Taiki collapsed onto the couch, limbs sprawling in every direction. This was definitely becoming his post-practice ritual - if by ritual you meant looking like roadkill on their shared furniture.

  "You know," Shiori said, leaning against the doorframe with that annoyingly amused look she always got when he was suffering, "for someone who just had his big dramatic sports anime moment, you're looking pretty pathetic right now."

  "Mnrghh," Taiki eloquently responded into a throw pillow.

  "What was it again?" Shiori's voice took on a mock-serious tone. "'I'll give you hundreds of sets to cheer for. Count on me.' Very inspiring. Very cool."

  Taiki lifted his head just enough to glare at her. "I meant every word of that."

  "Oh?" The teasing lilt in her voice faltered slightly at his tone.

  "Yeah." He pushed himself up to sitting, wincing at his protesting muscles. "Look, I know I'm terrible. But those guys... they actually believed in me today. Like, genuinely thought I could do it. So yeah, I'm going to get better. Even if it kills me. Which," he slumped back down, "feels pretty likely right now."

  Shiori pressed her lips together, clearly fighting back laughter. "Well, well. Look who's getting all passionate about sports. Should I be worried you're going to start a volleyball fan club next?"

  "Shut up," Taiki muttered. "I just... don't want to let them down."

  Shiori felt something catch in her throat at Taiki's words. The way he just... said things like that, without any pretense or ulterior motive. No hero worship, no carefully calculated comments. Just Taiki being stupidly, earnestly Taiki.

  She watched him stretch out his sore muscles, grumbling under his breath about sadistic volleyball captains, and that weird feeling in her chest tightened. The same guy who'd been terrified of sports two months ago was now pushing himself to exhaustion, determined to improve. Not for glory or recognition, but because his teammates believed in him.

  When had she started noticing these little things about him? The way his hair fell into his eyes when he was tired, how his sarcasm melted away when he talked about something he really cared about, the slight smile he got when-

  Oh.

  Oh no.

  Shiori's eyes widened as the realization hit her like a basketball to the face. This was... this was definitely not good. This was the opposite of good. This was-

  "I'm gonna rest," she blurted out, practically sprinting to her room. She grabbed her phone with slightly shaking hands and pulled up Maki's contact.

  Shiori's phone screen glowed in the darkness of her room:

  Shiori: Help. Emergency. Code Red. Need to talk NOW.

  Shiori: And if you make ONE joke about this I will end you.

  Maki: GIRL IT'S ABOUT DAMN TIME ??????

  Shiori: Damn time what

  Shiori: Wait

  Shiori: Was I being obvious??

  Shiori: Oh my god.

  Shiori stared at her phone in horror, her heart doing that stupid fluttery thing again. The shower was running in the background - Taiki must have finally dragged himself off the couch. Which was good because she was pretty sure she was having some sort of crisis and didn't need him walking in on her having an existential meltdown about... about...

  Her phone buzzed again:

  Maki: Hon, you've been staring at him like he's the last onigiri at lunch

  Maki: Even SATO noticed

  Maki: And you know how dense that boy is ??

  Shiori slid down the wall until she was sitting on the floor, her face burning. Had she really been that obvious?

  Shiori: I'm going to die.

  Shiori: This is how I die.

  Shiori: Tell my basketball team I love them.

  Maki: Drama queen much? ??

  Shiori paced her room, phone clutched to her chest as if it might explode. After a few deep breaths, she typed:

  Shiori: But like... why HIM?

  Maki: Girl, you literally just watched him give the most heartfelt speech about improving for his team

  Maki: Also have you SEEN his bedhead in the morning? It's adorable ??

  Shiori groaned. The worst part was, Maki wasn't wrong. Somehow, between all his sarcastic comments and dramatic collapses on their couch, Taiki had become... endearing? With his stupid dry humor and the way he actually listened when people talked and-

  Shiori: Stop. I can't like my roommate. That's like... against the rules or something

  Maki: What rules??? ??

  Shiori: The... the normal person rules! The don't-catch-feelings-for-someone-who-sees-you-in-your-morning-zombie-state rules!

