CHAPTER 03: NORMAL= SHE'S ONE OF THOSE GIRLS

HIGH SCHOOL. IT'S LUNCH TIME AND I'M WAITING FOR KAZUHA BECAUSE SHE'S SO SLOW ALLL THE TIMMMMEEEE. THIS IS THE FIRST YEAR WE'RE IN SEPARATE CLASSES.

Kazuha and I ate on the roof because frankly, we watched too many animes and every anime ever made has at least one school scene where a group of people eat their lunch on the roof. ANYWAY. The wind started to pick up when Kazuha finally came up and when she tried to eat her hair got in her mouth. It was funny.

"GAH I HATE MY HAIR!" She said while getting a hair out of her mouth. "My mom has been urging me to cut it, and I think I will."

"What? No! Why?" I sit up frantically. I have a bad habit of eating while lying on my back. I don't remember when I started doing that, but I've had bad indigestion ever since.

"Cause I look childish with this ponytail all the time. Even my friends make fun of me sometimes." She blushed. "I didn't think you cared about my hair…"

"Yeah! Yeah, I do. Dad's hair looks weird and Mom's hair looks weird and I like looking at your hair." I lay back down. "Your hair looks prettiest that way Kazuha."

She didn't say anything for a while, and being the person that I am, I didn't really care to see what her expression was.

"Also, I think most of your friends are stupid." I smile when she giggles. "You have a bad way of choosing friends."

"You're my friend—are you a bad choice?" She asked.

"No, I'm the best friend." I grinned.

"Well okay best friend, I'm never cutting my hair." She smiled and another rush of wind came by and it blew her hair in the most beautiful way. I rarely used the word beautiful, and I'm sure as hell not telling Kazuha I described her hair that way. "You know I never knew how weird it is not being around you," she said suddenly, snapping me out of small zoning out session.

"Yeah," I said remembering how quiet I was in class earlier. "It's weird." I didn't think Kazuha was the reason I was so loud in class. I thought it was just my personality.

"Let's make a deal to always meet up here. That way things won't get too weird." Kazuha held out her pinky.

"Kazuha babies do this," I said, but I linked my pinky with hers anyway.

7:40 A.M. I JUST DREAMED ABOUT KAZUHA. NO NO NO NO

"NO KAZUHA GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" I exclaim, quickly sitting up. I hear a noise from beside me. Turning toward the noise, I see Kaito in a form fitting dress and a piece of toast in his mouth, reaching for a shirt in my closet. We share a moment of silence.

I don't even know what to do with my life anymore.

"Before you say anything, I just wanna let you know this will not be the weirdest thing you'll see me doing," Kaito says after removing the toast from his mouth.

I don't know if I should thank him for the warning or be frightened. I don't know if I should be okay with my weird dream about Kazuha or disturbed. WHAT ARE EMOTIONS? HELL IF I KNOW.

"This is fucked up," I finally say.

Kaito scoffs. "That's rude of you—I think pink is my color."

"No, not you—to be frank I'm not too surprised by this." I take another glance at the dress he's wearing. Frills…that suits him. This is the weirdest morning I've ever had in my life. "But it'll help me in the long run if you gave me a reason for the dress."

He winks. "Can't stop staring, eh?" I throw my pillow at him. "Okay, okay—I do a cool bit during my magic show where I disguise myself in the crowd and people have to find me. Real life 'Where's Waldo?', if you will." He finishes his toast and lets out a sigh. "Me in drag is a perk for the audience. It's a pain for me sometimes but hey, you gotta get tips somehow."

"Wait why are you stealing my shirt?" I ask.

He laughs sheepishly. "When I came back in, I realized I forgot to do my laundry. Can I take your 'LOVE DOCTOR' shirt?"

"Yeah, sure…I don't even know why I own that." I get out of bed and walk to my bathroom. I grab my toothbrush, dab some toothpaste on it and start brushing my teeth. "How long are your magic shows?" I ask out of curiosity. I remember him leaving last night around nine.

