Kiyoteru had been sitting outside 47, the name of the fast food noodle store, for a good two hours, flipping through a book about how to talk to people without sounding awkward. He'd been up later than midnight after having calmed Len down along with Kaito's help. Len had refused to say what was wrong, but he'd at least gone to bed with a tired smile on his face after Kaito attempted to bribe him with ice cream. Kaito had flopped onto the sofa after that before complaining that Kiyoteru was being loud. Kiyoteru had rolled his eyes and sent him into his own room, telling Kaito to suck it up and sleep on the floor, Piko having taken Kiyoteru's bed. Kiyoteru hadn't been in a good mood, especially since he'd been tired. He'd spent the next hour searching for a food store that gave out ice cream key chains as rewards or something, which eventually led him to here, 47. Definitely the strangest name for a restaurant ever.

That didn't explain why he'd been sitting here for two hours though, even since the clock struck ten. He'd realized that along with forgetting to ask the store name, he'd forgotten to set a time with Lily as well. So afraid she'd be there early, Kiyoteru had made sure to get to the store as soon as possible. It was always better that he wait for someone than someone wait for him.

"Hey, Kiyo-sensei!" a familiar voice shouted through the morning hubbub.

Kiyoteru looked up to see Lily waving at him as she ran over, purse in hand. He got up and greeted her with a smile and a tart "Hi." So much for reading the entire book. Twice.

"I hope you weren't waiting long," Lily remarked, wiping a hand on her forehead, sweating from the morning heat.

"No, I wasn't," Kiyoteru smoothly lied. People never should know if he was in discomfort. He didn't like it when people felt bad or something because of him. Besides, it hadn't been that bad. With the morning breeze from the ocean and people of all types walking past, Kiyoteru had gotten a nice view of the beach and a variety of people. It'd been nice in a way.

Lily laughed and grabbed his hand, leading him into the store. Kiyoteru's heart skipped a beat. No girl had ever taken him by the hand the before. Though Lily probably thought it was natural to hold other people's hands.

Kiyoteru told himself to calm down, to act natural. It wasn't like they were dating or anything. They were just friends, or if that wasn't the case, just student and teacher going over what to study. That was right. He just needed to act like he usually did at school.

Apparently 47 was a flourishing small business, offering take-out and sit-in dining for a variety of food. It was a bit bigger than the café that Kaito and Len worked at, but most of the space was left for the lines to the cashiers in charge of take-out. Kiyoteru had to say he was surprised by the store's popularity as people came to and fro, smiles on the faces like they were looking forward to or had enjoyed their meals.

"This place is great, isn't it?" Lily laughed, leading Kiyoteru over to where a waiter stood to guide people to tables. Kiyoteru gave a start of surprise, recognizing the pink-haired boy who was wearing a collared shirt and long black pants, apparently the store's dress code, though he wasn't sure if the wool hat was part it of too.

"Hey, Yuuma, is there a table for two?" Lily asked once reaching the boy, grinning. She seemed to come here a lot because the cashier from the take-out area gave her a wave, which she cheerfully returned.

"I can go check," the pinkette replied in a monotone before poking his head into the sit-in area. Still looking, he asked, "One table near the window. Want it?"

"Hey, is this how you treat customers?" Lily joked, flicking the boy in the head. There was no reaction from him as he grabbed two menus and headed off, leaving Lily and Kiyoteru no choice but to follow.

"Hey, um, not sure if you remember, but thanks for the other day," Kiyoteru suddenly spoke up as they reached the table. "You really helped us out when you told us my friend might've been lost."

The pinkette just gave a nod and replied, "You're from the ice cream parlor, right? Thanks for giving me my ice cream."

"Oh, you're welcome?" Kiyoteru mumbled, not quite sure why he was being thanked.

"Oh, is this about Len when he got lost and wound up at our place?" Lily exclaimed with a delightful smile. "Isn't this fun, how fate works? If Yuuma hadn't told you Len was lost, we wouldn't have met each other that way, and we might not be here where Yuuma works."

"I guess," Kiyoteru mumbled, not quite able to wrap his mind around what Lily had said just yet. Yuuma just shrugged and headed back to the restaurant entrance, where more customers were waiting.

"Don't mind Yuuma. He's a bit strange but he's a great guy," Lily laughed. "I take it it's your first time being here?"

Kiyoteru nodded before opening up the menu. He usually could easily make choices, especially since he'd been expecting something simple from a small store like this. Instead, he was faced with a barrage of choices from all kinds of food. He wasn't someone who got hungry much, but just from the pictures on the menu, he could feel his stomach rumbling with hunger.

Lily let out a chuckle. "You look overwhelmed," she remarked. Kiyoteru had to nod in agreement as his eyes scanned the pages, taking in all the items on the menu as his head spun with the options.

"How about this? Do you trust me, Kiyo?" Lily asked, taking the menu out of his hands gently.

"I suppose so," Kiyoteru shrugged as Lily waved the pink-haired waiter back over.

She handed Yuuma the menu and said, "Two bowls of beef ramen, thanks."

"Anything to drink?"

"Just water," Lily replied. She glanced over and asked Kiyoteru, "What do you want?"

