vi

it was ridiculous, utterly ridiculous.

shawn was standing near juliets desk as she worked, almost completely tuning him out.

he was flirting with her, again. it wasn’t really a new sight at the santa barbara police department. shawn trying to charm juliet by cracking weird pick up lines or flaunting solving a new case.

it was getting annoying but what bothered you the most was the fact, shawn flirting, putting all that energy for a girl who could care less about romancing with him and ignoring someone who actually had feelings for him.

you hated to admit it but you had feelings for your childhood best friend.

you, shawn and gus grew up together, all of your houses were in the same neighbourhood and all three of you were sorted into same class from kindergarten to sophomore year.

you were unbreakable, that is, until your dad got transferred to the new york branch, the main branch of the company your father worked for, it was a joyous moment except for the fact you had to leave the entire life you had built in santa barbara.

it wasn’t hard at first but slowly as you settled in your new life, you started missing your old life, old school, old friends, gus and mostly shawn.

it took you 2 months to realise what you felt for shawn was more than mere friendship but it was too late, you were already in new york with a complete roadmap to an ivy league.

fast forward, 10 years later after completing your degree, getting a job as an event manager at a big company you requested to be put in the santa barbara branch, so you could see shawn again.

however, when you returned everything was different, henry and maddy divorced, gus was a pharmaceutical salesman, shawn and gus opened a psych detective agency and shawn was head over heels for none other than juliet.

you sighed as you leaned back on one of the pillars in the department, waiting for shawn to finish the endless flirting so you could give him the invites to the gala you were hosting.

out of the corner of your eye you saw gus approaching you, he took notice of your grim expression and followed your line of gaze and saw the not so rare flirting.

gus knew about your affection towards shawn, heck the entire department knew, everyone except for shawn.

he shook his head before coming over to you. “that is the most oblivious guy on the planet.” he said standing beside you.

you didn’t even deny gus’ suspicions because at this point you were just too tired to hide your feelings.

you shrugged at gus and handed him a neat envelope, “here.” gus looked confused so you continued. “the charity gala i am managing for the businessmen this friday night, you and shawn are invited and if he wants—” you looked at shawn, “he can bring a date.”

gus took the envelope and nodded. truth to be told you didn’t want shawn to show up with a date but seeing him look all pathetic while flirting with juliet you suppressed your own feelings to give shawn an opportunity to impress her.

the next few days went in a blur, dealing with the caterers, the decorators and other staff. it was pretty hectic but you were used to it by now.

the clock read 7:00 pm and guests would start coming soon. you checked with the staff to make sure all arrangements are right before going to the hosts and checking in with them.

“mrs. van der woodsoon.” you smiled as you approached the elderly woman. “the arrangements are all in order and we are ready to have guests come in.”

“thank you dear, it wouldn’t have been possible without you.” she gave you a warm smile. “i just can’t seem to find my husband.” she looked around, “would you be so kind and help me look for him?” she asked you, her eyes still searching the halls.

you nodded, “i suppose he went in the kitchen to talk to the chef, i will go look for him there.” you said as you hurried towards the kitchen.

unfortunately, you couldn’t find him there and the guests were starting to come in so you hoped mrs. van der woodson found him and went to tend to the guests.

around 8pm all of the guests had arrived, incluing shawn and gus. you were relieved he came without a date but mentally slapped yourself for thinking like that.

it was almost time for the toast that mr. van der woodson was supposed to give but you couldn’t see him anywhere which was starting to distress you.

“these mini quiches are insane.” shawn laughed, holding a plate of the said dish. “gus try these.” he called out to gus who was busy flirting with one of the guests.

looking at your worried face, shawn put down the plate, “what’s wrong?”

you looked at him briefly making sure hes talking to you, before your eyes drifted to search for the host again. “its mr. van der woodson, i can’t seem to find him.”

shawn looked around the hall, “relax, maybe he went for a bathroom break. the continental food was a little heavy on the stomach.” he joked.

you didn’t spare him a glance as your worries grew more and more. “no shawn, he has been missing since the event started, its unlike for the host to go missing in his own ball.”

