"I'm surprised, how did you get him here Kokomi-chan?" Chiyo asked once the girls found their seats in the packed theater. Despite Saiki's presence not being discussed by the two girls initially, Chiyo jumped into the situation without missing a beat so that Kaido wouldn't be aware that Saiki had never actually agreed to go out with them tonight. Both girls knew that part of the reason Kaido had agreed was to be able to spend more time with the elusive male, but if he was present Chiyo didn't mind the reason behind it too much. There was plenty of time to woo him in a dark theater.

The group of teens had quickly settled on a movie, one that Kaido and Chiyo had agreed on while they were waiting for Kokomi, and the late arrivals didn't make any fuss over it. Kokomi wasn't sure what movie she had agreed to see; Saiki had paid for her ticket and ignored any of her protests (it was heavily discounted anyway).

Chiyo and Kokomi had gone to choose their seats while Kaido and Saiki got snacks for the movie. Judging by the bright-eyed look in Kaido's eye, he was eager to tell Saiki his latest alleyway attack of Dark Reunion and had suggested the arrangement. The two girls had selected seats a few rows forward from the back of the theater. They strategically saved the two seats besides them so that they would be sitting next to each other and their companion of choice.

"You make me sound like some sort of awful vixen Chiyo-chan." Kokomi said with a pout. She's not that far off though, since I did trick him into coming with me. But what was with the hand holding?

Chiyo rolled her eyes and crossed her legs in a huff. "Okay fine, I thought you didn't have the chance to ask him to come? He's not exactly the most socially inclined guy." Kokomi fought down a sudden wave of heat at the insult towards Saiki but took a deep breath through her nostrils to calm down. She's just confident because Kaido agreed to go out with us.

"I ran into his mother and she basically ordered him to go with us." The pretty girl sighed. "I don't think he even wants to be here at all, so spending two hours in a dark theater is going to suck."

"Oh, don't say that." Chiyo said dismissively, keeping her eyes trained on the door for the appearance of her crush. "You're hot, and everyone knows that, so there's no way that any straight guy would be dreading the thought of spending this much time with you. Plus, everyone knows that movie theaters are prime make out spots."

Yeah except for this guy in particular doesn't seem to even notice that I'm a girl. I'm probably just some genderless blob to him. That hand holding incident was probably just to get me off the train faster. "I'm not planning on throwing myself at him Chiyo-chan." Chiyo smirked at her.

"I don't see why not, that's what I'm planning on doing." Kokomi held a hand to her face to cover up her giggles. Chiyo laughed in response. "What? I'm serious. I'm not going to waste an opportunity."

"Y-You can't be serious." Kokomi said with a smile that caused at least three guys further ahead of them to turn their heads. "You're not like that."

"Yeah I know." The brown-haired girl said with a blush. "But that doesn't mean that I don't think about it."

"Well, you better keep those thoughts to yourself since they're coming this way." Kokomi said placing her hand on her friends arm and turning her to the other entrance. Kaido spotted them first and began to nervously walk over to the two teens- in each hand he held a soda.

"I told him that we should go out to dinner afterwards… better deal that way." Chiyo whispered in her ear after seeing her confused look at him carrying just drinks. Saiki in comparison had a small popcorn and what appeared to be one of every candy offered at the stand. The stack didn't seem like it was very stable, but nothing fell somehow so Kokomi figured that he was really good at balancing things.

As planned, Saiki sat on her left and Kaido sat on Chiyo's right. The latter began an eager conversation about the movie they were going to watch, Kokomi tuned them out and focused on her partner instead.

"Should I be concerned about you getting a sugar rush?" She asked easily, picking up a package of chocolate and shaking it gently. "Seems like there's a lot in here, I don't think I've ever seen you eat this many sweets before." She set the box back down in his pile and fiddled with her skirt. "But I guess I'm not all that surprised." The pinkette didn't respond to her, choosing instead to start opening his packages.

"How was bug catching with Nendou-san this morning?"

'Awful.' Came the soft reply around a mouthful of gummies.

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. I didn't know that you liked to catch bugs."