"Mmmm…today I got back around five." I hear him mess around with the hangers. I guess he's taking a pair of my pants too. Wait did he say he got home around five? I check the time again.

I poke my head out of the bathroom, and remove my toothbrush. "Dude, you only slept for two hours?!"

Kaito laughs as he pulls on a pair of my pants. "Yep. I usually get one hour in." He closes my closet door. "Depending on the night I go to three different venues."

"Jeez…" I say, going back to the bathroom to spit out the toothpaste.

"Mhm. Of course, if Bimboko wasn't away I would be asleep till later." He leans against the bathroom doorway. "Soooo gonna give me a reason for your weird Kazuha outburst?"

I slump. "She was in my dream." Kaito wiggles his eyebrows grinning. "Not that kinda dream. It was a weird memory about us in high school." I lean down to wash my face in the sink. "We weren't in the same class for once and we promised to meet on the roof whenever we had a break."

Kaito looks at me before chuckling. "Oh so that explains it…" He walks away before I can ask him what the heck that meant.

12: 06 P.M. CAFÉBAKE. KAZUHA AND I HAVE STOPPED SAYING ORDERS TO EACH OTHER. UGGGGH WHY DOES LIFE SUCK SO MUCH. I NEED SOMETHING TO DISTRACT ME FROM MY TERRIBLE LIFE.

"Like, hey!" Sonoko greets me as she walks in. THANK GOODNESS.

"I've never been happier to see you," I tell her when she reaches the counter. That's saying something since I just met her yesterday.

She bats her eyelashes. "You've been dreaming about me?"

My smile slightly lowers. Luckily she doesn't notice. "Eh, I've had dreams." I shrug. "How was shopping with Kudo yesterday?"

She groans loudly. "Don't get me started—he kept complaining about us taking too long in the clothing stores. Luckily Ran realized it was a mistake to bring him so today we're having an actual girl's day out!" She pulls out her credit card and points it at me. "Tall skinny latte." Please and thank you are magic words Sonoko.

"Kudo didn't leave for the bookstore?" I ask, swiping her card and handing it back to her. Whenever Ran and Kudo went to the mall, I would always find Kudo in the bookstore with his face literally in Sherlock novels inhaling their scent. Yes, Ran and I are trying to plan an intervention.

"Oh he did," Sonoko leans against the counter. "But Ran kept going on and on and on about him. 'Shinichi would love this don't you think?' 'Shinichi says blue looks better on me, but I dunno…'" She mimicks Ran, and dare I say it's pretty similar?

"I mean," I start as I begin making her drink, "they are dating. It would be weird if she didn't talk about him."

"Sure, but I've known her for all my life—she never talked about him this much even when he was right next to her!" Sonoko sighs again. "What if something happened in America…did Shinichi have an affair?" She leans on the counter grinning, "you two are pretty close…"

"I'm notorious for doing malicious things to people's drinks, Sonoko." What's terrible is that's not the first time people have thought Kudo and I had some sort of fling. LIKE REALLY. I THINK IT'S OBVIOUS HE'S OUT OF MY LEAGUE. "But to answer your question, nothing really happened besides them meeting me—"

Sonoko gasps loudly. "THAT'S IT!" She points at me. "YOU."

Before I could ask what the hell that meant, Ran comes out of the elevator and joins us.

"Hello Heiji-kun!" She smiles. "How are you today?"

I shrug. "I'm feeling kinda low. Had a weird flashback dream."

She gives me a pat on the shoulder. "I'm guessing it's about your troubles with Kazuha-san. I feel so bad that I can't help by talking to her. To be honest, I don't think she likes me very much." She laughs nervously at this. Poor Ran, she hates not having people like her. One time in college, one of our classmates had a huge grudge against Ran and it depressed her a lot. Turned out he had a crush on her, but this was found out after Kudo and I filled his bed with frogs. This is the reason the three of us lived in an apartment after the first semester of freshman year. Sadly this isn't the first time I've been kicked out of…anything.