“somethings up, i am gonna go check his room.” you said before sprinting up the stairs.

“wait—” shawn shouted but you completely ignored him.

“mr. van der woodson?” you knocked his door. “sir its almost time for the toast.”

when there was no response you pushed the door open and entered his room. “sir?” you called out.

there was no trace of him in the room so you decided to check the bathroom and— “oh. my. god.”

mr. van der woodson lay dead in his own pool of blood in the bathtub.

you heard something drop behind you so you turned around but soon enough you felt something hard hitting you on the back of your head and your vision blackened.

“no, no. you don’t get it man! she said she was gonna check his bedroom 15 minutes ago and shes still not back.” shawn tried to get gus away from the lady he was flirting with.

“shawn—” gus started only to be cut off mid sentence. “she said something was up, and the host was nowhere to be seen the whole evening.” he said his voice laced with concern. “i am gonna go check up there.”

gus excused himself before following his partner, “that floor is only for the staff, you can’t trespass.” he caught up to him, but shawn was already halfway on the stairs.

gus sighed before jumping over the staff only sign and following him.

shawn called out for you, opening doors one by one.

gus was 2 steps behind him, “shawn stop shouting you’re gonna alert the—” when gus entered the master bedroom he saw shawn crouched near the bathroom door with an earring in his hand, your earring, and droplets of blood on the floor.

you opened your eyes slowly adjusting to the surroundings, your head hurt like hell and your whole body felt like it was on fire. where were you?

the last thing you remember was seeing van der woodson’s dead body before blacking out.

you were currently in a dark enclosed area, your feet tied together and your hands tied behind your back. you looked around to find an exit, anything but there was nothing except grey cement walls.

you rested your head on the wall behind you. what the hell happened? this was supposed to be another normal job but your luck would have otherwise.

honestly, why today? why in the same gala you invited your friends to? “this sucks.” you sighed, before lightly closing your eyes.

you opened your eyes again when you heard muffled voices coming from behind the door.

“are you crazy? why did you have to bring her into this?” one of the voice said.

“i had no choice! she saw the dead dude.” the other one said.

“you could’ve have just left her there, now her friends are asking all sorts of questions and one of them is a psychic for gods sake! it’s only a matter of time before they are onto us.”

“what do you want to do now?”

“just kill her and dip, thats our only option.”

you eyes widened at their last sentence and you tried wiggling your way out of the restraints. you were starting to panic like crazy, “shit shit shit—” you chanted as you heard the jingle of keys opening the door.

two men, dressed in all black entered the room. you stopped moving and froze in fear. “you’re awake.” one of them said.

“you know, i wish i didn’t have to do this.” he said, taking out his gun.

your eyes widened at the sight. “no, please—”

“it would be..” he put the gun on your temple, tracing it all the way down to your jaw, “such a waste to kill this pretty face.”

you shut your eyes and winced at his words.

“hurry up, someone might catch us.” the one behind said.

“oh shut up.” the man near you turned back, “its your fault shes here in the first place, let me enjoy it a little.”

he turned back to you staring you right in the eyes. “i suppose we could make a deal.” he said. “what do you say?”

you furrowed your brows at that, “what?” your voice was barely above a whisper.

“i wouldn’t kill you.” he pulled back his gun. “if you do me a favour of sorts.” he stood up.

“favour?” you asked, honestly you were just stalling hoping the cops and shawn find you in time, no way in hell you were doing this asshole a favour.

he hummed, deep in thought. the other guy was getting restless, “man—”

“didn’t i say shut up?”

“i’ll do this myself.” he said as he reached for the gun in his partners hand.

it all happened within a second, you had no time to think, he pointed the gun at you while the other man tried to take his weapon back.

you squeezed your eyes shut waiting for the bullet, waiting for all of it to end.

a second passed, then another, and after good 5 seconds you opened your eyes to see the man tackled on the ground by lassiter, juliet right behind him cuffing the other guy.

as soon as shawn spotted you tied up in the corner he came running to your side. “are you okay? are you hurt? what—” he looked at your bleeding forehead and cursed under his breath.

gus followed soon after, quickly untying your restraints. while all of this was happening you were silent, still processing the whole thing.