'I don't.' Then why the hell was he out there catching them? Kokomi bit her lip; another dead-end in conversation.

"What do you think you'll do tomorrow?" She asked, angling her head in one of her patented pretty-girl poses. Saiki, of course, paid her no mind.

'This and that probably.'

"What does this and that include?" She persisted, determined to make some sort of conversation with her classmate. Saiki shrugged and started eating his sour gummy worms.

Fine then. She thought. If you don't want to talk to me then I won't talk to you. She turned to talk to Chiyo, but her friend was absorbed in explaining some fantasy movie to an eager Kaido. The lights began to dim. Kokomi sighed and settled into her seat.

You aren't supposed to talk in movie theaters anyway. She thought out of frustration. Out of the corner of her eye she thought she saw Saiki smirk, but it was gone when she turned to look.

Thus began the most frustrating two hours of her life. Throughout the movie, which was a not-very good sci-fi movie, she kept seeing Saiki turn and look at her from the glint of his glasses- but he would turn away before she could catch his gaze. If she held her position then he would maintain a stubborn glare at the screen, refusing to acknowledge her gaze. It was only when she looked away that he would look at her again.

Then he would do this weird thing with his snacks. He kept a small pile of them in a spare cup he got in the cup holder they shared. He never touched this pile but would randomly add more snacks into it as if it were for her (which it should have been since he was supposed to get snacks for her too). Kokomi however was frustrated by his looking/not looking thing and refused to touch the snacks he was maybe-offering. She heard him chuckle at one point when she moved her hands to underneath her jacket just to emphasize that she wasn't going to eat them, but again when she turned to look at him, he was a stone statue.

She felt like she was going to snap; why would he make some dramatic scene about being the one she wanted to ask to the movies if he was just going to ignore her? Chiyo was of no use to her. About half-way through the movie the brave girl had reached a hand out to the white-haired chunibiyo and they had been holding hands ever since. They didn't look at each other, but both had matching blushes. Kokomi felt her anger at Saiki fading, becoming replaced by happiness for her friend. I'm not going to ruin this for Chiyo-chan… If Saiki wants to keep playing games with me then he can play them by himself.

With that thought, Kokomi kept her face trained on the screen for the rest of the boring movie earning herself another chuckle from Saiki.

Kokomi eyed her reflection in the bathroom speculatively. What does he not see? She wondered to herself idly picking up a strand of her smooth blue hair. She ran her hands through her hair fluffing it up even though every strand was perfectly in place as they always were. Next, she brushed her fingers against her cheeks; they were smooth and without flaw. Her lips were naturally pink and pouty with just chapstick. Her eyes lowered to inspect her outfit, which of course complimented her body shape.

It just doesn't make any sense. Her eyes were bright, her skin glowing, her body attractive, her voice soothing, her perfume light, her teeth white, and yet she wasn't enough for him. Kokomi swallowed and gripped the edge of the bathroom rink with white-clenched fingers. Her throat flexed reflectively- trying to swallow the rise of familiar insecurity and bile.

I am the perfect pretty girl. She glared at the mirror, her nails pressing up against stale porcelain. I am the perfect pretty girl. Cold sweat ran down her back. I am the perfect pretty girl. I am the perfect pretty girl… so why doesn't he want me?

Next to her a toilet flushed- Chiyo would be coming out soon. Kokomi straightened up and reached for a few paper towels to wipe her clammy hands, a pleasant smile crawling across her face.

"Thanks for waiting Kokomi." Chiyo said coming up to the sink to wash her hands.

"Oh, I wasn't waiting long." The blue-hair girl said, throwing away the paper towels- façade almost complete again.

"What did you think of the movie?"

"I loved the main actors and the soundtrack." Kokomi said lying easily. Chiyo nodded and rummaged through her bag for her lip gloss. "Were you comfortable in the movie?" She teased.

Chiyo flushed and swatted her hand at her companion. "I don't know what you're talking about Kokomi-chan."

"It looked like you were pretty comfortable to me," She shrugged. "Maybe I didn't see you holding hands with Kaido-kun."

