes open into slits. "Do I have to repeat myself?"

I move over to him so I'm standing right beside him and lean over to stare him straight in the eyes for emphasis. "What. Did. You. Say?" I ask, punctuating each word deliberately.

"Be my girlfriend. Go out with me. If you do that, I won't tell anyone about your guilty pleasure."

"My — my —" I stutter, my face going completely red. "Why, you —"

He sits up suddenly, and our heads almost collide. I wheel backwards, my hand wind milling around me, and fall onto my bottom. Just as quickly, he turns until he's right in front of me. Our positions are now reversed — me on the ground, him towering over me.

For a moment, I just stare at him. When I first saw Aomine Daiki, I wasn't sure what to think of him. He was different than the other boys, that's for sure. He had tanned skin, navy-colored hair, and intense, dark eyes, and carried an air of both carelessness and arrogance.

I was a little curious about him at first. Apparently he was some big-shot basketball player and our school was really lucky to have him, and I wondered what someone like that was. However, I quickly learned that probably because he was so talented, it meant he didn't care one bit about his education. In other words, he was lazy. Didn't do any of his work. Skipped classes half the time, leaving me without a partner.

As I stare at him now, I wonder if anything's changed since I met him. It's only shortly after the beginning of second-term. From what I've heard from people in class and Hana (who hears plenty of gossip herself and likes to pass it onto me since I complain about him so much), Touou placed second in the Inter-High, the summer basketball competition. I really couldn't care much about that, but apparently a lot of it was due to the fact that we acquired the ace of the Generation of Miracles himself: Aomine Daiki.

Still, sometimes I can't compute the boy I know in class with the tales of the amazing basketball player I hear about.

And now, the boy staring at me.

His eyes, which usually carry a look of apathy — and sometimes even distaste — in them, are focused completely on me. I take in the creases in his forehead, the sharpness of his eyes, and then, the shape of his mouth as he opens it to say something to me.

"It's your choice, of course. But it works out for both of us. Satsuki's been bothering me lately, saying I should make some friends or something. And you get to keep your precious secret."

"Satsuki?" I say, that being the only thing that registered. "Who's that?"

"Momoi Satsuki. She's the manager of the team."

A girl, then. "Wouldn't you rather go out with her?" I say, unable to think of anything else.

He stares at me for a few seconds, then lets out a laugh. "Go out with Satsuki? Are you kidding? We've been friends for ages. That's disgusting. She's like my sister."

Oh, so that's how it is.

"But . . . ," I venture, "we're nothing alike. We have nothing in common. We don't even like each other. So why on earth . . ."

"Simple," he says. "I need to get Satsuki off my case. And there have even been some other annoying girls . . ." He trails off, glancing at me, then shrugs. "The point is, there's really no chance either of us will fall in love with the other, is there?"

He says it so bluntly it's almost offensive.

It's true, though.

Something similar to a shockwave runs through me. I shake myself slightly. Then I glare at him. His lips twitch with something akin to amusement which only makes me angrier.

"You're such a jerk!" I say. "Blackmailing me into this! I can't believe you!"

"It'd be beneficial to you, too," he says, shrugging again like he really doesn't care what my opinion of him is. "Haven't you noticed that everyone's been splitting up into couples lately? As the holidays near, it'll only get worse. People will wonder about you. This way —"

"Basically," I say, "you want to say we're in a relationship so people stop bothering you to get a girlfriend. But not really commit to one. Let me guess: all you care about is basketball?"

He gives me a long look, and for some reason, I get the idea that his relationship with the sport is more complicated than the usual jock's. I take a step back and my back hits the railing of the roof. My hands reaches out behind me to grab the metal to support myself.

I can't believe this.

Just a few moments ago, it even seemed like we were getting along okay for once. And now . . . blackmail. Seriously? He wants me to be his girlfriend? And he . . . he would be my boyfriend?

And even though it wouldn't really be real, everyone would think it was. So technically, it'd still be my first relationship.

But what he said was somewhat true. Hana has been chattering way too often about finding boyfriends and my lack of interest in the opposite sex. This would put a stop to her non-stop babbling. And perhaps being the girlfriend of a popular basketball player wouldn't be so bad. Like he said, I would have no real obligations to the relationship either, so I could continue spending as much time as I wanted on my homework and reading.

Most of all, there's the fact that if I don't, he'll tell everyone about the romance novel.

"If we do it," I hedge, "there'd have to be some ground rules."

He raises an eyebrow. "Of course."

"And to keep up appearances, I suppose we'd have to go on a few dates." I cringe at the thought of spending a few hours alone with him. "But otherwise, no excessive touching. Definitely no kissing." I blush just at saying the word. "If I think of any more, I'll let you know, okay?"

"So you're agreeing to it?"

I hesitate.

He shifts his weight, cocks his head, that unwavering stare of his on me.

I say, "All right. I'll be your girlfriend. In name only."

He smiles, a sort of victorious, self-satisfied smile, that makes me a bit sick.

"Don't you get any weird ideas about this," I warn him, pointing a finger. "And don't even think about blackmailing me any further. You've already cashed it in. And don't you —"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Stop worrying so much, Kaminari."

"For the last time, I told you to stop calling me that!"

"But we're boyfriend and girlfriend now."

My cheeks flame at hearing the words said aloud. "That — that doesn't mean anything!"

"Sure, whatever. Kaminari."

"You're doing that just to spite me, aren't you?"

He doesn't deny it, but stands up, holding a hand out to help me up as well. I want to decline, refuse it, but then I remember the deal we just made, and I accept his outstretched hand. It's surprisingly warm, almost hot, and as he pulls me to my feet easily, I feel oddly breathless.

As we head toward the edge of the roof, I pause momentarily, and say, "One last question."

"Mmm?"

"What makes you think you won't fall in love with me?"

He turns to face me. This his eyes drop down.

I let out a loud shriek, my face going red, and dash away from him, slamming him back when he tries to follow me.

I can't believe what I've just gotten myself into. A surety flows within me: the certainty that I will never, ever fall in love with him.

A/N: Aomine wa hentai, da ne? Anywaaay, here we might have the fanfic falling into some cliché "the protagonists pretend to be girlfriend/boyfriend" etc. I admit, I've always wanted to write one of these . . . and fanfic is about the only place I can get away with it. :P Having Aomine be the one who does it might seem a bit OOC, but hopefully by the end of the story, it will all make sense.

Thanks for reading and hope you're enjoying the story so far! I'll try and update soon.

~ J. Dominique