“hey.” shawn held your face in his hands. “you are okay now.” he assured. “we caught them.”

you looked at shawn, then at gus and then at the two guys in cuffs as lassiter instructed the officers with juliet by his side and then again at shawn and nodded slowly.

shawn sighed before pulling you into a hug. “i am so sorry it took me this long to find you. i thought i almost lost you, i was so scared.” he mumbled in your hair.

you slowly relaxed into the hug and finally coming to back your senses let a few tears slip. shawn comforted you the entire time, rubbing your back as gus put a reassuring hand to your shoulder.

after submitting your report at the police station and comforting words from everyone, you were on your way back to your apartment.

it was nearly morning as the sun was rising in the sky, it was a beautiful view.

“hey!” shawn called out to you. you stopped in your tracks and turned around to see shawn sprinting and stopping right in front of you, “i was hoping to talk to you.” he said, a little out of breath.

“shawn, as i said i am fine, you don’t need to—”

“not about that.” he cut you off. “about something else.”

you looked at him confused, “about what?”

“i— uh” he looked around, before pulling you into a corner. “i had been thinking, ever since the incident that uh—”

you stared at him waiting for him to continue.

“you know what, now that i realise it, it might not be the best time and place to talk about it.” he decided, “why don’t you get some rest and we will talk about it later.” and then started walking away

“shawn, what?” you stammered. “i won’t be able to sleep like this.”

“what? why?” he turned around.

“i will be thinking about what you wanted to say, just come clean so i can get a good sleep.” you looked at him. “i deserve it.”

he sighed, before shaking to take the nervousness out of his body.

“okay…” he started. “i..”

“you..?”

“i thought about it long and hard and talked it out with gus and came to a conclusion.”

“what are you trying to say?”

“when i thought i lost you, i got so scared, like losing my mind scared and at first i thought it was because you are my best friend.” he stopped to take a deep breath.

“but then as the night went on and i couldn’t find you, my concern reached to a peak where i was losing my mind, gus had to slap me to stop me from spiralling.” he chuckled.

you gulped slightly, was this going where you thought it was going?

“the thing is, after i found you i felt an insane relief, the kind of relief you find when you reach the prize at the end of the cereal box, you know? i was never the one to eat the entire contents and wait for the prize at the end, i used to flip the box and claim it…” he straightened his posture. “for the first time in my life i experienced what it was like to wait for it.” he paused, “and i didn’t like it, at all.”

“shawn—”

“please let me finish first.” he stopped you, “i guess i imagined you’d always be here, with us, with me but when you left for new york ten years ago, that made me realise that you wouldn’t always be here. when you left i buried something deep inside, and almost forgot about it, that is, until you came back and it drove me crazy.”

“all those feelings, emotions started surfacing back again so i pushed them aside and kept doing that until last night when they all came rushing back and i decided i couldn’t wait around any longer, i have to tell you that…” you waited for him to finish. “that i might be in love with you.” he let out a breath he’d been holding and looked at you, trying to read your expression.

your face was a mix of shock and something he couldn’t put his finger on. the longer you took to reply, the longer he grew restless.

“you know what—”

“you are so stupid.” you whispered.

he shut his mouth, “what?”

you shook your head, “you are an idiot shawn spencer.”

he nodded his head agreeing with you, “i am pretty sure i am, but why?”

“even a blind person could see that i have been in love with you since forever.”

“well, technically a blind person couldn’t see anything.”

“shawn.” you warned.

“okay, okay, i admit i might have been a little clueless to the whole situation but a long conversation with gus helped me realise a lot of things.” he admitted.

“gus told you how i felt about you?” you asked and both of you looked towards gus, who was now running the other way.

