Shouto asked for his usual ginger ale. The waiter nodded as he went to grab his drink. The sound of soft rock gently nestled into the quiet diner. It was the typical run-of-the-mill street corner diners. With the exception of the regulars, the diner was quite dead. It wasn't surprising to Shouto as he came on a Sunday afternoon, where most were spending the day perusing the shops and spending time with family. With his mother attending her mental health seminar and his father out of town, he really didn't have an expected time to be at home. Especially being summer vacation and all.

It didn't matter to the teen as he was thumping his fingers to the beats of Boston. He touched his chin, noticing the hint of stubble, reminding him to shave. Yet again, he might keep it. His older brother Natsuo once told him that chin hair was a sign of budding maturity.

If only his mother and his teachers would recognize it then instead of questioning him on late curfews and overdue homework assignments.

The waiter gave him his usual on ice. Shouto nodded at the waiter as he took his drink. The refreshing tinglings impacted his taste buds, quenching anything that needs to be sufficed. He wiped his ginger ale mustache with a napkin before placing the glass back on the table. He took a handful of peanuts and ate some before resuming his drink.

The sound of the bell gave presence that someone entered the establishment. The regulars weren't fazed, consuming their heavily starched breakfast and sugary drinks. He couldn't help but humor them, especially when they were minding their own business. If only his parents and his teachers were able to receive the memo.

As he took his third sip, he was surprised by a pair of arms wrapped around his shoulder. There was an exertion of force behind the contact. The arms wrapped around him like someone would do to a lover or better yet, a snake does when it wraps around its prey. He wasn't scared. In fact, he relaxed. Because those pair of arms belong to one person who he was happy to see.

"Glad to see you released from the cage, you cheeky brat." Classmate and vice president, Momo Yaoyorozu made her appearance from behind and pecked him on the cheek before having a seat beside him. She wasn't wearing her usual attire today. She wore her yellow tank top, tight enough to see all parts of her curvy body and her breasts. She wore her checkered plaid skirt. Shouto jokingly on many occasions called it her Catholic schoolgirl look, much to the chagrin of Momo. Jokes aside, Momo finished her job working at the drink bar. And Shouto was being nice of naming it a drink bar. He wasn't certain that a drink bar would be a corrugated, hole-in-the-wall rat pit that served to the downtrodden and the shylocks of their town. He wasn't certain that a drink bar would hire a sixteen-year-old. Nevertheless, the pachinko bar is owned by her uncle and her mother had a least a small amount of trust for Momo as she protested to her mother that she wanted responsibilities to take care of the household. After many months of pestering, it finally paid off.

The smell of men's sweat, fried pork, and spilled wine served as her fragrance. The teen didn't mind as any scent that belonged to Momo he had found pleasurable.

"So, did the evil magician released the dragon from his prison," she said with a grin. She asked the waiter for a peach iced-tea with a hint of mint. He nodded while making her drink.

"No, in fact, the evil magician had to go to a show," said Shouto while getting a handful of peanuts.

"You busted out," asked Momo as she leaned closer to him. "You bad boy. I think you deserve to be punished."

"Oh, you tease," said Shouto in a feminine tone.

The evil magician in question was referring to his mother. Ever since being released from the hospital, she went from being a laid-back, off-the-wall mother to being a tyrannical, further-off-the-wall mother. She always wanted to know Shouto's whereabouts at all times. His friends, his money, his web browsing history. Even his father, liked he cared, wasn't that questionable on his privacy. But not his mother.

Shouto was recently grounded for breaking curfew. The teen had gone to the movies with Momo and his friends. Upon finishing the movies, the gang decided to head to the karaoke bar for some after hours fun. Unfortunately, he didn't contact the parental units of his whereabouts thus breaking curfew. When returning home after two in the morning, he was met with a slap by an angry mother. She boasted him on his whereabouts, even to the point in which she did a sniff check to see if he wasn't sexually involved. Shouto remained in disbelief that his mother would go to his measures to be certain of that.

Not finding evidence, she told him to take a shower and then head to bed.

It has been nearly four weeks since then and he was still grounded until further notice.

"At least your grades have significantly improved," said the teasing Momo as she was poking with her straw on her drink. Shouto was somewhat envious of his friend. The duo has yet to answer the important question of defining their relationship.

