Another day, another chapter.

Big thanks to...

princess thieves of heart - Glad you enjoyed it!, ksbKipper1998 - Thank you!, Lavynya - Haha, I'm happy you liked it!, Seranyan - Not this time, muhahaha., mikklystar - Unofficial official, haha. I like the sound of that. I'm glad you enjoyed it!, Savage Kill - Doesn't it? I love chocolate cake., TenraiTsukiyomi - Oh my, thank you! I'm getting slowly old, haha. And finally the Winter Cup is closing in on us!, KungFuCoffee - Thank you very much! I'm glad you like it!, HiddenCamelia - Mia and Aomine Powers activated! Watch out world! Haha., Saiko - I'm glad I could answer it before you could ask. I should really check that as well, zodiac signs and their relationships could maybe deliver some more inspiration. And I'm happy you enjoyed it! Thank you for the birthday wishes!, Navia-chan - Oh my, thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying the story. And phew...I actually wanted to be finished on the 17th March but I'm afraid it'll take a bit more chapters...around...10 maybe? I don't even know how this will end, haha., VenVen - I'm glad you enjoyed it! And Aho Dia - I'm happy you liked it! And I like embarrassed Aomine as well, haha. It was fun to write him flustered. And thank you for the lovely birthday wish [I hope you call it that? Haha.], I had a great - busy - day with the family.

I'm afraid this chapter is very short, and very late and the worst of all for you guys - it lacks Aomine. Sorry about that, I was very busy today. Family, dinner, wonderful presents and I had to push the time and plot once more into the right direction. Tomorrow I have a bit more time so you can count on a longer and fluffier chapter then.

Karen...damn, I won't finish this thing on time. Your parents lied to you, honey. You were born some time later. Very late March. Really. 'Cuz damn I'm so slow, haha. Forgive me!

Thank you for the lovely favorites, follows and reviews! And, of course, the birthday wishes! You guys are so sweet!

DAY ONE HUNDRED TWENTY

"Oh, my senpai had challenged her friend. So...in the end it became a battle between clubs."

Nanami shrugged disinterested with her shoulders, nibbling on the piece of chocolate in her hand as both of them watched absent-minded the movie on the screen. Mia however, rolled lightly onto her side, the bed beneath her rustling as the blanket got twisted by her movement.

"Just like that?"

The black haired girl nodded. "We won, too." Her violet colored gaze slowly travelled to the girl beside her. "You came pretty late to buy the anthology, had been the haunted house a success?"

Mia started to chew on her tongue. Musing about the little adventure she had experienced on the Culture Festival thanks to the blue haired teen. The class rep had found them in the end anyway, although Aomine had to face the wrath more than she did. The girl which had changed shift with her had luckily come early and hadn't snitched her to the upset girl.

The orange-head had to still thank her for that.

"I guess." She mumbled quietly. "I was kinda all over the place."

Quickly she looked at Nanami to cover up her distracted thoughts.

"But I read it on the same day; it was great - you all worked on it?"

Her friend hummed. Her lips twitched into a light smile as she scanned Mia's face, her gaze easily picking up the tiny hints of what she tried to hide. But as the girl started to fidget on the spot next to her on the bed, she showed mercy and turned back towards the television in front of them.

"Yeah. With the help of the seniors...I guess, I do have to give Imayoshi some credit."

"Ima...yoshi...Imayoshi-san? The captain of the basketball team?" Mia asked surprised while her friend nodded.

"He helped me to gather the information from his classmates, opinions, memories and all that stuff. He isn't too bad."

That was a first for her to hear. She didn't even know Nanami had met the certain senior or that they had worked together. It was rare for her to ask someone else than the orange-head for assistance. She hadn't really seen the dark haired basketball player since the practice either...so how come she and him had become friends somewhere along the way behind her back?

"Huh..." Mia breathed quietly.

"Why don't you, on the other hand, tell me about your day?"

"What?"

Nanami cupped her chin with her hand, her cool expression staring her down.

"The last days were all about cleaning up and learning. We rarely saw each other."

"Well, I...bought some food...participated in a quiz...won the second place?" Mia tried to smile but the blank expression on the black haired girl's face didn't change in the slightest. "We should focus on the exams, you know. They are starting the day after tomorrow."

"You really suck at this, Mia."

"Shut up."

The orange-head grumbled, breaking their eye contact as she tried to watch the movie once more. It wasn't like she didn't trust Nanami or something like that. It was more like she didn't know how to word it herself without dying from embarrassment. But her friend was just as stubborn as she was, still watching her from the corner of her eye.

"Nanami...what...what do you do...when you...you know...think. You, kinda...maybe, like...someone?"

The blank expression finally broke, a sly smile crawling on to her lips as she lifted a single eyebrow.

"Those were a lot words to say that you got a crush."

Mia grimaced, rubbing her face with her hands. She tried to get rid of the warmth and flushed skin which, of course, wasn't happening. Her body was betraying her. That bastard. The only good thing was that there was no one else in this room to see her except her best friend. At least a small comfort...

"I wouldn't call it a crush." The orange haired girl tried to argue. "Uh...temporary...confusion of puberty?"

"Sure." Nanami drawled.

"I just-" Mia groaned burying her face in her bed, her fingers clinging onto the blanket to keep them from scratching her own eyes out. "-you're enjoying this, aren't you?"

Nanami laughed breathlessly. "Oh, I am. Trust me."

"I just, I just don't know what to do." Mia sighed, slowly lifting her head to look at her friend. "What am I supposed to do?"

"Well, it's obvious, isn't it?"

"Not for me. Mangas always make it look so easy - a confession here, love rival there. And all the drama before the protagonists finally get together...such stuff doesn't happen in real life. Now, does it?"

Nanami shrugged with her shoulders, her smile slowly slipping away as she glanced calmly at the movie which had already reached the climax. Although neither of them had bothered to really watch it anymore.

"I dunno. Wait until the exams are over, maybe then you know if it's worth it?"

Mia mumbled something quietly to herself, folding her arms to rest her head upon them. Her friend wasn't maybe really the most helpful person concerning advice and love but she surely had the right words upon her lips to make her feel better anyway. But what if the exams were over...what was she supposed to do then if she still didn't know what to do?

Confess? Like hell. She maybe liked Aomine...but was it really like...that like?

He was rude. How did she even start to like him anyway? And why would he like her? God, it was so annoying. All those thoughts, all these questions.

"I know." Nanami suddenly said, pulling her out of her train of thoughts. "The class wanted to go out after the exams are over with the money everyone earned at the Culture Festival - that could be the deadline. Until then you check it out if it's just a 'confusion of puberty'."

"Oh, stop it. I can hear you laughing over here."

The black haired girl smiled. "I'm not laughing."

"You are. On the inside, stop it."

Nanami shook her head, amused by the antics of the girl beside her. But slowly she stretched her arms and legs out, relaxing her sore muscles. Both of them enjoyed the calm before the storm. The exams which once more tried to ruin their simple school life with all the pressure and grades which had to be good enough or else their parents would throw a fit.

However, the black haired girl hadn't expected that her friend would have realized her feelings so fast. She had expected to see her struggle a little bit longer, although that side of Mia was still amusing as well.

"I hope we won't do Karaoke." Nanami hummed, settling down again to get more comfortable.

"Me, too."