In Shadows | Kuroko no Basket Fan Fiction

24. More than Welcome

In Shadows
Chapter Twenty-Four
More than Welcome

Gina bit her lip, pacing around the interior of her bedroom.

She was facing a bit of a problem.

Saki's concert was today. It was an early evening concert, so she would be able to go with her friends to scout the team they'd be opposing later that night. Everything had fallen into place; she could attend basketball and Saki's concert with no problem.

There was only one problem that had only arisen that morning; her mother had woken up, and found that she had come down with a cold. She could barely speak above a whisper. Gina knew at once that her mother wouldn't be able to make it to Saki's concert that night, which left her with a spare ticket.

And she now was trying to decide who should be the one to use that spare ticket, and who would accept the invitation on such short notice.

Her dad would be at work still, so that was out of the question. She had no other family nearby and besides, they had never met Saki anyway. She considered Momoi but decided against it; Momoi didn't know Saki, either. Besides, she had phoned Gina late last night, bursting with excitement. Aomine had asked her to go shopping for new basketball shoes, since he wanted to start going to practice again, and Momoi was only too happy to oblige. Gina didn't want to cut her friend's happiness short.

But really, from the beginning the person she'd thought of to take with her had been Kuroko. 

And she was just too nervous to ask.

She'd been staring at his number on the screen for a while now, contemplating whether or not she should call. Her reasons against calling him had sounded like excuses even to her own ears.

Oh, come on, Gina! Just call him! What do you have to lose? At most, he'll decline. There's nothing terrible about that, anyway, he could just be busy. After giving herself that stern lecture, Gina pressed down hard on the call button. 

She didn't have to wait long before Kuroko answered his phone.

"Kuroko?" Gina asked.

"Gina? What is it?"

Gina bit her lip, breathing in once before continuing.

"You know my friend Saki, right?" She hesitated for a moment then continued, "Well, she plays cello, and her concert is today. I was originally going to go and see it with mum, but she's fallen sick... so I was wondering if you'd like to done instead?"

She had the last part all in one breath. Gina breathed in, awaiting Kuroko's answer.

Apparently, she hadn't needed to worry. "I'd love to," he said, almost instantly.

"Really?" she exclaimed, jumping up. "You would?"

"I would."

"That's great! Here, let me tell you the times and everything..."

Gina quickly rattled off the time and the venue. Kuroko repeated it to her and she confirmed he had it right. They talked for a brief moment after and then they hung up, with promises to meet up later.

The rest of the day couldn't have progressed any slower. Gina lay on her bed, nerves and excitement twisting in her stomach. She tried everything to make time speed up; she read part of a book, watched a movie, watched some of her favourite music videos. Time was her worst enemy; it seemed to slow down just to spite her. Every time she looked up at the clock, it was like only five minutes had passed since the last time she looked.

With half an hour to go before she had to leave, Gina dressed in the outfit Momoi had picked out for her during their shopping trip. She spent ages in front of the mirror, trying to figure out just how to wear her hair, and if her black clutch purse would look better with the outfit than her black handbag. Now she knew she was going to be alone and with Kuroko, she suddenly felt so much more pressured to get her look just right.