Miki's PoV

I thought Nolan and I bonded over something yesterday. It actually felt nice to have spent time with him, but guess what I found in my shoes this morning?

Pushpins.

Thank god I'm smart enough to dump them before putting them on.

I thought he stopped with his immature pranks by now? Besides, that message he posted on the bulletin board is still there, so I assume it wasn't him this time.

But who else in the school would be stupid enough now to come after me and risk getting on Nolan's bad side?

"Miki."

I jumped to Hanazawa's ghostly voice from beside me, he was fiddling with something in his hand. "This was attached on your locker." He shows me what he had in hand.

I was horrified by the words written all over a piece of red cardboard paper that had my name printed on it.

"'Bitch...whore...attention-seeking slut'...? Who the hell did this?"

"Looks like you got a hater." He simply ripped the paper in quarters and tossed it in the nearest trash bin, "don't worry about it, though. With Nolan on your side, it means all three of us are."

His words were weirdly comforting despite his monotone. Sometimes I wonder why Asher, Nolan, and Hanazawa are such good friends with all their personality differences.

I passed an uneventful morning, it didn't seem like anyone knew about anything. Though, at lunch, I meet Satomi on the rooftop again.

"H-H-He called m-me hideous! W-What kind of g-guy just--" Satomi cried on my shoulder as I patted her back. She was always sensitive about those comments since like me, she was out of place in this school. But I've never thought-- wait, never mind, Nolan is totally capable of doing something like that.

Anyone would be upset if someone just randomly said that and turned away in disgust.

"Shhh, it's okay. Don't bother with that jerk." I say to her in an attempt to comfort her, but deep in my heart I knew he was already past the middle line to my good side, especially after how he was yesterday night.

"Thanks for being...hic...were with me, Miki. Hic, thank you." She wiped her tears away as she smiled a little at me. I smile back.

"That's it! Don't let him get to you. I'll head back to class now, you should soon too."

She waved at me in a cheery manner. I head down the stairs not seeing or noticing her glare at my back.

By the time school ended, I was about to change my shoes. I open it to see a plain white envelope.

The pictures and notes inside were so terrifying my breath hitched in my throat the second I saw them. They were all about me. This isn't just any hate note anymore.

"The heck is this...." In a blink of an eye, it was snatched out of my hands. Asher frowned after going through some of the pictures, "don't listen to any of this bull crap, got it? We're getting to the bottom of this."

It's the first time I've heard him swear and be demanding. His expression was indescribably petrifying as he sped out the front gates. Though this time, he got in a familiar-looking limousine. It was Nolan's.

Oh gosh I cannot imagine what he might do to whoever is writing these hate messages.

Nolan's PoV

I was already plenty irritated when Hanazawa told me about the threat note on Miki's locker this morning, but I nearly shredded the entire thing when Asher showed me the envelope.

"I can search to where these are printed. And I can get machines to identify this writing with anybody's in this school." I dropped all those onto the mini stand in the limo and leaned back into my seat. Whoever's doing this has got a lot of nerve.

My thoughts were interrupted when Asher suddenly said out in his laid-back tone: "oh look, our diagnostic examination marks are out."

I couldn't care less about grades right now. Why's he talking about it?

"Hana is number one in our grade...as always.... And you're third...darn, I'm fourth again." He scrolled down a little bit more when his eyebrows raised a little in impression, "your future girlfriend got seventh, Nolan. Not bad at all."

Just his use of 'future girlfriend' lightened my mood. Such a smooth-talker, Asher. He knew how to wriggle his way out of any trouble.

But of course, research took time.

The next day at school, I stopped walking when I saw Miki hurrying down the hallway with a sweater covering her head. She looked down as she sped. I moved in her tracks and she bumped right into me.

"What're you doing?" I ask, attempting to lift up her ridiculous appearance when she stopped my hand.

"I have yolk in my hair." She hissed in a whisper worriedly. I would so laugh if we weren't at school right now.

"...Done yet?" I ask. But the sound of running water in the girls' washroom answered me. I've always thought I had the best of everything, but apparently work efficiency isn't high enough.

Whoever did this is so going dead.

"Have you heard about the things happening to that new girl lately?" a very hushed voice whispered to another, but I caught it anyway.

"Yeah, they're horrible. I saw it when an egg was launched at her head!"

"I don't really pity her though."

"How can you say that? The poor girl did nothing wrong."

"Except keeping the school number one hottie all to herself!" one exclaimed rather loudly.

"Lower your voice! They have their listeners all over the school! If one of them hears you--"

"So what? That bitch deserves it!" the voices were getting closer and closer. As they were talking while walking.

I turned sideways and faced the open corner until the three of them turned.

The one bad mouthing Miki was so shocked and scared she nearly tripped over nothing. I looked down at her, and just particularly her.

I don't care what family she's from...no one bad mouths my girl and gets away with it.

"Do I look okay?" Miki's soft voice sounded from behind me. I immediately give her my undivided attention, acting as if the other didn't exist. Her hair being a little bit damp, but it looked natural.

"Amazing as always." I start walking down the hallway towards her next class. And I love how she follows beside, rather than behind.

I'm sure I'm slowly making my way to her heart.

Miki's PoV

That stupid guy's worming his way in my heart already.

I thought with a huff during my seven-page-long math test.

Why does he have to be jerky, but then nice at the same time? So conflicted!

If he does truly like me that way...I guess I wouldn't mind trying it out.

Now that I've actually admitted it to myself, I'm the kind of person who can't focus on anything else unless I tell it to someone.

