Shigeko had never had a boyfriend before.

It wasn't that she didn't like boys, she did, and it wasn't that she didn't like boys, she really did, the problem was that no boy had ever liked her in her entire life. No boy had ever noticed her for long enough to like her. H-word, she couldn't even remember the last time she had ever had an actual conversation with a boy….if she had ever.

Which is why she had been kind of, just a little bit, excited about this double date.

"God, how late is late?" muttered Minori as she checked the time on her watch. The setting sun glinted off of the gold sides and hit Shigeko right in the eyes. She closed them carefully, very carefully, so as not to disturb the makeup that Minori had worked so hard to do.

Shigeko had never worn makeup before.

"It's not that late, I don't think so, anyway." Said Shigeko. She didn't have to check her own watch to know that she had just lied. It was late, very late, and mom had been expecting her home for dinner hours ago. Dad was gone, again, but if he had been around he would have been as worried as mom was…or maybe not at all. He hadn't even said goodbye to her before he left on his business trip…and mom hadn't said goodbye to her that morning…or the morning before….

"Check your watch, Suzuki, it's late." Said Minori. Shigeko did what was asked of her even though she knew it wouldn't have made any difference.

"My watch is stopped." Said Shigeko. She tapped the watch face. Nothing. The minute, hour, and second hands stood still. Minori grabbed her by the wrist and leaned down.

"God, how cheap is cheap?" said Minori as she tapped the watch face even though it was obvious that tapping it wouldn't help at all. Shigeko pulled her arm back.

"It wasn't cheap." Said Shigeko as she pulled her sleeve down over her wrist.

"It's made of plastic and has that princess you like on it. It's a kid's watch and that makes it cheap." Said Minori

"Elsa isn't a princess, she's a queen." Said Shigeko softly. She tucked her arm behind her back. She knew that she was way too old for anime and princesses and queens and stuff like that but it just…felt right. Even though she knew that it was weird and wrong it felt really right. Safe and warm, even though Elsa was the true queen of the ice and snow.

The cold never bothered her, anyway…though it did bother Shigeko just a little. The cold feeling Minori gave her sometimes.

"Princess, queen, what's the difference?" asked Minori

"Was that a real question or that thing where people ask questions but don't mean it?" asked Shigeko. Minori rolled her eyes.

"Obviously it wasn't a real question, now stop being all weird and shit. This has to go right…if it even goes at all. I swear to God, if this guy stands me up his life is over." Said Minori

"You're going to have him killed?" asked Shigeko. The words came out before she could stop them. She didn't even know where they came from. Minori wasn't like that and even if she had been it wasn't like people actually had other people killed….right?

"No, but I should if he stands me up…and I should have you taken care of too if you embarrass tonight with all of your weird Disney talk." Said Minori

"I won't embarrass you, I promise." Said Shigeko meaning every word from the very bottom of her heart. She knew how much this meant to Minori and she…well she could be kind of selfish sometimes. She kind of wanted this to go right too. She had never been out with a boy. She had never worn a dress like this before, short and tight, and she had never styled her hair before, and she had never worn makeup before either. Minori had done all of this for her and she had done a really good job of it, especially considering that she had done all of this in the bathroom after school, and it would have been selfish to waste all of her effort.

Almost as selfish as it was to use Minori for this…to have experiences like this…and also for how selfish it was to leave her poor mom home alone.

Maybe her parents wouldn't have cared, maybe she was wrong about them, maybe they had even forgotten that they had a daughter…did she want that? Did she…she didn't know. She didn't want to get in trouble for this but she also didn't want to come home to an empty house, to wake up and find Mom's bed empty. To have to be all on her own. She couldn't do it, take care of herself, she just didn't know how. She'd always had someone taking care of her. She'd die on her own…so maybe she should have gone home…

There was a ladybug on her arm. She flicked it off.

"There he is! Come on, stand up straight and stop slouching like that!" said Minori as she grabbed Shigeko and pushed her shoulders upwards. She didn't much like standing like this. She had never worn a dress like this before, all short and tight, and it was very pretty but she wasn't used to be this….she wanted to call it naked even though she was wearing clothes. Long sleeves even. But the whole top part of her chest was showing and this dress was so tight that she might as well have been naked. She kind of wanted her undershirt back even though it would have shown through the top of this dress but she knew better than to say anything. Minori had a lot riding on this and Shigeko wasn't going to ruin this for her.

No, she wasn't going to be a bad friend like that.

So she let Minori make her stand up straight and tall. She took a deep breath and tried her best not to look the way she felt…or at least to look happy. She didn't even know, really, how she felt. A weird combination of nervous and excited. A part of her wanted a cigarette even though she had never smoked before in her life. This was a lot. This was her first double date, her first ever date, and she had no idea what she was supposed to do with a boy and if she messed up then this boy, this mystery boy, wouldn't want anything more to do with her and also maybe the boy Minori was going out with wouldn't want anything to do with Minori because she was Shigeko's friend and…and this was just so…

This was really complicated. Way more complicated than anything she'd ever had to do before in her life.

