Mob didn't really like to cook.
She didn't know how mom did this every single day three times a day. It wasn't that it was hard to cook…it just…wasn't fun. Maybe because Mob only knew how to make a few things. She knew how to make curry from the cubes scrambled eggs, omelets with rice, stir fry, and soup from the packet. Tat was pretty much it. She didn't know why dad always made her cook when Shibata lived right next door. He had said, before, that it was important that they share meals as a family….but they could still share a meal that someone else cooked…and it wasn't like they would even all be sharing this meal anyway.
Dad was probably going to be eating in his room again.
"Dad? What do you want for dinner?" asked Mob. She felt weird talking to him through the door but he told her not to come in He was either really mad or really sad, one of the two. It had felt like both back when he exploded and caused that big earthquake. A lot of people had gotten hurt and a lot of stuff broke. When she asked dad what he was planning on doing to make it right he just told her that he needed to go to his room for a while.
A while had turned into a long while.
"Dad?" asked Mob. She knocked that time. She knew that he was in there, she could hear the TV and feel his aura. Whatever he was so mad or sad about had to have been really important if he wasn't coming out of his room. Sho wasn't worried, actually he was happy, but Mob…she couldn't not be worried about dad. Sure he could be kind of…a lot…sometimes…and also he could be kind of a jerk but he was her dad and she loved him no matter what.
And there had been a lot of 'what' lately.
"Daddy?" asked Mob. Maybe that would be the thing that got him to talk. Dads liked it when you acted like you were younger than you were, Minori had said so and she had more experience having just a dad. Her mom died when she was really little. It was kind of sad, really, having a mom who was dead…though having a mom who had run away seemed worse. Not that Mob would ever have said that, of course, it would have been mean to say that she wished that she had a grave to visit….a place to leave flowers…a place where she knew that her mom would have been for all of eternity.
Mob had been having some really mean and selfish thoughts lately…but she could still push them aside.
"Daddy? I'm going to make dinner now. Do you want anything special?" asked Mob. She knocked again. she heard his bed groan. Oh. He might have been asleep. One time she opened the door after knocking for a while and he'd been sleeping…but during the day….sort of like how mom did when she got sick. She hoped that dad wasn't getting sick. She didn't want to have to talk to Fukuda…and anyway it might have been the sort of thing that Fukuda couldn't fix. He hadn't been able to fix mom and he'd been at their house all the time, sometimes even overnight. She didn't want Fukuda to hang around her house overnight or otherwise…but if he could help dad then it would have been worth it.
Mob didn't need two missing parents.
"….no. Whatever you see fit to cook will be acceptable. Thank you, Shigeko." said dad. She had to press her ear to the door to hear him. She wanted to open the door and ask him what was wrong…but he hadn't taken it well the last time she tried that. He picked her up with his powers and put her back in the hallway and then he closed the door right in her face. All he had to say were that his problems were his own and that she didn't need to worry….even though she so clearly did. Who wouldn't worry when their dad was acting all weird like this?
Well….Sho….but he and dad hadn't ever gotten along. Not even when she and Sho had been little kids…so that was different.
"OK Dad….um….do you want to come and eat with me and Sho tonight? Or do you want me to leave your dinner outside of your door?" asked Mob
"Outside the door. Thank you." Said dad. Mob nodded. That meant that she was making a one plate meal. That was how mom had always made their meals when she'd been around. Everything went on one plate and there weren't things in the middle of the table…like when she'd make a big pot of spaghetti and nothing else. That was because she was used to eating like that. Dad was probably used to it, too, since he never complained…
Mob liked it better when they shared everything.
It just felt like they were more…together. They'd been apart for so long…not only over the summer but for a while now. She and Sho used to play together all the time but then they got their own friends and got older….and she and dad used to be good friends too. Before he got all weird and smothery, back when mom had still been in the house, she and dad used to stay up late playing Chinese checkers or go or they'd watch TV and he'd try to explain stuff to her. The things that he thought were important, like space and kendo…not that she liked kendo…or naginata since she was a girl and girls couldn't do kendo….maybe she needed to start watching kendo again. She didn't really like it or want to watch it but dad liked it and it might have been the thing to get him out of his room….
