Chapter Two

I woke up the next day, body sore and heavy. Memories of what happened the night before came rushing back to me, causing me to freak out and blush uncontrollably. I could even feel smoke literally coming out of my face.

I couldn't believe it happened.

When I turned to the other side of the bed, however, my chest tightened painfully. He was not there. Not even a shadow of the guy whom I had given my everything was seen.

I pulled myself up, wrapping the blanket around my naked body before storming out of the room. I searched the entire house but he was nowhere.

He left... He just left!

I gritted my teeth then literally slammed my forehead against our hard wall. Hissing in pain, I clenched my fists.

How could I be so stupid?

I surrendered my body and soul to him, which was the worst thing I've ever done in my whole entire life---other than loving a jerk like him of course, and yet... Where was he? He left without even saying anything.

That despicable guy!

I groaned, furiously wiping the tears that streamed down to my cheeks. It wasn't entirely his fault. I was to blame, too. What happened was under my consent. I shouldn't be expecting anything from him since I knew from the very start we no longer had any commitment. But it was just that...

It hurt. It damn did.

Those three words he said to me actually meant nothing. Those were just sweet lies to make a fool out of me. To get what he wanted.

"Curse you, Hanamiya Makoto!"

***

After turning the shower off, I stepped out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around my body. The cold water helped my mind cool down a little bit. I went to my dresser and blow-dried my wet, shoulder-length, straight blonde hair.

My resolve? I was going to pretend that nothing happened.

Well, it wasn't like I was the only girl who lost her virginity at the age of seventeen, right? I was sure there were a lot more out there, too.

Yeah. Definitely.

But then after a few more seconds of thinking, I froze up. What the actual heck was I thinking?

I was definitely screwed!

There was nothing to act cool about. I lost it and I couldn't take it back from Hanamiya anymore. Oh, wait... Actually it was more than that. I felt like I lost not only my virginity but also my dignity and pride as a girl. Now, how could I ever face everyone?

After minutes of cursing myself and my stupidity and Hanamiya, I stood up then swiftly changed into my school uniform. I even felt like not attending classes either. Honestly, I felt like dying. I wanted to bury myself alive.

Fuck my life...

When I faced the mirror once again for the finishing touch, I groaned. I looked scary and terrible. Even kindergartens on the street would probably get frightened if they saw my face.

"Nadeshiko?"

I flinched when I heard my sister's voice outside, followed by a few knocks. I grabbed my school bag and hurriedly opened the door. "Morning, Nee-chan. You just got here, didn't you?"

She smiled sheepishly. "Yeah. Don't tell Mom and Dad, okay?"

I sighed, nodding my head. "Of course, as always."

She was three years older than me and was already in college. But she would always act like a sixteen-year-old teenager, so carefree and outgoing. Unstoppably naughty. I loved her a whole lot, though. She was a loving and reliable sister.

I cocked an eyebrow when she reached out her hand and showed me a phone. An Iphone, but not my phone. "I found this on the couch. You invited a friend to stay over last night, didn't you?"

My eyes widened, internally freaking out. It was, for a fact, Hanamiya's phone.

"Uhm, yeah. Hara-chan and I watched some movies last night." I quickly grabbed the phone from her hand, burying it inside my pocket. "Thanks. I'll go ahead. Bye, Nee-chan."

I gave her a sweet flying kiss before dashing away. I was already outside our gate when I released the breath I was unconsciously holding.

That jerk!

How could he leave such an important evidence? It was a good thing my sister was the one who found it. I exhaled then took out my own phone, dialing Hara's number.

He immediately answered after the first ring. "Hello, Na-chan. Need a ride?"

I popped a vein. Last time I rode with him on his motorbike, we nearly crashed into a post. I was terrified because I thought I was going to die. "What ride are you talking about? Let's walk together to school!"

He laughed amusingly on the other line before I heard a popping sound. Duh, bubblegum. "I see. You've been traumatized. Hahaha. Well, fine, I'll be there. Five minutes."

"Okay, five." I hung up, sighing once again.

***

Kazuya Hara took almost twenty minutes to arrive---which annoyed me to bits. I immediately slapped his arm, grunting. "You're late!"

"Men-go! Men-go! I met some of my fans on the way." He laughed cheekily then chewed on his gum.

I clicked my tongue, rolling my eyes. I knew he was being a dork again. "Fans, my ass."

