•*¨*•.¸¸☆*･ﾟthird person's pov

did you ever felt sometimes, you just want the world to open up and swallow you whole?

because that's what aishi is feeling right now.

aishi was very much embarrassed with what makoto is doing since she was really just planning to sneak behind the cast of lovenow who seems to be celebrating their wrap up party.

"eh, isn't that makoto from whiplash?" mem-cho muttered while looking at the energetic ikemen who is waving at the direction of the door.

"hm, i noticed him entering with a bunch of people a while ago." kengo replied, taking a sip of his drink as he watched how makoto was pulled down by another whiplash member, akihiko.

aqua, on the other hand, recognized most of the people on makoto's group since he had seen most of them at school. he turned to the door and was stunned by who he suddenly saw.

aishi was standing on the entrance looking over at the place where makoto and the others are.

"hmm.." aqua hummed before looking away, he shouldn't really care what his friend (?) do after class

the only thing that bothers him is makoto's nickname for the girl. aqua knew where the older boy was coming from since he also saw how aishi would write her name in class. it's really a coincidence that he managed to meet three people with the same kanji for ai.

but he wasn't here to overthink that, what matters is he is able to interrogate masaya kaburagi about the whereabouts and identity of his father.

meanwhile, aishi approached the table where the others are in.

"good evening, seniors. thank you for inviting me" she muttered, giving them a simple smile.

"ah, it's aishi-chan~! did you had any trouble on the way?" chiaki shinomiya, a third year student, asked her junior while inviting her to seat near the other girls.

"ah, no, shinomiya-senpai, your instructions are very clear" aishi replied, taking an empty seat besides akihiko.

"it's good that you came, aishi." akihiko said, pushing his glasses up his nose.

"thank you, akihiko-senpai" aishi said, smiling at everyone. she's fucking nervous of course. she had never came in a sudden gathering with other people before so she doesn't know how to really act.

"uwah, aishi-chan, your beret looks so cute" most of the girls complimented her, making her blush and compliment the others too.

"ah, ai-chan, what do you want to eat? don't ya worry, ryusei and i would shoulder whatever you want" makoto appeared behind aishi.

"wow, the favoritism is showing" an unfamiliar face said, laughing at what makoto had just said. aishi looked at the man and recognized him as another member of whiplash, nagito hinata.

"well, our precious little rabbit deserves it, right makoto?" ryusei said, nudging  makoto.

'goddamn it' aishi sweatdropped as her eyes twitched in annoyance behind her bang.

she actually had no problem with the two being overly flirty with their words because she knows that those two have no intention on getting with her. what annoys aishi is that they kept on calling her this cringy nicknames.

"little rabbit? ha, she's more of a little kitten in my eyes" the last member of whiplash, yujin lee, muttered while smiling directly at aishi.

'fuck no. i'm not a fucking animal' aishi's eyes keep on twitching.

"stop teasing aishi, keep on doing that and we'll probably lose the only junior we have in the club" akihiko intervened sternly, making most of them back away.

the others returned to their natural state, creating small talks within each other.

"hey, aishi, come with me to the counter. the others have ordered already before you came a while ago" akihiko, being the responsible one in the group, standing up from his chairs and waiting for aishi to follow him.

"alright, akihiko-senpai" aishi stood up, smiling as they walked beside each other. they walked passed the aqua's group who were busy interrogating akane on what are they going to do after the show.

"say, aishi, you're classmates with hoshino, right?" akihiko asked once they reached the counter. aishi's eyes immediately went to the blonde sitting on the chair with his back facing against them.

"aqua-san? ah, yes, we're classmates, why?" aishi replied, looking away and ordering her food on the counter.

"nothing, just a bit curious" akihiko said, shrugging.

she tried to pay but akihiko got ahead of her and gave the cashier a card.

"ah, senpai, you don't have to..."

"don't worry, it's ryusei's card. he gave it to me so he can pay for your meal" akihiko nonchalantly replied, taking the card once the cashier gave it back to him.

"maybe i should repay ryusei-senpai then.." aishi muttered, looking at their table where the others are laughing because of what ryusei may have said.

