Chapter 13

After the car wash, the girls decide to have some team bonding time at the local Café. Confessions, realizations, and less than ideal circumstances run awry.

Three Strikes

The fundraiser changes hands about six cars and four soap beards (Constanze, Mary, Akko, and an annoyed Sucy) later when Nelson arrives with the Varsity team. As the girls' hand off their buckets and sponges, Amanda takes the opportunity to 'accidentally' spray Nelson's feet before shoving the hose into the hands of one of the upperclassmen.

Despite Akko's persistent asking, both coaches decline their invitations to join them at the cafe. Ursula insists that she has assignments to grade and Croix says she is busy doing "old people stuff", leaving the pack of girls to gather their things and begin their walk to the café.

Despite their morning of socializing, the group continues down the sidewalk in a cacophony of dialogue. Hannah and Barbara, who had been flanking Diana since she stepped out from behind the side of the building with Amanda, are in conversation with the blonde, Avery, and Sarah over a project in their shared history class. Ahead of them, Akko pokes at her new sunburn as she walks with Sucy and Lotte. She hears the blonde speak up in the conversation behind her saying something about the material. She didn't really hear what she said, but as it had since their away game, her voice has taken high priority when it came to her selective hearing.

It was all so confusing, but at the same time she isn't really sure why she feels so confused. She likes spending what little time she does with the blonde, but it's a little different than it is with Sucy or Lotte.

She reasons it's because she's known them for longer and that since she sees Diana as a rival, spending time with a person she's actively trying to best may make her feel a little differently. Even if Diana was the worst rival ever because she's been so darn nice...

It's been increasingly aggravating coming to the realization that the blonde hasn't been seeing her as though she were a rival. Regardless, when the blonde is around she still feels as though she's standing below a spotlight ready to perform in front of an audience of a single set of blue eyes.

If that wasn't enough, since the bus ride the blonde had been on her mind, almost obsessively. She smelled lavender? Diana's deodorant. She sees a fancy SUV? Diana's fancy SUV. The color blue? Diana's eyes. Does crunches? Diana's abs when she elbow punched her. Static shock? When Diana took her pen back. And so on. It seemed like everything she does can be tied back to the other girl and it was beginning to frustrate her. No matter how much she tries to take her mind off the other girl she quickly finds her way right back into her thoughts.

And the dreams! While she hadn't had anymore that had her waking in a heartbeat frenzy, the blonde has become a regular cast member in even the weirdest of her dreams. She was a mouse in one, and what do you know, the blonde shows up as a weasel… so weird. She couldn't get away from her, but she'd be lying if she said she didn't look forward to her presence.

She even told Andrew and Frank about their (one sided) rivalry one day at the gym when the usual tactic of working out failed to distract her from thoughts of the other girl. Andrew and Frank shared a look before turning back to her with small smiles and the less than helpful advice of "not sure what to tell ya" and then proceeded to make her do scissor kicks.

She's been unsure on telling Lotte and Sucy because somehow Amanda will find out and the last thing she wants is for the redhead to make it weird. She loves Amanda, truly, and if she ever needed to bury a body she'd be the first person she'd go to, but the girl hasn't proven to be shy when it comes to joking around.

Despite her confusing feelings, the last few weeks have been great when it came to the blonde. Though they don't necessarily 'hang out' and Diana still gives her lectures on paying attention and not goofing around (though noticeably more light hearted), at least on her end, she considers the other girl to be a good friend.

Even in their last game after Akko accidentally let the bat fly from her hands during a swing, despite nearly concussing Amanda (Jasminka saved the day by plucking the bat from the air), instead of getting angry at her, the blonde offered to help her fix her batting stance. Though, this only encouraged further confusing feelings when Akko found mirroring the blonde to be too difficult, prompting Diana to move behind her and shift her into position manually. The close proximity had gotten her mind off softball and onto the blonde's hesitant nudging of her elbows, shoulders, and legs.

