Aomine frowned as he looked back down at his paper, tapping his pencil impatiently as he tried to focus on his notes. He didn't understand why the teacher would give so much damn homework when he didn't teach them anything. How the fuck was he supposed to answer any of the questions if he had nothing in his notes that gave him so much as a hint to the answer.

It didn't help that when he looked over to his right, he could see the blonde model happily texting on his phone, talking to someone. At first, he didn't care much, thinking it was probably his manager or something. But as he subtly begun to watch the blonde, he noticed how a small blush started to grow on the boy's cheeks. Who the fuck was he texting?

After he had made the decision to text Kise, his question was answered. Apparently, he was texting a basketball player from a random school. He didn't care to know the boy's name, only being curious about if the blonde was talking to his supposed crush. Kagami might have told him that Kise had a thing for him, but Aomine wasn't about to take the teen's word now. He wasn't about to let the blonde slip through his hands because he let his guard down.

He almost smiled at the thought the two of them were going to hangout tomorrow. It was rare from them to actually plan to meet up, because they usually ended up going out for dinner after practices. It was somewhat natural to spend time with the blonde after school now, but Aomine liked the fact that the boy was especially making time for them to hangout.

Before Kise knew it, the day was over, and it was time for practice. Surprisingly he hadn't been able to talk to Aomine much since the messages this morning. He had been pulled into festival preparations during lunch time, and Aomine had texted him telling him that he was spending the lunch with Momoi. He expected as much, since the basketball player wasn't very keen on helping out with such things as school festivals.

"Hey, Kise. Gimme your water bottle." Aomine demanded as they took a short break from their small scrimmage game against the second strings. Aomine was merciless as always, and Kise noted the way beads of sweat rolled down his toned biceps. Damn, for a high schooler the navy haired had an amazing body. Kise could vouch for that, especially since he was surrounded by models frequently.

"You really should remember to bring your bottle sometimes." Kise pouted as he reluctantly handed the plastic bottle to the boy. They were surprisingly getting along well, and the blonde noted that Aomine seemed almost happy as he walked back onto the court and grabbed the orange ball. He'd like to think he had something to do with the other's sudden change in mood, but really, he wasn't quite sure.

Despite this, seeing Aomine happy oddly made Kise happier.

Their relationship could still be considered rocky and unstable at some points, but Kise had grown to look past the little things. They were teenagers, of course things wouldn't be like those dramas on television. There were still things he needed to clear up and reveal, but Kise knew that it had to be at the right time. Along with the obvious secret he had been hiding from Aomine, Kise also wanted to address the reason he had rushed out so suddenly on Friday.

It wasn't like he cared if Aomine's parents found out about their son sleeping with another boy, but Kise definitely didn't want to meet the other boy's parents like that. It was embarrassing, and Kise was not about to be introduced to the family with a disheveled appearance and hickeys on his neck.

Looking back, he panicked, and rushed out of there as soon as possible. Now he had to explain the misunderstanding to the navy haired, because Kise wanted to let the other know he wasn't ashamed of what they had done, not in the least. He was still getting used to feeling that their relationship was almost official, all that was left was to reveal that he was actually in love with Aomine and not Kagami.

Kise knew that things could turn out bad. It could possibly end their relationship and friendship altogether. Aomine could end up hating his guts, or completely rejecting him. But like that time in the hallway where he witnessed Aomine making out with Misa, Kise knew that the navy haired's feelings had grown since then.

The practice was even more enjoyable, and the game went by swiftly, Kise and Aomine passing the ball back and forth to one another, scoring basket after basket. It was almost unfair to the second-string members who struggled to keep up and tried to make a shot ever so often. Surprisingly, Momoi hadn't bothered to address the large advantage the first-string team had with the two first year players. She had actually encouraged it. It was the first time she had seen them play this well together.

And once they finally wrapped up the one-sided game, the pinkette pulled the boys aside to speak to them.

"Did you guys practice that?"

"Huh?" The dumb response came from Aomine, and she rolled her eyes at the boy.

"The game today, did you guys practice with each other or something?" She said excitedly, wondering if maybe the two could explain how they passed the ball around the court without so much as a pause. It would really benefit the rest of the team to learn something like that.

Sadly, instead of response the only thing she got was an odd stare from the two basketball players.

Were they kidding? Did they not realize how well the game had gone because of their teamwork?

"You're telling me you guys didn't practice passing before this game?"

"I don't know what you're talking about Momoi-cchi." Kise said, finally catching up to what the girl was referring to. "Aomine-cchi and I didn't plan anything, we just played like we normally would."

Momoi wanted to tell the blonde that it was the first time she had seen them play so effortlessly on the court, but as she stopped herself short. If they hadn't realized it yet, then she wasn't going to be the one to tell them, even if she loved them both very much.

