>Be standard Anon Y. Mous
>Lazy
>Weird
>Generally disliked by many
>Except for the few girls who tend to torment you everyday, especially at lunch
>So, of course, it's lunchtime
>And, of course, as you're eating the shitty sandwich you brought for lunch today, here come all the girls who torment you
haha, bullied by girls, yeah yeah 
>"Hi Anon! Whatcha got there? A shit sandwich?"
"Hi Sour Sweet."
>"I would hope it is, might make his breath smell better."
>Sunny Flare makes the other girls laugh, except one.
>Sugarcoat.
>You look at her, she usually wasn't the worst when it came to making fun of you
>She wasn't the best either
>But not the worst
>She also just so happens to be the cutest girl in school
>So unfortunately having her hate you was a bummer for you and your dick
>"Didn't bring any lunch money today, Anon?"
>Indigo Zap cracks her knuckles loudly as she asks
"I brought a sandwich for lunch today."
>You show them the food that started this whole confrontation
>She shrugs and takes it from your hands
>You don't resist, this has happened too often for you to care at this point
>The girls turn on their heels and leave
>You frown and take out your phone to entertain yourself now that you don't have food
>As you do, you glance up and notice that Sugarcoat is staring at you from across the table where they have set up shop.
>That's weird. They hate you, but will typically stop once they're done with you.
>What's up with that?

>What's even better is that you have class with her right after lunch
>When the lunch bell rings, you groan internally as you pack up and walk towards European History
>Boring class
>Only gets worse when you can't shake the odd feeling of eyes boring into the back of your skull
>When you reach the door for class, you look behind you to see Sugarcoat pivot on her heel and stare right at the wall
"Subtle..."
>Bitch is trippin'
>You shake your head and go to your seat
>Sugarcoat shadows your movements
>It's like she's haunting you
>She's already about as pale as a ghost
>Creepy as one too
>And she can be about as scary as one when she's with her friends
>Thankfully, it's just the two of you in Euro so most of her power is taken away from her and she just falls back to being a relatively quiet, relatively weird, relatively gorgeous girl
>You really have to stop thinking about her that way, it just gets distracting, and if her or any of her friends were to find out that you thought Sugarcoat was hot...
>You shiver at the thought of what theoretical hell they could make your life
>At least you sit in the back of the room so you can give her the opportunity to be stared at
>You glare at the back of her head as the teacher comes in and starts discussing projects right away
>You never pay attention in class anyway, so instead of sleeping, you just focus your energy on burning a hole in the back of Sugarcoat's scalp
>The teacher goes around the classroom with a clipboard, stopping at people's desks and talking to them, marking off stuff on the clipboard
>You aren't paying attention to anything but Sugarcoat's pigtails
>She has this habit of wrapping her fingers around one and twirling it a little bit as she thinks
>Must be subconscious
>It's cute
>Dammit
>The teacher reaches Sugarcoat's desk before yours, and now that he is in relative proximity to you, you actually perk up a little bit so you aren't caught unawares

>"Sugarcoat, have you decided on a partner for your history project?"
>"I have. Anon."
>What?
>Did she really just say your name?
>Your name?
>Like, you, to be her partner, for a history project?
>No way
>Even the teacher seems a little confused, but he just straightens up and marks off the group on his clipboard, moving past you and on to the next row of seats to get their groups settled
>Sugarcoat turns around in her seat and looks at you
>That same shiver runs down your spine as it did earlier
>Could this be part of a big plan?
>What did they want to do to you?
>Honestly, anything was possible knowing these girls. You remember a rumor going around that Sugarcoat is actually the reason why a girl was kicked out of school and arrested
>You aren't sure if that's true, but it is possible
>Although, instead of seeing a malicious smile on Sugarcoat's face, she still wears the same expression
>Pensive, thoughtful, kind of bored. Or maybe tired?
>The point is, it was a little unnerving to look into the eyes of the girl who at the same time made you feel like you were going to die and also get a boner and have no idea what she was thinking
>Especially after a move like that
>"We're going to be partners on the history project."
>You nod slowly in response
>"Good. This will allow me time to decide."
"D-Decide on wh-what?"
>Stupid voice shaking like a bitch
>"How much I should tell you."
"About wh-what?"
>Sugarcoat opens her mouth, then bites down on her lip, seemingly to force herself to shut up
>Cute, and confusing
>What was wrong with this girl?
>The bell rang and as you start to pack up, Sugarcoat walks forward and sticks a piece of paper into your hand
>"This has my phone number on it. I'm giving it to you so that we can set up a date to discuss the project. Please text me right away so I have your number as well. I'll be waiting outside after school, so come meet me and we can go to Sugar Cube Corner."
>"I'm done talking now."

>Sugarcoat tucks her head and brushes past you, hurrying out of the classroom
>You look down at the phone number in your hands
>It looks real, it doesn't have a string of 5s and it isn't a 1-800 number either
>It's a real life, actual girl number
>Not just any girl
>Sugarcoat
>This was terrifying and also kind of like a dream come true
>On your way to your next class, you send her a text that just says "It's Anon"
>Simple, friendly, but not too friendly
>It doesn't give her or the other girls something to use against you, but it isn't being outright rude or anything either
>You take a deep breath and let it slowly ease out of you as you settle into your seat for next class
>The rest of the day passes by in a haze
>You are excited to see the end of the day, but also a little scared
>Maybe it was a trap and Indigo was going to jump you
>Or Sunny and Sour were going to humiliate you
>Maybe they knew about your crush on Sugarcoat and used her as bait to lure you out of your normal routine so that they can torment you more
>Despite your concerns though, it might be nothing
>Or it could be worse not to follow what Sugarcoat had said
>Besides, you already sent the text so it was kind of too late to back out of it now
>Maybe you didn't want to
>There was always that small chance that things were actually what you would want them to be and Sugarcoat actually likes you
>Pfft, nah. That's ridiculous
>Realistically you were going through with this because Sugarcoat caught your interest, you wanted to know what she wanted to tell you
>Eventually, the time comes, school ends, and you begin your march towards the front gates of the school to face whatever it was that was coming for you
>Usually you used the back doors so that you wouldn't have to deal with all the people swarming outside
>Especially those girls
>But you figured that if Sugarcoat said that she'd meet you outside, then you should head towards the logical place to meet, at the front of the school gates

>You wait out at the front gate, craning your neck to try and see over everyone's heads to find Sugarcoat
>But you don't see her
>Typical
>Of course she ditched you, her friends probably invited her to hang out
>Who would pick studying with you over hanging out with friends?
>Maybe she's just taking a long time at her locker
>Or she got held up after class
>Or she's in the bathroom or something
>You don't have anything to do after school anyway, so you might as well wait around a little bit longer
>Just in case
>...
>This is boring
>The longer you wait, the less students are hanging around, and the more obvious it is that Sugarcoat is not one of them
>You think about texting her, but she didn't even respond to the first one you sent
>Putting your phone away, you push yourself off the wall you were leaning against and get ready to head home
>This was a waste of time
>Your phone vibrates
"What?"
>You take it back out and check who texted you
>Sugarcoat: Where are you?
>You consider leaving the bitch on read and just leaving
>She ditched you first
>But she is wondering, no harm in responding
>Right?
Just about to head home. Why?
>A minute passes before you receive her response
>Sugarcoat: Did you forget about our project?
No
>Sugarcoat: Where are you?
>You groan and rub your face in frustration
>What the hell is she trying to pull?
>You respond
The front gate. Where else would I be?
>Sugarcoat: Stay there.
>You look at the message with narrowed eyes, getting slowly more and more angry with each reply
>One of the people in the world who torments you just forced you to wait after school for her, didn't even bother to show up, and is now telling you to wait for her again
>Maybe you should just leave?
>It would show her right
>As you stoop down to pick up your backpack and sling it over your shoulder, you hear a voice call out to you
>"Anon! Wait up!"
>It's Sugarcoat
>She's running towards you, waving her hand in the air

>That's new, you don't think you've ever seen her run, even in gym
>And shouting isn't exactly in Sugarcoat's repertoire either
>She catches up to you outside the gates, breathing heavily
>She sags a bit in exhaustion as you stand there, a little bewildered
>If this was how the girls were going to try and trick you or trap you, it wasn't working
>Sugarcoat just looked ridiculous
>She finally stands up straight and breathes a steadying breath
"You ok?"
>Sugarcoat adjusts her glasses and clears her throat
>"Yes. I'm fine."
>You nod and look down at your shoe, the silence hovering awkwardly between the two of you
>You decide to break it, unfortunately, Sugarcoat does the same
"So where were-"
>"I was thinking we could-"
"Oh, uh, sorry."
>Sugarcoat shakes her head and holds a hand out to indicate you to speak first
"Where were you? I was waiting out here for, like, an hour."
>Sugarcoat furrows her brow
>"I was waiting in the back of the school. Where you usually come out. Why did you come to the front?"
>Is she serious? She was waiting for me?
"Because this seemed like the logical place to meet. I thought you meant to wait out here."
>Sugarcoat crosses her arms and her frown seems to deepen a little more than usual
>"Anyway, we have a project to work on. I was thinking we could go to Sugar Cube Corner and start working on it a bit there."
>Before you can reply, she turns sharply and starts to walk off at a brisk pace towards the sweet shop
>You have to jog a little to catch up with her head start, but fall into place next to her
>...
>Another silence brews between the both of you
>It lasts the whole walk
>Even as you follow Sugarcoat into a booth next to a window, the both of you don't say a word
>A quick surveillance scan of the area and you note that not one of her posse are in the shop
>So you seem to be safe
>"You seem nervous."
>You jump a little bit at that, not expecting Sugarcoat to be the one to speak first
>You shrug
"Just a little on edge is all."

>Sugarcoat cocks her head to the side
>"Why's that?"
"No offense to you or your friends, but you make it a little hard to relax around you."
>"Because you're afraid of us?"
>You look out the window. You really don't want to tell her that you're scared of a bunch of girls, but your silence speaks volumes
>"You're afraid of us."
>Sugarcoat's voice was quieter this time, and not quite as accusatory, almost like she was speaking with herself
>You turn to look at her
>She's doing the thing where she spins her pigtail while she's thinking
>Her mouth is half-open as if she was about to say something, but she bites her lip once more to hold it in
"Are you ok?"
>Sugarcoat snaps out of it and looks at you
>"Yes. Let's focus on the project."
>As Sugarcoat tells you about what era and area of historical Europe the two of you were assigned, you both order drinks and compare notes
>It's mostly Sugarcoat's notes spread out on the table between the both of you
>After probably an hour or so, Sugarcoat's phone buzzes and she stops to check it
>You notice that Lemon Zest was the one to text her
>You also notice that she doesn't respond back, simply shaking her head and putting her phone on silent
"You got to go?"
>Sugarcoat shakes her head
>"No. Just a distraction. I'd prefer to stay here and talk with you."
>That's... weird. Why would anyone, let alone the cute girl who despises you, want to talk to you about ancient history than be with their friends?
"Are you guys fighting or something?"
>Sugarcoat looks up, her brow furrowed in confusion
"Your friends. You left me alone during lunch and now you're hanging out with me. Doing this whole project."
>Sugarcoat shakes her head
>"We aren't fighting. It's just that the five of us happen to have differing viewpoints on certain pe- certain things. We stand by our stances and some times that can cause arguments."
>Sugarcoat never stutters even though she speaks quickly. Something must be bothering her
"So you guys are fighting."

>"No. I've just decided on something and they happen to disagree with my decision so we happen to be in a small disagreement. That's all."
"Sounds like a fight to me."
>You know that you're pushing it, but honestly, having the chance to push back against one of your bullies feels pretty good
>Bonus points for flustering Sugarcoat enough into stammering too
>"Fights are about big things. This isn't a fight."
"If it's so small, why would it lead to such a big outcome?"
>"What do you mean?"
"Well, you're hanging out with me instead of your friends. That seems like a pretty big thing to me. We've never gotten along before or actually hung out or anything, and your friends seem to hate me. So are you trying to get back at them for something?"
>Maybe your analysis went too far
>Sugarcoat has clammed up and is kind of just staring at you in wonder of what you just said
>Great, your one chance to actually make a good impression and maybe change things with Sugarcoat and she looks like you just spat on her Italian homework
>"I-I've got to go."
>Sugarcoat stands up and scoops up as many papers as she can, stuffing them into her bag as she speeds out of Sugar Cube Corner
>She left in such a hurry that she left plenty of her work still on the table
>And she stuck you with the bill
>You look at Mr. Cake who is managing the cash register and shrug
>Maybe you did go too far
>But, unless you're mistaken, Sugarcoat was blushing when she ran outside
>Weird
>You scoop up all the papers that she left on the table and stick them in your bag carefully so that they don't crumple
>After that shit show the only thing you can try to do is keep her from getting even angrier at you
>You pay for the drinks and head outside yourself
>You have no idea where she lives, so it's not like you can try to drop off all her stuff
>You'll just have to give it to her in class tomorrow
>Better text her just to let her know that you did grab her work

>You let Sugarcoat know that you grabbed the papers that she left behind and are astonished to see how quickly she replies
>Sugarcoat: Don't read any of my notes
>You shrug. Wasn't exactly planning on doing that anyway, but you could hold this over her, maybe get some leverage to use against her?
>Something inside you says no
>You kinda maybe just indirectly caused her to sprint out of a very public place in a panic
>You've gotten back at her enough for today
>Besides, she was actually acting... nice?
>She wanted to work with you on this project (granted it was to get back at her friends but still)
>And she waited for you at school (in the wrong spot without telling you, but it's the thought that counts)
>In the sweet shop she was actually really patient when it came to your stupidity in the subject
>She explained everything, answered your questions, and listened to your suggestions, no matter how stupid they were
>Even at lunch she didn't join in on the typical bullying you received from the rest of her friends
>Sure, she wasn't perfect, but neither were you
>You start to head home, sending Sugarcoat a text
I'll give them back to you tomorrow, ok?
>Sugarcoat: Ok
I didn't mean to-
>You start to delete the message you were writing to her, it didn't sound right
I'm sorry for-
I didn't mean to-
My ba-
>You sigh and shake your head, having reached your front door. Nothing sounded right when you read it back in your head
>A while had passed too, so with each minute it would be weirder and weirder to send an apology out of the blue
>Sugarcoat also wasn't exactly to hold the conversation
>You flop on to the bed in your room
>At least you had a conversation with her. In real life and in text form. This was scientific evidence that you had contact with a pretty girl
>You sigh and drop your phone. A problem for another day.

