All-nighters really suck.

When a person has something really important going on or for some reason is unable to doze off, sleep is what has to be sacrificed. Sleep, something so precious that it can be comparable to the ranks of food or video games.

Of course when one has to cram or finish a project, there really isn't a choice in the matter. Assuming that they care about the subject and all.

What's the worst however is when someone involuntarily pulls an all-nighter.

For example, pointlessly pondering whether the girl whose cell number you just got is going to reply back to you. She's obviously fast asleep and would have replied hours ago since the message you wrote was sent in the afternoon. Staying up isn't doing any favours, yet something in your brain is keeping you up anyways.

Or, if you can't sleep before a very important day, like the night before a job interview, or your wedding or something like the night before you transfer to a different school. Yes those are really bad, especially when you had no time to drink coffee in the morning. You're basically set up for faliu-

"Hikigaya-kun we've arrived to your new classroom, are you ready to introduce yourself?"

The well-mannered man who has been leading me through this never-ending hall has finally stopped. He waits for my response with his arms crossed, giving me a welcoming smile.

Heh, he is the principal of this school, being this friendly to new students comes with the job.

I give him a curt nod before he opens the door and beckons me inside.

Well here goes nothing.

"Oh it looks like the new transfer student has arrived, let's give him a warm welcome"

I walk towards the front of the room, making sure my steps weren't too fast nor too slow. Without missing a beat I say the typical new student introduction.

"My name is Hikigaya Hachiman and I h-hope we can get along!"

That line has been rehearsed at least ten times, and the bow I follow up with probably even more times. Yet, I still somehow manage to stutter.

My eyes finally move to gauge the reactions of the lovely students I'll probably be with for the rest of the year.

Let's see… a few groans, disappointed expressions, the guy who put his phone down is playing with it again, those girls are whispering to each other. Definitely a warm welcome.

"Hikigaya you can sit…ah there's an empty desk beside Yukinoshita, you can sit there"

Yukinoshita? How am I supposed to know who that is? Oh wait, there's only one empty desk and that's beside some girl at the very back of the class.

Upon closer inspection, I realized how distinct this girl really was from everyone else I've seen so far. Long silky black hair, flawless visage, striking blue eyes… she's almost like a princess. From her serious gaze towards the chalkboard and the excellent penmanship jotted down on her notebook, I could tell she takes her studies very seriously.

"Could you please direct your eyes somewhere else? I tolerated it for the first minute but now it's becoming quite distracting"

It took me a second to realize that those words came from Yukinoshita's mouth. She didn't so much as give me a glance. I guess it would make sense, from her eyes some random transfer student isn't even worth glancing at. Although her words could have been phrased a bit nicer…

"Ah, my bad"

I received no indication whether my apology was heard or not.

I finally decided to serve the purpose of attending and educational institution and listen to the teacher's ramblings while taking down notes.

Except there was a slight problem.

This class just so happened to be Math and I was tired as hell.

After five minutes of trying to decipher whatever the hell derivatives were, I felt that I deserved a short nap. Besides, I'm sitting in the back of the class, so no one will even notice me closing my eyes for a bit.

With my resolve set in stone, everything around me slowly turned black and I felt my consciousness fade.

"…..he...fas….sleep."

"..o be fair, Math is pretty boring"

"Hey, Yukinoshita. How about you teach Hikigaya-kun over here everything he missed? You are the smartest in the class after all"

I woke up, but feigned slumbering so I wouldn't receive more attention.

"It's his job to ask if he wants assistance. However I'm not sure if I'd want to help someone who can't even be bothered to stay awake in class"

"Hah cold as usual, I would expect nothing less from you"

This doesn't sound like the most pleasant of conversations. Let's try going for an extended nap.

"Hey, wake up~"

With a poke to my cheek, my automatic defenses were up and I was forced to awaken.

"Hey, you look tired, have a rough night?"

The voice was melodious and the face that said it was pretty. Not as pretty as Yukinoshita's, but pretty nonetheless. She had brown curly hair and had a huge smile on her face. I noticed there were two girls behind her, one with short black hair and another with long blonde hair.

"My name is Takanashi Maru, these are my two friends Fukui Ako and Kase Machi. Do you want a tour around our school?"

No, not particularly. I'd rather just sit here by myself and not be a bother to anyone. Those overly friendly smiles are scaring me though.

"U-um sure"

"Great! Let's go then"

How troublesome. I notice that the entire classroom was empty with the exception of Yukinoshita quietly eating her lunch by herself. Lunchtime huh. This will be the first time in four years since I've spent it with other people.