"Water is fine," Kiyoteru managed to respond without stuttering over his words. As Yuuma gave a tart nod and left the table, he asked, "I'm going to guess this beef ramen is good?"

"Nope, it's not good," Lily grinned shaking her head. Before Kiyoteru could frown, she continued, "You'll see. It's absolutely fabulous."

Surprisingly, it didn't take long before the food came to the table. Kiyoteru caught his breath as the aroma wafted into his nose, his taste buds tingling with anticipation.

Seeing Lily dive into her food without hesitation, Kiyoteru followed suit. He almost forgot to chew. The spices in the soup cloaked the noodles, salty and yet not overdone, combing perfectly with a taste he couldn't identify. The beef was tender, mixing with the soft ramen, melding into a perfect blend in his mouth.

For the first time in his life, Kiyoteru was speechless as he stared at the bowl of ramen in front of him, unable to believe that food could taste this amazing, this unbelievably delicious.

Lily must've seen him stop eating. With a slightly apologetic and awkward look, she said, "Oh, sorry, do you not like not?"

"What? No, no, it's just, I agree with what you said. It's not good," Kiyoteru hastily replied, afraid he might've upset Lily. "It's amazing."

Lily immediately brightened up, a smile lighting up her face as she remarked, "I know, isn't it? We ought to come here for our classes!"

"That would be fun," Kiyoteru couldn't help but laugh as he took a sip of water. They were silent after that, eating up every last bit of their food without stopping. There were some restaurants where you went to and laughed over conversations, the food just a complement. Here, at 47, Kiyoteru finally knew what it was like to go to a restaurant just to eat, not do anything else.

The moment the last noodle vanished into his mouth and the last sip of soup was gulped down, Kiyoteru let out a content sigh as he watched Lily pick up the bowl and gulp down all of her remaining soup before slamming down the bowl back on the table. She grinned, "You eat really fast."

"Really? My friends all say I eat really slow," Kiyoteru replied with a small smile.

"Well, I guess that just means I have to pick up my speed," Lily chuckled. "You ought to teach me how to eat faster."

Kiyoteru blinked and replied, "I don't think I'd be able to teach that, though isn't it better to eat slower?"

"Maybe," Lily shrugged. "Speaking of that, now that we're all stuffed and content, what are some stuff you could teach me?"

Kiyoteru carefully set the empty bowl to the side of the table and rested his elbows on the edge, fingers crossed as his chin rested atop it. For some reason, he was always more comfortable talking to people when he had to be their teacher. There was some invisible line that separated him from his students, allowing him to relax and keep his composure from that distance. He asked, "Well, what kind of things do you want to learn?"

"Hmm," Lily mumbled. "Well, English, that's for sure, and a bit of history. I mean, I do want to be able to go out there and become a great singer, but those things would be fun to learn, don't you think?"

Kiyoteru nodded. "Do you mind telling me what kind of stuff you remember learning from your high school?"

"Well," Lily started, tapping her cheek with the tips of her fingers, "English was mostly reading books and stuff, but I didn't really like it. And then something about France and chopping off a ton of heads everyday."

When Kiyoteru raised an eyebrow, Lily gave a sheepish smile and shrugged, "Sorry, I tend to remember the strange stuff."

"Don't worry about it," Kiyoteru had to smile. He guessed she was talking about the French Revolution, when hundreds of denounced political enemies were executed by the guillotine every day. Just out of curiosity, he asked, "By the way, what kinds of stuff would you do with what you learn?"

"I don't know, maybe use it when I make song lyrics maybe. Getting my language skills better would definitely help," Lily replied, tilting her head to the side. "Though you know how people can make a metaphor with everything?"

Kiyoteru had to laugh in agreement. He continued, "Well, I'm not the greatest in history and English, but I'm sure I could help you with learning about it. Though, sorry for asking, but you're not interested in math?"

"Bleh, math," Lily shivered, though she immediately apologized, "Sorry, if you're one of those people who love math, but it's just too boring for me. Just barely finished Calculus and that was it. I'm done with math."

Kiyoteru bobbed his head up and down in thought. Math was definitely one of his better subjects, though he was quite well-rounded. He considered math as just numbers and calculations, nothing exciting, nothing boring. He could see how Lily might not like the subject.

Something hit him. He asked, "Wait, you finished Calculus before you dropped out of high school?"

Lily winced as she dramatically exclaimed, "Ooh, that hurts, calling me a high-school dropout to my face."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I wasn't being considerate," Kiyoteru mumbled, a hot blush coming to his face as he lowered his head. He just had to state the most obvious and hurtful things every time he lowered his guard around people.

To his surprise, Lily just giggled and reached over, patting Kiyoteru on the shoulder. "Take it easy there, Kiyo. I'm joking, so don't worry about it! You can say whatever you want."

"Oh, sorry," Kiyoteru mumbled again, tentatively lifting his head back up to look at her. His heart skipped a beat. She was much closer to him, her slim body stretched a bit over the table with her hand on his shoulder, her crystal blue eyes sparkling with laughter. Just why was such a beautiful, cheerful, optimistic girl talking to a insecure loser like him?