>The next day
>Still Anon
>Still have Sugarcoat's papers
>Still kind of feel bad about scaring her off
>Whatever
>School time
>You get ready and head out, listening to music so that you can cut yourself off from the rest of the world
>Reach school
>You walk inside, taking out your headphones and heading towards Sugarcoat's locker so you can deliver her papers to her
>As you approach, you see her surrounded by her posse of friends
>They seem to be talking, so at least they aren't fighting still
>Maybe they made up
>"Man, Sugar, that sucks. You got paired up with Anon for the Euro project?"
>"Yes. I'm just as pained doing it as you are hearing about it."
>Well, at least you know where she stands when it comes to you and this project
>Wait... She's the one who put the both of you in the same group. It was her idea.
>Should you speak up? It wasn't like Sugarcoat to lie about something like that
>It wasn't like her to lie period
>So what was the truth?
>"There's really no way for you to get out of it? We've been trying to plan this for weeks now, Sugar!"
>Sugarcoat shakes her head
>"Wish I could go, but we're working that day. No way out of it."
>You keep your head down and pass by the conversation. This was weird, but you shouldn't call her out in front of her friends, you've tortured her enough recently
>As you pass, you're pretty sure that Sugarcoat noticed, and judging from everyone's giggling behind your back, so do the others
>Well screw them, they were jerks anyway, you don't need them to like you
>But it seems like Sugarcoat is up to something
>Not just playing you, but it seems like she's playing her friends too
>There's got to be some kind of game she's playing, and it involves you
>You just have no idea what it could be
>These thoughts permeate in your mind as you head towards your first class

>It passes by slowly, and the tediousness of class allows you to focus more on your thoughts rather than the lesson
>You contemplate pulling out Sugarcoat's notes and reading through them, the exact opposite of what she asked you to do
>But would she find out?
>Honestly, when it came to that girl, anything seemed possible
>And you weren't exactly sure you wanted to invade her privacy like that
>The conversation she was having with the other girls seemed to be that she was choosing you over them for something
>But she hadn't mentioned anything like that to you
>You just needed more information. Which could come from either Sugarcoat herself or her papers
>So what should you do?
>This argument circled your head for most of the first half of the day
>Finally, lunch came, and you made your way to the lunchroom, making a beeline towards your usual table
>"Hello Anon."
>You look up and see Sugarcoat sitting at your table, across from where you usually sit alone
"Hi."
>You tentatively take your seat and put down your bag
"What's up?"
>"I decided that since we are working together on this project, we might as well eat together as well."
"Ok. I have your papers here, by the way."
>You reach into your backpack and take out the sheafs of paper, holding them up to show
>Sugarcoat reaches out to grab them
>"Thank you. You didn't read them, did you?"
>You shake your head and hold them out
"Why? What's it matter if I see your math notes or whatever?"
>"It isn't about the math notes."
>She takes back the papers and shuffles through them quickly, pausing every once in a while to take a closer look at them
"What, you don't trust me?"
>Sugarcoat looks up at you over the rim of her glasses, but slowly sets the papers to the side
>She interlaces her fingers and leans on the table, keeping a steady gaze with you
>It's a little intimidating
"So what were you and your friends talking about earlier?"
>"They were trying to have a party and I had to tell them that I couldn't go."

"Well, it's good that the bunch of you aren't fighting anymore."
>"I told you, we weren't fighting."
"Disagreeing, whatever. Why can't you go to the party?"
>You knew she had said it was because of you
>Sugarcoat just shrugs and leans back in her seat
>"I thought we could study that night instead."
"You really don't have to ruin your time to work with me."
>It was supposed to be a nonchalant comment, just some throwaway thing so that you could absolve yourself of whatever wrath she would bring upon you
>But when you glance up at Sugarcoat, you can see that she has another blush spreading across her cheeks
"What?"
>Sugarcoat shakes her head and crosses her arms, trying to look serious
>"It's fine. I would rather spend time with you than with them."
>What?
"Why? Are you guys fighting?"
>Sugarcoat bites her lip and shuts her eyes, you're pretty sure you heard her curse under her breath
>She stands up abruptly and turns on her heel, calling over her shoulder
>"We aren't fighting!"
>You roll your eyes and look at where she was sitting. She forgot her papers again
>You hold them up
"You forgot something."
>Sugarcoat hurries back and snatches the papers out of your hand, blushing hard before she heads back towards her normal table
>But you had gotten a glimpse at something scrawled on the back of her Italian paper
>'Anon è carino'
>Whatever that meant
>You watch her walk away and slowly take out your phone, pulling up Google translate
>Looking at the translation, you pause
"What the fuck?"
>'Anon è carino'
>'Anon is cute'
>You look back up at where Sugarcoat has sat down with the rest of her friends
>Was it true?
>Sugarcoat doesn't lie, even when picking on people. It wasn't her MO, she would pick on people by pointing out what you didn't want to be brought to light
>But everything she would say would be true
>So was this... true?
>Did Sugarcoat really think you were cute?
>This isn't something you can just text her about, and instead vow to talk to her soon

>You do send her a text
Can we go to Sugar Cube Corner again today?
>You watch Sugarcoat from your seat across the room and see her take out her phone
>She types out her response
>Sugarcoat: For the project?
Sure
>Sugarcoat: Yes
>You smile at the text. Things were maybe starting to come together now that you saw that little note
>No wonder she didn't want you to read through her notes, that kind of stuff can be really embarassing
>You wonder if she had ever done that cliche thing where she would write 'Sugarcoat Mous' in a big heart or something
>Smiling to yourself, you start to eat your lunch
>But how can you bring this up to Sugarcoat?
>She's obviously been nervous around you now that you think about it
>All the blushing, stopping herself from talking about certain things
>Even at the beginning she mentioned that she wanted to tell you something, this must be it
>It's not like you can just come out and say that you saw her little Italian note, you told her you didn't look through them. Letting her know that you saw it would probably upset her
>Upset her enough to change her mind about you
>Now that you've got a conceivable chance with this girl, you really don't want to mess this up
>So somehow you have to let her know that you want her just as much as she wants you
>But without letting it on that you know she wants you
>God this is frustrating
>The lunch bell rings and you get up to head to class. European history with Sugarcoat
>Time to get this show on the road
>You get to class and take your seat, pulling out your notebook so you aren't so much dead weight during this project
>Written on the blackboard is today's assignment: Work on Projects in Groups
>Sugarcoat enters behind you and reads the message on the board, pulling her desk next to yours and taking a seat
>She wastes no time and gets right into the work, you struggle to take notes on what she's saying and attempt to add your own thoughts into the mix every now and then

>There really isn't too much to do really
>The project isn't due for a while, and since the two of you have just started working on this, there isn't much to do
>Most of what the both of you wanted to get done needed to be done out of class time
>Only ten minutes into class the both of you have run out of things to do in regards for the project
>"So, since we have all this done, do you still want to go to Sugar Cube Corner after school?"
>If it weren't for her usual monotone, you might think she was asking hopefully
>Then again, you might just be projecting your wants on to what you hear
"I mean, we can. I had fun last time we went."
>Sugarcoat nods slowly
>"Yeah, I guess. I wasn't planning on doing anything anyway."
>You smile to yourself. Nice.
>You practically just got yourself a date with Sugarcoat today, good job
"Great! So, should we meet behind the school or in front of it this time?"
>A small joke, and you actually notice her frown lessen a little bit at that
>"Behind the school. It's easy and there's less people."
>You nod. Expectedly, she doesn't exactly want to be seen with you, but she still wants to hang out. In a public place too
"And if your friends ask, then we can just say it's for the project, right?"
>Sugarcoat nods
>"By the way, the night of the party that I'm avoiding. It's this Saturday and I was wondering if you wanted to hang out at my house or something?"
>You smile. You asked her out, and now she was asking you back in return
>Or something like that
"Sounds good to me. We can watch movies, have dinner-"
>Sugarcoat mutters something under her breath
"What?"
>"Or just work on the project."
"Oh, yeah. Sorry."
>You were getting a little ahead of yourself
>But hey, sounds like fun either way, even if it was just hanging out and working with Sugarcoat
>Still better than nothing, or whatever it was the two of you had before
>You're really looking forward to this weekend now, who knows what it will bring?

>The rest of the day passes by in a blur
>Soon enough you and Sugarcoat are behind the school, on your way towards Sugar Cube Corner for the second day in a row
>But this time was different
>No work to be done
>You knew that Sugarcoat thought you were cute, something you've thought of her forever
>Today was practically your first date with Sugarcoat
>You just wish you had been a little more prepared
>Jumping the gun and asking her was kind of a dumb move, but there's no way to change the past
>All you can do is look forward to the future
>So you do
>It's still mostly silence between the two of you as you make your way towards the little shop, and you wish you had something to talk about
"Nice weather we're having?"
>"The weather report says it's supposed to rain this weekend. You should bring an umbrella when you come over. My parents would kill me if they came back to mud tracked inside."
"What do you mean 'come back'?"
>"Did I not mention that my parents will be at a charity function until late that night?"
"Uh, no. You... you failed to mention that part..."
>"Will that be a problem?"
>You've reached the Corner now and you open the door for her
"I mean, no! That shouldn't be a problem at all."
>Sugarcoat takes a seat at the booth the both of you shared yesterday and crosses her arms, staring at you as you slide in across from her
>A part of you recognizes the symmetry from today at lunch, but you mostly ignore it as you smile at her
>"You think I'm setting you up, don't you?"
>Her sudden declaration caught you off guard and you find yourself taken aback
>The thought had crossed your mind a few times. What if it all were a trap?
>It would be really elaborate
>More in depth than anything any of the girls had done before
>"You're hesitating. You aren't answering my question because it's true."
"W-well, the thought had crossed my mind. It's not exactly like it's without warrant though."

>Sugarcoat cocks her head to the side
>"What do you mean?"
"Well, come on, it isn't really like we've ever gotten along. You and your friends torment me pretty often."
>"What if I promised that nothing bad would happen to you if you came over?"
>You stop to consider
>It always could be a trap, but nothing bad has happened so far since you started hanging out with her
>And Sugarcoat always told the truth, so if she promised something, she stuck to it
>As far as you could tell
"It's not a trap?"
>Sugarcoat leans in, uncrossing her arms
>"It'll just be me and you. No tricks."
>You shrug and hold out a hand
"Good enough for me."
>Sugarcoat's frown almost twitches up into a smile as she takes your hand with hers
>You never really noticed how small her hands were. And her skin was really soft
>You shook and pulled back before she could remark on-
>"Your hands are pretty sweaty."
>Dammit
"Sorry."
>The two of you order your drinks and a few minutes later, they come delivered by Mrs. Cake
>Quiet falls across the table again as the both of you enjoy your drinks
>Your gaze falls out the window that the two of you are sat at
>It is a nice day outside
>The sun is shining, the tree branches are dancing wistfully in thee wind, you can even hear some birds singing songs
>Out of your peripheral, you notice a man walking his dog, a muscle car pulling away from the curb, and a girl banging her head to whatever music was thumping in her headphones
>If it weren't for Sugarcoat, you might have been doing the same thing as that girl
>"You're right though."
>You glance up at Sugarcoat, who also has her gaze fixed outside
>"It is a nice day out there."
>You nod in agreement
"Yeah. I'm glad that we came here."
>Sugarcoat doesn't respond to that, and as you look back at her, you realize that she has focused back on her drink, sucking much of it down through her straw
>You smile when you notice she's blushing
>So you were right
>'Anon è carino'
>Sugarcoat è carino