"You guys met?" I ask, sliding Sonoko's drink toward her.

Ran nods. "It was the day after Shinichi and I moved in. We were in the elevator with the last few boxes and she met us going up to our floor. Sonoko was there also."

"I SURE WAS!" Sonoko announces between sips. I should've made hers decaf…there's no telling what she could do with a caffeine high. "She was all smiles and saying how great it was to meet us, and then SHE SNAPPED!" She exaggerates this with large arm movements and almost hits another customer. Yep…should've made it decaf…

"Did something happen? She doesn't just snap at people for no reason," I say.

"Shinichi mentioned you," Ran answers. "She asked if we knew you and after we told her we all graduated together she stopped talking to us…"

"Which was kinda dumb on her part since we were all still in the elevator," Sonoko adds. "Where's the little meanie anyway? She usually shuts us up with an intense glare at this point."

I let out a bitter laugh. "She's on break. Kaito made it so we're separated due to some complaints from customers." Of course there were some choice comments on my behavior but that is not the point. On the subject of taking a break—where did Kazuha wander off to? Keiko's scheduled to be with her but Kazuha didn't go to the Hell Hole… I guess she's in her room or something. I feel so terrible—I didn't want our problems to bother other people.

"We should probably go now. Remember to work hard Heiji-kun!" Ran's laughter snaps me out of my thoughts. Haha wow, thanks for believing in my work ethic Ran. The two of them leave the café animated with conversation. Heh, it must be nice still being friends with people you grew up with. Ugh, I'm such an idiot.

2:30 P.M. ON BREAK. USING THEIR ULTRA GOSSIP POWERS SERA, AOKO, AND SLEEP DEPRIVED KAITO HAVE DEDICATED THEIR LIVES TO GETTING INTO MY BUSINESS AND CRITICIZE MY LIFE CHOICES.

"Woah, Kazuha's like Hera whenever she catches Zeus cheating on her," Sera says. "Heiji, you have to stop this before someone ends up being a cow!" She says this as if this could actually happen. Wait does that make me Zeus? Zeus is a major asshole! Well…I guess the shoe fits considering my situation.

I bite into my sandwich. "Don't you guys have something better to talk about? Like your lives?"

Aoko shakes her head. "You don't understand Heiji. This is the first time extreme discord has entered our work place/apartment building. We want to fully indulge in this." She momentarily leaves the screen to pack the rest of her clothes. She's coming back tomorrow so her room is in complete disarray with clothes everywhere and I mean EVERYWHERE.

"Also we're nosy people," Kaito adds. "And it's good for our street cred." He puts his head on the table.

"Do you need another espresso?" Sera asks. Kaito makes a noise and she leaves the Hell Hole.

Aoko twirls around in her chair. "It might sound crazy but your life problems help business."

"HOW?!" I ask. WHAT SORT OF LEECH ESTABLISHMENT IS THIS?

"It's simple—every well-established business has comical workers and juicy gossip. You saw how long Cheers lasted. It even had a spinoff." Aoko explains. "Even though you're probably one of the worst people I've ever hired, you're increasing foot traffic. You see, you're the spinoff."

"Yer a spinoff, Heiji," Kaito tells me in Hagrid's voice. God, its creepy how good he is at that.

I let out a sigh. How come nothing in this café makes sense? "You're joking."

"No, you are the worst barista." Sera snorts loudly. That's not what I meant, but I'm still offended by this.

"I wish I was joking." Aoko almost mutters this. Wow does no one like that I'm working here? I'm doing the world a big favor. I could be ruining another business, but nooooo I decided to stay here for the sake of my own life and my roommates. "Hakuba gave me the numbers the other day and somehow more people are showing up to receive your terrible service and listen to you and Kazuha jibber jabber."

