I'm late!

Again.

How does this keep happening to me?

I slid my shoes on and ran out the door to meet Igarashi at the gate entrance of my house. The wind blew steadily, making me cringe with how short my skirt was today. I lived alone so sometimes things get out of hand when it comes to things like… laundry… cleaning…dishes… anything that parents normally do really. If Igarashi's mom didn't offer to buy my groceries with my mom's credit card… I'd probably starve.

"Running late again?" Igarashi asked, his school bag hanging from one hand and his soccer bag slung over his shoulder. He raised his eyebrows. "Nice skirt."

I let my head drop in defeat. "I forget to get the laundry out of the washer last night so my uniform skirt was still soaked this morning. This skirt from middle school is all I have in school colors… but it's too short!" I groaned, tugging at the hem. Just my luck.

Igarashi tried to hold back his laughter but couldn't contain it for a very long. I glared and punched him in the arm. "I'm sorry, Kari. You gotta admit it's a little funny."

Shaking my head, I replied, "What am I supposed to do? Everyone's going to notice, and this wind is not helping." I wasn't comfortable with the possibility that the whole school might see my underwear. I'm going to die of embarrassment.

He stopped laughing and just smiled. "So, I'll walk behind you. No big deal." Igarashi took my hand and pulled me in front of him. "See? No one will notice."

For the first time this morning, I smiled. Igarashi and I had been friends since I could remember. He'd always lived across the street and we were practically the only kids in the neighborhood. Since we were in elementary school, he'd walked me to school. He was kind of like the big brother I never had, even though we were the same age.

My nerves went through the roof when we made it to the entrance gate to the school. A few people were staring but mostly I went unnoticed… until we ran into Nana who was waiting at the one of the front doors for us. His casual wave turned into a sly smirk and a laugh. Just great…

"Hey Kari, nice skirt," Nana commented.

My cheeks flushed. "Not so loud, Nana. I don't want everyone to know."

"I'm pretty sure every guy here has notice—ouh!" Nana rubbed his head where Igarashi had hit him. "What the hell, man?"

Igarashi rolled his eyes. "You're embarrassing her."

I held my hands up. "It's fine. Can we just go to class?" They argued a lot but it was like… friendly. Igarashi and Nanashima were really good friends. When Igarashi first met him, I'd been afraid that he'd forget about me but that wasn't the case. Nana and I had clicked pretty quickly. Plus, I'd developed quite the crush on him. Now, the three of us were inseparable.

"I have to meet the team for a quick minute. Nana will walk behind you to class so no worries, okay?" Igarashi said with a smile.

"I will?"

"Yes. Just do it. See you guys in class," Igarashi waved as he walked away toward the boy's locker room for the soccer team.

"After you," Nana said and gestured for me to go first. As he walked behind me, he flipped my ponytail a few times. "Sometimes I wonder how you survive living alone with how forgetful you are."

I tried to focus on my steps instead of the boys that stared at me as we passed. They were whispering to each other and grinning. This is awful.

"Ignore them." Nana pushed on my back when I stopped. "I like the skirt."

I blushed and stared at the floor. "You do?" That wasn't surprising but just hearing him say it made my heart race. I knew why girls fell for him. I was the first. Nana had no idea the effect he had on me.

"Of course, I do. It's hot." Nana answered as we entered the classroom. All eyes fell on me. Narrowing his eyes, he said, "Mind your own business."

When I sat down, the skirt rode up even more. Tugging at it did no good. The two boys that sat in front of me, Takeshi and Futo where whispering but I could still hear them. Nana was off flirting with some girl who smiled and twirled her hair.

"She's always been hot but that?" Futo said.

"She's totally asking for it. What are the odds that I can talk her into the janitor's closet?" Takeshi replied, blatantly staring at me.

"Man, you have to share! That's not fair!"

Mortified, I laid my head on my desk. They only stopped talking when Igarashi and Nana came to their seats.

"Kari, you okay?" Igarashi asked.

Before the teacher started to talk, I answered, "I'm going to the bathroom." I couldn't get out of the room quick enough. The hallways were clear of students so I didn't have to worry. Boys were so disgusting.

Instead of going to the bathroom, I decided to cut class and go up to the rooftop. Thankfully, it was empty too. From up here, I could see the first years on the soccer field. The city around the school buzzed with life. One day, I wanted to see this view in the dark, while the city was asleep.

"There you are," A voice said from behind me.

