hey guys!!! hope you're enjoying this book so far, it's been a blast to write ^^ i have been thinking about changing the cover, so let me know your thoughts on that! also, if you want to make one for this book i'm all for it, so please just dm me about it!!! anyways, that concludes my author's note. please enjoy this chapter <3

edit: i got a new cover now!!! it was made for me by @mellifluous_taemin so a big thank you to them *\(^o^)/*

The shrill ring of my alarm jolted me out of my otherwise perfect sleep. I groaned softly, swinging wildly in it's general direction and constantly missing. Soon my sounds of annoyance were harmonized by deeper growls, Garou tightening his hold on me. "What the hell, Y/n..." He sleepily moaned, rubbing his face with one hand as I finally was able to reach the off button.

"Sorry, sorry..." I turned my head to see his disheveled expression and I offered up an apologetic smile. "Now let go please, I gotta get to work,"

"What? The sun's not even up yet. Five more minutes." He stubbornly kept his grip on me firm as I struggled to escape his grasp. "C'mon, Garou, I can't be late... Please!" Giggles escaped me as I tried to pry his arms open, knowing that it was futile considering the immense difference in our strength.

"Fine..." Grudgingly, he let me go and I slipped out from under the covers, careful to cover him back up. "Know that I won't be so nice tomorrow morning." He threatened me as I opened my closet to grab my clothes for the day. Turning around, I met eyes, but he couldn't have looked less threatening, sitting up on my pink blankets. I laughed, closing the closet with my foot. "I'd like to see you try."

Garou smirked, falling back against the pillows. "Challenge accepted."

I got ready in record time, terrified of being late after what had happened yesterday. I grabbed a protein bar for breakfast and sprinted out the door. Once I was out of the complex, I slowed down, walking through the empty streets that were still dark.

Even though winter was ebbing away, it was still way too cold for me to leave the house without wearing anything extra; today I had picked out Garou's hoodie. The soft black fabric was surprisingly warm, covering a good portion of my body. "He won't even notice that it's gone, right?"

"Morning!" I pushed open the cafe doors, locking them behind me to keep any customers out since we weren't open yet. "Y/n-chan! You actually decided to show up today!" Haruhi popped up from behind the register, a teasing grin on her face. "Yeah, I'm really sorry about that..." I brought my palms together with an ashamed grin.

"You better be!" Picho walked out from the back with a mop, shoving it in my direction. "I almost had to face the morning rush by myself!"

"I'm really sorry!" This time I bowed my head, not wanting to incur his wrath anymore than I was already going to. "Oh, please Picho! Let's focus on what's really important here!" I lifted my head to see Haruhi hop over the counter, landing with our noses almost touching. "What I really want to know about is," Picho was suddenly at my back, holding my waist and preventing any attempt of escape. "Who that mysterious man on the phone was!"

"EH?! What do you mean?!" Then I remembered Garou telling me that he had spoken on the phone with someone from here. "His name was Garou, wasn't it?" Picho completely disregarded my complaints and Haruhi nodded furiously. "Yeah, yeah it was Garou! Who's Garou?! And I heard that you were sleeping with him too! Where'd our little good girl Y/n-chan go?!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down! I think that you two have the wrong idea!" They paused, Haruhi looking up at Picho then back down at me. "What are you talking about? That was a guy on the phone, right?"

"I mean, yeah-"

"AND, he did say that you two were sleeping together, right? I even heard you tell him to go back to bed! You heard this too, right Picho?" By this time, Picho had let go of me, the two of them simply trapping between them and the counter. He nodded calmly, his smile sending chills up my spine. "I did indeed hear this, Haruhi-chan."

"Guys-"

"SO!" Haruhi cut me off yet again, clearly enjoying the situation a bit too much. "That leaves only two options for what could be going on. One! Y/n-chan got herself a one night stand and had too much fun."

"WHAT?!"

"Two! Y/n-chan got herself a lovely new boyfriend and hasn't told us about him. I mean, those are the only two possible explanations, right Picho?"

"You're exactly right, Haruhi-chan. I can't think of anything else." Their eyes began to glow dangerously, making me feel more and more like a caged animal. "So Y/n-chan," Their words synchronized perfectly; even the inflection of their voices matched. "Care to explain yourself?"

I took a deep breath, attempting to calm my nerves. There was no need to be scared because there was absolutely nothing going on between Garou and me. "Look you two," My stance eased as I got ready to explain everything. "You've got the completely wrong idea about this whole thing. Garou and I are-" I paused as I searched for the right word. "Garou and I are just friends."

"Yeah... That'll work for now, I guess."

"Just friends?!" Haruhi cried, stomping her foot on the ground. "I don't think that 'just friends' sleep together, Y/n-chan!"

"Okay, listen! We did sleep together, but at the same time... We didn't? It's just complicated." Picho glanced from his nails back to me with pursed lips. "Sounds like you're hiding something, darling."

"I'm really not! Like, we did sleep together, but nothing happened! It's not like it was a romantic thing. If anything, it was an accident!" I purposely left out the part about us sleeping together last night too; what they didn't know wouldn't hurt them. "An accident?" Haruhi narrowed her eyes, still not buying it. "How do you just fall asleep with someone on accident?"