"For the sake of our sanity, you're separated." Kaito mumbles against the table.

Sera returns to the table, giving Kaito his much needed espresso. "Does that mean they have to keep hating each other for business?" She got herself a can of orange soda, and she opens it, quickly slurping the soda that fizzed out from the top of the can.

Aoko laughs. "It would be easy if we could," I don't know if I should be glad about this or not. "But it would get boring really quickly—it's probably already borderline stale as we speak since this has been going on for almost a week now. If nothing happens soon….WE'RE DONE FOR." She gives me a deadly look.

Oh sure, it's easy saying "Heiji fix your life" but it's hard doing it. And I bet she's saying all this just to give me a push to do something and you know what I say? I SAY IF KAZUHA DOESN'T WANT TO TALK TO ME THEN FINE. WHATEVER. I'LL DEAL. I MEAN I DEALT WITH IT BEFORE IN AMERICA, I CAN DEAL WITH IT NOW.

I let out a sigh. Of course it's a bit harder now with seeing her all the time and acting differently. Really, I never dealt with losing a friend ever. I never forced myself to not contact anyone again. Why did I say that to Kazuha? She's my best friend—why did I make a simple confession ruin everything?

I force these thoughts aside. "Who's Hakuba?" I ask.

"He's the numbers guy," Sera says. "Amongst…other things."

Kaito snorts. "He has an actual title. He's…" He pauses. "…tell him what he is Bimboko." Wow, nice one.

"He's the general manager." Aoko rolls her eyes. "But yes, he does all the number stuff like your paycheck."

"SO I AM GETTING PAID!" I let out a whoop. I WAS REALLY WORRIED. I REALLY DIDN'T THINK I WAS GETTING PAID.

Kaito and Aoko look downright offended. "You thought you weren't getting paid?" Aoko asks leaning close to her screen. "You thought this was just some ploy so you can talk to Kazuha? How could you? We are above that!"

Sera lets out a small burp. "But I thought that was the plan—" Kaito shushes her.

THOSE RUFFLED HAIRED MUNCHKINS WERE NOT GOING TO PAY ME.

4:00 P.M. AT THE MALL. I DECIDED THAT MAYBE I CAN BREAK THE ICE WITH KAZUHA WITH A GIFT. IT'S VERY HARD TRYING TO FIND SOMETHING SHE CAN'T USE AS A WEAPON.

Also I got side tracked and bought some ice cream. THERE'S COFFEE FLAVORED ICE CREAM. DID YOU GUYS KNOW THAT? I DON'T KNOW HOW I DIDN'T KNOW THAT. IT'S SOOOO GOOOOODDD

"Sir, you're holding up the line," the ice cream vendor tells me.

I shush her, "let me enjoy this moment…also add three more scoops to this."

After getting my extra ice cream and paying for it, I force myself away from the ice cream stand and walk around the mall. I've been to almost every store at this point and everything I picked up was something I know she would hate or would use to kill me. Maybe this is a sign to give up…

"Sir would you like to try this cologne?" I hear someone say. Ugh it's one of those people who give you samples. I ignore her and keep walking. As if I need cologne—I ALREADY LOOK LIKE A MOVIE STAR.

What store was she standing in front of anyway? I take a quick look behind me. Oh, an accessory shop…maybe I can find something in there. It's worth a shot. I walk back toward the shop. The cologne girl glares at me.

"Sir, you can't go in with food."

I eat another spoonful of my ice cream. "This is more than food. It's coffee ice cream." And with that I go inside. Anyone who disrespects coffee in any shape of form doesn't need my respect. AND ALSO I HATE COLOGNE SAMPLE PEOPLE. The stuff makes my head hurt. Ugh there was a time Kudo had this weird period of wearing cologne. It didn't even have a good name. Who the hell would happily buy and wear "Anything Goes"? THAT SOUNDS LIKE IT COULD SMELL LIKE DOG SHIT OR SOMETHING.

