A/N: A lot of you guys seemed to like the idea of the quiz but unfortunately, as excited as I am with sharing it with you, I won't be publishing it until chapter 27 is up since I feel like some of the information in the results may be a bit of a spoiler. I'm not even sure if it may contain that many spoilers but I want to be safe, just in case. Hope you don't mind!
(Your POV)
A few days had gone by since you were transferred back. Seeing as you were now in the main campus, the chauffeur took you to school and picked you up as soon as the bell rang which meant that you couldn't even meet up with the end class.
When it came to the assassination attempts, you were filled in through phone calls by Nakamura, Sugino or Karma since it was difficult for you to meet up with them face to face. During one of those calls, Nakamura told you Kayano had executed an assassination attempt involving a giant pudding but had unfortunately failed. Upon hearing it, you couldn't help but burst out laughing as you imagined the surreal experience but a wave of sadness invaded you when you realized you unfortunately hadn't been there to see it. Luckily, she had made sure to take some photos and had even sent you a picture of Karma wearing an apron to which you had teased him to no end. Though, as fun as the calls were, you had to make them very quick since you were more busy than ever.
During those days you spent in class A, you were drowning in stress. You had even begun to skip some classes since you had to train for the upcoming ice skating competition which your mother was taking very seriously. Just as you had speculated, Mrs Shirai was very strict and kept you going for hours on end until the routine was flawless. So, you would go to sleep quite late at night and you had to wake up very early for school.
Since you had been so busy lately, you barely had the time to talk or meet up with your class E friends. You especially missed Karma but since you were so tired after ice skating, you didn't have the energy to sneak out and you would fall asleep as soon as soon as your head hit the pillow.
You had also tried to get closer to your brother but it was a much more difficult task than you had anticipated. The first few tries, he brushed you off as if you were nothing and after so many failed attempts, you had begun to lose hope. However, after failing miserably, you had decided to give it another try and, to your surprise, he hadn't brushed you off immediately like he used to do. It wasn't as if you had succeeded and you were now the best of friends. You already knew that that wasn't going to happen. But you were happy with what you had accomplished. It was just a small step, after all, the only thing he did was allow you to stay in his room whilst he ignored you and continued on with his work. But it didn't matter, at least it was something.
You looked out the window of class A, admiring the mountain as you tried to come up with a plan to be sent back to the end class. You had finally made up your mind. You would sacrifice ice skating for them. Competing wasn't having the effect you had dreamt it would have. With your mother and Mrs Shirai, you felt more pressured than ever. Of course you would continue ice skating once your mother removed you from the class, but you would do it behind her back just like last time.
'What can I do?' You thought as you unconsciously began chewing on your pen.
Maybe if you allowed your grades to drop, you would be sent back there... But for it to work, you would have to wait until midterms which was too far away for your liking. You could also try to end up there for bad behavior... But how would you do that? Insulting a teacher? Destroying school property? No, you couldn't just do such a thing. Your mother would have your head for it. After all, she was friends with the principal and if she was to find out you were destroying his school, she would most certainly punish you and you weren't looking forward to that.
"(L/N)," the teacher called your name.
"Huh?" You immediately turned your head to face him.
"I know you were in the end class a week ago but now you're in the main campus. Classes aren't as relaxed and you can't just do whatever you want," he crossed his arms.
"Sorry," you apologised as you returned back to your work.
Once class finished, you managed to convince the chauffeur to drive you downtown to print out the photos on your camera. You were missing the end class so much and for the moment you still didn't have a plan in mind so you hoped filling the album with all the photos from the time you spent with them would help you fill in that hole.
Unfortunately, that morning you had had to leave your house in a hurry and you had completely forgotten to take your purse with you so you found yourself in a predicament. They still hadn't printed out your photos so you could easily go back home and grab some money but if you did so, it would be difficult to go back out again. You sighed, at that rate you would have to wait until tomorrow.
"I'll pay for it," a voice you knew too well suddenly said.
With your mouth agape, you turned on your heel where you were met with the person you least expected to bump into.
"You don't have to," you lowered your gaze.