>You spend the rest of the day thinking about the time you've shared with Sugarcoat
>Hell, the rest of the week is mostly just you daydreaming about what was to come on Saturday
>Not even her friends could bring you down from the high she's given you
>But they haven't really been bothering you since you started working on the project with Sugarcoat
>It's actually pretty good being you currently
>Saturday couldn't come fast enough
>You've actually been working extra hard on the project, making sure that you have as much work done as you can that night
>That way you can have more quality time with Sugarcoat
>On Friday, when the school bell rings you feel yourself arise to cloud nine
>No shit you're happy, it is the weekend after all
>But in only 27 hours you'll be going over to Sugarcoat's house, now that she texted you the time and address
>You walk home with the biggest smile on your face without even realizing it
>"Hey, Anon."
"Hm?"
>You turn around on the sidewalk, facing the voice that called out for you
>It's all of Sugarcoat's friends, sans Sugarcoat herself
"Y-yeah?"
>The cold chill of their presence forces that familiar tremble back into your voice. And you were doing so well at getting over it too
>Indigo Zap takes another step forward, fists clenched on her hips and eyes narrowed
>"You're studying with Sugarcoat tomorrow night, right?"
>You bleakly nod
>"Well, we only stopped you because we think it's a great idea!"
>Sour Sweet is the one talking, forcing a smile just before switching to her more natural glower
>"For you to forget it."
>"Yeah, you see, the lot of us were going to have a little get together tomorrow night," says Sunny Flare
>"And she's not going to miss it for a dweeb like you," Indigo emphasizes with a shake of her fist
"It's really sp-spooky how you guys can f-finish each other's s-s-sentences."
>You know that saying: Hit like a girl?
>Indigo Zap didn't hit like a girl

>Indigo rears back and slams her fist into your jaw, sending you stumbling backwards
>She steps into your space and with a hard shoulder, knocks you off balance enough to make you land on your ass
>You briefly remember being a little kid and taking a karate class with Indigo Zap
>You quit after two months. It looks like Indigo might have just taken more and more classes
>"Don't get smart with me," she growls
>"Yeah," Sunny Flare adds, "It's not a good look for you."
"Wh-what do you guys w-want?"
>"It's simple really," Sour Sweet says, "We want you to stop wasting Sugarcoat's time. Do the project yourself for the night."
>"Or just do yourself for the night," Indigo suggests with a shrug, "I don't give a shit."
>"The point is," Sunny Flare says, squatting down in front of you, "Sugarcoat doesn't want anything to do with you. She didn't even want to see your ugly mug to tell you to leave her alone. Not that I blame her, it is pretty bad."
>Listening to these girls, especially the way they're currently talking to you, something is off
>Not just that they're missing Sugarcoat to add more insults to the mix, and not just the change in scenery
>Maybe it was Indigo's punch that rattled your brain
>But right now, you weren't sad, or upset, or anything like you usually were when they picked on you
>Right now, you were just kind of pissed off
>You didn't feel like curling into a ball or running away
>You felt like pissing them off just as much as they pissed you off over the years
"I can see your underwear, you know."
>The stammering had stopped
>Sunny Flare's face goes red and she shoots straight up
>Indigo Zap kicks you in the ribs
>"What was that?"
"I said that you might want to remove that stick from your ass so that you didn't have to pour so much shit out your mouth."
>You try to stand up, only to have Lemon Zest take off her headphones and kicked you back on to your ass again
>Sunny Flare lunges at your face, going to claw your eyes out

>You roll over to avoid her nails digging into your flesh, but she instead grabs a hold of your hair
>She pushes your face towards the concrete, but you push back to try and keep it steady
>Everyone is yelling and in a panic, you can dully feel the thumps of people kicking you
>You manage to get your hands underneath you and twist your body so that you toss Sunny to the ground
>You kick out with your legs to get Indigo and Lemon away from striking range of you
>Sour Sweet had found a decently sized rock in the kerfuffle and chucks it at your head
>It clocks you just above the right eye, but you get up to your feet, about the same time that Sunny Flare does
>Outnumbered, you decide that the only answer is to run
>So you turn and book it, not listening to the girls shouting at you
>You do however, notice with a painful realization that Indigo Zap is much faster than you are when you hear her feet pounding just a few steps behind you
>The sidewalk turns to the right and you swing your body with as much force as you can muster in that direction
>Indigo tries to tackle you but goes wide as you juke to the right, flying to the ground
"See you later, bitches!"
>You raise your middle finger into the air as you run
>You don't stop running until you get back to your house, slamming the door behind you and locking it
>Panting and sweating, your uniform a mess, a trickle of blood drying on your forehead, sore all over
>But alive
>You definitely feel alive
>But come Monday, you'll be dead
>Oh those girls are going to be so fucking angry when they see you on Monday
>You trudge up to your room, shedding layers of your school uniform and dropping your backpack on your bed
>In your underwear, you sit down at your desk and boot up your computer, opening up a blank document and writing "Last Will and Testament"
>Were you being overly dramatic?
>Probably
>Will you need it once the weekend is over?
>Maybe

>You manage to calm down a little bit by dinner time and have dressed yourself enough to be somewhat presentable around your family
>Not much talk at the dinner table, never is really
>Let's you have time to think about what's going to happen
>Should you really give up on Sugarcoat and let her hang out with her friends?
>It's what she would have wanted, right?
>Except for the fact that she used you as an excuse to ditch the party
>She literally chose you over that stupid party with her stupid friends
>Should you mention what happened to Sugarcoat?
>Would that make her upset?
>At her friends? Or at you?
>All these options running through your head were frustrating. You honestly can't remember the last time you had to make so many choices with so many consequences
>Maybe while playing some kind of video game
>But this wasn't a video game. This was real life. With real life people and real life consequences.
>And potentially a real life girlfriend
>But if you keep sticking around her, she might become just as much of a social outcast as you are
>Did you really want that for Sugarcoat?
>You tell your parents that you're turning in early tonight and letting them know that you'll be out all night tomorrow
>They remind you to keep your phone charged and keep in touch with them
>You head to your room and lie down on your bed, taking your pillow into your arms and hugging it to your chest
>Time to make a decision
>Or fall asleep wracked with anxiety
>Whichever comes first
>You really want to be with Sugarcoat. She's cute, smart, and funny. A little bossy and stubborn, but you're pretty sure that's just part of her charm
>And you're pretty sure that she wants to be with you. Based on how she chose to be your partner for this project, the little note in Italian, and just how she acted the last couple of days in general
>But you're certain that her friends do not want you two together, considering what happened after school today

>You glance at your phone on the nightstand next to you, thinking about maybe calling the whole thing with Sugarcoat off
>But you didn't want to give those girls the satisfaction. They wanted you to back off, which meant they were scared
>Scared that you would come in and turn their whole operation upside down and ruin everything for them
>At least, that's what you hoped
>You put your pillow behind your head and stare up at the ceiling of your dark room
>You've made up your mind. You're going to try for Sugarcoat
>Tomorrow you vow to yourself that you will let her know how you feel
>You won't let her bully friends get in the way of your happiness anymore, or the happiness of Sugarcoat
>You stood up for yourself today, and you can do it again if it came down to it
>You just really hope that you aren't wrong and make a really, REALLY awkward mess of the whole situation and absolutely ruin what little social standing you have
>Maybe you should finish up your will before you head over to Sugar's house tomorrow
>Just in case you decide to jump in front of a bus or something
>But for now, you sleep
-------------------------------
>Fast forward to the next day
>Skip past the boring breakfast and mediocre morning, get to the good stuff
>Like crippling anxiety over what to wear to what might be the turning point of your entire life
>In that it either makes your life worth living, or it will probably make you take your own life
>You have a graphic tee in one hand and a sharp looking button down in the other
>The t-shirt is more casual, but you don't want to look like a bum
>But you don't want to appear overdressed either, you might come off as trying too hard
>You don't want to come across as a showoff, but you do want to show off a little bit
>Holding up the button down, you consider how it might look with jeans on. Maybe that would turn down the douche bag factor?
>Or should you just go whole hog and grab a vest to match?
>No, semiformal is the way to go

>Put on the button down and some jeans, run your hands through your hair for that half-brushed, half-tussled look
>Glancing at yourself in the mirror, you smile
>You look good
>You check the time on your phone and realize that you still have a little while before you have to actually get there, but you feel too nervous to just sit around waiting at your house
>You pick up your headphones, wallet, keys, and phone and head outside, turning on some music and making your way towards the square
>It's in the opposite direction of Sugarcoat's place, but you have the time to make the detour, and you might as well pick up something
>You text Sugarcoat, asking if there was anything she wants you to pick up before you head over
>Sugarcoat takes a while to respond before listing off a few snack and drink items for the night
>You never really took her as a fan of energy drinks considering her rather calm outward appearance, but you suppose that speed talking has to come from somewhere
>You end up spending a bit more than you expect at a convenience store after purchasing two bags of chips, three drinks (plus one for yourself), and a bag of candy
>Sour Patch Kids
>Surprisingly fitting
>You check the time as you exit the store, only to realize that you also spent a little more time than you expected inside
>If you wanted to make it to Sugarcoat's house, you'd better hurry it up a bit
>You set off at a brisk pace that isn't quite a jog, but if it were any more, it probably would be
>Sugarcoat lived in a really nice house in the really nice part of town. To be fair, most of CPA students were from this part of town, it really wasn't a cheap place to get your education
>It had a long driveway across a green expanse up to a giant house with a turret and a gabled roof. It looked almost royal
>You felt a little exposed as you made your way up the walkway, the house looming over you, watching as you moved
>You reminded yourself that her parents weren't home

>Nothing to be worried about
>No judgement from whatever was inside
>Nothing to intimidate you or make you feel inadequate
>You casually stroll up the short flight of steps to her front door and raise a hand to knock
>You notice the knocker on the door, a lion with a gold ring in its mouth
>But just as you lay your hand on the ring and raise it to knock, you glance to the side and spot a doorbell button
>Your nerves get the better of you and you let go of the knocker to push the button, but if it were broken, you would look like an idiot
>So you should use the knocker, right?
>But if it were old, it might break
>So do you just knock?
>Or is that rude? Would she even hear you in a house this big?
>The door swings open and there stands Sugarcoat, looking really cute
>She's wearing a green dress with gold flowers adorning it, a pair of stockings on, and her glasses balanced on the tip of her dainty nose
>Her hair has been brushed out of it's standard pigtails and wrapped into a braid that falls over her shoulder
>"The door was open, you know."
>That's Sugarcoat for you
"I, uh, I brought the snacks you wanted."
>You offer up the bag to her, and with a brief hesitation, she steps to the side and opens the door wider for you
>"Take off your shoes, I don't want you tracking dirt inside. You got lucky, avoiding the storm like that."
>Oh right, it was supposed to rain tonight. You had completely forgotten about that while getting ready. Good thing you did miss the rain though, it would've been embarrassing showing up soaking wet
>You take off your shoes and step inside, marveling at the expansive house. High vaulted ceilings, almost entirely wood
>"You can set the snacks over here, on the island counter. We'll be doing most of it in the den over here."
>You snap out of your reverie and quickly follow Sugarcoat, doing as told
"Doing what?"
>Sugarcoat stops and slowly turns to face you from where she stands in the middle of a very comfy looking den

>"The project. The reason you came over here."
>Oh shit
>Your mind immediately flies to the flash drive you had left sitting next to your computer back at home, filled with all the hard work you had put into this project over the last week
>Sugarcoat looks like she's about to snap at you, call you stupid, or forgetful, or an absolute waste of time and energy
>But a flash of lightning and a crack of thunder cuts her off, shutting her up and making her jump
>You can already hear sheets of rain pouring down on the house
"Oops?"
>Sugarcoat slaps a hand to her face and flops back on to one of the large white couches facing an equally large wall-mounted television
>She's muttering something to herself again, but you don't even really want to try to talk to her right now
>She's probably really pissed
>For good reason too. You essentially got trapped in her house under the guise of doing work which you cannot do at the moment
"I can go back to my place and get all the work I did. I promise, it was like, most of the project. I'll be out and come right back, it'll take twenty minutes, half hour, tops."
>Sugarcoat shakes her head
>"No, it's fine."
>Well that was a first
>"Just, come here. I'm not going to make you run halfway across town and back in the storm."
>You nod and sit down at the other end of the couch, twiddling your thumbs quietly
>What a way to start off your date
>A silence stretches out in the room, the sound of rain echoing throughout the empty mansion
>You slowly stand up and walk back to the kitchen, rooting through your bag to grab the drinks
>You head back over with an energy drink in one hand, and a coke in the other
>You hand the energy drink to Sugarcoat, who finally looks up at you, a little confused
"Here, I got it, just like you asked."
>"I told you to get those so that you could drink them. I've never had one of those in my life, they sound gross."
>Oh
>Great, another nice gesture botched because you were too stupid to think properly

