True to his word, Sendo arrives outside your apartment bang on time at seven.

You've put quite a lot of effort in your appearance today, going all out with your hair and makeup to look and feel as beautiful as possible; evidently, it's paid off, if the way Sendo's eyes travel all the way down your body is any indication.

"You're stunning." He breathes, taking your hand as you exit your apartment.

"You're not too bad yourself." You grin, locking the door behind you.

That's a definite understatement. He's dressed up simply but elegantly, with a dark blue dress shirt and smart black pants, his blonde hair pushed back and out of his face. It's a look you've never got to see from him; you've only ever seen him in either his football kit or sweatpants, but you decide that you could definitely get used to this side of him.

The car journey to the restaurant is pleasant, with you and Sendo engaging in comfortable conversation. You talk about any and all topics under the sun, and eventually the topic turns to football (as it always does, with these footballers- their sport consumes their entire world.)

"I don't know if you heard, but there's this new thing going on called Blue Lock." He says, as the two of you wait in traffic. "It's some training thing for young strikers."

"Doesn't ring a bell," You reply with a shrug. "You part of it?"

"Me?" His eyes meet yours in disbelief. "Hah, no. It's just high schoolers, I'm pretty sure. I don't need it, anyways."

You smile at his confidence in himself, nodding along to his claims. "Yeah, duh. You're the ace of Japan's u-20 for a reason, aren't you?"

He puffs up with pride at your comment, and it's rather endearing, the way he grins at himself and sits up a little taller, straightening his back. He parks his car- neatly, and effortlessly, unlike a certain infuriating man you know- and takes your hand in his as he enters the restaurant.

It's perfect; not too fancy to make you feel uncomfortable, but not too casual to make it feel as if he hasn't put any effort in. One of the staff leads the two of you to your table, and he pulls your chair out for you to sit in. You thank him, thrilled by the treatment he's giving you, and he takes a seat opposite you with a shy smile.

You scan the menu with your eyes- you decide to play it safe and just order a simple udon, and Sendo orders yakisoba.

Unlike Aiku, Sendo doesn't ogle the waitress, nor do his eyes wander from woman to woman; his gaze is trained on you, and you only, listening intently as you speak with him. It's a nice change, really; even though you've never dated him, you've spent so much time with Aiku in the past that you'd basically gotten used to the way he acted, and you'd forgotten that not every guy is a womaniser like him.

"Man, your professor sucks," Sendo sympathises with you as you to tell him your university troubles, shaking his head. "Of all people, I'd never thought you'd have school troubles, you know? You're so sensible and stuff."

You snort, and you're about to respond when a familiar husky voice pipes up besides you.

"Nah, you got it all wrong, Sendo," Aiku smirks as he slinks into his seat at the table besides yours, followed by some girl you've never seen before. "She can be real troublesome sometimes."

Your eyes almost bug out of your head when you see him, but Sendo doesn't look surprised, greeting Aiku with a nod and a high-five. The girl he's with smiles politely you, and you smile back, but it doesn't quite reach your eyes.

"Um, what the hell?" You ask, in utter confusion, turning back to Sendo with a puzzled look, eyebrows raised. "What's Aiku doing here?"

"You got a problem with that or something?" Aiku laughs, leaning back in his seat. "You don't own this place, do you?"

"Shut up." You shoot him an unimpressed glare. "I'm meant to be on a date right now? Without you?"

"Aw, come on, man, you know you want me here."

"You know just as well as I do that I don't."

"He asked me where I was taking you after I dropped you off yesterday," Sendo's explanation interrupts the staring contest you're currently having with Aiku, and you return your gaze to him. "I told him, and he said he'd join us with his girlfriend."

Girlfriend, huh?

"Ah, okay." You give his girlfriend- who's name is Kei, Aiku cheerfully tells you- a curt nod, shaking her hand. "Nice to meet you, Kei."

She does the same, although she seems a lot more enthusiastic than you do.

I wonder how enthusiastic she'd be to meet me if I told her I slept with her man not too long ago.

