Another day, another chapter.

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I have to make it short this time. I need to go shopping because my dad's birthday is tomorrow and I need birthday cake ingredients! I wanted to update still so that you won't have for too long.

The feedback was amazing, you guys are amazing. And the deadline is coming closer and closer, I'm panicking! Haha. Thank you for all the wonderful follows, favorites and reviews!

DAY ONE HUNDRED SIX

The noise around them had grown in size. Students were shifting around, discussing what had to be done next while here and there another teenager appeared from a club or other class. The door to the hallway was always open, it just didn't make sense to close it anymore since it would be rip open immediately afterwards again, exposing a girl from the Astronomy club who needed help to carry a few boxes. Or a boy from the class next door who was in need of a hammer because someone else had taken theirs.

The preparation for the Culture Festival was lively and busy. The event closed in on then while afterwards the midterm exams were right around the corner...

To say the least, the students of Tōō Academy were determined to enjoy the freedom while it lasted.

"Aomine-san, could please hand me the paint pot beside you...?"

Sakurai had stopped his movement, the brush in his hand hovering above the sign beneath him. The poor boy was already sweating; worried he'd disappoint the others with his horrible handwriting. But the girls had insisted that it had to be him doing it. Because apparently, his writing was the neatest of the class even if he couldn't believe it at all.

The blue haired basketball player was on the other side of the sign in front of him. His tall body crouched down while he tapped the still unused paintbrush in his hand against his shoulder. His frown deepened as he lifted an eyebrow at his fellow team member.

"I told ya to quit the 'san', Ryō. I ain't my old man."

Sakurai paled as he quickly bowed his head a handful of times. "I'm sorry! I didn't intend to insult you, I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

"Cut it, Ryō."

The brunette bit the inside of his cheeks, nodding once again. "I'm sorry..."

Aomine sighed, tired and bored. He handed the annoying paint pot to his classmate while he wondered why he even had to stay here. The moment Satsuki had heard about the possibility to gain points if you helped out in the preparations for the Culture Festival, she had been bugging him every day when they went to school or walked home. To make sure that he wouldn't drop the chance of securing his clear for the next school year.

At least he was able to shove all the work onto Sakurai most of the time. The shy boy did everything without a complain, his hand gliding over the broad sign to write down the title of their event in big dark letters. All the blue haired teen had done up until was staring, yawning and figuring out when he could sneak away to take a nap anyway.

And sometimes bugging Mia when she was close by.

The two basketball players became quiet as one of them drew carefully while the other looked around the room in disinterest. The teenagers around them were busy with many things. Either discussing the costumes of the monsters they wanted to hide in dark corners or the decoration and where it should be placed. A few of the boys were already building the walls, carrying the wooden boards they had been allowed to buy into the the already crowded room.

The navy colored orbs of Aomine flew over the heads of his classmates until they settled on the familiar orange-head who talked with a girl about something. The gestures were too vague to tell what their topic was about but soon her attention wandered as someone else called her name over the noise of the people around them.

Still tapping the thick paint brush against his shoulder he slowly twisted around to follow Mia's figure across the room. It took a little while until the girl had pushed herself through a group of teenagers, carefully stepping over the wooden frames two boys were already putting together until finally she approached the entrance of their classroom. A guy he didn't know, maybe from the class down the hall, stood there. And that sight finally made Aomine's brow furrow as he narrowed his eyes at the intruder and his friendly smile.

The noise in the room was too loud to pick up their voices from his position but he saw the male student look down at his feet, embarrassed about something he said. A few head shakes and smiles were exchanged - before suddenly the girl left the room to follow the slender teen.

Aomine finally stopped his hand which had tapped the brush against his shoulder in a monotone rhythm all this time. His gaze still glued to the now empty entrance. His mind had been empty before, too bored, too lazy to even think about anything remotely interesting. All he had done had been listening and watching his shy teammate paint the sign. But now his thoughts bubbled onto the surface, rising a few questions which all concerned the boy Mia had followed just like that. Mia didn't know boys. He should know that, they hung around. They talked in break or sometimes in lessons. So who was that? Aomine didn't even hear Sakurai ask for another paint brush which lay around somewhere to his right.

