'No way. There's just no way. Me liking THAT guy? I absolutely can't accept that. I just… I just felt bad for him! Yeah, that's it. That's why I made it for him!

PIN-PON-PAN-PON

As the sounds of the Winchester chimes ring throughout the halls of Dokisai High School, Monika quickly gets up and leaves her classroom, gift in hand.

The lunch period would be a perfect time to strike, all she had to do was bring Ryota out from his classroom (most of the time eating his lunch in class anyway) and give him the gift. While she could have simply waited until club time, she refused. The school idol wanted it to be just the two of them. It wouldn't be as meaningful if the rest of her club members were there too.

Her plan to give the gift was simple.

Step 1: Go to his classroom.

Step 2: Quietly signal him to come outside.

Step 3: Make sure no one else is around.

Step 4: Give him the gift.

…

…

…

Optional Step 5: Confess your love.

She placed a hand over her beat red cheeks, shaking her head from the thought of it. "No, no, I can't think about that just yet!" She said silently, "I have to at least give it to him…"

As she approached his classroom, she wonders what his reaction would be if she did confess. Would he be happy? Excited? Confused?

Would… would he dislike it? But is there even a reason for him to dislike it? Doubts yet again filled her mind as she trotted to his classroom.

The brunette soon realized this wasn't the least of her problems. As she peaked through his classroom window door, her crush was nowhere near in sight.

'Huh? Where is he?' She wondered.

Just then, the front classroom door slid open as an older woman with her dark raven hair tied up, wearing matching black formal attire stepped out. It was one of his teacher whose name had slipped from her mind! Perhaps she knew where her crush went.

"Excuse me sensei!" Monika said, catching the woman's attention, "Do you know where Ryota Shujinkou is?"

"Ah! Actually, he just stepped out to- Oh?" A sly knowing smirk had formed on her lips. "Ara ara, I wonder what's that you're holding in your hands~?"

Monika flinched, instinctively putting her gift behind her back as she stared at the floor, twiddling her feet. Her face blushed a bright red. "N-nothing important…"

The older women chuckled, "I just sent him to the teacher's room downstairs to deliver something." She leans in forward, hand close to her mouth as she devilishly winked. "Maybe if you're fast enough you'll be able to deliver whatever it is to him~!" She whispered.

"T-thank you…" Monika respectfully bows, still blushing. Quickly, she turns around and heads towards the staircase, not before hearing, "Good luck!" from the teacher.

As she faced the back of the school idol, a smile had formed on the older woman's face. It was as if she was looking at a mirror of the past. With a reminiscent feeling, she looks at her finger. The silver band never failed to make her happy.

"Ah, youth~." The teacher silently said as she went in the other direction.

Meanwhile, a smile had formed on Monika's lips as she quickly went down the stairs. A new sense of confidence had come over her just hearing those words. Maybe she can give it to him without hesitation at all!

And as she approached the teachers' room, that's where she saw him leaving it. Monika could never mistake his warm golden eyes and soft brown hair for someone else. Instinctively, she hid around the corner to mentally prep herself once more.

"Okay Monika, you've got this… steps 1 through 3 are already done." She quietly said to herself before exhaling. "All you have you to do now is the hard part…"

She takes a peak one more time, only to see him starting to walk down the hallways.

"It's now or never Monika…"

The brunette exhales once more and formed a confident smile on her face. It was finally time to face her fears.

"Hey Ryot-"

"There you are, Blockhead!"

Monika's eyes widen as she recognized that voice and hides back around the corner once more. Slowly she peaks it again, only to see the shortest member of the Literature Club, Natsuki Kanakura, facing her crush.

Undeniably, the feistiest member of the club, Natsuki currently stands at 4'11", immediately causing people to think that she's in her first year of high school. Many have been shocked to find out that she's not and have received verbal backlash from her. Despite her brash and blunt personality, the way she acted was adorable and cute; even with her adamant protests towards anyone who dared to comment on it.

Heck, even her appearance was undeniably cute! She had matching short pink hair and eyes; her hair put into twin-tails with red ribbons and a red hourglass-shaped hair clip on her bangs. Combine that all with a cute face, short stature, and even a little fang whenever you see her smile, you got yourself an adorable Natsuki Kanakura. Just don't let her hear that from you.