My hands were pulled up. I made sure to grab my backpack with my lunch before I was dragged around by these three girls around the school.

If this was the Hachiman from two to three years ago, he would be celebrating with joy and making stupid assumptions.

Not me though. The years of experience I've built up has given me resistance from such temptations. When a girl approaches you with a smile, it means they want something from you. When a group of girls approach you, they're going to use you for some scheme of theirs that's going to end with you looking like a fool. Even if they have no such intentions, there's no special meaning for why they talk with you. They're friendly towards everyone, you just happened to be the person most convenient.

Which is why my passive skill "Indifferent Hikki" has only grown stronger in the past few years.

As we passed through a hallway, a vending machine caught my eye. I locked on to it, looking for a certain yellow canned beverage that could help me with this situation.

Apparently I wasn't subtle enough as one of the girls seemed to know exactly what was on my mind.

"Oh, Hikigaya-kun would you like to get a drink or something? You seem really interested in that vending machine over there"

"Well, that is, if it's not a bother or anything", I reply. I really am thirsty, plus it will give me a nice timeout from walking around with this group of girls. I don't really appreciate the glares I'm getting from random guys. Not that I blame them or anything.

"Ok then, we'll meet you in the courtyard. Just keep continue down this hallway and make a left when you reach the end. There should be a door that leads you outside, we'll be there."

"Sure"

The social conventions so embedded to all humans, including me, kicked in and before I knew it my mouth was already moving.

"Do you guys want anything?"

I was met with three smiles, each of them seemed to spell out "finally!"

"If it's not a problem, then Strawberry for me!"

"Same here!"

"I'd like a Fanta, orange-flavored"

Tch. There goes my allowance for the week. I'm sorry wallet-chan, I'll be sure to be more careful next week.

With the drinks in hand and my throat quenched, I make my way towards the courtyard. If there's one thing I noticed about this school, it's a lot nicer than my old school. The classrooms are more expansive and the tiles look more expensive. Even the girls here are prettier. Maybe my middle school experience won't end so badly.

When I arrived at the courtyard, I was taken aback by the amount of people there. Everywhere there was people eating their lunch, fooling around, doing whatever students do in their spare time. There was even a couple under a tree kissing shamelessly. Gross.

Places like these are places I hate the most and my feet naturally gravitated back towards the entrance I just came from.

"Hey, over hereeee!"

Crap, looks like I can't escape. Two of the three girls were sitting on a bench under a tree. There was a small empty space in between them which I assumed was for the last member of their trio.

"Yo, where's uhh" Crap, I forgot her name, it was the brown haired one. Actually come to think of it, I don't remember any of their names.

"Oh are you talking about Maru? She forgot her lunch. She'll be back soon."

"Ah I see" Maru, Maru. Kinda like Maroon, that color's kinda brown.

"Anyways are you going to take a seat?" The black haired girl patted at the spot between them.

"H-huh, sit there?" No way can I sit there. Get that thought out of your head, there's no room there whatsoever.

"Yup. Thanks for the drinks!" With the drinks taken, the weight on my arms suddenly felt a lot lighter.

"Nah, its ok I can just stand up and eat"

"Haha, you're funny Hikigaya-kun. Come on just take a seat."

With that I was once again forced against my will to do something I didn't want to. Hachiman you definitely need to level up your resistance more to handle these new enemies.

With my bag on the bench, my lunch in my hands and two girls pressed against me, I couldn't have found this situation more uncomfortable. The bombardment of questions from said girls didn't make things any easier.

"What was your old school like?"

"Did you join any teams or clubs?"

"Hey, who's the prettiest girl you've seen in this school so far?"

They seemed to settle on me answering that last question as they both gave me expectant gazes. Unfortunately, that last question is always a trap and I still haven't found a way around it.

"Give the guy a break, asking him something like that will never work with the look you're giving him. Besides, it's no question that the prettiest girl here is me" With that, it seemed like I was saved. The leader of their gang was back. Brown, Maroon, yeah Maru was her name. She entered with a grin on her face.

"Or maybe it would be Yukinoshita… That answer is not uncommon either" Annnd that grin was replaced with a scowl.

She sat on the table, beside my backpack and started spouting some spiteful comments.

"What do you think of Yukinoshita? I feel bad that you have to sit beside her. She can be pretty but she's honestly quite a bitch. Did you know that she rejects every guy that asks her out in the coldest way possible? She has no heart and she always look at everyone else like they're beneath her. Don't you guys agree?"

