Lies

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Mao wasn't sure what to do with his free time: that much was obvious as he rarely had any. Nobody could really blame him for the uncertainty of it all, sure, he can learn more on the guitar and all, but there was another issue- his friends, they always seemed ready to hang out with him and it's only justifiable to turn one down to go with the group. Trickstar, being the ones in question, as he watched Subaru and Makoto laugh and fool around, his mind drifted to Shanice. He turned her down after all. She was fine with it as she was merely inviting him along with her and Ritsu to a trip to the store to get ingredients for his newest creation, but that didn't mean he didn't want to hang out with her. It was the holidays after all! He could dedicate another day to her, watching horror movies and jumping at the absolute terror of it all while she laughed at him, slapping his back and calling him a scaredy cat. She'd probably be in an oversized hoodie and be wearing like four pairs of tights or something, the thought made him smile.

That is until they popped a special type of question that scared the absolute life out of him. "So, Mao, why are you grinning so much? Thinking about your girlfriend?" Mao choked as he decided at that very moment to take a drink.

"Eh-?! Wha-" girlfriend? What girlfriend?! Mao certainly didn't have time for one, unless they meant-

"Akehoshi, you know better than to pry into Isara's business," Hokuto responded dryly, slapping the back of his head though it lacked any sort of force. "Although, perhaps you should invite her along to our concert on Saturday. It has been a while since she produced for us and she has been awfully busy with Knights, lately, correct?"

Mao paused. That was right. She has been close to Ritsu lately, awfully close- Ritsu was overly affectionate as always and clinging to her as she did whatever she could. Not only that, but he's pretty sure they've all been getting a little too close for comfort, with Narukami, it wasn't much of a concern- she was always close to her, always had been clinging to Narukami and going along with calling him-her?- big sister, but some of the others were a little harder to deal with. He bit his lip as he mused this, it made him irritable. "Sure, I'll invite her along." He ignored the immediate regret that came from it.

The rest of the day was spent at the carnival, they all chatted aimlessly- doing whatever they wanted. Mao and Hokuto were mostly dragged around for the entirety of the day as they just couldn't continue refusing Subaru when he was that insistent, however the most entertaining parts came from Makoto who was decidedly not a fan of fast rides. The Ferris wheel was his safe haven after the ghost ride and the massive drop, and while Mao had fun, the unease still bubbled in his stomach. Just what could he do about that one big issue? The problem would have to be faced at some point, after all.

So, deciding to face up to it, he texted her for permission to come over to her house. An outing with Ritsu wouldn't last too long, hopefully. Ritsu wouldn't take him asking her to be his fake girlfriend in stride and he would face the teasing of a life time. Fake girlfriend, the thought wasn't one he would normally approve of - but this once, this one time, he thinks he could stomach it. He just needed her to agree.

He stared at his phone for ten minutes before she responded, sending some LINE stickers of a boy who looked vaguely like their mutual favourite underclassmen before an answer, a simple yes would have sufficed but she did love that sticker pack. That made him smile, she purchased it in front of him after completing one of their work loads - gasping when she noticed just how similar the boy was to Shinobu, declaring she had to get him. Shinobu was, frankly, embarrassed beyond belief when he found out. The memories made him smile, thinking of how her dyed her curled around her face which displayed a grin, a large one, with unblinking blue eyes that seemed to sparkle in excitement: her legs kicking upward as she swished them, sitting on the large desk provided which should have been used for a teacher but wasn't as the classroom wasn't really used much anymore.