Make-believe

If Len's voice sounded like a frog's croak, she would automatically leap from her seat and turn off his frigging phone so he'd stop singing along the music.

Sadly, he had a golden voice like a Lorelei. Whenever Len would serenade her, she'd always find herself attracted to him, mesmerized with the tiny smile crossing his lips as he sang, and entranced by the nimble glances he'd cast on her while playing the guitar. He had this magic that could glue her on her seat and lure her to listen. However, this magic was not one hundred percent accurate.

Miku glared at the blond hogging her bed all to himself. Oh, he was having a really good time lying down there, huh? His hands were linked at the back of his head and his legs crossed above a stack of pillows. She tried to recall why he was spending his Saturday afternoon in her room, and she remembered that they were supposed to go out today, had she not canceled it the last minute. Seeing him relax this way irked her, particularly when she was trying to concentrate on her math homework but he was playing random songs on loudspeaker.

"Hey, you tell your friends it was nice to meet them...but I hope I never see them again—"

"Len, stop yelling!" Miku threw her notebook to him, hitting his face unintentionally. The blond threw the note back to her—which she luckily caught—and sat straight, turning down the music until she couldn't hear the familiar melody anymore. Once the silence was comfortable, Len looked up to meet her glare, only to smile sweetly at her.

"I'm singing, Miku. Yelling is a different thing," he chuckled. "'Closer' is a popular song, you know. I like the melody."

Miku looked away, knowing that this moron was obviously lying. They both knew why he was yelling that part, so why still feign innocence? "Yeah, you think I'll buy that. You never liked electronic music or whatever. Stop fooling yourself."

"Oh, I do. People change, you know. I changed," Len fell back on the bed and remained quiet for some seconds. He listened to the scribbling noises made by her pen while solving for...whatever variable she was finding. "Your friends are annoying."

"Your friends, too."

The blond scoffed and rolled his eyes. He was pretty proud of his comrades, to be honest. They were treating her nicely like he does. Len argued about this thing a thousand times before, but the tealette would always wave him off and conclude that his friends were making fun of her. Like they would, he thought. Len would give them a good and memorable beating if they disrespect her.

"No, they aren't. They are funny. Just admit that they can make you laugh nowadays. I saw you talking to Gumo about some conspiracy theory of random shows," Len rolled over to the side of bed where he could her clearly. Miku was almost burying her head on the desk as she worked on that problem. It was only half past one in the afternoon, and she had been answering that homework for the last three hours. Her pillows knew how bored he was right now, watching her working on school stuff wasn't exactly fun.

Miku didn't look his way, instead she continued writing and flipping the pages to check if she was doing the right thing. Arguing with Len was pointless, too—well, all their fights were pointless, particularly this one about each other's circle of friends—and no one has ever won the argument.

"Gumo is the only who radiates benevolence at first sight," she answered, head fixated on her notebook. "He was kind and fun and nice—genuinely nice. He is philanthropic, you know. I like him."

"You don't say that in front of my face," Len barked, his retort laced with sarcasm. If this was one of her numerous plots to make him jealous, well...he didn't actually know if he'd be jealous. After all their relationship began in a rather odd situation. "I'm better than him. In all aspects. And I know you love me."

Though she meant that she liked Gumo as a friend, Len could be sometimes irrational. "Well, Gumo is kinder than you. And funnier, at least his sense of humor isn't as dry as yours. He is nicer, too. So...I think he's better than you, Len."

"But you love me," this time he rose from the bed to sit on the ground beside her table. He had a perfect view of that straight-face she was pulling as she work on her assignment. Miku knew she could ask him to do it for her, it was his expertise. But she was acting stubborn and independent. Damn that pride. When Miku ignored the only statement she would not reject, Len paled. "Hey! You still love me, don't you?"

"I don't," was her quick reply. "I canceled the date today because I want to end whatever's going on right now."

"Miku, are you serious? You just told me you love me last night. That was the first time I heard you say that for the past months we're going out. You even kissed me. Then you'd tell me you don't love me? After seventeen hours your feelings have changed? What are you—" Len shushed when Miku glared at him.

Miku rolled her eyes and waved him off. She wasn't exactly the type to express her feelings, so hearing her declare her love for him was gold. "Stop being dramatic. You're such a baby, god."

He placed a hand on her knee and gave it a squeeze. "I want to hear you say it. You just said it last night!" She flinched at his touch. Maybe she didn't like the feeling of his hand on her bare knee.

"Let go! You're overreacting—"

"Hey-ye-llo! Whoa, blond boyfriend is here! Hey, there!"

Why were they always interrupted?

Len withdrew his hands the moment her door slammed open. Three girls barged in the room laughing and gossiping about the weird skateboard they saw on the doorway, and they only turned down when they noticed the blond entity almost hiding beside Miku's study table.