>"Are you ok?"
"Huh? Yeah, I'm fine."
>You didn't really mean it. You were crushed inside. This was supposed to be the part where you professed your desire to be with her
>Instead you were clamming up, probably staining your nice shirt with anxiety sweat
>Your body was all kinds of sore from the ass kicking you got yesterday
>And to top it off, you were stranded here in this place with an angry Sugarcoat
>"You have a cut on your forehead," Sugarcoat says, scooting down the couch to get closer to you
>Instinctively you push yourself a little further from her and tilt your head away from her view
"Oh, I must have just bumped it on something," you lie
>"You've got a bruise on your chin too."
>You didn't have to look to know that she was getting closer
>Her next words were so close you could practically feel her breath on your neck
>"What happened, Anon?"
>You try to back off the couch further, but find that you've run out of couch, pressing yourself up against the arm rest
"Oh, probably just messing around and fell or something. Really it's no big deal."
>A sharp jab pokes you in the ribs. Right where you had gotten kicked the other day. Repeatedly
"Ow!" You flinch back and spin, Sugarcoat's finger extended
>"Don't lie to me, Anon."
>It was forceful, yeah. And she was glaring like she was about to bite your head off. But something about her anger seemed kind of... sweet?
>You sigh and decide to tell her the truth
"I got jumped yesterday, after school."
>"By who?"
"Your friends... They thought that I was keeping you away from them and so they tried to, well, shift our schedule around. With force."
>Looking at Sugarcoat, you saw her face fall. It wasn't her normal frown that occupied her features now. It was sadness. A forlorn look. Like she had given up on something
"But it's really ok!" You quickly add in, "It's not a big deal, and I'm fine, really!"
>Sugarcoat turns away from you, taking off her glasses and it looks like she wiped her eyes too

"Hey, are you alright?" You ask, the concern now shifting
>Sugarcoat turns back to you and forces a smile. It's a strange sight to see. Like a doll, it doesn't seem natural, just etched in to her face
>"I'm just a little upset that my friends are trying to dictate something as trivial as who I spend time with because it doesn't match their standards of social quality."
>That went by really fast. And she used quite a couple of big words
>But, if you caught the gist of that correctly, then...
"So... What you're saying is... That you want to hang out with me?"
>"Anon, why do you think I invited you here?"
"To work on the project?"
>"Why did I want to work on the project with you?"
"Because you wanted to tell me something, but you weren't sure how much?"
>She nods
>"I think I've decided how much I want to tell you now."
"Y-yeah?"
>Oh boy. You know where this is going.
>Sugarcoat leans in closer to you, her glasses left forgotten on the floor, next to where you had dropped the (thankfully) unopened drinks
>"I'm not going to tell you anything. But I think you'll be able to figure it out."
>She spoke in little more than a whisper, but even with the storm brewing outside, it was more than enough to hear her
>Not just her words, but her breath as Sugarcoat stretched out towards you
>You're pretty sure you can hear her heartbeat, but that might just be your own blood pumping in your ears
>You gulp and lean in to match Sugarcoat's advance
>It was really happening, you were finally going to kiss Sugarcoat!
>A brief second passed where Sugarcoat paused, waiting for you to continue the motion to meet her halfway
>That second, you could feel all the doubt, all the worry and concern, every little nagging thought and what if in your mind
>And you cast them all away
>Who the fuck cares if this is a trick? Have fun while you can
>Who cares if her friends will demolish you on Monday? At least you had a great weekend

>You close the distance and press your lips against Sugarcoat's
>You can feel the warmth coming off her body, contrasting the normal chill of her outward attitude
>The two of you sit there for a moment, just waiting
>Eventually Sugarcoat pulls back and opens her eyes, smiling
>"Anon..."
>If she says what you think she's going to say, you are ready. You always keep a condom in your wallet just in case something like this happens
>"You need to brush your teeth."
>Fuck
"O-oh, I'm really sorry! That must kind of ruin the moment for you, huh? Is there a bathro-"
>Sugar cuts you off by tugging on your shirt and pressing her lips against yours again, pulling herself half on to you
>"I was joking," She mutters against your mouth
>Oh thank god
>You wrap your arms around her waist, not too low, but low enough to feel accomplished with yourself
>Sugarcoat wraps her arms around your shoulders and starts playing with your hair
>Her fingers run through it gently, tracing over the same places where it was getting yanked on yesterday
>You prefer this
>Sugarcoat adjusts her position so that she is fully on your lap. She's normally shorter than you, but with her on your lap, your faces are level enough that it doesn't strain your neck
>She peppers kisses from your lips across your cheek down your jaw line, taking care to be extra gentle around the bruised area where Indigo punched you
>"I'm sorry," She whispers
"Hey now," You say, pulling back a bit to look her in the eye, "That isn't your fault. Don't worry about it, really. Let's just focus on this. This is nice and I don't want it ruined by some stupid shit that happened yesterday. Ok?"
>Sugar nods and scoots her butt off your lap back on to the couch, curling her knees up to her chest and hugging them
"You alright?" You ask, afraid to approach and scare her off, but you want to get close and hold her
>She looks like she could use a hug
>Sugarcoat just takes a deep breath and lets it out in one big sigh

>"I'm just frustrated. For a while now I've been having these stupid feelings for you, and now that it can actually happen my friends are getting in the way of it all. But really it's to be expected since the lot of you are all very different people and I'm often surprised that we can even be friends. I don't want them to pick on you, mostly because of this whole crush thing, but they do anyway because I can't tell them I like you because they pick on you."
>You nod solemly
"It's one big monster circle of suck."
>Sugarcoat perks up a bit
>"Speaking of suck-"
>You perk up a lot
>"-I also thought how sucky it is that we're pretty much in the perfect situation to have our first time together, what with my parents not being home and the thunder storm and lack of friend interference, but I think I might come off as easy if I put out on the first date, you know?"
>You groan a little deep in your throat as you feel your boner trying to strangle you to death
"I mean, I have a condom," You choke out, "If you really want."
>Sugar rolls her eyes
>"Yeah right, and let everyone at school know that I let you inside of me for my first time just because we got a set up like a bad porno? As if."
"Well, I won't tell anybody! If that's really what you're worried about. I'm not here to get bragging rights or anything, I'd look just as much of a douche as you would a... well..."
>"What do you propose then?"
>You pause
"I think I just want a relationship with you, Sugarcoat. You make me happy in the weirdest way ever. I think I know what you mean when you talk about these feelings you're having, because I think I'm having the same ones for you."
>"But my friends. They'll kill you and reject me. We can't, for both of our sakes."
"Well that's only if they find out, right? If we had a sort of secret relationship thing going on, then we can stay safe and still have fun, right?"
>Sugarcoat shakes her head and stands up, "That'll only last as long as we have the project for cover."

>You follow her into the kitchen
"Sugarcoat, listen to me. I'm offering us the best chance we have to enjoy each other. If that's only temporary, then the worst case is we have to come straight out with it after the project is over. If it's still a problem, then we can just keep up airs and sneak around."
>Sugarcoat turns around to look at you, crossing her arms, her eyes are shining with unshed tears
>"I'm scared, Anon."
>You step forward, gently rubbing her arms
"Me too," you whisper
>You lean in and kiss her cheeks
>It wasn't just her lips, her whole body was soft
>She returns the favor and stands on her tip toes, wrapping her arms around your neck in another tight hug
>You lean your head on to her shoulder and take a deep breath, trying to think
>She smells like vanilla
>After a little while Sugarcoat breaks the silence
>"If we're going to date, could you call me Sugar? Sugarcoat is too formal for a boyfriend, secret or otherwise."
>You pull back and beam at her
"Of course I can, Sugar."
>You lean in again and kiss the crook of her neck, causing her to curl up against it and giggle
>"That tickles!" She complains, smacking your arms and pushing you back
"S-sorry," you mutter, blushing
>Sugarcoat pouts up at you and folds her arms
>She seems to have become much more emotive now that the two of you started speaking so frankly
>Part of the back of your mind now understands why her friends like her. Sure, she's an absolute bitch around people she doesn't know much, but once she feels comfortable...
"You're the cutest girl in the whole world, Sugar."
>Sugarcoat rolls her eyes and jabs you in the ribs again, causing you to bend over a bit in pain
>"S-stop getting all sappy on me, stupid. Just kiss me already."
>You grin and comply, pressing your lips together once again with enough force to back Sugar against the counter
"Well, when you ask so politely," you tease, "How can I refuse?"
>You're proud to see that Sugar is indeed blushing rather profusely

>You lift her up on to the counter and lay your hands on her thighs, which snap around your waist and pull you towards her
>She grins and locks her ankles behind your back
>"You're mine now."
"That's kind of the idea of dating, yeah."
>"Shut up and kiss me, stupid."
>You shrug and follow her orders, matching the passion she's putting out with your own kisses
>Her hands are now running up and down your chest, occasionally dragging your shirt up a little bit
>You stick your tongue into Sugar's mouth and find that she tastes as good as she feels and smells
>There's something about her that just seems to be getting to you and the more of her you get, the more you want
>You hear a soft little moan escape her throat and she pulls back, covering her mouth up with her hand
>You can't help but snicker at her alarmed reaction
"What was that?"
>"Sh-shut up..."
>Her face is beet red
"Oh come on. It was cute."
>She looks away from you and narrows her eyes, pouting again
>"You're making fun of me."
"I am not! It was cute!"
>She frowns and glares at you
"Just like the rest of you."
>Sugarcoat rolls her eyes and flops down on to her back, "I'm finished with making out for now."
"Oh come on, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings."
>Sugarcoat lies there for a minute, thinking
>"It was just unexpected. It squeezed out before I could stop it."
"You know you don't need to stop it, right? Like, I really don't mind if you moan or anything like that. Hell, as long as we're alone, you could probably scream out my name and we'd be ok."
>Sugarcoat doesn't look amused by your joke and unlocks her legs
>"Grab the chips, I want to watch a movie."
"Ok, what kind of movie?"
>You reach over her head, stealing a quick kiss to the top of her head as you do so. Picking up one of the bags of chips
>"I think that a horror movie would be particularly appropriate, considering the situation."
"What, not a romcom?"
>Sugar shakes her head, "Thunder storm."

"Ah right you are."
>Sugar swings by the fridge and takes out a jar of dip for the chips as well as one of those bottles of iced coffee
>"Besides," she says, "You can jump into my lap during all the scary parts, Anon."
>She smiles smugly at you and you fake a laugh at her
>At least this time it's a genuine smile
>You head into the den again, your drinks having been abandoned there when the two of you began the consummation of your relationship
>The two of you take your seats on the couch and Sugarcoat puts on her glasses, grabbing the remote for the TV and starting to scroll through the options on Netflix
>You settle on something stupid and cheesy so that you don't have to pay too much attention to it as you just enjoy each other's company
>Sugarcoat has a habit of pointing out dumb things that the characters or filmmakers did throughout
>You don't mind the talking, it's not like you were in a movie theatre (even though the den was nice enough to be theatre quality)
"I wish I had bought popcorn."
>Sugar shrugs from her position curled up next to your arm. She had really relaxed around you. She was almost like a different person in some of her mannerisms
>"Chips are fine, it isn't a big deal."
"Yeah I know. But, you know, next time."
>You smile, just enjoying the nice little date that got set up tonight
>Things were going even better than you could have wanted them to
>The only way to make it better would be if Sugarcoat's friends magically showed up with changed hearts
>In the movie, the killer jumps out from behind a curtain, raising his axe to slaughter another victim
>It had happened a hundred times already, but this time just so happened to sync up the lightning in the backdrop of the movie with the crack of thunder in real life
>You jump, sure, it's unexpected and startled you
>But Sugarcoat fucking launches herself into the air. She Scooby Doo's herself into your arms, almost knocking over the dip in the process

>The two of you look at each other, stifling your laughter only for so long before you both break
>It feels good to be like this with Sugarcoat
>You can't remember the last time you had this much fun
>Even Sugarcoat's friends wouldn't be able to ruin tonight for you
>You can feel the wounds of your body fading away just from having being around Sugarcoat
>You would be content staying like this forever
>You don't even care that this would be a secret. You could keep this secret for her. You could do anything for her
>As the laughter dies down, Sugar stays in your lap, snuggling closer into your chest and sighing contently
>"I'm really glad that we have this."
"Yeah, me too."
>Sugar closes her eyes and takes off her glasses, "Could you turn off the movie?"
>You lean forward, a hand on her waist to hold her in place
>Grab the remote, hit the power button, lean back, hug Sugar
>You breath deeply, shutting your own eyes and just enjoying the smell sitting right in front of you
>Sugarcoat wasn't even that heavy, she honestly didn't even feel that much heavier than the bag of food that you brought here
>You relax to the sound of the rain drumming agains the huge house
>You're really glad that Sugar's parents aren't home. Not even for any lewd reasons, you just would hate this moment to be interrupted by something
>But that couldn't happen
>Her parents were out, her friends were busy, no work to do, nobody would be coming over in this storm
>It was like being on a deserted island
>Serene, alone, removed from the rest of the world
>You kiss Sugarcoat's head
>This was a great night
>If only it could last forever
>The both of you switch between cuddling, watching movies, and making out over the next few hours
>Sugarcoat even realizes that she should give you a tour of the house
>She says it so that she "won't have to show you where anything is"
>But you think that it's something more like she wants to show off a little bit
>Or so that you can find ways in and out

