Hey everyone, sorry for the long wait I have been quite busy, but I hope you enjoy this chapter! I originally wanted to make this chapter longer (I wanted to include the rest of the scenes from the entire day), but I'm running out of time with how busy I am with life. With that being said I'm just going to split what I originally wanted as one chapter into smaller subchapters like this so I can get more content out regularly since I'm not too sure how much free time I can muster to work on this fanfiction. All in all, I hope you guys enjoy once again, thank you for being patient, and please feel free to let me know if you have any concerns or suggestions!

Reading Guide:

Statements like this = Thoughts

Statements like this = Emphasis/Emotional Meaning

*Statements like this* = Action (Ex. *Cough*)

"STATEMENTS LIKE THIS" = Yelling/Louder tone

"Statements like this" = Character's speech (Whichever character will be clarified)

Statements like this = Scene development (Ex. Sakuta walked into his room)

January 13th:

Sakuta and Mai are now both standing outside, the rays from the sun gleaming down on them with mild winds blowing across their face as they slowly walk away from the apartment.

"Mai-san, I'm sorry. Will you forgive me?" Sakuta said, reaching his right hand out to Mai, expecting her to intertwine fingers with him.

Mai looked at Sakuta and gave a slight sigh, "I can't stand you sometimes Sakuta." she said with a stern face.

Sakuta saw her expression and wanted to immediately comfort her as he can tell she was still annoyed by him. His immediate thought to make her feel better was to give her a hug and show her how bad he felt, and therefore he started to reach his arms out to try and hug her. However, a repeat of what happened inside the apartment occurred, his attempt to hug her was cut short by her placing her right index finger on his nose.

"You better make up for this later," Mai uttered in a more cheerful mood to ease Sakuta's mind.

A slight smile glowed across Sakuta's face as soon as he heard those words, knowing that she forgave him a little. The instant relief he felt was radiating from his smile, and Mai could most definitely tell how relieved he was. Mai then slowly approached Sakuta and instructed, "Sakuta close your eyes."

Sakuta had no idea what was going on, but every time Mai told him to close his eyes his initial thought was that they would kiss, and like every other situation, that was his thought here. He was waiting in earnest for Mai to give him a peck either on the lips or his cheek, but all he felt was her fingers touching the right side of his forehead, slightly above his eyebrows.

"I guess you really didn't spend any time getting ready," Mai said with a slight grin, as she was holding a small loose piece of white fabric thread that she untangled from his hair.

Sakuta sighed in disappointment from not receiving a kiss and complained, "Mai-san, you're so mean."

Mai instantly rebutted saying, "I don't want to hear anything from the boyfriend that kept me waiting 30 minutes." She then started reaching for Sakuta's messed-up collar to fix it as well. "Sakuta you really are a mess this morning, it's not like you. You never wake up late, and even if you do, you're at least presentable. Is everything alright?" Mai asked with a concerned face while tilting her head.

Sakuta could tell that Mai was really worried about him, and the only thing he could do to ease her mind was to give her a reassuring smile. Seeing the way Sakuta smiled eased some of Mai's concerns, but without a doubt, some of her thoughts were still lingering. "I promise I'm okay." Sakuta announced to further comfort Mai. With that remark, Sakuta reached out to her with both of his arms, capturing her in a long-awaited hug.

At first, Mai was caught off guard by his actions. She thought it was just a way for him to sneak in the hug that she refused to give him earlier, but after thinking about it she could tell that there was more sincerity within his actions. Upon realizing that, she thought about how nice the feeling was, being able to feel each other's warmth in the winter felt amazing, and she just didn't want to let go of it. Feeling how warm his body is, she was able to melt into his hold, and so she slowly closed her eyes and returned his gestures by hugging him back.

Sakuta in the back of his head already had an idea as to why he had a tough morning, and he thought that after all the events in the past year he should always be honest with her. After taking in a deep breath and letting it out, Sakuta was prepared to explain why his mind has been a little uneasy. "I think everything that has happened last year has been catching up to me," Sakuta said with a sting.

"I didn't stay up late or had any nightmares or anything like that last night. I just think the stress and emotions from everything up until now have just finally caught up with me." The hugging couple was now caught in a moment of silence. Neither of them knew how to react to the situation, so they just remained silent and continued to hug each other.

"Thank you for worrying about me Mai-san." Sakuta sincerely stated to break the silence.

The comment from Sakuta triggered a tighter hug from Mai which he wasn't expecting. Sakuta could feel her arms tightening around his back, and couldn't help but smile at how lucky he was to have her as his girlfriend. Even though Sakuta couldn't see it, a bright smile was also shining across her face in response to his words.

After a few more seconds of embracing each other in pure silence, Sakuta could feel something on top of his right foot, and he could immediately tell that it was Mai's left foot stepping on him again.

"Mai-san" Sakuta lightly muttered to get her attention.

