Another day, another chapter.

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Oh my gosh, sorry for the rant! I just love to reply and answer questions! If it's too much text, tell me and I'll move it beneath the story or reply in PMs! I'm just really happy that you like the story and I want to thank you guys for all the follows, favorites and reviews.

DAY FOURTY

"Oh man..."

She stared at her mobile phone, lying across her bed as the summer heat crawled upon her skin. Three days had passed since they had played at the gym; Nanami couldn't visit her anymore since her parents had started packing their stuff. Her dear friend would stay two weeks in the country where her grandparents lived. Which meant she was left all alone till she returned...

The girl grumbled to herself, her mind had been debating with her inner voice since an hour if she should text Aomine instead. She didn't know what to do, her father was still working and her mother wasn't really someone who would play video games with her...maybe she should call Momoi - or better said Satsuki instead? The pink haired girl had been so thrilled as she had agreed that they could call each other by their first names.

But even though the bubbly student was nice and easy to talk to, she didn't really know her as good as her classmate for example. He had offered it anyway. Mia was certain by now that they really were friends...but somehow it still felt weird to ask him. It was strange, wasn't it? It had to be, because she was ready to pull her hair out by now out of frustration.

Finally the orange-head huffed, pressing one button after another. She acted like a stupid child; it wasn't like the tall teenager would rip her head off. Maybe he was too busy anyway, then he would just say 'no' and she would be able to search for something else to do.

'Are you free today?'

That was everything she was able to write before she quickly pressed the button to send it away. Quietly she stared at the display, waiting for a miracle to happen. But one minute slowly turned into three minutes. The time passed and her mobile phone stayed silent. See, her mind hushed, he was busy. Maybe she should go to the convenience store and buy some snacks. Or she could bug her mother until her father returned and the three of them could watch a movie together?

Mia closed her eyes, too lazy to move a single muscle as the warm air filled her room. She could try to just sleep the whole day as well. It was weird to have so much free time on her hands. Could someone ever get enough of doing nothing at all? The girl was afraid she could.

But as her phone suddenly started humming a familiar short melody, she sat up startled. Surprised and slightly eager she grabbed the small device, flicking it open to make sure who exactly had sent her message. And with a little delight, she tried to deny, she read the very name of her classmate on the screen.

'Yeah.'

His reply was so short but it was a great relief nonetheless that he didn't turn her down right away. Mia tucked a few strands of hair, which bothered her, behind her left ear, her fingers busy to type a message in return.

'Want to hang out-'

No. No that sounded weird. The girl deleted the last two words, biting her tongue as she furrowed her brow. They were maybe friends but they surely weren't that good friends...it sounded strange to suddenly ask him to hang out. Well, at least in her head it did. She should word it better...

'Want to play basketball?'

Yeah, that was better. Definitely...maybe...she didn't know anymore. Mia couldn't help but sigh, she didn't have many male friends and in middle school she rarely met one of them alone. They mostly met in groups and there it was a lot easier to ask the other if he wanted to meet up with the others. With the basketball player it was just hard to imagine.

To her surprise his answer came a lot faster than before, it only took the basketball player a minute or two.

'At the park in an hour.'

Absent-minded the orange-head reached for her hair, she rarely wore it open because she always used the hair clip to keep the shoulder-length hair at bay. In the morning, it always chose to stick out in every direction, making it hard for the teenager to make it look presentable. She probably should just tie it up if she wanted to make it on time.

'Okay.'

Finally Mia stood up quickly reaching for the brush on her desk.

"Mum, I'm going out!"

She should've probably expected it. The playground they had used before was occupied by other people now. A large group of teenagers played against each other, passing the ball from one to another while their voices clashed against each other. She sat on the same bench they had waited on before. She still remembered the rainy day as she watched the strangers play.

Their movement wasn't as swift as Aomine's she noted without even trying. Her classmate always seemed to fly over the ground, easily reaching the hoop whenever he had the ball. The teens, on the other hand, moved roughly from one point to another, stopping their feet whenever they tried to pass to their comrades.

They wouldn't be able to play, she guessed. But what else should they do?