>Sneaking in or out would only be a problem if you had to come from the front
>Sugarcoat brings you towards the covered porch out back and shows off her mother's very dense, thick garden
>She even mentions that her room is right above where you're standing, so you can totally do the cliche and climb into her window
>Or dive out of it on to one of the huge bushes outside
>She takes your hand and pulls you around, showing you bathrooms, living rooms, sitting rooms, drawing rooms, and dining rooms
>There is so many rooms in this house
>And in each room there is gorgeous furniture that looks like it's straight out of a catalog, almost untouched
>Her parents must be neat freaks
>Sugarcoat gets to the wide staircase and turns to face you, a grin spread across her face
>"Race you up!"
>She turns and starts running up the steps
>Even with a head start though, your longer legs carry you up two steps up at a time, so you easily overtake her and reach the top of the stairs, panting slightly at the sudden exertion
"Beat you!"
>Sugarcoat huffs when she reaches the top and crosses her arms, before getting a glint in her eyes
>"Well then, come get your prize."
>She beckons you with a finger and trots off down the hall and into what you can only assume is her room
>You gulp, maybe the run up the stairs made you thirstier than you thought
>You follow behind her
>Her room is just as roomy and fancy as the rest of her house
>There are no pictures or posters on the wall, her four poster bed is made with clean, hard corners. Sitting in the corner is a desk with a laptop resting on top of it, pictures of Sugarcoat and her friends drifting past as a screen saver
>Sugarcoat has laid herself down on the bed in a rather suggestive manner, her gaze boring into you from over the rim of her glasses
>A smile spreads across your face and you make your way over to the bed, climbing on it to reach your prize
>Sugarcoat waits for you to pull yourself above her before kissing you

>The both of you push close together, Sugarcoat lets her mouth explore from yours down to your neck, sucking on it gently
>You shiver when she does so
>Not expected, but definitely not unwelcome
>"You ok?" Sugarcoat asks, pulling back briefly
>You respond by kissing her neck back
>She squirms again, giggling a bit and pushing against your chest
>You start sucking on her neck in retaliation, just making her shake even more, and making her laugh actually bubble out of her
>"St- haha! Stop! Anon! Hahaha!"
>Pulling back, you grin down at her
"You ok?" You tease her
>She pouts and crosses her arms
>"You've lost your prize."
"Oh come on, I was just playing with you!"
>Sugarcoat lets out a huff and turns her head to the side
"Come on, please?"
>Leaning down, you kiss her cheek
>She doesn't react, but you do see a blush crawling up her face
"Sugar? Talk to me."
>You kiss her temple, trying to get her attention
>This time she does turn her head to look at you
>"What?"
>You kiss her on the lips, taking her by surprise
>For a second, you're worried that you might have fucked up by bothering her right after she said she was finished
>But you feel her hands slide up your back and into your hair after a second
>Oh yeah
>You recall what happened earlier in the kitchen and slip your tongue into her mouth again
>And again you're met by a soft moan and she pulls you closer to her body
>You never really realized how much smaller she was compared to you
>It wasn't like she was a midget or anything, but she definitely was on the petite size
>Running your hands down her side, Sugarcoat lifts her body up enough for you to slide your hands beneath her and hold her closer
>Just listening to Sugar breathe and moan is getting you pretty hot under the collar
>By the way she is gripping you and kissing every inch of you she can reach, you can see that the feeling is mutual
>Your hands start to slide down her back and you grab a handful of sweet, sweet marshmallow ass

>Part of you is really worried that she will react poorly and slap you or something
>You remember she's done worse over less to other students back at school
>But she actually just raises her hips into yours and moans a little louder
>In your wildest dreams you never thought you'd get to grab Sugarcoat's ass while making out with her alone in a goddam mansion
>Sugarcoat sucks on your lip, pulling on it a little bit in between kisses
>You notice that you've actually been moaning just as much as Sugar has been
>You bring your hands lower still and start to slide them up beneath her dress, her soft thighs incredibly inviting
>Sugarcoat suddenly puts her hands on your chest and pushes you back up
>"Did you hear that?" She whispers
"Hear wha-?"
>You're cut off by a brass bell donging twice
"Was that...?"
>Sugarcoat nods, "The doorbell. Get off me and wait here."
>You scramble off of Sugarcoat so that she can stand up
>She pulls down the hem of her dress, her face burning red
"Your hair is kind of messy," you warn her
>Sugarcoat spins over to a mirror on her wardrobe and undoes her braid
>This is the first time you've ever seen her with her hair down
>It's longer than you thought, but you suppose that makes sense, her pigtails are pretty big and held higher on her head
>She grabs a brush, holding her hair scrunchie in her mouth and quickly starts going to work on it
>She hurries out of her room and you listen to her footsteps pitter patter down the hall quietly and then down the stairs just as the doorbell gongs off again
>It's quite an impressive doorbell
>You sit at the edge of Sugar's bed and twiddle your thumbs, waiting for her to come back
>She told you to wait there, so wait there you shall. You didn't want to piss off your sort-of-girlfriend so early on in the relationship
>But you're dying to know what's going on downstairs
>Who came over in the storm?
>Have they left already?
>Is Sugarcoat in trouble?
>You stand up with a deep breath, trying to relax

>You walk over to the window overlooking the back garden, peering out through the glass, cupping your hands around your eyes so that you can look through the glare from inside
>Just looking outside you can see that the rain has eased up a little bit
>Come to think of it, you hadn't heard thunder or seen a blast of lightning in a while
>You didn't even notice that the storm had died down while you were hanging out with Sugarcoat
>Which is a nice thing to think about, but it meant that the two of you were so absorbed in each other that you missed a pretty possible outcome
>With the storm all but gone, Sugar's friends could definitely have made it from their party over here
>You pull out your phone from your pocket to check the time
>It's actually pretty late now, another side effect from not paying attention to the world around you
>You turn towards the door, your curiosity and concern is getting the better of you
>You wanted to- no, you HAD to know if your worst fear was coming true
>You tip toe out the door and towards the top of the stairs, crouching low like it was a stealth video game or something
>Coming to the top of the stairs, you can see that the front door has nobody near it
>But there are four umbrellas stacked next to four pairs of shoes
>That proves it, the girls were here
>You shut your eyes and strain your ears, trying to hear whatever might be going on
>Unfortunately for you, this house is bigger than your house by a lot, so your usual hearing range isn't quite large enough to pick up what might be being said
>However, you do hear plenty of mutterings of voices downstairs
>It was risky, but you slowly start to descend the stairs
>Peering through the gap of the floor and the stairs, you can just barely look into the den where you and Sugarcoat were watching movies
>The empty bags of chips were gone, but the crumbs were still there. But what really caught your eye was the corner of the kitchen you could just barely make out

>Neon green hair, large pink headphones
>Lemon Zest
>You didn't need the confirmation, but it was there nonetheless
>You creep further down, staying out of view as much as possible, luckily the stairs were cast mostly in shadow and Lemon's back was towards you
>Their voices start to drift through the air over to you
>"...Can't eat all these chips by yourself, Sugar."
>"Yes I can. I just did."
>"Just admit that you shared the chips with that loser Anon, Sugar. It's not a big deal. We really don't care, right girls?"
>"Yeah Sug, you just had to do homework with that loser all night, wouldn't be surprised if he ate all your food too."
>Man these girls really didn't think too highly of you
>"I'm telling you," Sugarcoat explained, "I'm trying to gain some weight so I decided to eat more junk. Why would I share food with Anon?"
>"Maybe because you like him," Lemon Zest teased, leaning on the counter
>You didn't dare get any closer from here. Honestly, you were probably too close anyway
>But you wanted to hear what they were here for
>"Anon's the biggest loser I know, why would I like him?"
>You smile, sure she was putting you down, but she wasn't lying. You were a huge loser. But she didn't say that she didn't like you
>"We're just worried about how much time you're spending with him instead of us, Sugarcoat," Sour Sweet said, "You've ditched us two days in a row last week."
>"Don't forget that she also sat with him at lunch that one time," Indigo reminded everyone
>"And just yesterday we were talking to him and he went ahead and called me a bitch!" Sunny exclaimed
>That was bullshit, you had called all of them bitches, not just Sunny
>"Well did you get him back?" Sugarcoat asked
>She knew full well what happened yesterday, she had been kissing your bruises just a few minutes ago
>"Don't change the subject, Sugarcoat," Sunny Flare snapped, "The point is that what you've been doing has been making us feel pretty crumby."
>"So we came to talk," said Indigo Zap

>She sounded almost... Sad?
>"Yeah Sug, we want to know if we did something to make you upset," Lemon Zest also sounded off
>"And... apologize if we were fighting, because we don't know what we did to bother you, but we don't want to keep it this way."
>Wow
>Maybe the girls weren't as absolutely awful as you thought
>Well, they probably were, but at least they seemed to treat their friends right
>Silence filled the house again
>You didn't even have the sound of the rain drumming against the house to fill the space
>Sugarcoat took a while to speak, and when she did, there was a small shake to her voice
>"We aren't fighting. I was just being a bad friend to all of you. You shouldn't be sorry for what's been happening. I should be. So I'm sorry. I'm really sorry..."
>You could feel the awkwardness pervading that room. Sure, the girls didn't seem like such bitches, but they were still themselves
>Which meant that they weren't very good at the whole sharing feelings thing, or the part where they comfort others
>You consider running inside and doing it yourself, showing the girls how it's really done
>However, that would kind of defeat the whole hiding thing that Sugar told you to do. And keeping your relationship a secret
>And it could always make things worse
>But you felt awful just standing there, listening to your kind-of-girlfriend crying
>But Lemon Zest moved from her position at the counter, catching your attention as she moved out of your frame of view
>"Lemon...?" Sugarcoat said in a small voice
>Lemon Zest was shushing Sugarcoat, and spoke softly
>"It's ok, Sug. We forgive you. And hey, I don't actually care if you like Anon or not, free love baby."
>Indigo Zap laughed, probably taking what Lemon said as a joke. At least that last part
>Lemon started laughing too
>Following were some uncomfortable chuckles from Sunny and Sour
>The only one not laughing was Sugarcoat
>Which almost made you laugh as you sat on the outside of the conversation

>Sugarcoat said something about going to the bathroom for makeup
>You took that as your cue to head back up to Sugar's room, taking a seat on her bed and trying to look like you've been there all along
>Sugar steps in a minute behind you, wiping her face off with a little makeup wipe
>You stand up when she comes in, going to her side
"What's up?" You ask quietly
>Sugarcoat throws away the wipe and puts her glasses back on
>"My friends are downstairs and they want to hang out for a little bit since I had to miss the party. I told them that you had left already."
"But I haven't."
>Sugarcoat nods, "So you can either wait around for an hour or two and then leave after them, or you can sneak out now."
"Sugar, I don't have my shoes. How am I supposed to get home?"
>"Well then I guess you have to wait up here," Sugarcoat says with a little shrug
"Can't I just come downstairs? Do we really have to keep this such a huge secret from them?"
>Sugar bites her lip in thought
>Damn, she really did look cute when she did that
>"I'm... not sure yet..." Sugarcoat says hesitantly, "I'll need to go back down there for a little while. By myself. I'll try to test the water and see what the others think. Can you wait a little longer?"
>You nod
"For you Sugar? Anything."
>She smiles and stands on her tip toes again, giving you a quick kiss before turning towards the door
>"Oh, Anon," She says, catching your attention, "Here's your prize from earlier."
>Sugarcoat lifts up her dress and shows you her ass
>She was wearing a cute pair of white panties with blue stripes
>But damn was that a nice ass
>Sugar giggles and heads back to the stairs
>You're pretty sure that her face was as red as yours was
>Slowly, you make your way to her bed and flop down, kind of stunned at what she just did
>The two of you hadn't even been officially declared dating yet and you she was already doing things like that. Could you imagine what she would be doing on an anniversary or something like that?

