I had exams so I couldn't update. I hope you like this chapter!

Outline of Friendship

Aoi didn't have 'friends'.

Yes, he had people he could talk to, and people he could tolerate being around, but he didn't have anyone he could rightly define as a 'friend'. Cross-dressing aside, Aoi knew he was prickly at best, like a porcupine, and no one liked getting close to someone who could freak out and attack if you said something wrong.

He'd thought about this all the way home from Maid Latte, all through the rest of the day, part of the night, and even the next morning, before arriving at a decision. Tsubasa was probably just interested in what he did. Just because she didn't mind his cross-dressing, that didn't mean she would stick around.

However, she was physically strong at the very least, and not as annoying as he'd expected, so the best thing for him to do would be to keep her around as a bodyguard until she either got tired of him, or until something else happened. It was a good plan, and he mentally congratulated himself on it as he made his way into the school.

"A-o-i-kun!" An arm slipped around his shoulders from behind. Aoi made a panicked squeak and jumped, before scowling when he realised who it was. "Good morning!" Tsubasa grinned, a pork bun in the hand of the arm not wrapped around him.

He jumped out of her hold immediately, backing away. "D-Don't touch me so casually!" He snapped, suddenly aware of the students still standing in the plaza. Several turned to catch the sudden source of the sudden commotion amidst the general morning chatter.

Aoi flushed and scowled up at the girl, who looked completely unperturbed. "I didn't think you'd be so jumpy," she commented, taking a bite of the bun and chewing thoughtfully. "I guess I should have expected it. Walk me to class?"

At the sight of the unfamiliar new student and Aoi, several people had already turned to watch. Aoi resisted the natural urge to hunch in on himself, and instead forced his shoulders and neck into an arrogant arch. "Can't you get there on your own?"

"Nope," Tsubasa replied chirpily, grinning. There were a few crumbs on the side of her face that she dusted away with the sleeve of her occupied hand. "I still don't know where everything is yet, and you're the only friend I've made so far!"

He sniffed, ignoring the weird little skip of his heart when she called him a friend. Aoi wasn't sure if that was a good thing. "You can always just make other friends," he said instead, but he had already started walking towards the school doors. She easily kept pace beside him.

Tusbasa hummed thoughtfully. "This is fine though," she replied through a bite. "Right?" Aoi didn't have an answer for her, so he resolutely looked away. He managed to ignore her throughout their first class together, which was Math, though he caught his eyes unconsciously straying towards her at odd intervals, which pissed him off. It's probably because she doesn't look at all girly even though she's a girl.

Right! It irritated him how plain she looked! She was still wearing the boy's uniform for crying out loud! Her hair looked like she'd only dedicated the barest minimum of time and effort to it that morning, and was held back by a plain black and white X shaped hairclip. Her jewellery was equally as simple, and was the same as yesterday's: a black bracelet with a ying-yang charm on her left wrist, and silver studs in her ears.

Even when he wasn't dressed as Aoi-chan, he at least tried to add a little extra something to his uniform so that he stood out amongst the boring plebs at his school. Aoi looked at the other girls in his class, noting their own jewellery and uniform alterations, before turning back to Tsubasa to compare, only to find her staring back at him.

He flinched minutely in surprise, and watched her smile at him through the mechanical pencil between her lips. She's so weird, he looked away with a huff, without returning the smile. Out of the corner of his eye, he thought he could see her laughing quietly to herself. So weird...

Once the bell for break rang, Aoi immediately rose. The events of the previous day were still fresh in his mind, and he wondered if Tsubasa planned to do the same thing again. It had been pure luck that no one had been punished yesterday, and he didn't want her to get in trouble. It wasn't that he cared about her or anything like that! No way! It was just...basic decency that's all!

Just as he finished packing the last of his things, Tsubasa appeared in front of him. He hated how tall she was. Weren't girls supposed to be short and cute? "Want to eat with me?" She asked. "Or do you already have plans?"

He wondered whether or not to feel pleased that she thought that he had other plans after yesterday. "God you're so clingy!" He said instead, zipping up his bag with more force than strictly necessarily. The class was empty by now, so he felt more at ease raising his voice. "Why don't you want to go sit with other people?" He snapped at her. "You do know that you're less likely to get picked on if you stay away from me, don't you?"

She just blinked and tilted her head to the side. "So...is that a yes or...?"

"Be serious!"

"Okay, okay!" She grinned and shrugged. "I like you, and I want us to be friends. Isn't that reason enough? Besides, I think you're cute!"

Aoi reared back at her blunt admission, and floundered for words. He could feel how red his face had become and, for a moment, he didn't know what to do. No one had ever called him cute while he was Aoi-kun. At least not without meeting Aoi-chan first. "W-What does that even mean?!"

"Just what I said," she smirked. "So, lunch? Because I'm hungry and I have been saving this pork bun for hours!"

"You brought a pork bun for lunch?" He arched an eyebrow, shifting to the new topic and forcing the bright colour in his cheeks to lessen. "That's not healthy! You'll make yourself fat!"

She pouted. Actually pouted! "But...pork buns..." He glared at her harder, and she shrugged and followed him out of the classroom and outside. There were other students present, either talking or eating. A few glanced in their direction, but most turned away or ignored them. "What did you bring?" Tsubasa asked, leading him to an empty bench in the shade of the school building.

Aoi froze for a moment as, staring into his bag at the pink and blue container that contained the lunch he'd made for himself that morning. It was the one cute thing he allowed himself to take to school since he ate alone most days, and no one would really see it. Now though...

"Oh, is that your lunchbox? It's so cute!" Tsubasa leaned over to catch a better glimpse of it. He eyed her warily as he slowly pulled it out of his bag, waiting for her to turn around say something rude about it, or ask why he even had one. "Where did you get it?"

"...online..." he replied, and she nodded and pulled out a paper-wrapped bun from her own bag. He eyed it with distaste, pointedly unclipping the lid of his own lunchbox and picking out a small egg roll.

They ate in silence, Tsubasa preoccupied with making her favourite snack last as long as possible, and Aoi on the upcoming weekend. The mention of the word online had reminded him that he needed to put up some new pictures on his website. He'd just finished re-tailoring one of his aunt's dresses earlier that week, and it would make for a great photoset.

"What are your plans for the weekend?" Tsubasa asked him, lifting him front his thoughts. He tensed, before realising that Tsubasa was new. She didn't know about him being Aoi-chan, she just knew that he was a boy who liked cute things and cross-dressing. "I don't think I have any plans. Want to do something together?"

"God you're clingy!" He repeated, nerves making him more snappish than usual. "And no, I'm going to be busy!"

"Huh," was all she said in reply, and Aoi felt his chest clench uncomfortably in his chest. Ugh, did he really feel guilty about how he reacted? She didn't even look upset, so he had no reason to feel bad. It wasn't like he'd hurt her feelings, right?

He glanced up at her from the corner of his eye. Tsubasa's expression hadn't changed, but the uncomfortable clench hadn't gone away. Aoi frowned down at his lunch, rolling a sliced cherry tomato around the bottom of his lunchbox with his chopsticks.

"Open your mouth."

Tsubasa glanced down at him in confusion. "Hmm? Why-!" Her eyes widened as something was popped into her mouth. She chewed slowly, tasting the sweet tartness of the fruit.

Aoi hurriedly shut began to pack up his things, keeping his face turned away from her. "At least eat something healthy for now," he sniffed. When she didn't say anything in return, Aoi turned to see why. Was she...blushing? "Oi, why are you looking at me like that?"

Tsubasa laughed and threw an arm around his shoulder. "You're so cute!"

"Don't touch me so casually you idiot!"