"Yes"

"You're stepping on me."

After hearing Sakuta mention what she was doing, her smile became more of a grin which she acted on by placing a lot more weight on her left foot. The results of her actions were almost instant, and it caused Sakuta's face to twitch up while simultaneously loosening his hug around Mai as the pain started to seep in.

Mai then made direct eye contact with Sakuta and smiled back at him with both eyes closed as she took her foot off his. Sakuta was still feeling the slight sting of his foot being stomped on, but he was relieved to see that Mai was back to her normal self. After only a couple of seconds, Mai grabbed him by his arm and tugged him in the direction of the elevator, and commanded, "Let's go. We're already late."

Mai and Sakuta enter the elevator, exit the apartment complex, and are now walking their usual route to the school

Sakuta was surprised by the fact that Mai was holding onto his arm the whole time. The last time he could vividly recall Mai ever holding on like this was sometime last year when he was helping her with her Adolescence Syndrome in the grocery store.

She looks really cute. I wonder what's gotten into her today, she mad earlier and now she's acting like a clingy girlfriend. Thought Sakuta as he was staring at Mai subconsciously.

"Sakuta... Sakuta... Sakuta!" Mai yelled to get Sakuta's attention.

Upon hearing Mai call his name multiple times, he broke free of his subconscious trance and shook his head a couple times. "Oh, sorry Mai-san."

Mai caught whim of Sakuta's actions and was curious of what he was thinking while staring at her as they were walking. "Are you okay? You're dozing off again."

"Oh, yea I was just thinking of how cute my girlfriend looks." Sakuta stated with a smug face, trying to tease Mai.

Upon hearing Sakuta's remark, Mai started to blush and muttered, "Idiot." She then proceeded to look slightly down and away to hide her blush from him so he wouldn't tease her more.

"Say Mai-san, I think I love you more when you're blushing like this. But, to answer your question, I didn't think you would hold onto my arm like this... You must be an imposter." Said Sakuta sarcastically, with another grin feeling good about his tease.

"Sakuta, do you really want to eat Pocky through your nose?" Asked Mai as she was annoyed by what Sakuta said.

"I wonder how many I can fit in my nose."

"Moron. Do you not like that your girlfriend is showing how much she loves her boyfriend?"

"Oh, no, I can't describe how much it means to me that my senpai is clinging to my arm in public for everybody to see."

After hearing what Sakuta said Mai blushed again, and decided to let go of her grip around his arm. At this point Mai was a little fed up with all of the smart remarks he made, so she decided to show that she can go on just fine without him. Following her initial actions, she then proceeded to cross her arms and look towards the opposite direction of her boyfriend.

Sakuta didn't expect Mai to do what she did, and was instantly regretting what he said. "Mai-san, c'mon. What did I say that was so bad?" Sakuta asked as he rushed to block her path, hoping to sway her thoughts.

Mai felt his presence right in front of her and didn't have a choice but to stop where she was. She was still trying to rebel against him though, so now she looks in the opposite direction, but slightly peeks for a couple seconds with her right eye to see what type of reaction Sakuta made. Upon seeing Sakuta her heart starts beating a little faster as she saw how innocent he looked. Mai still tried her best to keep her composure and pretend that she's upset with him, but she was faltering.

Sakuta then reaches for both of her shoulders and held them to see if it would help him in his case, and to his surprise it did. When Mai felt Sakuta grab her shoulders she gave up on the idea of being upset with him and let out a big sigh. "What am I going to do with you Sakuta... Let's go." Mai said as she started to let up and look Sakuta right in the eyes with a tired smile. Sakuta returned her smile a happier one of his own, but was caught off guard as he felt Mai grab onto his right hand that was previously holding onto her shoulder.

The couple now walk down the street hand in hand, and Sakuta was once again baffled by Mai's actions which subconsciously led him to stare at her again.

"Sakuta you're staring again. Are you really that surprised by me holding your hand?"

"What, no... uhh I just thought you looked cuter when you're like this. Are you upset that your boyfriend is admiring his beautiful girlfriend?" Sakuta rebutted with a cocky tone.

After Mai didn't say anything back to his remark he continued to stare at her to see if she could possibly explain to him why she's been like this all morning. And after a few more moments of silence Mai began speaking, "I just think after the past few situations that it wouldn't hurt to act more like a couple and show you how much I L-L..." Mai breathed as her cheeks started to shine redder resulting in her not finishing her sentence. "B-Besides everybody already knows now too," she added to take the attention away from what she was trying to convey.

"Ahh, you really are an imposter. The real Mai would never stutter like that when she's talking to her junior. It pains my heart that I couldn't hear you say that you love me."

"I told you I loved you more, didn't I?"

"No Mai-san, I love you more."

"Mmm I'll let you believe that." Mai muttered with a smile shining on her face, tightening her hold on his hand as they continued walking towards their school.