"We got tired on the couch and fell asleep." I was getting more and more annoyed with this whole ordeal as it went on. Still, the two pushed on, not bothering to care about my feelings. "Well, over the phone you sure sounded like you were enjoying yourself. Besides, why was this Garou guy over in the first place?"

"He's my new roommate." At this, the two gasped, Haruhi covering her mouth with her hands and Picho bringing his hands to his temples. "What's the big deal?"

"Y/n-chan... Living with someone else?!" Haruhi managed to mutter out the words, still looking rattled. "Now I know something's up. We've been friends for basically our entire lives, Y/n. If there's one thing that I know, it's that you don't like people invading your space. But, now, all of the sudden, you've decided to accept this guy, that I don't even know mind you, into your entire life."

"Haruhi-chan, I think that you're taking this too far-"

"I need to meet him. We need to meet him." Haruhi cut me off yet again, motioning to herself and Picho. She then put a hand on my shoulder, smiling softly. "Y/n... Did you perhaps do this because you're starting to feel lonely?"

"Eh?! What are you talking about, Haruhi-chan? I have you and Picho and Makoto too! Then there's Yuki and-"

"Alright, alright, I get it. It was just a theory. Remember, this isn't over by any means!" She walked away, chuckling while I could only let out a sigh. "Oh, Y/n-chan... What are we gonna do with you?" Picho gently tapped the side of my cheek, shaking his head. He opened his mouth to say something, but paused before the words came out.

He brought his head closer to my neck, making me stiffen up. "Picho? What are you doing?"

"This hoodie..." He grabbed a fistful of fabric, bringing it to his nose and sniffing it. "It smells like a man." My jaw went slack as I tried to think of something to say. "How... How can you even tell that?!" Picho just laughed at my comment, waving his hand at me with a wink. "Trust me, baby, I've had my fair share of experiences with men."

From the way his teasing tone interacted with his flirty body language, I got the feeling that he wasn't talking about the most innocent of things. "AH, PICHO!" I swung my arms around wildly, my face turning bright red at his promiscuous personality. "Aww, still so innocent I see!" Picho smiled at me once more before running off to tell Haruhi his discoveries.

I had only mopped about one square meter when Haruhi ran out of the back, squealing. "Oh god, you're wearing his hoodie?! That's so cute, I totally ship it!"

"You don't even know him yet! And besides," I dowsed the mop in water again, feeling oddly melancholy as I uttered the next few words. "It... It isn't like that."

"GUYS IT'S FIVE MINUTES TO OPEN!" Picho frantically waved his phone in our faces, displaying the time that meant would spell out our untimely demise unless we pulled off a miracle. Panic filled our very souls as the three of us rushed around, desperately trying to finish almost an hours worth of work in a fraction of that.

We somehow managed to scramble together at the very last moment, all of us ready at our proper positions. As Picho was unlocking the doors, Haruhi glanced at me with a horrified expression. "Y/n-chan! Your hoodie! Your hoodie!" I looked down to see that I was indeed still wearing the baggy black thing over my standard uniform.

I grabbed the sides, trying to take it off without messing up my hair too much. As soon as I made it to the back, I heard the door open, the bell signalling the start of morning hell. I shoved the hoodie into my bag and ran back out just as the first wave of customers came in. "Good morning!"

********************************************

"What a way to start the day..." Haruhi groaned, both of us carrying a load of dishes into the back that ranged from plates still dusted with crumbs to coffee stained cups. "The tips aren't even good on days like these! How am I supposed to live?!"

I laughed despite the stinging truth that layered her words. Not many people on busy mornings like today would leave us very good service tips, especially since most of the orders were to go situations. "Don't worry, we'll make it up over the weekend. Brunch is always ridiculous, you know."

"Oh, trust me, I know. No matter what day you work, you can't get a break." Haruhi dumped the dishes into a bath of soapy water and I did the same. "It'll be better once Makoto-kun gets back." I snatched the towel that she threw to me, still looking dissatisfied. "Isn't he on a beach trip with his wealthy girlfriend or something?"

"No need to sound so bitter, Haruhi-chan," Picho walked back, casually entering our conversation. She glared at him, her arms crossed. "It's so not fair! I'd do anything to be in his position right now! That beautiful babe at my side, both of us bikini clad on some private white sand beach..." Haruhi sighed dreamily, her entire demeanor softening. "It'd be a dream come true!"

"And then I could get with Makoto-chan!" Picho fantasized alongside her, both of them quickly grabbing each others shoulders. "We've got to make this happen."

I swiftly smacked both of them on the back of the head. "Stop it you two! Why can't you just be happy for him?!" They both instinctively grabbed the spot where I had hit, turning to face me with pouting faces. "We are! It's just, we'd be happier if our fantasies were reality." Haruhi protested as I hung up the towel with a deep sigh. "Wouldn't we all be happier of that was the case?"

Luckily for me, before I could lose myself in thought, the bell rang. "I'll get it!" I called, ready to get out of the back, Haruhi and Picho right behind me because they had nothing better to do. "Welcome in-" My words got caught in my throat when I saw who was standing in the cafe. We met eyes, his yellow irises never failing to send my heart beating wildly. "Oh, Y/n! So this is where you work!"

"What are you doing here, Garou?!"

As I said his name, the two that were standing next to me snapped their attention over to him. "HE'S GAROU?!"