𝗙𝗜𝗩𝗘 𝗣𝗟𝗨𝗦 𝗢𝗡𝗘 ; ʜᴀɴᴀɴᴇɴᴇ ✓

𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙨:

LOVE

/ləv/

noun: love; plural noun: loves

an intense feeling of deep affection.

—

Yashiro awoke in cold sweat one night, heart beating erratically, palms sweaty, knees week, vomit on sweater already, mom's spaghetti.

She had dreamt about Hanako—and, yes, it wasn't the first time she had thought about a friend late at night, but that dream was so absurd because it was about her dream self viewing Hanako in a non-platonic way! That alone made alarms go off in Yashiro's head.

Her dream self blushed around him, became shy. Her dream self noticed the small little habits he had: the way his lips quirked when she gets flustered, the way his eyes sparkled whenever his favorite food is mentioned, or there's a joke that he was proud of; the way he's so touch-starved and would always find a way: the simple habit of him clinging to Yashiro for absolutely no reason.

The last one was personally endearing, but don't tell Yashiro that because she will hit you. Call her a tsundere, or a girl in denial—she admitted herself that she desperately did not want to believe the signs.

When morning arrived, Yashiro had one goal in mind: to go and ask Kou for help because God knows she needed it. It's not that Kou was an expert when it came to romance (Yashiro completely glossed over the fact that Kou started dating Mitsuba long ago), she just needed a friend to talk to.

(She already asked Aoi anyway and she just simply said Yashiro loved him). Very funny, Aoi.

Love.

That's a big word.

A word Yashiro didn't definitely feel towards a freaking perverted toilet ghost.

"Kou-kun!" Yashiro exclaimed, frantically waving her arms around to catch the attention of the blond. Outside of the school, Kou stood next to Mitsuba, animatedly chatting about something.

Kou perked up and saw Yashiro from the second floor, flailing her arms around like a lunatic. It's either Yashiro didn't care about the weird stares she received, or she did but she decided to ignore it. Whatever it is, it must be very important. The blond brightened—he always does whenever his senpai is around. They're close friends.

Mitsuba followed Kou's gaze and smiled at the sight of Yashiro. Try as he might, he can never hide the fact that he has a soft spot for Yashiro. What good kouhais for their radish-legged senpai. "Ah! It's Daikon-senpai!" Mitsuba said, loud enough for everyone to hear and for Yashiro to explode into a blushing mess.

She momentarily scowled at Mitsuba before bringing her attention back to Kou. She hated to be the one to ruin such a moment between Kou and Mitsuba, but they can still cuddle to death tomorrow anyway. I wonder, Yashiro thought, what is it like to have it like them? Well the answer was for sure: Yashiro would never find out. She's a hopeless case.

"Kou-kun!" She shouted. "Meet me by the staircase!" Then she waved and ran off, sure that Kou will follow right after.

—

"So?" Yashiro asked to break the silence that filled the room once she finished. Kou stood still, placing a hand on his chin, deep in thought. Maybe Yashiro was right—she is definitely a hopeless case, and even her kouhai could see that.

Kou hummed. "Interesting."

Yashiro slumped and groaned aloud, burying her face on her hands. "Kou-kun, that's not a good answer!" More like it wasn't the answer she wanted nor needed. "Interesting good, or interesting bad?" She asked, instead, desperate for Kou's opinion on the matter. She wished, fingers crossed, it was interesting good.

Kou stared at her from the corner of his eyes and smiled. "So you aren't sure whether or not you like Hanako? Is that it?" He inquired, sounding like he knew something that Yashiro didn't—and that made Yashiro even more agitated.

"Yes!" She all but screamed and whined at the same time. "I. . .have mixed feelings, and I don't want to make a move that'll ruin what I have between Hanako-kun when I regret it." She stood up and paced around, babbling on and on about Hanako this and Hanako that.

"Okay," Kou said. He really didn't know what to say. Not when Yashiro is so frustrated, moping around the place like she's trying to solve the biggest problem no human has ever faced.

Yashiro turned to him, unblinking. "Okay?" She parroted in disbelief, brows knit together. "Kou-kun, do you even—"

"How about you make a list?" Kou suggested. Then before Yashiro could respond, he clarified, "make a list about the things you like about Hanako, and then the things you don't. It may help to sort your feelings out."