Author's Note: This chapter is a bit longer than normal, but I hope you guys enjoy it. There's quite a bit of Aomine/Kaminari in here, after all.
Chapter 6
"Why in the world are you here?"
Aomine Daiki stands in front of my apartment door, hands in his pockets, a surly expression on his face. He covers his mouth to hide a yawn, and his eyes squint at me. "Do you know how early I had to get up to get here in time to walk you to school?" he says.
"You don't even have to walk me to school! So why are you here?"
"Because, Kaminari," he says, putting a certain emphasis on my name that I don't particularly care for, "we're boyfriend and girlfriend now. And we need at to at least look like it. If we show up at school together, it'll be obvious. I won't need to tell anyone that way."
"You didn't want to tell anyone outright?" I ask, a little stunned. "You just wanted to spread rumors, then confirm them?"
"Sounds about right. Now, c'mon. We're gonna be late if you keep dawdling."
"Why, you —"
I huff, and grab my bag from the floor, and then with as much force as I can manage, I sling it at him. He catches it with ease, but there's a look of surprise on his face. I get a burst of pleasure from it.
"Since you're my boyfriend now," I say, pointing a finger at him, "you can carry my books."
"What all do you have in here?" he asks, and he opens the bag slightly to peer inside. "My goodness, how much do you read?"
I slap one of his hands away from the opening. "Don't peek, jerk!" I say. "That's my personal stuff. Don't be such a creep."
"Why does it matter? They're all just books. I don't care what you read."
My face goes red, thinking of just how we got into this mess in the first place.
"You really don't?" I say, my voice cracking a bit.
We stop at a corner to wait for a car to pass and he pauses, thinking over his answer. Even after the car has long since gone, we don't move.
He says, "You can like whatever you like. Allow me to like whatever I like. Is that not how it should be?"
"Most people would say that," I say, "but not many actually put it into practice."
In truth, I'm surprised by him. I thought he would've been a more judgmental person, arrogant, and thinking highly of his opinions only. But he seems oddly open and perceptive of things other people care about.
This time, when we take the train, I try to stand a bit farther away from him. I wonder if he notices. If he does, it doesn't seem to bother him at all. Honestly, there seems to be little that bothers him. It's mostly like he's a statue, immovable, untouchable, and almost unfeeling. But there are some moments . . .
When the train stops, he lets me get off first, and holds a hand out to halt a man who'd almost collided into me, too much in a hurry to notice either of us.
"S-sorry," the man says, rushing off without giving us another look.
Aomine clucks his tongue.
"Do you dislike people like that?" I ask him as we take the street to school.
"Not necessarily," he answers, which is not really an answer at all.
A few minutes later, we're surrounded by a few other Touou students, and even though Aomine and I hadn't been talking in the first place, I feel like it's become even more silent between us. Despite the warm, late summer wind winding between us, and the chatter of the other students who are eager to start their morning, there seems to be a wall of ice separating us.
I'm not quite sure if I want to break it or not.
As the crowd of students thicken around us, I see a few people shooting us curious stares. I know they could care less about me; it is only the fact that Aomine Daiki is walking into school next to some girl that they're wondering about. Someone who is not the Momoi Satsuki he mentioned earlier.
I try to ignore the stares as best as I can, but as even more people begin to surround us, lifting their hands to their mouths to cover their whispers, but their words still audible, I find it increasingly hard.
"Aomine," I whisper, nudging his arm. "Are you sure about this?"
"Getting cold feet?"
Like usual, he doesn't seem bothered.
"It's just that . . ."
"Aomine-kuuuun!" a voice shouts out.
We pause in the middle of the hallway and I spot a pink-haired girl with a sour expression on her face making her way through the crowd toward us. This must be the Momoi Satsuki he mentioned.
"Where were you yesterday?" she cries, reaching us and throwing a punch at him. "Imayoshi-senpai told you to make sure to make it to practice, didn't he? And you didn't show up at all!"
"I had something to attend to," Aomine says, his back stiff.
"Like what?" The girl's eyes dart over to me and she frowns, a line creasing her brow.
And then Aomine shocks us both and throws a lazy arm around my shoulders. He says, "I had to escort my girlfriend home. Surely you can't object to that, Satsuki? Her home's pretty far from here. Didn't want her going back alone."
"Your — your girlfriend?" Momoi practically shouts the word, and I cringe as half of the heads in the hallway turn our way.
"No way!" I hear someone say. "Aomine Daiki has a girlfriend?"
"That girl?" another one says, a tall, pretty girl who looks at me with disdain. "He could do better than that."
"Can't believe Aomine would even go for a girl," a boy right next to me mutters, and I jump despite myself. Aomine's arm around me keeps me centered, though. It lies across my shoulders, heavy and strangely hot.
"I — I didn't even know you were interested in someone," Momoi says, wide-eyed, and there's almost a sound of hurt in her voice.