  Maki: Too late for that bestie

  Shiori buried her face in her hands, remembering all the times she'd wandered out for breakfast with her hair a mess.

  Shiori: What do I even DO about this??

  Maki: You could... idk... talk to him?

  Shiori: Absolutely not.

  Maki: Then perish ??♀?

  Shiori: You're the worst best friend ever

  Maki: I'm your ONLY best friend who knows you're crushing on your adorkable roommate

  The shower shut off in the background, and Shiori's heart rate spiked. She could hear Taiki shuffling around in the bathroom.

  Shiori: He's coming out of the shower. Help. How do I act normal??

  Maki: Step 1: Don't panic

  Maki: ...you're already panicking aren't you

  Shiori: I AM VERY MUCH PANICKING

  Shiori: It's been TWO MONTHS. TWO. MONTHS.

  Shiori: That's like... scientifically impossible, right??

  Maki: Girl what kind of math-

  Shiori: No seriously! You can't just... LIKE someone in two months!

  She could practically hear Maki's exasperated sigh through the text bubbles that appeared.

  Shiori: Besides, he would never...

  Her fingers stalled on the keyboard. Would never what? Accept her feelings? Want to date her? The whole thing felt ridiculous. She backspaced and tried again.

  Shiori: He just sees me as... me.

  Shiori stared at those words, feeling weirdly vulnerable. Not Fujisawa the basketball star, or the girl with three fan clubs, or any of those other labels people stuck on her. To Taiki, she was just... Shiori.

  Three dots appeared as Maki typed, then:

  Maki: ...you do realize that's EXACTLY why you like him, right? ??♀?

  Shiori blinked at her phone screen, the truth of those words hitting her. Because Maki was right - frustratingly, annoyingly right. That was exactly it. Taiki had never once treated her like she was special or untouchable.

  Shiori: But can you imagine the RUMORS? It would be a nightmare!

  Shiori: Everyone already gossips about us living together

  Shiori: They'd make his life hell

  Maki: Since when do you care about rumors? ??

  Shiori chewed her lip, remembering how Taiki had looked during lunch that day when people were whispering.

  Shiori: He hates attention

  Shiori: Like REALLY hates it

  Shiori: And dating me would be...

  She couldn't even finish the thought without cringing. Dating her would be like putting a spotlight on him 24/7.

  Maki: Okay but have you considered asking HIM how he feels about that?

  Shiori stared at the message, her stomach doing weird flips.

  Shiori: That's the thing

  Shiori: I have NO IDEA how he feels

  Shiori: Like zero

  Shiori: What if he just sees me as his weird basketball roommate??

  Shiori: What if he's just being nice because we live together??

  Shiori: WHAT IF HE ALREADY LIKES SOMEONE ELSE??

  The messages tumbled out in rapid succession, each one making her more anxious than the last.

  Maki: Girl. Breathe.

  Shiori: I AM BREATHING

  Shiori: VERY QUICKLY

  Shiori: BUT STILL BREATHING

  Maki stared at her phone, fingers hovering over the keyboard as she processed Shiori's panic spiral. For someone who could nail three-pointers under pressure, Shiori was hilariously bad at dealing with boys.

  Maki: You do realize I've seen you turn down like half the school's male population, right?

  Maki: Miss "Sorry I'm Focusing On Basketball"

  Shiori: That's different!

  Maki: How??

  Shiori: Because I didn't actually LIKE any of them!

  A smirk spread across Maki's face as she typed her response.

  Maki: So what you're saying is...

  Maki: This is your first actual crush? ??

  The typing bubbles appeared and disappeared several times before Shiori finally responded.

  Shiori: ...maybe

  Maki let out a snort, then quickly remembered Sato was in their shared living room and might hear her. She buried her face in her pillow before typing again.

  Maki: That's adorable

  Shiori: You're one to talk

  Shiori: When's the last time YOU had a boyfriend?

  Maki blinked at her screen. Well. She walked right into that one.

  Maki: ...point taken

  Taiki dragged his feet toward the gym at an ungodly hour, his sports bag bumping against his leg with each step.

  "I'm telling you, it was weird," he said, stifling a yawn. "She practically jumped when I said good morning. Then she mumbled something about being late and bolted."

