I Don't Think I Regret it

It's not Always Easy

Ai woke up without her alarm. She had a new text from her mother that said she was sorry she had to work all night and that she had left Ai's boyfriend sleeping on the couch before going out to brunch with her work friends.

"He's not my boyfriend," Ai grumbled, pulling her hair out of her messy ponytail before shuffling out to the bathroom. She used the bathroom and washed her hands and face before she brushed her teeth.

Kuroo was still passed out on the couch, same as he was when she left him. There were two covered breakfasts in on the kitchen counter that had a note that said "Hope you had fun last night, next time let me know if you're going to drink all of my beer." Ai crumpled up the note and put it in the recycling before she began reheating the breakfast.

"What the fuck?" Kuroo groaned on the couch.

"Good morning, lightweight." She cooed, throwing a bottle of advil at him.

"Don't talk so loud!" He murmured, popping a few into his mouth and washing it down with an entire bottle of water.

"I didn't think you would get a hangover." She perched herself on the arm of the couch.

"And who's fault is that?" He growled at Ai.

"So hostile, Mr. Grumpypuss." The microwave pinged. "Eat some breakfast. You're not gonna puke, are you?"

Kuroo stood up, slowly. "No way." He gave her a somewhat reassuring grin. She didn't quite believe him.

They ate breakfast and Ai forced Kuroo to drink a lot of water. They talked about nothing in particular. Ai was starting to not find Kuroo as annoying as before. That almost annoyed her more. "I've never seen you without makeup." He commented.

"Listen here buddy-" She gripped the bowl she was scrubbing really hard.

"It looks good." He said lazily. Her heart skipped a beat in surprise.

She rolled her eyes. "Thanks for your input."

"I'm going out with Bokuto to see a horror movie, do you want to come?"

"Are you sure Bokuto-san likes horror movies?" She leaned on the counter.

"Of course not! It's funny to watch him squirm though." Kuroo smirked.

"Kuroo-san, you're terrible."

"What's with the sudden formality!" He cried.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Kuroo-san."

*PAGE BREAK*

Ai sat between Kuroo and Bokuto the whole movie. This meant she got the popcorn. The movie wasn't good. She had no clue why she had decided that it would be any different.

Afterwards Bokuto boasted about how he knew who the killer was the entire time. "Whatever, Scooby Doo, I'm hungry." Ai said. They went into a family restaurant and Bokuto and Kuroo ordered an obscene amount of food.

"Bokuto-san, please don't talk with your mouth full." Ai grimaced as she wiped up some spit out cheeseburger with a napkin.

"I'm going to the bathroom." Ai announced, sliding out of the booth.

"Can I have your fries?" Bokuto called out after her.

She rolled her eyes again for the millionth time that hour. "I suppose so."

She washed her greasy hands in the bathroom and checked her makeup. She looked cute today. She was wearing a blue sundress and a cream sweater with cream-colored espadrilles to match. Ai looked like she was on a date. She sighed, instead she was spending her day with two idiots.

She exited the bathroom and overheard the two talking from nearly halfway across the restaurant. "You can't tell me you guys didn't do anything last night!" Bokuto exclaimed in outrage. "She invites you over, she gets you drunk, and nothing happens?"

Kuroo ran a hand through his hair. "Well..."

"It's not like that." Ai took her seat again, pushing hair off her shoulder.

"Ai-chan!" Kuroo gasped.

She sighed and propped her head up in her hand. "I was probably lonely last night, you shouldn't drink alone, y'know." Playing it off, but deep down she didn't know why she felt the need to defend herself.

"That's all?" Bookuto questioned in disbelief.

"That's all." She said it but she didn't know if she meant it. Thinking about how her stomach twisted when she responded made her feel queasy.

*PAGE BREAK*

They parted ways with Bokuto and made idle conversation on their way home. She entered her apartment and sighed. Her mother was on the couch reading a magazine, sipping a glass of wine. "How was your date?" Her mother inquired with a mischievous grin.

"It wasn't a date, Mother." Ai whined, collapsing into the couch.

"I was afraid you were cheating on your boyfriend." Her mother poked her in the ribs.

"Ouch!" Ai rubbed the sore spot. "I broke up with him a few weeks ago." Ai said plainly, grabbing her mother's glass and swirling it before taking a sip. "There's now way I could cheat." She felt a bit sour when saying that, even if her mother was only teasing her.

"Ai." Her mother said in a warning tone. Ai put the glass down. "When were you going to tell me you broke up with your boyfriend?"

"Is it because I work so much? Do you want me to get some time off? I know! We can visit the bakery around the corner, they have lots of pies!" Her mother wrapped her arms around her.

"It's fine mother, spend your time off taking care of yourself." Ai smiled. "You deserve it."

Ai hugged her mother back and they spent the next few hours catching up about her mother's workplace dynamics and how school was going for Ai. Her mother took her bath first before heading to bed early.

Ai took her time in the bath and took time trying out a new deep conditioning treatment sample her hair salon had given her. She felt clean and rejuvenated after all of this pampering. She didn't think about it much, but she thought she was having fun in her new school. She didn't hate her new friends. She missed her old friends, but she didn't keep up with them.

She dried her hair before sitting on the edge of her bed and braiding her hair into two plaits. She plugged in her phone and turned off her lights. She laid in her bed and stared at the ceiling until her eyes adjusted to the light.