This is a prologue-ish preview type of thing. Remember Over a Cup of Tea? I'm still not quite certain whether or not I should post it, but I'm certainly not deleting the preview. It's way too strenuous, and I do think I'm getting lazy, especially now that school is ending. I don't want to put up a poll on my profile, but if you think I should continue it or get rid of it, please tell me. If I am going to write this, however, I'll need a beta, damn it. Seriously. Not just for this story; for any of them! Someone help me!

Hitomi Ayaka was known by many and practically feared by all. There was something about her attitude that scared her peers. Like a 'Don't Mess With Me Or I'll -- Kill You' aura. People described her in many different ways.

She was a stubborn, persistent brat, as described by some. She was dense and sarcastic as described by all. Most describe her as a lover of music and a hater of all things materialistic. Hitomi liked that description the best. She wasn't always like that, though. Surely not. She had a sweet side, but that side was reserved for the few people who actually knew her. Not the type of person to go scavenging for friends, she had one close companion: Natsume. Others were dust to her, and she couldn't be happier. Most people chose to avoid her, anyway.

"Hey! Hitomi!" Akaya called cheerily, poking his head through the door and grinning. "Did you, by any chance, finish the English homework?"

With the exception of him. Oh, and here he came again, interrupting her piano practice. Pausing in the middle of a composition and standing up, Hitomi scowled and tossed him a withering look. "Good afternoon to you as well, burglar-san." She sat on the couch and fiddled with the apples in the giant glass bowl on the coffee table. "By the way, I refuse to dignify that question with an answer. And how did you get the key to my house?"

"Niou-senpai's really good at picking locks," he answered casually, as though picking locks and breaking into people's homes were perfectly typical things to do. He walked inside and gently closed the door behind him. "Your mother isn't home?"

"No, she's not. She's going to be away on a business trip for a few days. Not going to be back until next Monday or something. She's really busy these days."

"I wish my mom would leave the house more," Akaya grumbled.

Hitomi arched an eyebrow but did not reply immediately. Instead, she put away her sheet music and turned to face him. "I'm assuming you want the answers to the English homework?" she guessed.

"Yeah, yeah. You know me so well."

"I think the teachers do too. Which is exactly why they're going to be able to realize that I was the one who did your English homework. So I'll turn down the offer, thank you very much."

He was annoying, frustrating, cocky, arrogant, snarky. He was all those things combined, and more. He was cheerful and optimistic to the point where it was almost sickening, and his ego could be so enormous that it would make Hitomi want to bang her head against the wall.

She had actually done that a couple of times. It really hurt.

With one glance at the size of his fan club, Hitomi could tell he was one of those narcissistic teenagers who cared about nothing but their looks and popularity. At least, that was what she assumed. Most boys in her school were like that. Surely Akaya would not be any different.

But some qualities did separate him from others. For one, he was denser than her second grade rock collection. He also had the English IQ of a five year old. Hitomi always found that factor in him amusing.

"Please? I really need your help." Akaya pouted, working his big green eyes and giving her s pleading, childish face.

Sometimes, Hitomi wished he would just leave her alone for once.

"Fine." She gave up and spared him a small smile.

But Hitomi would always succumb in the end.

"Thanks! You're the best!" Akaya smiled that silly smile of his and helped himself to an apple. Plopping down on the couch beside her, he pulled out his homework notebook and edged closer.

Yet, somehow, he would make it all worthwhile.

As you can probably tell, this is KiriharaxOC. I hope you enjoyed. By the way, The RikkaiDai Sleepover might be updated early this week (Friday instead of Saturday) because I am attending a friend's house party on Saturday, and school ends on Friday. We'll see. Later!