>With that image cemented in your mind, you had the most annoying boner as you waited for Sugarcoat to come back
>You really didn't want to just be holed up in her room, hidden from her friends, but what more could you do?
>You take out your phone and try to occupy your mind for a little while so that you weren't constantly thinking about how much fun she was having without you
>Or how nice her ass looked when she briefly flashed you
>Jesus the two of you were moving pretty damn quick
>Not even a date under your belts, but you were already getting touched beneath that
>Should you try to slow it down?
>You weren't exactly against the attention, but you didn't want to do something that the both of you would regret later
>And now that you actually had some time to think about it without Sugarcoat fogging up your thought process, you realize how crazy it would have been to go much further
>Hell it was crazy how far you guys already went
>You let out a deep sigh and rub your face to clear your head a little bit
>Maybe it was a good thing that her friends showed up after all. You don't know where it would've ended up without them
>Though you had a pretty good idea
>And it might have persisted with further consequences than either of you were prepared for
>At least you had brought a condom
>Come to think of it, how old was that thing? You also remember hearing that you shouldn't really keep them in your wallet for longer than a day
>The thing would probably have snapped if you tried to put it on, you were holding on to it for a long ass time
>Putting away your phone, you actually take the rubber in question out of your wallet and hold it up to the light, checking for the expiration date
>About a year ago
>You sigh and chuck it into the waste bin next to her desk
>Now you guys definitely weren't going to do it tonight
>It was the responsible thing to do
>But you were still kicking yourself for it
>You stand up and turn towards the door to the hallway

>You were going a little stir crazy and needed something to keep yourself from jumping out the window
>You slowly make your way to the top of the staircase quietly, laying down just in range to listen to whatever the girls were talking about in the den
>Some music was drifting along beneath the conversation, probably a contribution from Lemon Zest
>"So then I say: 'No, it's got to be a BANANA!'" It looks like you came in just at the punchline of one of Indigo Zap's jokes
>The girls' laughter echoes around the empty house and up to you from your perch outside of the conversation
>"Oh Indigo, you always know how to crack me up," Sunny Flare said between breathy laughs
>Honestly the joke probably wasn't even that funny, Sunny was just extra
>"She sure is pretty wild!" Lemon Zest said
>You could hear some scuffling coming from the room and could only imagine that Lemon had tackled Indigo in a tight bear hug
>She was the touchiest out of all of them
>"What's wrong, Sugarcoat?" Sour Sweet asked, "You seem upset about something."
>"I'm just thinking. That's all."
>"Oh come on, Sug," Indigo Zap said, "We of all people know that it's never just thinking with you."
>"Yeah, spill it!"
>You can hear the atmosphere settle down a little from the rambunctiousness that came with Indigo's joke as Sugarcoat sighed
>"I was just thinking about how things were before the Friendship Games. Back when Twilight Sparkle was here."
>Wow
>Now that was a name you hadn't heard in a long while
>Twilight had probably been the only student who was just as socially distant as you were at CPA
>It was funny to think that the thing that would have made her a close friend to you was also the reason that the both of you never hung out or got to know each other
>She wasn't the type to turn into a giant winged devil lady trying to tear apart space-time
>Yet that's what happened
>You were kind of bummed when you heard she was transferring to Canterlot High

>"Why were you thinking about that?" Sour Sweet asked, "Things have been great since the Friendship Games. Cinch is gone, people are being nicer to each other, and the whole oppressive competitive atmosphere has eased up a bit."
>"Yeah..." Sugarcoat mutters, "But that doesn't mean that everything is fixed. Sure, we're closer together, but we're still awful to people. There are still people out there who have no friends and are treated like garbage."
>The was a small pause from the room
>"You mean people like Anon, don't you Sugarcoat," came the smug voice of Sunny Flare
>You practically blew your cover by groaning out loud
>These girls were relentless
>"Yes. I do."
>What?
>Holy shit, was Sugarcoat actually standing up for you right now? To her friends? After just getting out of a fight with them?
>"That's partially why I invited him to work with me. I know nobody else would jump at the chance, and he's always so alone. He could use a friend."
>"But he's-" Lemon Zest got cut off as Sugar kept powering through her speech
>"We all could use a little more friendship. Isn't that what we learned at the Friendship Games? Why should we exclude him from that? None of us were really friends before the games, and now that we are, isn't everything much better?"
>It seems that Sugarcoat had taken everyone aback and knocked them speechless
>You briefly worried that Sugar might start crying again after an outburst like that
>Or that the girls might just catch on that you two had a thing and send Sugar to be ostracized with you
>But, eventually, after a long stretch of nothing but the hum of music, came Indigo Zap's response
>"I mean, yeah, I've had a blast hanging out with you guys. But I thought we kinda had a little niche together, you know?"
>"Yeah, I don't want to share you guys," Lemon Zest added
>"That's not really how friendship works, Lemon," Sour Sweet said softly, "I think it gets better the more people you have."

>She continued: "I don't think that we would be the same without you, Zesty. And I would hope you feel the same about me, right?"
>'Zesty' quickly came to her own defense
>"No! I mean, of course it would be different! But, wouldn't that mean things would change if we added Anon?"
>"Things changed after the Friendship Games," Sugarcoat pointed out
>Was this her way of feeling out the room? She was practically getting you past all the bouncers to her little club, it was amazing
>"Ok, that may be true," Sunny Flare argued, "But why Anon? He's so... weird. What about him makes you think we need to help him. We've been absolutely terrible to him, and he's still surviving just fine without us."
>Now that caught your attention
>It was true that the girls weren't your first choice when it came to friend-making
>In fact, you always thought that if it came to a choice between them and a noose, you would probably pull a Twilight and try to escape to Canterlot
>But now you actually get to hear why Sugarcoat chose you
>Why she liked you enough to put her own reputation and friendships on the line to have nights like these with you hiding in her room
>"I think that it's because we were awful to him that it should be us to help him," Sugarcoat explained, "We hurt him, so it's up to us to clean up our mess and make sure he's ok. We should be the friends he needs because we were part of the reason he doesn't have any. We have to set an example because nobody else will."
>"We were probably the closest Twilight had to potential friends, and look how that turned out," Sugar said in an almost whisper
>Wow, that one was powerful
>You never really thought about it that way, but you and Twilight shared some similar traits
>No friends
>Kind of outed from every circle for being different
>Nobody to talk to or rely on, so the both of you kind of fell within
>She went to her studies, and you went to the internet
>She had a dog, you had forums
>Experiments, games
>She-demon
>Nothing

>You take a deep breath, that was heavy
>Apparently it had hit the girls just as hard as it did you, because they were also quietly thinking
>"You also think he's cute, don't you?" Indigo Zap teased, making the other girls laugh
>Then they all get cut off
>"What was that?"
>"I said yes. I might be a little biased because I do think that Anon is cute."
>Holy shit!
>She can't just say that!
>But as you were kind of freaking out a bit, the rest of the girls were howling with laughter
>If you hadn't come to check it out when you did, this definitely would've caught your attention and pulled you out of the room to come investigate
>You were still kind of stunned that Sugarcoat kind of just confessed her attraction to you in front of all her friends
>Who does that? Who is crazy enough to do something that ballsy?
>The most honest girl you know, that's who
>"Ahaha, you know, Sugar," Sunny Flare wheezed out between laughs, "You could have just told us!"
>"Yeah!" Indigo said, "You should've known we would've got...ten... You a d-date with- Pfft... Hahaahah!"
>You could make out the squeaking sound of Lemon Zest not getting enough air as she wheezed from laughing too hard
>Come on, you weren't that bad
>Was it really so surprising that a girl would like you?
>Ok, to be fair, it is a little weird that Sugarcoat likes you, and you would've had the same reaction two weeks ago if someone told you that Sugarcoat thought you were cute
>"If you all are volunteering to help," Sugarcoat spoke calmly and evenly across the ruckus, "Then I accept. I'd love to have you help me secure a date with Anon."
>The girls burst into another chorus of laughing, pounding the table, and wheezing
>You roll your eyes, they were taking it a bit far, weren't they? Overreacting?
>It took a few minutes for the girls to actually calm down enough to give an answer
>Every so often they would lull down and then a whole new wave of giggles would overtake them and make Sugar wait several minutes more

>"Ok, you know what Sugarcoat?" Sour Sweet said, just getting over her giggle fit, "We will help you get that date with Anon if it's really what you want, ok?"
>"Thank you," Sugarcoat said, "Now, I don't mean to be rude, but it's getting late and I'm thoroughly embarrassed. Would you all please leave so that I can go up to my bedroom?"
>With a chorus of agreement, you could hear the girls shifting towards the front door at the foot of the stairs
>You hurried to swing yourself out of view and listened as everyone said their farewells and made promises to Sugarcoat
>Well at least they were kind of done with the whole laughing to her face thing
>Now it had just kind of devolved to chuckles among themselves
>Once the door was shut, you could hear Sugarcoat sigh
>A beat passed before she called out
>"Anon, you can come down now."
>You stood up and trotted downstairs
"How'd that go?"
>Sugarcoat shrugged, "Not as terrible as it could be expected. I did tell them that I wanted you to be friends with them."
"But nothing about our relationship?"
>Sugar blushed and played a bit with the end of her hair, "Well, I did tell them that I thought you were cute and they offered to set us up on a date."
"Well that sounds like fun. And for what it's worth, I think you're very cute."
>You grin when Sugarcoat's blush harshens
>She spins you towards the door and pushes
>"It is getting late, you should probably head back to your place. I need to sleep."
"You sure you don't want me to keep you company a little while longer?"
>Sugarcoat shakes her head
>"No, we should both actually get some sleep. We can hang out later."
"And maybe I can get some more of that prize?" You tease
>Dammit, you had just resolved to yourself that you would try to slow things down a little bit
>Sugarcoat rolls her eyes
>"Maybe if you earn it. Now go home," She says, pointing towards the door fiercely
>For such a small girl, she certainly did have a commanding presence when she wanted to

>You could barely sleep for the rest of the night, just kind of lying in bed, thinking about how lucky you were to actually have everything work out for the best
>You and Sugarcoat were together
>Sort of
>Her friends approved of it
>Kind of
>And the two of you were going to be going on a real date pretty soon!
>Now that all that was actually settled, you were actually kind of looking forward to going back to school on Monday
>For probably the first time in your life, you wanted the weekend to be over with so that you could go back to Crystal Prep
>Speaking of school, you still had all that work for the project on your desk
>Sugarcoat probably had a bunch of stuff done also, so not doing anything at all tonight wasn't a huge deal
>In fact, you would be surprised if anybody else had as much done as the two of you
>But still, if you knew Sugarcoat, that project would take precedence over a date
>Which just motivated you to do even more work over the weekend, just so that you would be free to actually do stuff with her
>Wow
>You always heard that a girlfriend would make you a better person, but you never thought that it would have such sudden results
>Regardless, by the time Monday rolls around, you've probably done enough work to actually do the full project yourself if it came to it
>You've never done this much by yourself
>It's exhausting
>How do the smart kids do it all the time?
>Finally, the day arrives and you can finally head back to school and see Sugarcoat
>You even text her on your walk over to her place, asking if she would like to meet outside or at your locker or something
>But as you look up from your phone, you notice that somebody is already waiting for you at the front entrance of the school
>Indigo Zap
>You hadn't seen her since she and her friends tried to jump you before your date with Sugar, and now that you have, you notice that you roughed her up just as much as she did you

>Her missed tackle has left deep scratches along her hands, arms, and knees
>You can see that one of your kicks did manage to land on her calf as she's sporting a wicked bruise there
>She does not look too happy to see you as you make your way to the door
>"Anon."
"Uh, y-yeah?"
>Dammit
>Your bitch voice was quivering again
>"I heard you went to Sugar's over the weekend."
>It wasn't phrased like a question, but you nod anyway
"Look, Indigo, I-I don't want trouble. From you or the others."
>Indigo looks you up and down with a scowl, then grabs your arm in a vice grip and drags you through the doors into the school
>"I don't give a shit what you want, Anon. We told you to stay away from Sugar, but you didn't listen, you're either the stupidest motherfucker I've ever met..."
>This is it. This is how you die
>Man, you really wish you had finished your will yesterday
>"...Or the ballsiest dumbass I've ever seen."
>What?
"I'm sorry?"
>Indigo dragged you by the arm down the hall
>Thankfully, there were other students and faculty inside, which means that Indigo couldn't kill you without witnesses
>She continues pulling you down a hall of lockers and you can actually spot where she is leading you
>The rest of her friends
>Again, sans Sugarcoat
>Man, you wish she were here
>Even if it meant she would have to bully you to keep up airs, at least you could look at her during it all
>Indigo Zap shoves you hard enough to make you stumble into the locker next to Sour Sweet and Sunny Flare
>They also don't look happy to see you
>No surprise there
"Hi girls," you say timidly
>"Hi Anon," they all say, their voices dripping with malice
>Except Sour Sweet, but that was even more menacing
>"You didn't listen to us, dearie," Sunny Flare said, pinching your cheek
>"The thing is, we talked to Sugarcoat after you left her place the other night," Sour Sweet continued
>You know that, you were there They didn't know that though, and they didn't know that you knew that they didn't know

>While you were spiraling into some kind of crazy mess of a thought experiment, it seemed like the girls were trying to tell you something
>Indigo Zap actually caught your attention by snapping in front of your face
>"Hey, Earth to Anon! You listening?"
>You startle and look around
"Uh, sorry, wh-what was that?"
>Indigo huffs, rolls her eyes, and crosses her arms
>Her entire appearance is shutting herself off from you, which was kind of hypocritical since she was trying to get you to listen to them
>You consider suggesting a public speaking course to fix the problem, but that might lead into another fight
>"As we were saying," Sour Sweet speaks up, "Sugarcoat mentioned an old friend of ours, someone that is unfortunately no longer with us. And it enlightened us."
>Bullshit
>This was such absolute bullshit
>Twilight would never be friends with these bitches
>They were never close, and they never would be. Saying that they changed because her name got brought up the other night was such absolute horseshit
>"We really don't want a repeat of what happened at the Friendship Games, Anon," Indigo explained
>"That's why Sugar took pity on you," Sunny Flare takes a step out from the lockers and turns sharply to face you directly
>"She's worried that we've been a little... harsh on you. So we figure we should try again. Maybe all the way at the beginning, yes?"
>Sunny clears her throat and holds her hand out to you, "Hi, my name is Sunny Flare. It's just so nice to make your acquaintance."
>What
>The
>Fuck?
>These girls were really trying to just get over all the shit they threw at you over the years?
"Why do you care?"
>That weird feeling was back
>These girls really had no idea that their actions had consequences
"You really can't expect me to shake your hand like it's nice to meet you just because Sugarcoat said Twilight Sparkle's name. Now you're all friendly?"
>"Well, Anon," Sunny Flare said, retracting her hand and speaking calmly.