At least to him, the connection was there. No girl would share their drinks, their foods, and casually kiss him in that regard. When they go out, they hold hands. They would call and text until they fall asleep.

Although they haven't had sex, they have slept with each other. If one were to count the time he slept on her shoulder on an overnight train ride during a class field trip.

"Aren't you a great counselor," answered Shouto gingerly as he cracked the shell of this peanut. "I've told Mom that I was sorry and she still doesn't want to hear it." He had mockingly raised his finger. "'Son, you must understand rules!' 'When I was your age, I didn't do such things to my mother.' 'I do this because I love you, son.' 'I do this. I do that. White bread, please!'" He flicked a peanut as it bounced to the window. "She doesn't pull that crap to Toya or Natsuo. Hell, even Fuyumi gets a pass and she lives with me. She always late and stuff like that."

Momo extended her arms around Shouto, using her fingers to massage the back of his neck. Her gentle touches ignite the flames in his heart. As if sparks were igniting his senses, he adjusted his position as he gave Momo the permission to ease his mind. "Fuyumi is an adult, Shouto. Natsuo is grown." She looked at the ceiling while massaging his neck. "I can see that Middle Child Syndrome is the culprit."

"Yo, Moes! Whose side are you on? Middle Child Syndrome? That's Tenya talk!"

"It's good to know your wicked sense of humor remains despite not being seen from others." Momo knew the right things to say to get Shouto back on track. Even back when they have met at Freshman orientation at UA High, the teen was stubborn as a mule. Shouto was considered an attractive individual to the girls of the grapevine. However, what comes with attraction comes with the responsibility. Momo tried not to ponder further as she speculated on the obvious reason why he had texted her to come and see him.

As she brushed his cheek, he nudged forward to get his drink. "It's been a while since we have seen each other." He buried himself into the cup. "I miss you."

Her cheeks turned red, slightly turning away from him. Those words, three simple words. Words that she wanted to hear. It wasn't easy as they weren't able to see each other personally with the exception of school.

Although neither of them made a label, they still weren't ready for their classmates to know about their more-than-friends, less-than-lovers situation.

"I've missed you, too, Shouto." She gave herself a few inches from him. It wasn't that she wanted to get away from him but this overwhelming feeling of being cared for and thought of overtook the black-haired teen. She held on to her skirt, lining the plaid lines like a child. Shouto turned and made glances but quickly turned away upon eye contact with Momo.

"How long until your mother gets back from her meeting," asked Momo.

"Not after a while. I know not before evening," answered Shouto. His eyes weren't on her but at the now empty ginger ale. "She tends to call before heading home, being in touch with whereabouts and all."

Momo nodded as she slowly nudged toward Shouto's shoulder. "My uncle let me borrow the car as he will be out of town for a couple of days."

Shouto raised his eyebrows as he became surprised. "Your uncle let your borrow the Lucy Ford?"

The sound of jingling keys as she pulled out of her pocket confirmed it. "Let's says I had the pleasure of seeing my hero kick and scream."

Shouto couldn't help but smile at the awesome wonder of his friend, Momo. "A modern man's hustle!"

"A blind man's bluff!"

"The little lost and found."

"The devil herself."

Shouto followed Momo out of the diner and out into the parking lot. He was grateful it was a cloudy outside, or else the sun would have been hard to adjust to the glaring of the windshield. Momo became a popular hot item at UA after being one of a couple of teens to have a driver's license. Against the social norms where children are to be expected to study for exams to get into a national university, an atypical teenager was working on earning a license. Parents of the school have tried and failed to debunk the teenager from her vice-presidency as she was a bad influence for not following the conventional norms of a studious teenager.

Momo was quite grateful that her mother was a lawyer and a promising shoo-in for the Ministry of Law in the not-so-distant future.

Once again, his friend Momo was an awesome wonder.

"There is a thousand of place I can be, but I will rather be here with you, Shouto. In the end, that is what really matters," she said. She took Shouto by the hand. "C'mon, there is something I want to do. But, it is going to require you to drive."

"Me," asked Shouto in a startling voice.

"Yeah, you," she replied. "I want to show you something, but I can't drive. I had a drink or two at the job earlier with clients."

"I don't have a license," said Shouto.

"No matter," she said. "Act like I am going to teach you how to drive. Now quit being a little cheeky brat and let's go!"

To be continued….