Stop thinking about that! Geez!

She tears her ears away from the relaxing lilt of the voice of the girl behind her and tries to refocus on the conversation happening between Lotte and Sucy.

"So you're telling me… that there's an ENTIRE volume of your Night Fall book that focuses on what is essentially a giant acid trip."

"I wouldn't say it like that…"

Sucy looks at her with a squinted eye and raised brow.

"There are some….Alice in Wonderland tones to it, but Edgar needed to get into Arthur's subconscious to save him from the mental side effects of being stabbed by the Lycankill blade. It makes sense that there would be crazy things running through Arthur's mind at a time like that."

"Mmhmm…" The pink haired girl hums skeptically.

"Are you talking about volume 192?!" Barbara chirps as she abruptly pulls away from her group's conversation. "The part in the mirror room with all the memories was so powerful!"

"Wasn't it though?!" Lotte gushes. "And when Edgar was watching Arthur's memories of him? I don't know if it was intentional, but THAT was the first time I started to see their change in chemistry."

"And it just solidified it when he made all those parallels with Belle. I'm usually not a fan of love triangles, but Arthur's feelings towards both Edgar and Belle are just so real!"

Akko didn't particularly care for the Night Fall series, it's nothing against the plot or anything, but there's just A LOT of words. Four months ago she attempted to read the first volume at Lotte's insistence but only made it to page 22 before giving up. She knows what happens because Lotte summarized it in an extraordinary amount of detail but still, it took too long to get to the good parts! Usually she finds her mind wander when the redheaded girl discusses her favorite stories with Barbara, however a part of this particular discussion pricked at her ears.

"You really don't see very much bisexual representation in books, but I think Annabel did a very good job of conveying the experience. That's why I think that she meant for the forest scene in 194 to be romantic because those thoughts Arthur was having were…" Lotte tapers off, her eyes growing wide as she is suddenly very aware of what she was saying. She pauses before taking a deciding breath. "...very… relatable in my experience." She quietly finishes, subconsciously wringing her hands.

Barbara's eyebrows shoot up high on her forehead as Sucy looks at her with a kind smile.

"Atta girl."The pink haired girl pats the redhead's back, earning a shy glance through large glasses.

"Wait...Lotte, are you…?" Barbara whispers before wrapping her in a quick one armed hug. "Ohh! Lotte!" she squeals quietly.

"Th-thank you… I didn't expect to let you know like that…" Lotte says with a bursting smile as Barbara lightly shakes her shoulder.

"Talking about Night Fall? I'd say it sounds just like you." Sucy says smiling as she winks her visible eye.

"I- I haven't really told anybody at school yet, but… I was sure you guys wouldn't think of me differently."

"Of course we wouldn't!" Barbara says with a beaming smile. "I'm so happy for you Lotte!"

Akko watches the scene unfolding in front of her and feels like she is completely out of the loop. She slides up to Sucy who looks at her in confusion. "What just happened?"

"What do you mean, 'what just happened'? Lotte just told us she's bi, you dolt." Sucy whispers as she looks at her confoundedly.

Akko knits her eyebrows in confusion. "Bi?"

Realization dawns on the three girls faces as they look at the genuinely puzzled brunette.

Sucy deadpans. "I don't know why I'm surprised."

"What?" Akko looks around embarrassed, clearly being judged by the pink and dark-haired girls. "I-I'm sorry Lotte… what does… that mean?"

"O-oh. Um…" Lotte starts hesitantly. "Well, um… for me it means I am attracted to both boys and girls."

YOU CAN DO THAT?!

Akko's eyes widen in astonishment. "I didn't know you can do that?! That's awesome…"

"Y-yeah… I… I suppose it is." Lotte says with a relieved smile to the sound of Sucy face-palming.

Akko throws her arms around her. "You know we love you no matter what!"

"T-thanks Akko… I-I'm sorry, c-can you not hug so tightly?"

