Surprisingly, Hiro wasn't into Hinata anymore after she threw up into his lap.

"But she's so cute!" You whined at him.

"Do you know how hard it is to get vomit out of slacks?" He asked snarkily, still upset about the Tomie incident. You thought that was uncalled for. It's not like she did it on purpose.

"It can't be any harder than getting it out of a plaid skirt," you reasoned.

"How about we sit down and talk about it over a cup of coffee?" How suave.

"Haha. Nice try. You still have to give Kimiko and Oshiro a chance."

"Are you sure you're not just using your friends as an excuse not to date me?" He said, crossing his arms and giving you a doubtful look. "It doesn't seem like any of them really like me."

"They will." At least one of them has to, right? "Now, how do you feel about pranks?"

It turned out that Hiro loved pranks. He was the class clown of his last school and almost got expelled for flooding the second floor boys' bathroom in middle school. That was good! It was as if he and Kimiko were meant for each other. Too bad that meant he'd be living out the rest of his days in her basement. RIP, man.

"So what ideas do you have for your next prank?"

"Have you ever heard of surströmming?"

"Putting surströmming in a vacant locker? I already did that. What else have you got?"

He blinked at you in wonder, eyes sparkling. "Wow, we're on the same wavelength! It's almost like we were meant to be."

"Focus, Hiro!" Focus on Kimiko. Beautiful, funny Kimiko. "Got any other ideas?"

"I mean, yeah, a couple..."

...

The next day, bubblewrap covered the floor of every school corridor, glued down in strategic spots so it wasn't simple to remove.

"Was that you?" Kimiko whispered at lunch before any of the other girls came in. Her eyes twinkled like stars stuck in the void of space.

With a slow smile, you leaned forward in your seat, put your elbow on the table and your chin in your hand. "Nooo... But I know who did. You wanna meet 'em?"

...

You introduced the two troublemakers after school that day. "Kimiko, meet Hiro. Hiro, Kimiko."

Kimiko circled Hiro like a shark, gave him a thorough look up and down and all around. Then she stopped directly in front of him, arms crossed and one eyebrow raised in challenge.

"So you think you're the prankster extraordinaire, huh? Well, listen up, bub, this is my school, so you have to impress me," she declared, proud as a peacock and brave as a lion. "So what's the best prank you have rattling around in that empty head of yours?"

He gave her a grin as bright and white as a light bulb. "I was thinking we go to the computer lab and superglue all the mice down to the tables," he suggested.

She seemed to consider the idea, rolling it around in her brain case, before nodding. "I do love a bit of property damage!"

"Well, I'll leave you to it," you said, turning to head down the hall before she caught your wrist.

"Oh no, you won't. Aren't you at least a little bit interested? It's been ages since you pulled off a good prank."

"No, not really. And the two of you have it more than covered."

"We're not doing this without you."

And thus you got roped into their scheme.

...

There was no one in the computer lab when the three of you scurried inside, so there was no need for the distraction you had planned. You decided on a divide-and-conquer technique. Each of you took a tube of superglue and a third of the mice in the room.

The quicker you got out of here, the less likely you were to get caught. You didn't want to get detention again. Minoru might not spring you free early a second time.

It was going so well for a while.

"Why do you keep looking at her?" Kimiko suddenly snapped amidst the stifled giggling as you executed Hiro's prank. You weren't certain what set her off, but you had a good idea. His attention was divided between you and her, not focused solely on her.

"Uh, well-" he stuttered, rapidly looking between the two of you. Please stop looking at me. You're only making her madder, you thought desperately.

"She's not yours to ogle," she hissed before throwing one of the superglue-coated mice at him. Luckily, he ducked in time. The mouse hit the wall and broke into pieces. Then she was out the door.

"I'll go get her. Just stay here," you sighed.

You followed her out of the computer lab and then into the girls' bathroom down the hall. She was bent over a sink, clutching its porcelain bowl so tightly her knuckles were white. Her face was an inch from the mirror, but her eyes were screwed shut, not staring into her reflection like usual.

"He's the one, isn't he? The one with the crush on you." Kimiko's voice was tight as if she was either going to cry or scream. Knowing her, you were leaning towards scream.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Would being the one her darling had a crush on be enough to get you killed? You didn't want to find out. It was easier to deny. Hiro hadn't done anything more than look at you. "I don't care about him, really. I'd pick you over him any day."

I won't get in the way of your romance. Please just let me live, you meant to say.

"Oshiro is right about you. You're such a liar," she said, spinning around and stalking towards you. She stopped inches from your face, so close you could finally differentiate the dark brown of her irises from the black of her pupils. "Still, I kinda like it. You're like a doll. I pull your string and you tell me exactly what I want to hear." She twisted a lock of your hair tightly around her finger before giving it a tug strong enough to jerk your head.

"I-"

"Don't try to deny it. I don't care. Just do something for me, yeah? Pretend I'm your favorite. Act like it just for today."

A simple task if it won you your life in return. You reached for her hands and laced your fingers together. "Promise me that no boy will ever come between us." No boy was worth dying for.

She threw her head back and laughed. "Dollface, they don't have the ghost of a chance! Let's wrap this up so we walk home together today. I don't think I've ever even seen your house!"