Although Igarashi's compliance caused an unintentional smile to surface on my face, it didn't last. In fact, the moment I dug my chopsticks into my meal, Igarashi seized my wrist.

Utter terror enveloped his countenance. He ducked his head at once. "She's coming this way!"

My heart collapsed. "She—she is?"

Before I could even have the opportunity to glance behind me to confirm, Igarashi had already dipped under the table. My jaw plummeted.

"Wait!" I half-shouted. Oxygen was scarce, especially when I had no clue how close she really was. "You're hiding?"

"It'll only complicate things if she sees me," he said as if it was obvious. "Handle this."

"No!"

"Why not? You said you got my back, remember?"

Darn it. I did say that, albeit inadvertently.

My eyes skimmed the table.

I hissed the first thing that came to mind, "But you can't just leave your food here! If she comes by she's gonna think I'm a fatass!"

"Have you seen what you ordered? It's been thought!"

I smacked him upside the head. The impact rang to every inch of the store. Fortunately for me, we were in an isolated area so nobody nearby turned to address us. Regardless, frustration surging through me like a volcano, a heavy blush coating my cheeks, I leaned over the table and scooped up a handful of fries. Without even giving him the chance to recover from my blow, I shoved them down his throat.

"Stuff your chubby cheeks and choke, bastard! Make all this food disappear!"

He pushed my arms away much to no avail. "What're you— You're insane!"

"I don't want to hear that from a lousy, incorrigible jerk—"

"Toru?"

My heart collapsed in my chest. In only an instant, Igarashi was gone. Koshiba rounded into view from my right. My neck to whipped to address her but my lungs weren't working. I couldn't breathe. The silence was unbearable as she fluttered her long eyelashes and surveyed the table.

The bewilderment that enveloped her features was blatant as day.

"K-Koshiba?" Reclining in my seat, I plastered on my biggest smile. "What a surprise!"

Koshiba didn't share the sentiment. Disappointment obvious, she returned her focus to me. "Is it just you here?"

"Yup. Why?"

"I could've sworn I heard Toru."

My high-pitched bark of laughter filled the air. "Wh-what? Who would ever want to hang out with that insignificant, microbe-sized dwarf after school? Not me, that's who."

I was knocked in the shin. Hard. Withholding the urge to kick Igarashi senseless in rebuttal, I smiled wider.

Koshiba stiffened. There was no doubt she was put-off by my exaggerated enthusiasm. However, instead of pressing into it, she intertwined her hands and lay them flat against her dress beneath her coat.

"That's true," she tittered. "Toru's way too wonderful to keep a worthless beanpole like you company."

Resisting a murderous glare, my lips stretched higher. "You're hilarious."

"Actually," she replied. "What's hilarious is that fact that you have two full-sized meals in front of you. Now that you've grown tons vertically, you're thinking it's time to finally expand horizontally, huh."

Did this girl want to get slugged? Oh boy, was I going to slug her.

My nails dug into my palms forcefully enough to draw blood. It was only sheer miracle I managed to sustain my twitching smile.

"Oh, don't be silly, Koshiba. Obviously I'll eat a lot. I am a growing girl."

"Don't you think you've grown enough?"

Just one punch. One punch and I'll never ask for anything again.

Igarashi clasped my wrists before I could draw them from my lap. He had them fastened so tightly I couldn't break free. I wanted to yell so badly. Defend myself, even if it meant exposing him. But a promise was a promise. I had to keep him hidden.

"Igarashi isn't here, all right?" I spat, this time without any pleasantries. "Leave."

Koshiba snorted. "That reminds me. . . I've actually been meaning to talk to you about something, Kisaragi."

My furrowed eyebrows rose. "Talk?"

"Do you mind?" Her typically radiant smile was back as she gestured to the seat across from me.  "It's rather important."

I lurched froward. Wait! She's planning on sitting. . .

"Uh!" I shouted, wide-eyed as she shuffled over to sit. "Hold on! That's. . ."

"Only for a bit," she prodded, planting her palm on the table. "That's not a problem, is it?"

My lips flapped wordlessly like a fish. If she sat, she'd notice. She'd one hundred percent find out!

My legs darted out before I realized it.

Koshiba stopped in her tracks. Her eyelid spasmed. "I'm afraid I cannot sit if you do that."

"S-sorry!" I chortled as I stretched them out further on the street. "My legs are so long I need the entire booth to sit, ha ha. If you want to talk, you can standing up."

Koshiba's nonchalance vanished. Her bangs cast shadows over her eyes, leaving an ominous feel in the air. "Are you hiding something from me, Kisaragi?"

"Wha—what would I have to hide?"

She didn't respond. Instead, she bended to look under the table.

The shrill scream that filled the air was instantaneous. Koshiba lost her balance. All nearby eyes in darted in our direction.

But I was high on adrenaline. My thoughts were going haywire.

"Help! Somebody help! She's trying to look up my skirt!"

Even though I'm wearing jeans.

Koshiba flinched. She faced me, neck jerking left and right. "Wh-what are you— Kisaragi!"

"Ah! My virgin legs!"

More like, jeans. Virgin jeans.

"Hey!" She was desperate. "Stop making such a scene—"

"Excuse me, is there a problem here?"

The waiter that had arrived at the scene towered over Koshiba. His expression was far from friendly.

