The Ultimate Stride | Prince of Stride Fanfiction |

47 | Irreplaceable

| {Kyouko's P.O.V.} |

"So," the voice of Jakob surreptitiously asked from the depths of my kitchen. "Did my foolproof plan of cornering the candy bar guy end in success?"

My eyes instinctively rolled into the back of my head as I popped another kale chip into my mouth.

He hasn't even been in my apartment for fifteen minutes and he's already diving into the specifics.

"I dunno. Judging by the tone of your voice, you seem to already know the answer to that question," I muttered, and he laughed.

"It's hard to believe how upset you were two days ago," he said as he rummaged through my cabinets. "You're happy now... Like, really happy."

"Am not," my cheeks betrayed me, and I saw him pop his head above the kitchen counter in my peripheral vision.

He squinted his emerald eyes at me for a quick moment before allowing a cheeky grin to take over his handsome features.

"You are. Every square-inch of your body is just oozing happiness," he shamelessly pointed, and I shoveled down two more kale chips.

"Whatever. I'm not as overjoyed as you think I am, but I suppose I'm a little happy about what happened yesterday night..." I paused, and a loud 'clunk' from across the room jolted my body into defensive mode.

I stood from my recliner. "What the hell are you doing with my stuff?"

"I'm not breaking anything, so relax," he waved at me to sit down. "Your blender is just really heavy. It slipped out of my fingers as I was setting it down."

"What're you doing with my blender?" I reluctantly returned to my spot, and he gave me an amused look.

"Wouldn't you like to know."

"You're so fickle," I sighed as I exchanged my snack for the tablet resting on the table beside me. "When I first met you, I thought you were more dorky than anything, but you've turned out to be quite the trickster."

"Have I really?" he mused.

"Yeah. I should warn Hozumi and Bantarō. They'd appreciate the competition," I told him, and he moved himself to the confinement of my refrigerator.

"Don't go putting me in anymore wars with your Hônan buddies. I've already got a big enough target on my head for pretending to smooch ya."

I unlocked my tablet with my thumbprint.

"Smooch me? Ew. Gross."

"Did the candy bar guy land a smooch on you after he stole you away from me?" Jakob asked mischievously, and my tablet almost fell from my hands.

"N-no!" I stammered. "Nothing like that happened."

He persisted anyways. "Then what did he do to you?"

Maybe if I ignore him he'll stop asking me questions.

I decided to test it out by countering his inquiry with silence. Once he realized what I was doing, he began to throw out guesses while I pretended to be engrossed in the random nonsense splayed across the screen before me

"I bet he hugged you."

Almost, but not completely.

"No, he seems to be more of the assertive type. He must've pinned you against something in the heat of the moment."