She really didn't want to watch kendo.
What was the point of a sport where people just got hurt? The whole thing was just two people hitting each other with wooden swords…what was fun about that? She'd been hit with a kendo sword before, back when she and Sho had been little and they'd found dad's old kendo sword in the treasure room. It had hurt so much...more than anything had ever hurt at that point in her life. Dad said that it was a lot better with armor, it didn't hurt as much, and that kendo was about more than two people hitting each other with wooden swords. It was about grace, form, and discipline….Mob couldn't see it. It just looked like some weird thing where people got hurt….and she really didn't want to have to pretend to be into it….
But Mob had to do a lot of things that she didn't exactly want to.
Like make dinner…and clean. This hallway was a mess. It was already kind of hard to walk through it because of all the boxes but now that Mukai had left her toys all around it was a really dangerous path. Mob swept everything to the side with her powers. She'd sort the toys later. Right now she had dinner to make. She passed her and Sho's room….the door was opened again. She had no clue why Sho had been locking himself in their room, maybe something was bothering him too, but she was always happy when he came out. He was probably taking care of his hamsters or having fun with Shimazaki or….actually she really hoped that he was out having fun with Shimazaki. She hoped that wherever they were they were having the most fun that anyone in the word had ever had and they wouldn't be back for a really long time. Not that she wanted to get rid of her little brother! She loved Sho the most out of everyone else in the world…well he was tied with Mukai now since she had two siblings to love….but still. She never wanted him gone. She just…wanted him to keep Shimazaki busy.
Not that she disliked Shimazaki either.
She felt around with her aura. Aside from dad there weren't any other espers in the house. Good. Shimazaki liked to pop in and bother…talk to her. He didn't mean to bother her. He just…he liked her…and that was how a boy acted when he liked you. Minori said so. When a boy liked you he followed you around and tried to spend time with you because boys thought that if you spent enough time with them then they could touch you and kiss you and stuff. Mob…she didn't want to do any of those things with Shimazaki. She didn't dislike him, no, he was still one of her closest friends.
She just didn't like him in the same way that he liked her. That was all.
He was nice….and he was tall…but also he was Shimazaki. He acted like a crazy person, was mean to people for no reason, and also dad had already beaten him up once back when he had only been playing at liking her. He had just been teasing her then….but now he was serious. He was serious about liking her and wanting to be her boyfriend…and also he was always trying to kiss her. She understood why, kissing felt good even if you weren't in love with the person that you were kissing, but…well he didn't have to kiss her all the time…or even ever….she actually didn't really want to kiss him ever…
But what she wanted didn't matter.
It never mattered. Like now. What she really wanted to do was fry some tempura, make a salad, a packet of miso soup, and open up a new jar of pickles. Everything aside from the tempura, and the rice too since you couldn't have a meal without rice, went fast and she didn't have to dirty too many dishes. Dad wanted to eat in his room so that meant….probably curry. She was tired of eggs. She was tired of cooking them, smelling them, tasting them, and even looking at them. Eggs and ketchup. All dad ever wanted to eat was eggs and ketchup. It was his favorite meal in the whole world and…and she was so sick of eggs and ketchup! She never wanted to make eggs and ketchup ever again!
….but it was dad's favorite and maybe making his favorite food would get him out of his room.
Mob sighed as she made her way into the kitchen. She had to use her powers to sweep more toys to the side…she wondered if Mukai was old enough to clean up after herself yet. Probably not or she would have done it already. Mom hadn't ever taught her and Sho to clean up. They had always just sort of…well Mob had always just sort of put their toys away when there got to be too many on the floor. Sho hadn't….and he still didn't like cleaning up after himself….well aside from doing laundry. He'd been doing all of his own laundry lately. That was good…maybe Mukai would start taking more care of herself when she got older.
