2𝙏𝙍𝘼𝙕𝙊𝘿𝙊𝙉𝙀ˢᵉʳᵒ

𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕔𝕙𝕚𝕙𝕦𝕒𝕙𝕦𝕒 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕓𝕒𝕓𝕖ᶠⁱᵛᵉ

"No, " Hanta admitted, not even a little embarrassed by it. It may have been strange that a seventeen-year-old was still a virgin when he lived in a world where sex was literally what most people did. It's just that he wasn't ready in his first year of high school and then he spent all of his second year pining after Korei when he knew she'd never look at him like that. "I haven't found someone because I pushed most of the girls that liked me away. I was dreaming about a specific girl and I didn't want to be with anyone else."

"Oh, the girl that you wrote about?" Korei smiled, snuggling into her pillow as she waited for Hanta to tell her more about the girl he liked. She loved hearing him talk and she didn't know why. If only Shinsou had talked to her like this. "Well, do you think she'll come around?"

"I'm not sure, " he spoke honestly, one of his hands resting on Korei's side. "She's actually severely out of my league, " Hanta chuckled, smiling at the girl before him. "I told myself that this year would be the year that I get over her and find someone else, then I talked to her and it's so obvious to me that I still have feelings for her. I don't think I want to get over her, you know?"

"I get it. I mean, I've been with Hitoshi for nearly two years. Now, we're not together and I'm not sure how I feel. I mean, I'm definitely sad about it and I still want to be with him, but I don't think it'll work, " she mumbled. Hanta nodded, moving his hand to fiddle with some of Korei's hair. He wanted to focus on that so he didn't upset himself. "He told me that he was bored of me." Korei's tears began welling in her golden-brown eyes again. "Maybe I annoyed him too much? Or I'm just not interesting enough? Maybe...maybe he realized how ugly I actually am."

"Shut up, " Hanta spoke quickly, forcing her head up so she was looking at him. His hand cupped her cheek gently, thumb brushing away the falling tears as he continued speaking. "Don't question your worth, okay? It's not because you were annoying and it's damn sure not because you aren't pretty enough, okay? Shinsou's a dumbass, and he's doing you a favor by letting you go."

"Thanks, Sero-kun, I'm so glad we met, " she cried, her own hand cupping the one on her cheek. "I doubt that I'd ever have been able to get over Hitoshi without your help."

"It's always good to have a distraction, " Hanta smiled, still wiping her tears away. "I guess this makes me your best friend, doesn't it?" Korei wanted to ask how but she knew he was right. She didn't really have anyone else and she wouldn't mind having Hanta as a best friend.

"Yes, " Korei nodded, shuffling closer to him. "Let's make a promise or something, " she added, smiling through her tears. "We have the rest of this year, right? I'll help you get with that girl you like and you'll help me get over Hitoshi, sound good?"

"Yeah, and we have 'til the end of the year?" He asked, his face just inches from hers. Korei's face scrunched up for a bit, thinking about the possible outcomes. Hanta found that absolutely adorable.

"Hopefully it only takes until the end of the school year, " she nodded. "It's not like there's another school year for us."

"Yeah but I'm your new best friend, I'll be there through it all, " Hanta confirmed, a grin on his lips. By now, Korei had stopped crying again so he moved his hand from her cheek to the back of her head. His fingers threaded through her soft hair, unknowingly soothing her. "Even after the year is up, and after we've completed our goals, promise me that we'll still be friends."

"Though we've technically just met, " Korei muttered, her hand finding Hanta's cheek. "I like the idea of having you in my life until it ends."

"Isn't it crazy that there are people out there who just...click like that?" Hanta grinned once again, snuggling into her touch. Korei giggled and nodded, agreeing that it was interesting. "By the way, here's a little trick to getting over Shinsou quicker, stop calling him by his first name."

"What should I call him?" She asked, her voice soft. Korei didn't want to get over Shinsou but she knew she had to. "Shinsou? It sounds strange."

"Call him an asshole or something, " Hanta chuckled. "Whatever it takes for you to get over him. I got it, what's your least favorite thing in the world?" He asked.

"I really dislike that huge shark, the one that's supposed to be extinct now?" She confessed. "What's it called?"

"The megalodon?" Hanta asked and Korei nodded. "You want to refer to your ex-boyfriend as the megalodon?"

"Yeah, that or we could call him a chihuahua. I think dogs that small shouldn't be that mean, " she pouted. Hanta grinned, liking the idea of referring to Shinsou as a chihuahua.

"That's the one. We'll call him a chihuahua, " he nodded. Korei giggled, feeling really giddy about having a codename for Shinsou. "Now, when we're in public and you want to say something about him but you don't want anyone else to know, that's the word we'll use."

"Now we really are best friends, " she gushed. "I've always wanted a friend that I could talk to about people. I used to talk to Denki about stuff like this but he always told me that it'd work out. I like having someone on my side for once."

"So you're telling me that you've felt like breaking up with him before?" Hanta asked and Korei sighed heavily, shrugging the best she could seeing as though they were laying on her bed.

"Maybe? I'm not sure but I know that I've never had someone like you who encourages me to talk bad about him and I actually like doing it?" She mumbled out, slightly embarrassed about her confession. Hanta chuckled and moved his hand from her hair to rub her back soothingly. "Oh! We should give your girl a codename so that we can talk about her! Unless you want to tell me her name?"

"Uh, " Hanta blushed furiously, knowing he couldn't tell her the name because it was her. "Well, let's call her, " he trailed off, raking his mind for something that would work perfectly. "Babe. Let's call her babe." He nodded. Korei's face scrunched in confusion, giggling at the name but she nodded in agreement anyway. "What? She's a babe, honestly!"

"I bet, " Korei giggled out. "The chihuahua and the babe, what great code names."

"I feel like that's a movie or something, " Hanta joked and the two of them laughed. He was actually pretty happy with the outcome, knowing that they'll be spending more time together now. Maybe Korei was right, maybe things'll work out for him.