"Yup yup"

"Totally on point"

Ouch, I've heard girls gossip before, but it never gets better each time you hear it. Then again I suppose humans will be humans. When you do something they don't like, you have to either adhere to what they say or become their enemy. If you're an enemy of one person, you become the enemy of all of their friends too. Even if you do nothing wrong, you can easily be ridiculed depending on whose foot you accidentally stepped on. This holds even truer for girls.

"So Hikigaya-kun what do you think of Yukinoshita so far?"

Nothing really. If I judge her without knowing her I'd only be making superficial assumptions, something that goes against my personal policy.

"I don't really know her well enough"

Maru frowned like that was not the answer she was looking for. Then after a second she nodded.

"Fair enough, let's hope you keep it that way. Be careful Hikigaya-kun."

"Duly noted"

That seemed to satisfy her as he clapped her hands and gave a pleased expression.

The lunch bell rang and signalled the end to this hellish experience.

I excused myself to the restroom to get some breathing space. Oh and now that I realize it, I actually had to go.

When I got back to class and took my seat, I noticed Yukinoshita had a distraught expression on her face.

"Hey, are you alright?"

My voice seemed to awaken her from whatever daze she was in. It looked like she didn't recognize me for a second before she composed herself. It was kind of cute actually.

"O-oh, I'm fine Hikigaya-kun"

"Oh ok"

And that was the end of that conversation. The next class was literature, so with that being my best subject and after having a can of MAXX Coffee earlier, the chances of falling asleep has went down from 80% to 5%.

The rest of the day went as uneventful as I would expect. If there was anything I learned, it's that the education here is much harder so I'll need to put double the effort if I want to maintain decent enough grades to keep my allowance money. What a pain.

As I left the classroom, I noticed Yukinoshita hanging back to look for something. I also noticed Maru and the other two girls sitting down looking at her. They had an amused expression plastered on their face which gave me a bad feeling.

Well whatever, this type of stuff happens all the time, nothing serious should come out of it right?

Yet, I somehow find myself standing by the doorway outside of the classroom anyways.

"Hey Yukinoshita, what are you looking for?" That was definitely Maru's voice.

"I don't see how that's any of your business." That icy tone is Yukinoshita for sure.

"Come on, don't be like that, we could help you look for whatever it is you need to find, what are friends for right?"

"I do not recall asking for your assistance, nor was I aware that we were friends"

"Tsk tsk, ever so cold, no wonder you have no friends. You'll never find your Pan-san keychain at this rate"

Pan-san keychain? Like that weird panda thing Komachi sometimes talks about? So that's the reason why Yukinoshita looked worried after lunch. How the hell did those girls know about that?

All this girl drama was making kinda hungry so I put my hand in lunch box for that chocolate bar I didn't have time to eat. Wait, what's this jingly thing in here? It's definitely not my chocolate bar. Taking it out I came face to face with a miniature panda that had a mischievous expression.

What? Is this the Pan-san keychain Yukinoshita lost? Why would it be in my lunchbox- oh. It all makes sense now that I think about it. It would be easy put something so small in my lunchbox while I was so distracted. Of course this would happen, these girls are all the same.

With newfound determination, I grasp the keychain in my hands and stand to enter the classroom. I would have entered too, that is, if I didn't notice this blonde haired dude beside me.

"Wait what the hell are you doing?" I whisper as loud as I can without gaining the attention of the girls in the classroom.

"Hey, don't mind me I was just wondering if there were any problems going around here"

His friendly smile irritated me. Who the hell was this guy? The hall monitor? Classes are over, your duties are finished.

"Well can't you see there's trouble? Why are you just standing there?"

"Nothing has happened yet, besides aren't you doing the same thing?"

Tch, I can't say anything to that. Nothing really has happened yet, but I can see how this can take a turn for the ugly. I need to go in there and clear this stuff up since I have this keychain. Besides, I don't want to stand beside prince charming over here for a second longer.

Taking a deep breath I finally step inside.

"We didn't steal it! You're always so perfect with everything, isn't it your fault that- oh Hikigaya-kun?"

All eyes were on me as soon as I entered. Uh oh, the balls on my court now and I have nowhere to pass or shoot. Aka I don't know what the hell I'm going to say. I should've thought this through.

"Yo"

A/N: Hey, what's up guys? I've always wanted to try writing a story for this site, and this is my first attempt. I'm not exactly sure if Yukino and Hayama went to the same middle school or if they went to a Japanese middle school at all, so if they didn't just consider this slightly AU or something. Also don't worry about the OCs, they're just there to get the plot moving. Anyways thanks reading and tell me what you think so far!