The blue haired teenager was way too occupied in that very moment.

Abruptly, his long legs stretched out until he reached his full height once again. Looming over the brown haired boy and their project like a tower, Aomine stood their on the spot for a quiet second. The gears in his head stilll turning and twisting as if a machine had been turned on for the first time that day.

What in the world would a student from another class want from the orange-head?

"Aomine-kun?" Sakurai asked puzzled.

But instead of replying Aomine let go of the brush in his hand. The item fell onto the sign with a thud, smearing the still wet color with a light splatter. The brunette frowned in panic, his worried expression from before growing agitated. Sakurai sputtered, quickly picking up the brush to save the letter 'H' of the word 'house'. But the crimson color was already splattered across the white surface of the sign, leaving him flailing like a child who had broken a prescious vase.

The tall teen in front of him was gone though.

"You're a life savior."

Mia laughed at the relieved grin of the boy next to her.

"No problem, really. So...you're a classmate of Satsuki-san?"

He nodded, scratching his cheek as they walked down the hallway where he and the others were busy working on their own big sign for their classroom.

"Yeah, Momoi said that you were good in English. M friends and I are pretty much fighting ever since someone had the idea to call it 'Around the World of Colors'." The boy stuffed his hands into his pockets as he remembered their loud arguments. "Sorry to bother you."

"It's fine. It's nice to get out of the stuffy room for awhile." Mia replied. "You're making a café then?"

"Yeah, the girls wanted to do one...you're making a haunted house, right?"

The orange-head nodded, feeling her shoulders fall as they finally relaxed. She had been indeed surprised to see a stranger call her name, but as he mentioned Satsuki it was easy to agree and help out. And all they needed was help with the title and phrases they wanted to write down in English because their best student in that subject was part of the Literature Club, just like Nanami, and those were too busy with their own project to help their class.

In the end Mia was just glad to get out of the room for a while. She could need a break.

"What're you doing, Aomine-kun?"

The teen whipped his head around, startled by the feminine voice beside him which hadn't been there before. It shouldn't have surprised him though to see no one else but Satsuki standing there, her hands clasped together behind her back. Nearly innocently. Too bad the blue haired basketball player knew her better than that.

"You're not skipping, are you?"

Aomine frowned at her as he stopped walking; easily turning away from the path he had followed.

"Don't be so nosy, I was only takin' a break."

The pink haired girl didn't trust his gruff answer in the slightest, her body swaying to the side to see where he had been going because the staircase towards the roof was on the other side of the hallway. On his own accord he stepped into her line of vision, sneering at her pouting lips she used to try and make him feel guilty in any way.

"Oh, really? And where to?"

"Nowhere."

"Nowhere, huh?" The basketball club manager mused, her rosy red eyes glinting in delight. "Then I'll go and check where nowhere is."

Satsuki brushed past him before the teenager's hand quickly darted out to stop her from leaving. His mood turned darker with her cheeky smile, he should've just stayed with Sakurai after all. It was just his luck that his childhood friend decided to walk around outside as well. She had nothing better to do than to get on his nerves.

"Don't ya have work to do as well?"

The girl grumbled quietly to herself that she, unlike him, was really on a break. What she wouldn't tell the basketball player was that her friends had asked her to leave the kitchen they were allowed to use to test out a few cakes and cookies recipes. They wanted to see which they'd sell on the Culture Festival but...after the pink haired girl had ruined every single thing she had tried to bake she was sent away.

Satsuki didn't think her cookies were this bad...they were just...crispy.

"That has nothing to do with you!" She whined suddenly, hitting him against his arm.

"Momoi-chan! We need your help here."

The girl turned around to glance at one of her classmates who waved at her from afar. She returned the gesture swiftly, her lips forming a smile.

"Yokoi-chan, I was just-"

Satsuki was about to gesture to Aomine, showing that she was just on a break and talking to her friend. But the moment she turned back to the tall teenager he had already disappeared. The hallways the pink haired club manager now stood in was completely empty. With a groan Satsuki threw her fists into her hips. He always had to be so rude, it was unbelievable!

"Momoi-chan?"

Sigh.

"I'm coming~"

"Is it just me or is it suddenly cold..."

