okay, so here's the rewrite for chapter 2 in the way i've always imagined it to be: a runo chapter. like, a whole chapter in her perspective and im so so so excited bc i love writing runo, she's so crass and blunt and there's a little bit of a running gag. read on to see if you can catch it lol

also..the dan chapter is after this. brace yourselves. enjoy what you can xx

"Runo"

Monday.

Hell Day. Hell day? Never mind that was an understatement.

Day started off as usual. Caused some trouble on the bus: screaming, throwing paper, called some names.

We still arrived at school though. A pink slip for detention, but eh. What's new?

I went straight to my locker, located by the main hall. I never liked the main hall. Too much people. Too much talking. Too much gossiping.

And right on cue, as I grasped my chem textbook, was when I heard them talking..about me.

"I heard she was beating up some people again last weekend." Not true. I stayed home to watch some sports.

"Nah..I heard she tried to sneak out of her family's cafe to go to some frat party but then her neighbors mistook for a thief and called the five-o." Okay, what? Where do people come up with these things?

"You're both wrong, first off. I heard she-"

"Hey! No gossiping about my bestie is allowed, ever! You hear me?!" Well, she's here early.

I sighed and closed my locker to face her.

Julie Makimoto. Girly-girl. My best friend. Incredibly tanned, how even. Captain of the volleyball squad.

"Erm..no need to be so loud, Julie."

I allowed myself to smile. At least, she's here, too.

Alice Gehabich. Really nice. Really smart. Probably rich because her Grandpa's a really famous scientist.

She was also supposed to be in high school right now with Shun, but she had taken a long break from school due to a..small bout of sickness, to say..last year. No one mentions it. No one really..needs to.

No one's allowed to remind her of it either, so don't even bother trying, or I'll hurt you.

I took a deep breath and joined them, feeling Julie's arms link with mine.

We started walking. "Thanks. Now I get to be gossip-free for, like, the next three classes, at least."

She grinned at me. "No problemo, chica! What did you do this weekend though? Just curious." She asked me.

I shrugged. "Working in the cafe. The usual. Alice would know, she was there, miss I-promise-I'd-help-out-this-weekend."

Julie put up an arm in protest. "I was busy! You know how Billy gets. Speaking of him.."

I felt Julie slink away from me and moved so her silver hair (it's natural, don't go there) wouldn't cover that..thing on her neck. It was a necklace.

Alice smiled. Of course, she's enthralled. Even though she was less of a girly-girl, Alice was pretty...preppy. But more like, old-money kind of preppy. The kind that would buy really expensive painting and give the painter an extra thousand yen as tip.

"It looks really nice, Julie." She complimented.

Julie smiled back. "Thankies girly! What do you think, Runo?" She turned to me, looking expectant.

I nodded, mustering as big of a smile as I could. "Looks great." It was a heart-shaped brooch. I'm not into the whole thing, but that's how this whole friendship between the three of us worked. You'll see.

She grinned again. God, how much toothpaste did she use everyday? Her teeth are like..shiny. What the-

"Hey, this is your stop." I heard Alice say, then she waved us all goodbye as she continued on to her homeroom, a few rooms down.

We waved back, and soon enough, I was in the first class. History. How nice.

"Runo? Come on! Day's awaiting, girl!"

I swear. Where does Julie get her energy? I'll get what she's having, please.

Usual people. Nothing interesting. So I plopped down to my desk, got out my ipod and let myself get lost to my playlist.

All Time Low. Good guys.

I was feeling that killer intro for kids in the dark when I felt a hand on my shoulder.

Note, I do not get scared that easily. Only surprised. So down I went, and it took me a second to recognize the voice.

"Class is starting. Might want to put that away, Misaki." No, no, no, no. Hate this kid.

He's so smug, and so irritating, and he tried to show off that Fender he got last year. Freakin' hell of a guy.

Daniel Kuso. Soccer team goalie. Everyone says he's so cool, but I beg to differ. He started a fight with me last year, and Julie says I'm overreacting, but I'm really not. I hate this guy. With my entire being.

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever." Brushed myself off as I hear him say, "Hey, look, not trying to piss you off or anything." Too late, dimwit. Too late.

Putting back my ipod and earbuds back in my bag, the teacher walked in and greeted us all a 'good morning'.

Not to be a grouch (but I am one, for the record) but my mornings are mostly not good. So, therefore, he speaks lies. Like when they tell you that the blood in your body is actually blue. Alice's grandpa told us this was a 'total fiction', and I believe him. Cause he is a scientist. Duh.

The next thing I knew, the teacher had a finger pointed to me and something about discussing my weekend. "Miss Misaki?"

I looked around. I was the only Misaki, but you know, stalling is always a good thing.

"Err.." I began, and caught a glimpse of Julie's pearly whites before I continued. "Just..the usual. Working in my family's cafe.."

I see him nod before trying to move on to another unsuspecting student. He never got to, though. Someone else already had their hand up. "Yes, Mr Gilbert?"

I could feel my eyes just..rolling to the back of my head. I love Julie, I really do. But her relationship with Billy gets pretty suffocating, honestly enough. I mean..

Billy Gilbert. Baseball team captain. Okay dude, I guess.

"Alright, I'm gonna tell a little story.." He began, and I saw him glancing at Julie. Oh boy.

"My weekend consisted of..my girlfriend and I's monthsary." He paused, letting most of the class swoon. The school loved these two. It was like a teen movie. Except we're not in high school. Yet. This was middle school. Eighth grade. Still so tight-knit, unfortunately.

"And so, I took her to a restaurant, and we ate dinner, and-Oh babe, you gotta show 'em that necklace, come on!" He urged. Julie complied, standing up to show the brooch. Do I feel ants around here? I think so. I hate ants. Goddammit, Julie.

I think Billy was gonna say something else, though. Something about a neighborhood baseball thing. The teacher called it community service, and I just about bust a nerve. Community service, my a-

"Okay, let's move on! The bell will be ringing soon, so take out your textbooks now and we can start..early."

I hate mondays.

Class has started, and I'm falling asleep. Have I ever mentioned how much I don't like my sleep getting interrupted? No? Now, I have. Fair warning.

I felt something poking my shoulder, and I looked up, groggily, to see who it was. It was Dan. Motherfu-

He did it again. I glared at him. He didn't seem to get the message and he poked me again. "Stop." I whisper-shouted. Still not stopping. I scoffed, and told him to stop again. Still not stopping.

"If you don't stop, I'll make sure you won't live to go to second period." I threatened. He still didn't stop. What is up with this guy?

So, like my great uncles have taught me, I grabbed his wrist and tried to twist it. He shouted in response. Good. Hopefully he learned his less-

"Misaki! Kuso!" I heard the teacher yell. Oh no.

He walked towards us, and Dan had already twisted his way out of my grasp.

The teacher glared and pointed to the door. "Outside. Now."

I relented and heard Julie say 'good luck' before reaching the door. Dan is so gonna get it.

there's a ton of noodle incidents mentioned eh? review to see which one you'd want me to divulge first. if not, i'll go the way i've planned it. those noodle incidents wont really affect the whole plot that much. i mean, they might as well be flashbacks. or filler chapters. hm, i like that. filler chapters.

also.. huge huge shoutout to violet2971 for the message! really warms my heart that this fic is still an actual thing that attracts.

also, another huge shoutout to hsbk for being one of my most fave fics. some elements from that might have made it here. including the idea for filler chaps. i owe a lot to hsbk. it's..life changing. anyway stay tuned for the dan chap. lets see how good i can get into getting into the lil twerp's brain. -jess