She might even have been able to help Mob out with dinner.
Mob filled the rice maker with her powers. She didn't really need to…she was just tired. Though she had no idea what she was so tired from. She'd spent another day with Minori. This time they'd gone shopping…well they did that a lot…but this time they went purse shopping which was a whole other thing. She missed spending time with Minegishi…but she couldn't. She just…she knew that they were in an open relationship with Shimazaki but….but Mob had still kissed their boyfriend. She was a boyfriend kisser and boyfriend kissers were some of the biggest b-words around. Even Minori said so and she could be kind of a b-word herself….not that Mob would ever have thought about her friend like that! She just….could be really mean for no reason sometimes….
Maybe Minori and Shimazaki would have gotten along.
Well….probably not. Mob shook her head as she opened the fridge and….dad had been at the eggs again. There was enough left in there for one rice omelet for him…she and Sho would have to have something different. She added eggs to her mental grocery list. The brown kind because they were better for you…dad didn't have good eating habits…but neither did she and Sho. Mob almost put the eggs back. She could have looked up something healthy that she could make with the ingredients she had….but she didn't want to have to think too hard about what she was doing. She closed the fridge. Rice omelet for dad and curry for her and Sho. Yes, she had curry ingredients for two people-
-or three.
There were a pair of arms, now, across her body. She was pulled into someone's chest. Her back was pressed right against him…the smell of his cologne covered her entire body. She stood still. She hadn't even felt the energy around her shift…she had been too busy thinking about dad and Sho and dinner and the million and one other things that she had to think about. She hadn't even noticed her….boy who liked her….teleporting right into her kitchen.
But dad had.
"What's cookin' good lookin'?" said Shimazaki as dad's whole aura shook the house. She knew that he must have felt that. She knew that he must have known that dad was home. Mob couldn't move. Any minute now dad was going to come out of his room and beat Shimazaki up and it would have been all her fault just like before. She didn't know what she had done to make him like her but she wished that she could have stopped. She didn't want him to get hurt again…and especially not because of something that she did.
Even if she had no idea what that thing was.
"Um…" said Mob once she remembered how to talk. She was still pressed into his chest. She could feel him breathing against her back. She didn't mind this that much, he hugged lots of people from behind like this….but the only other person he kissed was Minegishi. He was doing that thing where he kissed the side of her head. First he was in her hair and then…and then he kissed her ear….that was new. That was new and kind of….it kind of made her toes curl in her socks….but it shouldn't have! This was her best friend's boyfriend!
She was such a b-word right now.
He kissed down the side of her face, thankfully, and that didn't feel like much of anything. She hoped that he didn't actually try and kiss her again. He'd been doing that a lot since he told her he liked her…and in front of other people, too! It was like he didn't care at all who knew. Like…like he didn't care if Minegishi found out that their best friend was kissing their boyfriend! Well….well Minegishi and Shimazaki were in an open relationship but….but that didn't mean that Mob got to be a part of that…or maybe it did. She didn't know. This whole thing was complicated and her brain wasn't working that well. Shimazaki was moving lower down her face…but at least he didn't turn her around and kiss her for real. She didn't know what she would have done then…maybe gone and hung out with dad? Even if he didn't want her around, even if he got mad at her for just letting herself into his room, it had to have been better than-THIS!
Oh.
That was….weird…and good…but weird. Her aura showed. She didn't know what she wanted it to do…she didn't know what to do. That was….the space right where her face stopped and her neck started and…and….she reached out and grabbed the counter. Her aura was still showing and…and this was not ok! This was something that a b-word would do and Mob was not going to be a b-word to her best friend.
She took a step forward.
Shimazaki let go of her. He hadn't actually been holding onto her. If he had wanted to then he could have kept her from moving, he was a lot stronger than she was, but if she had wanted to then she could have picked him up and thrown him around the room. She was a much stronger esper than he was. She didn't want to hurt him…she just wanted to get away. That had been….a thing which had happened to her…and now it was over and….and she had to make dinner!
