I don't like how it's pretending to be Dr. Pepper.

An stood at Kirihara's doorstep, knocking lightly on his front door. She knew that it was a little late to be paying her boyfriend a visit, but the girl had left her purse at his house, and that purse contained all of her necessities. The door finally opened.

"An-chan, what are you doing here?" Kirihara asked when he saw her. Though his speech was nothing too out of the ordinary, An could detect the slight nervousness in his voice.

"Sorry to bother you, Akaya-kun," An replied sheepishly, thinking maybe this was a bad idea after all. "I left my purse in your living room, and I kind of need it for tonight. Is it okay if I just go in and get it?"

"No wait!" Kirihara exclaimed as An took a step closer toward the inside. Something seemed suspicious.

"Why? What's the matter?"

"N-nothing," Kirihara stuttered. "Why don't I just get your purse for you?"

"Okay," An said slowly, deliberating with herself whether or not she should question Kirihara's strange behavior. He wasn't acting like himself at all, and it was obviously showing. A few minutes later, when Kirihara came back out with her purse, An opened her mouth as if to say something, but thought better against it.

"I guess I'll see you later then," An said hesitantly, unsure if she was really doing the right thing by letting this go. However, she had no time to even contemplate the matter because the next thing she knew, Kirihara has already muttered a quick-

"Yeah, later."

-and shut the door. No last smile, no goodbye kiss, nothing.

Left to stand in the cool summer night, An couldn't help but feel a little empty all of a sudden as she continued to gaze at the faint glow emanating from behind Kirihara's sliding doors. He's hiding something from me, she thought. She had known it from the start.

Still, she couldn't bring it to herself to believe it.

Kirihara dumped all of the food gathered in his arms onto the convenience store counter, catching the young adult cashier off guard. With a slight grimace, as if she was upset for actually having to work, the cashier proceeded to ring up Kirihara's items, modest acrylic nails making soft clacks on the cash register.

"Why so much stuff, Akaya?" An asked with a sliver of amusement, watching as the cashier troubled herself with the pile of chip bags and packages of candy.

"It's movie night tonight. Not having a ton of junk food would be a crime," Kirihara stated, inspecting a pack of gum kept on stock by the cash register and tossing that in as well to be paid for.

"Well yeah, but isn't this a little much?" An asked as she scanned over some of the items on the counter. "I mean, what is this?"

Kirihara grinned at the package of soda cans she held up.

"Dr. Thunder. It's just like Dr. Pepper except it's a hell of a lot cheaper."

"Well did they have to name it Dr. Thunder? It just sounds weird."

"Aw come on," Kirihara said as he pulled out his cash to pay for the items. "You just have to try it."

With this, Kirihara rushed to the back of the store and grabbed a package of regular Dr. Pepper.

"Alright, now try this one."

As instructed, An took a blind sip from the soda can.

"Okay," Kirihara said with an air of finality, "which one is it?"

Opening her eyes, Tachibana An looked back and forth between the two soda cans in Kirihara's hands, trying to recall the different tastes that had slid down her throat.

"The first one," she answered, though in all honesty she was really not too sure. The smug smile Kirihara wore shortly after confirmed just how wrong she was.

"Nope," Kirihara said, holding up the can she had just picked. "This is the Dr. Thunder."

"Seriously? You mean the first one wasn't real Dr. Pepper?"

"That's right."

Kirihara had the most content expression on his face, as if he was proud of himself for having bested An at something. Meanwhile, An contemplated this notion for a moment.

"I still think Dr. Pepper is better," she decided.

"But why?" Kirihara inquired lightheartedly. "You couldn't even tell the difference."

"That's not the point," An said, her regular smile still seemingly plastered on her face. "I just don't like how it's pretending to be Dr. Pepper."

Kirihara slouched for a moment, eyebrow raised in confusion. "I don't really think it's pretending."

An let out an exasperated sigh and roughly grabbed the Dr. Thunder can from Kirihara, holding it up for him to take a good look at. Her smile was completely wiped from her face, and her eyes pierced into Kirihara as if daggers were going through him.

"This is a lie, Kirihara-kun," An said intensely, voice so low it was almost a whisper. "I think it should just be upfront and tell people what it really is."

"What are you talking about? It's just soda."

An lifted her head up sharply at the statement, gritting her teeth in frustration. Boys just can be so stupid sometimes.

"No, it's not just soda. It's more than that."

Kirihara lifted an arm to An's shoulder, squeezing it with concern.

"Look, whatever you have to say to me, just say it."

An's grip on the soda can tightened, crushing the aluminum material and causing the content within to overflow. In a brief fit of anger, An threw the soda can down to the ground, paying no attention as the Dr. Thunder collected in a puddle around her feet.

"ARE YOU-" she started, before she realized she was in public and promptly lowered her voice. "Are you drinking or not?"

When Kirihara didn't answer, all An could do was walk away.