She crossed her arms with a pout on her face, "I've been looking everywhere for you!"

"Well, that's a great way to greet someone… Anyways, what's up?"

"Glad you asked Blockhead. Actually I-" Natsuki stopped as the words got caught in her throat. Her face burned as she looked away. "I-I uh…"

Concern filled on the young man's face as he raised an eyebrow at her. "Are you okay?" He asked.

"Y-Yeah! I'm fine!"

Her cheeks now matched the same shade of pink as her hair. She could feel her heartbeat increasing in speed as she looked into his eyes. The poor girl finally realized what she was doing was extremely embarrassing.

Just what was she doing was so embarrassing?

...

...

...

d̶o̶ ̶i̶ ̶r̶e̶a̶l̶l̶y̶ ̶n̶e̶e̶d̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶e̶x̶p̶l̶a̶i̶n̶...

Giving him a Valentine's Day gift of course! A gift that she had personally baked herself! Unlike a certain club president, baking sweets are Natsuki's strong point. She had picked up the skill a few years prior after being inspired by one of her favorite manga series. Because of this, she had always brought in sweets for the club (though a certain member always ate the majority of it). She was always praised for her skills as a baker; even being entrusted to bake cupcakes for the cultural festival when the Literature Club was participating.

So giving something simple as chocolate shouldn't be a problem for her right? It was just like any other day when she brought in sweets for the club. So why was she freaking out now?

'What the heck is wrong with me? It's just giving him a gift! It's not like I like him or anything. Right…?'

She was lying! Lying to herself more specifically!

Natsuki was in the stage of denial. How could she ever fall in love with someone like him? Sure, she may think he has a cute stupid looking face. Or that his amber eyes were one of his best features. But that was about it. Nothing more, nothing less; it would be impossible for her to fall in love with him.

'Is it just me or is it that his lips are really kissable right now…?'

Except that it was the exact opposite; she fell hard for him unknowingly!

'WHAT THE HECK AM I THINKING?!' She thought to herself, feeling the heat rising in her cheeks.

At first, she had been skeptical around the young man joining the club. It was justifiable; a teenage boy joining a club filled with cute girls? You would think he would try and get into someone's skirt. But he was different than what she had imagined. Much more different than all the other boys. Natsuki had even found it easier to talk with him than anyone else after finding out they had the same sentiment regarding a certain form of literature.

And while sure, their tastes in certain genres of manga differed with each other, that didn't stop him from sharing his favorite series with her. It was something so foreign to her. Every time she had brought up her favorite manga series to her "friends", they had been judgemental about it. Apparently, it was fit for a "little girl" like her and she hated it so much. That's why she never dared to mention or show it ever again.

But unlike them, he had been more open-minded and accepting. He wasn't judgmental or condescending like them. It allowed her to open up and share her favorite series with him. It was a series made for younger girls than her, but it didn't matter to her, she loved it. So perhaps sharing the first volume of Parfait Girls was the best decision she had made.

They had formed a friendship over it, something that she secretly cherished. They had shared laughs, arguments, and debates because of it. And over time, she had fallen in love with him. Even if she didn't accept these feelings just yet.

"Really?" He started off, catching her attention. "Your face is red and you really seem out of it."

She shook her head and looked away slightly. It was getting difficult for her to keep eye contact with him. "Yeah. I'm fine Blockhead."

"Well if you say so," Ryota said as he shrugged his shoulders. "Anyways, what's up?"

Natsuki felt like she was backed up into a corner. Like a small poor animal being hunted by its predator. There was no way out of this one for her; It was time for her to tell the truth, even if it is embarrassing.

Except that she had an ace up her sleeve! Natsuki used tsundere tactics 101: Making up an excuse!

"W-well, you see…" She paused, averting her pink eyes away as she thought up of a lie. "this bakery needed help with baking, s-so I offered to help! And since I made extra and didn't know what to do with them…" She reaches in her blazer pocket and pulled out her gift wrapped in a small box. "I decided to give you some since you know... i-it's Valentine's Day!"

