Mikan stood in the girls' bathroom, looking in the mirror.

She stared at her face, stained with tears. Earlier, Hiyoko had said something a bit meaner than usual and Mikan had burst into tears in the middle of class. She ran out of the classroom and down the hall to the bathroom.

After a minute, Sonia and Chiaki, her two best friends, came in and helped comfort her. They succeeded in calming the nurse down and then went back to Ms. Yukizome's room after Mikan had asked for a moment alone.

She looked at her tears, at the mole they formed under her eye. She wiped them away. She had stopped crying a little bit ago, but she didn't want to go back yet. She was afraid. What if they laughed at her for crying in class? What if Hiyoko insulted her again? What if Ms. Yukizome gave her detention for running out of class?

Her school bag lay on the sink counter. She brought it with her when she ran. Well, more like she had it over her shoulder when she ran out of the classroom. The nurse opened it up and looked through her belongings. There were a few rolls of bandages, safety first as they say, and she was a nurse after all. Some needles, she did enjoy giving people shots. A bottle of rubbing alcohol. A few small chocolates. A bottle of water. A can of her favorite soda, Dr. Hopper, that she got from Nagito. Her lip gloss. Her lips gloss...

Mikan never wore much makeup. The only thing she wore was her shiny strawberry lip gloss. Not only did she enjoy the small sweet taste of it, but she liked having her lips look shiny. She was hoping it would make her look less ugly.

The nurse traced her finger around her lips, thinking that she should apply some of the lip gloss. She took off the cap and leaned in close to the mirror. She puckered her lips as if she was about to kiss the boy she liked and slowly but surely applied the gloss.

Tracing her lips in a counter-clockwise motion, Mikan's lips were coated in the gloss, making them shiny.

Putting the cap back on the lip gloss, Mikan looked at her handiwork in the mirror as the door to the restroom opened, causing her to snap her attention to the door.

Standing in the door was her classmate, Nagito Komaeda, the Ultimate Lucky Student.

He wasn't in the classroom when she ran out. The headmaster had called him to his office to discuss the end of his suspension.

"Oh, I see." Nagito's voice was soft and gentle. Mikan liked how it sounded. It always soothed her whenever he would speak. "This isn't the men's room. How unlucky. I apologize, Mikan."

The nurse quickly hid the lip gloss behind her back as she shook her head. "N-No, it's quite alright, Nagito. It was an honest mistake."

The boy watched her as she tried to discretely slip the lip gloss into her bag without him noticing. Unfortunately for her, as she slowly backed up, she slipped and fell as her bag fell over.

She frantically picked up her belongings, putting them into her bag as she apologized again and again for making Nagito have to witness such a clumsy move.

She was so caught up in the act that she didn't notice that her lip gloss container had rolled over to the lucky boy's feet.

"What's this?" He asked as he bent down to examine it. He popped the cap off and noticed the contents. "Lip gloss?"

Mikan quickly scrambled over to Nagito and snatched the lip gloss from his hand, stuffing it into her bag. "Th-That's not mine! It's... It's Chiaki's! She just... left it behind by accident!"

Nagito looked at her the way someone looks at a child when they tell an obvious lie. "Chiaki doesn't wear lip gloss. She doesn't think it would help her with her gaming."

Mikan was quiet, desperately holding back tears as she tried to come up with an excuse. "I'm sorryyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!" She cried as she grabbed her bag and ran out of the bathroom, a few tears landing on Nagito's outfit.

Nagito ran out to see Mikan already at the end of the hallway, turning the corner. He looked at where she had disappeared and thought for a moment before sighing to himself.

Mikan ran through the halls, hurrying towards her dorm room. She passed by students that were out in the halls for whatever reason. A small boy eating a bag of buns as he walked. A boy with black hair and his face buried deep in a manga. A couple holding hands, one with a lollipop in his mouth and the other smiling wide as she offered him a sweet.

Mikan burst into her room, throwing her back down as she closed the door and then flopped down onto her bed, sobbing into the sheets.