I thought it was Igarashi but when I turned around, I was face to face with Takeshi, grinning again. Behind him, Futo stood with a similar grin. Takeshi stepped forward and backed me against the fence. The broken pieces sticking out dug into my skin.

"Leave me alone," I replied with a cracking voice.

"Don't worry babe. We know why you wore that skirt," Takeshi said, grabbing my wrists and holding them above my head. He pushed his leg in between mine to keep me from kicking him.

I tried anyways, not caring about the piece of wire that cut into the back of my thigh. "Let me go! Please!"

"Your precious Nanashima and Igarashi aren't here to defend you," Futo spit out. He hesitantly reached for me. Laughing like a schoolboy, he squeezed my breast.

As much as I struggled, nothing helped. "Stop!" I shouted, finding my voice. No one would know I was gone until after gym. Even then, would they know I was up here? I shut my eyes.

"You're weak without them," Takeshi whispered into my ear and then kissed me rough. He held the back of my head with his free hand so I couldn't stop it. He shoved his tongue into my mouth, leaving the nasty taste of orange juice and stale pop tarts.

"The lady said for you to stop," A new voice came from behind both of them. I recognized him. Akine Minozuno. He was a third year who had a reputation for picking fights, though he was well liked by most of the students. He pushed his hand through his messy black hair after dropping his cigarette. "Get lost before I kick your asses off this roof." He snuffed out the cigarette with his boot.

Takeshi let me go. He and Futo practically ran for the door. I held my skirt down as the wind blew. "Thank you," I said, trying to keep standing. Blood dripped down my leg from the cut. It hurt to even put pressure on that leg.

Akine scooped me up, like I weighed nothing, and headed for the door. "I'll take you to the infirmary."

If it had been anyone else, I would have protested, but it hurt so bad that I didn't. He effortlessly carried me down the stairs in silence. I hadn't expected anyone to be on the roof but I was overjoyed that he had been. He probably doesn't even know how much it means to me.

"Nanashima fell on me in the gym but it's no big deal! I'm okay," Serinuma said, talking to Mutsumi, another third year. Her eyes fell on me. "Oh my god, Kari! What happened?"

"She fell on the roof. No idea what the hell she was trying to do," Akine said with a laugh. He had a smile on his face. The badass guy from the upstairs had completely melted away. "She cut her leg. You're on the health committee, right?"

"Yes! Shinomiya is good with bandages. He should be able to patch you right up!" Serinuma lead the way.

A first year narrowed his eyes when we entered. "I thought I told you that the infirmary was for actual patients?"

"Kari has a big cut on her leg. Can you treat her?" Serinuma asked. She acted like she hadn't just been insulted by a first year. That's what I liked about her. She was kind and it didn't matter what she looked like.

Shinomiya gathered some first aid things and sat in a rolly chair. He worked quietly, cleaning the wound, wrapping it up, and wiping the blood that dripped down my leg off. "There. You should stay off it for long periods of time for the rest of the day and tomorrow."

"Thank you," I smiled and attempted an awkward bow. I wasn't sure but I thought he might be blushing. Akine left me to go to his class without so much as a goodbye. Instead, I walked back to class with Serinuma and Amane.

Opening the classroom door, Igarashi was the first to see us. "She's awake! You okay?"

I slipped by, starting to go back to my seat. Takeshi and Futo were both back, staring me down. This time they looked mad. I was pretty much frozen for a solid minute before I finally got the courage to walk back to the back of the room. Instead of sitting, I opted for staring out the window.

Typical Nana. I heard the whole class laugh when he called Serinuma a human cushion. Igarashi lost his shit over that. At least they balanced each other out. Igarashi apologized for Nana and they came back to where I was.

"What happened to your leg?" Igarashi asked.

"Nothing major. I'm fine," I answered, forcing myself to smile. There was no way I could tell them about what happened. Not only would they be pissed, but they'd probably commit murder. At least they cared.

"She probably fell again," Nana rolled his eyes and sat down at his desk.

Igarashi didn't have time to press the issue. The teacher asked everyone to sit down. I was grateful for that because Igarashi knows me well. So well, that he might have seen through my lies to his never-ending questions. I sighed and rested my chin on my hand. The day was almost over. I could home and try to sort out what happened. Or… that's what I had been hoping.

The bell rang and Nana stood up. "Looks like I'm walking you home since Igarashi has practice."

Fantastic.