What If..?

Chapter Four

The room was blissfully warm, the cafeteria filled with friendly chatter as the last fifteen minutes of the lunch break dwindled along. Outside, the courtyard was filled with vibrant reds and oranges as the leaves began to flutter from the trees. The end of November was upon them, with only about a month until winter break rolled around. It had been four months since Chihiro and Mondo had started dating. To say that it changed them was an understatement. It changed everyone. "I want to go take a nap in the leaves," Asahina exhaled with a childish giggled beneath her breath. She turned her in her chair slightly, using the back as leverage to crack her spine briefly before letting out a heavy, warm sigh. "It's just so beautiful out there..."

"I love the fall colors," Sayaka chirped and Chihiro shook his head briefly from his gaze on the window. He looked to his right, where Mondo was nearly face down in his food. He had been asleep nearly the entire day in class, and was barely awake now at lunch. "Did he not sleep last night?" the songbird murmured, curiously pressing her finger along her chin. Whereas the cafeteria was once vastly separated, with many groups sitting all over the place, most everyone sat together now. Once Chihiro had gotten the courage to sit alongside his boyfriend and the rest of the boys, who he had now gotten into the habit of hanging out with after class in the rec room, Asahina and Sakura followed. This in turn perked the interest of Naegi and Sayaka, and further snagged in Junko. Byakuya kept to himself across the room, Fukawa following him like a desperate animal, and Celes beckoned Yamada to another corner of the cafeteria, the artist waiting on her every call. Mukuro often took walks during lunch, but other than that, everyone was together.

"Not much..." Chihiro admitted, patting his mate gently on the shoulder as Mondo suddenly jerked upright with a loud, tired snort. He shook his head, rubbing at his pale, violet eyes before groaning loudly. His forehead connected with the table top and he was out again. "We got caught up in a movie and lost track of time... I'm used to staying up. He needs a lot more sleep than I do..." The young boy giggled at his poor partner, casually running his hand along Mondo's back. Ishimaru, who was perched on the programmer's left, watched the affectionate display cautiously, nearly shaking in his spot. At this point, the entire academy knew about the relationship. If it wasn't by word, it was because the two had been caught kissing in the rec room, or the kitchen, or tucked away in the garden. Despite knowing that the two had participated in such devious acts before, it still made Ishimaru's blood boil that two students were sharing intimate activities. But for the sake of their friendship, she chose to stop hounding them about it.

The small programmer surveyed the group of students as the last few moments of their lunch break crawled on. Across from him sat Sayaka, who seemed to be lost in thought as she stared out the window towards the brightly colored leaves outside. Naegi, to the right of her, began to stack the contents of his unfinished lunch in a pile, then reaching out to politely gather his fellow student's trash. Junko sat to the right of him, rolling her eyes at the conversation. Or was she rolling her eyes at Chihiro's hand gently caressing Mondo's back? "What is everyone doing for December break?" Sayaka suddenly sighed longingly, placing her long hand over her heart. She let off a small smile to her friends, fluttering her attention from the falling leaves.

"I'm going to see my parents and my sister," Naegi stated, yanking up the tray of lunch trash. He flashed a brief grin before adding, "I really miss them."

Junko watched him scoot out of his chair, heading towards the trash can behind them. The vivacious blonde then looked past them all towards her sister, who was just entering the room with a nearly finished bottle of water and a grim, tired expression on her face. Mukuro tossed out her bottle of water and then immediately left. "What are you doing for the holidays, Chihiro?" Junko questioned, crossing her arms almost defiantly below her bust. "I remember you were only gone for a weekend during summer break..."