"Like I would tell you," Aomine says, rolling his eyes.
I'm a little shocked by his treatment of her, but judging by Momoi's expression, it's common enough. She makes a face and glances at me, obviously curious. I attempt a smile and hope that it's pleasant.
"C-come on, Aomine," I say, and I shift underneath his arm, hoping he'll get the hint and move it. "Let's get to class or we'll be late."
I wish he hadn't made the announcement so public, but I suppose it can't be helped.
He nods, not looking at me, and without moving his arm, grips my shoulder and steers me toward the classroom. I hear a few more gasps and wonderings from the people around me, and try to ignore them as best as I can.
This is going wonderfully already, I can just tell.
"Aomine-san!" Sakurai nearly launches himself at Aomine, but the latter neatly dodges out of the way. "Is it true you really have a girlfriend?"
"Sure it is," Aomine says, sounding as bored as usual. "Kaminari."
"Kaminari what?" Sakurai blinks.
"Kaminari's my girlfriend."
Sakurai turns to stare at me. Then, he dips into a bow so fast I start. "I'm so sorry!" he says. "I'm so sorry! Tsuchiya-san, please forgive me! I didn't know. I'm so sorry!"
"No, no, it's fine," I say, holding up a hand. I try to smile at him, but only manage a kind of grimace. "It's okay. I can see why you're . . . confused."
I'm the last person you would expect Aomine Daiki to date. Which is perhaps why we're trying to pull off this farce.
"But — but that's amazing!" Sakurai says, lifting his head slightly. "You two are dating? I don't believe it!"
Me neither, Sakurai. Me neither.
"Attention, class!" Nagano-sensei calls. "It's time for morning announcements. Please get into your seats. There, there. Quiet down."
Sakurai returns to his desk, and while Aomine flops down into his and immediately lays his head down and presumably falls asleep, I sit up straight and try to concentrate on the announcements. I'm unable to, though. Because try as I might, all I can think of is the boy who is sitting right beside me, his shock of dark blue hair, his closed eyes, and the parts of his face I can see appearing almost . . . peaceful-looking.
"What is this, Kami-chan?" A voice cries out at me.
Someone runs straight into my back and I stumble forward. Aomine's arm snaps forward to steady me. By now, he's probably getting tired of keeping me upright.
I turn around to see none other than Hana staring at me, wide-eyed. She then switches her gaze to Aomine, whose hand is still attached to my arm. He lets go, but her eyes stay on him, her mouth slightly open.
"Is it true?" she asks, her voice barely higher than a whisper. "Is he really your boyfriend?"
I let out a long sigh. The number of times we've been asked that today . . . Most of the times Aomine's the one who will confirm it, and I'll just stand frozen beside him.
Now I glance toward Aomine, but when it's clear he's not going to answer, I say, "It's true."
Hana lets out a loud squeal and jumps up and down. "I can't believe it! Didn't you hate this guy yesterday?"
Aomine and I both frown. Hana continues on as if she hadn't noticed (which she might not have, knowing her).
"And now you two are dating? That is so cute! I mean, it's like a manga story! The two people who hate each other the most and annoy the other to bits realize they secretly love each other, and when one confesses their love, the other realizes that they, too, are in love, and they decide to date — and ahh, it's so perfect!"
I stare at her. Can she even breathe? "Hana, it's not like that," I manage to say. "He and I just . . ."
Just what? I glance at Aomine again, not sure of what to say, and this time he speaks up.
Except when I hear what he says, I decide I shouldn't have let him speak after all.
"I've always had a crush on Kaminari," he says, shrugging. "I just managed to finally ask her out yesterday."
He says it without even blushing or his voice cracking. Knowing him, his heart probably didn't even stutter. How. On. Earth.
My face is completely stained red, though.
"That's amazing," Hana gushes. "I knew it! I knew there was always something going on between you and Aomine-kun."
Yeah, something all right.
I manage to smile. "Y-yeah. I was a bit surprised, but . . ."
"But you realized you loved him as well! That's so sweet!"
Even though she's completely wrong, her enthusiasm is kind of contagious. I laugh and say, "Enough of that. How was your day?"
"Not nearly as exciting as yours, I'm sure. Man, I want a boyfriend, too!"
I'm sure they're not all cracked up as they're made up to be, is what I want to tell her, but instead I just smile and say, "I'm sure you'll find someone someday."
"And he'll be perfect." She sighs happily. "Are you going to the bookstore, Kami-chan?"
I'm about to say no but Aomine cuts in and says, "Yeah. She told me she'd show it to me."
Hana beams. "That's such a cool date. A nice, old bookstore? So sweet."
A bookstore? Really?
When Hana's distracted, I turn and glare at Aomine. He just smirks.
Hana says she's going on home because she has a bunch of homework to do tonight, but as she leaves, she winks at me, and I get the real reason why. I want to strangle her.
