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ONE WEEK AFTER Saiki's birthday, [Y/N]'s boring and monotonous life started to change—

Stop calling it 'boring,' I like my life. Yay, my life!

You don't fool anyone, darling.

[Y/N]'s life took a different turn. She had friends now. Well, at least more than the ones she had before —because sometimes Reita counted as more than one, as, for some reason, he changed his personality from time to time.

It was probably because of the spirits that possessed him. Though [Y/N] never believed in that stuff in the first place, thus considered Toritsuka had an unusual nature that explained his sudden changes.

Anyway, talking about friends, as she arrived at school, she encountered Nendou and Kaidou. Both were almost entering the building when they saw her.

"Hey [L/N], did you forget how to get to school too?" asked Nendou, walking beside her. "I mean, it's been a year since we've come here."

She glanced at him bewildered, thinking how could he ignore they were there just a week before. However, [Y/N] remembered that Nendou had brought a literal watermelon to Saiki's birthday. Therefore now, nothing he said could surprise her anymore.

"Yeah... I kinda had a rough time trying to come here as well," she said, attempting not to embarrass him even further. Nendou nodded and continued walking.

Stop it, [L/N]! He'll become more stupid than ever!

Saiki, on the other hand, was trying not to gather attention towards him. He knew that once his 'friends' realized he was there, they would run where Saiki was and start annoying him.

As always, to be honest.

"I agree that this isn't the usual morning," said Kaidou, narrowing his eyes while staring at his duct-taped hands. "I've felt a presence this entire time. It must be a foreshadowing of Ragnarok."

[Y/N] cringed in her mind. Sometimes Kaidou's imagination made her realize how weird he was. She esteemed him, yet she believed he was someone who had too much creativity for their own mental health.

You never had a dull moment around Shun since he usually had something incredibly witty to say. Even if most of the time, he made no sense at all.

Between Kaidou and Nendou, I don't know who has more brain cells. Maybe they also share one!

God, what a weird pair of friends I have, huh.

It's not like you are the most clever person either, [L/N].

Followed by Aren —who emerged out of nowhere—, the two other boys, and after overhearing Hairo's screams, [Y/N] reached the school. Nevertheless, before walking into the hallway, a radiant yellow light blinded her. The whole group stood still and then heard hundreds of gasps, accompanied by a couple of exclamations.

"Oh!"

It was the perfect good-looking girl, Teruhashi! Doesn't she look lovely?

'Shake my head'... We've been over this, narrator.

I must admit, though, she looks beautiful.

Of course, she does! She is Teruhashi, after all.

Without any warning, the blue-haired and gorgeous girl neared the group of four. The guys were silent, admiring her beauty, while [Y/N] welcomed her with a smile. She wondered if she could ever be as attractive as Teruhashi was. (***)

"Good morning, everybody," she said, with a grin on her face, which caused everyone around her to gasp even louder. "May I speak alone with [L/N] for a minute, please? I need to talk about some girl stuff with her."

Good grief. I certainly won't like this.

OH MY GOD, [Y/N]!

Remember your training! You got this!

She likes Nendou, that's why she wants to talk to me. I bet she's looking for advice!

The three boys agreed at Teruhashi's words and pushed [Y/N] in front of her, waiting for them to start speaking. But Kokomi grabbed her new's friend hand and started marching in the opposite direction from where they were. She required genuine privacy so no one could hear what they were talking about.

Inquisitive looks stared at them while they walked, questioning why the boring [Y/N] was with Teruhashi. Then, the girls arrived at a faraway corridor.

"What's the matter, Teruhashi?" asked [Y/N], when she eventually released her hand. "Do you need anything?"

Kokomi sighed, wanting to be adorable to her new friend. She had a pretty simple project: befriend [Y/N] and make her Teruhashi's right hand. Chiyo wasn't enough, still if she had met her first.

Saiki's new friend would be the perfect way to make him realize how valuable Kokomi was.

The best plan ever!

"Oh, sorry if I'm bothering you," she said. "Now that we're friends, I wanted to ask you something... Do you want to hang out with me on Christmas? That way, we can spend more time with each other on a special day!"

No way.

No way.

NO FRICKING WAY!

+100 respect from me, girl!

[Y/N] went numb and looked at Teushashi for a few seconds. She repeated the words on her mind a couple of times. Before understanding what asked the girl in front of her, [Y/N] pinched her arm to see if she was dreaming.

Not only in one week she became part of a friend group, but now she was invited to hang out at one of the most important celebrations in the world. Like most friends do!

"You want to hang out with me on Christmas?!" said [Y/N] belatedly, realizing what just had happened. "I'm truly honored, Teruhashi. Of course, I would love to."

And that is how the start of an iconic friendship became real!

"That's great!" she then answered. "Can't wait!"

Good grief.

I can't believe those two are already planning what to do on Christmas day. If just a week ago it was March, why plan so ahead of time?

The two new friends then joined the group once again.

Class time had arrived, when instead of walking [Y/N] to her room, her friends pulled her towards theirs. They wanted to see Saiki no matter what, even if that included dragging their friend from another grade with them.

Hairo was already there alongside Yumehara and Mera. They quickly surrounded Saiki, who was sitting at the front seat of the class. Furthermore, they started asking him tons of questions and greeting him.

