Another day, another chapter.

Big thanks to...

It's Lucy's Wonderland Madness - Thank you very much!, CopraMeow - My thought exactly :D, JapaneseDeer - Thank you! I hope you'll enjoy this chapter!, Whimsical Pallette, PhoenixRage92 - She is, isn't she? Worrying over an umbrella, haha, BBDB - Aaw, that's so nice of you! and SamTsui!

Again, I'm short on time! I must leave immediately for a birthday - but tomorrow everything is cool again and I can relax. Phew. So anyway - it's a little bit rushed, I might edit it later on but I hope you'll like it anyway!

Thank you for all the follows, favorites and reviews! I'm really happy that you all enjoy this story!

DAY TWENTY

It suddenly felt weird.

She didn't have his phone number or any other way of contacting, so all Mia could do was wait at the basketball playground where they had played before. The clock in the distance said that it was two pm in the evening. The time they had chosen because it was the perfect balance between not too early and not too late.

But it was her first time to meet him in casual clothes and not their school uniform. Maybe it was better, she mused, she was able to wear her shorts today which made it definitely easier to run around and dribble the ball without having to worry that her skirt could rile up. But shortly before she left, she suddenly wondered what she should wear. Something fit for physical activity? Or just something comfy?

Mia didn't know and it was driving her nuts. The tall teenager would probably laugh at her if she wore something like a jogging suit, even more when she missed her shot. She groaned at that thought, she must find a way to throw this ball into the hoop. She had to. Which indirectly led her to wear a grey tank top beneath a comfy cardigan; she was not risking having him make another comment about her figure again.

She must appear nonchalant. That was what matters, a poker face.

Did she ever mention that she sucked at such things? Her face was an open book. Every time when her father would play cards with her because she always saw him play that with his coworkers, he would win. That man would laugh and point at her scowling face, saying that she'd never be able to lie.

"Damn him..." Mia whispered quietly, although her lips were smiling at her sneakers.

"Nidori."

Her gaze quickly rose to meet the owner of the voice. Not far away she could see no one else but Aomine walk towards her, a basketball was spinning on his forefinger even though he was moving. It shouldn't surprise her anymore that no matter what he tried to do, as long as it had to do with basketball he was able to pull it off. Making it look like it was as easy as breathing.

If only he'd show such ease in school, too.

"Hey." She greeted him, stuffing her hands into the pockets of her cardigan.

His sober expression was broken by a yawn, his hand quickly stopped the ball from spinning as he grabbed it. And with a smooth movement, he offered her the orange colored orb; the lips slowly but surely spreading into a lopsided grin.

"So, I finally see that good shot of yours?"

Mia quickly grabbed the basketball and held it close to her chest. "Sure, you will." After a short hesitation she chose to add, "I just need to warm up first.", in order save herself a bit time.

Aomine lifted a single eyebrow, scanning her calm expression before he shrugged with his broad shoulders. She felt suddenly lucky that she chose something comfy to wear because her classmate did the same. He walked past her towards the bench at the sidelines, shrugging off his dark jacket to reveal a white tank top he had worn beneath it.

The girl waited patiently on the firm ground as he placed his hooded jacket on the bench before he approached her once more. The smug grin still plastered across his damn face to her dismay.

"Need help again?"

"No." Mia argued immediately, narrowing her gaze as she actually turned her upper body away from him. She was hoping, it would get the ball in her arms out of his reach. "Though we never agreed, I had to make the shot while playing against you."

"Hah?"

"You're like a wall! There's no way I can make one while you're breathing down my neck."

The basketball player snorted, leaning his weight on his right foot as he stared her down. "So what, ya want me to stand at the sideline and watch?"

Mia bit her bottom lip, her eyes glimpsing at the hoop behind her. "...maybe?"

"No way." With a single well-aimed hit, he pushed the ball out of her grasp, letting it bounce onto the ground. The orange-head gasped and turned around although the tall teenager had already side-stepped her, dribbling the ball effortlessly with his right hand as the grin slowly shrunk into the arrogant smirk which could only belong to him.

"Aomine!" Mia wailed as she quickly tried to fetch the ball from the giant's hand.

However, it wouldn't be the rude classmate she had come to known these past days when he wouldn't dodge her attempt easily. His narrow eyes glinted in malicious glee while the girl found herself glaring at his obvious gigantic ego which barely fitted into his stupid head. Fine, he wanted to play? Mia pushed her weight onto her left leg, ready to tackle him if she had to. She was definitely not going to lose against this arrogant, lazy guy in front of her.

"Here." She breathed as she held out a can of soda towards him.

