My slumber is broken at the sound of a voice coming from the hallway. Still half asleep, I move my laptop off the bed and plunge back into my pillow, ready to go back to sleep. Then I hear the voice again, louder this time, followed by laughter. As my drowsiness melts away, I unconsciously tune into it.

“You’re so mean! Why are you so mean to me?” the voice whines.

I lift my head and look toward my door. There’s a crack of light seeping under it. It’s Shun’s voice. I realize with a jolt, my annoyance momentarily split between the interruption of the voice itself and the fact I’ve already heard it enough to recognize it.

“No, I’m fine! I didn’t have that much to drink.” He must be on the phone. His words are loud and slurred, obviously intoxicated.

“No!” he exclaims again with a laugh. I hear the jingling of keys as he gets closer.

“No!” he shouts this time.

I grumble and pull my pillow over my head to try and muffle out the noise.

Suddenly, I hear a bang against my door, making me jump. It’s followed by Shun’s hysterical laughter. The light under the door is now partially covered. I can tell by the volume of his voice that he is sitting right up against it.

The laughter goes on for another minute before I hear him sliding across the wooden door as he stands up. I let out a small sigh of relief, but it’s short-lived, interrupted by more cackling. He’s on the floor again, banging his head against my door. I’m a hair’s breadth away from going out and giving him a piece of my mind, but decide that I’d prefer waiting for him to stop than forcing myself to see him again. I try to focus on taking deep breaths.

After an agonizing 10 minutes of Shun’s laughing show, he finally manages to get himself out of the hallway and into his room. At this point, I am so irritated that I don’t even feel tired anymore.

Morning arrives with unwelcome grogginess, but a message from Koki inviting me to meet up on campus for course registration lifts my mood. Entering the kitchen for breakfast, I’m less than thrilled to see Shun sitting at the table when I walk in. He is crouched over a steaming mug with a hand to his temple and a pale, squinting face. My frustration from the previous night comes rushing back. Just the sight of him infuriates me. My mouth moves before I can logic it shut.

“Fun night?” I ask sharply while I pour myself a glass of milk.

He groans and shakes his head.

I consider not pushing it but end up muttering loud enough for him to hear.

“Serves you right for how obnoxious you were.”

“What?” He turns his head toward me and blesses me with his suffering face. “Did I do something?”

The fact that he doesn’t even remember snaps my self-control.

“You woke me up with your loud phone call, crashed into my door repeatedly, and then stayed there for an hour. I couldn’t sleep at all because of you,” I say indignantly, possibly exaggerating a bit.

He cradles his face with his hand and turns away from me.

“Not now,” he groans.

My grip tightens on the glass I’m holding.

“‘Not now?’” I grit my teeth. “Last night was ‘not now’ for me. Yumeya yesterday was ‘not now’ for me. The grocery store was ‘not now’ for me too. Don’t you know how to apologize?”

I’m surprised at the rising volume of my own voice. I was doing a good job keeping my cool up until now, but I must have bottled up more than I realized.

He sits silently, keeping his head hidden in his hand.

“Hey, I’m talking to you! If you’re going to live in the same house, don’t you think you should learn how to respect other people?” My irritation has grown a will of its own and shows no signs of slowing down. I’m pulled along for the ride.

He stands up from the table, his eyes avoiding mine as he heads for the hallway.

“Does being gay gives you an excuse to be an asshole?”

The words erupt before I can filter them. Not only am I shaming him for his sexuality, but I am also giving away the fact that I already heard he’s gay. He stands very still, facing away from me.

What am I even doing? I didn’t want any trouble with anyone. Even so, part of my brain continues to look for ways to insult him. My eyes fixate on his choker. No. No, don’t. Leave it. Wai—

“And why do you always wear that stupid collar? Are you someone’s pet?” The final blow spills out.

He leaves the kitchen.

For a moment, my eyes remain on the doorway Shun disappeared through. I shake my head in an attempt to clear away lingering frustration before yanking a bag of rice out of the cupboard. I instantly regret releasing my emotional buildup on him, but it’s more remorse for letting him get to me than anything else. I should be ignoring him, but instead, I feel as though I’ve opened up a new door. I let him drag out the worst in me.

Determined not to be riled up again, I leave the house when the day is at its warmest. The sun soaks into my black leather jacket, keeping me warm despite the chilly breeze. I look around as I enter the campus and walk toward the building Koki and I agreed to meet in front of. I distract myself with my phone while I wait.