Saiki's eyes inspected each of their faces, trying to ignore what they were saying. He then reached [Y/N]; she was just staring at everyone, wondering how they could be so loud at this time in the morning.

Oh, he's looking at me! Should I say hi? Or should I start questioning him like the others?

Well, he doesn't look like he wants to be talked to, though.

[Y/N] was irritated by all the noise her friends were making. Therefore she had figured out, over the look on his face, that he was as well. So to be polite, there was only one choice left: wave at him.

Saiki narrowed his eyes while gazing at your moving hand and smiling face.

At least someone thinks like me. Thank you, [L/N], one less annoying voice.

Though, I wouldn't care listening to yours. It's not like I'm used to it yet...

Uh, what did I just say?

[...]

So Christmas day arrived sooner than expected —How convenient for the plot—, and everyone was excited about their holiday plans. [Y/N] felt nervous upon the imminent meeting with her friend, Teruhashi.

She never had a real friend that was a girl. Well, she had very few friends, really, but most of them were boys who couldn't control their hormones —Toritsuka Reita, for example.

Wow, mean much?

I am realistic, that's all.

I wonder where he is, by the way. He hasn't appeared since the prologue.

Don't look at me. I'm not the narrator of this particular story.

Sigh. I guess Reita should make a comeback anytime soon.

But coming back to the expecting girl, [Y/N], the time to go to the place where she was meeting Teruhashi came. She put on a long winter coat, said goodbye to her family, and left the house.

The streets were full of people with their families. All of them were laughing and going in the same direction as her. Teruhashi and [Y/N] had agreed to meet where the big trees were. It was like a mini-mall.

When she arrived, she started looking for Teruhashi in the crowd. It wouldn't be too difficult as she was pretty easy to identify. Everybody would simply gather around her because of her beauty. Most of them wanted to ask her out or just to declare their unconditional love. Therefore [Y/N] only had to follow the crowd to join her.

But it looked like somebody had found her before she did.

"Oh, Teruhashi!" she recognized Kaidou's voice. He looked flustered, and his cheeks were slightly red.

[Y/N] approached them, finally finding her friend.

"[L/N], you are here! Oh, and Kaidou and Nendou are as well," she said, trying to not appear annoyed. "What a coincidence! [L/N] and I planned this a long time ago. What are you guys doing?"

"Chibi and I were going to my pal's house party," replied Nendou, holding a Christmas box. "I'm bringing him a cake. Do you want to come?"

"What?" asked an excited Teruhashi, blushing. "A Christmas party at Saiki's place?"

She looked remarkably joyous and delighted. But then she looked at [Y/N], and her attitude became more pessimistic. Even if she really wanted to go to Saiki's party, she had arranged a meeting with her new sidekick. Going to her crush's house implied not hanging out together as much as they would by being alone. And Teruhashi never dismissed her commitments just like that.

"What's the matter, Teruhashi?"

"Well, [L/N] and I were planning on spending Christmas together," she said. "So it would be very selfish of me to leave."

[Y/N] smiled to herself. Teruhashi really had a generous heart. Another person would ditch her to hang out with the boys, but Teruhashi decided to stay with her instead.

She decided to thank her later for her kind settlement.

"But [L/N] should come along too," said Nendou. "We are buddies, after all!"

That was surprisingly sweet... I might cry.

Don't. That would be embarrassing for both of us.

Shut up.

"I'll go then," [Y/N] said, smiling. "I hope Saiki doesn't mind, though."

The group of four arrived at Saiki's house fifteen minutes later, but he wasn't there yet. His mother opened the door and almost fainted when she saw her son's friends looking for him.

Her words were: 'I'm so glad Ku has such good friends!'

She was holding back the tears while speaking.

[Y/N] sat next to Kaidou in a room where they were left alone, waiting for Kusuo to show up. Nendou left the Christmas cake on the table and opened the box.

A few seconds later, the room's door opened. Saiki had finally arrived.

"Hey, pal! Merry Christmas," said Nendou. "I really wanted to share this cake with you."

"You're home," saluted Kaidou. "I just ran into him while I was on a walk."

"Hi, Saiki. Sorry for dropping by like this," greeted Teruhashi. "[L/N] and I decided to tag along as well."

Saiki's face didn't look happy at all. He seemed irritated by their presence, as he wanted to have a peaceful holiday without the entire crew bothering. It felt like Kusuo would never have a day without them around him.

"Merry Christmas, Saiki," said [Y/N], standing up from her place. She then handed him a small box. "When we were coming here, I stopped to buy you this. It didn't feel right to come without an invitation or a present."

Is this what I think it is?

Coffee jelly!

Kusuo stared at the small box before opening it. However, he already knew what it was because of his powers. He was angry at the people who entered his house without an invitation, but Saiki felt happy that you cared enough to buy him a gift.

Which was the thing he liked the most and also the thing you hated.

"Thank you, [L/N]," said Saiki. "Merry Christmas."

"Let's get this party started!" screamed Nendou, ruining the mood and throwing himself at the cake.

Good grief, [Y/N]. I wish you liked coffee jelly so I could share it with you.

Just for this time, I would.

Just because you gave it to me.

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(***) Just wanted to say that you are beautiful, no matter what the stupid narrator says in the story!

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Thanks for reading!

If you want to, please leave a comment with your thoughts.

—Christa.