I sobbed into my hands before Koshiba could dare respond. "I-I was just trying to enjoy my meal when this stranger started harassing me. I'm just a fragile sixteen-year-old girl. I don't deserve this!"

With only hefty waterworks and words, the waiter's demeanour turned hostile. "I'm going to have to ask you to leave, ma'am."

Koshiba flubbed in defence—insisting, no pleading she was innocent—but the man wasn't listening. He mercilessly guided her out of the store without even the slightest change of expression.

The glower she sent me before her departure was chilling. "Kisaragi! You'll pay for this!"

"Yeah, yeah," I scoffed under my breath, picking up a fry from a plate. "That's what you get for insulting me, bitch."

Any and all watchful eyes disappeared soon enough. Animated chatter refilled the room in a happy-go-lucky swirl. When the waiter returned alongside the manager, they bombarded me with questions about my well-being and also to fill them in on everything that happened. Fortunately, I was able to derail their concern when they promised that the desserts I ordered today would be free in exchange for my continued patronage.

Sure, I felt guilty for having tricked such honest men. However, when Igarashi crawled back up to his side of the table, flashing me a big thumbs up, content filled me. I'd done at least some good. I should take pride in that.

"You were great, Kisaragi! You really saved my ass."

"'Course I did. I even scored us free desserts."

"My hero! Saint! Angel!"

I couldn't help but grin like an idiot. Igarashi didn't waste a single second to dig in. I followed suit. The food was absolutely delicious. Well-worth the wait for sure.

"By the way," Igarashi mumbled between bites, "never shove food into my mouth like that again. I almost died."

I snorted, "That was the whole point."

"Hey!"

I rolled my eyes. "So?"

"So. . . ?"

"I saved your butt and you're not even gonna offer an explanation?"

He avoided looking at me entirely. "It isn't important."

"That so? Then you wouldn't mind if I brought her back, right?"

His green eyes flitted to mine. Our staredown was intense. He knew I'd do it.

"Fine," he caved, albeit bitterly. "I'll tell you."

"I'm waiting."

Igarashi exhaled heavily. He obviously didn't appreciate my sarcasm. Crossing his arms over his Mortal Mania t-shirt, he pursed his lips. "Keiko... isn't as cute as she looks. She's actually super possessive."

I barely batted an eyelash. "I'm not understanding."

"Of me," he hissed. Slapping the table, a bead of sweat rolled down his temple. "She's super possessive of me. She's obsessed!"

Igarashi did his all to fight a shudder.

"'Where are you'? 'Who are you with'? 'What are you doing'? Hundreds of texts and calls day after day!" As he listed it off, he furiously grounded his teeth. "I can't even go to the bathroom without her barraging me with questions! She'd cling to me all day if she could, trust me."

My memory ran back to lunchtime. Every day without fail, Koshiba ran into our classroom to drag him off. She defended any slander concerning him every chance she got, too. It didn't take a genius to figure out Keiko Koshiba cared greatly for Toru Igarashi.

But to the point of obsession—now, that was something out of the ballpark.

"You're flattering yourself," I finally huffed. "Obsessed with you? Yeah, right."

"I'm not lying," Igarashi enunciated. "Even if we are friends from childhood, there's a limit. And she just crosses it."

"So she loves you?"

He stared at me blankly. "Of course she does. We're practically family. We've been together since we were little."

I rested my chin on my curled fist. Then hummed. "I meant romantically."

"Ro. . .mantically?"

"Romantically."

A beat of silence.

Then, "Are you a moron? You're a complete moron, aren't you?"

I popped a nerve. I smacked the wooden surface. Our drinks shook.

Igarashi's facial features remained warped in bewilderment.

He honestly didn't realize it?

Koshiba did share his rotten personality and was the literal devil in disguise, but my sincerest apologies went out to her. This midget in front of me really was an insensitive dumbass.

I rose to my feet. "Whatever. I think is where I take my leave."

"Already?" Igarashi had resumed chewing. "Does that mean I get to have the rest of your food?"

"Have fun with it, idiot. I'll tell the waiter you're paying the bill on my way out."

He cheered.

I sighed. And he called me the fatass. . .

Right before I could take my leave, I twisted back around. "Hey, Igarashi."

"Hmm?" he said.

My heart rate picked up in my ears. I could hear the thing beating right against my ribcage. I gandered elsewhere for a moment. Then locked eyes.

"Thanks. . . for keeping me company today. I had fun."

An insult was coming. I expected it. It was commonplace at this point.

Squaring my shoulders, I braced myself for it. But what followed was certainly unexpected.

A brilliant grin poked into his cheeks. It reached his green eyes, leaving a cheerful glint in them. "You're finally opening up to my charms, huh?"

"As if! I'll jam my fist down your throat!"

He laughed, it being so uninhibited and free. "I also had a lot of fun, Kisaragi. Thanks for today. I owe you big time."

I had to admit it after being stunned into silence. Even as I made my way toward the front of the restaurant, it took my all to ignore the heat blazing every inch of my skin.

I couldn't help but admit it during the concert as well. That full-blown, genuine smile he seldom showed. . . It was extremely cute.

Oh, great, my mind rebuked me.

I have one enlightening evening with the guy and suddenly I picture him as anything other than repulsive? Moreover, label his rarity of a smile as cute?

I really was losing my sanity.