The next day was tough for Kise. The blonde awoke in his temporary room at Aomine's and nearly had a heart attack, not remembering what had happened. When his memory came back to him, he curled into a ball and cried, muffling his sounds as best he could.

Aomine stood out in the hall, fist raised and ready to knock on the blonde's door, when he heard a sob. Pressing his ear to the door, he listened intently, and he could faintly make out Kise's crying. Frowning, he went to the kitchen, deciding to leave Kise alone for the moment whilst he made them both breakfast.

Just as the bluenette had set the two finished plates on the table, Kise walked in quietly. So quietly, Aomine nearly jumped when he turned to find the blonde just a few feet behind him. Kise blinked up at him with wide, red eyes.

"I-I'm sorry. I.. Thank you, Aomine-cchi."

Aomine grunted softly, sitting before his food. "Don't mention it. Have some breakfast."

Kise paused for a moment before sitting opposite of the bluenette, but he didn't make any move to eat. Aomine raised a brow at him. "Oi, what are you waiting for?"

Kise sighed softly before slowly taking a bite. Aomine watched as the blonde took a total of four bites and stood up. "We're going to be late, Aomine-cchi."

The tanned male turned to the clock on the wall, sighing. In truth, they had plenty of time, but he didn't want to push the blonde today. He was going through a rough time. So he nodded, quickly finishing the rest of his meal before standing and grabbing his things. Then the two of them were out the door and heading for school.

XXX

Aomine pulled the blonde aside as they neared their separation point. Kise's eyes were wide as he stared up at the slightly taller boy. "What is it, Aomine-cchi?" he whispered.

The bluenette's expression was cold, but he spoke softly. "Are you sure you're going to be okay? Being in the same room with him, I mean?"

Kise blinked before smiling softly. "I'll be fine. Don't worry."

"Tsk, I'm not worried. Dumbass."

The blonde smiled fondly after his friend as he walked away then. With a deep breath, he put on a bright smile and headed into his own classroom.

He thought he'd prepared himself for the day, but he soon found that he was far from prepared. In the corner of the room, Kotaro stood, flirting shamelessly with the girl Kise assumed he'd mentioned the night before. Kise could handle how pretty the girl was, how she was definitely Kotaro's type. He could handle the sickly sweet words they were exchanging. He could even handle the fact that they were far too close to his desk for it to be a coincidence. What hurt him the most, was the way Kotaro looked at her.

Thinking back, he could remember when he'd looked at him like that. The first day they met even, when Kotaro had flashed him his most dazzlingly smile, his eyes alit with sheer interest in the blonde. Kise had blushed deeply just at that smile being directed toward him. And Kotaro had leaned in next to him, just close enough for him to feel the boy's hot breath on the skin of his neck, and whispered, "My my, don't you shine brighter than the sun."

It was the cheesiest thing Kise had ever heard, and it made him laugh. He'd later commented that he'd expected something entirely different from Kotaro, but the unpredictability was what he loved the most about him.

Kise forced back a potentially violent shudder as he heard Kotaro whisper those very words into the ears of another.

XXX

Lunch was the worst for Kise. He forced a smile as he sat next to his friends, and he could see that Aomine was still the only person that knew. In a way, he was grateful, since his friends wouldn't pester him about his feelings. But there was a major negative to this small positive, as his friends didn't know not to bring his former relationship up in conversation.

Akashi was the first to say something, causing Kise's heart to clench in his chest. "Is Yori still being held back, Ryouta?"

Kise continued smiling at him, and surprisingly, he was doing rather well at hiding his pain. "Oh, I actually don't know, Akashi-cchi."

Midorima looked at him skeptically. "You don't know if your boyfriend is being held back again? He's in the same class as you, Kise."

The blonde nodded, laughing lightly. "I know, but, I just don't care today."

"Ehh, why don't you care, Kise-chin? Did you two get in a fight?"

"Y-you could say that." And that's when Kise broke, just for a moment. His smile faltered, and his body shook as a single sob escaped his throat. Tears formed in the corners of his eyes, but he forced them away, and in a matter of seconds, he was back to his bright, bubbly self.

But seeing such a thing suddenly changed everyone's perspective on the blonde. They all realized in that moment that they didn't truly know Kise the way they had assumed.

"Kise," Kuroko whispered hesitantly, "what happened?"

The blonde continued to smile, even though he knew by the others' faces that his performance was for naught. He just couldn't stop now. Once a tear escaped, he wouldn't be able to stop, and he had to make it through this day. "Nothing, really. Yori-cchi and I just decided we weren't quite as compatible as we thought."

Murasakibara frowned, offering the blonde a cookie. "Have a cookie, Kise-chin, it'll make you feel better."

Kise eyed the sweet for a long moment before smiling at the purple headed boy. "No thank you, Murasakibara-cchi. I'm actually too upset to eat."

Midorima pushed his glasses up his nose, a small sigh on his lips. "Kise, Kotaro was a really nice guy. And you're a… too nice for your own good, kind of guy. You can't expect us to think you broke up simply because you weren't enough alike."

"Well it's true, Midorima," he said softly, "Despite what you may think, the two of us are very different. I was never good enough for him anyway."

Kuroko glanced to his side where Aomine sat, wondering why the tanned male was being so quiet. He noticed that Aomine was staring through his hands, set firmly in his lap. He realized then that Aomine must have known somehow.

"Kise," the smaller bluenette said curiously, "what about your apartment?"

Kise blinked. "Oh, yeah… Well, I'm staying with someone else for now."

"Who?" Akashi asked.

Aomine sighed, finally looking up from his lap. "Me. He's staying with me."

Midorima raised a brow. "How did this come to be?"

"He showed up last night. I'm the only one of us with an apartment to myself."

Kuroko blinked before karate chopping Aomine on the head, earning a small 'ow' from the larger male. "You knew, and you didn't call me?"

Aomine looked at the boy incredulously. "First off, that hurt, asshole! And no, I didn't."

"Why the hell not? I've been worried sick about Kise!"

"Well how was I supposed to know that? Anyway, it's not my place to tell anyone anything!"

Kise blinked as he looked between the boys, and his brows furrowed. "Kuroko-cchi, why were you worried about me?"

Kuroko's anger was immediately erased from his expression as he turned to Kise with a saddened look in his eyes. "I knew you were lying, Kise. I could see you falling apart. When you wouldn't tell me what was wrong, I got worried."

"But… why did you care so much?"

The table grew silent, and Kise couldn't help but curl into himself slightly, wondering why everyone was staring at him the way they were.

"Ryouta," Akashi said, his tone uncharacteristically soft, "you're our friend. We care for you very much."

"… That's stupid."

Aomine rolled his eyes, slamming his hands onto the table. He ignored the blonde's visible flinch, as he leveled his gaze with his, forcing Kise to look him in the eye. "It's not stupid! You matter, and we care! What kind of shit have you been exposed to that makes you think you're not worth something!"

Kise's eyes were wide, and tears were pooling at the edges of his golden orbs as he stared up at the tanned male. Slowly, he looked around the table, everyone staring at him instead of Aomine, waiting for his response. He blinked, slowly. "I-I… I'm sorry-"

"Quit apologizing, dumbfuck," Aomine grunted. He sat back, relaxing back into his previous position. "Just get it through your head that we care."

"… Th-thank you…"