So that was what she was going to do. Right f-wording now.
"I have to make dinner!" said Mob. She reached up and started grabbing random plates and bowls from the cabinet above her. She just put then down on the counter, she didn't even know what she was doing, but she knew that she had to do something…and she knew that she didn't need help….but Shimazaki was reaching forward again. She pressed herself into the counter but…oh. He was unnesting the mixing bowls…of course he was trying to help and not….he'd already sort of kissed her so he didn't have any reason to….and…and…
And she had to get dinner on the table.
"So, what are we making?" asked Shimazaki
"Um….food?" said Mob. She had the whole counter covered in plates and bowls…she had no room to work. She had no room to work so now she was going to have to put some stuff back….but then if she put some stuff back he would know that she was doing this to avoid kissing him….and then his feelings would have been hurt and hurting people's feelings was a b-word thing to do…and she didn't want to be a b-word or any other kind of word!
She just…she just wanted to be friends….
"Human food?" asked Shimazaki
"Yes. Human food…because we're humans." Said Mob. That was….maybe he was trying to be funny? She didn't know…but she did know that….that she had to make dinner and…and he was standing so close to him now. He smelled good….like soap and cologne and stuff. He'd just taken a shower, she realized, and his hair was done too with that stuff he put in to make it stand up…and his clothes were clean…and now. They smelled new, like a store….maybe he and Minegishi had gone clothes shopping? Maybe he wanted to hang out with them some more….and maybe…maybe…..she didn't know! She just….she needed some space…
But the refrigerator was right behind her.
The refrigerator didn't exactly line up with the counter. It stuck out a few centimeters….because it was so big. She didn't know why they needed such a big refrigerator. They were only three people….well four since Mukai was their sister and sometimes she had dinner with them…and five if you counted Tsuchiya since she went wherever Mukai did…and six since Hatori was dad's new best friend….and seven since she liked to eat with Serizawa to get him used to people….
So maybe the refrigerator was the right size….maybe the house was just too small….
But there was no time to move to a bigger house. She had never been really that aware of how the refrigerator stuck out…but now that her back was pressed up against it she would never be able to forget. Part of her wanted him to just kiss her and get it done with. It wasn't that bad…actually it was kind of nice….but she was a b-word for thinking that it was nice! She was such a b-word for not liking him back and she was a b-word for making her best friend's boyfriend like her and she just…she was just a b-word for whatever she did!
So….so she just….she needed to make dinner…right now…that was what she had to do….
"It's to know that we aren't cooking tiny hamster meals, I have no idea how Sho can do that every single….whoa. Hey Mob, you alright? Your aural output is all…like this." said Shimazaki. He waved his hands in the air so show her what her aura felt like….she was going to take his word for it. She couldn't feel or hear her own aura…but she could see it. It was almost as bright as dad's….and dad's was really bright…..
Dad was mad.
"I'm fine! My dad is just…really mad…I think because you're in the house. He doesn't like you." Said Mob
"Eh, I don't care. If he wants me out then he can throw me out." Said Shimazaki
"But….then he'd hurt you." Said Mob
"I know, I don't care. You're worth it." Said Shimazaki. Mob nodded. She didn't really know what to say to that. Shimazaki thought that she was worth getting hurt over…she really wasn't. She was a bad big sister and a bad daughter and a bad friend. Shimazaki could have done much better…he had done much better. He had Minegishi and they loved him and he loved them…Mob didn't get it. Why Minegishi's love wasn't enough for him….why he had to go and like her like this….what she had even done in the first place…..
"So, what are we making? Those feel like eggs. Let me guess, your dad is back on his all breakfast diet?" asked Shimazaki
"Dad…um….I don't think that it counts as a diet since he doesn't eat health food unless I make it. I was….I was thinking of making healthy food….and you don't like healthy foods so…so maybe Shibata should make you dinner." Said Mob. Something passed over his face. She couldn't tell what it was. His aura had felt kind of sad…and worried….and…just a lot of bad feelings. She didn't know why. Maybe Shibata had turned the waffle strike into a cooking all meals and foods strike….she'd have to talk to him about that….
