I was beside myself. I couldn't believe I was falling for someone with a criminal record. Someone on probation! Me! The sister of a private investigator and daughter of a police officer, falling for a criminal. Love has a sick sense of humor.

Thinking about him made me feel like I swallowed a butterfly or set off a blender in my stomach. Something like that. What was the saying? For a girl with superior honors and plans for a prestigious college, I couldn't quite tell the emotions I was feeling. I wasn't calm and collected like I normally was when I thought of him. I felt all shaky and sweaty and uncomfortable. I felt like one of those cliche descriptions of a romance novel (which I never read, by the way. I was too busy with my nose in a scholarly book, thank you very much). I wanted these feelings to go away.

But what was I supposed to do? I couldn't just avoid him, the leader of the Phantom Thieves. I also couldn't act on my emotions either, because I'm a seemingly perfect honors student who would never have relations with someone on probation. I'd never felt this way about anyone ever! Not until some second year at Shujin Academy showed up mid April, that is. Some second year who was only taken in so the principal could have something good to say about our small, unattractive school. Kamoshida was the only thing keeping this school afloat, but after he lost it and resigned, we were kind of back in the dark.

"Makoto? Hello?" I heard a voice from behind me.

I turned quickly, nearly bumping into Ann.

"Did I.. startle you?" She giggled, covering her mouth. God, she was so pretty. She had aqua blue eyes and long, platinum blonde hair, tied into two tight pigtails. Her body was an eye catcher too. I was a little jealous, I had to admit.

"Uh, no, I was just… thinking," I muttered. "What did you want?"

"Oh, we're just having a meeting at the hideout," she said. "Kurusu-kun was wondering where you were."

Kurusu? Akira Kurusu was wondering where I was? I was overthinking this. He's the leader of the Phantom Thieves and we were going to go into action, that's all. It's not like he was looking for me for any reason. I felt my face flush anyway.

"Oh, yeah," I said, turning away from her gaze. "Yeah. I'll be right there."

I felt foolish for letting just his name get to me. Was this what a crush felt like? It's not like I had anything else to compare it to. Most of the guys at our high school looked like shrimp. I didn't even have any crushes in middle school, either, purely because most of the boys didn't even know how to shower. Maybe the only reason I felt this way about Kurusu was because I had standards as low as my self esteem. That had to be it.

All throughout finishing up the exploration of Mementos, I felt incredibly self conscious about how I looked. I was afraid my hair was all tangled and my makeup was running. I wanted to look cute if Kurusu looked this way. Ann always looked so flawless, even when we worked up a sweat against Shadows. If she had Morgana's attention, she probably had a lot of other boys' too. I don't know how flattering it is to be desired by a weird-ass cat, but hey, what do I know?

"I want coffee," Yusuke complained. "Something hot or cold or something with curry now that we're done here."

His desires were met with silence. We were tired, and we were used to Yusuke talking too much.

"I want coffee at LeBlanc," Yusuke hinted, as if we didn't hear him the first time. "LeBlanc coffee," he said to himself, as if he were reaffirming himself of his desires.

"Yeah, coffee! And maybe iced tea and sweets!" Ann grinned.

"It sounds fine by me," Ryuji said, tucking his hands into his pocket and flashing Kurusu a grin.

I guess there was no getting out of this one. As exhausted as I was, and as late in the evening it was, it seemed like my friends wanted a cup of coffee.

"Maybe it would be nice," I said softly, keeping my eyes on the ground.

"Fine," Akira Kurusu sighed. Yes, truly a man of many words. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and readjusted his glasses, keeping his eyes in front of him. His calm, serious composition drew me into him. Most girls love a man with a sense of humor, a man who compliments her, who lavishes her in gifts and treats. But something about his brick-wall personality got me going. Trying to talk to him was as hard as nailing pudding to a tree (which can be done, so I've heard. So talking to Kurusu can also be done, but it's not easy).

I'm sure Shojiro Sakura was thrilled for a group of young adults to come storming into his cafe so late in the evening. Ryuji and Morgana were loud, rowdy, and overall obnoxious, while Ann and I sat in a booth holding our coffee close for the warmth it provided. Kurusu was stuck in the kitchen helping Shojiro. I'm sure having friends over for coffee and curry was just a thrill for him, considering all he got to do was work and clean.

I could hear rain start to pit patter on the window panes. Dark, angry clouds engulfed the once happy, blue sky.

"Kurusu-kun is really cool, don't you think? I feel kind of bad that he gets such a bad rap for being on probation. No one really gives him a chance, ya know?" Ann remarked, using a coffee spoon to swirl her drink around.

"Yup," I sighed. "He sure is."

"You probably thought he was nothing but trouble before you joined the Phantom Thieves, huh?" She continued. "Ya know, being a perfect student and all, right?"

"Well, it's not that," I muttered. "I just… I don't know what I think of him." I avoided her gaze, focusing on my coffee as if it were doing some really interesting things.

Ann cocked her head to the side, a long pigtail draping over her shoulder and hanging down. "Do you not like him? Is that it? Is he too much of a shady guy for you to associate yourself with?"

"N-No!" I exclaimed, a little too loudly. It was really quite the opposite. He may be shady and weird and lack any kind of conversation skills, but he was charming nonetheless. "No, it's really not that at all!" I was beginning to get flustered. Why?! I cursed my inadequate social skills under my breath.

"Uh, ok," Ann frowned. "You're a little weird, you know that, Makoto? I can't tell where you stand here."

And you don't need to, I thought. I never ever wanted to tell anyone that I had even the teeniest, tiniest ounce of romantic feelings regarding Kurusu. Never ever…

"He's the leader of the Phantom Thieves, ya know," she said, taking a sip of her coffee. "You might as well try to like him a little bit."

Thunder roared in the distance, shaking the window panes. I felt a shiver creep up my spine. I hated the gusty, dark, rainy nights. Not even the hottest cup of LeBlanc coffee, prepared by Akira Kurusu himself would warm me. These nights chilled me to the bones.

"Well, I need to get going," Ann said, standing up and packing up her belongings. "Before this rain gets any worse and I get blown away." She flashed me an adorable grin before turning and heading out the door, followed by a still rowdy Ryuji and a satisfied Yusuke.

I heard another clap of thunder, louder this time. It was followed by a sharp flash of lightning and an increased downpour. I glanced out the window, watching wind whip through the trees and rain flood the streets. I dreaded going out there, but I knew I'd have to arrive home at a decent hour if I didn't want to worry my sister. I sighed.

"Walk the girl to the station," Shojiro said, taking a drag from his cigarette. "The weather's gettin' nasty. I want you to return home as soon as possible, you hear me? I'll be waiting for you."

"Oh, no, really…" I started. "It's fine, I -"

"We're going," Kurusu said, sliding into a jacket and grabbing an umbrella. "Let's go."

Hey gang! This is my first ever published fan fiction EVER. I was really debating whether I should publish anything but why not? I publish a lot of my art and it doesn't get the most attention but I do it for my own benefit. I'm a little sweaty spaghetti putting my art and writing into the world, but I hope at least someone will like it.

I am gonna build up the story a bit so I'm not just rushin' into smutty things (as much as I want to). It'll happen though, I pinky promise. I also have to write non-explicitly so that this website doesn't give me the boot. I will write scandalous things though. I don't quite know what direction I want to take this story in yet, but I'll get there when I get there.

Thanks for reading guys. I appreciate it super much! If you think this is half decent you should be prepared for chapter two n three n so on because those will be even MORE decent!

Kisses! xoxoxo