"You're out of cash, how are you planning to pay?" Your brother rolled his eyes as he proceeded to give the money to the woman at the register who began to print out your photos.
"Thanks," you smiled shyly. "I'll return the money as soon as we get home."
You waited in silence, not really knowing what to say. It wasn't as awkward as it usually was since you had begun hanging out more often. Well, it wasn't even that hard, after all, in the past, you just didn't hang out. You tried to spark up a conversation but you ended up talking about school, and it wasn't even about friends, just about classes.
"Hey, aren't you the girl from 'Music's Melody'?" The woman asked as she handed you the envelope with your printed photos.
"Uh... yeah," you awkwardly smiled.
"My daughter loved the book and was really satisfied with the movie adaptation," she said flashing you a sweet smile. "Do you mind signing an autograph?" She asked as you shyly agreed. You still weren't used to people recognizing you.
"Wow, they came out so good," you gushed once you left the shop, mumbling to yourself as you began to eye the printed photos.
"Are they... your friends?" Your brother suddenly asked as he leaned in to inspect the photos.
You immediately froze at his words. You didn't really want anyone to know you had greatly enjoyed your time at the end class. Sure your mother already knew you had gone out with them, but she only knew about one of the meetups and you had easily brushed it off as a way to bid farewell. She was still unaware of how comfortable you actually were so you hesitated upon hearing his question. Should you tell him the truth?
"Yeah," you said quite stiffly.
"You're really fond of them, huh?" He took a closer look.
"Do you want a ride home?" You quickly changed the topic as you put the photos back inside the envelope.
"I'll take the train," he replied as stiffly as you had answered his previous question.
"Oh..." your gaze lowered to the floor in disappointment, "okay... then I'll see you at home," you gave him a lopsided smile.
Once you arrived to your house, you were met with your mother at the door, waiting impatiently for you.
"Why did you take so long?" She frowned, ready to scold you.
"Traffic," you mumbled.
"What?"
"Traffic," you repeated, this time much clearer.
"We have to talk," she said as she began walking to the living room, you following close behind.
'Oh no... what now?' You panicked.
Had Asano told her about Karma? That couldn't be it... could it? He wouldn't sell you out like that... could he?
"As you've seen," she began as she sat down on the couch and motioned you to do the same, "I've been very permissive with you lately. I've allowed you to go out a lot," she continued, "and I expect you to keep that in mind," she arched an eyebrow.
"And I greatly appreciate it," you were quick to thank her.
Where was she going with this?
"The movie has been doing great, but rumors about their actors have begun to circulate quite quickly..." she said. "The studio has begun to speculate a way we can increase the movie's ratings to the limit and I have come up with a plan, but for it to work, we have to do one thing, and I will need your cooperation," you immediately gulped, her sharp eyes boring into your soul. "You should already know one of the tactics movies tend to use when it comes to boosting their audience's attention, especially when it comes to romance movies," she raised an eyebrow, your eyes widening as you began to realize where this was going. "From now on you shall be-"
"No!" You instantly shot up from the couch in outrage, your eyebrows furrowed. "You can't just force me to... you just can't do it!"
"(Y/N)," your mother's low voice interrupted you as she commanded you to sit back down. "This is very important and I won't let you spoil it just because you aren't willing to make sacrifices..."
"But I can't just date Kaori," you growled. "How long has this plan been going on? Did you know about this? When were you even going to tell me?!" You asked, rising your voice as frustrated tears threatened to fall down your cheeks.
"Why do you think I've been allowing you to go out with Kaori so much?" She raised a single eyebrow as you remained silent at her question. "Why do you think I told him to keep you company that day I was working late?"
'So he knew all along?' You thought.
Your eyes widened, not believing what you had just heard. He was supposed to be your friend. He said he wanted to make things right, to start over... And yet he kept this behind your back?
"You will do as I say," your mother's face darkened. "You don't even have to genuinely like him in that way," she shrugged, "you only have to be seen with him."
"I-I can't... I-I won't, I won't do it," you stammered, already fearing her reaction.
It was the first time you were ever going against her, especially in this way. It was the first time you were saying no.
