"Hey, Yukinoshita, can we be friends?"

For a moment, she admired his courage. Wanting to be friends with Yukinoshita Yukino, that too after knowing her for only a couple of days, he certainly had, shall we say, a hint of bravery and boldness. Or was it sheer stupidity. It was too early to tell. This was their second time meeting each other after all and she had almost expected him not to show up to the clubroom. Hiratsuka-sensei probably threatened him with physical violence.

"And what would being friends exactly entail, Hikigaya-kun?"

He looked surprised, taken aback and those hideous rotten dead fish eyes of his widened a smidge. Ah, Yukino had to force herself not to let a smile creep onto her face. Now why would she be smiling in the first place – it was kinda pathetic now that she thought about it. Hikigaya-kun had expected her to refuse point blank. It made the most sense. Her being friends with a creepy loner like him, the idea was beyond preposterous.

"I don't know. I have never had a friend."

Never had a friend, surely he was joking.

She was not proud of it, but there was a time when she had a friend – Hayama Hayato. But she was young and stupid and no one would ever find out about it, but there was a chance she had developed a small crush on him as well. Now she could barely tolerate him. She wanted to act civil and tried not to swear, but the blonde boy was a toad. And no, he wouldn't become a prince if a girl kissed him. It was bad enough her elder sister had him at her beck and call. Nee-san probably did it out of spite, to annoy her and it worked every time.

"How about a girlfriend?"

Hikigaya-kun winced and looked rather annoyed. Ah, she wasn't paying attention to his words, lost in her own thoughts and now he ended up paying the price for her small bout of absentmindedness. Should she apologize – no – he would probably take it as an insult. Boys and their egos. How dare a girl make a completely logical assumption that a guy with no social skills never had a girlfriend. She was absolutely right, of course, but it was rude to point out. Thankfully, she was dealing with a loner and apart from wishing her ill will in his mind and glaring at her with those rotten dead fish eyes, Hikigaya-kun did nothing else. Yukino didn't apologize, but she did amend her statement.

"I meant a girl you might have liked in the past."

A faraway look came upon his eyes and for a short while his eyes didn't look as hideous. She could tell he was thinking back to a far more simpler time. It made sense that he would have someone he liked. If she, Yukinoshita Yukino, could indulge herself into thinking love and romance and fairytale and a happily ever after exist, then why not this simpleton. Besides, he was a boy. Boys always had someone they liked. She just hoped it was not someone in their high school or more importantly someone she knew, otherwise she would have a bit of a conflict of interest.

"It's kinda personal. I don't want to talk about it."

Of course he didn't want to talk about it. And he looked rather awful. He was singlehandedly ruining the pleasant atmosphere of her service club with his gloomy disposition. With the benefit of hindsight, she should have known better than to fall into this trap. Hiratsuka-sensei was being meddlesome. The request to fix him was a sham. Hikigaya-kun didn't want to be here in the first place. And now she had to listen to his unruly demands and actually humour him.

"Not saying I want to be your friend, but for the sake of your argument, would you be more willing to share your experiences with me if I was your friend for a while."

For a while she thought he wasn't able to keep up with what she just said. A blank look crossed his eyes and he hunched forward in his seat, making the chair screech against the floor, placing the light novel he was reading on the table. All his attention was on her and it felt kind of unnerving. What an uncouth man. Doesn't he know women don't like to be stared at. But then again, he was a loner and from what she could tell, he knew next to nothing about women.

"So, you mean like a pretend friend?"

Yukino sighed and rubbed her forehead to stave off a migraine. He was supposed to be a bit more intelligent. He would never be deemed attractive, courtesy of those horrible eyes, but like he pointed out he had a somewhat handsome face. Though if he didn't apply himself properly and failed to use his brain to its utmost capacity, he would never make a proper headway in life and would forever remain a loser. And Yukinoshita Yukino had zero tolerance for losers.

"Nothing of the sort. We will be actual friends. But for a short period of time. Let's say five minutes everyday."