"Oh my God there he is…on his own?" said Minori. Shigeko nodded. The boy coming down the street was all by himself. She had never seen anyone like him before. His hair was blonder than even mom's, his eyes were even bluer than Dad's, and he wore clothes she had never seen on a boy before. Pinks and blues, light ones. A blue shirt and pink pants…she had no idea that boys were allowed to dress that way…though she got the feeling that she had seen a boy dressed like that before….but from where?

Or maybe she was just starting to go crazy again.

"I think so." Said Shigeko

"Fuck! We're fucked!" hissed Minori

"Why is this…I mean why are we…f-worded?" whispered Shigeko

"Because he was supposed to bring a friend for you!" hissed Minori loudly. Shigeko nodded…that made sense. She should have thought of that…she looked down at her shoes. Her school shoes and knee socks didn't match this dress. Maybe that was for the best. Maybe it had been a sign or an omen or something, some way that the universe had been telling her that this wasn't going to work out. She should have been relieved, she didn't have to be nervous anymore, but she also…she also kind of wanted to go on a real date…even if she hadn't even known the boy's name…

Conceal, don't feel. Don't let it show.

"Oh….um…I can go home, then, I guess." said Shigeko softly

"Yeah, but leave fast before it gets awkwar-" said Minori. Shigeko had been turning around before Minori grabbed her and pulled her back frontwards. Her nails dug into Shigeko's arm and her smile looked really tight, like her face was about to split apart.

"Hey!" said Minori loudly. She waved with her free hand. The boy waved back. Shigeko tried to turn again but Minori was a lot stronger than she looked. Her nails were a lot sharper than they looked too.

"Ladies." Said the boy. Shigeko felt a shiver, a good one, go up and down her entire spine. She looked down at her shoes. She was sure that she must have been red, then, red as the blood that Minori was trying to dig out of her arm. It was probably because no boy had ever talked to her before, not really, even though this boy felt kind of…kind of familiar to her…

"Hey! Hanazawa! You made it, so nice to see you again!" said Minori, still not letting go even though Shigeko knew she could feel her trying to pull away. She didn't know why Minori wanted her to stay, it was going to be so awkward. She had seen enough movies and anime to know that dates with three people didn't work out well. Unless it was one of those harem shows, but Shigeko didn't really want to be in one of those shows.

"It's always nice to see you again too, Asagiri, and this must be Suzuki. Wonderful to meet you." said Hanazawa as he took her free hand. Shigeko could only glance at him for one second before looking back down at her shoes. When he kissed the top of her hand she nearly fainted right there on the spot. Well, at least she knew she absolutely wasn't in a show now. If this had been an anime then her nose would have started bleeding.

The only thing bleeding was her arm.

"I told, call me Minori! Everyone already does." Said Minori as she let go of Shigeko's arm. It wasn't a long break from the pain, though, since Minori only let go to yank her hand out of Teru's…out of Hanazawa's. It was for the best, of course, since if Shigeko had actually fainted like she was on the right track to it would have ruined the whole evening. Hospitals didn't really seem like romantic places no matter how many shows tried to convince her otherwise.

"Alright then, Minori." Said Teru

"Finally, see? Was that so hard?" said Minori

"No, it wasn't, I just didn't want to presume anything." said Teru

"You can presume anything you want." Said Minori in a tone that made Shigeko feel like maybe she shouldn't have been around for this. This was so awkward. Why did Minori even need her for at this point?

"I would never, not when it comes to ladies such as yourselves, Miss Minori and….?" Asked Hanazawa, looking right at Shigeko. She could feel him looking at her. She wanted to run away. She wanted the ground to swallow her up. She wanted to turn into orange juice and explode everywhere. She also wanted to turn into a statue and stand there forever so he could look at her forever only she wouldn't know that he was looking at her because she would have been a statue.

"Her given name's Shigeko but that's not important." Said Minori quickly

"Shigeko? That's a nice name. How do you spell that?" asked Hanazawa, again speaking to her and only to her. Shigeko swallowed even though there was nothing in her mouth left to swallow and looked up.

"With the characters for nurturing child." Whispered Shigeko. She couldn't help it, that was all the voice that she could muster. He was looking right at her and his eyes were so pretty and he smelled so good, too. That heavy sort of smell that boy perfume had.

"Mine's spelled with the characters for beautiful and greenery." Said Minori, stepping in front of Shigeko and finally letting go of her arm. It wasn't much better, though, because now Minori was standing on her foot. It felt like she was digging her heel in on purpose, and she might have been, though Shigeko had no idea why she'd do that.

"Well, my given name is Teruki with the characters for light and hope." Said Hanazawa, turning so he could see Shigeko. Minori stepped in front of him again.

"Well I'm guessing that Hideo is spelled with the characters for 'loser who stands people up and ruins dates like a complete and total loser'." Said Minori, crossing her arms.