  Maki's face twitched, but she kept her expression carefully neutral. "Maybe she just had an early meeting?"

  "At 5 AM?" Taiki raised an eyebrow. "And since when does Shiori mumble? She's usually..." He waved his hand vaguely, searching for the right words. "You know. Composed. Put together. The whole perfect-student-athlete thing."

  "Everyone has off days," Maki said, a bit too quickly. She busied herself with digging through her bag, avoiding eye contact.

  "I guess." Taiki frowned, recalling how Shiori had practically sprinted out of their apartment. "But she didn't even eat breakfast. She always lectures me about the importance of proper nutrition and whatever."

  Maki made a choking sound that she quickly turned into a cough.

  "You okay?" Taiki asked.

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  "Yep! Totally fine!" Maki's voice came out slightly higher than usual. "Just, uh, morning allergies. Very common. Super normal."

  Taiki shot her a suspicious look. "Since when do you have allergies?"

  "Since right now!" Maki quickened her pace toward the gym doors. "Race you to warm-ups!"

  "That's not- we don't even practice in the same-" Taiki called after her, but she was already gone, leaving him alone with his confusion about both his roommate's and his best friend's bizarre behavior.

  Taiki flopped onto his bed that evening, staring at his ceiling in confusion. The weird behavior hadn't stopped. If anything, it had gotten worse.

  At dinner, Shiori had knocked over her water glass when he'd asked to pass the soy sauce. Then she'd insisted on eating in her room, claiming she had "important basketball strategies" to review.

  He pulled out his phone, thumbs hovering over the keyboard as he tried to make sense of it all.

  Taiki: Something's definitely up with Shiori

  Taiki: She just chose to eat dinner IN HER ROOM

  Taiki: This morning she ran away from breakfast, now she's hiding from dinner??

  Taiki: And she keeps dropping things. Since when is Shiori clumsy??

  Maki's response came suspiciously fast.

  Maki: maybe she's sick?

  Maki: or stressed about basketball??

  Maki: YOU KNOW HOW ATHLETES GET

  Taiki: You're being weird about this too

  Taiki: What do you know??

  Maki: ME?? WEIRD??

  Maki: I'm never weird

  Maki: I am the picture of normal

  Maki: Speaking of pictures did you see that cute cat video I sent earlier??

  Taiki: Stop changing the subject

  Taiki: You know something

  Maki: SORRY CAN'T HEAR YOU OVER THE SOUND OF MY TOTALLY NORMAL EVENING ROUTINE

  Maki: GOTTA GO WATER MY PET ROCK

  Taiki's eye twitched as he read Maki's last message. He'd known her long enough to recognize when she was hiding something.

  Fine. If the girls wanted to play it that way, he had other options. He pulled up his chat with Sato, figuring his fellow volleyball player might have some insight into what was going on.

  Taiki: Hey, weird question

  Taiki: Have you noticed Shiori acting strange lately?

  The response was immediate, which was typical for Sato. What wasn't typical was the string of messages that followed.

  Sato: STRANGE??

  Sato: WHO'S STRANGE??

  Sato: DEFINITELY NOT SHIORI

  Sato: OR ANYONE ELSE

  Sato: EVERYTHING IS COMPLETELY NORMAL

  Sato: SO NORMAL

  Sato: THE MOST NORMAL

  Taiki stared at his phone in disbelief. Great. Somehow Sato was in on... whatever this was too. And apparently whatever secret they were keeping was enough to make even Sato - who couldn't lie to save his life - attempt to cover it up.

  The steady stream of messages continued:

  Sato: HEY DID YOU PRACTICE YOUR SETS TODAY??

  Sato: WE SHOULD PRACTICE SETS

  Sato: RIGHT NOW

  Sato: IN THE GYM

  Sato: WHERE THERE ARE NO SECRETS

  Sato: BECAUSE EVERYTHING IS NORMAL

  "You!" smack "Are!" smack "The!" smack "Worst!" smack "Secret!" smack "Keeper!" smack "Ever!"

  Maki punctuated each word with a light hit to the back of Sato's head as he hunched over his phone, trying to shield the screen from her view. But it was too late - she'd already witnessed the damage.