"Maybe you did see that." Chiyo said with a smirk. "I told you dark movie theaters were for making moves. Speaking of, did anything happen between you and Saiki-kun?"

"You know Saiki-kun." Kokomi said with a casual smile. Even though she's a friend I just can't break my act.

"He's crazy though. He has to be faking it." Chiyo sighed, moving back to look at both of their reflections in the bathroom mirrors.

She ran her hands over her new dress that the girls had bought during their mall trip. It was a soft pink with a sweetheart neckline and hugged her thicker curves. She paired it with a jean jacket and flats. Overall, Kokomi thought that it was a cute outfit but not one that she would wear.

"I wish I had a body like yours." Chiyo said, her eyes roaming over to Kokomi's reflection. "If I looked more like you I'm sure that Kaido-kun and I would already be dating."

Kokomi ignored the sudden sharp spike in her heart and responded on instinct with the expected platitudes. Chiyo waved her off. "I'm just saying. I know I can't be you. Can't stop a girl from dreaming though." She laughed moving towards the exit. "Must be nice to be the idol of PK Academy."

"You give me too much credit." Kokomi said softly moving behind her friend toward the exit. She shot another look at her reflection as they moved past the mirrors.

The perfect pretty girl wasn't looking back at her.

Kokomi and Saiki sat next to each other on the train hide back to his house in silence again. Chiyo and Kaido had been in good spirits when they waved them off at the station. She had been all-smiles then, not wanting her classmates to see that she was upset.

Around Saiki the mask crumbled against her will. The movie had gotten out later than she was used to staying up. As a result, their train car was empty except for them and she was in a bad mood.

Well there's a lot of reasons I'm in a bad mood. She thought to herself, blood beginning to rise with her anger.

Saiki still hadn't said anything to her. To him, it appeared that his dramatic 'I didn't think you wanted me' scene never happened- nor his messing with her during the movie. He was a perfect ice man, staring absently at his phone which she now had the number to. Jerk.

Would he offer to walk her home at this hour? No. He wouldn't. She already knew that, being the jerk he was, but he would because his parents would make him if they were still awake. She didn't want to be his obligation - she wanted to be his want. Or whatever the word was she was too mad to think.

She tapped her feet angrily and chewed on the inside of her lip. Say something you butt. Saiki's lips quirked up at something amusing on his phone, but he didn't turn to acknowledge her.

This has been a disaster. She thought, fisting her hand into her pea coat. At first I was feeling sorry for him being forced to come and now I wish he never came. This is horrible… maybe I shouldn't have even gone with Chiyo-chan… but then Kaido-kun wouldn't have come and I don't want to disappoint her. Guess I should have asked another guy from class… maybe Hairo-kun?

Saiki twitched next to her stirring her from her thoughts. He turned his phone off and turned to Kokomi, who straightened up expectantly.

'Did you enjoy the movie?' He asked in that ventriloquist manner of his. Kokomi huffed on the inside but forced a kind smile on her face since he was actually talking to her.

She underestimated her anger when responding.

"No, I hated it really." She said sweetly. Saiki's eyebrows rose at her honesty, and her heart sank. I didn't mean to say that! She clapped a hand over her mouth and turned away mortified.

'That's unexpected.' He said. Kokomi flushed and her other hand joined to hide her face more. 'They chose such a good movie after all. I don't know how it wasn't movie of the year.'

Kokomi peaked at him from between her fingers. Saiki's face was still neutral, but his eyes held a spark of mischief. "You didn't like it either?"

He scoffed and crossed his legs. 'Wizard aliens try to run a pizzeria while defending the city? Please, I have higher tastes than that.'

"What are your tastes then?" She asked her anger fading. Saiki paused, seeming to weigh some options in his head before responding.

'I like movies that aren't really popular… I don't really like knowing what happens before I get to see it for myself. I like mysteries too and movies that make you think and feel something.'

"I like mysteries too. I don't usually like movies too much- some of the actors are just horrible."

'Worse when you know them, eh?' he asked with a quirk of his lips. Kokomi laughed and shook her head.