But I digress.

The accessory shop has tons of stuff in it and luckily (or unluckily depending on how you view the situation) everything is color coded. The clerks are staring me down as I walk around with my spoon in my mouth, touching random stuff. I guess they wish they also had coffee ice cream.

"Heiji-kun!" I hear a familiar voice. I turn to see Ran and Sonoko, arms full of bags, walking over to me. "Kind of funny seeing you here."

Sonoko laughs. "Yeah, you're like a dollar bill in a wad of hundreds." Who…who says that? No one says that.

"I'm buying a gift for Kazuha." I eat more ice cream. "But it's really hard."

They watch me eat for a few moments. "Maybe because you're stuffing your face?" Sonoko points at my ice cream.

"You're not supposed to bring in food Heiji-kun…" Ran sighs, looking for a trash can. "Throw it away over there." She points to a bin in the far corner of the store.

"But its coffee flavored—"

"Heiji." She narrows her eyes. NO. I'M GOING TO STAND UP TO THE RAN DEATH GLARE. I WILL NOT FALTER. "Now with that out of the way you can focus!" Ran smiles when I come back from the trashcan.

Sonoko tries to suppress a giggle. "Are you tearing up?"

"NO." I turn away. You were so delicious, coffee ice cream…"ARE YOU HELPING ME OR NOT?"

"What kind of jewelry does Kazuha like?" Ran asks, walking around the store.

I think about this for a moment. Kazuha actually doesn't talk about jewelry that much. "One time she said she likes practical stuff…"

Sonoko rolls her eyes muttering "she's one of those girls". She wanders off toward the red section. Ran and I go toward the orange section.

Ran picks up an orange bracelet with flowers on it. "What about bracelets? They don't take up too much space."

"Nah, she hates things on her wrists," I say. There was one time Kazuha tried on a bracelet and she took it off screaming 'IT FEELS LIKE ITS EATING ME'.

Sonoko picks up a pair of red earrings. "Does she like earrings? These are studs so they don't dangle."

I shake my head. "She doesn't have ear holes."

She stares at me as if I started making out with a killer whale. "IS SHE A CAVEMAN?" She screams almost throwing the earrings on the floor. The store clerks are now glaring at us.

Ran shushes Sonoko and gives a quick wave to the store clerks. "Maybe we should try her favorite color?" She elbows Sonoko when she mutters something. I'm getting a feeling that Sonoko hates shopping for people.

"Her favorite color is green," I say walking over to the green section. We probably should've started there in the first place. We split up and search, hoping that we could find something faster.

"Hmmm…" I hear Ran below me. She thought getting a bag would be a good idea, so she's looking on the lower shelves. "This is getting rather difficult considering her tastes Heiji-kun."

"I see why you were eating ice cream…" Sonoko says. She started searching for herself now. Way to be generous, Sonoko. So much good karma is headed your way later.

"Yeah, I guess I should give up at this point…" I trail off when I spot the perfect thing. It's a hairpin in the shape of a bow. This is perfect!

"A hair pin?" Sonoko scrunches up her nose. Oi, not everyone is a fan of earrings with furry cats on them Sonoko. Some of us like being basic.

"I think it's cute!" Ran claps her hands in excitement. "There's a story that goes with this—I can feel it."

I shrug. "It's not that major of a story, I guess. The first present I got for her was a hair ribbon because she started tying her hair in a ponytail."

Ran eagerly follows me to the cash register. "When was that?"

"We were around six," I say as I pay the clerk. "She wore it all the time—even in high school."

Ran sighs happily as we leave the store. "I love stories like that! I think Kazuha-san will enjoy your gift Heiji-kun. It's very thoughtful and that's what matters most."

"Thanks, Ran." I look at the hairpin and smile.

7:00 P.M. MY APARTMENT. KAITO AND AOKO THOUGHT ME GETTING A GIFT FOR KAZUHA WAS A JOKE AND STARTED LAUGHING. I ALMOST UNPLUGGED AOKO.