So it was Len's skateboard, the brunette murmured. Len did not miss the sarcasm in her voice. Her name was Meiko, but Len thought that bitch was a more appropriate name for her. Of course, he wouldn't call her like that whenever she was around.

"Hey-ye-llo, Len! You're supposed to greet me back!" the green haired girl, whose energy drained Len at one glance, greeted as she bounced off beside the busy tealette. "Miku, your boyfriend is being weird again."

"H-hey, Gumi. No, I was just...talking to Miku when you came so...I," the blond looked at his girlfriend, silently asking to back him up. All Miku could give him was a shrug.

"Oh! Heart-to-heart talks? I love sappy talks! What are you talking about?" Gumi lowered her face next to Miku's, breaking the concentration of the brooding tealette. It seemed like she would never finish her homework soon.

This was the exact reason why Len couldn't find the words to say when Gumi was around. She was such a chatterbox, too zestful and talkative for his liking. He watched the green haired woman as she persuade Miku to share what they were talking about, but his girlfriend just continued to push Gumi's face away from her.

"Hey, Lewd! How are you doin'?" the brunette slumped down on Miku's bed, the quiet pink haired girl sitting next to her. "I haven't seen you in a while," the brunette continued, patting the head of the pink haired.

While Miku was doing every thing to detach herself from the nosy chatterbox, Len had to deal with the brunette alone. Meiko was too obvious with her dislike towards the blond, so Len was always putting on his kind act around them. It wasn't like he was pretending to be the perfect, gentleman of a boyfriend, okay? He just wanted to prove to Miku's friend that he was not after Miku for worldly pleasures, unlike what Meiko was always saying.

Len chuckled awkwardly. "My name is Len, Meiko. It's not lewd. You keep forgetting my name." The blond was avoiding to roll his eyes at her. He shouldn't...

"Oh! My bad," Len resisted the urge to retort. Meiko laughed apologetically while the girl beside her—Luka, was it?—just shrugged at her. Even the timid pink haired knew she was feigning it. "I haven't seen you in a while, that's why. And Miku never mentioned that you'd be here? We thought your date was canceled."

Miku, running out of patience because of Gumi's persistence, slammed her fists on the table. "Len and I are talking about what happened last night! Are you happy now?" The tealette's face was red, whether it was flushed because of embarrassment or anger, Len couldn't tell. "Why do I have to tell that to you, Gumi? It's personal."

"Oh! Miku's really in love with Len, isn't she?" the green haired turned around to face the other girls, a triumphant grin displayed on her face. "She was always open about everything! Oh, Miku that's really adorable~" she cooed. "You're secretive now, aye?"

Len stared at his girlfriend. He couldn't believe that she was really flustered. Gumi continued to blabber about how cute Miku had become after starting a relationship with him, and Meiko and Luka agreed to her, laughing immodestly at the green haired. They talked animatedly, ignoring Miku's explanation that it shouldn'tbe discussed at all.

Her friends chatted for several minutes, talk drifting from Miku's furtive behavior to her possible intimate interaction with Len. It was uncomfortable for the couple, of course, knowing that they weren't intimate at all. Heck, Miku would always slap him if he'd try holding her hands. He didn't miss how she flinched when he touched her knee a while ago.

Telling her friends that they would buy something to eat, Miku dragged Len out of her room. That place was too awkward for the two, both of their faces were red as tomatoes right now. She was tugging him by the cuff of his sweater.

They were already walking a few blocks away from her house when the girl suddenly talked, releasing his sleeve as she did so. "Maybe you're right. My friends are annoying."

Len chuckled, patting her back. "No, they are nice people. They can make you fluster and blush. I can't do that, you know. I'll thank them later."

"You're so mean,"

"And you love me, I know." He pinched her nose, earning an irritated squeal from his girl. Len inched closer to her, putting an arm around her shoulder for the first time, and slowly, she leaned her head to his shoulder. "Yeah, you really love me."

"I don't love you. Shut up," she shrugged but kept her head there. He was taller than her, and every part of his body was accommodating her petite frame. She liked them this way.

Len leaned down, about to kiss her nose, when another interruption made its way. The two untangled themselves quickly, putting an appropriate distance between them. Len's friend, the white haired blighter with heterochromatic eyes, called him out of nowhere.

"I saw that! I saw that! Uh, huh. Kissing and coddling in broad daylight. Great!" Piko ran to them, occupying the space in between the couple. "Yeah, tell me, how far have you gone?"

Indeed, Len's friends were annoying.

Request: By the way, can you please write something like this: Len and Miku each finds the other's friends and such annoying, but tries to put up to it.

I hope I did it right, ugh. Happy holidays!

- ivan.