“Hey,” I hear from a distance and smile when I see Koki. He’s wearing a gray hoodie over a pair of dark blue jeans. “Sorry for the wait,” he apologizes.

“No worries,” I answer as I take note of his sharp facial features. Now that I think about it, he’s not a bad-looking guy.

“By the way, I invited my friend. I hope that's okay,” he mentions.

“Oh really? Who’s your friend?”

“The one I was supposed to be with on orientation day. She should be here soon.” He looks in the opposite direction he came from. “Oh, there she is!”

I turn around to see a tall, slender girl with black hair that skims her shoulders. She’s wearing a long beige trench coat over a white blouse tucked into her waist-high jeans. She smiles and waves when she notices Koki. I can make out her slender nose, bright eyes, and full lips as she gets closer. I can’t pull my eyes away from her.

“Hello,” she bows to me and tucks a strand of hair behind her ear.

“Hi,” I utter, a smile that stems more from infatuation than friendliness spreading onto my face.

“Makoto, this is Eriko. Eriko, Makoto.” Koki motions between us.

“Nice to meet you,” we say, almost in unison.

“How do you know each other?” I ask, itching with curiosity.

“We went to the same junior high in Nagoya,” Koki answers.

“Oh.”

“I heard you’re also a dancer,” she says with a charming smile.

“Yeah, I am,” I respond, now wondering what else Koki has told her about me.

“I’d love to see you guys dance sometime,” she says.

“I’d love to see you too—” I shake my head as I correct myself. “I mean, show you! I’d love to show you.”

She giggles, relieving me of my embarrassment.

“Okay, let’s go!” Koki says as he turns toward the building entrance.

Eriko and I follow. I can feel my nervous heart pounding while I walk next to her. Arriving at a fairly empty study room, we grab a table before taking out our course schedules to discuss classes. Koki sits next to me, pointing out which ones we should take for our major. I try to focus but can’t help but look up at Eriko over and over. Unfortunately, she’s majoring in Education—not Commerce. After a few minutes, Koki and I have circled several of the same classes.

“How about Art History?” he suggests with a chuckle as we eye potential electives.

“You want to learn about art?” I laugh before quickly shutting my mouth. What if Eriko likes art?

“No, I’m serious. I heard this class is supposed to be an easy A.”

“Where are you getting all this information from?”

“I’ve met a couple WU graduates,” he says and circles Art History.

I steal another glance across the table at Eriko, who’s quietly looking at her own class schedule.

“How about you, Eriko?” Koki asks as if he’s read my mind.

“Hm?” She lifts her head.

“Want to take Art History with us as an elective?” Koki offers.

“I think I’m good,” she turns us down with a smile before looking back at her paper.

“Do you want to take anything with us?” Koki asks.

She giggles. “I’m trying to sign up for classes I think I’ll enjoy.”

Koki sighs and shakes his head at her, pretending to be upset. She giggles again. I’m a little disappointed, but it’s nice that she’s independent and knows what she likes. I don’t know many girls like that.

After choosing our courses and submitting them to the registration office, Koki suggests lunch together. Eriko mentions that she’s meeting up with her friends in an hour, but can stick with us until then. We head to a cheap Japanese restaurant.

I have my first real conversation with Eriko and find myself listening intently to everything she says. Even after we’ve finished eating, I try to keep the conversation going in order to get to know as much about her as I can within the short time we have together. She tells me she’s going into Education because she wants to teach kids. Her hobbies are baking and photography, she plays the flute, and she also happens to be single.

“Oh, shoot,” Eriko exclaims, eyeing her phone screen while I’m in the middle of telling her about my own hobbies. “I lost track of time.”

“Time to go?” Koki asks.

“Yes.” She pushes her chair back. “My friends were calling me, and I didn’t notice. Gotta run.”

“See you later, then,” Koki says nonchalantly.

“See you,” she says to him. She then looks at me with her beautiful smile. “Bye, Makoto.”

I wave to her and she takes off, leaving me and Koki alone at our table. Even after she’s out of sight, I continue to stare after her. She was so beautiful. Why did she have to go so soon? I want to kick myself for not trying to get her LIME.

“You like her?” Koki’s voice interrupts my thoughts.

I flick my head toward him.

“Don’t look so surprised. It’s written all over your face,” he chuckles.

“You should warn me first if you’re bringing an angel with you!” I exclaim. “I wasn’t prepared for that!”

“Well, I admit she’s gotten prettier since junior high,” he says with a smug grin.