This time around he leveled her with a look, but it wasn't annoyance or hatred or something which made actual sense. Now that she had said it out loud, she realized how stupid it actually sounded. Being friends with someone for five minutes, it wasn't actually feasible, because friendship was a kind of relationship and relationships always relied on commitment. You are either a friend or you are not. There is no middle ground. And the look in his eyes was one of pity, something which she really hated.

"Wow. You weren't kidding when you said you never had any friends."

Yukinoshita Yukino blushed out of embarrassment. "I never made such a claim. You just assumed, Hikigaya-kun."

Hikigaya-kun chuckled drily and she resisted the urge to hurl something at his head, telling herself she was better than a woman who gave into her violent urges and acted in an unwomanly manner. Besides, she didn't want blood to smudge the pages of her book. This was a nice paperback edition she was reading. It would be a terrible waste.

"But you might be onto something."

Yukino blinked. What did he just say? Was this man really such a dunderhead? Or was he agreeing with her because he would rather have a friend for five minutes, than never experience the joys of friendship at all. Perhaps it was a 'beggars can't be choosers' like scenario. But he wouldn't actually be a beggar. He would be friends with her. Oh god, she would be friends with the likes of him. What was she thinking? This was beyond a stupid idea. And he was a stupid man. Or a highly intelligent, evil pervert. She wasn't exactly sure. But she didn't want to find out. As much as she hated it, it was time to admit she made a mistake and swallow her pride.

"Hikigaya-kun, we can't be friends for five minutes."

"No, you are right. I think ten minutes should be the bare minimum."

Hopeless. Absolutely hopeless. In the span of a few minutes this man had become a bothersome pest. Thankfully, she knew how to handle pests. But he wasn't actually trying to confess his undying love to her at the mature age of seventeen. She couldn't handle it like a typical rejection. This required a bit more finesse. Hikigaya-kun was a reasonable man. He could be made to see reason. And if that didn't work, she could always unleash her cold fury and trample on his heart. She wouldn't even feel the least bit sorry about it.

"Hikigaya-kun." She tried patiently. "I want you to really think about it. If we were friends for a mere ten minutes, would you feel comfortable sharing with me the details of your personal life? For example, would you be willing to tell me about the girl or girls you fell in love with in your past."

He actually had to think about it for a second. It was grating on her nerves. She didn't know what she would do if he replied in the affirmative. She was here to help him, change him, make him better, but if that meant listening to him talk about a series of women he might have had feelings for, well, it wouldn't exactly be what she might call a fun experience. Besides, he was a boy. They fell in love at the drop of a hat. But he was a loner, so there was a good chance he didn't have a lot of experience with members of the opposite sex when it came to matters of the heart. He might have a girl or two he would like to talk about and the thought infuriated her for some reason. But Hikigaya-kun took the easy way out like a coward.

"I don't think I would want to talk about it with a girl."

Sexist, chauvinistic pig. Did he think she wouldn't be able to handle it. Of course not. She would be perfectly fine. Though he was doing her a big favour, as in she didn't want to listen to him talk about his past romances, if he even had one which didn't end in a total and utter failure, her own ego reared its ugly head and despite knowing better she decided to argue a moot point.

"You have proved my point. Being friends for five or ten minutes accomplishes nothing. If we were actual friends you would feel more comfortable about sharing this aspect of your past."

For whatever reason he chuckled and cornered her with a playful look. "Now you are acting like my girlfriend, trying to find out about my previous relationships."

Yukino was affronted by the mere suggestion. From what she could tell he was purposefully trying to infuriate her. But she was far too clever and as you would expect, she didn't take the bait. But she did bite. "I think we have already established you never had a girlfriend in your life, Hikigaya-kun."

He met her eyes and she found herself trapped under his heavy gaze. This time around they didn't look as hideous. It was almost hypnotic and she had to look away, find the pages of her book and regain her composure. Her ears dared to listen where her eyes failed. "I'm not looking for a girlfriend. Just a friend."

