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"Your mom will light the house on fire," Saiki's bland voice echoed from the classroom in which he was reading some underclassman's fortune. It was quickly followed by a short gasp and squeak and then the student ran out.
"I knew she was an arsonist!" The student yelled with tears in their eyes.
I could only giggle at the sight. Hurriedly, I pushed the midnight blue curtain that sectioned our booth from the rest of the hallway and entered the dimly lit room.
Saiki sat cross-legged on the ground beside a shortened table; that scratchy faux beard rest on the table as the boy silently stared forward. I snickered at his robe that Kaido was so excited to show him. The robe his own mother had taken days to make.
"I hate you for this," He said with a glare.
"Hate is a strong word," I pressed while pushing around the fabrics that lined the walls, making sure to dodge the melting candles that laid lit on tables.
"I know, that's why I used it," Kusuo continued.
"Aw, you poor thing," I turned around to face the sitting boy. His face was stern and under the dim lighting of the room, he looked mildly intimidating. I unconsciously adjusted my top and continued, "Want water? A snack maybe?"
"No," He blinked away, "I just want this to be over with."
"I'll tell ya what," I squatted down beside the boy, tucking my skirt under my legs, "In an hour the food booths will open up and we can go around and get something to eat together. Sounds like a date?"
Saiki thanked god that the room was so dark and dreary because the blush that rose in his face would surely have been noticeable in the light.
"Whatever," He swatted me away, quickly putting his fake beard back on as the sound of someone approaching outside echoed through the curtain.
———————
"Where should we go first?" I scanned the lines of food stalls, all of which made my mouth water. I could smell a mixture of sweet and salty and even a bit of a sour smell that made me pucker my lips.
"You can decide," Kusuo spoke from beside me. He was now wearing his usual get up; a cerulean blue sweater with cutoffs, "I'm not super hungry at the moment."
"So why did you agree to eat with me?" I flickered his arm, bickering while proceeding forward toward a cotton candy stall.
I could smell the cavities.
"Two small cotton candy wands, please," I smiled at the girl behind the booth, handing her the money and patiently moving to the side for other people to order.
"Don't flick me," Saiki argued.
"Don't be so boring, then," I argued back. Another worker handed me the two sticks of candy floss with a polite smile. I grabbed them and we were off. Still pestering each other back and forth as we continued down the busy crowds.
"Boring? Maybe you're the boring one," An eye roll as he shoved a large chunk of the sweet in his mouth.
"Honey, I've been described as many things but NEVER have I ever been called boring," I crossed my arms angrily.
"You are something else."
"I'm a lot of things. That's what's so great about me."
"Oh, hush, let's just go get something else to eat," He suddenly grabbed my sleeve and we rushed through the crowd. It seemed like a spur of the moment decision. I became hyper aware of his touch and controlled the urge to grab his pale hand in mine.
Self control was never a strong suit of mine.
Just as my hand reached toward his hand, we stopped in front of a booth that was serving jellies. All sorts of jelly. Strawberry, banana, flan pudding, and, of course, coffee jelly.
"You have a problem," I side eyed the boy.
But he didn't even respond, "Two coffee jellies, please." He said with starry eyes to the older woman in the booth.
His hand slipped off of my wrist and suddenly a empty feeling fell upon me. Gloom.
"Seriously. You have a problem," I repeated my words as the woman handed him his two plastic containers of the treat.
"How is it a problem?" He walked over to an empty bench that perched right beneath a bright green tree, "Can a man not enjoy his jelly?"
"You eat it every second you get," I accepted the cup he gave me. He quickly handed me a napkin and the placed a spoon into the sweet gelatin.
"I still don't see the issue," Kusuo lingered close to my side, "I just like it so much. Is that a problem?"
And then my brain stopped computing and I glitched. Well, sorta. I didn't respond. The mixture of him being so close, his breath against my ear, even the simplicity of him kindly buying me the jelly.
I couldn't help but think... is there any way he'd like me too?
His breath hitched just as that thought crossed my mind.
"We should go back," Kusuo ruffled his pink hair, quickly eating the last of his dessert.
"Oh, yeah," I nodded. I hadn't even touched my own coffee jelly yet.
He quickly stood up, eyes elsewhere, "I'll meet you back there. Later." And then just in an instant he disappeared.
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