"It's not like you have to marry him," she said, her voice filled with venom and bitterness, a black aura surrounding her as you felt the room's temperature drop drastically making you shiver. You gulped, whenever this topic was brought up, it would never end well. "You like deals, don't you?" She raised an eyebrow, her statement peaking your interest. "So let's make one."
"What kind of deal?" You frowned in skepticism.
"You wanted to stay in the end class, didn't you?" She smirked, your eyes widening as you immediately understood where she was going. "You do as I tell you, you follow my orders, you date Kaori and you don't tell anyone, after all, confidentiality is key," she smiled. "In exchange, I will let you return to the end class."
You thought about it. You really wanted to go back. But at what cost? Oh no. Were you really considering it?
"How do you know for sure Asano-san will allow me to go back?" You frowned as a sudden confidence invaded you.
"Don't worry, he will, he owes us a favor," she replied nonchalantly.
"Does the studio want me to sign some type of contract or something?" You narrowed your eyes.
"No," she simply dismissed your question.
"What about ice skating?" You frowned.
"It won't be affected by the deal," she shrugged casually, "you're now competing so I won't remove you," she said as you began to really consider it.
"If I agree..." you began, thinking carefully on what you were going to say next. "Then you will also let me meet up, outside of school hours, with the end class," you said as your mother thought about your proposal
"Sure," she smiled. "So, do we have a deal, (Y/N)?"
You pursed your lips. You still had time to refuse. Plus, what would Nakamura and Sugino say once they found out...?
What would Karma say?
You bit your bottom lip as you weighed your options. You wouldn't be able to tell him the real reason why you were dating Kaori because your gut was telling you that your mother was suspicious, that she knew something she wasn't telling you. Judging by the way she had immediately taken your position in the end class as leverage for her scheme, it was clear that she knew you were very fond of them. And her suspicions were probably confirmed the day you decided to take them to the cinema seeing as that was the only meetup she was aware of. Moreover, you couldn't tell Karma about it. Ever since Hiroko told you she had been aware of you acting in the movie, you were hesitant to share these types of secrets. You had been lucky because she didn't believe it so she didn't tell your mother to confirm her suspicions. But you knew that she wouldn't make that mistake twice. You knew that if she found out, she wouldn't hesitate to tell your mother.
So, taking all those things into account, you were sure that if you refused to the deal, she would come up with a plan to stop you from seeing the end class all together and you couldn't take that chance. You also couldn't keep on seeing the end class behind your mother's back because using Kaori as an excuse would no longer work. Plus, now that the movie was out and you were more known, you could get easily caught...
So... what if... you accepted the deal?
If you did so, you would have to say goodbye to the idea of ever dating Karma, at least for the time being. You would have to settle with only his friendship... But that was better than nothing, right? Plus, even if you didn't agree to the deal and decided to confess your feelings for Karma, there was nothing assuring you that he would feel the same way and in the end, you would be ruining your friendship with him. So, if you were to agree to the deal, even if it meant you couldn't confess to Karma, you would at least have his friendship.
You continued thinking about it as your mother watched you expectantly, waiting for your answer. You inhaled deeply... here goes nothing...
"You have a deal."
"Then it's settled," she smirked. "I'll talk to Asano-san about your transfer... as soon as I make sure you're keeping to your end of the deal."
"Really?!" You exclaimed in disbelief.
"I will be watching you (Y/N) and so will Asano-san," she threatened, her eyes narrowing, "and I won't hesitate to take you back to the main campus if you break any of my rules."
"I won't," you promised, nodding your head in understanding.
"Great," she smiled. "I told Kaori to come pick you up," she stood up, "you're going out and I expect to see everything going as planned."
"Don't worry about that," you spatted out.
__________________________
"And the bronze medal winner is... (L/N) (Y/N)!" The host's booming voice announced.
Everything was happening so quickly, yet the days seemed to drag on...
You should be happy, right? You had won third place in the ice skating competition. Heck you were finally competing, it was a dream come true! But for some reason you weren't as excited as you thought you would have been. You were just... exhausted.