With a sigh she leaned back, using her hands to support her upper body. Now where she thought about it, he was late as well. She didn't mind waiting; she often did that for Nanami if she still had club activities while they wanted to go somewhere afterwards. But she felt a bit silly for hurrying to get here on time. Half-hearted she pushed a few hair strands out of her face, checking the ponytail she had tied at home.

"Nidori."

Her gaze quickly moved to her side where the certain blue haired guy had finally appeared. Mia grabbed her bag, standing up to meet him as his eyes roamed the playground in front of them. She could already see the frown on his face as he studied the group of people, the basketball he had brought with him spinning on his forefinger.

"Already taken, eh?"

"Yeah..." Slowly she turned towards the yelling strangers, her forehead set in wrinkles. "...didn't know basketball is so popular."

Aomine leaned onto his left leg, probably thinking just like she did, about what else they could do now. It would be weird to suddenly call it off and go home just because they couldn't play. But the girl had no idea where else a court could be which they were able to use. Mia scratched her cheek, carefully glancing up at her classmate whose stoic expression still faced the teenagers.

"I don't know - should we get something to drink? Or maybe ice cream? I feel like I'm dying here."

He finally looked at her, the ball stopped spinning as he held onto it with both of his hands.

"I know a place."

The orange-head offered him her bag to put the basketball away for now. The taller one of them easily led them away from the court and park, turning into a street which definitely brought them closer to the shopping centre of the district. Mia quietly followed her classmate, glimpsing at his broad back. It was funny that she actually got slowly used to see him in casual clothing rather than his uniform, although all he really wore were cargo pants and short-sleeved shirts. No wonder, the summer heat would burn anything else.

The pavement got slowly livelier as they reached the shopping district, children and adults were busy themselves to get their things done. Some merely hurried to the game arcade at the end of the street while some forced themselves to go to the supermarket. Mia's dark eyes flew from one shop to another; slightly curious whatever place he had talked about, but in front of a simple convenience store, he came to a halt.

"Wait a second."

"Okay?"

Aomine brushed past her, stepping into the store to their right. A bit perplexed she watched his figure from outside through the glass windows; she hadn't expected him to merely visit a convenience store but he moved towards a corner with confidence. Obviously a regular customer.

With a light huff, she leaned against the railing which separated the sidewalk from the street. Her gaze wandered from one stranger to another before she settled back to watching the blue haired basketball player through the glass. It was a bit funny how easily he towered over a handful of people, even the cashier who he talked with swiftly as he arrived at the counter.

He emerged from the store with something in his hands, a small object which was wrapped in plastic. Curiously Mia pushed herself away from the railing, accepting the treat as she scanned the broad letters on the package.

"Wah, I hadn't had one of those since forever..." She breathed, a laugh tugging at her words.

"One of the few stores which still sells them." Aomine replied, easily opening the bag to eat the popsicle inside. "I always came here in middle school."

Mia followed his example and threw the trash in a bin, biting into the icy blue treat. The taste was still the same she remembered, fresh and minty while still being sweet. The most important thing though was that it was cold. A little life savior in the beating summer heat. Aomine started walking again and this time the girl easily fell into step with him as they moved on.

"I owe you money again." She said in between a bite, licking the side of ice to make sure it wouldn't melt onto her hand.

"Just buy the ice next time." He grumbled in return, quirking an eyebrow. "A popsicle won't kill me."

"Sounds like a deal." Mia hummed. "Was your school around here if you always went to that store?"

The teenager at her side hesitated for a second. The ice started to melt right away in the beating sun, but as he noticed it, he quickly bit off a bigger piece. The orange-head blinked at him in silence, not understanding why he wasn't replying right away. However, Aomine started to speak after he gulped down the sweet coolness, giving her no chance to maybe reconsider her question.

"Teikō Junior High."

"Oh, I heard of it - it was a pretty tough one, right?"

Her classmate shrugged with his shoulders carelessly, for a middle school which was known for their strong basketball club in connection with his natural talent for the sport...the girl could imagine that for him it was easy. At least in the physical education department. She, on the other hand, had attended an average one back then, what had counted the most was that it was close to her home.

