After that night, and as Winter break continued, the group didn’t hangout much, excluding a couple neighbors coming over. Christmas then came and went. Everyone spent time with their families enjoying the month off. Just before the new year came around however, Asami came home as Hikigaya was in the living room watching TV. She places a couple bags on the counter. 

Asami “So, Hikigaya, got any plans for new year’s eve?”

Hikigaya “Not really. Probably just hangout here with you like usual.”

Asami “Oh good, good.”

His mothers tone makes Hikigaya feel like something is up so he turns to face her with a questioning look.

Hikigaya “Why do you ask?”

Asami “Oh, no reason. Just making sure you were able to join us with the Inabi’s for a new year’s eve party to celebrate the new year.”

Shiori “What!?”

In Shiori’s home, Hamasaki tells her the same news.

Shiori “You mean I have to start the new year with him?!”

Hamasaki “What’s wrong with that? I thought you liked him..”

Shiori “Absolutely not! I mean, I do but he’s, it’s that, I… Ugh! I don’t know! He gets on my nerves so much, I want to strangle him but he… tries really hard to make sure I know my friends care about me…”

Hamasaki “So it’s complicated?”

Shiori “...He’s a good friend but he’s very annoying.”

Hamasaki “Well it sounds like you two have a lot to talk about. It’ll be good for you to spend more time with him.”
Shiori “More than I already do?..”

Hamasaki “Besides, I haven’t seen you so happy in years.”

She smiles and walks away as Shiori pouts a bit about it. 

Only a few days later as New Year’s Eve comes around and the Oshiro’s get ready to head on over.

Asami “Make sure you don’t drop that tray of fruit Hikigaya.”

Hikigaya “I know, I know.”

They walk over with a couple bags of movies, games, snacks and drinks while Hikigaya holds the tray. Once Hamasaki answers the door, Asami and her both do a soft scream excited to see each other as Hikigaya puts the fruit tray down next to the other snacks. Shiori comes over to him.

Shiori “Hey.”

Hikigaya “Hey.”

They look at each other for a moment. 

Shiori “Want to hangout in my room for a bit before the New Year’s events start?”

Hikigaya “Sure!”

He smiles at her. She blushes a bit embarrassed having someone over. She usually hangs out in his room but she hasn’t had him over to her room yet. They go inside and Hikigaya looks around. He notices her desk covered in different notebooks and papers.

Shiori “Well, welcome to my room. Not really anything special.”

Hikigaya “Hey, Shiori. I see you writing all the time. I thought you were just always taking notes but, what’s all this?”

She sees him looking at her desk.

Shiori “Oh, it’s just a bunch of ideas I’ve had I guess. I want to become a professional writer.”

Hikigaya “Really? I definitely wouldn’t have pegged you for a writer type.”

Shiori “Yeah well there’s lots you don’t know about me.”

As she says this, Hikigaya walks closer to her desk and picks up one of the open notebooks. He begins reading it.

Hikigaya “Two childhood friends… turn out to be neighbors…”

He reads a bit of the notebook. She gets a shocked look on her face and dashes in front of him, grabbing the notebook out of his hands. 

Shiori “Why are you reading my story!?”

Hikigaya “I was just curious.”

Shiori “Well maybe ask next time!”

Hikigaya “Okay okay, I will! But Shiori, are you into… romance novels?”

She blushes as she slams the notebook down on her desk, turning away from him. 

Shiori “N-no! It wasn’t what you’re thinking! It was just… None of your business!”

She turns back and yells at him. He just sweats and smiles a bit.

Hikigaya “What are you so embarrassed about?..”

Shiori sighs in defeat and blushes, looking away from him.

Shiori “It’s embarrassing… others finding out that I like to read and write romance…”

He notices her getting self conscious about it so he tries to cheer her up. He begins patting her on the back, heavier than he should.

Hikigaya “Hey, it’s not so embarrassing! Someone like you fantasizing about a love story! Makes perfect sense!”

Shiori “You’re not helping at all. And would you stop hitting me!”

She bonks the top of his head down. She sighs.

Shiori “Why do I have to start the new year with a dumbass like you?”

