Another day, another chapter.

- review section removed after story ended for a better view -

Phew, I'm always struggling with the timeline because my chapters tell of daily events. The Winter Cup starts in November! And we've merely reached the end of August...if anyone of you ever wondered - yeah, I sketched down the timeline, events, plot and I count the days and which month we've reached. Gotta look how to bridge the time with events, haha.

Thank you for all the favorites, follows and reviews!

DAY SIXTY FIVE

"That boss is bullshit!"

Aomine let the controller slip out of his hands as the two of them watched their character fall to his knees. The last health points they had, vanished into thin air while the gigantic dragon screamed and breathed fire in victory. It had been his second 'game over' against the boss of this certain level. Something which actually made Mia smile secretly, though she tried to hide it from his nasty gaze.

"The only one who can beat you, is you...huh?"

The orange haired girl could feel his heavy glare on the back of her head. The basketball player lay on his bed, using his elbows to support his upper body while he faced the TV in front of them. Mia had chosen to sit on the floor for several reasons, first, she was better at playing while sitting up and not laying around. And second, because it was obviously not normal to sit on the damn bed of a guy around her age.

She couldn't believe that she was at his home again anyway.

His mother had already recognized her, smiling and chatting before her son had pushed her up the stairs to escape the innocent looking interrogation. Parents could be so nosy...she definitely could relate to that.

Right now, however, she tried to fight off the grin as Aomine gave her a light shove, grumbling something quiet to himself. But she had finally found something, she could compete in with him. Video games. Basketball was a lost cause and school didn't matter to him. But the blue haired teen got easily pissed at the animated figure on the screen when he lost while she had actually solved one or two riddles he couldn't.

To say the least, she did feel the pride swell in her chest.

"Shut up." He mumbled, his body shifting as he folded his arms to rest his head upon them. His navy eyes were watching her as she reached for the controller. "He wouldn't stand a chance against me in basketball."

Mia started to laugh, starting the level again as she glimpsed at the rather bored expression on his face. "It's a dragon." She deadpanned. "How in the world should it even play?"

The girl could see his eyes darken as he scowled at her and the simple argument she delivered. That was the very thing, she had started to enjoy when she was with the basketball player. How she slowly could see the difference between the grimaces and frowns he formed when he was annoyed or angry. That guy looked less and less like a serial killer to her. Thank god for that.

"Oh yeah, you had mentioned a few days ago that our school took the second place in InterHigh, right?"

Aomine blinked at her sudden change of the topic but her attention had already landed on the TV as she continued the game. He propped his chin with his one hand as his gaze wandered lazily between the girl and the screen in front of them. He hadn't really cared about their loss in the final because he didn't even attend it...but he found himself feeling annoyed anyway.

"Yeah...'cause I couldn't play."

Mia's head twisted around for a second to scan his profile before she looked forward again. "Who had won then?"

"Rakuzan High."

"Rakuzan High?" She echoed quietly. "Isn't that an elite school in Kyoto?"

The blue haired teenager sighed as he tried to get more comfortable on his bed. His feet kicked his pillow further aside to get more space for his long legs, it felt like he had grown a bit over the summer. His bed was already pretty long in size but his soles were touching the headboard of it when he stretched them out completely.

"Yeah. But the Winter Cup is coming, I'm goin' to crush them all there."

Mia found herself wondering how many other tournaments existed out there. First InterHigh and now a Winter Cup? Did such tournaments exist for all sports in high school, too? The orange-head merely watched the character on the screen with half-hearted interest as her thoughts started to circle around the topic and the guy behind her.

"...will your knees be alright 'till then?"

Aomine started to grin lazily at the back of Mia's head who had become quiet as she didn't hear an answer from her classmate. Slowly she paused the game, turning around to the tall teen whose expression suddenly spoke of some kind of arrogance, he hadn't carried around before - something which puzzled her as she furrowed her brow.

"What?"

"Ya really like me, eh?" He drawled confidently.

"Wha-?" Mia could feel the blood rush into her face, her surprise quickly twisting into an annoyed frown as she looked away. Just why did he always have to destroy the calm atmosphere they had created with some stupid, stupid comment or assumption? Every time when she thought, she had found a comfortable zone in between the space their friendship moved, he found a way to turn the tables.

His grin only broadened as he saw the tip of her ears glowing, a deep chuckle resounding in his throat as his amusement pushed all his previous annoyance and boredom away.

"You care." He continued, suddenly smug and Mia's face scrunched up as she bit her bottom lip.

Why had she thought it was a good idea to come here again?

"Of course." She argued. "You were hurt, who wouldn't care?"

"Hm..." Aomine's grin shrunk as he breathed a hum. His eyes were watching her stiff form as she stubbornly continued to play the game. She wouldn't let him tease her. Not anymore. Or at least not right now, she decided. She was going to beat that damn dragon and then she would point out how much better she was than him at this game.

As the basketball player realized that she had set her mind on ignoring him, he leaned forward, burying his face in the crook of her neck and shoulder which was easy to reach thanks to his position on the bed and hers on the floor. He successfully pulled a gasp from her, her body jumping at the sudden contact she hadn't expected. The controller nearly slipped out of her grasp, but she held onto it in the very last second.

"Aomine!" She breathed. "W-what are you-?"

"Shut up, I'm tired."

Mia furrowed her brow once again, she couldn't really move with his head right next to hers. His short blue hair was soft and tickled her neck and cheek while his skin felt unknown and strange against hers. If her head was ever close to exploding due to the maximum of blood which had crawled into her face then it surely would have to be now.

The orange-head had never thought about it before, but she was sure that even he could feel her heart pounding against her ribcage. The pulsating noise reaching up to her neck and ears where she could hear the organ hammering and beating out of surprise because of the invasion of her personal bubble.

Against her own will, she forced herself to calm down. Her frozen limbs were slowly relaxing again thanks to the deep breath she took. It were a few seconds, the girl believed. But her body was melting back into the bed behind her like before. Aomine didn't move though as he even closed his eyes, easily accepting the spot he had found as his new pillow while Mia struggled to keep her nerves at bay.

What was she supposed to do?

It felt like they were moving on different pages in a book.

"You're coming to one of my matches then, right?" The blue haired teen drawled, his voice slightly muffled by the sweater she wore. "At Winter Cup."

It wasn't like her heartbeat had calmed down at all. But at the sound of his calm, deep voice, she found the strength to breath regularly again. Her lungs welcomed the oxygen, she had forgotten for a second even though her nerves were still tingling where his forehead touched her shoulder.

"Sure..." Mia croaked weakly. "I'll be there."

Aomine didn't answer afterwards, his body relaxing further and further into her tense shoulder instead. At least one of them found comfort, because the orange haired girl could barely keep her concentration on the animated figure on the screen in front of them.

She never beat that damn dragon either on that day.