After the shopkeeper had wrapped up my purchase, I took the bag and stared at the ground walking next to Hinata.

He insisted that he wanted to buy me the outfit because I looked 'stunning' in it. This was something I usually didn't wear, but, I'd be lying if I didn't feel beautiful in it. Yet, I felt conflicted because I was both happy he bought it for me, but, I still needed an explanation.

How would I ask though? The thought of him admitting to sleeping with anyone else made my blood boil. On top of that, who was I to judge? We weren't dating. So he had no obligations to me.

Plus, I had gone on at least one date after so much pressure from the volleyball team and my tennis teammates. They had hoped it would get me out of the rut I'd been in since Hinata and I'd broken off things.

They offered to set me up on blind dates to ease me back into the dating scene. I, on the other hand, wanted to treat it like a bandaid and get the damn thing over with. So, I asked the one person I knew wouldn't make a big deal about it.

VANJI!

I jumped and nearly dropped the bag I'd been carrying, "Whoa! Huh?"

"You nearly walked into that pole there!" Hinata warned.

"Oh.. umm.." I bit my lip embarrassingly, "Sorry.. just a lot on my mind."

"You saw them huh?" he interrupted.

"Them?" I tilted my head.

"The condoms." he said bluntly.

"Hinata!" I hissed looking to be sure no one was around to hear.

"They're not mine." he explained.

"Heh.." I chuckled darkly, "Wouldn't any guy say that?"

"And I'm not any guy.." he defended, "Vanji.. you KNOW me. I would never!"

I turned away and crossed my arms, "You slept with me.. what would stop you from-"

"BECAUSE IT MEANT SOMETHING WITH YOU!" Hinata shouted.

I was stunned by the seriousness in his voice.

"Baby.. I don't think you understand.. you are my everything. Everything we did together and felt was because only you could do those things for me," Hinata sighed, "You are the only one who can have this effect on me."

He walked over to me and wrapped his hands around my waist and pulled me in close. I could feel his heart racing.

"It's you.. and only you," Hinata smiled.

I blushed and put my hand gently on his cheek. He closed his eyes and nuzzled against my palm.

"You're such a hopeless romantic aren't you Shoyo?" I smiled.

"Only for you.." he murmured and kissed my palm, "Now come on. Let's go back to my place and get you rested."

I nodded and followed behind. I felt my stomach churn. Should I tell him I'd gone on a date with someone else? Not that anything had come of it, but, I felt terrible knowing he'd gone out of his way to honor me. Did I betray his feelings by doing so?

~ FLASHBACK ~

Geez.. why did I even do this?

I knew very well that I was fine. Sure, I'd learned basically every ice cream flavor Ukai's shop had to offer thanks to my many broken-hearted late night binges. But, who was it hurting really?

I paced back and forth debating my decision when the doorbell rang. I overheard mom greet them at the door and call me to come to the living room. I swallowed my pride, straightened my skirt, and marched my way into the room.

"Heh.." he chuckled, "You know you don't look half bad, Vanji."

"Oh screw you Tsukishima.." I growled.

Tsukishima stood and offered his hand, "Well.. are we going to go out or what?"

I begrudgingly took his hand and followed behind him.

He's definitely going to make me regret this...

We had both decided to go to the movies. It just so happened to be the opening day for another Jurassic Park movie. I'd known Tsukishima wanted to see it, but he wouldn't admit it, so I'd bought the tickets without mentioning it to him.

When I flashed the tickets, I saw the brief flash of excitement in his eyes. I grinned when he hurriedly swiped the tickets from me and dragged me inside.

We both enjoyed the movie and absolutely relished in the moments of character overkill. We knew we probably both looked like a couple of psychopaths, but we didn't care in the slightest. It felt so nice to laugh and enjoy myself with someone.

Tsukishima didn't mind sharing his snacks with me either, which was rare. Usually only Yamaguchi got the opportunity to share things with him. So, I felt pretty honored at the gesture.

When the movie ended, we went to a ice cream shop nearby to get a last minute sweet. He'd gotten strawberry ice cream and I'd ordered the shops special menu item, blueberry lavender.

Tsukishima scrunched his nose while watching me eat.

"What?" I snapped.

"Since when does a flower go into ice cream?" he gagged.

"Since it does!" I argued, "It's really good honest!"

"No way.." he turned away, "I don't trust anyone who thinks that's a dessert."

"Just try some!" I pleaded.

"No!"

"Tsuki are you scared?" I taunted.

".. absolutely not..."

When Kei Tsukishima was challenged, he could be quite intimidating. The look he had in his eye was menacing and sent a chill up my spine. Without breaking eye contact, he brought his face near mine. I could feel the heat of his breath against my nose.

I stood still as stone unsure of what he was trying to accomplish. He moved in slowly and I started to panic. I squeezed my eyes shut preparing for whatever his plan was.

I flinched when I felt something cold brush against my nose. I opened one eye and realized Tsukishima was holding my ice cream cone and was eating some of it. I went to wipe my nose and found some of my ice cream.

He'd gotten ice cream on my nose.

"Tsuki..." I glared.

He chuckled and surprised me with a sudden chaste kiss on my nose.

"You may be right.. this flavor isn't all that bad," he winked.

I blushed brightly and followed him back to his car. As we rode back to my place, I could hardly look him in the eye:

What was that all about?

We arrived shortly and Tsukishima offered to walk me to my front door. We both stood outside awkwardly while looking off in different directions.

"I.. I had fun tonight," I laughed lightly.

"Me too, I guess..." he grumbled.

"So um.." I rubbed my shoulder.

"Don't think too much of it." Tsukishima blurted.

"What?"

"This was just to cheer you up. Nothing more. Just a pick me up between friends."

"Y-yeah. Thanks again though." I smiled, "We should hang out like this again sometime."

"Yeah," he shrugged, "Well, goodnight Vanji."

As he turned to leave, I called out to him:

"Goodnight Tsuki!"

In the darkness, it was hard to tell, but, I could've sworn I saw a smile.

~~~

Since the date, Tsukishima and I didn't mention anymore about it. Everything resumed as normal. We hung out every chance we could. He'd come over some weekends to help me study along with Yamaguchi on days off.

We all would go to the movies, shopping center, and random outings. Tsukishima would even video chat with me during his off times while traveling for matches. We'd grown pretty close and he was someone I'd always been able to confide in.

While we rode back to Hinata's, I stared out the window thinking about how far I'd come before his return. I'd gotten over my heartbreak and returned to the court at my fullest potential. My grades had improved and I had no distractions. Would Hinata coming back have an effect on all my progress? Could my heart take another hit? Would he be angry if he found out about Tsukishima and I's date? Should I really feel bad for my decisions?

What am I supposed to do?