A/N: I figured I would try using a change of point of view from my previous fanfic to first person this time. I feel like first person suits Hikigaya better due to his tendency to make internal monologues. As this is going to be a longer fanfic, I prewrote some of it. You can expect weekly updates. I hope that the writing quality is a bit better as I spent more time editing.

Edit: Smaller paragraphs to increase readability.

Today was a regular day in class. The kind of regular where nothing changed and everything ticked like clockwork. People gossiped about the latest rumor and discussed their plans to hang out after school. I was the exception, being the only one in class sitting alone, slumped on my desk.

Out of curiosity, I took a peek at Hayama's group. Miura glanced back at me before giving a menacing frown. As expected of the Fire Queen to do that. The look made me immediately cower back in fear. What was I afraid of anyway? I feared a lot of people and things, but I had no reason to fear Miura. After all, we never really talked.

The only relation to her was that she was in the same clique as one of the members in the service club. Also, despite being pretty, and popular with most boys, I did not have a crush on her. Even if someone was born with flawless genes that resulted in a slim figure and smooth skin, it could not save them if their personality was terrible.

In fact, she was one of those people I despised. She was one of the fakes who liked Hayama, another equally fake person. My attention turned to the teacher who just came in. The whole class became silent as the lesson began. Fortunately, it was the last period and sooner than I expected, the lesson ended. I struggled to contain my excitement to participate in the going home club.

The thought dissipated once I recalled what my Hiratsuka-sensei said to me. A while ago, there was a certain essay I wrote second year that lead me to join in the service club during the second year of high school. Did I think I was a freshman for a second?

With the end of class nearby, I should prepare to head over to the service club. I have been regularly attending the club, and as of now, it was a habit. Once the bell rang, I picked up my bag and walked to the door. I stopped briefly by the door and turned around. Others were still chatting, but Yuigahama followed right behind me.

"Wait, for me!" she said. She had a pouting expression on her face as he quickly picked up her pace.

"Yo," I said, still walking straight forward. "Well, now it is fine, you are all caught up with me now right?"

"Jeez, next time wait by the door."

Now that I analyze it, it seemed like she still wanted to talk with some of her friends in her clique. It is okay Yuigahama, you can keep talking with your friends. I only left early because I had no friends. Speaking of which, why did she want to be around me so much? I always wondered why a nice girl like Yuigahama would even bother starting a conversation with a loner like me. My reputation in class was not the best.

In fact, that may be an understatement. On the first day of high school I had that accident and was bedridden for three weeks. Through those three weeks, people talked to each other and connected. By the time my injury healed, everyone else had already formed their own groups of friends and I was left alone. It definitely was not the best high school debut for me. Thus, her being with me could only cause others to distance themselves from her.

One possibility to this situation entered my mind. Could it be that she liked me? I quickly disregarded that assumption. Simply, it was not likely. During my past, I have been fooled by nice girls, and that was painful enough. I was not foolish enough to fall for the same trick a second time. That was one superior aspect I had over other people. Unlike some others, I actually learned from my mistakes. When I mess up, I do not just forget and try again. I take note of it.

We walked down the hallway without speaking much. Upon arriving at the club room, I open up the doors letting out a light clack sound. As usual, the club room was dead silent. At the club entrance, I saw Yukinoshita sitting in her usual spot reading a book. She momentarily glanced at me when I opened the door, but quickly resumed her novel. The novel was likely one of those traditional classics.

Sitting down in usual spot, I took out my light novel and slowly got engrossed in my own fantasy world. Ahh, it was the relaxing activity of reading. I imagined myself lying down a comfortable cloth beach chair with the feeling of the warm sunlight on my face and the light sound of waves crashing. A servant served me some fresh max coffee.

That would be a nice life. I wonder if it would be possible to afford that kind of lifestyle with my current goal of becoming a house husband. As I continue drifting away from reality, Yuigahama and Yukinoshita in swimsuits walked by. I glanced out through the corner of my book and noticed Yukinoshita giving me a death glare.

"As expected of a person like you Hikikomori-kun," she said.