Someone had to feed Shimazaki and Minegishi really hated cooking.
"I can eat healthy food. I don't exclusively live on chocolate pudding and candle wax you know. How do you think I maintain all of this?" asked Shimazaki. He waved his hand up and down his body…and he did look nice…and he was strong….
"I…um…I…." said Mob
"So, what do you want to make? I know how to cook a few healthy things. I'm told I'm good at roasting vegetables….though there's not much to it. Just hit them with some olive oil, black pepper, and sea salt then you're good to go." Said Shimazaki
"Wait…I thought that olive oil was for dipping your bread into and putting in noodles so they don't end up sticking together." Said Mob
"It's good for roasting vegetables too. Toshi taught me that. Before I was just frying them in butter. Not that I have anything against butter, who the hell would? I just figured that you wanted to go the healthy living route since, you know, your dad exclusively lives on eggs and ketchup." Said Shimazaki
"Um…he eats bread sometimes, too." Said Mob
"I…have no idea how to make a loaf of bread." Said Shimazaki
"Me neither." Said Mob
"Want me to Google it? It'll be something we can do together." Said Shimazaki
"Um….that's ok, really." Said Mob
"You sure? We used to spend a lot of time together and now it's like…I feel like I haven't seen you in a while…and yeah, I know, I've never seen anything before in my life." Said Shimazaki
"I wouldn't have said that." Said Mob
"I know you wouldn't have, that's why I beat you to it." Said Shimazaki
"I would never make fun of you for being blind or for any reason. You're my…um…my friend." Said Mob. She didn't know if she was his girlfriend or just his friend with benefits. She didn't want to be either but she would have taken friend with benefits over girlfriend any day. Girlfriends were girls boys were in love with, friends with benefits were just girls that boys kissed and…and did other stuff with…stuff that Mob….she was pretty sure that she had no idea what most of that stuff even was…..but she did know that she wasn't anywhere close to being ready for…..it….and the stuff that came before it….
She was barely ready for the kissing part.
"And you're mine too. Actually that's something that I've been meaning to talk to you about." Said Shimazaki. Mob nodded. She still had the fridge to her back. If he asked her to be his girlfriend then….then she didn't know what she would have done. She could have just picked up the fridge and run away…but then his feelings would have been hurt. She had never had a boyfriend before, and the only boy who had ever liked her before this was in hiding now because people kept on trying to kidnap him, but she knew that nobody would have taken it well if the girl they….liked….just picked up a refrigerator and ran off to hide in her dad's room. No, she wouldn't be doing anything like that…she wouldn't be doing anything at all…
It didn't even look lie she'd be making dinner tonight.
"Y-Yes?" said Mob
"Are you avoiding me?" asked Shimazaki. Mob felt her whole body get lighter. That was…well, yes, she had been. She had been avoiding him since he confessed to her…but telling him that would have hurt his feelings too and the last thing that she ever wanted to do was hut his feelings or anyone else's. She…she was going to have to lie…and she hated telling lies. She hated being a b-word like that….but telling lies was less of a b-word move than shattering his heart into a million little pieces. Especially since it was her fault that he liked her in the first place.