“i just want to do this right.” shawn continued. “so after your well deserved rest, i was thinking tomorrow evening at 6 o’clock?” it came out as more of a question.

you smiled and nodded, “6 o’clock” you confirmed, before taking your leave.

it happened on the most random afternoon, a random friday.

you were walking back from school, excited about the weekend. you will get to sleep more, play more video games, and all the exciting stuff.

you were in your own imagination planning the craziest nap when your phone rang and the screen lit up with taiga’s name.

“hel-”

“I NEED HELP” he shouted on the other side.

the urgency in his voice made you panic. “WHAT? WHAT’S WRONG?”

“I CAN’T SAY OVER THE PHONE, MEET ME AT POTHOS”

as soon as he hung up, you turned around as fast as light and started sprinting towards pothos.

taiga’s school wasn’t a normal school so him getting into trouble was nothing new but the sudden call had your heart beating fast and eyes watering up.

you reached the cafe in a few minutes, and quickly launched yourself inside. your head was dizzy, your breath was uneven, your face was probably red from all the running but that didn’t matter. all that mattered in the moment was your best friends safety.

you approached kotoha and her smile dropped looking at your state, “what-“

“taiga—“ you panted between words. “he— said—“

“hey, hey, calm down. he’s fine, look” she pointed at a table at the corner. you looked in that direction to see the ginger sitting and laughing with his friends.

you furrowed your brows in confusion at that, what was the emergency?

after your breathing was back to normal and drinking a glass of water that kotoha offered you, you walked towards their table with a sour look on your face.

taiga saw you and waved, “yer here!”

“what is this?” you asked, clearly mad.

that stupid looked at you with his big doe eyes and tilted his head. “what? i am hanging out with guys from furin, this is sakura, suo, nire—”

“not that!” you banged your hand on the table making the blond guy flinch. “what was the emergency?”

“ohhhh right right, i couldn’t decide between omlette rice and the new burger. which one do you think sounds better?” he asked scanning the menu.

you looked at him in disbelief and scoffed. “i am leaving.” was all you said before storming out and ignoring your best friends calls from behind.

taiga called you and texted you while you were on your way home but you were so mad at him you couldn’t bother checking.

after you were far enough from the cafe, you stopped and placed a hand on your chest. your heart was still beating fast, your breath was heavy and adrenaline was pumping through your veins.

why were you so scared for him? he has gotten into multiple fights before and has handled himself well so why did you feel so scared this time?

your eyes widened as the sudden realisation dawned on you.

“oh hell, i am in deep shit.”

ever since you realised your feelings for your best friend, facing him hasn’t been easy so that’s why you’ve been doing what you do for all your problems—avoid them.

you have been dodging his calls and meet up plans for a week now. he tried stopping by your house but you convinced your mom to lie to him saying you are out of town for the week.

of course you felt bad. he was always there and now spending your days without him felt so empty but it’s better than facing him and blurting out something wrong.

so avoiding him was the best idea till you figured out your feelings.

you were on your way back from school when from the corner of your eye you saw familiar uniforms. you turned your head so fast to check if you’re right.

unfortunately, you were. your eyes scanned the group of boys hoping taiga is not there but of course your luck would have otherwise.

as soon as you spotted his orange hair you tried to run but it was too late, he was looking directly at you.

“oh! hey—” before he could even approach you, you started speed walking in the other direction.

alas, he caught up to you in no time. “hey, where are ya going?”

“wh— oh! taiga! i totally didn’t see you!” you laughed nervously.

he looked confused, “what do ya mean? we made eye contact just now.”

“did weee?” you voice became high pitched. god, you are bad at lying. “i don’t recall.” you shook your head.

he paused and looked at you, like he was analysing you, making you feel nervous under his gaze, you were about to say something to break the awkward silence but he beat you to it. “why are ya avoiding me?”

your eyes locked with his as you were at a loss of words. “whaaaaaa” high pitched voice again. “who said that?” you laughed awkwardly.

“yer a bad liar.”

you sighed, he could see through you instantly. how couldn’t he? he has known you for years.

you were thinking of some excuse to make up but he spoke up.