  "I panicked!" Sato protested, rubbing his head. "You know I'm bad at lying! What was I supposed to say?"

  "Literally anything else!" Maki flopped onto their couch, grabbing a throw pillow to scream into it. "You might as well have typed 'SHIORI HAS A MASSIVE CRUSH ON YOU' in all caps!"

  "I didn't say that!" Sato scrolled through his messages, face scrunching with concern. "Did I? No, see, I just said everything was normal. Multiple times. Very convincingly."

  Maki lifted her face from the pillow just enough to fix him with a deadpan stare. "Because that's not suspicious at all."

  "Well, what did you say when he asked you?"

  "I..." Maki's righteous anger deflated slightly. "I told him I had to go water my pet rock."

  Sato's mouth twitched. "A pet rock?"

  "Shut up." Maki hurled the pillow at him. "At least I didn't send him fifteen messages about how normal everything is!"

  "It was only eight messages," Sato muttered, catching the pillow. "And they were very reassuring."

  "We're both terrible at this." Maki slumped further into the couch. "Shiori's going to kill us. Actually kill us. They'll never find our bodies."

  Right on cue, Shiori burst through Maki and Sato's door, her usual composure completely shattered.

  "I can't do this anymore!" She paced the small living room, hands gesturing wildly. "Every time he looks at me, I drop something. I actually spilled water all over my math homework! Me! I've never spilled anything in my life! And now I can't even stay in the same-"

  Shiori froze mid-rant, finally registering Maki and Sato's expressions. She knew those faces. Maki was doing that thing where she tried to look innocent by widening her eyes way too much, like some kind of demented anime character. And Sato... well, Sato was physically incapable of hiding guilt. He was practically vibrating with nervous energy, gaze darting between Maki and the floor.

  "What did you do?" Shiori's voice dropped dangerously low.

  "Do?" Maki's voice cracked. "Who's doing anything? We're just sitting here. Normally. Being normal."

  "So normal," Sato added helpfully, earning an elbow to the ribs from Maki.

  "What. Did. You. Do?" Shiori crossed her arms, fixing them both with her patented basketball-captain glare.

  Maki sank deeper into the couch cushions, wishing she could disappear entirely. This was bad. This was so, so bad. Shiori's death glare hadn't wavered, and Sato looked like he might actually explode from the effort of keeping quiet.

  "Well, you see..." Maki started, frantically searching for words that wouldn't result in her immediate demise. "Taiki might have noticed you acting a bit... different?"

  "Different how?" Shiori's voice was eerily calm.

  "You know, the whole running away from breakfast, dropping things, hiding in your room..." Maki trailed off as Shiori's expression darkened. "And he might have asked us about it?"

  "And?"

  "And Sato kind of..." Maki gestured vaguely at her roommate, who was now attempting to merge with the armchair.

  "I sent some texts!" Sato blurted out. "Very normal texts! About how normal everything is! Multiple times!"

  Shiori closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. "Show me."

  "Maybe we shouldn't-" Maki started, but Sato was already fumbling with his phone, nearly dropping it in his haste to comply.

  Shiori's eyes scanned the messages, her face cycling through several emotions before settling on horror. "Eight messages. You sent him eight messages about how normal everything is."

  "See?" Sato perked up hopefully. "Not fifteen like Maki said!"

  "Not helping!" Maki hissed.

  "And you," Shiori turned to Maki, who immediately wished she'd followed through on her earlier plan to get a pet rock as an alibi. "A pet rock? Really?"

  "In my defense," Maki held up her hands, "I panicked."

  Shiori sank onto the couch between Maki and Sato, burying her face in her hands. "This is a disaster. He's going to figure it out, and then living together will be completely awkward, and I'll have to move out, and-"

  Shiori's phone buzzed, and she nearly dropped it trying to check the message.

  Taiki: Hey, are you feeling ok?

  Taiki: If you're sick, I can pick up some medicine from the convenience store

  Maki read the message over Shiori's shoulder and snorted. "See? What did I tell you? He's worried you're dying of the flu or something."

  "What do I say?" Shiori stared at her phone like it might explode.

