The summer holidays were winding down and Mio made sure to savour each and every day left of her freedom before returning to the tedium of school. Her schedule: homework and studying in the morning up until lunch time, then she had afternoons and evenings to do whatever she wanted.

Overall, it’d been a pretty normal summer vacation for her. Her parents hadn’t dragged her anywhere since she’d played up the importance of exams, and her friends were mostly busy working or on trips with their families.

Normal, save for...

The doorbell rang downstairs and she sighed heavily as she pushed aside her textbook and notes to go answer it. A small part of her hoped that it was just one of the neighbours, but really, she already knew who it was...



“Nanase-kun?”

“Fukasawa.” The dark-haired boy greeted her simply.

“Did the water in your house not get fixed yet?” She asked, hoping that she didn’t sound too annoyed.

“The repairmen said that they were backed up and wouldn’t be able to come fix it until the end of summer break. Here.” He handed her the tote bag he was holding, the bag containing what seemed to be several packs of fresh fish from the supermarket.

“What’s this? ... Mackerel?” She squinted at a label on the plastic wrap of one of the trays, then up at him.

“Summer is the season for mackerel,” Haruka said, as if it was the most obvious thing ever.

“... I see. Well, thanks. Guess I’ll use a pack for dinner tonight.”

A light seemed to flash in his eyes, and she swore she saw him swallow heavily.

“... If you don’t have any plans for the evening, feel free to stay for dinner.” Damn her inability to be an asshole at moments like these. The one time she tried to not so subtly hint that he wasn’t welcome, he'd stared at her with those oddly calm eyes that nonetheless gave off the helplessness of a kicked puppy.

He vigourously nodded his head, looking the most eager she’d ever seen him either in and out of class.



“... How is it?”

Nanase-kun was seated across from her, his hair still damp from soaking in the pool earlier in the afternoon. She’d decided to make a simmered dish, though flavoured with a soy honey lemon sauce. There was no way she was going to make miso mackerel in the dead of summer, the weather was already hot enough without heavy food sitting like lead in her stomach.

Well, she didn’t really care if he liked it or not, but she figured that she should ask for politeness’ sake. Not used to cooking for a boy, she thought double her portion would be enough - but maybe it was too much?

Or not. He was wolfing down his dinner, his eyes practically sparkling like a little kid’s.

“Oh... do you want seconds?” She asked, glancing at his bowl of rice and noticing that it was nearly empty. He nodded, his mouth stuffed with food and reminding her of the squirrels she saw in the park that would stuff their cheeks full of nuts.

“Fukasawa. Do you normally eat mackerel?” He asked when she returned with his bowl newly topped with fresh steaming hot rice.

What an odd question, she thought. “Er... I don’t know about normally, but I do like it.”

He set down his chopsticks, a deadly serious expression on his face, looking straight into her eyes.

“Go out with me.”

“Um... what?”



“Haru? Did something happen while I was out on that trip with my family?” Makoto stared at the sight of his best friend snuggling with one of the girls in their class.

“T-Tachibana-kun... save me...” Mio sighed. “Could you at least make him let go?”

“I’m not letting go,” Haruka’s hold on her tightened.

“The plumbing in his house broke, so I let him use our kiddie pool since he said the beach and the rec centre were too full. Then I cooked dinner for him once, and he’s been like this since...” She elaborated as she tried to pry his arms away from her waist, but she had no chance against the strength of a fit athlete.

“Was the dinner you made for him mackerel, by any chance?” Tachibana asked, smiling.

“Yeah. Why?”

“Haru loves mackerel. But I’m impressed, Haru’s really good at cooking so you must’ve made something really special for him to fall in love over.”

Haruka nodded. “It really was special. Come over to my house and make it again for me tonight.”

“What?! I didn’t ask for this! Make him let go of me!”

“Hmm, I don’t think I can,” Makoto smiled, not looking the least bit guilty. “This is the first time I’ve ever seen Haru look so happy with a girl. Why would I ruin that? I’ll be cheering for the both of you, Haru and Fukasawa-chan.”

Damn! She’d forgotten that these two were best friends. Of course he’s going to take Nanase-kun’s side! As if reading her mind, the arms around her tightened even more and she forced herself to not think about the rock hard chest pressing against her back.

“We don’t have swim club after school today so let’s walk home together,” Nanase-kun murmured, his cheeks colouring slightly.

She only sighed, lying limp in his embrace. How was she going to get out of this, she wondered...