"Yeah, they say you should never meet your heroes." She fiddled with her fingers and looked up at the now interested Saiki through her lashes. "I prefer books to be honest, I like to immerse myself in the story."

'I can understand that.' Saiki said turning away, thinking about something that she wasn't privy to.

"Do you like to read, Saiki-kun?" She asked, inching closer. Saiki's eyes flickered down, noticing her movement but didn't say anything or increase their distance. Kokomi, in turn, noticed this.

'Sometimes… if they're underground. No spoilers that way.' His hand came to rest on his thigh that was closet to her. Her eyes tracked the movement and his eyes tracked hers.

Kokomi felt a strange tension begin to coil in her spine even though the subject matter they were talking about was relatively benign.

"I have some books I could lend you then… if you wanted to. Sometimes my parents bring me back things from over-seas. I doubt anyone in our class is reading foreign books so they should be un-spoiled for you." She scooted a little closer to him. "Why don't you like spoilers Saiki-kun?"

'I like to experience things for myself.' She caught an undertone to his words but wasn't sure if he meant to put it there after his behavior the rest of the night. 'Having someone relate the experience to me isn't the same.'

"You can't feel what someone else feels." Kokomi said in agreement, placing her hand on her own thigh so that their two hands were inches apart. She felt like she could feel the body heat radiating off Saiki even though they weren't touching.

'Something like that.' He said his tone sounding much older than he was. 'Sometimes you can get what someone is thinking and feeling pretty well.' His eyes lit up as if he were telling a joke, but Kokomi didn't get it. She was much more focused on his hand near hers and the strange tension in her body.

She should be mad; this boy was ignoring her for whole night and then he thinks everything is gravy again because he was finally showing her attention?

Saiki's hand shifted closer to hers.

Damn him he's right. She thought moving her hand closer as well.

"What am I thinking then?" Her heart pounded. Could he tell what she was thinking?

Behind his glasses, Saiki's eyes glanced at her hand, then crossed up to her arm, which lead to her shoulder, to her neck, to her chin, to her lips- before coming to a rest on her nervous eyes. They were dark, a spark of mischief still present but revealing nothing to her. She straightened her fingers, trying to make her hand look more appealing as stupid as it sounded. Would he hold it like Kaido held Chiyo's? Or would he do something… more?

The teen adjusted his body, moving his hand from his thigh to rest on the back of the cushion of the train bench. He leaned closer, his eyes bearing down on to hers. Kokomi swallowed, a blush rising on her cheeks at his scrutiny. The train was empty, but she didn't think she'd notice if a hundred people just got on.

"W-What are you doing?" Her voice coming out as a whisper.

'Isn't it obvious?' He deadpanned. 'I'm trying to read your thoughts.'

"You must not be very good if it's taking this long." She quipped, trying to diffuse the tension between them.

'Maybe you're hard to read.' The boy replied.

Maybe I am, she thought; her perfect pretty girl persona coming to mind. Her mind instantly flashed back to her near-breakdown in the bathroom (near breakdown because she couldn't and wouldn't ever breakdown). Saiki's eyes softened, and he leaned closer to Kokomi but in a comforting matter.

'I think you're regretting spending money on that movie.' She laughed. Saiki continued encouraged by her smile. 'And you're thinking of all the cookies you're going to make.'

"Oh, I am?" The blue-haired girl asked amused.

'Yes you are.'

"Is that all I'm thinking about?" Saiki looked at her for a beat then lowered his arm back down.

'No, it's not.' His voice sounded tense; the rapid mood changes confusing Kokomi.

"What else am I thinking about then Saiki-kun?" She glanced up at the sign showing where the train was; they would be near the stop for his house soon.

'I'm not sure I should say.'

"That sounds like you don't know." Kokomi said, checking the time on her phone and secretly adding his number to her contact list.

'I know.'

"You don't." Saiki turned to look at her again, a hard look in her eyes. Kokomi stared back undeterred by his look, boys often raised their hackles when challenged by a girl.

Kokomi wasn't one to back down.

