Purse bouncing against her thigh, Himiko approached Hope's Peak main entrance. She wore a spaghetti strap tank top over a white T-shirt.

Kaede held her sun hat to head. "Oh, I can't wait to go shopping at that new mall. I cut out so many coupons last night. We're going to make out like bandits!"

Maki rubbed her sunglasses on her layered ruffle blouse. "How do I always get dragged into these outings?"

The girls passed through the metal gate entrance. Leaning against the brick wall were Shuichi, Kaito, and Kokichi. Shuichi straightened. "Ah! You're here. Good. I was afraid if you took any longer, we'd miss the subway."

"Shuichi!" admonished Kaito. "A man's duty is to wait on their woman. Grandpa says that's the key to a long marriage."

"S-sorry, Kaede."

The pianist giggled. "It's all right. Let's get going then." The group of high schoolers began walking down the sidewalk. Himiko, ever slow to start anything, lingered.

Kokichi glanced up from his phone. Glimpsed the magician. "Oh, jeans. That's new. You're always wearing skirts or dresses."

Himiko bristled. "Why do you care what I wear?"

Kokichi's face went beet red. "I-I didn't know they make jeans in baby sizes. That's all." Eyes to his phone, Kokichi hurried to the front of the pack.

Himiko scowled.

As they continued walking to the subway station, Kaede hung back. Leaning closer, she whispered, "Did I hear that correctly? You know, guys only notice the clothes of girls they're crushing on. Ooooh, does Kokichi like you?"

"What?" exclaimed Himiko. "There's no way! He so mean to me and such a pain. That would never happen."

Smiling, Kaede nudged the mage with a shoulder. "I know I'm right. Hey, Shuichi, get over here."

Himiko groaned. The detective slowed down, matching their pace. "You need something?"

"Boys only pay attention to the outfits of girls they're sweet on, right?"

Blushing, Shuichi pressed a hand to his chest. "Oh, I'm sorry, Kaede! Y-you do look really nice today…"

"Aww, really? I mean, no! That's not what I meant! Kaito!"

Himiko covered her face with her hands. Kaede's whisper shouting could assuredly be heard by everyone. Even the passerby on the opposite street were giving them sideway glances.

Kaito switched places with the dejected detective. "Yo."

Kaede grabbed Himiko's upper arm. "Tell her that guys only notice the clothes of girls they like."

Kaito nodded heartily. "Oh yeah, absolutely. You know the mind of a man is really simple, Himiko. Like once I slipped up and told Maki I liked her – Uhh, never mind."

At the front of the group, Kokichi forged ahead. He walked with his shoulder hunched and bowed over. "I hate gossip and rumors. They're just like lies…"

Maki shot a sideways glare. "Creep."

Besides him, Shuichi laughed. "You really screwed up back there."

"Oh, shut up."

The chapter title is a reference to the song "Teenage Dream". I'll try to make every chapter title a reference to pop culture or something silly. (Yeah, we'll see how long that keeps up.) Thanks for reading!