You shove that thought aside- that's in the past, and as of right now, you're on a lovely date with Sendo. So you will yourself to forget about Aiku and ignore his stupid, grinning face besides you as he orders his food (surprisingly not flirting with the waitress- does he really like Kei that much?) and enjoy the moment with Sendo, who frowns at you in concern.

"I'm sorry, I should've said something," He apologises, fiddling with the tablecloth. "Is this okay? Or do you want to go somewhere else?"

You feel a pang of guilt in your chest. Sendo's trying so hard, you'd feel bad if you ruined his plans, so you muster up your most convincing smile and shake your head.

"No, not at all!" You bean, and Sendo's mood visibly lightens. "I'm totally fine with this, it'll be fun!"

"Totally!" Aiku does a poor impression of your voice, and you just roll your eyes, not wanting to give him the irritated reaction he's desiring.

Sendo raises his eyebrow at the tension between you two, tilting his head to the side.

"Did I miss something?" He asks, eyes flicking between you and Aiku. "You guys are acting weird."

Aiku's grin is downright wicked, his eyes lighting up mischievously. "Well, Sendo, now that you ask-"

"No, you didn't," You interrupt quickly, not wanting to hear then end of Aiku's sentence; you get the feeling you know what he's about say, anyways. "His horrible personality means that he's just as insufferable as always, nothing new."

Aiku simply laughs at that, but Kei frowns at you.

"He's not insufferable," She cuts in, and you glance at her in disdain. "He's wonderful, actually."

"Once you get to know him, Kei, you won't be saying that again." You tell her, and turn your full attention back to Sendo, who's watching you with an indecipherable look in his eyes.

The waitress returns shortly after that, carrying your and Sendo's meals. Your mood lifts instantly as you take a bite, sighing in satisfaction, and Sendo smiles at you.

"Glad to see you like it." He says, and you shrug your shoulders as you take a sip of water.

"I'm not a picky eater," You tell him, blowing on your food before putting it in your mouth. "Except mushrooms. Hate those."

"What?" Sendo replies in disbelief, mouth agape. "But I love mushrooms! How could you hate them?"

"It's the texture," Aiku answers, chin propped up on his hand. "The taste, too, but mostly the texture. She can't stand it."

You're slightly surprised at Aiku's knowledge of your disdain for mushrooms- sure, he's known you a while and you've eaten out with him a bunch of times, but it's only ever something you've mentioned in passing.

The fact that he's held onto that information makes you think that maybe he is actually listening to you when you speak.

"That's right, actually." You admit, laughing slightly. "I can't believe you remembered that."

"Of course I remembered that. One time we were at a party and you didn't touch the pizza at all, because of the mushrooms. Even when I picked them off for you."

"What?" Sendo repeats again, incredulous. "You're seriously inhuman. Mushrooms are great!"

"Mushrooms are gross, you mean," You insist, gagging slightly. "Don't you think, Kei?"

When you turn to face her, Kei is frowning at you, glancing between you and Aiku. The glare she gives you is positively venomous, dripping with hostility, and you just turn away from her with your hands in the air.

"Alright, forget I ever asked." You shrug, and continue your meal.

You're dimly aware of Aiku's eyes boring into the side of your face as you chat cheerfully with Sendo, but you ignore him.

He wants your attention? Too bad. He's got his girlfriend along with him, so he should set his efforts on entertaining her instead, seeing as she's obviously not enjoying herself.

Their food arrives as well, and Aiku somehow manages to thank the waitress without asking for her number, something you didn't think was possible.

It's strange, slightly, the way he's behaving- he's holding himself back, but why? It's not as if he's any interested in Kei; he's barely even spoken to her or even glanced in her direction, so there's really no reason for him to be behaving himself.

Once you're done, you place down your chopsticks with a sigh, rubbing your stomach.

"I'm stuffed," You announce, giving Sendo a smile. "Well, this was wonderful."

"Why, thank you," Sendo says, also done with his food, his plate empty. "I did try."

"Minus points because Aiku was here and that ruined my appetite," You add with a playful wink. "But I guess I can overlook it, just this once."

"Hey!" Aiku protests, mouth full. "You don't have to be mean, you know?"

You stick your tongue out at him in response, and Sendo laughs.

