Author's Note: Hello everyone! Yes, I have been away for a while. For a few reasons! Here's why...

I've been addicted to Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Yeah, I know haha... lame excuse, but this next one isn't,

I had to go to the doctor... yeah, a major heat wave is sweeping my area, it's been like this for a week now and it's showing no sign of stopping soon... I got heat exhaustion... whoops... so sorry MegaSalamence64, I know you keep telling me to watch my health. Sorry I got careless, I'm doing better now and I'll be more careful! I promise! I'm usually so used to heat that I didn't realize it was worse than usual, so I overdid it and I had to recover... but I'm okay now!

Okay enough ramble, on with the chapter! This is a fun one!

Juliana found herself dancing around her dorm room in her bare feet to an upbeat song on the radio. Well, it wasn't really 'dancing', so much as it was her flailing her arms about and hopping all around like a Buneary. She just couldn't help herself when that loud, happy song came on the radio. She sang along to the song, "My… heart… stops, when you look at me! Just… one… touch, now baby I believe. This… is… real, so take a chance and don't ever look back! Don't ever look back!"

She kept going and going right up until the song concluded. Once it stopped, she struck a pose like an idol on stage. After holding that for a few seconds, she went to sit on her bed.

"Whew! That's quite a workout!" She flopped back on her bed, "It's been a long while since I've done that! But it always cheers me up!" A knock at the door made her leap upright, "Ah! Who is it?" She called, hurrying to the door.

"It's me, Penny."

Juliana quickly opened it, revealing the tech expert, "Oh, hi Penny! I thought we were gonna meet at the grill in 30 minutes, I was actually just about to walk out the door!"

Penny shrugged, "Yeah, I know. I got a little nervous, so I'd thought I'd come see you and we'd walk together. Hopefully that's not a problem."

"Oh, it's no problem at all! I was just… surprised to see you!"

"Ah, that's good." Penny replied, then let out a snort. She slapped her hand over her mouth and began to chuckle.

Juliana nervously smiled, "Uh… what's so funny?"

"I'm so sorry… I've actually been standing outside your door for a minute. I heard you having a little make-believe concert in here, and I didn't want to interrupt…"

Juliana's eyes flew wide open, "Oh my gosh, you heard all that!?"

Penny nodded the affirmative while continuing to chuckle. Juliana put her face in her hands, "Oh no! I'm so embarrassed! I can't believe….! I'm… not a very good singer, am I?"

Penny awkwardly smiled, "Uh… Well, it's not bad. It could be worse! Though, I wouldn't call it professional…"

Juliana groaned in frustration, "Uuuggh! I hope nobody else heard…"

Penny put a comforting hand on her shoulder, "Don't worry, it was just me out there. If anyone else came by I would've knocked to stop you."

"Oh, thank you Penny. You're so cool! I never wanted anyone to find out about my embarrassing alone time habit…"

"Your secret is safe with me." Penny assured, "Now can we get going to the restaurant? I've had nothing but instant noodles and pocky all day and I'm starving."

"Of course! Let me get my shoes on first!" Juliana hurried to put her white crew socks back on, along with her new, tandemaus shoes. Once that was done, she grabbed her backpack and left the room with Penny.

As they walked through the entrance hall, Penny glanced around to make sure no one was within earshot. When she saw no one, she asked, "So, you do that when you're alone?"

Juliana giggled anxiously, "Yeah, I do that… but like I said, I'm not a good singer. That's why I do that… alone." She put an emphasis on that last word.

Penny smiled, "Don't worry about it, like I said, I won't tell anyone. Besides, who am I to judge what someone does in their me time, right?"

Juliana shrugged, "Yeah, I guess you're right."

They left the entrance hall and started down the steps, Penny looked around once again to ensure nobody was in earshot, "I mean come on, this is me were talking about here. I've got some secrets myself. If you promise not to tell a single soul, I wouldn't mind sharing."

This piqued Juliana's interest, "Oh, I would love that. Hold on, let's go over here!" She grabbed Penny's arm and the two dashed down the stairs, then ducked into an alley, away from everyone else.