You tiredly made your way to the podium where the host placed the bronze medal around your neck. You waited for the gold and silver medal winners to be announced and once it was all over, you walked back to the car. Your mother hadn't even glanced at you. You knew she was mad, furious even. She wanted a gold medal yet you won her a bronze one.
Sighing heavily, you tried to think of the positives. Now that the competition was out of the way and the media was aware of your "relationship" with Kaori, your mother was finally satisfied. She kept to her end of the deal so you were to be transferred back to the end class tomorrow. No one really knew about your transfer, not even Asano who was the principal's son. You still had to come up with an excuse that wouldn't make him suspicious of the class' secret.
The end class didn't know about your transfer either, you wanted it to be a surprise. The last two weeks you hadn't talked that much to them since you were either too tired or too busy. The last time you talked to Karma was before you made that deal with your mother. The time he called you and explained how Itona had joined the end class and was no longer under Shiro's wing and was now friends with Terasaka and his group.
You had also received multiple messages from Sugino and Nakamura, especially after the news of your current relationship with Kaori. You had confirmed them your relationship but hadn't really talked that much about it. You supposed that since you were going to be transferred, you would explain it clearer once you were face to face. You instantly smiled at the thought of seeing them again, especially Karma. Would he be excited to have you back in class?
You turned on your phone and lazily began surfing the internet. At least that way you had an excuse not to talk to your mother. But you quickly regretted your decision as soon as you saw the photos trending on social media.
One of them was in an interview you had had for the movie. On one of the questions, they had brought up your relationship with Kaori. You remembered them asking you if the rumors were true. The question had honestly taken you unprepared and you had fumbled for words which only fueled their excitement when you finally told them the news.
The next photo was the one taken on your first 'date' with Kaori. The date were you were to make your 'relationship' public. It was a photo taken by a person who must have been passing by. In the picture, you and him looked like you were about to kiss and that was enough to have the rumors circulating. You pursed your lips and chuckled internally at the caption. That wasn't what happened...
"So you knew?!" You seethed as soon as you were out of your mother's sight.
"Know what?" Kaori frowned in confusion.
"Don't play dumb," you roared.
After the deal you had made with your mother and what you had agreed to sacrifice, you were now finding it impossible to keep up with appearances.
"What are you even talking about?"
"The fake dating?" You sneered.
"Oh," he simply said, your eye twitching at his reaction.
"Oh?" You exclaimed. "Is that the only thing you can say? Why? Just why didn't you tell me?"
"Look (Y/N)," he said slowly as he tried to calm you down. "I didn't know either, okay? Mom- I mean your mother told me yesterday night," he explained. "And I thought you already knew."
"Why did you even accept this-this plan in the first place?" You pursed your lips as you scornfully looked down at the ground. "The studio just proposed the idea, it wasn't even an order..."
"I know... It's just... It was your mother who convinced me to go along with it, okay?" He explained.
"And why did you accept?!" You shook your head in disbelief as you continued looking down at the ground.
"You have to understand (Y/N)," he said slowly, your eyes glued to the ground. "Come on (Y/N), look at me, just this once," he begged but you continued averting his gaze. All of a sudden he gently took your chin and tilted your head so that you would be looking at him. "(Y/N), look at me... I'm really sorry, I really am... But your mom means a lot to me, okay? I swear I'm not trying to take advantage of you or anything like that... I know you don't like me in that way and I've come to terms with it... but I really don't want to let her down... She has promised me that it's all with her best intentions. All she really wants is what's best for the movie and for your career so don't blame her either... We really don't have to do anything, just go out from time to time, the media really believes anything," he chuckled dryly. "And if you want, you can choose where you want to go. I also got my driving license so I can drive us there too. We can be friends, you don't have to pretend liking me when we're alone. I just-I just don't want to let your mother down..."
You sighed as his silver eyes searched yours.
"I know this means a lot to her..." he continued. "She did so much for me. She took me in when no one wanted me... and... I don't think I would be where I am today if it wasn't for her," he sadly looked down at the floor. "So please, just go along with it," he pleaded hopefully, "just this once."
__________________________
"Nurufufu," you heard Koro-sensei's distinct laugh as soon as he entered inside the classroom.
