Chapter Text
Soft blue hair fell into a simple, pretty, bun. A delicate hand—which was quite simplistic in its manicure—brought a curling iron towards the loose hairs framing the girl's face and twirled the strands around to make effortless curls. Teruhashi Kokomi, the perfect and pretty girl, was getting ready for school. Usually, she went to school completely natural. Her soft hair fell perfectly down her shoulders, not needing a complex hairstyle, and her face was so pretty that enhancing it with makeup would be redundant.
So why was her hair in a simple curled bun and her face accentuated by lip gloss and blush? Well, it’s because she was going to tell her crush how she felt today and she wanted to be extra pretty doing it. Saiki Kusuo was really dense, not only was he completely oblivious to her advances (and I mean come on, she was obvious!), but he’s also the only boy who has never said “offu” to her. It drove her crazy! How could a perfect pretty girl like her not cause a normal boy like him to fall to his knees in adoration?
They’ve known each other since second year and it was…second year? Well, that doesn’t make much sense, but really it's been years and the boy hasn’t said “offu" to her once. Kokomi held a crush on him for ages and today is finally the day—she was going to tell him, then they would fall in love! It’s only natural that a perfect pretty girl like her would get the guy she’s always wanted.
“So you’re really doing it Kokomi? I’m so excited, it’s about time you got together!” Yumehara walked in pace with her as they entered the classroom doors. Chiyo knew about her crush on Saiki since that day in the cafe, and has been encouraging her to confess ever since. At first, Kokomi thought she had a crush on Saiki too—ridiculous, right?
“Yeah, I’m so nervous! He hasn’t picked up on any of my hints, what if he doesn’t like me?” Her insecurity wasn’t just because a perfect pretty girl with a pretty personality needs to be humble—no—it was because Saiki has never shown interest in her and—sometimes—it seems like he avoids her on purpose
“Offu!”
She looked in the direction of the sound to see all the boys in the class shell shocked, but Saiki’s seat remained painfully empty.
“Offu- I-I mean hi Teruhashi! What’s with the hair and makeup?” Kaidou asked, and then immediately back-tracked, hands flailing in the air like a pendulum. “Not- not that it’s a bad thing! You’re so pretty- I mean it’s so pretty!”
Chiyo grabbed the boy by his arm, somewhat jealous, and steered him away. That gave the other students an opening to swarm Teruhashi with questions and compliments. She felt dizzy just trying to address them, let alone give the boys equal attention. Question after question, compliment after compliment, they were never ending. Really, her beauty was a curse sometimes. Just as she was about to find an excuse to leave, another girl came to her rescue.
“Leave her alone boys, can’t you see you’re overwhelming Terukoko?” said her savior, none other than Aiura Mikoto. What bothered her more is that Saiki walked in with her. She always had Saiki with her, practically flaunting him around like he was her soulmate or something. Somehow, a shy boy like Saiki actually sought her out instead of hitting her with his usual passive annoyance. Airura was pretty—if gyaru girls were your thing—and she was very likeable. It was hard for Kokomi to hate such an optimistic and daring girl, even if she constantly competed with her for Saiki’s attention—but to see her with Saiki? That reminded her of the exact reason why she had a love-hate relationship with the girl, not even rescuing Kokomi from the onslaught of Kokomins could reduce the jealousy she felt.
“Actually, I have to use the bathroom,” she said as she rushed out, signaling Chiyo with her eyes to follow her out. The other girl realized how disastrous it was to leave Kokomi alone and quickly followed her out, whispering apologies as the door closed. “maybe the makeup was too much, all I got was unwanted attention—and Saiki didn’t even look at me!”
The two girls made their way to the nearest bathroom, the door practically slamming behind them. Kokomi made a beeline to the sink, furiously scrubbing at her face to remove the makeup sticking to her face. Yumehara rubbed her back in comfort, worried for her friend.
The next time Teruhashi tried to get Saiki alone—now without her makeup—she was prevented by the boy from the other class, the one who claimed he could see guardian spirits. His hand was on the pink haired boy’s back as he frantically looked behind them. What could possibly be the reason for that? Did he see her around the corner? Quickly, she turned so the wall was blocking her again and sighed in frustration. The purple haired boy—Toritsuka—, Saiki, and Aiura sometimes grouped up and left without telling the rest of the friend group. She didn’t understand why they did that, but it happened often enough for her to take notice.
This wouldn’t bother Teruhashi on a normal day, but today was special. She must persist with her mission, even if she seems weird doing it. Looking weird was a sacrifice she was willing to take if it meant that she could get Saiki alone. She turned the corner to catch up with them, but they were gone. Weren’t they there just a second ago? There was no way she was lost in thought for so long that the boys left already! She frantically looked around, hoping she was imagining them gone when suddenly the bell rang. The rest of the students came flooding out now that lunch was over, and she was immediately surrounded by an ocean of students again. Of course, only her classmates saw her new hair, how could she forget! Now she was stuck again.
She accepted the compliments bashfully, bouncing her hand under her hair. “I’m just trying a new style!”
Damn it!
By the time class started again, she was sitting in her seat brushing out the last of her curls with a brush she borrowed from another girl. All that attention made Kokomi regret styling her hair. She rested her head on her hand and sighed, sinking down further into her chair. How did the day go so wrong? She was meant to tell Saiki she loved him but all she got was swarms of boys blocking her path and avoidance from the one boy she wanted attention from.
Saiki took his seat and her head perked up. She smiled at him from across the room, then it hit her. She took off all her makeup and her hair was back to normal! All that work was for nothing. Her smile wobbled.
The boy’s head turned to her, he blinked, and then nodded. Was she hallucinating or did he have a small smile?
Her smile straightened out as her face flushed pink. Maybe this was a sign he thought she was pretty when she was herself.
Maybe not today, but one day she’ll tell him.