"It is pretty though," Aoko says. "He's away from me, right?" She asks Kaito.

"I'm holding you." Kaito pats Aoko-laptop. "We're sorry for laughing Heiji, but no one thought you were going to take initiative." I get a pillow from the sofa and throw it at him. He easily dodges it. I hate that he has really quick reflexes. He's like a cat or something.

"What made you get that anyway?" Aoko asks.

"Oh well, it reminds me of something I gave her when we were younger." I shrug. "Also, she keeps messing with her hair so I figured she would like it for practical reasons." They give me smug grins. "What now?"

Aoko snickers. "Ohhh nothing…just that you're the only one that noticed these little details about Kazuha…nothing major."

"Who knew Kazuha kept fiddling with her hair except the guy who keeps staring at her and wishing to make out with her?"

I throw another pillow at them. "NO. THAT'S NOT WHAT I AM. I'M THE GUY WHO WANTS TO BE FRIENDS AGAIN."

They don't say anything. All they do is smile. UGGH THEY THINK THEY KNOW EVERYTHING. I DON'T LIKE KAZUHA THAT WAY.

"Anyway," I change the topic because holy hell, I'm not gonna spend my night getting embarrassed. "I don't know when to give this to her. Do you have any ideas?"

Aoko's brow furrows. "Wait, you still didn't connect the dots?" Eh?

"What dots?" I ask. What is happening? Why do I feel like I missed something very obvious?

"Remember that whole little high school flashback you had? The roof thing?" Kaito says, putting Aoko-laptop on the table.

"Yeah, but what does that have to do with—" I cover my mouth in shock. "You're joking."

Kaito and Aoko both shake their heads.

"She still goes to the roof?"

"Yeah, she goes up there whenever she's on break," Aoko tells me. "Kaito and I went up there once to check up on her because we were afraid she'll jump or something."

"Now you have an opening." Kaito leans back in his chair. "The question is…will you take it?"

? KAZUHA'S SIXTH BIRTHDAY PARTY. DAD MADE ME WEAR A TIE FOR SOME REASON. TIES ARE STUPID. SO IS DAD.

"I think it looks okay," Kazuha tells me. Her mom made her wear a dress. It's pink and frilly and Kazuha looks weird. I feel weird looking at her. "Do you wanna play with everyone else? They're outside playing tag."

"No. I came here because it's your birthday, not theirs."

Kazuha laughs. "Did you get me a present? It's my birthday."

I give her the box I've been holding behind my back. "Mom thinks its lame, but it's not." I say as she opens it. "Mom's lame, though."

Kazuha picks up the green ribbon and stares at it. OH NO SHE THINKS ITS LAME TOO. MOM CAN'T BE RIGHT.

"I'M SORRY." I reach for the ribbon. Kazuha's taller than me (for some dumb reason) and she raises it out of reach. "STOP. YOU HATE IT."

"I NEVER SAID I HATED IT." She looks away. Her face is red. My face feels red. "I like it, Heiji. I'm gonna ask Mom to tie my hair with it." She unties her pink ribbon and shakes her hair around. I feel my face get redder. It's just hair…why am I getting weird over it? "Thank you Heiji. I really like it."

We don't say anything for a while.

"Thanks for coming to my party," Kazuha says, finally.

I also look at the ground. I wish my face would stop blushing. "Ahou, I had to come."

10: 30 A.M. BEHIND THE DOOR THAT LEADS TO ROOF. I'M REALLY NERVOUS. WHAT IF SHE DECIDED NOT TO BE UP HERE JUST TO SPITE ME? KAZUHA WOULD DO THAT.

I open the door a crack. SHE'S THERE. AAAAAH

OKAY.

OKAY.

I CAN DO THIS. YOU'RE A GROWN MAN HEIJI. YOU'RE FINALLY FIXING YOUR LIFE.