"It was fine, I guess."

His voice fell, his face slightly grimacing as he seemed to remember something he didn't want to. Afraid that it was her fault for ruining the perfectly peaceful atmosphere, the girl hurried to find something distracting in their surroundings. It was as if the world finally decided to help her as they walked past a few placards.

"Oh, the movie is finally getting released next week."

Her words caught Aomine's attention as his gaze slowly searched for whatever she had meant. Both teenagers came to a halt on the sidewalk, staring at the broad paper which had been glued to the wall of a tall building. It was the picture of a pair of animated characters, the letters bold and thick across the surface spoke of another great movie for young and old. Mia had always been a fan of Dream World.

"Aah?" The blue haired teen next to her furrowed his brow, his face slowly turning back into the typical bored expression. "That's for kids."

"It's for everyone." Mia argued, pointing at the placard. "It's even written there!"

Aomine's eyes flickered towards her, the corners of his lips pulling into a small smirk. At least his bad mood was forgotten, she thought to herself. Although she could have went without his stupid grin, right when they had established a good conversation, he found one more reason to make fun of her. But the girl couldn't help herself, she liked those family movies...her father watched them with her all the time.

"Never thought you were into kids stuff." He commented smugly.

Mia's face turned slightly red as she tried to shove him. But, of course, the tall teenager barely budged, he more or less laughed at her weak attempt, balancing the melting popsicle in his one hand to make sure nothing dripped onto his clothes. Mia scowled at him, cursing the lack of her strength as she bit into her own ice. An action she regretted a second later - the coldness burned in her mouth.

"I like it." She argued weakly around the piece of ice in her mouth. "I wanna see it as well."

To escape his judging glare, she chose to stare at the placard in front of them once more. Silently hoping that the blush would soon leave her face, because she really didn't need that right now. Aomine had enough to go on and on already even without her red face. To her surprise though, her classmate was quiet for a second, his other hand stuffed into his pocket as he examined the promotion for the animation movie quietly.

"...maybe it ain't as bad as it looks."

Finding enough courage, to at least glimpse at his profile from the corner of her eyes, she tried to make out if he meant it for real. The harsh wrinkles on his forehead had softened, the deep blue orbs were busy reading the title and subtitles on the paper as Mia finally came to the conclusion that he spared her from any mockery, he had in mind.

"Of course it's not." She mumbled.

Her hands brushed over the bag she had shouldered, the basketball formed a strange lump in it and only after she noticed that, she realized how much their plans from playing basketball had changed. She never had walked with one of her male friends alone through the city before like this. It felt weird, even more if it was with the table neighbor of hers.

"Maybe the court is now free?" Mia perked up.

Aomine blinked as he twisted his face towards her, the popsicle in his hand had been forgotten for a second and he quickly tried to save the treat from slipping away completely. The tall basketball player cursed at the sweet as if it would help him, making the orange-head smile against her own will. Even if it did feel weird, it surely wasn't so bad to hang out with him.

"Maybe." The teenager agreed, bumping into her as he started to walk back into the direction of the park. "If not I'll get rid of them."

"Wait, what?" Mia quickly asked as she stumbled after him. "You can't win against a whole group."

Aomine snorted. "They can't win against me."

She didn't know whether she should laugh or be worried about the teenagers who had played basketball on the playground. She had seen him play already, the girl had given him a handicap and even that hadn't stopped him from winning. Had her blue haired classmate ever lost a match before? Probably not with that arrogant attitude of his...

Mia found herself frowning, biting the last small piece of the popsicle off. She followed once more his long steps obediently, her feet shuffling across the pavement in hurry to keep up with his pace. But as her gaze fell to the small wooden stick in her hand, she stopped moving all together.

Aomine noticed her lack of presence after a few meters, coming to a halt himself. He turned around to her, raising one of his eyebrows in question as the orange-head still stared at the tiny object in her hand. Mia finally looked up at him in slight surprise. Blinking away the doubt as childish giddiness filled her heart.

"I won."

Their plans changed just like that again and basketball was forgotten for a while.

But strangely, neither of them minded that.