Mia looked up startled from where she had pointed at a note with her hand. She had written down a few catching phrases with the friend of the boy who had asked her. Absorbed in the letters she had checked at least three times to make sure they were correct. She had felt no change in temperature at all although the boy nodded to emphasis his opinion.

"Seriously. It feels like a ghost is sitting on my shoulder-"

He fell to his ride side with a yelp, the content expression from before a sudden grimace. The other teenagers around them jumped startled, Mia included who now blinked at him completely flabbergasted. But right where she was able to see realization appear on every other boys face, it took her a while to feel the familiar intimidating presence behind her. She had actually gotten used to it so much that it was hardly something she noticed anymore.

So all she could do was blink at the tall figure behind her whose gaze had darkened thanks to the shadows which were thrown onto his stature.

"Aomine?"

"He's human...?!" One of the students hissed as they stared at the intruder doubtfully. But he regretted his words immediately as the blue colored orbs turned their attention towards him, making him flinch beneath the piercing stare.

"Nah, Nidori. You're needed."

"Eh? But I thought..."

Aomine clicked his tongue as he grabbed her wrist, pulling her easily away from the group of boys in front of them.

"Now."

Mia tried to scowl at him but her eyes darted onto her wrist which nearly disappeared beneath his hold. She had been honestly certain that she had been allowed to have a break before she left the classroom. But she stood no chance against Aomine's strength as he continued to drag her away from the group of teenagers. Weakly, she waved a goodbye, her feet struggling to keep up with his long strides as he walked down the other hallway.

"I was on break, you know."

"Who cares?"

"Well, I do?" The orange-head tried, furrowing her brow. "...who needs my help then?"

At that question the blue haired teen actually came to a halt. In his entire brainless plan to just get her away from the guys he didn't know, he never really bothered to think about what would happen if she tried to question his motives. All he wanted was to get rid of the boy who had acted so familiar around her. The basketball player did count himself as her friend, he should know her other friends. Thanks to Satsuki he knew enough about morons who were up to no good.

However...he could hardly say all that.

He had no reason to begin with.

"Someone."

After that word passed his lips he started walking again, his tight grip on her wrist still forcing her to continue to follow him. Helplessly, Mia tried to rummage through her mind to find any of her classmates who could maybe use her assistance but she couldn't remember anyone. Even though she now was able to nearly recall every single face, she had practiced, really.

And it wasn't helping that he held onto her wrist, it wasn't that long ago when she had admitted that she maybe started to like her tall classmate a bit more than just...well...stuff. The questions in her head shrunk in size but the awareness grew with every step they took and she could feel her face burn in embarrassment because her brain just had to remind her of last Monday. And his birthday. All these little things she had spared enough attention before seemed to haunt her suddenly.

The intimacy she had never bothered to notice before.

As the taller one of them reached the classroom, Aomine finally decided to let go of her. His gruff frown landed on Sakurai who had continued their work obediently. The poor boy had given his best to save what the basketball player had nearly ruined while Mia stood right behind him, realizing how horribly obvious it must look like when she stepped into the room with her burning face.

Desperately she pressed her hands against her cheeks, hoping that her will alone would let the blood disappear. She wasn't some stupid annoying girl, she could handle such stuff. It wasn't hard. Really. Yeah. She kinda liked him. Somehow. Who knew why, but she did.

However, her whole class didn't need to read it on her flushed face.

Aomine was about to step into the classroom until Mia's hands reached out to grasp his sweater by the ends. The tall teen stopped abruptly, his head twisting around to look over his shoulder to the orange-head who tried to hide her face from his curious glance as best as she could.

"Just, just a second - okay?"

His heavy gaze rested upon her mercilessly. Not blinking or flickering away until finally he took a deep breath. The basketball player leaned against the doorframe, his eyes starting to wander around the busy room in front of him to watch their classmates scurry around instead. And of course he didn't go unnoticed by Sakurai for long who finally recognized his broad figure in the doorway.

"Aomine-kun, are you alright?"

The blue haired basketball player snorted at the shy boy, one hand rubbing his cheek as he crossed his legs to lean his weight onto one foot. His broad back still shielded the girl who hid behind him.

"Shut up."

He didn't move until Mia finally gave him an assuring push.