>It looked like she was trying to restrain herself so that her friends would keep a similar attitude
>"We really do want to put the past behind us. I understand that you are a little wary considering what we put you through-"
"Yeah! You guys have tormented me for years. You think that just because you're worried about me becoming the next school demon, you get to be my friend?"
>"Because you have so many of them, right?" Indigo growled at you
>You briefly consider giving her a few more marks for that comment, but as you step forward a half inch, you remember where you are
>A fight in the middle of school would get you suspended for sure. And against four people, you'd probably come out worse for wear
>You satisfy yourself with turning away from them and heading down the hallway at a quick pace, muttering obscenities to yourself all the way
>As you make another turn, you hear a quick trot coming up behind you
>You spin, worried that one of them was actually ready to fight you
>But Lemon Zest actually slows to a stop a few feet from you, her headphones around her neck rather than perched on her ears as usual
"What?"
>"I was just wondering if you were still sore from the fight?" She holds up her leg to show a pair of high socks covering most of her calf, "You gave me a bit of a shiner down there."
>You roll your eyes and turn back down the hallway
>A change of tactics wasn't going to change your mind
>They weren't going to get away with what they did that easily, or at all
>Honestly, you don't even really know why you've forgiven Sugarcoat
>She bullied you just like the others
>The only difference between her and the other girls was that you had made out with Sugarcoat
>Maybe you could forgive the other girls if it involved that...
>Nah, that would be a bad idea
>Most of those girls seemed pretty possessive and you doubt that polyamory worked in real life anyway
>You head to class, hopefully you can kind of avoid this problem for a little while longer

>For the first half of the school day, you actually manage pretty well
>None of the girls shared a class with you until just after lunch with Sugarcoat
>You really tried to focus on your studies instead of what they said
>You know that you liked Sugarcoat quite a bit
>And it seemed like she liked you too considering what was going on the other night
>And she also defended you and managed to convince her friends to try and make nice with you
>But was that just because she pitied you?
>Or was worried that you might blow up the school if she turned you down or something?
>Pity wasn't exactly the best way to start a relationship, in your opinion
>Whether it be sexual, romantic, or platonic
>Besides, you needed those girls about as much as they needed you
>And besides, none of them actually liked you
>The only one who seemed that way was Sugarcoat
>And, now that you think of it, Lemon Zest at least seemed earnest in her attempt to befriend you
>The others were somewhere between going through the motions and being outwardly hostile towards you
>When the lunch bell rings, you actually find yourself dreading what was to come
>Right now, you would have gladly accepted skipping the one break CPA got if it meant you wouldn't have to see those girls again
>You brought a bagged lunch today, so you actually didn't need to go to the cafeteria at all, now that you think about it
>So you avoid the potentially awkward situation and head away from the lunch room where Sugarcoat was inevitably going to jump you again
>You make your way to the back of the school, propping open the door and taking a seat on a set of steps, taking out your lunch
>It wasn't the first time you had eaten here
>Whenever you really needed a break from people, you would come around here and avoid all the harassment and loneliness for a half hour or so
>This was also the way you usually walked home too since it avoided the bottleneck at the school gates

>You consider going home right now
>Just ditching class for the rest of the day so that you don't have to see Sugarcoat or the rest of her friends
>You could always just leave and let what happened between you and Sugarcoat fall away
>Forget like it was some kind of dream
>It was only fair, the two of you didn't really come from the same area
>She was well off, had friends, was smart, well taken care of, cared about
>And you were
>Well, it's in the name
>Anonymous
>Nobody knew you, cared about you, gave a shit what you did
>If you wanted to, you could leave right now and there would probably be no consequence for your actions
>Simple
>Clean
>Easy
>But as much as you found yourself yearning to stand up and run away from what has been going on, you were anchored to where you were
>The bell rings, signaling the end of your lunch break
>You had barely touched your food
>You stand up and stretch your arms to the sky with a sigh
>Why couldn't you move forward?
>Every ounce of your being was pushing you to take off and leave whatever feelings you had for that girl behind
>Drop her and her charity
>Screw her friends
>Fuck this whole school and everyone in it
>But you couldn't go away
>You actually found your body acting on it's own and turned your back on the prospect of escape
>You turn to face back into the school building, knowing you didn't have much time before you would be late for class
>With your pontificating aside, you stride forward towards European History
>It doesn't take too long to get there, and you walk over the threshold just as the late bell rings
>Quickly, you move to your seat and drop your bag beside you
>The teacher tells everyone to split into their groups and start practicing their speeches for the project
>Sugarcoat comes to you and takes a seat next to you as the sounds of scraping chairs, reorganizing tables, and the shuffling of papers fills the room
>"You weren't at lunch today. Are you trying to avoid me, Anon?"

>There it was, that blunt attitude of hers
>It pissed you off, but it was also somehow... endearing?
>You turn to her, ready to be mad, ready to call her out on what she said to her friends, and how they treated you for all this time
>But you stop when you actually take a good look at her
>Sugarcoat's face was usually unreadable
>A stoic mask of flat boredom behind those glasses that hid all her thoughts in a marshy quagmire
>And that hadn't changed
>But that's the thing:
>Nothing had changed
>She was still the cutest girl you could think of
>She was still bossing you around and picking you out just the same
>And her face was still flat and unmoving, not betraying what she was really thinking
>But you could guess
>She wanted to know where you were because she had wanted to talk to you
>She actually asked you if you were avoiding her because she actually thought you were, and it hurt her feelings
"Uh, I just figured I'd eat outside today. I sat on the back steps. It was pretty nice out there, y'know?"
>Sugarcoat nods, "Anon, my friends told me about what happened this morning."
"Oh yeah?" You chuckle nervously, "What about?"
>"They said that they were trying to be nice to you but you got upset at them."
>Before you could speak up in defense of yourself, Sugarcoat raised a hand to cut you off and keeps speaking
>"I know that they probably deserved it, we are hard to get along with for most people. I'm just sorry that I didn't get to clear things up with all of you. They acted without my accord, and it lead to a rift between us. I'm sorry that that happened."
>Wow
>Sugarcoat was pretty elegant with that
>Real professional too
"You know, Sugarcoat, I just don't want them to be friends with me just because you told them too. And I don't want you to..." You take a look around to make sure that everyone was speaking loud enough not to overhear your conversation, "To like me just because you're worried I'll end up like Twilight."

>Sugarcoat shakes her head, her pigtails flapping around her ears like a dog shaking water off it's fur
>"Anon, that's not why I like you. I like you for my own, personal reasons. I don't know how to phrase it, especially to my friends, but I wanted to get to know you better than I did. Now we can. I think that we should try to understand each other better. All of us."
>You sigh and rub your eyes, it was nice to have that load cleared off your shoulders
>But seriously, you didn't really want to get to know her friends
>She was one thing, but them?
"Yeah, but your friends are just so difficult. I'm not sure if we'll be able to get along."
>"I have an idea."
>You perk up a bit and pay attention, this doesn't sound great
>But then again, the last time she suggested something that didn't sound good, you got a handful of Grade A Sugar Butt
>So maybe you should keep an open mind
>"You should join us today. We were going to go to Sugar Cube Corner after school and hang out for a little bit. It would be a nice way for you to get to know my friends a little bit and I'll be there to keep them in line so that they don't bother you too much."
"I can stand up for myself, you know."
>Sugar rolls her eyes, "The last time you did that, you ended up with a rock in the face and Sunny almost beat your skull against the pavement."
>She's got you there
"Yeah, so what if that happens again?"
>"Don't worry, Anon. I'll be there."
>Sugarcoat reaches out and places her hand on yours
>Even though you guys had spent hours cuddling and making out that weekend, this might have been the lewdest thing she had ever done
>She was practically holding your hand in public. In the middle of class, no doubt
>When you try to interlace your fingers with hers, she pulls away quickly and turns her head with a huff
>You could just barely make out a blush as she turned away from you
>Damn she was cute
"Alright, I'd love to go. Meet you guys out front at the gates?"
>Sugarcoat nods, "Don't be late."

>With that being said, the rest of the day passed relatively pleasantly and it wasn't long until the last bell of the day rang
>You make your way through the throng of students who are making a break for the exit
>If this mad dash to escape the pressure of school didn't sum up why the system was stupid, you didn't know what would
>You eventually manage to find a spot just outside the front gate where you can lean up against the wall and wait for the others
>Why were you always one of the first out here?
>Maybe because your last class was right near the front of the building?
>Actually it probably had more to do with the fact that you never used your locker, and instead opted to lug whatever relevant binders you might have to every class
>It wasn't hard since you didn't think many things were relevant in classes
>"Hey Anon!"
>You take a moment to glance up at Lemon Zest before scanning the area quickly to see if she had backup or if Sugarcoat would be there soon enough to save you
"Hey Lemon, what's up?"
>Lemon Zest just shrugged and leaned against the wall next to you
>"Not much, wanna listen to some jams while we wait for the others?"
"Do they usually take very long?"
>Even as you didn't respond to her question, Lemon was already pulling up a playlist on her phone
>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAAQC10RLiY [Embed]
>Lemon shakes her head
>"Nah, but why wait to get the party started, amirite?"
"What song is this?"
>"My theme song, Anon. Try to keep up."
>You decide to drop it. You didn't want to get on Lemon's bad side already and you guys haven't even gotten to the Corner
>Just as the song was about to end, you feel someone's fist connect with your shoulder
"Hey!"
>Indigo Zap laughs at your pain and connects the same fist into Lemon's waiting fist in greeting
>"Sup Anon?"
>It was kinda scary the fact that this girl was able to sneak up on you out of nowhere
>Especially when she hits that hard
>"Got any requests for the list, Zap?"
>"Put on my theme song."

>Lemon nods and adds something to the playlist
>What was with these girls and their theme songs?
"Do all of you have theme songs?"
>Lemon grins wide and you can see her eyes glow with excitement
>"Yeah! It's great! We find songs that define us and then we can listen to 'em whenever we want!"
>Well that seemed obvious, you had gathered that much already
"Yeah, but why? Like, I can think of songs to define myself, but I don't really do it for other people, or share them with others."
>"Is it because you don't have friends to share it with?" Indigo Zap said, a smug look on her face
>You had to remind yourself that you were doing this for Sugarcoat. This was supposed to be the start to you and these girls getting along or something
>Zest actually elbowed Indigo in the ribs before you could do anything though and whispered something to her
>Huh
>You guess that Sugar had a talk with them about being nice to you for the day
>It's nice to see someone holding up that idea
>Indigo rolls her eyes and mutters something that sounds like an apology, albeit a halfhearted one. But you suppose that's the best you were going to get for now
>"The point is that we get to listen in on each other's thoughts. It's like we're reading minds or something!"
"Whatever you say," you shrug
>You still don't get it, but you suppose this might be one of those things that changes between friend groups and you might as well learn to not question it
"So what's your theme, Indigo?"
>"It's about to come up, actually," Indigo says, glancing at the playlist as Lemon waves towards the other girls that are coming your way
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=py-6nu_douk [Embed]
>You actually tune in to what the song is about for a little bit. It seemed to make sense, considering Indigo's ego
>But when the other girls show up, you forget about it and turn to them
>"Hi Anon," they say
>"You ready to get going?" Sunny asks the group at large
>With a chorus of affirmation, you make your way to the Corner

>As the lot of you make your way down the street, several of the girls request songs for the playlist, though the only ones who actually seemed to use the real titles were Lemon Zest and occasionally Sunny Flare
>Lemon made sense, but you suppose that since Sunny is the one suggesting all the popular, top 40 songs, she just likes whatever is on the radio
>Often you'd hear them say something like "Put on the song from the eclair incident"
>Or "How about that one time we went to the lake?"
>You think you were starting to kind of get it
>The songs themselves weren't exactly important, but maybe the messages behind them, or more often than not, from times that they were hanging out together
>Which sounds nice, you never really had a crew to kick it with for things like that
>But who cares?
>That loner aesthetic was part of your charm, right?
>Why else would Sugarcoat like you?
>Pity? Maybe
>But you try to avoid that for right now
>It was nice to walk next to her, even if the both of you weren't exactly being too affectionate because of her friends
>Your mind keeps wandering back to both the night you shared with Sugarcoat and when she was holding your hand earlier today in class
>They were both very intimate moments that the two of you shared, but both very different
>It's weird because it seems like your relationship is working all out of order
>You guys were enemies, then you almost had sex that night after a deep conversation and now the both of you were on an awkward first date kind of deal
>But this wasn't really a first date since her friends were here
>At least you were going to the Corner, which was a popular date spot
>It was also just a popular hang out spot for after school stuff
>Actually, as you get closer to Sugar Cube Corner, you realize just how many people come to the place every day
>Since it was crowded just like the front gate, you tended towards avoiding it
>But you were here today
>And kind of stuck to stay