You fidgeted with your tie as you listened to Koro-sensei's announcement. For some strange reason, you found yourself gulping at the thought of going inside, a wave of anxiousness invading you, feeling more nervous than on your first day. It didn't make sense! You were finally going back to the end class so why were your hands sweaty and why was your heart pumping so fast? It had been so long since you had last seen them in person... Yeah, that was probably the reason why you were feeling so nervous.
Just like in your first day, you waited patiently for the teacher to call your name before going inside.
"Class," you heard Koro-sensei's voice as the murmurs died down, your classmates waiting impatiently for whatever your teacher had to say. "I have a great surprise for you! You can come in," he said.
You inhaled deeply, this was it. You were finally back! You shakily opened the door to the classroom and made your way inside. As soon as they saw you, you heard their cries and yells as they tried to understand what was going on. Nakamura and Sugino's cries were the loudest and you couldn't help but chuckle. Standing next to Koro-sensei, you waited for the classroom to quiet down before explaining the situation.
"As you already know," Koro-sensei began, "(Y/N)-chan was transferred back to the main campus about three weeks ago. I thought I would never see her again," he began to tear up dramatically, "but as you can see she came back and she's planning on staying!"
"What?!" Sugino exclaimed in disbelief.
"That's amazing (Y/N)!" Nakamura squealed. "How did you managed to convince your parents?!"
"Class A was quite stressful and I'm now competing professionally in ice skating so they thought it would be better for me to go back and be in a more relaxed environment," you lied... If only they knew what actually happened...
Once the shock was over, Koro-sensei formally introduced you to Itona who was sitting on the desk on your left. You excitedly made your way back to your old desk and placed down your things. With all the commotion, Karma had gone unnoticed and you didn't know how he had reacted.
"Hi," you smiled widely.
"Hey," he greeted unemotionally as he boredly leaned back on his chair.
You immediately frowned at his reaction. That was odd... You weren't really expecting him to jump up from his seat to tell you how much he had missed you but at least some acknowledgement...
"Karma are you o-?"
"Now (Y/N)-chan," he interrupted you, "it's rude to talk over someone else, don't you think?" He pointed at Koro-sensei.
'Since when does he care about those things?' You blinked a few times in confusion.
Not really convinced, you turned around on your seat and listened to whatever Koro-sensei was explaining. He mentioned the school's athletic festival since it was going to take place the day after tomorrow and once that was out of the way, the lesson began.
You listened closely and followed along since you had to understand everything if you didn't want to have troubles with the homework. After weeks of sleepless nights, now that you could finally rest, you didn't want to have to stay up late at night just because you didn't understand the topic. However, as much as you wanted to concentrate, your eyes kept glancing over to the red-headed male sat beside you.
'He's probably just tired,' you tried to convince yourself.
The day went by quite quickly. You catched up with your friends and answered their questions about you dating Kaori. And, as a way to celebrate your return, they decided to have a snack after school at the cafeteria Isogai worked at. This time, you quickly agreed to the plan. Now that you were going out with Kaori, your mother had to keep to her end of the deal and one of the conditions was to let you go out with your friends so, for the first time, the plan wasn't be a problem.
Once school was over, you made your way to the cafeteria. Of course not everyone could come so it was just a few of you. You had hoped Karma would have agreed to the plan too but he claimed he had things to do so he couldn't come. Of course you had tried to convince him but to no avail. In fact, throughout the whole school day, you had noticed he hadn't been acting like his usual self. Sure he still talked to you from time to time but he had stopped teasing you which was quite weird coming from him.
"So... how long?" Nakamura suddenly asked as you entered the establishment.
"Huh?"
"How long have you been going out with Himura?" She inquired as you sat down at one of the tables.
"Nakamura!" Sugino exclaimed at the blonde's sudden question.
You looked around and saw your classmates on another table talking with one another, too busy to hear what you were saying.
"Two weeks I guess," you finally said after thinking about it. Wow... two weeks? Time had sure gone by quickly...
"And why didn't you tell me?" She asked, a pained expression present on her face.
"I-I... I'm sorry," you apologized. "It... came out of the blue..."