We started walking towards the school peacefully until he noticed the miserable look on my face. "What happened to you?"

"Hanamiya Makoto happened to me," I replied in a tired voice, fishing the jerk's phone out of my pocket then handing it to my bestfriend beside me. "Give this to your captain."

Even though I couldn't see his eyes, I knew he was frowning. "Wait. Why do you have his phone?"

I gulped at his question. But, still, I managed to come up with an excuse. "He won't stop pestering me. He came crying to me last night because of your loss."

He took the phone from my hand, putting it inside his pocket after. "There's no way he'll cry."

I knew he wouldn't believe me. Hanamiya would always act tough and cool--and deadly--in front of other people. But I knew what I saw, I wasn't merely hallucinating. Hanamiya Makoto did cry.

"He cried, I swear," I insisted. But then I remembered that this guy beside me was part of the team too. "Hey, you okay? You didn't shed a tear?" I asked rather softly, nudging his shoulder.

"Huh? Of course not. But I admit I was a little depressed. I wanted to play in the Winter Cup after all," he admitted.

I huffed. "Good for you. You'll never win with your style of basketball."

He heaved a sigh, ruffling my hair violently. "Yeah, yeah. Spare me the lecture today."

"Duh. Whatever." I rolled my eyes, dropping the matter.

"Wait. By the way..." He gave me a teasing smirk. "What did you two do last night? Your parents were out, right?"

My face immediately heated up. I jabbed his back to which he winced in pain. "You pervert! Shut up!"

He laughed out loud. "I didn't mean anything like that so you don't have to be so defensive. But you can always share to me, you know."

"I said nothing happened!" I barked, giving him a menacing stare.

Hara and I were bestfriends for like forever. Ever since I could remember, we were already playing together. He was my supporter and protector. He was always there whenever I needed him, just one call and he would come rushing to my side. But he changed, a little, when he became a regular in the basketball team. I suppose he got Hanamiya's germs too. You know... The evilness. That thick brows was really a bad influence.

When this best buddy of mine learned that I was dating their captain, he strongly opposed at first and even gave me a very long lecture about Hanamiya's attitude and that it wouldn't be easy. But being the stupid person that I was, I never listened.

So when I got brokenhearted, I earned another lecture from him with an extra flick on the head for my stubbornness. However, it was also him who comforted me and helped me get better. He had always been a reliable friend and brother to me. He may be a rough player inside the court, but outside, he was a nice and funny guy. Besides, he wasn't really like that. Back in middle school, he was an honest player.

My bestfriend suddenly turned to me, a serious expression plastered on his face. "But, seriously, don't do anything rush or I'll..." He drew a line across his neck gesturing 'kill'.

I secretly gulped. I'm so sorry, Hara-chan...

"Yeah, I know." I clung onto his arm then looked up into his face. "Anyway, I know you can't kill me. I'm too cute for you." I stuck my tongue out then winked, grinning like a little child.

He stared at me for a moment before blowing a bubble out of his gum then letting it pop all over his face. Gross. "You better stick to your word, Ms. I'm-too-cute-for-you."

I gave him a disgusted look, flicking his jaw. "Don't do that when I'm around. That's gross!"

"Hey, are you listening to me? Don't change the topic."

"Yeah, right. I'm listening, boss."

***

"Kazuya!"

We were already walking towards the school building when we heard somebody call out his name from behind. We stopped on our tracks then turned to whoever they may be. It was the rest of the first string of our basketball team.

I groaned. Seeing these idiots early in the morning only meant horrible luck for me this day.

They walked closer to us---with Hanamiya Makoto tagging along at the back. I bit the insides of my lower lip, anger immediately bubbling up deep inside of me. Seeing his face made me fall into rage. But I remained calm and composed, pretending that he wasn't even there.

"Morning," Kojiro Furuhashi greeted, eyes dead as ever. "Good luck on our exam today."

That surprised me. "Wait... What exam?"

"Algebra. Don't tell me you forgot?" That was Kentaro Seto, yawning. We were apparently in the same class along with Kojiro.

I groaned miserably. I didn't know... Or to be exact, I forgot. I didn't study---well, considering what happened the night before, I really couldn't.

Shit. As predicted, my horrible luck was already starting.

Hara patted my back. "That's okay, Na-chan. None of us studied, too."

"I'll surely fail. Darn," I sputtered, still miserable.

