Oshiro followed you and Hiro to the nurse's office like a shadow. It was slow-going. The bullies kicked the shit out of his shins before he finally fell to his knees, so he was walking as if he had no bones in his legs, like they were just sacks of meat attached to his pelvis.

You arrived to find the nurse was out but, strangely enough, Minoru was in. There didn't appear to be anything wrong with her. Maybe she had period cramps and came in for an ibuprofen?

Her eyes widened at the sight of your bloody nose and she fluttered around you like a butterfly. "Sweetness, what happened?"

You turned your attention to Hiro. "I'd like to know that too."

He snorted, taking a seat in a nearby chair. "Masaki, the blonde boy throwing the punches, heard it through the grapevine that I was badmouthing his little sister... That I was telling everyone who would listen that she was a bitch, a whore, a slut."

"And did you?"

"Hell no! I don't even know his sister's name."

You glanced over at Minoru and Oshiro to find them looking at each other and then back to you. It was just a coincidence, right? Hiro calling Kimiko a slur and then getting the shit beaten out of him for supposedly calling another girl a mess of slurs.

Still, Minoru had the power to spread rumors everyone blindly believed were true and Oshiro had the ability to rile up and organize her boys. Together, they could have planned this all out. Why, though?

"Lay down," you instructed Hiro, nodding towards one of the cots in the nurse's office. "I'll grab you some cold compresses. Those bruises are going to bloom any second now."

"Baby, I should really look at your nose." Minoru said, searching through the first aid kit attached to the wall. Probably looking for a nose splint or something. Like hell you would ever wear something like that in public. You'd rather let your broken nose set as is.

"No, I think you have done enough," you snapped. You had no proof, but you had a gut feeling they had something to do with the fight today. "You should just go."

Was this the first time you raised your voice to Minoru? It certainly felt like it. She was stunned into silence before Oshiro added, "You heard her, Minoru. Leave."

Minoru glared at the three of you before grabbing her bookbag and heading out the door, slamming it in her wake.

You sighed. Now was as good of time as any... "Hiro, I'd like to introduce you to Oshiro." Hiro had struck out with almost all of the girls at this point. Oshiro was his last, worst option. She was sadistic but kind of hot, though.

"Yeah, the girl that stood by and watched as I got pummeled to death. How could I forget?"

Okay, there was no way these two would be an item now. There was just no getting over a first impression like that.

"You didn't die, though. And I thought you had it handled," Oshiro grunted, leaning against the doorway with her arms crossed.

"It was three against one! I did not even remotely have that handled." Hiro shouted, throwing his hands up in exasperation.

She ignored him, turning her attention to you. "Aina, can I talk to you outside for a moment?"

Was that good or bad? You almost refused, not wanting to know. But you two were kind of friends, so you nodded and followed her out of the nurse's office.

"I don't like him," she said before the door was even completely shut.

"No, really?"

"Don't be a smartass, princess. I don't trust him around you. He's got this look in his eye that I don't like. He looks at you like you're a piece of meat and he's fucking starving."

You went out on a limb. Maybe Oshiro really liked Hiro and wanted you to stay away. If that was the case, you'd be glad to do so. You just needed her to be honest with you. "You know what I think?"

"I don't care what you think."

"I think you're jealous."

It was foolish of you to bring it up, even teasingly. Not daring, as if to suggest some heroic bravery. It was really just foolish.

Without warning, she shoved you against the door before boxing you in with her arms. You felt the impact all the way down your spine. Your tailbone was bruised for sure.

"What's there to be jealous of? You think anyone else could ever love you? A user? A faker? A liar? No way, baby! I'm it. So you go off and play with your little boy toy. Come crawling back to me when he sees past your mask."

Having said what she needed to say, she released you and stalked down the hallway, leaving you wondering what the hell that was.

You went back inside to help Hiro. He was cruising around the office in the nurse's wheelie chair, still clutching an ice pack to his achiest areas. His face must have hurt something awful given the beating it took, but he still managed to throw you a twenty-watt smile when you walked in the room.

"I found you a couple of tampons to plug up your bloody nose!"

What were you going to do with this kid?

...

Hiro was waiting for you after school the next day. Your stomach dropped at the sight of the single pink rose in his grasp. Calm down, you thought. Not everything is about you. It could be for someone else. The way his whole expression lit up when he saw you was not promising, though.

He couldn't have picked a worse day for this... This... Whatever this was. Not only were students still milling about, likely wanting to see who such a handsome boy was confessing to, but the whole pack of girls was at your back. Oshiro's bike was in the shop and Kimiko's mom couldn't pick her up today, so everyone was going to pile into Minoru's SUV.

He spotted you before you could turn tail and walk back into school. He jogged over to you, flower in hand. Then, with a flourish, he presented you with the rose and a charming grin.

"Aina Sato, I've been interested in you for a while now, and I was wondering if you'd like to go on a date with me sometime?"

You had only one question, for him and the universe.

"Why me?"