"Oh! Sorry! Sorry!" Akko says sheepishly as she jumps away. "Wait so, how did you know? OH IS THERE SOMEBODY YOU LI-"

"Oh look there's the cafe!" Barbara points, loudly cutting her off as she sees Lotte's glasses begin to fog up from the heat coming off her cheeks.

The dark-haired girl shares a look with Sucy who sighs and starts to push Akko along towards the cafe.

Much to Lotte's relief, the conversation ends as the girls make their way into the warm toned cafe. Nearly giving the barista a heart attack, as a group, they get on line to decide on their orders and then proceed to push together several tables to sit at.

Sucy slides in next to Lotte separating her and the still very curious brunette. Directly across the table, Diana slides in after Hannah and Barbara and can only close her eyes to reel in her irritation as Amanda plops down next to her.

"I understand we had a moment, but why must this continue?" Diana whispers under her breath.

Cause I'm Amanda O'Neill. Private investi'gay'tor.

"Oh… don't mind me… I just wanted to have a good view of the show."

"Whatever you're thinking of doing Amanda, PLEASE don't." Diana whispers through grit teeth.

"Oh, it's nothing really…" Amanda says as she brings her chocolate frosted donut to her lips. She begins licking it with an intentionally lewd gesture causing the blonde to look away with heated cheeks. "Just a little… observational experiment." She smirks with chocolate on her lips and throws her arm over the blonde's shoulders.

Hannah and Barbara immediately take note of this and aggressively quirk their brows over to the blushing blonde with the redhead's arm draped across her.

WHAT is going on THERE?! Diana and AMANDA?!

They watch confused as the blonde lifts her hand to squeeze the bridge of her nose while the redhead starts toying with her hair.

"What do you think you're doing?" Diana quietly growls as she shoots a dagger filled glare at Amanda.

"Ya got somethin' in your hair." Amanda says at normal volume.

"Cut it out."

"Simmer down princess, I alllllllmost got it…" Amanda says as she watches the brunette across the table through her eyelashes. She sees Akko sitting there honing in on the two of them, stiffening as Amanda continues with her ministrations on the blonde's hair.

Oh… that was faster than I thought it would be. Akko honey, that's gay.

Meanwhile on the other side of the table, Akko was completely unaware of the intense gaze she held on Amanda as she cozies up to Diana, in fact, the last thing she remembers is thinking about how to ask Lotte how she knew she liked girls as well as boys without making her feel uncomfortable. It seems now, all previous thoughts had been abandoned and were now all focused on the weird heavy feeling in her chest as she watches her two friends.

She watches as Amanda continues to twist her fingers through a light green strand of Diana's hair before her attention wanders towards blue eyes. Immediately Akko averts her gaze down to the chocolate croissant in front of her.

What am I thinking? They're just friends… friends do that kinda thing. But… why do I feel so...jea-

"Hey Akko," Jasminka asks after taking a bite from her strawberry frosted donut, tearing Akko from her thoughts. "Who are those cute college boys you work out with all the time at the gym?"

The rest of the girls at the table dramatically cease whatever conversation they have to look at Jasminka with befuddled expressions before turning to Akko with interest. Amanda stops her fingers in Diana's hair as the blonde tenses, her previous irritated expression now covered by a neutral mask. The redhead looks over to Akko with a surprised yet confused expression.

"You met some boys at the gym!?" Lotte gasps. "Why didn't you tell us? What are they like?!"

"Yeah. Spill, Akko." Avery says leaning forward, chin in her hand.

"Ah… eh…" Akko sputters as she resets her thoughts from fingers wrapped in blonde locks to the twelve sets of eyes now trained on her waiting with anticipation. "Th-they're just some guys who started spotting for me. They're pretty nice and they've been teaching me different workouts."

"Who are they? And why would they want to help you?" Sucy asks with a tint of protectiveness in her voice.

