Shizuo's shock followed him to his desk and stayed until the third period. His shock was even more intensified as he heard the class complain as a collective.
He swiftly turned to Misaki and asked what was going on. "The teacher said we would be having a quiz tomorrow," she replied, organizing the books on her table. Shizuo felt his soul leave his body again.
"You look like you've seen a ghost, Shizuo…" she smugly grinned, pressing her bare face against her table. Shizuo looked towards her and interrupted her exhausted sigh.
"Can I see your note book?" he gently asked. He slowly took Misaki's notebook from her extended hand.
He hastily flipped through the pages, quietly murmuring to himself. He again turned to her and asked in an ashamed manner.
"Have you revised the piece the teacher gave last week?" "Yeah, it was a tough one though… is something wrong?" she asked again.
"I can't believe I dosed off during all of my classical literature classes…" His hands trembled as he handed her the notebook.
As she glanced at Shizuo again, she hesitated. But, as she was about to let the thought fade into nothing, she recalled that day. She thought about Shizuo's gentle face laying on her lap; his hair as she gently played with it.
She picked her bag up from the floor and pretended to look through it. "You know…" she whispered. "Classical lit was my highest subject in my last school… so if you don't mind… I can help you…" she said, her face buried in her bag.
"Really you would?" said Shizuo instinctively. "I might be pushing it with this one… it really doesn't matter…" she thought before replying. "Yeah, we could study at your place… since you live alone…" "Oh, my God, Misaki you're my savior," Shizuo jumped.
"He's not even fazed," she thought, hiding her burning face in her bag. Their conversation was cut short by the sound of the break bell.
Shizuo jumped up from his seat and thanked Misaki before running to Dai. Misaki sat there for a bit longer, her heart about to rip out of her chest and her face cherry red. She flashed a smile as Shizuo left and her breathing steadied. "This guy!!!"
As Shizuo pulled a chair to sit with Dai, he was grabbed by his shoulders. "DUDE… I'M COOKED," Dai screamed.
Shizuo grinned and rubbed his chin. "Couldn't be me… you should have listened in class," replied Dai, shaking Shizuo. "You're as much of a slacker as I am… you're not making it either," he scoffed, calmed by the idea of them both failing. "Oh, no, no… don't lump me in with you, dude… I'm gonna get help from a friend," Shizuo crossed his arms.
Dai was frozen for a second before turning back to check if Misaki still at her desk (which she wasn't). "How did you pull that off, dude…" Dai stared into the distance.
"Yeah, I just asked for help… that's all." "Wow… so you're going to ditch me during lunch… and Manami isn't here either, DAMN IT," Dai audibly murmured to himself.
"What do you mean? We're eating lunch together; they're serving curry today…?" Dai looked like a lost child now. "Then when will you get time to study?" "Oh, it's at my place later…" he said naively.
There was a long pause. Dai stared at Shizuo's eyes for a few moments. "DUDEEEEEE, WHATTTT????" Dai shot up from his seat, knocking his chair to the floor. Dai looked around at the confused faces staring at him before apologizing and sitting back down.
"WHAT IN GOD'S NAME IS GOING ON??" he loudly whispered. "I don't think you understand… think about what you just said." Shizuo sat there, arms crossed, slowly breaking down what he just said.
He could feel his body getting hotter and his breathing getting faster. His eyes shot from one corner of the class to the other. "YES, KEEP REFLECTING, SHIZUO," smiled Dai. "D-Dai, wha-what the hell is going on," his voice kept breaking every time he tried to speak.
Sweat trickled down his palms as he punched in the code to his cell phone. He grabbed Dai's attention by pointing at his phone, which had the Contacts app open. "Holy shit man I can't believ—" Dai's words lost coherence as Shizuo pressed a contact saved as "Misaki."
Dai got up from his seat and called out to Shizuo. "Follow me to the bathroom." Once there, Dai quickly rinsed his face and ordered Shizuo to do the same. After Shizuo's face was back to normal, Dai started speaking. "Wow… just wow… I mean you guys are moving too fast… please be Shizuo… I need you to be careful," he spoke, flailing his hands around.
"Hey, Dai," Shizuo looked into his eyes and flashed a smile Dai has never seen before. "I think… I think I like her, Dai…" Dai paused a moment before letting out a sigh and pulling Shizuo for a hug.
"Just be careful, ok…" he said patting his back. As they were leaving, Shizuo laughed. "I can't believe how similar you guys are…" "She must be a fantastic person then," replied Dai as they walked back to the classroom.