Hikigaya stops rubbing his head and his face goes empty as he looks away from her.

Hikigaya “I bet you’d rather be here with Ryuji, wouldn’t you?”

Shiori looks down at him with a look of confusion. He stands up.

Hikigaya “It’s whatever. That’s pretty normal. Let’s just go back and hangout with the others.”

He turns and leaves the room, closing the door behind him. Shiori stands there for a moment, confused and concerned. She thinks about her words and regrets saying them a bit. Hikigaya stands in front of her door for a moment.

Hikigaya ‘Why do I even care so much? I should be glad she’s getting so comfortable with the others. Yeah, it’s a good thing! Still…’

He strains his face a bit before sighing and stepping away as Shiori comes out of the room too.

Asami “Hey you two! Check these out!”

She pulls out a bag filled with different fireworks with an excited look on her face.

Takanou “What do you say we head to the roof and light these bad boys up right at the start of the new year?”

They get excited and agree. Before they head out, Asami pulls Hikigaya aside for a moment.

Asami “Look what your sister just sent me!”

She pulls out her phone happily and shows him a text. Hikigaya then reads it and begins to get an excited look on his face.

Hikigaya “When did she send this?”

Asami “Just a bit ago! My baby is coming back home!”

Shiori looks over interested in their conversation.

Shiori “Who’s coming back home?”

Hikigaya “My big sister. She left for college a couple years ago. She writes to me every now and then but she’s coming home next week!”

She smiles at Hikigaya who looks so happy to be seeing his sister again. 

Shiori “Well I’m happy for you.”

She pats him on the back and he nods.

Later, on the roof, they begin to set up the fireworks while Riku rides on Takanou’s shoulders. There are a couple other families with the same idea here as well. Shiori and Hikigaya sit a bit away next to each other. They sit in silence for a moment. Shiori looks over at him and watches while he looks ahead. She thinks and struggles with herself for a moment before deciding to talk.

Shiori “I’m sorry Hikigaya. For earlier.”

He looks at her with a bit of a surprised look.

Shiori “You know I’m not the best at communicating what I’m thinking. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings..”

She leans forward a bit in her cross legged position, looking down. Hikigaya just looks at her for a moment before smiling a bit.

Hikigaya “I know, Shiori. It’s okay. It happens. Let’s just start this new year off better than before, okay?”

He tilts his head to the side a bit while he smiles at her. As she blushes a bit, the others begin the countdown for the new year. 

Family “3… 2… 1!”

As soon as they reach the last number, Asami and Takanou begin lighting the fireworks and they shoot into the air, exploding in beautiful colors. 

Family “Happy New Year!”

Everyone starts cheering and waving their hands in the air while they watch the show. Shiori looks back at Hikigaya who has a large smile on his face as he watches the fireworks. Shiori blushes a bit.

Shiori ‘I guess he is kind of… cute…’

She shakes her head a bit to get the thought out as she looks back and punches his arm playfully.

Hikigaya “Ow! Haha what was that for?”

He rubs his arm, smiling. Shiori shyly says,

Shiori “Happy new year…”

He smiles.

Hikigaya “Happy new year to you too.”

They both turn their heads to see the many fireworks across the city. When the morning comes around, they are all asleep in the living room together. Hamasaki and Asami share the long couch, Takanou and Riku are in the comfy chair and Shiori and Hikigaya are on the floor sleeping in opposite directions but their heads next to each other. Shiori slowly opens her eyes and sits up, rubbing them sleepily. It is still quite early. She looks around for a moment before smiling a bit and laying back down to sleep.

Back at school, some weeks later, it is before noon. Ms. Samuel is handing back graded tests to the class. As she comes around, Hikigaya has his head down with his hands covering his head. Shiori, who is sitting up proudly, looks at him.

Shiori “What’s going on Hikigaya?”

Hikigaya “I am not looking forward to seeing my grade on this test…”

Ms. Samuel “I understand why.”

Hikigaya shoots his head up to look at Ms. Samuel who stares down on him. She places the test on his desk and he sees it has a C+ on it. He sweats as he lowers his head again nervously.