"Never mind, go get changed already. Practice is over." She finally sighed, knowing that these two could be complete idiots when it came to anything other than basketball. She was happy that things seemed to be working out with the two right now. All she was waiting for now was the day they announced that they were finally dating.

She only hoped that would be sooner than later.

Kise didn't bother to change out of his basketball uniform, instead he stuffed his school uniform into his gym bag and quickly exited the change room. His eyes locked with Aomine's on his way out and giving the other a small smile Kise left. Unlike his dinner with Imayoshi, Aomine hadn't insisted on tagging along, which made Kise feel secretly happy. Most of his life revolved around his relationship the ace, but it was nice to have something else other than work, school, or family. He hadn't really had the opportunity to make much friends since he moved and to know he had made one all by himself made Kise happy.

It wasn't like he had a problem with the boy meeting his new friend, but it was nice to see that they could go out and do things with friends and not have to worry about anything. Kise had always hated being tied down by others and this time wasn't any different.

His phone began to vibrate at that moment. Kise pulled it out and answered it immediately.

"Hello?" He asked.

"I'm here." He heard the voice as he exited the front doors of the school. Turning to his right, he noticed Haizaki leaning against the wall, phone in hand and a school bag slung over one of his shoulders. Kise smiled as he approached the boy, hanging his phone up and slipping it back into his bag.

"Let's go?" He heard the basketball player suggest, before he gestured to the front gates of the school. Nodding Kise begun to walk towards the exit of the school grounds and towards the court near his house. He missed the odd look Aomine gave to the pair as they left together.

Walking along the sidewalk, Kise laughed as Haizaki told him a story about how a poor first year mistakenly walked into the wrong classroom this morning.

Surprisingly, despite the others scary look and intimidating appearance, he was actually really easy to talk to. Time went by too fast when Kise was with Shougo and before they knew it they had already made it to the court.

Both of them wasted no time in warming up and getting ready for their one on one. Kise was excited to see what the high schooler could do when he went all out. And he was no where near disappointed when he finally saw it. The boy was good. More than good. He was in the same category as all of the top tiered players he had gone up against.

Midorima, Kagami, or Aomine.

In no time at all, Kise was lying down on the cement paved ground of the court, panting loudly and sweating profusely. Damn, he had slightly underestimated Shougo.

"So, how was that, Ryouta?" Haizaki asked, as he looked down at the model panting below him. "Did I get you as worked up as you would be during sex?"

The question caught him off guard, but he rolled his eyes and pushed his upper body up enough that his hands supported him from falling back down.

"Not even close." He said, a smirk adorning his pretty features as he wiped the sweat away from his forehead.

A deep chuckle came shortly afterwards as Haizaki settled himself next to the blonde. "Guess I'll have to work harder next time."

"I doubt you'd ever get me that worked up." Kise said.

"Oh, really?" Haizaki asked, the playful smile reappearing on his face. "Your boyfriend really is something then?"

It was odd, really. Kise never would have believed he would find someone as comfortable as Haizaki to talk about his sex life, besides Aomine. Even then, whenever he got onto the topic with the power forward, it would usually end with Aomine sticking his tongue down Ryouta's throat. Not that he found that bothersome, but it was nice to talk about it in another context.

"Have you ever been in love, Shougo?" He suddenly asked as Kise gazed up at the sky, the sun showing it's first signs of beginning to set. He could tell the boy next to him had tensed up at the question, and he slightly wondered if Haizaki had wanted him to continue their playful banter. However, the answer he hadn't been expecting came a few seconds later, in something that could barely be considered a whisper.

"Yes."

The blonde's head snapped sideways, letting his gaze fall upon the other boy's face. He noticed how Shougo's eyebrows were pushed together and the way his mouth was turned downwards into a frown. His eye's looking up onto the vast sky. He was thinking about something, probably something unpleasant from the looks of things.

"But love is something that's always fleeting." He suddenly said, before he gave a small chuckle. "Maybe one of these days I'll be able to catch it."

Kise could feel the pain from the bitter words, and in that moment, he leaned forward, his gaze looking down onto Haizaki's sweaty face before he pulled the other into an awkward hug.

"I don't need your pity Ryouta." He heard a few seconds later, and Kise pulled himself away from the embrace. "But if you weren't taken, I probably would have gladly accepted it."

Rolling his eyes, the model got up from his spot on the ground. Smiling as he walked over to the forgotten ball at the edge of the court.

"Fine, I guess we'll have to get your mind off of things another way." He said, letting the ball rest on his hips. "Up for another game?"

"Anytime Ryouta."

Kise and Haizaki's game ended long after the sun set, and the blonde soon realized that he should probably head home when the street lights near the court started to flicker on.