"You bet it did!" She frowned. "I thought you liked Karma..."
"Wait?! What?!" Sugino shouted in disbelief, his eyes wide opened.
Your eyes went as wide as Sugino's upon hearing Nakamura's statement. Your mind had been so busy lately that you had completely forgotten you had told her about your feelings for Karma. And now what? You couldn't just tell her you were faking it all along. Yes, she was your friend and you appreciated her dearly but you couldn't risk it. You couldn't risk your mother hearing about it. Sure you had been keeping things away from her, but you were sure she was already suspicious. You had been using Kaori as an excuse to go out and Kaori wasn't even aware of how many times you had done it. You were sure during one of their conversations, something mustn't have added up, you were sure your mother was suspicious. Plus, seeing how 'good' things had been going for you lately, at this rate one small mistake could cost you a lot.
"I guess I was just confused..." you spoke carefully. "I might have confused friendship with romance..."
"Really?" She arched an eyebrow.
"I like Kaori... We've been friends for a long time," you explained, "and I think the movie got us closer together... Especially at the premiere," you began to make up excuses, her eyes narrowing in suspicion.
"We shouldn't intervene in thi-" Sugino began to say but Nakamura quickly shushed him as she urged you to continue.
You panicked. Oh no.
"Ever since I left the end class, we've been seeing each other quite a lot," you added in hopes of convincing her.
"What?" They both exclaimed in unison.
"I was kind of feeling lonely and he was always at my house since he gets along with my mother... So, we bonded," you shrugged.
Lying was sure becoming second nature to you by now.
"Sometimes... I don't understand you (Y/N)..." Nakamura shook her head. "But I won't get in the way. It's your problem and I think it's something you have to talk through with Kar-..."
"Well, well, well..." A sudden voice interrupted Nakamura, your attention shifting over to the door as soon as you heard that voice. "The information was right, there's a student here working part time..."
"You can't be doing this Isogai-kun," Koyama smiled widely.
"This is your second serious offence against school regulations," Asano's voice sent chills down your spine. "I misjudged you... Isogai-kun..."
"Oh no," you frowned as you quickly stood up and made your way over to Asano.
"Hey! You guys! What business do you have with Isogai?!" You heard the lady at the cafeteria exclaim as she pointed her finger at Ren in an accusatory manner.
"I don't want to dye that beautiful face of yours with the colour of rage," Ren flirted making the lady blush furiously, "this is a school matter so we'll take it outside."
"Asano! Can you keep this a secret? I can make a lot of money this month and I really need this!" Isogai pleaded as soon as you all left the establishment.
"You're going against school rules Isogai-kun," Asano smirked in superiority. "I don't think the principal would be thrilled to hear about this... offence..."
You gulped. This couldn't end well. You had to do something or Isogai would be expelled.
"Come on Asano," you tugged his sleeve, your action surprising him since he turned around to face you rather confused. "He wasn't really doing anything wrong..." you tried to argue.
"You know the rules (Y/N)," he squinted his eyes.
You knew he it had bothered him that you left the main campus. Neither you nor his father had given him a reason that had satisfied him and you were now realizing the grave mistake you had made. Was Asano capable of having Isogai expelled just to get back at you?
"Fine," he suddenly said, his response startling you. "Why don't I throw out one condition?" He turned to face Isogai as the gears inside his head began turning. "If you show me your fighting spirit, I'll pretend I didn't see anything here."
'That's it?' You thought in bewilderment.
In the end, it was agreed that the Big Five would turn a blind eye if the end class managed to beat them at the Boutaoshi at the school's athletic festival. Though you were relieved he was at least giving Isogai a chance, you couldn't help but be skeptical at his sudden change of character. As the school year went by, you had quickly taken notice of his ambition to discover the end class' secret, especially during your time in class A.
By agreeing to the challenge with the Boutaoshi, a game similar to capture the flag but instead of a flag, it was a pole you had to bring down, he was basically assuring himself a win. Class A had 28 boys whilst the end class had 16 so, how was that even a fair fight?
A/N: I can already imagine the security guard at Kaori's house when he finds out they're dating now lol