As we leave school, I hear more whispers around us, and even though I've been practicing all day to try and ignore them, they still grate against my ears.
"You're skipping practice again?" I ask him. "Do you ever go?"
"When I feel like it," he replies.
I shake my head, not even bothering to say anything to that. There's no working with this guy.
"Why aren't you in a club, Kaminari?" he asks me.
"Hmm? Well, I was going to join one, but . . . I decided to focus mainly on my homework this year and to work ahead on other things. I'm doing a lot of volunteer work in other areas as well. I suppose I might join a club next year, though. What about you? Have you always been in the basketball club?"
"Pretty much."
"I thought so. Since you're supposed to be so good and everything."
"You sound like you doubt me."
"Well, I've never actually seen you play."
"You haven't?" He sounds almost shocked.
"Yeah. Why are you so surprised? Do you think I actually would have taken time out of my day to go see one of your games? I wasn't even your friend before."
"True enough."
"So, tell me, are you actually any good? Or are the rumors just that — rumors?"
We walk for a few moments in silence. Then he says, "I'll let you see for yourself. I have a game coming up next Saturday. As my girlfriend, you should come."
Oh, right. I suppose I have to attend basketball games now.
"I know next to nothing about basketball, you know."
"I could teach you."
"No, thanks. I don't really want to waste any time learning the details. I can just watch it and still enjoy it, right? If someone dunks in one hoop, they get a point. If the others dunk in the other hoop, they get a point. Simple."
He stops and stares at me.
I grin impishly at him, and he just shakes his head. "You don't understand at all, do you?" he asks.
"Sports have never been my thing," I say. "I'm dead clumsy and have no taste for anything exercise-related."
"Mmm. I don't think I could've figured that out at all."
"Hey!" I say indignantly.
He laughs then and whatever irritation I'd had at him dissipates at the sound. It's a more genuine laugh than I've heard before and it's rather . . . pleasant-sounding.
"The bookstore isn't too far from here," I mutter.
"You come here a lot?"
I nod.
"Thought so. Judging by the monstrous amount of books in this bag of yours." He hefts my bag that's looped around his shoulder, eyeing it with distaste.
"Those are mostly school books," I tell him.
"I don't have any of these!"
"Well, there are a few extras," I admit. "An English dictionary. A thesaurus." I continue to name off a few more, and I swear his eyebrows raise higher and higher at each one.
"Do you even have time to eat and sleep with all these books you read?" he asks me.
"I get plenty of sleep," I say. "Sleep is necessary to staying healthy, so I always make sure I get the proper amount in each night."
"Wow. You really are in a different class than the other kids."
I can't tell if that's a compliment or not.
We finally reach the bookstore, and Aomine opens the door for me.
"Arakaki-san!" I call out. "Hello?"
"Kaminari-chan!" Arakaki says, emerging from one of the shelves. "I missed you yesterday — oh!" He catches sight of Aomine and his eyes widen. "Who's this?"
"This is Aomine Daiki," I say. "He's my . . . boyfriend."
Arakaki's eyes get even bigger. I tell him a lot of things and have probably even mentioned Aomine before. But never as a potential boyfriend, or even a crush. This development must be quite a twist for him.
"Well, welcome!" he says, getting over his initial surprise. "Would you two like some coffee? I just brewed a fresh pot."
"That'd be lovely," I say, and I make my way to the chairs near the side of the store. I point out various features of the place to Aomine along the way.
Arakaki brings us out our coffee, and I immediately takes a few sips of the piping hot liquid, savoring the sweet bitterness, but Aomine doesn't touch his. He stares out the window, leaning back in his chair like he already owns the place.
"Do you not like coffee?" I ask him, frowning.
He stares down at his cup. "It's too bitter for me," he says.
What kind of person did I choose to be my boyfriend?
Fake boyfriend.
But still.
"You can put more creamer in it," I say. "Have you tried it like that before? It's really nice and sweet, then."
He eyes me suspiciously, but when he doesn't object, I call Arakaki over for some more creamer which he happily brings, saying he always prefer sweet things as well.
I pour a copious amount of creamer into Aomine's coffee, then slide his cup closer to him. "Try it now," I coax. "It's good, I promise."
He stares at it for several moments like it's dangerous and I almost laugh. Finally, though, he grips the handle of the cup, and lifts it to his lips. He takes a long, slow sip before lowering it.
"How was it?" I ask. "Good, right?"
"It's . . . not too bad."
I grin. "Don't be so modest. It was awesome, I know. You know what's really good? Chocolate and coffee together. It's amazing. Though chocolate's great with everything . . ."
I trail off, realizing that he's staring at me with amusement. He takes another sip of the coffee and I feel strangely victorious and quite proud of myself.
A/N: So we're now getting deeper into the story, past the beginning and all. I'd love to hear what you guys think so far. Thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed!
~ J. Dominique