He ends up paying for your meal- you insist that you should split the bill and pay your half, but he seems downright horrified by the idea, adamantly refusing to let you even lift a finger to pay for anything.

"I'm the one who asked you out,"  He tells you as he hands the server his card to pay. "So I'm the one who should pay. Don't even think about protesting, okay? Let me treat you."

You'd be a liar if you said that didn't set your heart fluttering, because whatever article Sendo had read on how to court a girl is evidently working.

"Wow, Sendo, way to be a gentleman," Aiku says, as he hands the server his card to pay as well. "Looks like the advice I gave you when you asked me how to behave on this date is really paying off. She's practically swooning."

Both you and Sendo flush red, and you push Aiku's shoulder in frustration as he stands from his seat, squeaking at him to just shut up and go away.

He just chuckles in that dumb way of his. "Man, you can be real cute sometimes."

Kei stares daggers into your soul, and you feel a little bad for her- the entire time he's been here, Aiku hasn't even spoken to her once, butting in every two seconds to your and Sendo's conversation.

"She's on a date with me, dude," Sendo scoffs, nodding his head towards Kei. "Your girlfriend's right there."

"Ah, yes, the beautiful Kou."

That seems to be Kei's last straw; she slaps Aiku square across the face and storms off without another word, and he just sheepishly rubs his cheek as you and Sendo stare at him in horror.

"Aiku," You blink at him in disbelief. "Her name was Kei."

"I knew it was something along those lines!" He shakes his head with a slight laugh, and you can practically see the question mark symbol on Sendo's face.

"Didn't you say she was your girlfriend?" He asks, incredulous. "Yet you somehow forgot her name?"

"Man, I really thought she was the one for me, too," Aiku sighs. "Oh well, maybe not."

"You're a real asshole, man."

"That's mean, Sendo!" Aiku whines, still rubbing his cheek.

"He's right and you know it!" You scold jokingly. "You're a real piece of work, Aiku!"

"You'd know all about that, wouldn't you?" He smirks at you, and your blood runs cold.

"I don't know what you're talking about." You say stiffly, silently willing him to be quiet with your eyes, Sendo none the wiser besides you.

"But you do, don't you, sweetheart?" He purrs, and you see Sendo frown.

"Shut up, Aiku. That's not important."

"But shouldn't good old Sendo know? He's my friend, after all."

"Know what?" Sendo asks, looking at you. "What's he on about now?"

"Go on, tell him about that night." Aiku prompts, and you glare at him.

"God, you're so annoying!" You say, not meeting Sendo's eye.

You'd planned on telling him, you really had- just not now, not here, and definitely not with Aiku.

"What night?" Sendo pushes for an answer from you. "What should I know?"

"She knows me inside out," Aiku answers with a chuckle. "Don't you?"

"I slept with him, okay! Two days ago, I spent the night at his. That's what he's saying. That's what you should know."

Silence.

Sendo's mouth is agape as he scrambles for words, and Aiku smirks in that awful way of his.

"I'm sorry, Sendo, okay?" You start, finally looking at him. "I was going to tell you, I was. I mean, how was I supposed to know you'd ask me out the very next day?"

"I can't believe this," Sendo says, looking between you and Aiku. "No wonder you guys were acting so strange. It's because you went and-"

"Hey, now, Sendo, don't be like that," Aiku chides. "We're all fully grown here, we do things sometimes. So what? Sex is just sex."

"Shut up, Aiku!" You push his shoulder, and he steps back a little. "Just stop it! You've done enough!"

"I need to be alone right now," Sendo mumbles, and he digs out his car keys from his pocket. He's about to storm off, but then hesitates, turning back to you. "You gonna be able to get home alright?"

"Yeah, I'll figure something out." You say.

At the same time, Aiku answers, "I'll drive her."

Because of course he does- why is he so hell bent on ruining your relationship?

"Yeah," Sendo says, his voice low. "Of course you will. Get home safely, would you?"

With that, he walks away, his head hung low.

You wait for about five minutes after his departure before turning to grab Aiku's wrist and haul him out of the restaurant in anger, and he follows along without resistance.

You are going to kill him.