Anni had never hated the sound of her alarm so much. It was quickly silenced, but it continued to irritate her. She had to get up. She couldn't just let herself go back to sleep cuddling her perfect pillow. She had to get to work. Move she told herself. Get your lazy ass up. Her muscles still refused to respond. All she could do was listen to the steady pounding of the heart beneath her ear.

"Aren't you gonna get up?" Shizuo asked sleepily, his voice resonating through his chest.

"I should be getting up now, yes" she admitted. He heaved an annoyed sigh before sitting up, forcing Anni to sit in his lap. "Noooo" she whined softly, wrapping her arms around his neck and hiding her face in his shoulder. The daylight was still too much for her sleepy eyes. The blanket slipped forgotten to the floor, letting the cool air torment her.

"Don't you have work today?" he continued.

"...Yes" she breathed in defeat. She got up and stumbled half-blind to her bag. By the time she came out of the bathroom, clean and in new clothes, Shizuo had rolled onto his side and gone back to sleep. Anni carefully picked up her blanket and pulled it over him, doing her best not to disturb him. He'd done enough by making sure she got up. After packing up the rest of her stuff as quietly as she could, she left for work.

-!DRRR!-

Anni snapped her phone shut angrily. How long did Alex expect her to sit there and listen to him laugh at her? She stuffed the phone in her locker and quickly changed into her uniform. Once she was done, and about to shut the door, it went off again.

"I love you" Alex said as soon as she picked up, laughter still ringing in his voice.

"I'm starting my shift now, you missed your chance" Anni huffed grumpily.

"Call me on your break then" he instructed. Anni hung up without ceremony.

-!DRRR!-

"So how is it that I've known this for over a month and you're only just now figuring it out?" Alex asked as soon as he flipped his phone open. Anni answered him with a decisive *Click*. He couldn't help the laughter that seized him, so it took him another minute to calm himself before he called her back. She was mad, and it was adorable.

"If you're going to continue teasing me, I don't want to hear it" she grumbled over the line. It was far too easy to imagine her with her indignant pouty-face.

"I'll behave, I promise" he consoled.

"Ya, right" came her sarcastic retort.

"So I take it you haven't had a chance to talk to him about it yet."

"No, he was asleep when I left. I don't know if I'll be telling him yet anyway…" she explained

"Anni, don't be stupid about this. Nothing good can come of you putting it off."

"You've forgotten that I'm a coward" came her surprisingly defiant remark.

"Ya, you are, so? Last I checked you were also getting better at controlling your fear. Or are you going to let something like this defeat you?" he taunted.

"Maybe. Besides, I'm happy with things as they are" she asserted.

"Oh no, don't go there…"

"Don't go where? What, am I supposed to desperately want to change things to be sappy and lovey-dovey all the time so suddenly, simply because I've realized I have feelings for him? I enjoy being his close friend, and there's no reason to rush anyway."

"No, you're not supposed to change your opinion, but I don't think you should try and hide it either. Didn't you say months ago that you wanted to avoid lying to him as much as possible?" Alex reminded.

"Yes, of course. It's not like I would lie to him if he asked…"

"Whatever. Your problem. You know my opinion" he relented.

"Thanks" she grumbled again, sarcasm soaking her tone.

"You're adorable when you're angry, you know that?"

*Click*

-A/N-

Edited by my dear friend Faded Phoenix