>At least since you were with the most popular and powerful girls in school, it was pretty easy to get a table
>The lot of you set down all your school supplies and take a booth for yourselves
>Lemon Zest was even nice enough to shut off her music so that she wouldn't disturb the other patrons
>Although once she did, she made a beeline towards her headphones to cut herself off
>Sugarcoat taps the table in front of her, grabbing Lemon's attention
>She taps her nose and Lemon nods, folding her hands and putting them in front of her on the table, focusing on the friends she had around her
>Indigo stands up and points to you, "It's my turn to get drinks. What do you want?"
"Uh... I guess just a chocolate shake. How much do I owe you?" You ask, going for your wallet
>"Oh please, dearie, my treat!" Sunny hands Indigo a couple of bills, way more than was enough for two drinks
>The girls apparently took turns paying for drinks just like they did ordering them
>How well coordinated
"Who came up with the rotating responsibilities idea?"
>The remaining girls don't even say anything, but all raise their finger to point at the petite girl next to you
>Of course it was Sugarcoat, who else would it be?
>"So how was your day, Anon?" Sugarcoat asks
>You weren't expecting this
"Um, it was ok. Kind of boring really."
>"Isn't school always boring though?" Lemon Zest said, rolling her eyes and drumming her fingers on the table
>"Zesty, you love music class," Sour Sweet chimed in
>"Well yeah, but that isn't really school. I already know all that stuff already!"
>"You're not wrong," Sour mutters
"What about you Sour Sweet?" You find yourself asking, "What's your favorite subject?"
>"Huh? Why are you asking me?"
>Why were you asking her? She'd probably bite your head off before hold a decent conversation with you
"Well, I could've guessed Lemon's from a mile away. But I kind of want to get to know you also."
>It looked like Sour was about to snap at you

>But before she let a word out, she glanced over to your side and seemed to catch the eye of Sugarcoat and softened
>"Well Anon, my favorite class is Shakespearean literature. I enjoy it because of the beautiful writing and the second meanings beneath every word. Do you have any other questions? Maybe my favorite color? What my middle name is? If I could have a brand new puppy, what would I name it?"
>At this point, Indigo sat down with a tray of drinks and started dishing them out. You note that Sugarcoat got a vanilla shake
>"Are we talking about dogs?" Indigo asks, "I like dogs."
>You are very grateful to latch on to the new subject
"Yeah! Dogs are great, very fun. Make for good pets, right?"
>"Yeah! I've always wanted a rottweiler!"
>Why were you not surprised?
>"I like pugs," Sugarcoat spoke up, adding to the conversation for the first time
"Pugs?"
>"They have cute squashy faces," she said, squishing a metaphorical face between her hands
>Goddamn this girl is cute
>"I like pitbulls!" Lemon interjected, "My uncle had a pitbull and it bit a cop when he tried to arrest him and then got sent away."
>The rest of the table went kind of quiet at the reveal of that information
"Wh-what did he do?" You ask, deciding to break the silence
>"Oh, he stole fourteen thousand dollars worth of birthday cards."
"What?"
>"Yeah, he just-" She snaps her fingers, "Stole a bunch of birthday cards."
"H-how? Why?" You were in utter disbelief
>What on earth would push a man to steal that? How would you even steal that?
>What was this man's secrets?
>Lemon Zest just shrugs, "I don't really know. He was always the weird uncle."
>"Was this the one who supposed assassinated the fourth prince of Sudan?" Sunny Flare asked
>How were these girls so nonchalant about this?
"An assassin? What does an assassin need thousands of birthday cards for?"
>"Maybe they were for his clients," Indigo suggested

>"Or maybe he was just an ordinary serial killer and birthday cards were his calling card or something," Sugarcoat added
>"What, does he kill people on their birthday?" Indigo chuckled
>You were pretty sure they were messing with you at this point
"Do you even have an uncle?"
>Lemon Zest stuck out her tongue at you
>Of freaking course
>But as everyone started to laugh, you couldn't help but feel it bubble out of your chest as well
>It was strange, not often do you feel this sense of camaraderie with people
>And you would never have guessed that this was the group that would make you feel at home with them
>Even when they were making fun of you like this, it was kind of fun
>It was different kind of teasing from what they used to do, this one wasn't malicious, just good fun
>It was a nice change from what it used to be, and you were actually starting to see why Sugarcoat might be friends with these people
>And... you actually didn't mind the idea of being friends with them
>It actually made sense
>And now you were actually looking forward to spending time with them, getting to know them better, and eventually revealing your relationship with Sugarcoat
>You wondered if it was too soon to ask for your own anthem to be added to the playlist
>You wonder what the girls might give you as a theme song
>Or if there would be a song to commemorate this occassion
>You hoped there would be
>And that you would be there to listen to it when it comes
>Maybe you and Sugarcoat could listen to it while on a date
>Or maybe the both of you will get a theme song for your relationship
>A new feeling kind of overtakes you
>Something that was even older than the sense of belonging
>Something that you aren't sure the last time you felt it
>Honestly you wished you felt it for your schoolwork sometimes but it never came
>You want to work for this relationship
>You want these friendships to be a thing
>You didn't want to just be another Twilight Sparkle anymore
>You wanted more

>You look over at Sugarcoat as she sips on her shake
>She glances back at you, a little confused look decorating her face
>You simply smile back at her and turn to your drink, taking the straw between your lips
>The other girls were talking and not exactly paying attention to the two of you who weren't exactly in the conversation
>That's fine, you didn't have much to contribute right now as they were talking about their days at school
>The typical fair of complaining about homework, gossiping about who was dating who, and dishing out wild rumors about teachers had suddenly taken on a new perspective
>These girls were the top of the food chain at CPA but they still faced the same problems that you did at the bottom of the ladder
>A shiver ran up your spine as you felt a cold hand lay on top of yours
>Whipping your head around, you stare wide eyed at Sugarcoat
>Her gaze was fixed unblinkingly at the rest of her friends
>Her fingers slowly intertwined with yours beneath the table and you tried to follow her lead, dropping the surprise from your face and trying to focus instead on the girls' stories
>But damn was it hard
>A pretty girl was tickling your palm with hers as she sucked down a milkshake in front of her friends
>Glancing out of the corner of your eye you were surprised to just see her stoic expression that was normally there adorning her face
>Considering how much she was blushing the night the two of you spent together, it was impressive that her pale face was staying that way
>Meanwhile, you were sure that your face was probably beet red and you were worried that the girls might comment
"I have to go to the bathroom," you quickly mutter out
>You keep your head down as Sunny lets you out of the booth before sitting back down
>You can feel their eyes boring holes into your back as you quickly make your way to the bathroom of the place
"What the hell, Sugarcoat?" you mutter, rubbing your eyes as soon as you are inside the bathroom

>You look into the mirror, grabbing either side of the sink
>Why was that simple thing such a big deal to you?
>It wasn't like she asked you to raw her on the table, or even kissed you in front of her friends
>But you thought that she wanted you to keep the thing a secret?
>You suppose she did keep it under the table, so it was at least a little discreet, and she managed to keep a straight face
>But what about what was going on under her facade?
>Did she really want to hold your hand so badly that she couldn't stop herself from doing it, despite what would happen if the both of you got caught?
>You sigh as you splash your face with some water
>It was refreshing and the shock of the cold water helped cool off your face so that you could shake your thoughts out of their stupor
>The longer you took in here, the more suspicious it became, so you turned back to leave the bathroom
>As you stepped outside, you looked at the table where all the girls were sitting
>They were talking to someone with spiky hair and a leather jacket
>He looked like an edgy jerk, but considering his dress wear, he definitely wasn't a Crystal Prep student
>You made your way back to the table just in time to catch what sounded like the end of a conversation
>"Yeah, I mean, hey, you all should come," said the new guy
"Did I miss something?" you ask as you step up
>"Oh, hey Anon," Sunny said with a grin
>"Not much, Flash was talking about this show his band is putting on in a few weeks," Sour Sweet explained, "You would've heard it if you waited a few minutes to go to the bathroom."
>"It's going to rock!" Lemon Zest practically shouted
"I don't think I met Flash," you say, eyeing up the guy standing next to you
>He looked much better than you
>And he might have even been taller, dammit
>"Oh, yeah I was one of the people in the Friendship Games. On the CHS side. I got kicked out pretty early though, so you probably didn't notice me," he chuckles lightly and rubs the back of his neck shyly

>Fucking hell this guy irritated you
"Yeah, that's probably it."
>"Aren't you going to introduce yourself, dearie? It's the polite thing to do."
>You glanced down at Sunny Flare who was leaning her elbow on the table, propping her cheek against a fist, just basking in this moment
"I'm Anon."
>"Nice to meet you, man, I don't think I saw you in the competition though."
>"That's because he wasn't," Sugarcoat bluntly explained, "CPA only allowed the best students in their subjects of expertise to compete. Anon isn't really all that good at anything."
>Thank you, Sugarcoat
>Man, even your own girlfriend kinda person was putting you down in front of this guy
>"Oh!" Flash seems kind of surprised and just gives you a lopsided grin, "I bet there are plenty of things you're good at, just not school related, right?"
>You really didn't want to put yourself down right in front of the girls who were bullying you just last week and your prospective girlfriend, but you also hated this guy enough to not want to agree with whatever he said
"I guess," you shrug
>"Well, you're more than welcome to come to the show also, Anon. I won't take up anymore of your time, or the time of these lovely ladies."
>The jackass winks at the entire fucking table and then walks away
>Sunny lets you back in the booth between her and Sugarcoat who has put the hand closest to you back on her milkshake
>That hit you harder than you expected, now you can't even get reassurance from her that everything was all good
>That guy was such a buzzkill
>For the rest of your time at Sugar Cube Corner, all the girls would talk about was that dude and his band
>Lemon Zest was very excited about it and was already setting up plans to go and see it on her phone
>Indigo was looking over her shoulder to see if her schedule with sports would allow it
>Meanwhile, Sour and Sunny were going back and forth on how the guy actually looked
>"Do you think he's single?" Sunny asked, "Because I know someone who's looking"

>You glance over at Sugarcoat, who has by now finished her milkshake, having been the only one quiet enough to focus her mouth on that instead of talking
>She was looking back at you, almost expectantly
>What were you supposed to do?
>Did she want you to do something?
>Was this a test or something?
>Something set up by Sunny or one of the others to try and get you out of the picture?
>If so, that means that they took this Chad from the rival school and asked him for help on dating Sugarcoat
>Which is pretty low for the top brass of CPA
>Not in terms of morality, but in the way of humiliation
>They must really hate you to set this up
>"Are you ok, Anon?" Sugarcoat asks, tapping your arm, "You seem ill."
"I'm fine," you force a smile on to your face
>Damn, was it that obvious that you were bothered by that guy?
>Whatever was left of your milkshake was now melted and left a mess in a cup that seemed incredibly unappetizing to you
>Thankfully, the girls were starting to realize that that applied to their own drinks and started to gather up their stuff to get going
>The lot of you were outside and everyone was starting to split off, walking in slightly different directions, promising to talk later and see each other tomorrow
>The only ones who stayed underneath the awning for Sugar Cube Corner were you and Sugarcoat
>"Sugar?" Sour Sweet called out when she realized she wasn't being followed, "Are you coming?"
>Sugarcoat jumped a little bit and blushed briefly as she looked up at you
>It looked like she wanted to say something to you
>But she bit her lip, briefly shakes her head, and turns back to face Sour Sweet
>"Just a second!" She calls out
>Sour looks rather pissed that she was asked to wait, but you feel a little shocked that Sugarcoat wanted to stick with you a while longer
>She turns back to you with a softer expression on her face than she normally wore around school
>"So, what do you think?"
"What do you mean?"

>Sugarcoat gestures over her shoulder where Sour Sweet was waiting, tapping her toe and looking at her watch
>"About my friends, Anon. Do you think they can be yours too?"
>You think for a little bit, that was a complicated question, Sugarcoat seemed to want this to be a simple solution where the lot of you just suddenly got along because you were exposed to each other
>But it wasn't ever that simple, really
"I don't know Sugar. I just think that it might be harder than you th-"
>You just so happen to look Sugar in the eyes and realize that you made a huge mistake
>From how close she was standing and the height difference, her eyes looked huge
>The fact that she was sticking out her bottom lip and looking at you over the rim of her glasses wasn't helping to keep your thoughts straight
>She looked adorable and she fucking knew it
"I mean, maybe I learned a bit about them."
>"Uh-huh?"
You sigh, "I'll keep trying. But Sugarcoat, they don't like me. They only resisted biting my head off because you made them!"
>Sugarcoat seemed actually confused by this
>"Yeah, that was the idea?"
>Ouch. Another blow to your masculinity right after that Flash guy showed up was not what you needed in front of the girl you liked
>"Look Anon, there's no way that they'll get along with you without a good reason around. Remember, this is for us."
>She reaches out and lays a hand on your arm gently
>You can't help but smile and you start to lean in for a kiss but you hear a loud ahem
>Glancing up, a girl dressed like a magician is trying to get past the two of you
>"If you don't mind, the Great and Powerful Trixie has places to be."
>You and Sugarcoat back apart and let the weirdo go, sporting huge blushes
>"I should get going," Sugarcoat says, giving you a small smile and wave before she rushes to catch up with Sour Sweet
>You watch as they walk down the street, a little swing to Sugarcoat's hips that you aren't sure is meant for you, but God do you hope so