"Don't worry. You're not alone." Hiroshi Yamazaki tried comforting me, but it didn't do any good. It made me more annoyed. I knew I wasn't smart, but I was never as stupid as he was. I didn't want to fail.

So, okay, I got along fine with these idiots. They were my friends. I spent so much time with them back when Hanamiya and I were still "dating". They were all evil when it came to playing basketball, but outside the court they were just some group of dorky guys. Actually, they were nice people. Except maybe for their captain who was really pure evil by nature. It would make me wonder if he was any related to Lucifer.

"I'll go ahead, guys. See you later, Hara-chan." I waved a hand at them then started walking away, not even glancing at Hanamiya Makoto.

TIMESKIP.

I groaned, slamming my face against my desk. Studying had always been a pain in the ass for me. I couldn't believe I didn't listen to our teacher during the discussion of this difficult topic. Studying the answers without even understanding the problem was simply hopeless.

"That would hurt, Harashi-chan." I heard Kojiro say. He was sitting next to me.

I turned to him, pouting. "I can't fail this test, Kojiro-kun. My parents will surely give me an earful."

"Then I'll let you copy, Harashi."

I turned to Kentaro next who was sitting on my other side, giving him a jealous look. He would always get a perfect score in every test without studying. He never listened to class as well, he would merely drift off to sleep with his sleeping mask on. And what's more was that our teachers never once scolded him. Now, where is justice? It's just so unfair.

"No thanks. If you could only spare me some of your IQ instead."

He grinned rougishly. "Why don't you ask for some to Hanamiya? You know his IQ is way higher."

I glowered at him. "Excuse me. Please do not drag him along into this conversation, you'll only ruin my day."

He merely laughed then put his sleeping mask on, eventually making his way to dreamland again. I rolled my eyes and went back to studying. I needed to pass this test or else my grades would decrease. My mom would surely stuff cheap peanut butter sandwiches in my bag just to teach me a lesson.

Oh heck, I'd cry!

And just when I was already too absorbed with numbers and X's and Y's, I suddenly felt the hairs at the back of my neck stood up. It was a sign that I was being stared at. I raised my head then scanned my eyes around, they were all staring at me.

What the...

I was just going to ask them what's wrong when somebody bit my earlobe, causing me to yelp in surprise. I freaked out and scrambled away. When I turned to look at the culprit, I gasped. Speak of the devil...

Hanamiya Makoto.

"Hey, babe," he whispered huskily with a sexy grin.

I shoot him a deadly glare. "I said don't babe me, you idiot! What are you doing here?"

He shoved a black notebook in front my face then placed it down to my desk.

"Huh?" Confused, I stared at it for a moment before looking back at him with a frown. "What's this?"

He smirked then leaned closer again, his mouth on my ear. I gulped when I felt his hot breath. "You better not fail or else..." He deliberately stopped his words there and pulled away, still grinning. Then without another word he exited our room with a book in one hand, leaving me dumbstruck and confused.

My classmates began to tease me. Girls were squealing and giggling as if it was Zac Efron who came in and not the notorious bad boy of the basketball court. However, nothing seemed to register inside my brain at the moment. I was just there, sitting on my chair as my pair of eyes stayed glued on the door Hanamiya just walked out.

This was the first time it happened. I mean, Hanamiya barging in our class and didn't even hesitate to do PDA with me never happened before. That's why I was literally frozen on my spot, hearing birds chirping in a distant imaginary stupid land.

"What the hell was that?" I mumbled, still dumbfounded.

Hanamiya preferred to be alone, reading. He would never talk to anyone, too---unless he needed to. He was that type of guy. He wouldn't really interact, even to me back then. Most of the time, he would just ignore me or act like I wasn't around. It was very disheartening. Imagine how did I manage to put up with his attitude. Gosh! I was a survivor.

I composed myself then examined the notebook he left for me. My eyes widened. It was actually his notes.

Holy--

His handwriting was superb. Clean and nice. It was definitely much better than mine. I couldn't believe this was happening to me, but I was having a serious complex. His neat penmanship was glaring at my ugly handwriting.

That wasn't the only thing that struck me, though. As I started flipping through the pages, I found a written note for me.

"To you. Because I know you're an idiot."

I popped an angry vein to that and grunted in pure irritation. The shithead really knew how to piss me off. After another few seconds, I turned to the next page. There I saw some Math equations, and at the top was another note.

"..Study them. They'll come up in your exam."