  "Tell him you're fine!" Sato suggested brightly. "But not too fine. Normal fine. Regular levels of fine."

  "Please stop helping," Maki groaned.

  Shiori stared at her phone, thumbs hovering over the keyboard as she tried to compose a normal, totally-not-crushing-on-her-roommate response. After deleting and rewriting the same message four times, she finally managed:

  Shiori: I'm fine! Just busy with basketball stuff.

  "There," she said, showing the screen to Maki. "That's normal, right?"

  "Much better than Sato's attempt at normal," Maki nodded, earning an indignant "hey!" from the volleyball player.

  Shiori's phone buzzed again.

  Taiki: You sure? You've been acting weird all day

  Taiki: And you skipped dinner

  Taiki: Which goes against your whole "proper nutrition" thing

  "Oh god." Shiori slumped further into the couch. "He's noticed everything. What do I do?"

  "You could tell him the truth," Sato suggested, immediately ducking behind a pillow when both girls turned to glare at him.

  Sato peeked out from behind his pillow shield, genuinely puzzled by the death glares being sent his way. "What? I don't get it. If you like him, why not just say so?"

  "Because," Shiori started, then stopped, struggling to articulate why this seemingly simple solution felt so impossible.

  "Because it's not that easy," Maki jumped in, but Sato's confused expression only deepened.

  "Why not? When I like a volleyball play, I say it. When I like someone's serving form, I tell them. Isn't it the same thing?"

  Shiori let out a strangled noise that was half laugh, half groan. "This isn't volleyball, Sato."

  "No, but..." Sato's forehead wrinkled as he worked through his logic. "You're both good people. You live together already. You get along great…" He counted off points on his fingers like he was reviewing game statistics. "And now you like him. So what's the complicated part?"

  "The complicated part is-" Shiori began, then faltered. Put that way, it did sound surprisingly simple. Which only made it more frustrating. "What if he doesn't feel the same way? What if it makes things weird? We still have to live together!"

  "But what if he does feel the same way?" Sato countered, looking increasingly confident in his reasoning. "Then you're both just being weird and dropping things for no reason. That seems more complicated than just talking about it."

  Maki stared at Sato like he'd suddenly started speaking profound wisdom. "I hate that this is actually making sense."

  "Right?" Sato brightened.

  Maki sat up suddenly, a dangerous gleam in her eyes. "Okay, let's split this decision in half."

  "What are you-" Shiori started, but Maki was already in full planning mode.

  "Sato!" Maki pointed at him dramatically. "Your mission, should you choose to accept it - and you better accept it - is to gather intel from Taiki. You know, casual conversation, volleyball talk, maybe slip in a few questions about roommates and feelings..."

  "No!" Shiori lunged for Sato, but Maki blocked her path.

  "If Taiki's answers match what we're hoping for," Maki continued, dodging Shiori's attempts to shut her up, "then Shiori confesses!"

  "I do WHAT?" Shiori's voice hit a pitch previously unknown to human ears.

  "I can do that!" Sato jumped up. "I'm great at casual conversation!"

  "You sent eight panic messages about how normal everything is," Shiori deadpanned.

  "That was different! This is a mission!" Sato was already pulling out his phone. "I'll text him right now about-"

  SMACK

  "Ow!" Maki rubbed the back of her head where Shiori had landed a solid hit.

  "How about," Shiori's voice was dangerously calm, "we don't make plans about my love life without consulting me first?"

  "But-"

  "No buts!" Shiori crossed her arms. "I can't believe you two were about to orchestrate some ridiculous reconnaissance mission behind my back!"

  "It wasn't behind your back," Maki muttered, still rubbing her head. "You were literally right here."

  "That's not the point!"

  Shiori watched in horror as Maki and Sato's eyes lit up with identical expressions of determination. This was bad. This was very bad.

  "Think about it," Maki leaned forward, practically bouncing with excitement. "We already know Taiki notices when you act weird-"

  "Because he cares," Sato chimed in helpfully.

  "And he's always checking if you're okay-"

  "Because he cares!"

  "And he remembers all your habits and routines-"

  "Because he-"

  "I swear if you say 'because he cares' one more time," Shiori threatened.

