WHAT IF. MAI ZENIN

❥ first date

Kei sucks the air through his teeth while looking at himself in the mirror. He slouched on the stool as he looked closely at his reflection with a sour mood, pointing out the flaws across his face. The small pores planted on his nose. He begrudgingly let out a sigh to see his curtained bangs flop with disappointment instead of having the usual volume that made them bounce.

The more he looked at himself, the more irritated he became. He exhaled out another sigh before fixating his posture sideways.

"We'll just have to see, won't we?" He mocked himself with his head tilting left and right like a fool. Really, I mean, really? His lips spurt out a quick raspberry before shaking his head. "Why the hell did I say that?"

Okay, even if he wasn't drunk, the amount of alcohol he had that night made him confident. And oh, he doesn't like it when he's confident. Too confident for that matter. That's dangerous, he thinks. It's almost strange in nature to him since most his life he has so much insecurities around his appearance, disability and personality in general.

"Gosh, what was I thinking.." He murmured as he stared into his lap. A blush grew across his cheeks when he remembered the way they were so close to each other that night. The way the disco lights bounced across the room and hit them with euphoric colors. Something out of a movie or high-budget television episode. They moved so slow yet so in sync with song in the background that made him feel a way when he was with her.

"We both drank a little too much." Kei explained. "Surely, she doesn't really mean a real date. M-Maybe, it's just a friendly one." He told himself all of that and yet, he can't help but feel something.

Him and Mai had a rivalry that lasted more than two years. He thought he knew her so well. A girl so bored of her life that she decided to pick on those who seem weak to her. Truth is, it was more than that. She wasn't raised in the best condition. A home without love turned her the way she was with him. He couldn't blame her for that, even when she admits she's still part of the problem.

When he spoke to her at the forest, he felt he saw a side in Mai he never once saw and it's made him curious. Strangely curious...and wanting. The vulnerable side in her melted his heart and he knows, deep down, he doesn't want to waver from it all.

He shook his head, once more. There was no way she'd actually be interested in him, right? Although, a first proper hangout was quite exciting for him.

Kei decided to brush off his imperfection away before undoing his pajamas and heading into the closet, searching for street clothes to wear tonight. He definitely did not want to wear anything formal and make the situation more awkward. He picked out a dark green short sleeve collared knit top with pebble gray pants that ended to his ankles. He wore his Old Skool Vans and white socks.

Nobara catches her classmate sneaking into the dinner lounge in the early afternoon. She saw Kei was finally awake and already in some good-looking clothes. She turned around to see him in his chair, stirring a macchiato with a toaster strudel hanging by the teeth. She snorted at the sight.

"You look good today, Kei." She smiled. "You going somewhere?"

He gave up on holding the strudel and plopped it down to the napkin before taking a sip of his late coffee. "Haha. Nowhere too fancy, I assure you." He grinned. But then he thought: Where is Mai taking him? "Uh, at least, I hope it's nothing too fancy."