"I…no. I've just been really busy. There's been a lot of stuff happening with…with my family and…and I have to take care of them. That's all. Um…if you want to…to hang out with someone and…and take them places then….maybe Minegishi would want to go with you." Said Mob
"Toshi hates dates. They hate going out and being around large groups of people…which is pretty much all groups of people. That's just how they are…and I don't mind. You like going out and, yeah, you've been busy lately….but that's ok. I can help you out. I'm actually not nearly as helpless as I let people think." Said Shimazaki
"I don't think that you're helpless. I never thought that about you, Ryou, not once." Said Mob
"Then let me help you. Come on, we'll make dinner together. Toshi and I never cook….well Shibata won't let me in the kitchen…but still. Toshi hates cooking and, yeah, I get it. They can grow their own food whenever they want…and I guess you can too but…I figured you liked cooking. You know, since you do it all the time." Said Shimazaki
"I don't like cooking, I just cook because I have to or my family will starve." Said Mob. She didn't know what could possibly have been so funny about that. Shimazaki laughed, kind of loud too, or at least loud enough for dad to hear it. Dad might have just felt his aura, too. It was happy….really happy….so that was ok. Mob didn't know what had been funny in what she'd said but at least it had made him-
-happy.
He stopped laughing….well it would have been kind of hard to kiss someone and laugh at the same time. Mob didn't know, she had never tried it before, and she wasn't in the mood to try it now. She was in the direct opposite of a laughing mood. This was…she still had the refrigerator bind her…and Shimazaki in front of her….and he was kissing he. She didn't know if it had been a second or a minute or an hour or a year. He just kissed her…he leaned down and kissed her….he was a lot taller than her…
He stopped.
"God…you have no idea how much I missed you." Said Shimazaki
"I…I…um….I missed you too?" said Mob. She didn't know what she was supposed to say right now so she just said that. That was what you were supposed to say, anyway, when someone said that they'd missed you…even though you'd seen them every single day. Even though they just popped up into your life and…and tried to kiss you while you were making dinner and…and he smelled really good but….but….but…but she had to make dinner!
Right now!
"Mob….fuck…I can't believe I ever thought that you were avoiding me. You're not like that….I don't know. I'm a lot more insecure than I thought I was…or maybe you make me insecure? I'm not sure….Toshi makes me feel the same way….feelings are complicated." Said Shimazaki
"I…I think so too. Feelings are…they're really complicated." Said Mob. Maybe dad had a point with that 'conceal, don't feel' thing that he'd been trying to teach her for her entire life. She couldn't imagine him ever having problems like this…well he did have a lot of feelings but he was good at ignoring him. Even now. She could feel how mad he was….he couldn't have known what she had just done….in the kitchen…of the house…where her family lived and ate and argued. He….he couldn't have known but….but he was really mad…
The ground wasn't shaking. He wasn't letting it show.
"Yeah….but they're easy too, in some ways. Like right now. I feel like helping you make dinner. You like cooking and I have nothing against it so, yeah, let's cook some healthy shit so your dad makes it to at least forty six." Said Shimazaki
"I….I don't really like cooking. It's just something that I…that I have to do. Dad doesn't know how to cook and if I left Sho on his own he'd just eat poptarts and stuff. So…so I just have to cook…and since I don't like cooking then it would be unfair of me to make you help…..me?" asked Mob. She knew that she had been talking too much, she still wasn't really sure what the right number of words to use was, but he didn't have to teleport away like that…not that she minded. No, he could go wherever he wanted to go and do whatever he wanted to do.
Maybe he wanted to go be with Minegishi and do whatever they wanted to do…like kissing…and the stuff that came afterwards….all of it….
Mob didn't want to do any of that stuff. What she wanted to do was go and hang out in dad's room. She wanted to stay there right next to him…not that she was avoiding Shimazaki…well she was…but also he was mad and he needed her. Sho…Sho needed her too, probably, since he was still in a bad mood about…about something….and…and Serizawa! How could she have forgotten about Serizawa! He had been in his room all day and he was probably lonely. She…she needed to get dinner on the table and then she could have a sleepover with him and-
Well…the dinner on the table part was taken care of.
"Tada! Dinner is served." Said Shimazaki as he teleported into the kitchen with what must have been the world's biggest sandwich. It was so big that there wasn't even enough table for it. One end was slumped over the side and the sandwich fillings were coming out….and now the whole kitchen smelled like Italian food…and….and she had to clean it up but…but….but first she would have to…to eat the big sandwich….
