Kezia whipped her head away so fast her hair almost smacked Chris right in the face.
"NO—I DIDN'T MEAN IT LIKE THAT!" she panicked, hands flailing.
The whole squad froze behind the door, whispering like ghosts in unison.
"…Handsome asf…"
Airi's eyes narrowed, smile way too sweet. "Haruta, do you have a knife?"
"…" Haruta didn't even look up from his water bottle. "Calm down. She's not taking Chris away."
Chris, meanwhile, was trying to reboot his entire brain. Then, before he could stop himself, he leaned in way too close to Kezia's face.
"…So you do think I'm handsome af?" he asked, grin shameless.
Kezia grabbed the water bottle like it was holy protection. "Stay away before I throw this straight at your face." Her cheeks were redder than the sunset.
Chris just smirked, throwing his hands up. "Well, well… still a compliment. I'll take it."
That was the breaking point. Souta completely lost it—snorted, tripped over himself, and crashed straight into the backyard door. It swung wide open, revealing the entire squad mid-spy pose.
Souta was sprawled on the floor, Rei instantly looked up at the sky like he was just "passing by," Alya was frozen with her hands clasped like she'd been praying for Chris's soul, and Airi's glare could've killed.
Sia tilted her head with the calm of a judge. "I didn't know you could actually flirt that well, Chris."
"…Good work," Haruta added with a nod, like Chris just submitted a solid essay.
"WHAT DO YOU ALL MEAN BY 'GOOD WORK'?!" Kezia yelled, face blazing.
Chris panicked, pointing at them like a rat in court. "They MADE me do it! It was a dare!"
"You're ALL idiots!" Kezia screeched, and then bolted after them with the water bottle raised like a weapon.
The group scattered, laughing and screaming, until somehow everyone ended up back in the room, gasping for air. But now… Kezia was sitting with them too, hair still messy from running.
An unexpected team-up.
---
Rei grabbed the bottle, spun it. It clattered to a stop—on Haruta.
"So, Haruta, truth or dare?" Rei asked, smirking.
"Truth." Haruta leaned back casually.
Rei's grin faltered. "…Okay, uh… How did you feel after you crumpled that one guy back in middle school?"
The room went quiet. Haruta tilted his head up, eyes on the ceiling. "…Hmm. Let's just say I was ashamed. Ashamed I couldn't control my rage."
A beat of silence. Rei nodded seriously. "…Good answer."
The mood lingered just for a second before Sera spun the bottle again. It landed on Chris.
Chris dropped his head in his hands. "I wanna die."
Kezia smirked, leaning forward. "Not so fast. Tell me—what's your favorite thing to see every day?"
Chris peeked at her, groaning. "Can you at least ask if I'm choosing truth or dare first?"
"Oh, so you've still got guts for dare?" Sia cut in, eyebrow raised.
"Riiight…" Chris sighed dramatically. "…Truth."
Then he straightened, flashed that grin of his. "Well, my favorite view is seeing Airi's face turn the shade of a sunset whenever I flirt with her."
The room erupted.
"…At this point, I don't know if that's creepy or cute," Sera muttered, sighing.
Airi, face glowing red, said absolutely nothing—just buried herself in her pillow.
Sia spun the bottle. It stopped on Souta.
"Truth," he said, already sweating.
Airi didn't even hesitate. "Who's your crush?"
The room gasped.
Souta flailed. "HEY—THAT'S NOT A GOOD QUESTION!"
"It's a great question," Kezia said, smirking.
And suddenly, the poor boy was circled like prey.
Sia sat completely still, holding her breath.
"…I'm not sure," Souta whispered, face crimson. "…But if I had to say… it's Sia."
The room exploded. "WHAT? REALLY?!"
Sia's eyes went wide, her cheeks lighting up. She looked seconds away from fainting—but a shy smile tugged at her lips.
"THIS GAME IS FUN!" Alya grinned like a gremlin.
"Yeah," Rei nodded wickedly. "Now we can tease Souta forever."
The bottle spun again. This time, it landed on Kezia.
"Shit." Kezia buried her face in her hands.
Sera leaned in. "Do you have a boyfriend? Or a crush?" she asked like it was the most casual thing in the world.
"HEY—Don't go personal! It's my first question!" Kezia groaned.
"Rules are rules," Haruta said calmly.
"…No. Kinda… no one," Kezia admitted.
"HOW IS THAT EVEN POSSIBLE?!" Airi shouted, shocked. "You're gorgeous!"
Kezia gave a tiny shrug. "I never really considered getting one, honestly."
"But you almost fell for Chris in the garden," Sia said flatly.
"HEY—that's NOT true!" Kezia yelled, face red all over again.
Before they could dogpile her more, Souta yawned. "Guys… it's literally 3 a.m. Shouldn't we sleep?"
"…Yeah, fair," Alya admitted, rubbing her eyes.
"I'll turn the lights off," Kezia offered, already standing up.
The room fell quiet. Outside, snow was falling gently, covering the garden in white. The air was crisp and cold, but inside, with laughter still lingering and everyone curled up together… it didn't feel cold at all.
It felt warm.
Like family.
-- to be continued
-~Rei