He felt a smile form on his face as he graciously took the gift from his hand. "Thanks. Knowing you, it's probably really good."

She couldn't help but blush from his compliment. It had made her heart swell in joy. She tried to hide her smile from him by putting a hand over her mouth, "J-just, don't get the wrong idea! I just felt bad for you since I knew you aren't that popular enough to get chocolate from anyone else! Be grateful!"

'Ugh! Why am I blushing for?! I don't like him like that!'

The young man nervously scratched the back of his head. "Actually, I got some earlier from Sayori and Yuri…"

"WHAT?!" She quickly covers her mouth after realizing how embarrassing her outburst was. "I-I mean, what? Really? I… didn't know…"

"Well yeah, they both gave me one before first period started."

She puffed her cheeks and crossed her arms. "Hmph! Good for you then! Guess I'll be leaving then!"

Sensing her irritability, Ryota decided to back off for a bit. He knows from first-hand experience that her feisty side isn't something to be messed with. "Alright then, I'll see you during club time then." He said as she stormed off into the other direction.

'Was it something I said?' The young man thought as he unwrapped a piece of Natsuki's chocolate, popping one into his mouth. 'Good as usual…'

On the other hand, Natsuki stopped by the nearest corner. As she slid down with her back against the wall, she tucked in her knees and buried her face. 'Why am I getting so worked up for…?' She thought.

As she sat there, she couldn't help but recollect the same stupidly, adorable smile he always gave her moments ago when she gave her gift. '"Thanks. Knowing you, it's probably really good."'

Her face burned up as she replayed his words in her head. "Dummy…" She whispered to herself as she got up and walked away.

Even if she was still in denial, her feelings didn't lie to her at all. She was very much in love with the young man.

…

…

…

…

Meanwhile, a classroom door slowly slides open as Monika comes out of her hiding place. She had hidden herself as soon as she saw Natsuki coming around the corner. She knew the pink haired girl would make a fuss about it, so Monika had to do something about it. Luckily for her, a vacant classroom was available to hide in.

As soon as the coast was clear, the school idol takes her gift out from her blazer pocket once more. She had witnessed the whole thing regarding both of her club members. While she did feel envious of Natsuki (though it was painfully obvious that she was making up excuses), she did feel a bit… sad.

Monika wasn't good as a baker as Natsuki. It took the club president weeks of practice just to even make something edible! But with Natsuki giving a gift to Ryota, she started to feel inferior. And it hurt. Obviously, Natsuki's chocolates were better, what would be the point of giving him her gift? She should have bought some from a store instead of making them herself…

No! There was no point of sulking over these doubtful thoughts again. He wouldn't be judgemental over something like this. She knew Ryota would kindly accept the chocolates either way.

With her confidence regained, she set off to find him once more. He couldn't have gone that far, he was bound to be still on the same floor as her. As she quickly searched around, she finally found him turning around the corner.

"There he is!" She quietly said with a mix of glee and confidence. 'This time, I have to do it!' Monika readied herself in thought. She started to pick up her pace to catch up with him; practically running.

…

…

…

But perhaps her eagerness was her mistake.

"Oof!" *THUD*

"Ow… Hey, watch where you're going-! Aw crap, it's THE Monika!" A student said in realization. "S-sorry! I didn't mean to get in your way and…."

Unfortunately for the random student that Monika bumped into, she wasn't listening. She was frozen in shock. Her world slowly started to fall apart as she was slowly being pulled back into reality. Her eyes widen in horror as her breathing becomes erratic; her blood running cold.

The only thing she could look at was the sight of her Valentine's Day gift, shattered inside of its plastic wrap.

AN: Hey there. Sorry for the REALLY late update, it's just that I've had writer's block for this chapter for a while now which lead to me having no motivation to write. But, I finally managed to finish it (though I'm not that confident with the writing of this chapter. Seems a bit... rushed? I dunno. I may rewrite some parts in this chapter in the future if I ever feel like it.) Anyways, I hoped you enjoyed.

Enigma- Ayo, hows it going man? It's been a while, so I hope everything is fine with you. Anyways, thanks for showing support for this short story of mine, very much appreciated!