  "Just let us help!" Maki clasped her hands together in an exaggerated plea. "Sato can do his volleyball-buddy reconnaissance, I'll be your emotional support system, and you can stop dropping things every time Taiki looks at you!"

  "I don't drop-" A memory of that morning's water glass incident flashed through Shiori's mind. "Okay, fine. Maybe I drop a few things."

  Shiori groaned, slumping forward to hide her face in her hands. They had a point. This couldn't go on. She was Shiori Fujisawa - team captain, star player, and generally composed human being.

  "Fine," she mumbled into her palms.

  "What was that?" Maki poked her side.

  "I said fine!" Shiori sat up, face burning. "You can help. But!" She held up a warning finger as both Maki and Sato's faces split into huge grins. "No weird schemes. No elaborate plans. And absolutely no eight-message text chains about how normal everything is."

  "Yes!" Maki pumped her fist in victory while Sato practically vibrated with excitement.

  "I'm going to regret this," Shiori muttered, but it was too late. Operation Get Shiori To Actually Talk About Her Feelings was officially underway.

  Taiki sprawled across the couch on Saturday morning, remote in hand, flicking through channels with the kind of mindless dedication only achievable on weekends. The familiar click-click-click of changing stations filled their shared living room.

  "Ah, freedom," he sighed contentedly, sinking deeper into the cushions. "No class, no early practice, no teachers asking why I'm half-asleep during first period..."

  His channel-surfing landed on some cooking show where the host was way too excited about proper knife techniques. He glanced up at Shiori, who was organizing something in the kitchen.

  "Hey, got any plans today?"

  Shiori's hands froze mid-stack of dishes. Plans? Her brain short-circuited, spinning through possibilities at light speed. Why was he asking? Was this leading somewhere? Was he trying to- No. Stop it. He was just making conversation. Normal, roommate conversation.

  "I, uh-" She nearly dropped the plate she was holding. Get it together, Fujisawa! "What? Plans? Me? Today?"

  Great. Complete sentences had apparently abandoned her.

  Shiori took a deep breath, forcing her suddenly uncooperative brain to function. "No, um, no plans really." She set down the plate before she could drop it. "What about you?"

  Taiki let out a long-suffering sigh, the kind that suggested incoming self-imposed torture. "Probably heading to the gym later. Need to work on my sets." He gestured vaguely with the remote. "Again. And again. And possibly again after that."

  The cooking show host was now dramatically dicing carrots. Taiki watched with mild interest, probably calculating how many times he'd have to practice setting before he could slice vegetables with that kind of precision.

  "Jin said my sets are getting better," he continued, "but that's like saying my handwriting is getting better because people can now tell they're actually letters and not random squiggles."

  Shiori leaned against the kitchen counter, grateful for the distraction from her own chaotic thoughts. "You're being too hard on yourself."

  Taiki ran a hand through his hair, looking thoughtful. "Yeah, maybe. But I made a promise to get better, and that's not gonna happen if I slack off." He shifted on the couch, his movement causing that one rebellious strand of blond hair to fall across his eye.

  Shiori gripped the edge of the counter. The morning light from their living room window hit his hair just right, making it look like spun gold, and those blue eyes-

  NO. Stop that right no. She mentally slapped herself. This was her roommate. Her completely oblivious, now volleyball-obsessed roommate who was probably thinking about setting techniques while she was having an internal meltdown over his stupid pretty hair.

  "Shiori? You're kind of strangling that dish towel."

  She looked down. Sure enough, the poor towel was twisted into a tight rope between her hands. Great. Now she was assaulting innocent kitchen items.

  "Fine!" Her voice came out way too high. "Totally fine. Just... thinking about... dishes."

  Dishes? Really? That was the best she could come up with?

  Taiki laughed, shaking his head at Shiori's intense focus on kitchenware. "You know, I'm actually glad you turned out to be normal. Well, normal-ish."

  Shiori's death grip on the towel loosened slightly. "What's that supposed to mean?"

  "When we first moved in, I thought you were going to be..." He waved his hand vaguely, searching for the right words. "I don't know, intimidating? Like, seriously intimidating. Remember that first night?"