Did I make a weird expression? I may have gone too far with my daydreaming.

"What are you talking about? Light novels have their own merits just like traditional literary fiction." I said back. I was not about to let my precious stories get slammed down. Frantically, I scanned over my book for any sign of acceptable prose. No, no, that scene won't work. And neither will that scene.

That was unusual. Why was it that when I read it now, it seemed full of clichés? The protagonist was a complete self-insert, and the writer was using the novel to indulge in his desires, some of which I will not mention. Never mind the novel having intelligent plot, and the scenes would make any person with class cringe. I closed my book and sighed. I was defeated. I wasn't ready to fight the Yukinoshita boss yet. Tomorrow I will stock up on some health potions and some powerful weaponry.

On the bright side, the protagonist was relatable and the scenes were funny. He was in school, so there were exams, school trips, and club activities as well. There was just one major detail I found slightly unrealistic. How did he know so many girls? It was a very odd situation; he probably had two male friends while there were countless girls around him.

That was depressing; I thought the protagonist and I were similar. The protagonist was too well-adjusted of a person! Worst of all, currently the protagonist was complaining that some girl was asking him to help her study for exams. I retract my statement that the novel was relatable. For some reason, that scene reminded me of Iroha. She would always come to the service club to use me as the errand boy.

"With midterms coming up soon, there won't be clubs next week," Yukinoshita said.

"Yes, that means we can have a go somewhere, Yukinon!" Yuigahama stood and clasped her hands together with an excited expression on her face.

"Please focus on doing well on your exams Yuigahama," Yukinoshita said.

Yuigahama sat down dejected. I merely was glad. The service club, despite often serving as a calm gathering to read and relax, occasionally had requests. And no matter how you look at it, those requests were work. I would gladly avoid working if I can. After all, that was my mantra.

The following days were bliss. Assignments from class were toned down due to the upcoming midterms. Additionally, being free of club activities meant I had an enormous amount of free time. And for the first half of the week I spent my time grinding through video games. My immersion was then broken by a ring. Apparently I just received a text.

"Are you free tomorrow?" The message was from Yuigahama. I was free tomorrow but I wanted to play more video games.

"No, I have things to do."

"Like what, studying maybe?"

"Yes," I lied. The only reason I had so much free time was because of the exams next week. The teachers would give time to students to study, and some people did use the extra time gained from the cancelled club activities to study. However, during class I always paid attention to the lectures.

While others were daydreaming about their girlfriends during class or imagining what to do while anticipating the school bell, I was looking at the blackboard, took diligent notes, and concentrated on what the teacher said. Due to this, I did not need to study much outside of school.

"Okay, that is great then. Tomorrow you can help me study."

Studying together was not necessarily less effective than studying alone. People studying alone can encounter all sorts of roadblocks and without anyone to bounce ideas off of, can take a while to get over. In contrast, studying as a group reduced the bottleneck of one's own weaknesses. A person not understanding a specific explanation in a textbook can be clarified by another person in the study group. Everyone in the group benefits from this.

Unfortunately, group studying is also prone to distractions. This was likely why Yuigahama was asking me, as I would imagine that studying sessions with a group like Hayama's clique would be the complete opposite of productive.

I could just envision the group getting through several math questions before one person complains of hunger. Soon after, the whole group would head out to a café to eat some snacks. After the outing, people would lose the mood to study and chat around.

30 minutes of studying easily turned into 4 hours of hanging out. After they get home, everyone would be happy they got 4 hours of work done and after being proud of their great study session. It wasn't a surprise that those people's grades just ended up average. My thoughts were interrupted by another text.

"Remember, you still owe me for the honey toast."

"Fine, I'll help you," I replied.

"You make me sound like I am forcing you."

"You are. After all, who is going to be doing all the teaching?"

"I'm not that dumb, stupid Hikki!"

"Okay, I'll meet you tomorrow after school."

Since when did I say she was dumb? For her to say that could only mean one thing. She knew it herself. It appeared like I had no choice though. Anyway, I was getting tired of playing video games.

A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please leave a review if you enjoyed it.