"No problem," Lily replied, retreating back into her seat. She rested an elbow on the table and continued, "But yeah, back on what you were talking about. I dropped out in tenth grade—"

So she finished Calculus in tenth grade… Kiyoteru thought to himself. That was pretty impressive.

"—but I finished Calculus in ninth which left me with nothing else to do really," Lily finished, letting out a deep breath as she took another sip of water.

Kiyoteru swallowed hard. It wasn't impressive now. It was downright shocking. He stumbled in his words as he asked, "I'm sorry, but didn't you say you weren't so smart the last time I met you?"

"Oof, another stab to the heart," Lily gagged, clutching her heart, eyes squinted together.

Kiyoteru was about to apologize when he realized this scene was oddly familiar. He pushed his glasses further up the bridge of his nose and asked, "I'm sorry if I offended you, but is this a joke too?"

Lily immediately looked up, grinning. Holding out an open palm as if waiting for a hi-five, she laughed, "Great job, Kiyo-sensei! Looks like you've learned something new too!"

"Please, don't call me sensei," Kiyoteru sighed with a shy smile. Lily just shrugged, her hand still outstretched as if waiting for Kiyoteru to do something. Timidly, Kiyoteru softly hi-fived Lily, their palms brushing each other's. Her hands, if just for that brief second, had been warm to the touch. He'd never thought he could so easily and willingly touch another person and not feel jittery about it.

"Well, sorry I keep getting off topic with my jokes. You're just fun to tease," Lily giggled, relaxing back in her seat as Yuuma came over and took away the empty bowls. She asked for the dessert menu, promising Kiyoteru that even if someone hated all kinds of sweets, there'd be something they'd love in 47.

Kiyoteru didn't doubt that. While waiting, he pressed on, "So, you're a genius too?"

"Nope."

"How so?" Kiyoteru asked, not understanding. From what he knew, ninth graders who'd finished such high math were really smart. He'd originally thought Lily might be that rebellious teenager who didn't like school and didn't try either. But from what he knew now, he felt like Lily had gotten bored from not learning anything new and had dropped out entirely to do more interesting things.

"Well… I don't know how you'd define genius, since obviously you're the super smart genius kid and stuff, but I think it's not only important to be smart, a genius would have to know how to interact with people to fit into society," Lily stated with a shrug. "Besides, whatever I'm good at, there's people who can do things better, and there's others who excel at what I'm not good at. I might've taken some really advanced math, but come on, what're the chances of anyone actually needing to know limits and derivatives are, to name a few?"

Kiyoteru fell silent, sinking into deep thought. There was some wisdom in her words. Sure, there were plenty of people who were terribly good at school, but then what about interacting with others? He himself was always near close to having a heart attack every time someone other than his friends came to talk to him. Unless it was his students, and apparently Lily fell into that category, though talking with her seemed more natural, more pleasurable. But besides that, really, what was the use of knowing stuff if you couldn't fit into society and interact with people? Well, except for the fact that Kiyoteru needed to know stuff in order to teach them to others, but still.

He watched as Lily thanked Yuuma who returned with the two menus. "Is there anything you want?" she asked, handing him one.

Kiyoteru just shrugged, glancing through the menu, already having expected to see the wide variety of delicacies before him. He didn't have much of a sweet tooth, though the occasional ice cream was always nice. Lily gave him a disapproving look, shaking her head. She lightly chided, "Now this won't do. You might only be teaching me studies and stuff this summer, but I'm not letting you leave this town until you've tasted what real heaven is like."

Kiyoteru gave a defeated laugh. He handed the menu back to her and asked, "Then what do you think I should get?"

Lily's grin widened to the point it shouldn't have been possible. It was a dazzling sight, the sunlight illuminating the features of her face. She immediately started listing all the possibilities, from ice cream sundaes to chocolate parfaits to angel food cake. She ended up choosing something called a duffin that was a cross between a muffin and a donut, coated in sugar and filled with heavenly bliss.

Kiyoteru had to smile as Lily happily told Yuuma their final decision. He could tell 47 would be a place he'd be going to a lot during this summer. He didn't have a particular fondness of going to restaurants over and over again, but this store, 47, seemed to have landed a special place in his heart. Just like how he knew technically he had come to meet with Lily on "business" terms, but now, she was determined to have him try every wonder that 47's kitchen could make. He was usually picky about rules and appointments, but somehow, this only made his summer seem all the more exciting.

And Kiyoteru couldn't wait to find out what it had in store for him.

A/N: I think I'll keep writing happy things… XD Though sorry if this ended up a bit boring… I also apologize for any grammar errors and the like. I can't seem to stay awake for long...

The shop's name is from the song I happened to be listening to at the time, Forty-seven. No relation to this fanfic whatsoever, except that Forty-seven's about a music idol and Lily is one (kinda) XD

And Yuuma's been revived! Not sure if anyone remembers him from one of the beginning chapters. Also, about the duffin. It's like a muffin that tastes like a donut or something. I can't really tell, but it tastes AMAZING… XD

Thanks for all the reviews! Hope you enjoyed the chapter!