Another day, another chapter.

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

Again, I must keep it short. I'm going to leave in like ten minutes to meet up with friends but I wanted to update before that - maybe I'll edit it later when I'm back! Thank you for all the favorites, follows and reviews! It's every day amazing to read your messages, I'm happy that you're enjoying this story just as much as I am.

DAY SEVENTY ONE

Mia couldn't believe that summer break was really over. The first week back in school went by in a blur, the teachers returned with their homework and long speeches. The daily routine of waking up early and catching the train in the last minute felt suddenly like a drag once more. And she had actually missed that some time in summer. Unbelievable.

What had changed the most though, was probably the lack of fear she had felt before summer break. Her tall classmate still barely made it on time. Thanks to Satsuki, he even appeared shortly after the bell had rung. Most of the time that is. But his enthusiasm concerning school still seemed to be anything but great. However, whenever they saw each other in school, there was no urge to go and hide anymore. To fear her death or anything like that - those thoughts had disappeared completely.

She could walk down the corridor with Nanami, talking about nothing in particular. And when the two saw each other on their way - only passing by - she could actually smile. Yeah, well, Aomine merely nodded his head wordlessly or when he felt like it reached for her head. Ruffling her hair while messing up the hairdo she had neatly created with her hairclip in the morning.

But it didn't feel like a threat.

Mia felt herself relaxing in her seat as lunch time came around. Her dear friend picked at her lunchbox with a slight frown, the onions in between the fried meat was something she disliked since she was a child. And her mother still tried to get her to like the certain vegetable by hiding it with her favorite treat.

"So, on the day, when we were at the street basketball thing, they had fought?"

The orange-head nodded; surprised that she hadn't told her friend sooner about the call and the following events.

"Yeah. Satsuki-san said that she was worried that Aomine would hate her...but she had already talked to a friend of hers about it...she called him Tetsu-kun."

Nanami chewed on her meal. Furrowing her brow.

"I have never seen her talk to someone here with such a name."

Mia bit into her sandwich, shaking her head as she was still trying to gulp down the portion of her lunch. She had thought the same. But the pink haired girl had been way too eager on the phone to tell her about the certain person, the voices in the background were hard to miss either. However, in the end the fight had ended quickly between them. The orange-head was certain that the years Aomine and Satsuki knew each other were a lot more important than a single disagreement.

It must be great to have someone who's like a sibling...being an only child could be lonely sometimes.

"Well." The girl finally started, after she had gulped down a piece of her meal. "She said, she was at a high school not far from here. Uh, Seirin High, I think? Her friend attends it but she knows him since middle school."

Now where she thought about it...did that mean that Aomine knew him as well? She had already met two of his previous fellow students, who had been quite a handful in her opinion. He knew the model everyone talked about, for god's sake. If that wasn't something then she didn't know what could be.

"Oh, I know that school." Nanami's eyes lit up. "Remember that last match? Before that gigantic guy appeared - the one team was from that school."

Mia leaned onto her table, the sandwich nearly slipping out of her grasp. "No way."

The black haired girl nodded knowingly, her chop sticks trying to catch another meatball she had freed from the onions. Mia hadn't really listened to all the names the announcer had thrown around, there just had been too many other middle schools and high schools whose students had attended the small tournament. It was a relief that her friend, on the other hand, remembered it.

"Yes way." Nanami countered calmly. "I think, it was the one team with the red haired guy. The one who jumped so high."

"The world is surely small..." The orange-head mused, nibbling on her sandwich as both of them remembered the certain summer day.

It would've been a too big coincidence if one those guys had been the very Tetsu-kun, the basketball club manager talked about. But Mia had to confess that she had never heard Satsuki bubble on and on about a single person like that before. He must really be a great guy, she had already sounded a lot better on the phone too - Mia had expected a crying girl on the other side of line to be honest.

Shrugging with her shoulders, she continued the meal with her friend. The bell rung soon and Nanami collected her lunchbox and drink before she slowly returned to her seat in the front. Mia sighed as she cupped her chin with both of her hands, laying her elbows onto the table's surface to wait until the teacher appeared to start the next lesson.

She still wasn't really a fan of History.

Her whole body jumped in surprise as she felt a presence behind her chair, the warmth of another person pressing against her back as her head quickly looked up to see who it was. It shouldn't have startled her as much as it did but, of course, it was the blue haired basketball player who hunched slightly forward to meet her eye.

"Wha-?"

It should have already gone hand in hand that her cheeks warmed up. He decided to appear whenever he wanted after he had disappeared. Probably to the roof - it was a miracle though that he had returned just in time to not be caught by the teacher.

"I forgot my homework."

Mia found herself scowling at him, her inner mind trying everything it could to get rid of the annoying blush. He could have just asked her normally. He could've. But no, of course he would try to startle her like that. Using every chance and opportunity he had to bug her in any way. She could even see the amusement in his eyes until she averted her gaze stubbornly. She felt so silly for reacting like this, too.

"I won't let you copy them all the time..."

The tall teen moved away from her back, choosing to waltz towards her left. Where his own desk awaited him at the very least. Her dark gaze flickered towards his familiar expression, scanning the tanned face of the basketball player who was still watching her with a silent, lopsided grin on his lips.

Out of the pocket of his uniform's sweater, he pulled a spicy bread, laying the treat onto her table. That damn, sly, stupid guy, her mind hushed as she stared at the delicious bread he had bought. With a heavy sigh, she pushed her book aside and grabbed the notebook beneath it.

"You know, Aomine. You could just do your homework instead of making your long way to the cafeteria every time."

Mia handed him her notes which he accepted swiftly, crouching down beside her table to flick it open in front of her eyes. She merely watched how he apparently chose to copy of her homework on her desk instead of his own one, his narrow gaze wandering between their notebooks as he scribbled down one word after another.

"Nah." He drawled lazily. "Too much of a hassle."

But the cafeteria was a lot more of a hassle, she thought quietly. There were many other students who bought their lunch there and that was the very reason why she didn't go there every day to buy the spicy bread, even though she really liked it.

Mia supported her chin once more with a hand, watching her classmate copy her homework with that horrible handwriting he had. By the sound of whispers and clattering chairs however, she quickly looked up - only to see the teacher step into their classroom with the same bored expression, he always wore at the end of a school day.

"Teacher is here." She mumbled.

"Ain't finished yet." He grumbled in return.

The orange-head knew so many excuses and arguments she could point out as to why he could just sit down on his own seat, taking her notebook with him even so he could finish copying in peace. But if she had learned anything till this day, than it was that he was most stubborn guy she had ever come to known.

And in the end she still let him copy her homework anyway...every single time.