Mob may not have been entirely sure what she'd wanted for dinner but she knew that giant sandwiches hadn't been on the menu.
"Ryou…what…what is that?" asked Mob
"Dinner. Since you hate cooking I thought to myself, hey, I should help Mob out. So I went to this place I know that has good pizza, well it had good pizza, anyway. You leave town for a couple of years and they change everything…anyway the pizza place is now a blow job bar, without pizza, so I thought to myself pizza doesn't keep for that long anyway. Seriously. Microwaved pizza has hot spots and cold spots and then when you bite into a part of the cheese that's still solid and cold it's like hell in your mouth-" said Shimazaki
"It really is." Said Mob. She hated microwaved pizza, she always put it in the oven, but that took too long. Nobody else in her family minded but she'd seen dad drink ketchup and Sho drink ranch so, and she knew that she was kind of a b-word for thinking this, but maybe her dad and brother weren't the most trustworthy when it came to opinions on food.
"See? You get it. Toshi thinks I'm picky-anyway, I got to thinking some more and then it hit me. Giant party subs. Who in the hell doesn't like a good giant party sub…so here you go. Dinner is served." Said Shimazaki. He took her hand in his and then kissed it…and that was ok. That wasn't her mouth and…and this had been a really nice thing he did for her and…and she kind of owed him…so he could kiss her hand if he felt like it.
Thankfully that was the only thing he kissed.
"So you want me to go and get Sho? And see if your dad's willing to let me teleport him out of his room?" asked Shimazaki. Mob shook her head. No. No way. Shimazaki may not have cared if dad hurt him but Mob did…and….and if he tried to sit down at the table with her family then she knew that dad was going to hurt him…badly….maybe even so badly that Fukuda wouldn't even be able to put him back together again. Even…even mom had been too much for him and she hadn't even been bleeding….and she knew that dad would make Shimazaki bleed just like before….
She couldn't let that happen.
"I-I-I was going to have dinner with…I mean….um…..Serizawa is lonely so…so I should go and get him and…and with him here there aren't enough chairs and….and my dad….well he's already mad that you're in the house and if he finds out that you like me-" said Mob
"I don't care if he knows how I feel about you. I don't care who knows. You're great and, honestly, I can't imagine why anyone would question it." Said Shimazaki
"Because you have Minegishi? And also because I'm twelve?" said Mob
"Toshi and I can be with other people and I don't give a damn if you're twelve. It's not like I'm into you because you're twelve, that would have been weird, I'm into you because you're an amazing person and you just so happen to be twelve." Said Shimazaki. Mob nodded even though she didn't get the difference.
"I…um….get it? But…but anyway if my dad gets mad then Serizawa…he…he'll explode! Yeah…he'll explode and then the house will be broken and we'll have to move and…and also people might get hurt and then…and then I'll have to see Fukuda and….and I don't want to so…so maybe you should have dinner with Minegishi and…and you can take a part of the big sandwich too…since you brought it." Said Mob. Shimazaki made another face that she couldn't read….but at least his aura wasn't as sad as it had been before…that was a good thing….right?
He leaned in close again.
He didn't kiss her that time, no, he just pressed his forehead to hers and sighed. She could feel some of his hair stuff getting onto her forehead…now she was going to smell like him…and she didn't want to smell like him! If she smelled like him then….then it would have been proof that she was his…whatever she was…and then everyone would know that she was…something….she didn't know what she was but she knew that, open relationship or not, she should not have been that with her best friend's BOYFRIEND!
At least he hadn't kissed her again….and at least dinner was on the table now.
"You're always thinking about other people….that's one of the best things about you, you know?" said Shimazaki before he teleported away. Mob was very still. She felt around with her aura…he was next door at his own house….she stayed still until she was sure that he wasn't coming back. It took a while…long enough for more sandwich fillings to end up on the floor….but….but she was alone and…and dinner was on the table so….so…
So…then this was…a…good thing…..at least she hadn't had to cook.