Once they were away from the main area of foot traffic, Juliana whispered, "Okay, so… what's the secret?" Even though they were alone, Penny looked around again. Once assured there wasn't another soul around, she leaned close to Juliana, "Okay, so… there's this anime I really like, okay? But… nobody knows I watch it. Not even Atticus…"

Juliana raised an eyebrow, "Not even Atticus? Wow, that's something. What's it called? What's it about?"

Penny clarified, "Let me explain some more, I would love to talk about it with others… but I'm only able to do so in anonymous chat rooms online… I'm too embarrassed to let people know in real life… I don't even want my precious veevee's to see it. I always recall them whenever I put it on…"

"Geez, what the heck kinda anime is this then?" Juliana inquired with a raised eyebrow, she then gasped lightly and put her hands over her mouth, "Penny…?" Her voice dropped even lower, and she leaned close, "Are you into… like…? You know…? That…..st…uff?" Her face reddened as she uttered it out.

"NO!" Penny answered loudly, she flinched realizing how loud she said that before regaining her composure, "Um… no. It's not that." Both girls were acutely aware of their surroundings at that point, no one could sneak up on them at that moment onward. Smiling nervously, Juliana put a hand over her pounding heart, "Oh…! Oh, I misunderstood that… ahaha…. So, what is it then?"

Penny took a deep breath, ready to give the details, "It's about a girl, she's an otaku who loves reading… manga."

An inquisitive Juliana brought her fingers to her chin, "Otaku…? I've heard that word before, but what does it mean?"

"It means a person having an intense or obsessive interest, especially in the fields of anime and manga."

"Ah! I see, so… is that what you are, Penny?"

"Yup! Exactly!" Penny nodded, "Although, I've gotten outside a bit more…"

Juliana giggled, "That's true! Okay! So, continue on…"

Penny felt a bit more at ease, "She's in her second year of high school and part of the history club. And uh… like I said, she's an otaku and really enjoys her otaku hobbies."

Juliana could sense that Penny was withholding something, "Okay…? What's so embarrassing about that? There's more to it than that, I can tell."

Penny started to feel nervous again, she took another deep breath, "Well, the type of manga she's really into is… well…" She looked around to confirm for the umpteenth time that they were alone, despite that, she whispered it into Juliana's ear. Making a curious face, Juliana innocently asked, "BL? What's that?"

"SHHH! Not so loud!" Penny hushed her, "It's basically a romance where it's two boys that fall in love, to put it gently."

Juliana's eyes widened, "Oh…"

"Yeah… anyway, the main plot kicks off when one of her favorite anime characters is killed off. She's so shocked that she locks herself in her room for a week. When she comes out, she's lost a lot of weight. Because of that, four boys from her school end up falling in love with her and start competing with each other for her attention. But that makes her frustrated because she wants them to fall in love with each other and not her."

This was a lot for bright-eyed Juliana to take in, "Wha…"

"She's so into boys being in romantic relationships that she even imagines real life boys she meets in relationships, like with each other. But she obviously keeps it a secret."

Juliana's mouth was agape, but her innocent curiosity intensified, "Oh my gosh! Wow, um… that sounds… actually kind of fun!"

"Wait… really!?" Penny replied with excitement, "You don't think it's cringy!?"

"No, not at all!" Juliana replied, smiling, "I mean, I've never really been into anime or manga, or anything like that. But I would really like to watch this anime with you! If… you're okay with it."

Penny suddenly became tense, but it was a thrilling sensation, "Oh, I feel like I'd be corrupting you if you watched it… but… I would like to have someone to watch this with… what a dilemma…"

"It's not that bad, is it?" Juliana questioned, although she could have sworn she saw Penny subtly bearing a devilish grin, "No, it's just… you've always struck me as the super innocent type. I didn't think you'd show interest in this kinda thing. Hehe… I wonder what Arven would think if he knew you were interested in this…"

"Please don't tell him!" Juliana frantically pleaded, making Penny laugh, "Ahahaha! Don't worry, I won't say a thing!" At that moment, her stomach growled loudly, "Okay, let's get some food because now I'm REALLY hungry!"

"All right, let's go!"

The first thing Juliana noticed when they got to the Go-For-Broke grill was that it wasn't as busy as the Kofu Longue. Penny seemed relieved, "Oh thank goodness, we got here before the dinner rush!"