“is it because of the other day? at the cafe? i’m sorry if that made you mad, it was a stupid prank. i shouldn’t have done that, i promise i won’t do anything like that again so please just talk to me.” he finished and looked at the ground.

you stared at him at a complete loss of words, you were so busy thinking about yourself you didn’t think how just removing yourself out of his life must have felt

“taiga, i…”

he looked up to meet your face. you took a deep breath in before talking.

“that day at the cafe made me realise something.”

were you really about to do this?

“i was scared taiga, so scared. it felt like the world was closing in on me, i thought something bad had happened to you and when i saw you sitting there all fine i—”

you didn’t even know what you were saying at this point.

“when i was on my way home i realised that i can not imagine myself without you. you are so important to me, taiga.”

“you are important to me too.”

you smiled. “i know but its a little more from my side.”

taiga looked confused again.

“i hate that, i really do, i love our friendship, what we have and these stupid feelings and hormones have to come in between and ruin that.”

“what are you saying—”

“no, let me finish. i am gonna get over these feelings and we will go back to normal. there’s no need for us to talk further about this.” you finished with a breath you were holding.

you looked at taiga waiting for him to say something but he just stood there like a dummy. “feelings?” he asked.

you laughed, in the middle of all this you forgot how dense he can be, “yes, feelings, and not just the friendship like.”

“OH.” his expression was unreadable when he realised what you meant.

“i-” taiga struggles to form sentences. this is what you were afraid of.

you sighed, “like i said, we don’t have to discuss this. i will get over this stupid crush and we will go back to normal.”

“no.”

you tilted your head. “no..?”

“yes. i mean yes, no.”

“taiga, what are you—”

“I MEAN, you don’t have to get over your ‘stupid’ crush.”

“what why? is it too awkward now? i am sorry i shouldn’t have-“

“NO it’s cause, i..”

“you..?”

“i also have a stupid crush.”

you couldn’t believe your ears, “oh…on who?”

taiga looked at the ground before mustering up the courage and looking straight into your eyes. “you.”

you jaw dropped. “WHAT? SINCE WHEN?”

“since uh..i don’t remember.”

the air felt stuffy and there was awkward silence again.

“so we both have a crush on each other.”

“pretty much.”

“look.” you began. “i do not want what we have go to waste and i also do not want these feelings to just go away now that i know they are reciprocated so how about we start acting like..couples, i don’t know, go on dates and stuff BUT start slow, like very slow, slow as a sloth.”

taiga smiled before nodding, “slow as a sloth.”

you both were so busy in the conversation you failed to notice your surroundings.

“WOHOO!!” someone cheered loudly, causing both of you to turn your heads towards the noise.

your eyes widened and face went red when you saw furin students standing and starting at you like they’re watching a movie.

kaji hates changes, he hates when someone new tries to enter his environment.

you knew that, and that’s why you figured out a plan to somehow let him lower his guard around you.

when you finally found out his favourite candy brand, and a little brainstorming help from enomoto and kusumi in your group chat, you were ready with kaji’s personalised gift bag.

you sighed sulking on the counter of your bakery. it was a slow day, barely two customers had visited today which was weird considering you’d get at least 7 furin customers a day.

it has been exactly 40 days since you first saw kaji. at first, you didn’t pay him much attention. he was just one of the many guys from furin.

when days went by and you realised he was far colder to you than anyone, curiosity got better of you. being the pesky little thing you were, you wanted to get close to him, to know him better.

making stupid excuses, and baking extra stuff you visited furin daily just to get any reaction from him.

well, you did get a reaction, but not the one you were hoping for.

before, you weren’t sure but now you were, that kaji 100% hates you.

“i guess, i was a little annoying. i did try to get into his friend group.” you buried your face in your hands.