"Um… well, their names are Frank and Andrew and they play tennis at Appleton. And soccer...kinda. And… I kinda… tried lifting some weights andmaybeputtoomuchonandalmostkilledmyself but they offered to help me. And excuuuuse me…" she shoots a quick glance at Sucy and huffs. "I am a pleasure to be around!"

"What do they look like?" Lotte asks, eyes gleaming.

"Um… well… they're both really muscley," She says, kind of enjoying the attention of all the girls hanging on every word. "Frank has blonde hair and Andrew has dark hair and really green eyes."

"Wait… you said they play soccer!?" Blair says with wide eyes as she grabs Avery's shoulder, who looks back at her with a gasp and matching wide eyes.

As Avery and Blair try to get more information out of a recoiling Akko, Amanda worriedly watches Diana's neutral mask crease with a troubled brow.

Of course… Why am I surprised? I've been taken by her charm… it's inevitable some boys would fall for the same...

"-It's not like that! I don't… well, yeah, they're handsome and all… but they're just friends… I don't like them like that!" Akko says with a deep blush covering her features, her hands waving in refusal in front of her. In the process she knocks over her vanilla iced coffee right onto her shirt. She squeals in surprise at the sudden icy impact.

"Good job, Akko." Sucy begins to snort as she scoots away from the, yet again, damp brunette.

"Ahhhhahahhh so cold!" Akko says as she desperately tries to pull her shirt away from her skin. "Oh maaaan!" She stands up wet, cold, and smelling of vanilla noting that, on the bright side, she hadn't made very much of a mess of the floor since most of the drink had landed on her. "Do you think they have a hand dryer in the bathroom?" She feels a tug at her side and sees Constanze pull out an oversized spare t-shirt with the words 'WING KING' printed on its front from her bag.

"Really? You are the BEST Constanze!" Akko beams as she goes in for a hug before remembering why the change of clothing was being presented in the first place. She then takes the t-shirt with a 'thank you!' and makes a run towards the bathroom moving as to not drip everywhere.

"Told you that extra shirt would come in handy." Jasminka winks at the shorter girl who responds with a smile and a shrug.

Amanda discreetly leans in towards the blonde's ear and whispers. "Ey… I think you're in luck. You might actually have a chance with Blunder Woman."

Diana's mask, fallen from the event of the spilt coffee and the once more suctioned tank top of the brunette, settles itself back on her face as she turns to whisper a response. "I told you, there is nothing. Just leave it alone."

"C'mon Dee… if there's a possibility would you really reject it flat out?"

Hannah and Barbara watch as the two girls next to them whisper. Though they cannot hear what is being said they can see a red blush on the tips of Diana's ears as well as her clenched fists in her lap. Hannah and Barbara turn to each other and begin whispering among themselves.

"What is going on between those two?" Barbara says behind a cupped hand.

"Do you think Amanda's trying to hit on her?"

"Wait… do you think Amanda knows?"

"How would Amanda know? Why do you keep thinking Amanda would know these things? Besides, why would Diana tell her and not us?"

"I don't know… but there's something going on…"

Meanwhile in the bathroom. After locking the door, Akko peels her wet shirt over her head and just stands there in her bikini looking at her drastic sunburn in the mirror.

"Ahh man…" she says as she pokes at the hot red skin by her armpit. After a moment of prodding at her skin she slips Constanze's oversized T-shirt over her prickling shoulders.

Why does she even have a shirt this big? Whatever. Not gonna question. Take it. It's the best luck I'll have all day.

The hand dryer roars to life as she runs her damp tank top under the nozzle, causing the scent of vanilla to waft through the tiny restroom. With the consistent hum drowning out all other sounds, Akko is left to her thoughts as she waits for her stained shirt to dry.

That was so embarrassing...of course I'd knock my drink all over myself… and right in front of…

I do this kind of stuff all the time. It was in front of everybody...Why do I care that it was in front of Diana?

And the thing with Amanda… was I… jealous of her? I've never felt like that when I see other people do that. But why would I be jealous? It's not like I…

Do I?