  "The food order night?"

  "Yeah." Taiki sat up on the couch, grinning. "I was hiding in my room like some kind of cornered animal, convinced you'd murder me if I breathed too loudly or used the wrong cup or something."

  "I ordered you food!"

  "Which could have been poisoned," he pointed out. "I didn't know you then. For all I knew, you were plotting my demise via curry."

  Shiori threw the mangled dish towel at his head. He caught it, laughing.

  "But I was totally wrong," he admitted, folding the towel into a neat square. "You're actually super nice. Once people get past the whole 'basketball prodigy thing, you're just..." He paused, considering. "You're just Shiori. The girl who stress-cleans the kitchen at 8 AM on Saturdays and probably wouldn't murder her roommate with curry."

  "Probably?" Shiori raised an eyebrow.

  "Well, I haven't done anything murder-worthy yet. The day's still young though. I'm gonna grab something from the vending machine," Taiki announced, pushing himself off the couch.

  "Oh! Could you get me a-"

  Taiki waved her off, already heading for the door. "Green iced tea. I know."

  The door clicked shut behind him, leaving Shiori alone in their suddenly too-quiet apartment. She stared at the space where he'd been sitting, her brain spinning like a hamster on an energy drink binge.

  Super nice? He thought she was super nice? And he just... knew her drink order? Like it was the most natural thing in the world?

  Shiori slid down the kitchen counter until she was sitting on the floor, her face burning. This was bad. This was very, very bad. First, he had to go and be all sweet about how she wasn't some scary basketball monster. Then he had to casually drop that he paid enough attention to know exactly what she liked to drink?

  She pulled out her phone, fingers flying across the screen as she typed a frantic message to Maki:

  Shiori: EMERGENCY. HELP

  Shiori: He knows my drink order!!!

  Shiori: AND HE CALLED ME SUPER NICE???

  Shiori: I'M DYING MAKI

  Shiori: THIS IS NOT A DRILL

  She banged her head softly against the cabinet behind her. The cooking show host was still chattering away on TV about proper knife techniques, completely oblivious to Shiori's crisis. She glared at the screen. At least someone was having a productive morning.

  Her phone buzzed with Maki's reply:

  Maki: omg calm down

  Maki: also this is adorable

  Maki: also also you're a disaster

  "I know!" Shiori groaned to her empty apartment. "I'm aware!"

  Shiori's phone buzzed again with a rapid succession of texts:

  Maki: don't worry bestie, I've got your back!!

  Maki: already convinced Sato to keep Taiki busy this afternoon

  Maki: something about "essential setter training" lololol

  Maki: AND you're coming to my parents' place tonight for sleepover!!

  Shiori stared at her phone, torn between relief and panic. A sleepover? With Maki? That meant hours of interrogation about her feelings for Taiki.

  Maki: just us girls! no volleyball boys allowed ??

  Maki: we can eat junk food and you can have your crisis in PRIVATE

  Maki: instead of, you know, on your kitchen floor

  Shiori glanced around guiltily. How did Maki know exactly where she was sitting?

  Her phone buzzed again with messages from Sato:

  Sato: Operation Keep Taiki Busy is GO!!!

  Sato: he totally bought the extra practice thing

  Sato: Jin's helping too!

  Sato: we'll work him so hard he won't even notice you're gone tonight ??

  Shiori couldn't help but smile. Her friends were ridiculous, but at least they were supportive ridiculous. She heard footsteps approaching in the hallway and quickly scrambled up from the floor, shoving her phone in her pocket just as Taiki opened the door.

  "Here's your definitely-not-poisoned green tea," he said, tossing her the bottle.

  She caught it, proud that she managed not to fumble it despite her racing heart. "Thanks."

  "No problem. Hey, apparently I have some special setter training this afternoon with Sato and Jin." He rolled his eyes. "Because regular practice isn't torturous enough."

  "Oh?" Shiori tried to sound surprised. "That's... unfortunate?"

  "Yeah, tell me about it." He flopped back onto the couch. "What did I do to deserve this much attention from our volleyball overlords?"

  Shiori took a long sip of her tea to avoid answering. If he only knew.