Chapter 21.

Kirihara wasn't sure how he made it to school on time. He had woken up late (again) and sprinted out of his apartment while putting on his tie. It was a miracle that he hadn't strangled himself with it. It would have been an interesting headline. He slid into the train, several other students who lived near him eyeing him as though they didn't want people to know he went to the same school as them.

Yet, somehow, he had made it to school on time. He walked right by Marui and Jackal, who were talking about something or another, and headed inside to get away from the cold. He changed his shoes quickly, and then jogged up the stairs.

When he got to his class, Tanaka and Miyagi were already in their seats in the back of the room – Tanaka was braiding her hair and Miyagi was texting and using his textbook as a well. Kirihara sat in front of them, setting his bag next to his desk.

"You weren't on the train," Miyagi said. He slipped his phone into his pocket, setting his book down.

"I had to catch the second one. I over slept. Again."

"You need a new alarm clock," Tanaka said. She tied the bottom of her braid and flung it over her shoulder.

"Yes, and I need to buy a parrot and teach it to say, 'Help! I've been turned into a parrot!'" Miyagi said.

Tanaka smiled. Kirihara rolled his eyes and said, "I just need to remember to set it. It works fine."

"I want to go to one of Akaya's tennis matches and shout 'goal!' whenever he gets a point," Tanaka said. "Or yell 'out' when it's obviously in."

"I want to just get up and leave during the middle of class," Kirihara said. "Then I might come back and convince the teacher the other me was an evil twin, that I'm good and must destroy my other self, and then leave again shouting 'FOR AKAYA!'"

When they learned about doppelgangers during literature, the three couldn't stop laughing.

.

School seemed to drag on and on for some reason. Eventually it finally ended, and the three headed down into the lobby to change their shoes. It had begun to snow lightly during the day, and students on the inner classrooms were crowded around the front doors to watch.

"Sweet Treats?" Miyagi suggested.

"I can't," Tanaka said, sounding as though she wished she could. "My boyfriend and I are seeing a movie together. We pre-ordered the tickets and everything."

"What about afterwards? Akaya and I could see a movie and wait for you guys," Miyagi said.

Tanaka shook her head and sighed. "I'm going over to his house to have dinner with his family. I'm sorry. Tomorrow we'll raise hell, okay?"

Kirihara cleared his throat. "I can't tomorrow."

"The day after?" Tanaka asked.

"Going to see my grandparents," Miyagi said.

She sighed again, torn between her best friends and her boyfriend. "We'll figure something out. I'll see you guys later."

She rushed off towards a boy at the door. He kissed her cheek, which made Miyagi roll his eyes.

"We could hang out without her," Kirihara reminded him. "I don't have practice for awhile."

Miyagi nodded, wrapping a scarf around his neck. "Cool."

.

Kirihara never understood why his friends came to his apartment. He understood that it was the closest to school and the one to have pizza delivered the fastest, but still. Miyagi was sitting cross-legged on the floor, reading his English book, translating the section for their English homework. Kirihara was lying on his bed, trying to figure out the math homework, which seemed like a different language.

"I don't get this," Kirihara complained.

Miyagi looked up. "Seriously? You're screwed next year if you don't get that. Actually, you're screwed tomorrow. We have a test."

"Like you get it?"

"I do," he said "It's really not that hard."

"I hate you. You're too freakin' smart." Kirihara closed his book, resting his forehead against the cool cover. "You know what I'm doing tomorrow on the test? If I come across a question I don't know how to do, I'm going to write 'isn't it obvious?' and move on. Skipping is for pansies."

"Damn, my leg fell asleep," Miyagi muttered. He shifted so he wasn't crossing his legs. The moment he did, he grabbed his leg, jaw dropping. "Holy monkey penguin fucker!"

Kirihara would have laughed, but he knew how much awakening up a sleeping leg could be – the tingle, the burn, and the cramps. Blood's a bitch.

"So Miho's with her boyfriend," Kirihara said once Miyagi had calmed down.

Miyagi stopped rubbing his leg and looked up. "Yeah. So?"

"You like her?"

Miyagi shrugged and fell backwards, sprawling out on the floor. "I'm not going to tell her, though. She's happy with that idiot. I'd rather see her smile."

"What if they broke up?"

"I don't know. I'd probably never get the guts. What if we did start going out, break up for some reason, and then we can't be friends? I'm sure that if you had to choose sides you'd pick her. You love her. I love her."

"I guess." Kirihara rolled onto his back to look up at the ceiling. "You two just seem so happy together. You have that weird nickname for her too."

"What nickname?"

"She said that she was 'M&M' on your phone," Kirihara said. "And apparently I'm 'curly douche.'"

"You have curly hair and you're a douche," Miyagi explained.

"Thanks." Kirihara rolled his eyes. "M&M? Really? What does that even mean?"

"Miyagi Miho." He sat up, leaning back on his hands. "Gay, I know."

"It's sweet," Kirihara corrected, not caring if he sounded gay or stupid or insane.

"Stop worrying about me and figure out how to do your homework. We have that test tomorrow and Miho will kill you if you fail another one. Besides, doesn't your captain watch your grades?"

Kirihara knew Miyagi didn't want to talk about Tanaka, so he shut up and grabbed his math book.

A/N: Short chapter is short.