I mean… but I like boys… right? But… Lotte said that she liked girl's AND boys. I didn't even know that could be a thing! What if I…?

But I didn't like other girls before… did I? Now that I think about it… maybe...Chariot kinda? No way! She's just really awesome and was really cool to...watch. Hmm.

I mean… Diana's super nice, smart, and pretty… anybody would like her. So maybe I'm just overthinking this… but…

Akko thinks back to her dream of the blonde the night of their first game and of the fluttering eyes and lips drawing closer together.

Akko's eyes shoot open and if her face wasn't already red from sunburn, her cheeks definitely made up for it.

Oh my god.

The dream... the jealousy...the OH MY GOD I ALMOST DIED WHILE I WAS LOOKING AT HER BUTT

I have a crush on Diana?!

But she's my rival! I can't think of her like that! Right?

No, no. Don't rush into thoughts like that…

She's just my friend that I really really admire and who just so happens to be a girl... And makes my heart beat faster…

Gnnnnnnn!

A few minutes later, Akko heads back to the table with her stained tank top in hand and a brand-new reality of the nature of her friendship with Diana. As she approaches the table and sees her friends talking animatedly, she notices that the blonde is not among them. She scoots around the table and lowers herself into her seat as several eyes look at her new shirt with amusement. Before she gets the chance to ask where the blonde had gone, Diana returns to the table and places a cup in front of her.

"What's this?" Akko takes her eyes off the new vanilla iced coffee and looks up at her in surprise.

Diana's eyes flit away from Akko's and land on the cup in front of her as she responds. "Well, you barely had the chance to have your drink and I just so happened to have some spare money."

Taken back by the kind gesture, Akko finds herself momentarily at a loss for words "Th-that's so nice. Thank you, Diana."

How could anybody NOT like this girl? Good job me, if I do like girls I totally have good taste!

"It was no trouble." Diana says with a smile, a small blush creeping up her face as she notes just how adorable the oversized shirt looks draping over the brunette.

She's practically swimming in it.

"Though, I would recommend being a little more careful this time around." She says with a smart grin as a few other girls giggle.

"Yeah… I'm sure none of us want to see you sitting here in your bathing suit." Amanda teases as she discreetly pokes Diana's leg forcing the blonde to tame her expression.

"Hah Hah." Akko says sarcastically with a sunburn hidden blush as she crosses her arms, hitting the table. When she hears the ice rattle in her cup she gasps in panic before grabbing it and stabilizing it by its lid.

"Careful…" Sucy says already shielding herself from the potential splash zone.

"Heh heh… sorry." The brunette giggles nervously as she takes a sip so the cup wouldn't be so full.

The girls continue on with their conversations and fortunately for those sitting near Akko, no more drinks were spilled.

Hannah and Barbara watch a relatively lackluster argument develop beside them featuring Akko continually insisting on paying Diana back for the coffee while the blonde refuses the cash being shoved in her face. But more curiously, they also see Amanda watching the two girls as closely as they are.

"She's up to something…" Hannah whispers to Barbara.

"You said so yourself, she's got a spot-on gaydar."

"But Diana's acting weird too. One second you could practically hear her heart break when 'Akko' and 'college boys' were said in the same sentence and the next she's buying her a drink."

"That might be a little exaggerated…" Barbara says glancing towards the two girls who had ceased their argument as a discussion over biology homework drained the brunette's features of most of the fire it held before.

"Amanda said something to her…"

"Hey Gretchen Weiners. You and Karen talking shit about me?" Amanda says quirking her brow towards the two whispering girls.

"Mean Girls? Really?" Hannah deadpans.

"Been waiting to use it honestly..." the redhead smiles to herself, "

Clap!

"Nice wig Janice! What's it made of?!" Mary excitedly yells from further down the table.

"YOUR MOM'S CHEST HAIR!" Amanda yells back with a huge grin.