“She said she doesn’t have a boyfriend, right?” I confirm.

“She doesn’t. I take it you’re interested?”

“Do you think I have a chance?” I rub the back of my neck and smile humbly.

“You won’t know unless you try. I can try hooking you guys up if you want,” he offers.

“Seriously?” I almost yell. “You’d do that?”

“I said I can try,” he laughs.

“Why are you such a great guy?” I say, shaking his shoulder and making his head bob from side to side.

In the morning, the kitchen feels cramped with Junichi and Daiki sitting together at the table while Shun is washing dishes.

“Hey, Makoto,” Junichi greets me.

“Hi guys,” I answer before pausing in the doorway to contemplate whether I really want to join Shun at the kitchen counter right now. Maybe I should wait for him to leave. Shun soon turns and begins walking in my direction. Avoiding eye contact, I shift to the side a bit to let him pass. However, he continues to close in on me. I give in and look up at him. He narrows his eyes into a scowl before he finally leaves the room.

“Uh-oh,” Junichi says. “Did you see that?”

“Hm?” Daiki hums, lifting his head up from his phone.

“Looks like Shun’s found his next target,” Junichi observes.

“W-what do you mean?” I ask.

“The last person I saw Shun look at that way was the guy that lived in your room before you,” he clarifies.

“Ah, Kazuma?” Daiki says.

“Yeah.” Junichi nods. “Remember why he moved out?”

“Because Shun wouldn’t leave him alone, right?” Daiki answers.

I gulp as a mixture of curiosity and uneasiness comes over me.

“What did Shun do?” I ask.

“Anyone could tell Shun hated Kazuma. He basically tormented him to the point he had to move out,” Junichi explains.

“Tormented him? How so?” I almost don’t want to ask.

“He ate his food, threw his stuff away, poured vinegar on his shoes,” Daiki counts on his fingers. “The guy was kind of an ass himself, but I still felt bad for him.”

“Shun did all that?” I ask, horrified.

“Yep, pretty sure he did,” Junichi says, he and Daiki nodding their heads in sync.

I laugh uneasily. It seems a bit farfetched that anyone would go to all that trouble just to pressure someone into moving out. Maybe Junichi and Daiki are just pulling my leg. But what if they’re not? Should I be looking forward to Shun trying the same things on me? I don’t want vinegar in my shoes!

“I’d be careful if I were you,” Junichi warns. “Kazuma said once the harassment began, it continued every single day.”

I frown, picturing Shun hunched over a desk in his room, plotting against me as we speak. Junichi and Daiki laugh and wish me good luck.

Later, I meet Koki at Takadanobaba Station to grab lunch at a ramen shop. Our time together passes by quickly as we get passionate over a discussion about what motivated us to move to Tokyo. I let him in on the secret that I’m actually from a tiny hick town and it took me an hour to get to my dance school, which he finds funny. When the conversation dies down, Koki pulls his phone out.

“Oh!” he says excitedly, his eyes lighting up. “Eriko messaged me.”

I perk up at the mention of her. “What did she say?”

“She asked to meet up.”

“Yeah, let’s!” I exclaim.

“Not until later, though. Are you still free at six?” he asks.

“Yes!” I answer impulsively. Then I actually try to recall my schedule and frown. “No actually.”

“You have something?”

“I have work tonight,” I groan as I tap on my phone’s calendar icon.

“Too bad.”

“Why,” I whine.

“Guess I’ll have to play Cupid some other time.” He slips his phone back into his pocket.

“Wait!” I demand. “How about this? Let’s try coming up with a reason for me and Eriko to get closer!”

“Hmm.” He rests his chin on his fist and twists his mouth. “What kind of reason?”

“Any reason at all! Like if she mentions any of her interests today, tell her I’m interested in them too! You can lie if you need to.”

“You sure?” He lifts a doubtful eyebrow. “And I don’t know if that’ll be enough to make you two close.”

“Hmm…” I cross my arms and try to picture what my own reaction would be if I found out someone I know has a similar interest. Probably not that impressed.

“Okay, I got it,” I try again. “You can tell her I’m a professional at whatever she’s interested in!”

“Are you sure?” Koki queries, looking even more concerned this time.

“Positive! Even if I’m not, I can cover somehow.” I flash him a reassuring grin.

He shrugs. “Okay, if you say so. I’ll try to come up with something, then.”

“Yes!” I exclaim, punching him in the arm. “You’re the best!”