'Is the square root of 25 a rational number?'

Gosh this is a grade school question...why can't I think at all?

'Explain and give an example of the Quotient Law.'

I banged my head against my desk. I'm bombing this.

I sighed when I got out of math class, but found Nolan was waiting for me across the hall.

"I found out who." He says simply before dragging me away. I realized Satomi didn't come to school today so I won't be missing out on anything during lunch anyway.

This time, he opened the door to his limousine for me instead of stuffing me in.

"Wait...wait no, you've got to have got the wrong place." I chuckled in disbelief when the car stopped in front of a familiar house.

"Believe it or not. My sources are perfect." He says while ringing the doorbell.

I didn't get to say anything before the door was opened. Satomi almost slammed the door in our faces right away if Nolan didn't push it open by force.

"You printed those pictures and wrote those things, didn't you?" Nolan shot out straight to the point. I was left bewildered at Satomi's expression. It was all there was need to be said that she was the culprit.

"You do realize what a stupid and underhanded thing you're doing--" I waved at Nolan for him to stop talking. We made eye contact for a second, it was enough to tell him that I didn't want Satomi to receive any punishment from him.

He gave one last hard glare at Satomi, who was staring at the ground, before slapping the photos onto the ground at her and turning to leave. He went inside his limo, leaving Satomi and I alone.

"Satomi...I thought we were friends, why'd you do this?" my sentence barely ended when she shouted back at me.

"Friends?! Would a real friend give me a dress given to her by my crush? You did it just to purposely make him say how ugly I looked didn't you! I am the one feeling betrayed!"

"What're you talking about...I had no intention--"

"Shut up! Shut up! I thought since no one targeted you anymore, we can be friends again, but who knew you'd hold a grudge against me! And humiliate me right in front of my crush! It's all your fault!" by now she was screaming as she slammed the door nearly right in my face.

Yikes.... I didn't know what to think. I just lost my only friend in the school.

Nolan could tell I was stuck in meditation. And I was silent the rest of the day.

As if matching my feelings, the sky turned gray soon enough and started pouring in no time.

This has got to be the worst day ever. Lost best friend, couldn't concentrate in class and now no umbrella.

But I have to get back home early today or else I won't be able to finish the darned math homework I wasn't able to finish today!

Just as I decide to make a run for it, I felt a presence beside me. I look up. Nolan and a white and blue umbrella came into sight.

I've ridden his limo so many times already I even knew where the snacks were kept. But, why's it driving in the opposite way of the Tres Spades hotel..?

"Nolan?" I ask, slightly uneasy, "where are you taking me?"

"My house." Was his curt reply.

I've been to his house once. Technically kidnapped. So why is my heart pounding with nerves right now?

When we got inside safely, most of my skirt and the hem of my shirt was soaked anyways due to the heavy rain.

"Take a shower." He said shortly and tossed me a robe. He nodded towards a maid and she hurried over to show me to one of the many bathrooms. 

I finished quickly since my hair was short and I was still feeling uncomfortable showering in someone else's house.

As soon as I open the door, I was greeted by a smiling maid. She looked around twenty or more years older than me.

"Hey there, Miss Miki, right? Nolan talks about you." Her grin was contagious as I returned a nervous smile. I guess this maid is like a mother to him since she addresses him more casually than anyone else here.

"Please come this way." She showed me to a large room almost as big as the bedroom in the hotel's suite. There was a king-sized bed there. Such a fancy guest room.

"Y'know...Nolan's never brought a girl back before...." She said with a hinting wink as she left the room to give me some privacy.

I suppress the heat rushing to my face. I don't know how well I did. I've actually never seen him take visible interest in other girls, or other people in general.

Well, I can't sleep in a bath robe, maybe I can borrow a shirt of his? I skipped over to a cabinet and picked out a random grey shirt. This should do nicely. I locked the room door and just as I untied the stash—

The private bathroom door opened. Nolan's jaw almost dropped when my shoulder was exposed.

I would've screamed if I didn't tighten my hold onto the robe quickly. "W-Why...what...."

He sighed and mumbled, "Nina led you to my room on purpose...."

I sat on the edge of the bed. I realized something after I've calmed down. His hair was styled in a different way. It was put-down in a smooth and slightly puffy way instead of its usual spiky form. It looked somehow...nostalgic...and familiar.

The silence was just getting awkward hanging in the air, I yelped when a song started playing from seemingly the walls. He must have built-in speakers in his walls. I assumed my racing heart was because of the fright.

"Best Song Ever by One Direction? I didn't know you liked songs like this." As I listen to it and shifted my gaze back to him. I couldn't take my eyes off. The way he looked right now, and this music in the background, I had a sudden strong sense of deja vu.

"Nolan...Nolan..?" I repeated his name so many times anybody would think I've lost it. But each time I said it again pieces of that night seemed to come back.

As if knowing what I'm trying to do, he repeated a phrase of his own:

"The name's Nolan...you?"

I stared at him as he took a seat beside me, our faces inches away.

"...not, telling." The words flowed out of my mouth. "Nolan." I said one more time in a confirming tone. All those emotions I felt that night rushed back to me.

We exchanged a genuine smile. The biggest I've ever seen him have.

Not wasting another second, his lips lowered onto mine.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

DON'T FORGET TO VOTE NICE PPL

I know there's a lot of anticipated updates for this book that's why I'm always updating it first every week :D

I hope its worth the wait.

Thank yoy~! (and ya its 'yoy')

Instagram - seika_akashi

-Lily

Edited: July 17, 2016