"Yes!" The movie buff cheers from the quote as she returns to the conversation she and an unfazed Blair had been in.

"But for real though…" Amanda says returning her attention as she rises from her seat and drapes herself over the backs of Hannah and Barbara's chairs. "What we talking about?"

"Just wondering what you're up to..." Hannah states accusingly.

"Oh me? Later?" Amanda gasps with faux astonishment and a teasing glint in her eye. "I'm not that kind of girl... But I'm sure if you ask around, someone would be up for a steamy game of three way with you."

Not dealing with the bullshit, the two girls groan with red faces before pushing their chairs out simultaneously- right into Amanda's gut. She lets out a wheeze as the rest of the table watches on in curiosity. Not that they didn't expect it, because God did they know it was coming, but more so to see where it was going to go. Sadly, they only see Hannah dragging the redhead by the forearm asking her for a few words as Barbara assures the others that they'll 'only be a minute' before following them through the front doors.

The rest of the table watches them go with a small chorus of 'oooh's before returning to their previous conversations. Just another day for the Luna Nova Witches.

"I hope they don't hurt her…" Diana comments before taking a sip of her tea.

"What did she say this time? I missed it." Akko says, craning her neck to try to catch a look at them outside as Diana chokes on her drink.

Once they get outside and the front doors close, Hannah and Barbara turn to face the redhead.

"Ah shit guys…" Amanda grumbles as she rubs where Hannah had just been grasping. "What's up with you three dragging me off today…"

"What's going on with you and Diana?" Hannah demands with a steely glare.

Amanda's eyebrows threaten to shoot up in surprise of being caught off guard. "I don't know what you're talking about, ginger. Ain't nothing different goin on with me and the princess."

I promised I wouldn't say anything… Damn it... why didn't I think it was a bad idea to mess with her in front of her friends? Stupid. It's okay. I'm the queen of diversion. Let's get out of this.

"Are you hitting on her?" Barbara snaps with a gaze matching her girlfriend's.

Amanda's eyes widen.

Feck… that was forward. They ain't playing around… C'mon think…

"Oh hell no!" Amanda reacts a little too dramatically. "I don't even swing that way, man!"

This wipes Hannah and Barbara's intimidation faces clean and replaces them with complete shock.

"Wait… you're NOT GAY?" Hannah blurts out. Immediately she flushes in embarrassment as she realizes that her thoughts just barreled out of her mouth.

Amanda struggles not to crack. "No way! I'm totally into dick-" But before she can finish the sentence she breaks into a smile and starts laughing uncontrollably.

Hannah and Barbara look at each other in confusion as Amanda takes a breath and wipes the beginnings of tears from her eyes. "Pssh! Who am I kidding? I'm so gay I can't even say that with a straight face. Haaaaaahh. But still no… ain't nothing going on me with me and blondie."

"You we're looking like you were getting awfully close with her at the table." Hannah folds her arms as she attempts to school her expression.

"We're friends… I see you and Babsie do the same all the time..." she smirks.

Hannah's cheeks begin to take on a pink tint as she tries to come up with an excuse. "We-well-"

"Unless of course you're a little jealous…don't you worry, she's not really my type..." Amanda draws out the last word as she lifts her hand to Hannah's chin. Suddenly Barbara's hand shoots forward grabbing the redhead's arm.

"I don't care if you're the pitcher, I will break your wrist." She says with an irritated smile before letting go of the offending hand.

Amanda recoils her hand and holds it to her chest with a shred of fear. "Geez… noted. Some attack dog ya got th-" Amanda's eyes shoot wide with realization as her mouth slightly drops open. She looks intensely at Barbara and then to Hannah and back to Barbara again, a smile slowly growing on her face. "Are- are you two...?" She points between the two.

It was Hannah and Barbara's turn to recoil, slightly whiplashed by Amanda's sudden change.