Ms. Samuel “I expected more from you especially as you’re supposed to be on your best behavior.”

Hikigaya “Yeah…”

She turns her head away as she comes to Shiori.

Ms. Samuel “You on the other hand.”

She gently places the test down. It has an A+ on the top. She smirks as Hikigaya gets a shocked look.

Ms. Samuel “Well done Ms. Inabi. I expect you to keep this up.”

Lucy “Hahaha! You should see your face Hiki! It’s priceless!”

Ms. Samuel then slams down her test in front of her. Lucy gets a nervous look on her face as she slowly turns to look at Ms. Samuel.

Ms. Samuel “I’d be careful laughing at your friend there as your score isn’t much better.”
Her test reads a B-. They both get depressed about their scores as Chizuru shares her A- with Shiori and giggles. Ms. Samuel continues down and hands Ryuji, Haru and Sugawara’s tests. Ryuji got a B+ and Haru got a B-. Haru looks over to Sugawara who is calm and simply begins to put it away in his binder. Haru notices his score. 100/100 A+. 

Haru “Woah, Sugawara. You’re like a genius like Shiori!”

He quickly gets embarrassed and looks away.

Sugawara “N-no, I just study a lot. I don’t have anything else to do so I study, that’s all!”

Haru laughs as Ryuji smiles watching Sugawara get embarrassed. After she finishes passing out the tests she goes back to her desk and sits with a sigh.

Ms. Samuel “I’ll be honest with you guys, I’m rather disappointed with the overall test scores. Many of you did worse than I thought you would. Although, a couple of you did excellent.”

Shiori smirks even more at Hikigaya while he clicks his tongue and looks away.

Ms. Samuel “It is over with now though so there’s no point in worrying over it. Just remember that there is lots more work to do so don’t start slacking now. I know Valentine’s is right around the corner but don’t let that be another distraction for you.”

The class begins to talk amongst themselves remembering that Valentine’s Day is very soon. Ms. Samuel sees this then droops a bit.

Ms. Samuel “Why did I bring it up?..”

Shiori looks surprised.

Shiori ‘That’s right, Valentine’s Day. This is the first time I’ll even have a crush on Valentine’s… Maybe I should…’

She looks over to Ryuji who is writing down something in his notebook. She blushes a bit as suddenly Chizuru gets loud.

Chizuru “Oh I know! We should all make chocolate together! You could give it to the person you like.~”

She elbows Shiori a bit and giggles while she blushes.

Hikigaya “Yeah I’m gonna have to pass on that. My sister said she needed some help with some stuff.”

Haru “What kind of stuff, Hiki?”

He asks obviously trying to bait if this is a fake excuse or not.

Hikigaya “Stuff that’s none of your business, that kind of stuff.”

He says while he shoves Haru’s face away from him.

Ryuji “Yeah, I can’t either. Sorry.”

Chizuru pouts a bit.

Haru “Don’t worry Chizuru. At least Suga and I will come, right?”

He turns back to Sugawara smiling while he blushes and embarrassedly answers.

Sugawara “R-right..”

Lucy “Yeah, I might as well come too. Not like I have much else to do.”

She smiles, puts her arm behind her head and leans back in her chair.

Chizuru “What about you Shiori? Join us, it’ll be super fun!”

She looks at her and leans closer with her big eyes. Shiori nervously sweats for a moment and hesitates to answer. 

Shiori “Mmm… Fine, I guess I’ll come..”

Chizuru “Yay!”

She hugs Shiori a bit and she blushes. 

Hikigaya “Oh yeah? Gonna make me some chocolate as thanks for being such an awesome friend?”

He leans over and pokes her.

Shiori “Oh shut up, like you even deserve them. They’re not for you, you dumbass.”

Hikigaya “Oh, I know who they’re for.”

He smirks at her. She gets embarrassed.

Hikigaya “But don’t worry, your secret is safe with me.”

Shiori “It better be because if you say anything…”

She puts her thumb under her neck and begins to slide it across her neck as Ms. Samuel interrupts.

Ms. Samuel “Okay, I’ve given you enough time to get it out of your system. Let’s get back to work.”