If she had learned anything in the past hour then it was that basketball was exhausting. It took her an eternity until she finally got the ball back. And she only achieved that by tackling his side while grabbing the ball with both of her hands before he could move once more towards the side. It was obviously breaking the rules, but life wasn't fair and she sure as hell was ready to commit a crime if it meant she'd finally get her chance to throw the ball.

All he did was blink at her surprised, watching her dribble the ball hastily towards the hoop. The first try was a failure, she hit the wooden board and the ball bounced back towards the ground. All Mia could do was yell that she wanted 'One more try!' before the second shot ended in another failure. It took her four times, while Aomine had finally mustered enough pity to only stand in the back and watch her, and she was able to throw the basketball into the hoop.

Sweaty but satisfied Mia had thrown her hands into the air. That counted. It definitely did whether the blue haired guy agreed or not. She had made a shot. It only needed her last ounce of energy in exchange and now she felt muscles ache she didn't even know she had.

"I can't imagine doing that on daily basis..." She sighed as she sat down next to Aomine.

"That was nothing." He replied, opening the can.

Mia took a sip of her own drink, her gaze flickering towards his face which she only saw from the side. The grin had finally left his lips as he watched the group of strangers which had appeared after they had decided to take a break. He wore the same bored expression like always, but in contrast to her he had barely started to sweat.

Damn him and his stupid stamina.

"You're really good at this..." She started to say. "...even while skipping practice, that's sick."

Aomine gulped down a portion of his drink, his blue eyes landing on her. "I don't need it."

"Yeah, you mentioned that but...doesn't everyone need practice?"

He rubbed the back of his head, his body hunching forward as he leaned his elbows onto his knees. His gaze became colder, the lines in his face harder as he frowned at nothing in particular. But this gesture made Mia nervous anyway; she didn't like it when he did that. It felt like he was taking a big step away from her and being normal.

"The only one who can beat me, is me."

If anyone else would have said that, she probably would have laughed. But it was him and he was looking so seriously at the ground at his feet. His frown was only deepening. Mia found herself grimacing as well, her forehead set in wrinkles. It was a question if it was only his arrogance which made him say that or if they was really some truth hiding behind that statement.

The orange-head played with the can in her hands, glancing at the colorful design of it. She didn't know how to reply to that. She didn't know him well enough to just put it down with a laugh or something else like that. It was hard to muster the right choice of words. At a loud yell she looked up hastily, only to see two figures of the group of strangers cheer as they apparently won the round against their friends.

At that sight, an idea popped up in her head.

"How about a challenge?" She said quickly, turning her attention back towards her classmate.

His gaze landed on her, a half-hearted look of doubt gracing his tanned face.

"There doesn't exist one."

Eagerly the girl dug through her cardigan's pocket to pull out a nice lilac colored handkerchief. The little object only let one of his eyebrows quirk, his frown softening as confusion took its place instead.

"What's with that?" He drawled.

Mia ignored his question and urged him with her free hand to hand over his right one. Curious enough to see what she wanted to do, he did what he was told, laying his bigger hand into her rather small one in contrast. The girl brushed over his rough palm, his skin hard and thick from all the playing he must have done in the past. Mia brushed these thoughts away as she tied the handkerchief around his fingers, blocking their further movement easily.

"You can only use your left hand. It's not your good one, right?"

His narrow gaze stared at their hands in silence, his expression still a mix of boredom and calm.

"...what do I get if I win anyway?"

The orange haired girl gaped at him, a bit surprised. "Jeez, uh...I buy you another drink?"

"Nah." He shook his head, his voice rose an octave as he found something better. "If I win...I get anything I want from you."

Mia's face fell, her eyes darkening as she started to glare at her classmate. "I swear, if you say homework then...then I'll throw the ball at your head."

Aomine started to chuckle, the sound quiet and deep as he suddenly stood up, leaving his can of soda behind on the bench.

"Then...I wanna have your telephone number."

The girl opened her mouth, gaping at the tall basketball player who already stared at the group of strangers. Those were busy by now, discussing their next round of the game while the teenagers still watched them from afar. But as his words finally sunk into her head, she could feel the blush creep onto her cheeks, her nerves tingling in frustration how easily he could ask for something as personal as that.

He was definitely only searching for a way to bug her all the time! She could already see the daily messages coming where he asks her to copy all of her homework. And he sounded so confident that he'd win. She had seen him play against her; he always used his right hand. There was no way he'd be as good with only his left hand.

"Fine." She breathed, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

He won't win anyway.

Aomine threw one last arrogant grin over his shoulder before he approached the group of strangers. Proposing to join the next game. With his height and obvious stature there was no problem for him to be accepted into the team which had lost the previous round. And with a pout and determined glare Mia stayed on the bench watching the game start.

There was no way he'd win.

There just wasn't.

He won.