“whatever, i won’t trouble him anymore.” you mumbled before attending to the customer that had just entered.

it was a rare sight in tamon second year class, kaji for the first time in years, did not have a candy in his mouth, was not listening to music, his headphones lay disregarded on his table.

he had a piece of paper in his hand and was staring at it for the past hour or so.

everyone was quietly and very smoothly (not really) observing him.

all of a sudden kaji crumpled the paper in his fist and banged it on the table, making everyone in his class flinch.

it had been a week since kaji had told you off. initially, he was satisfied and enjoyed the peace of not having you around but slowly the guilt was creeping into his mind.

when you didn’t visit furin for at least a week, everyone was worried about your health and made a plan to make visit but before they could, enomoto and kusumi stopped them. explaining what occurred a week ago.

kaji would usually be against them telling about it but right now, he could care less. only one thing was on his mind— how to stop this guilt.

it took the whole day, and now he finally had a plan. thanks to his classmates. it was a simple 3 step plan.

simple but effective.

“step 1.” one of his classmates stood in front of blackboard with a ruler in his hand as he tapped it over the board where the first of the three steps were written. “find out about her likes.” the raven haired classmate told him.

kaji was standing outside your bakery, the entire thing was so stalker behaviour coded. he stood hidden by a post box as he observed you.

you were sitting lazily in your chair with your face rested on your palm, your usual smile was replaced by a big frown as you played with a trinket on your counter.

he looked around the surroundings, trying to find any hint of your likes or dislikes.

“kaji senpai?”

the sudden loud voice made him hiss and turn to cover the persons mouth.

“oh, it’s you.” he said finding his junior class rep and vice reps.

“what— what are you doing?” nirei asked his gaze going between you inside your bakery and kaji who was now rubbing the back of his neck.

suo looked at him carefully before speaking up. “is this about you telling the pretty bakery girl off?” kaji turned his neck so fast that it might as well have broke.

“so, it is.” suo confirmed his suspicion.

“why are you standing in front of her shop? shouldn’t you go inside to apologise?” nirei tilted his head.

“it’s part of the plan.” kaji mumbled.

now all the three boys tilted their head, “plan?” sakura asked.

kaji sighed. “i have to find her likes.”

nirei straightened up at that. “why didn’t you say that before?” nirei pulled out his diary and started flipping through the pages. “her likes are—”

kaji looked at him bewildered as sakura glanced in his friends diary curiously and suo stood there smiling.

“sweets, that was obvious since she works at a bakery, sanrio characters, specially my melody, and her favourite flowers are camellias.” nirei finished stuffing his diary back in his pocket.

kaji stayed silent and took a mental note of everything nirei had just said.

“step 2.” the raven haired guy pointed his ruler on the next step written on board. “make it heartfelt.”

kaji sat in his chair, everything he’d just brought lying scattered on the table along with a paper bag and some ribbons.

he picked up the ribbon and started tying the flowers together. it was very much obvious that it was his first time dealing with gift giving.

after he was done stuffing all of the things in the paper bag, he took out a small piece of paper, scribbled something on it and threw it in the bag as well.

he then lied on his bed, mentally preparing himself for the third step, that he were to do tomorrow.

his gaze fell on the bag, again. what was he doing? does he really have go go through so much trouble to just say sorry? can’t he just show up and say it?

why was he doing this anyway? he was sure he hated you.

whenever he saw you he would get this intense emotion, his heartbeat would pick up, he would loose sleep thinking about your tiresome face, he would feel like he can’t breathe whenever you’re near, basically he would go insane.

aren’t all those symptoms of hate?

he woke up the next day, a little more nervous than usual. did his usual and headed for your bakery.

“step 3.” the raven haired boy shouted. the whole class nodded paying attention. “simple and straight!” he looked at kaji. “go and give it.”

you were getting the place ready for the day when you heard the bell chime, indicating someone had entered. “oh we’re not open ye— kaji?”

kaji didn’t say anything and walked up to you.

“what are you doing here?”

he quickly stretched his hand, offering you the bag. still, not saying at word.

you stood there, confused by his actions. “what—”

“for the other day.” he slowly turned his head towards you. “for the stuff you gave me the other day.”

“oh—” you took the bag and before you could even finish your sentence he was already walking out of the door.

dazed by his actions, you glanced inside the bag to see a my melody plush, a bouquet of camellias and some sweet candies. there was also a piece of paper lying in the corner.