He had seen it... That's all she could think about. He saw her lip gloss...

What does he think of her now? Does he think she's a prostitute, always putting on makeup to attract customers? A slut who just wants to taste someone's tongue? A trashy skank who shows off her body? This was horrible...

A knock at the door startled the girl, causing her to fall off her bed, exposing her panties towards the door and the person slowly opened it and stuck their head inside.

Mikan looked up to meet the eyes of Nagito, poking his head into her room.

Seeing the situation she was in, she started blurting out apology after apology about making him witness such a lewd sight as she stood up. With her eyes shut and tearing up, she bowed repeatedly, entirely focused on apologizing.

She stopped when she felt two hands grabs her shoulders. She stood up straight to find Nagito directly in front of her.

"Mikan," he said, "you don't have to apologize. It's alright."

Mikan decided that it was okay to stop apologizing for what happened and get straight to what she thought he came here for. "O-Okay... Do you n-need a marker...? Or did you b-bring your own?"

Nagito tilted his head in confusion, letting go of her shoulders. "What are you talking about ?"

"W-Well, you're g-going to write 'slut' or 'whore' on me because you saw me in the b-bathroom, aren't you?"

Nagito shook his head. "N-No, of course not! Why would I do such a thing? You're a beautiful person with a beautiful talent."

A pink blush fell upon Mikan's cheeks. She liked being complimented, and that was a rare treat. "Thank you, Nagito..."

Nagito smiled as he sat down on her bed. "There's nothing wrong with wearing lipgloss. I think you're lips look nice when they're shiny."

Another compliment. Mikan's cheeks deeper slightly as she sat down next to him. "You r-really think so?"

He nodded. "Yes. It looks pretty."

Nobody had ever complimented Mikan so many times in succession before. "O-Oh..."

There was a small silence between them before Mikan asked out of the blue a father forward question. "W-Would you like to t-taste them...?"

Startled by the question, Nagito was a bit thrown off. "W-What?"

Mikan pulled her legs up so that she was kneeling on her bed. Kneeling as she spoke, Mikan's had her face directly in front of the boy's. "I-It's strawberry flavored. Do you l-like strawberries...?"

Mikan thought as to why she asked the question. She simply could have offered some lipgloss instead of her lips. Though he was a boy, it wouldn't be that uncommon to have a taste, would it? Mikan was unfamiliar with how boys act and respond to makeup.

Why did she offer? A kiss wouldn't bother her, would it? She never has kissed anyone, so she wouldn't know. Maybe it's just another way for someone to abuse her body. Maybe it would be a punishment.

Maybe it would feel amazing...

As to why she offered, she realized that the answer to that question could be answered by another. Did she want to kiss Nagito?

The boy was quiet for a moment. He did like strawberries, but would it be right to just kiss Mikan to taste the lipgloss? He'd heard that when a girl would wear flavored lip gloss, her boyfriend would taste the flavor when they kissed and that it didn't ruin the kiss at all.

The better question was: Did he want to kiss Mikan?

The two had gotten to know each other over their time at Hope's Peak. Whenever Nagito got hurt, Mikan would treat him in the nurse's office and treat him as he made small talk with her. He learned about her past abuse and the story of her uneven hairstyle. He had shared tales of his luck, like the time he was kidnapped and ended up becoming rich because of it. The two were far past strangers.

The question was obvious for both of them.

Yes.

He closed his eyes and leaned in, planting a gentle kiss upon Mikan's lips.

Startled by the sudden action, Mikan lost her balance  on her knees and fell forward into the boy, causing him to fall back in her bed as she lay on top of him. She looked down and blinked at him with red cheeks.

"I'm s-sorry! I th-thought you would a-answer before you did it..." Mikan stuttered.

Nagito looked up at the girl and a small smile appeared after a moment. "I have my answer."

Mikan looked down at him expectantly. "Y-You do!? P-Please, tell me th-then!"

"...I like strawberry."

He kissed her again, this time having the sweet strawberry kiss returned by a passionate pair of lips from a happy nurse.