All too suddenly, a smile formed on my lips as my stupid heart hammered inside my chest. This adorable side of him. I went stiff, however, when I heard somebody cleared their throat. I quickly turned to Kojiro who was grinning knowingly while watching me and my own smile.

Oh great. Now I felt like a complete idiot.

"He actually cares," he said in an amused tone.

I scoffed, rolling my pretty eyeballs. "Once in a blue moon."

I turned my attention back to the sets of equations in front of me. In my notes the equations looked very difficult and confusing, but in his they appeared so simple and easy. Wait... No, he made them simple and easy. Like, just how smart was he?

I fought the urge to giggle when I saw some arrows and some explanations at the side. He really made sure I would understand everything. And for a moment there, I started thinking that maybe he was far smarter than our teacher. His explanations were way more understandable.

But wait, why was I praising him?

Hanamiya Makoto was completely unfathomable. I couldn't understand his attitude at all. And another thing, I couldn't understand myself as well. I should be mad at him for what he did, he left me hanging after what happened to us last night. But what was I doing instead? I even called him adorable.

I groaned. Maybe I really was a complete idiot.

You still haven't really learned your lesson, Harashi Nadeshiko.

***

I got a perfect score.

I just got perfect in Algebra. I couldn't believe it.

Holy cow. I quietly laughed to myself, feeling rather awfully proud. But then seconds later, my happy aura quickly faded. Because the truth was I only got perfect thanks to Hanamiya. The equations in his notes were the exact items that came up on the test. That was why I got perfect.

I instantly felt like sulking into a corner. I didn't want to thank him. Never in a million years.

Oh, yeah. What was his line again?

"Like hell I would do that, baka!", I'd say that then imitate his tongue-sticking-out look just to annoy him even more. He would definitely flip.

Like, that would be the best comeback ever.

But I wasn't going to do that---that's plainly childish, alright. Though I wouldn't thank him either. He helped me only because I was an idiot and not because he was concerned. That's all there was to it.

After class dismissal I hurriedly dashed out of our classroom for club activities. I was the captain of the girl's volleyball team so I had to get to the gym first. I headed inside the locker room then immediately changed into my sportswear.

After I was done I opened the door and hurried out. But before I could even take another step, somebody blocked my way. I cupped my face after it bumped into their chest. I groaned in pain. My nose hurt.

"Hey!" When I looked up to see the person's face, however, I quickly took a step back. I clutched my chest dramatically, glaring hard at him. "Will you please stop appearing out of nowhere? Who are you? That Generation of Miracles' Phantom Sixth Man?"

Hanamiya Makoto raised an eyebrow---a thick eyebrow. "I hate him, so stop talking about him when I'm around."

I knew how much he hated Kuroko Tetsuya. Well, not just him but the rest of the Generation of Miracles. Actually, there were a lot out there who hated that group of Basketball prodigies. Why? They were monsters. Because they were overwhelmingly strong, those people around them had already given up on winning.

But if you really think about it, they weren't doing anything wrong or underhanded. They would always play honestly. If there ever was somebody worthy of hate, it was definitely this guy in front of me.

"Because of what? Beating you?" I scoffed, giving him a defiant look. "I watched your game, and he did nothing wrong. You got what you deserved."

He narrowed his eyes into a glare then leaned closer to my level, whispering darkly into my ear. "I dare you to say that once again, babe."

I did not hesitate to push him away. "Back off, Hanamiya!"

"Heh. Hanamiya? But you just called me Makoto again last night." He smirked sinfully, gazing down at me with those brown eyes of his.

I couldn't help but blush furiously at the memory. "D-Don't be ridiculous," I stuttered, all flustered.

He gripped my chin then tilted it up a bit. Our eyes met, making a firm contact, which made me gulp. "Last night was the best night of my life, Nadeshiko. Thank you for trusting me."

My eyes widened. Wait... What?

After a few more seconds of complete dumbness, my mouth hung open in shock upon finally realizing the meaning of his words. I quickly pushed him away again because, damn it, he was confusing me. "What exactly are you trying to say, Hanamiya?"

His expression went serious, but his gaze strangely softened up. "They say you'll only realize someone's worth once they're gone..." He paused for a while then, "When you turned your back on me, I realized I couldn't afford losing you. I need you back, Nadeshiko."

I sucked into my breath. I pondered at his words, wondering if I really heard everything right.

W-Wait. Is he serious?