"Ah yes, about that-" said Hanazawa rubbing the back of his head. Shigeko stepped to the side so she could see him better…because that was the polite thing to do and nothing more. Somehow he didn't mess his hair up…not that she would have minded if he'd had…not that she got any say in how anyone wore their hair or anything like that!

"It's fine, you're here and that's what matters." Said Minori in a high pitched voice that Shigeko had never heard before. Not outside of shows, anyway.

"I actually wanted to know if you'd be willing to reschedule." Said Hanazawa

"Oh, why?" asked Miniori, again in that same very high pitched voice.

"Because it wouldn't be fair to leave your friend all on her own. I would never put someone out like that. It would be very unfair to your friend." Said Teru

"Oh, she's fine, but if she wanted to come along then I wouldn't have a problem with that." Said Minori

"I-" said Shigeko before Minori elbowed her in the ribs

"She's fine." Said Minori

"But I-" said Shigeko

"Fine, fine, she's totally fine." Said Minori

"Are you sure? I wouldn't want to make this awkward for Shigeko." Said Hanzawa

"SUZUKI is fine, aren't you, Suzuki?" asked Minori. She turned around and grabbed Shigeko's arm again. Shigeko nodded.

"I'm fine." Said Shigeko. She got the feeling that Minori wanted her to say something like that. She didn't want to make Minori mad…but she also didn't want to be here. She didn't want to make things awkward and she knew she would. Partially just because she was there and partially because she knew that there was no way at all she was going to be able to act normal. She didn't know what was wrong with her but she knew that she was going to have a hard time hiding it.

"Well, if you insist then let's head out." Said Hanazawa. Shigeko tried to take a step but Minori held her back. For someone who always faked her period to get out of gym class she was surprisingly strong.

"Suzuki!" hissed Minori as Shigeko stopped. She let Hanazawa go ahead of them. She glanced backwards. She had no idea what she had managed to accidentally do in five seconds to make Minori mad at her.

"Whatever I did I didn't mean it." Whispered Shigeko

"You didn't do anything…yet…but back off! He's mine!" hissed Minori

"Back off? But I'm not-" said Shigeko

"I'll find someone for you later but right now you can't ruin this for me." said Minori

"But I'm not trying to ruin things for you and if it's too weird having me here then I can just go home and get ignored by my mom…or yelled at…it's really hard to tell what she'll do sometimes." Said Shigeko

"You think that I don't want that?" asked Minori

"Which one? My mom yelling at me or ignoring me? I mean I don't know why you care what my mom does since you don't have to live with her…maybe because you don't have-" said Shigeko

"I CARE about you staying because if you go Hanazawa's going to leave too. He's a really nice guy like that and normally I would have told you to make up some excuse and leave but you heard him before. If you go then he goes and you only get one chance with Hanazawa Teruki." Said Minori

"But…" said Shigeko. She really wanted to go but she also really wanted to stay too. It was very complicated. She kind of liked…she kind of wanted to get to know him better. Because she didn't know a lot of boys, that was all, and she had never even had a conversation with one of them. She also got the feeling that she knew him…he was so familiar…probably because he was Minori's friend. She kept a lot of people as her friends, she called them 'hangers on' and Shigeko had never gotten to know any of them before…so she must have just seen him hanging out with Minori and…and that was it….

It didn't feel like the right answer but it was the only one that could have been correct.

"But what? You want to stay and make a move on him too?" asked Minori. Shigeko shook her head.

"You're my best friend, I would never hurt you like that. I was just thinking that I would be…that I would be out of place and this would be awkward. I don't want to get to know him, not at all." Said Shigeko quickly. It felt kind of like a lie but…but she was already a liar so what was one more? That was a terrible way to look at it but…but if she told the truth then…well she didn't even know what the truth was so there was no point in even considering this to be a lie, then.

"Good. You just hang out and be quiet and, yeah, don't get in the way." Said Minori

"Don't worry, I won't." said Shigeko quickly

"Good. See? This is why you're my best friend." Said Minori as she let go of Shigeko's arm and ran away to catch up to Hanazawa. Shigeko needed a moment, just a moment, because that had been…something. She was Minori's best friend? But Minori had so many friends…so many friends who were much cooler than she was, and more popular too…so why was she the best friend?

She wasn't going to jinx it.

If Minori said that they were best friends then they were best friends…it felt good. She felt light, lighter than air. She felt like she could have floated away, but of course that was just a feeling. People didn't float away, not outside of shows anyway, and this wasn't a show. This was real life…even though it felt too good to be real life. She wasn't just a friend but a best friend! And also she had met a boy and-

And nothing.

She had met a boy, he was polite and pretty, and that was it. Boy pretty. Really good looking…and he smelled good too…and he talked like he was from a movie and his eyes were so blue, like the gem on Mom's wedding ring, and he was probably really nice and…and nothing else! She had gone almost fourteen years without liking a boy, a boy who wasn't Kristoff, and she wasn't going to start liking one now! She wasn't going to betray her best friend!

Shigeko had never had a boyfriend before and she knew that she never would but having a best friend was the next best thing and there was no way she was going to f-word this up.