“kaji! wait!” you were running out of the the bakery door to catch him before he could go farther.

kaji stopped and turned around not expecting you to be running after him.

when you finally caught up to him, it took you a few seconds to catch your breath before speaking up. “thank you.”

“you ran all the way to just say that?” he asked pretending to not care. “i just returned your favour. i didn’t do it because i like you or whatever.”

the hell am i saying?

you shook your head. “no, i know. it’s just i thought you definitely hated me.” you smiled glancing at the piece of paper you were holding. “like 100%”

kaji looked at you before mumbling something you couldn’t catch.

“what?”

“i said.” he was looking at a faraway direction. “i don’t hate you.” he turned to you quickly. “not 100%”he paused again before speaking. “maybe 99%”

kaji wasn’t sure what the intense emotion was that he felt whenever you were near, but for now let’s go with, 99% hate.

for as long as kaji can remember, it’s always been him, kusumi and enomoto. occasionally, umemiya or hiragi would make their appearances but otherwise, it has always been the three of them.

kaji was content with this arrangement, and as far as he could tell, so were kusumi and enomoto. just the three of them.

so, why were you here? why were you talking with them? why did they add you on text? why were you smiling so happily for no reason?

“kaji, don’t you want to exchange your number?” enomoto turns to his best friend who stood with scowl on his face, which was hidden by the candy he had in his mouth.

kaji clicked his tongue, before mumbling just enough for enomoto to hear. “forgot my phone.”

knowing damn well, kaji was lying because enomoto just saw him take out his phone not long ago, he turned to you with an apologetic expression. “sorrrry, about him.”

kaji saw you shake your hands, saying something along the lines of ‘it’s completely fine’ before smiling at them.

kaji looked at you, god, you were infuriating. fake smiling at them, putting up an alliance. he, no way in hell believed a person could be that friendly.

unfortunately for him, you were.

saying their goodbyes, they turned in the opposite direction to return to furin and report to hiragi about todays patrol.

on their way back, even a blind person could see how irked kaji was. of course, kusumi and enomoto noticed and exchanged worried looks but decided to not say anything.

it has been exactly 34 days since he first saw you. going to that bakery has to be one of the top three mistakes in his life.

at first, he didn’t think anything of you, but when you slowly worked your way into his friend group going as far as even befriending their top dog and now exchanging number with his two best friends, he could not not get annoyed by you.

whenever he saw you he would get this intense emotion, his heartbeat would pick up, he would loose sleep thinking about your tiresome face, he would feel like he can’t breathe whenever you’re near, basically he would go insane.

he was 100% it was hate.

days, turned into weeks and you slowly climbed your way up, befriending everyone at furin. he would hear people talk about visiting your bakery or planning on ‘accidentally’ running into you. thing got worse when you decided to start dropping by everyday with freshly baked treats for everyone.

what was so interesting about you? why are people literally dying to be with you? he was on his last straw and it snapped when he saw enomoto and kusumi texting with you in a group chat.

he heard enomoto bark out a laugh as kusumi smiled at whatever the hell you texted them.

when he saw this, he made up his mind. the next time he sees you, he will set things straight.

“why don’t you just leave us alone?” kaji’s voice carried venom as he snapped at you.

your smile dropped and you lowered the bag you were offering him. confused by his hostile behaviour you just waited for him to continue.

he scoffed, “what? you don’t know what i am talking about? when will you drop this act of innocence?”

he looked at you, and the tears lining your waterline didn’t go unnoticed by him. but now he’d done it. he couldn’t go back away now.

“just leave us alone, would you?” he completed hurriedly before popping another candy in his mouth.

still processing his words, you slowly lowered your head. “right, i am sorry. i won’t bother you again.” your voice was low and shaky. you dropped the bag on the ground before walking off.

curiously, he glanced at the bag and thought about what stupid thing you must have brought to give him. giving in, he picked it up to find a note attached to it.

i hope you like these ^^

furrowing his brows he looked inside to see his favourite candy. hordes of it, along with some cream puffs that had the same flavour as the candy.

he stood there frozen. he didn’t know what to do.