Juliana agreed, "That's always a good thing! What are you gonna get?"

"I think I want the Potato Tortilla. How about you?"

"Oooh, that sounds yummy. But my eyes are resting on that Paella de Paldea."

"That looks good. Let's get a table."

Once the pair got their tables, they were promptly approached by a server who took their orders. Once the attentive waiter was away, Juliana's mind went back to the conversation she and Penny had just moments earlier. It was true that she had never seen manga or anime of any sort, but from what Penny described from this particular one, well, it was just too enticing to pass up. Although she did understand why Penny wanted to keep it secret. She herself felt the same way and she hadn't seen anything yet!

Penny stared at her for a few seconds before stating, "You're thinking about it."

Juliana grinned, "You're the mind reader."

Penny looked around, pleased that they had been seated further away from the other patrons, she whispered, "I'll be honest, the more I think about it, the more eager I am to show you. Haha! If you aren't busy after this, I would love for you to follow me back to my dorm and we can watch it! I don't mind starting over… again… I've seen it so many times!"

An embarrassed Juliana replied, "Oh my gosh Penny… but… okay! I've got nothing else to do. So sure! I can come to your dorm and watch it! I'm really nervous though…"

"Understandable, I was too the first I was told about it in my chat rooms. But once I saw the first few episodes I was hooked."

"Shh! Waiter's coming!" Juliana warned.

Sure enough, the waiter arrived with their meals in tow. They smiled nervously and thanked him when he placed their orders in front of them. Now with dinner in front of them, they continued their conversation when they were alone again. With Penny admitting in between bites, "You know Juliana, I was nervous when you first invited me to dinner. You know me I'm not one for social events like this… but… I'm glad you did." She smiled a devilish smile, "Because now I can corrupt you. Haha!"

"Oh Penny…"

"I'll say this again, I hope Arven won't mind…"

"He won't mind if he doesn't know!" Juliana replied strongly.

"Joking! Joking!" Penny assured, "It's just fun to imagine."

Juliana smiled nervously and continued eating her meal, as did Penny. They finished their meals at a moderate pace. Juliana thought to herself, "I've never watched anime before. Especially not one like this… it's kind of exciting. It feels like I'm doing something bad… but I'm not hurting anyone! Hehe… I'm getting my own dirty little secret…" She had to fight the urge to grin.

Once they were ready to leave, Penny stood up and stretched, "Whew! Well, I'm all out of people energy."

Juliana showed concern, "If you want, you can just show me the anime tomorrow."

Penny smiled, "Oh, I'm fine with you! Let's just get out of here. I told you I'd show you the anime anyway. Besides, if we're gonna watch anime, then I always have energy for that."

"Okay then!" Juliana replied. With that, the girls exited the restaurant doors into the glow of the golden hour. The setting sun was giving the tall buildings a bright orange color, a beautiful contrast against the navy blue sky. A cool breeze caused Juliana to form goosebumps on her arms. For a reason she didn't know herself, she turned her head to face the empty central stadium of the Mesagoza.

"It's so pretty at this time of day." She thought to herself, "Everything's so gold and orange…"

"Come on Juliana!"

Juliana snapped out of it hearing Penny call her. She saw Penny a few feet away from her, waving her hand in the air.
"Sorry!" Juliana hurried to catch up, and they continued walking toward the school.

The duo reached Penny's dorm room in record time, once inside, Juliana was greeted by the glow of Penny's multiple monitors, "We can watch it here." Penny pushed her chair to the side and grabbed a bean bag chair, plopping it beside her, "Here Juliana, you can sit here. Don't worry, it's very comfortable."

Juliana took a seat, "Wow, you're right. I need to get me one of these."

"You can find them easily online, I strongly recommend them. They're the best."

"I'll check it out! All right, now to watch this anime..." Juliana let out a giggle without intending too. This made Penny smirk, "You ready for this?"

Juliana nervously folded her hands, "Yes, I'm ready!" With that, she heard Penny typing on the keyboard. A few seconds later, the anime in question popped up on the screen in front of them, making Juliana's heart jump.

Ready or not, this was happening.

Author's Note: HAHAHA Penny what have you done!? XD

Hope you all enjoyed! See you next time!