'I do, Teruhashi-san.' He said without breaking eye contact. She knew he was asking her to drop it. She also knew that if she did, he would go back to ignoring her like he did for the rest of the night and she had enough of that.

"Prove it then."

And he did.

In one swift motion, he turned to her and swooped his arms up to gently grab both sides of her face. He tilted her head back and slanted his lips perfectly over her own. My first kiss she thought weakly as Saiki shifted again slanting his leg between hers. Kokomi's eyes slid closed and she raised her arms up to hold onto his shoulders- the movement feeling natural.

Her heart was racing. He was kissing her? Saiki Kusuo, the ice king, was kissing her? Why was he kissing her? Did he like her? Was Chiyo right? Was he faking it all this time? She felt her blood sing in her veins. Could he hear her heart? Was she doing this right? She pushed her lips against his- which were softer than she expected. She shifted, brushing her bare leg against his thigh.

Suddenly she felt the train jerk and Saiki pulled away from her. His cheeks looked flushed, but she couldn't tell since he was turning away from her and covering his mouth with his sleeve. She turned, dazed, and saw that the train doors were open to the stop for his house.

How did that happen? She thought. We were still three stops away…

"This is our stop." Saiki said standing up. His voice sounded different than usual, and he seemed flustered. I guess the kiss affected him too. She idly wondered why she wasn't freaking about Saiki kissing her, the perfect pretty girl, but she was probably in shock and would freak out later in private.

Instead she asked, "How did the train move so fast?"

"I don't know." Saiki said quickly. "It's late come on." His voice sounded rough and scratchy- which Kokomi decided that she liked.

She got up and followed Saiki to his house, but he didn't mention the kiss again. She knew he was thinking about it, how could he not? Was she his first kiss too? What did this mean for them now? Was he just messing with her? It was all she could think about.

Saiki held the door open for her when they reached his house, and she relished the wave of warmth she felt from him when she moved past him. She quickly found and collected her precious cat, who was very pleased to be rescued from the 'wooing' delivered to her from Amp.

Kokomi personally wouldn't mind more wooing, but Saiki seemed jittery and on edge. Was he regretting the kiss?

She looked up at him expectantly from outside his door. Saiki shifted his weight from one leg to another.

"Do you regret kissing me?" She blurted out. Saiki looked up surprised, but also like he was expecting the question.

"No." He said, looking at the floor. She breathed out relieved and perplexed at how she could now notice his lips moving when he spoke. Was she just hyper aware of them now?

"Get home safe." Saiki said. "I'll see you at school tomorrow." He shut the door before Kokomi could say anything else. She frowned and turned away. Looks like I was right about not being walked home.

"He's so mercurial isn't he darling?" She asked Mika. Mika chirruped in response. "But I guess that's why we like him don't we?" Kokomi sighed happily and looked up at the stars. Thank you God for encouraging me. A shooting start shot across the sky in response.

"Well Mika, I suppose we will be cooking some cookies tonight. Somewhere inside Saiki Kusuo is a teenage boy who is love with me… we just have to drag it out of him." Kokomi smiled victoriously feeling a new battle between them starting. Getting him to say "oh wow" wasn't going to cut it anymore.

He was going to have to tell her that he loved her… and kiss her more of course.

When the beautiful girl got home, she saw that her phone had several unread text messages. She must not have noticed with all the excitement on the train. She had the expected ones from Chiyo and her family, but what caught her eye was a new one from a recently added number.

"You looked nice tonight." She read aloud. Kokomi flushed and held her phone to her heart- falling onto her bed dramatically. Mika jumped up next to Kokomi and began to purr, licking her fur to clean herself of the unruly street cat.

"How did he know my phone number Mika?"

Time to Incident 159:12:42

[A/N] thank you for waiting for this installment! I got a bit busy with work, and I was also re-working how I wanted the story to flow in my head. The story is going to be speeding up from this point forward, the beginning chapters were more of a set-up for the rest of the story. Also, I've changed the summary of the story since I didn't think that it really reflected the story that I wanted to write.

Thank you for reading!