Again. He was making the same point all over again. Originally it had been her idea, but now that she really thought about it, it was really a stupid idea. She couldn't even believe it came out of her brain. Perhaps she had meant it as a joke. Or a shoddy excuse. Yes, that might be it. But this person actually believed it to be credible.

"Being friends for ten minutes?" Yukino repeated.

He nodded. "Let's start with ten."

Oh, so that was his plan. Now it made a bit more sense. She wondered whether he meant to say it out loud. He definitely showed his hand and let her in on the secret. Clever, really clever. But so utterly foolish. And a bit desperate if she might add. He wanted them to be friends for ten minutes. But like he just said, that was just the beginning. First it was five, then it was ten and before she would know it, they would be friends for hours, weeks, months and years. But for the time being, they would start small. Just ten minutes. But it begged the question -

"What do friends talk about for ten minutes?" Yukino asked.

Hikigaya-kun shrugged. "I don't know."

A moment of silence elapsed between the two of them which was not entirely uncomfortable or awkward. A pleasant breeze blew in from the windows and ruffled the curtains. Neither of them felt the need to say anything out loud. The sound of a page being turned was heard the loudest. Hikigaya-kun didn't feel the need to ask if now they were friends. And as such she didn't have to waste her time trying to think of a suitable response. A look at the watch which hung on the wall of the club room told her two minutes had passed. Eight minutes left and then they would be back to being just their normal selves. This would just be something they never discussed in the future, a failed social experiment.

"Are you a dog person or a cat person?"

This was the best he could come up with – she was actually a bit disappointed. Granted, she didn't fare any better. But she didn't want any part of it. A brief flash of sharp teeth and loud barking noises assaulted her senses which she quickly tried to replace with soft purrs and images of feline grace. Seven minutes remained.

"I prefer cats."

A mild look of interest. "I actually have a pet cat."

"O-oh."

Don't fall for it, don't fall for it, it's the most obvious trap. But she did and she watched as he took out his phone and gave her a completely uncertain look, as if he had absolutely no idea what was going to happen next, what he was about to unleash.

"Do you want to see some pictures?"

Yukinoshita Yukino didn't trust her voice, but she did nod because otherwise it would be rude. And she offered to look at the pictures of his pet animal, because she was worried about its wellbeing. Hikigaya-kun was barely able to take care of himself, how was he able to take care of another living creature, let alone a cat.

But he loved Kamakura, a grey striped lean feline that bears a resemblance to the American wirehair and took good care of it, even joking that in the Hikigaya household, Kamakura-san was above him in the family hierarchy. It didn't surprise her that he was in the absolute bottom. It was at this moment that a small smile threatened to cross her lips, but thankfully she decided to hide it behind the back of her hand. But Hikigaya-kun noticed.

"Are you laughing?"

To prove him wrong, she lowered her hand. But she wasn't able to school her expression quite yet as a small, faint smile was still present on her lips. "Of course not. Don't be ridiculous, Hikigaya-kun."

Hikigaya-kun didn't believe her because he trusted his eyes more, but he showed her a few more pictures and over time they had started to talk a little bit, just making conversation, making polite observations, nothing in particular which warranted attention or scrutiny. He didn't look at her with the eyes of a man who wanted more. And he made her laugh once more with his self deprecating sense of humour. By the time he showed her the last image of Kamakura-san on his phone, she found herself in a pleasant mood, enjoying herself and perhaps for the first time she saw this man in a fresh new light. It was he who actually pointed at the clock. "Well, would you look at that? We have been friends for fifteen minutes."

For the first time in a long while, Yukinoshita Yukino actually found herself smiling back to something someone said and found herself in agreement. This might actually work. But she would never tell him about it. He was a boy. He might misinterpret. Or it might go to his head and then she will have to deal with his massive ego. It was better not to make a big deal out of it. "I was feeling generous, Hikigaya-kun. Don't get use to it."

He chuckled and she found herself liking the sound of his voice a little more.

"I wouldn't dream of it, Yukinoshita."