"i think he wouldn't accept it, knowing how  stubborn those two are, they are just going to keep on giving you more things" he replied.

"i'm gonna let you in a little secret, aishi. those two planned all of this dinner party because they wanted you to have fun. they seem to look or act like flirty scumbags but they really cared for you. those two noticed how you're very quiet and usually stayed alone, even durinh club hours.." he paused before looking at aishi.

"they just want you to enjoy yourself, that's why they keep on pestering you to loosen up" aishi's eyes brightened behind her bangs as she felt warm inside.

"huh, i didn't know..." she mumbled, unconsciously smiling because of what she just heard.

"don't tell them that i told you that. they might look cool but they are truly just a bunch of losers too" akihiko let out a cool chuckle, making aishi laugh too.

"I wouldn't tell a soul, senpai." aishi muttered, looking up to akihiko with a smile.

the two went back to the table, and aishi seems to be a little more, well, talkative with others.

aqua, who just came back after talking to kaburagi, sat next to akane. they are silently talking about their relationship, defining their boundaries and clarifying to each other that their relationship is just for works.

"its just that, i have a strong interest in you as an actress" aqua muttered.

"this isn't a lie" akane looked down, smiling a little.

"i see. well, that's fine." she said before looking at aqua with her captivating blue eyes.

"because, these are the words i wanted to hear the most"

the two continued to talk, changing the topic from their relationship to yuki and nobuyuki's real relationship.

"have you not noticed?" the two turned their head and looked at the real couple behind them.

"yuki and nobu-kun recently started to date each other" akane whispered, making aqua sweatdropped.

"are you serious? but didn't she dump him during filming..?" aqua said, placing his hand on his chin

"she's so clever, right? but that's what i like about yuki.." akane said, showing some admiration towards yuki on her face.

they we're just interrupted by the noice from the other table.

"ah, those people seems to be a mix of celebrities and normal people" akane muttered, looking at the table where aishi are.

aqua just stayed silent when aishi appeared on his eye sight again. the usual timid girl looks very sociable albeit still having her hair to hide her eyes.

"ne, ne, aishi-chan, do you have any social media accounts?" mari kanagawa asked the younger female who was drinking her juice.

remembering the post and replies she made before, aishi almost spit out her drinks.

"ah...i...i..do have one.." aishi replied, feeling extremely embarrassed. "b..but i think i..it would be best if you don't...search it"

"awww, is our kouhai hiding something?" rintarou nakamura asked as he wiggled his eyebrows.

"well no...but.."

"but? just tell us your username, aishi-chan, i'm sure it'll be okay"

after some urging from others, aishi reluctantly gave her account, covering her face as others searched for it.

"holy shit, you're that aishihoshi?" nagito exclaimed, making aishi weep internally.

"aishi-chan, i didn't know you had in you" chiaki said, teasing the younger who is still not looking at them.

"ahhh, please don't read it anymore, i'm crying already" aishi said in a muffled tone, making everyone laugh.

"but still, you're really cursing the hell out of many person. maybe we should tell the person that you're defending that you're there for her?" someone suggested, making aishi groan in exasperation.

"please don't seniors.." they just laughed and finally brushed the topic off.

all of them ate and when they finally finished, aishi told them that she'll go first because she lived pretty far.

when the others are done protesting, they reluctantly let the girl go.

aishi went out of the restaurant, stretching her arms up in the air. it's been a tiring occasion but she was happy.

she was about to walk back to the train station when she heard something.

"aishi?" she slowly turned around and saw aqua and a blonde girl behind her.

"aqua-san? mem-cho-san?"

'is this mem-cho's recruitment scene?!'

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word count: 1537
a/n: idk if i'll be able to update until monday haha i'll stay with my aunt's place for three days and i don't think i could write anything in those days.

i think my motivation is running out lmao huhu i just want to immediately jump on the tokyo blade arc already because most of my ideas for new chapters already centered on that arc (⁠｡⁠ﾉ⁠ω⁠＼⁠｡⁠)

episode 13 just came out today and my son melt looks absolutely fabulous. i kinda felt bad for goa but that gave me an idea for future chapters.

thank you for reading my book! don't forget to vote or comment if you want!