Author's Note: Currently watching the anime and I just cannot bear Tomoko's suffering anymore, so I'll try to write some happiness into her life.

Disclaimer: All credit goes to the original creators of Watamote.

Kenta Suzaki walks into the classroom with a groggy expression on his face. He sets down his bag and takes his seat at the front-right corner of the class.

Man I slept like shit today, at least it's the last day before break.

The teacher enters the classroom and as a class we perform the customary bow and retake our seats.

Class drags on endlessly and Kenta can think of nothing but his video game backlog he intends to chip away at over break. Before he knows it, his eyes begin to grow heavier he drifts off to sleep on his desk.

The teacher awakens Kenta with a fierce slam on his desk, right next to his ear. He jerks up, awaking to the sound of giggles around him and a fearsome glare aimed his way.

"Stay and speak to me after class, Suzaki-san." The teacher commands with an intimidating tone.

Kenta sinks back into his chair and tries to calm the anxiety that is creeping up on him. Kenta absolutely hates standing out, and it's at moments like this where he feels the most dejected. He takes a deep breath and tries to focus on the subject sensei is lecturing on.

Maybe if I pay extra close attention for the rest of the class maybe sensei will forget.

No such luck.

Class ends and Kenta glances in sensei's direction while putting his books away. One sharp look from sensei is all it takes for Kenta to know he is not getting out of this classroom unscathed. Kenta takes a deep breath and prepares for whatever punishment awaits him.

Kenta walks out of the classroom feeling more positive than he had all day. With the timing of his slip up during class and the strictness of this particular teacher, he was expecting to be assigned some monster project to complete over break that would have severely cut into his gaming time. Instead, all he had to do was head to the library after school to complete some practice problems and a report on a short story. Two tasks that would not take him more than an hour or two.

The rest of Kenta's day passes relatively uneventfully. After his final class, Kenta proceeds to the library and takes a seat on the floor, pressing his back against one of the library walls. It's a strange position, but its how Kenta works most efficiently. The rigidity of the wall and the hard floor keep his focus sharper than sitting at a desk ever does.

Right as Kenta gets situated and focused on one of the problems, he hears obnoxiously loud talking from the hallway, immediately causing him to lose his focus.

The slightly nasally voice speaking on the phone says,

"Hello?

Yeah, I'm at school now.

What? You, cant go to the fireworks today?

That's harsh!

I've been looking forward to the fireworks all this time!

I don't know you anymore!

Goodbye!"

"Huh, I haven't seen the fireworks with anyone in ages." Kenta thinks, as he unintentionally listens in. There is a brief pause when the voice from the hallway continues, although this time the voice seems louder.

"Wont anyone invite me to the fireworks? I don't even care who anymore. I really don't care who! I would be happy if anyone asked me!"

Kenta takes a moment to process what he heard, and his heart rate starts to increase. He contemplates standing up and asking her right here and there, but the burning in his cheeks and ears stop him dead in his tracks. He is a coward, after all. Instead, he makes a deal with himself that will allow him a graceful way out of this golden opportunity to finally go on his first date. If the girl who yelled that from the hallway is in the library when he finishes his assignments, he will ask her to see the fireworks. Satisfied by his compromise with seemingly no chance of having to ask her, Kenta returns to his work.

Kenta takes his time with his assignments, and it is nearly 3 hours later when he finally wraps up the practice problems and report. He could have finished earlier, but he worked slower than usual. He is still feeling the anxiety from the deal he made with himself.

I'm sure she is gone by now.

Kenta stands up, gathers his things and slowly turns the corner to leave the library. He freezes as he locks eyes with a girl sitting there at a table. Her green eyes go wide, and she has a shocked expression on her face. She is short and thin, with messy, long black hair and an aura of shyness and exhaustion about her. Kenta does find her cute, however, and her meek demeanor defuses some of the overwhelming anxiety Kenta is feeling.

As Kenta and the girl stared at each other for what was beginning to be an awkward length of time, Kenta finally remembered her name from the introductions in his class on the first day of school. He had never spoken to her but he also remembered the few times she was scolded in class for various things.

"Kuroki-san, right?"

"Ye-yes, that's me." Tomoko stutters in quiet voice.

"I'm Kenta Suzaki, I- I think we are in the same class."

"O-okay." Tomoko responds.

Kenta's anxiety levels rise with the word one, slightly disinterested answer Tomoko gives him.

Great. I'm going to get shut down, aren't I?

There is an awkward silence, but Kenta steels his nerve and continues.

"Was that you on the phone in the hallway?" Kenta replies.

"Yeah.. it was." She replies while looking away shyly.

Kenta closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. He could just easily end the conversation and leave the library right now, and probably save the humiliation of being rejected or embarrassing himself with a girl. However, if Kenta abides by one rule, its that a promise is a promise. If a man can't keep his word, even to himself, he should just drop dead.

Kenta reopens his eyes and says,

"Kuroki-san, do you want to see the fireworks with me? It might not be as much fun as you would have had with your friends though.."

Shit! Why did I add that last part? I'm such an idiot. She's just going to think I'm a loser now.

Kenta immediately resigned himself to the fate of being rejected. He was about to apologize and leave quickly when he was hears Tomoko's voice shakily say,

"O-okay, cool."

His eyes widen and he looks at Tomoko, who has a slight smile on her face. She seems to be fidgeting and her cheeks are tinted pink. After it hits him that she actually accepted and he has a date on the first day of summer break, he smiles wide.

"Great! Anything you want to do before the fireworks start? We probably have an hour or two to kill."

"Um, co-coffee?" Tomoko responds, a little more confidently than she had been previously in their conversation.