"We should probably head home." He heard the taller boy say, and Kise nodded as he walked over to his forgotten school bag on one of the benches.

"Let me walk you home." The raven suggested as he watched Kise gather his things. The model rolled his eyes at the suggestion as he approached the taller boy, slightly wondering if Haizaki was only doing this to tease him.

"I'm not a girl." He finally said.

"And I'm not blind. You're a tired high schooler, who's a model." He explained as he grabbed the others wrist and pulled him forward in the direction of their houses. "I bet any creep would love to jump you on your way home."

Kise was silent for a moment as he watched the other pull him down the sidewalk, as a comfortable silence fell between the two teenagers. For some reason he like the way Haizaki showed his concern. It wasn't like he was shy about telling Kise that he was worried about him, but the blonde knew Shougo wouldn't fully tell him that he cared about him enough to make sure Kise got home safely.

The two boys walked like this for awhile, Kise letting the other pull him along by his wrist and Haizaki loosely gripping the others arm as he led the teen home. It wasn't a long walk, considering the court had been within walking distance of both their houses, and Kise didn't bother to pull his hand away. Before long, the two of them were approaching a familiar house, that had the front lights on and a small sign near the gate that read Kise.

"Thanks for today." Kise said as he felt the small tug of Haizaki's grip disappear altogether as they stopped in front of the entrance.

"No problem, Ryouta." Haizaki said as he reached out to rustle the other's golden locks. Kise laughed a bit as he swatted away the hand and pouted.

"You treat me too much like a child, Shougo." Kise said as he looked up at the basketball player.

"Whatever." The other said before he turned to leave. "See you soon, text me when you want to get your ass kicked again."

"Like you could ever beat me." Kise yelled as the other walked away, a small wave of a hand showed Haizaki had heard the model's words.

Aomine sighed as he looked down at his phone. The blonde idiot hadn't bothered to text him back after Aomine had been so kind to inform him that they didn't have practice on Friday. Apparently, the gym was going to be used for the upcoming school festival, which meant they didn't need to show up for practices for about he next week. Aomine knew he probably could have waited until tomorrow to tell Kise about the cancelled practice, but for some reason he wanted to make sure the model had come home already from his meeting with his friend.

The power forward had no objections about Kise spending his time with other people, he actually thought it would do the blonde some good, considering he could get pretty annoying when he was bored, but as he watched Kise walk out of school with some unknown guy he begun to feel uneasy. Maybe it was from the way Kise looked as he spoke to the other teen or the way the two of them walked just a little too close together, either way it left him with a bitter taste in his mouth.

Just as he was about to send another message to Kise, asking if his phone was dead or something, his phone vibrated, indicating he had gotten a text message. Opening the locked screen Aomine quickly read the message and who sent it. He frowned as he noted that it wasn't from the one person he had hoped, but quickly pushed the thought aside.

[Misa]: Aomine-kun, I know we haven't really talked much lately but I was wondering if you're free on Thursday night?

The navy haired frowned as he re-read the message, letting the question sink in before he begun to contemplate the offer. Aomine wasn't sure why he hadn't bothered to delete the girl's number, but he really didn't want to deal with her now.

It wasn't like they had ever been serious, and although Misa was a pretty girl, he had other things to worry about at the moment.

[Aomine]: I told you already, it's over. We both knew that we'd have to end things eventually, and I rather not be friends with you.

[Misa]: Why not? It's just one night, I'm not asking for sex. I just want someone to spend time with. Go out for dinner or something.

[Aomine]: You can find another guy to do that stuff with.

[Misa]: Aomine-kun, please.

The plead came as a surprise to Aomine as he wondered why the girl was being so damn persistent. It wasn't like she cared for him or anything, Aomine knew this much from the way the girl talked about other guys. She had definitely been with others, so why did it matter if she lost one of her sex friends? Couldn't she find another one?

[Aomine]: Why?

[Misa]: Because it's my birthday that day, and I rather not spend it alone.

[Aomine]: And spending it with me makes it better? Hang out with your friends, or a guy.

[Misa]: I would, but everyone's busy with their own lives. Just please. It's only one night. And it's just as friends.

As much as a selfish asshole everyone believed Aomine to be, the teen frowned as he read the last message. It wasn't like it bothered him if he spent time with the girl, outside of the bedroom, but he had never considered such a thing. Despite this he typed the words and pressed send before he could stop himself. Maybe it was because he hated to see a girl sound so lonely, or maybe it was because of his past experiences with relationships that made him feel guilty about ending things they way he had with Misa, either way he had never viewed her as someone bad, so he sent the message.

[Aomine]: Fine, pick you up at seven.

Little did he know that he'd soon come to regret it.