YOU GOT THE GIFT. YOU GOT YOURSELF. YOU GOT MARTIAL ARTS SKILLS IN CASE THINGS GET UGLY.

YOU'RE READY.

LET'S DO THIS.

When Kazuha sees me she looks unfazed. I guess she figured Kaito and Aoko would tell me sooner or later. This doesn't make things easier. If she was surprised I could at least say "Calm down!" or something. What do you say to unfazed people?

"…hi." I force out. That's a start.

"Hi," she says, looking back to the scenery.

I fall silent. I haven't been this nervous in my entire life.

"I hate you, Heiji." Kazuha smiles at the view. "I always wanted to say that in person."

My grip tightens on Kazuha's gift. I'm holding it behind me. "I always wanted to say I'm sorry."

We fall silent again.

"Why did you come up here?" She asks suddenly. "This is the only place where I don't have to think about you."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I say, slightly surprised that we're not nose to nose yelling about this. I guess when it really counts we know when to be serious. "You came up here because of me—because of us being separated before. We made a promise—"

Kazuha gives me a death inducing glare. "Don't say that."

"Say what? That we were friends once?" I ask. Kazuha starts walking away. "Kazuha—"

"It was my fault wasn't it?" she asks. I hear a sniff. Oh no she's crying again…god Heiji, stop messing this up.

"No! No, it's my fault! I'm the one who thought it was a smart idea to stop talking to the one person who knows me inside and out."

She lets out a small giggle. "I don't know your insides Heiji."

I smile. Good, I made her laugh for once. "You know all the organs inside me though."

"That's because everyone has them." Kazuha finally turns around. Her eyes are slightly pink, but she's not crying. Good. "I didn't feel right saying I hated you, you know. I can't really hate you…I've hated myself this whole time."

I walk closer to her. "If it helps, I never thought I was that great of a guy either. I'm still not. You didn't do anything wrong Kazuha. In fact you're the one that did the right thing."

She crosses her arms. "What was that?"

"Telling the truth," I answer simply. "And I feel bad that I didn't say what I should have when you confessed to me."

"What was that?" She asks again.

I hand her my present. "Can we still be friends?"

She's surprised by the gift, but takes it anyway. I wait as she slowly opens it and picks up the hair pin. As if suddenly realizing it, she pushes her hair behind her ear again. Kazuha turns around again and I'm freaking out.

"It's okay if you hate it," I say.

"Heiji—"

"It didn't cost that much—"

"Heiji—"

"LET'S THROW IT OFF THE ROOF—"

"HEIJI." Kazuha faces me. "I'm not throwing it off the roof. I didn't say I didn't like it." She smiles and places the pin on the right side of her hair. "I really like it Heiji." I'm shocked when she hugs me. "Thanks for coming back."

I return the hug, grinning from ear to ear. "Ahou, I had to come back."

YESSSSSSSSSSSS I DID IT. I DID IT. WE'RE FRIENDS AGAIN.

"WHOOO! NO ONE TURNED INTO A COW!"

"DAMMIT SERA NOW THEY KNOW WE'RE HERE!"

Kazuha and I almost fall over from the sudden yelling. We both turn around to see Kaito, Aoko, and even freaking Sera at the door. Aoko is busy pushing Kaito and Sera away from the door.

"HEIJI!" Aoko waves nervously when she turns toward us. "LOOK. I'M REAL!" She laughs before tripping over her luggage. SOMEONE WAS IN A HURRY TO BE NOSY.

Kazuha starts laughing at the whole scene. I smile. It's been a while since I heard that laugh. I forgot how happy it makes me.

Wait—my face feels warm…WHY AM I BLUSHING?


Another updated chapter! Hope everyone is enjoying the new stuff (even though i don't know if there's a lot of new stuff in this chapter...)! Thanks for reading! Hope you're having fun cause I am! (XD i'm running out of things to say now)