"Oh my god!" She yells excitedly. "You are! Finally! I've been waiting for you two to get together since first year of travelling!" She says as she claps the two ghostly pale girls on the shoulder. "Good for you guys! When did that happen?! I thought I noticed a lot less longing looks from across the locker room!"

Diversion, successful. And Jazzy owes me two bucks. Damn I'm good.

"W-w-we, well a-" Hannah stutters. She knows she said she was willing to let people know that she and Barbara were together if it came up, but this is the first time it's actually been asked. And by Amanda? Like this? She didn't realize it would be so nerve wracking. Just then she feels Barbara's hand close around hers. She looks up into nervous teal eyes and watches a little half smile push on her cheek as she shrugs.

"Fine… yes… we're dating." Barbara blushes unable to quell the growing smile on her lips.

Oh my gosh! I've never said it out loud before!

"Yo! When? Oh! And I'm sorry about the jokes." The redhead apologizes genuinely. "I thought you two were still dancing around the elephant in the room. I'll let up."

"Wait, so you only wanted to embarrass us if we were insecure about it?" Hannah furrows her brow.

"I like to think of it as… mental encouragement."

"You are a terrible person." Barbara says before remembering that Amanda's words technically pushed her into having the relationship conversation with Hannah.

Well shit…

"Debatable." Amanda says stretching her arms above her head before turning to head back inside the cafe.

"Wait! Get back he-!" Hannah calls out, realizing her interrogation has been derailed.

"Don't worry! I won't tell anyone." Amanda says opening the door and turning to them with two fingers in a salute. "Gay scouts honor. Maaaan." She laughs before muttering to herself, "This has got to be the gayest Saturday I've ever been a part of."

She walks through the doors of the cafe as Hannah and Barbara are left outside trying to catch up with everything that just happened. On the plus side, they no longer think that Amanda is trying to court their friend, however they're positive something is going on between the two.

After taking a moment, the two follow her back into the cafe with a silent agreement that they were going to have to continue their conversation with her on the matter later.

"Hey…" Sarah calls across the table as the three return to the table. "I didn't realize this place is called Cafe Meridies'. You think Coach is related?"

When the girls decide to head back to their houses, the heat of the day had started to subside. After saying goodbye to the team, crimson eyes lingering on Diana as she walks away with Hannah and Barbara, Akko makes her way home alongside Lotte and Sucy as they continue their conversation from the cafe.

She had been keeping herself from asking Lotte anything about the liking girls AND boys thing at the cafe, and it seemed Sucy was fully aware of that fact. But now, much to Akko's frustration and much to Lotte's relief, Sucy carried on a conversation about astrological signs for the entire walk home. Since she was unable to ask Lotte, she formulated questions she planned on doing a little research on from the comfort of her home computer.

I mean, I guess it makes perfect sense that it can happen. Why wouldn't somebody just be able to like anybody? But how come I never heard about it before?

When Akko walks through the doors of her house she sees her mother with a letter in her hands.

"Hey Okaasan. Sorry I was out a little longer than I thought. We all went to the cafe down the street after the car wash and-" she stops when she takes a look at her mother looking back at her with a difficult to read expression. Worry? Disappointment? She holds the letter out to her daughter displaying the Luna Nova sigil at the top of the page.

"Eh?" Akko scrunches her face in confusion as she takes the paper and begins to read over it mumbling the words under her breath.

"Dear parent/guardian... blah blah blah...Atsuko Kagari has been placed on... ACADEMIC PROBATION?!"

Authors Note

So, I maybe HEAVILY alluded to my Bar/Band fic…

IF YOU WANT TO READ IT, I WILL PROBABLY NOT POST IT ON HERE BECAUSE THERE ARE ILLUSTRATIONS INCLUDED AND CANNOT ACCOMMODATE! SO. If you want to give it a read you can find part 1 and part 2 on my Tumblr (username : superevilbadguy) and search for 'bar/band au' in the tag search!

Three strikes… so many are (kinda) out.