When I opened my eyes, the first thing I saw was a girl's pale butt right in front of my face.
I jumped out of bed in a flash. When I looked down, I realized I was naked. My eyes turned back to the girl — she had a satisfied expression on her face as she slept.
All I wanted to know was how I ended up in this situation.
"I guess I did this while I was drunk."
I held my head; it felt like someone had stabbed it and twisted the knife around in my brain. The loud music from the party wasn't helping — on the contrary, it felt like nails were drilling through my eardrums.
"Damn it, I slept with some random girl while drunk, and now my head feels like it's going to explode."
While I sat on the edge of the bed, a ringtone snapped me out of my thoughts. My sister was calling me.
"What does she want?"
I put the phone to my ear and answered, bracing myself for Lisa's shrill voice.
"Hello? Sis?"
"Alex… do you know what you did?"
Contrary to my expectations, her voice was calm. Too calm — and that scared me more than hearing her yell.
"I don't know what I did. Care to explain?"
A sigh came from the other end, followed by Lisa's unnervingly calm tone.
"You went to pick up my cosplays at the tailor. So… where are they?"
The costumes!
I was supposed to deliver them to Lisa this morning. But I forgot and left them in the car!
"Err… I left them in the car…"
"No problem. Just bring them to me."
I swallowed hard. How was I going to explain this to her?
"Uh… well… I'm in another city right now…"
"What?!"
After that sharp scream, there was silence. The only sound on the other end was her heavy, almost raspy breathing.
"Lisa?"
After a few minutes of silence, Lisa spoke again, calmly:
"Alex, I don't care how, but I want those cosplay costumes in my hands tomorrow, before noon."
"But—!"
"No buts! You'll manage, or else—"
She hung up before finishing the threat, but I knew exactly what she meant. If I didn't deliver those costumes, she'd be furious with me and lose her trust in me.
"I'm the best big brother there is. I won't let Lisa down!!"
I immediately stood up and started putting on the clothes scattered across the floor.
"Already leaving, Alex?"
A flirty voice came from behind me. At some point, the unknown girl had woken up and was watching me sleepily.
"Yeah. Call me later."
I answered dryly, without looking at the girl in bed, and left the room.
In the hallways, a few of my drunk friends tried to strike up conversation, but I ignored them too — I was in a hurry.
It was a long drive. I was in Tokyo and needed to reach Kyoto before noon. It was already 8 p.m. Honestly, I wasn't sure I could make it, but I had to try.
Almost out the door, I ran into my college friend.
Kirei Ren.
I had brought him along. The original plan was to take him to Kyoto with me since his parents lived there. But I had forgotten all about him because of the party, and now the poor guy was curled up in a corner, looking a bit dizzy.
"Ren, are you okay?"
"Hic-hic!" He hiccupped before answering shyly. "I'm fine… just a little… drunk…"
"I'm leaving now, come with me to the car."
He nodded and tried to get up, stumbling his way outside.
After a quick walk, we reached the black car parked in front of the house.
He immediately got in and settled comfortably in the passenger seat.
When I got in, before I could start the engine, Ren looked at me and asked:
"Alex… are you sure you can drive?"
I guess he noticed I was still a little drunk. Obviously, I shouldn't be behind the wheel, but what choice did I have?
"Well…" I smirked ironically. "I'm not in the best shape, but driving won't be a problem."
"Ah… okay."
Ren seemed reassured by my words and leaned against me, resting his cheek on my shoulder. Maybe it was the alcohol making him act so freely, since he usually wasn't like that.
Something stirred strangely in my chest, but I ignored it and started the car.
No more words were exchanged after that.
After a few hours of driving, I was surprised when I glanced over and saw Ren sleeping peacefully, his expression serene.
It surprised me… did he really trust me that much?
Grrrrumble!!
My stomach growled loudly, which seemed to wake Ren, who quickly pulled back, his face blushing. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him hide his face in his hands.
At that moment, I wished I had mind-reading powers — just to know what this usually quiet and reserved guy was thinking.
The awkward silence stretched for a few minutes before I broke it.
"Hey! Look over there, a diner's open at this hour." I pointed toward a brightly lit burger joint. I added while patting my stomach, "We could make a quick stop, I'm starving."
It was true. At the party, all I did was get drunk and hook up with a random girl. So it was normal to be hungry.
"Good idea." Ren said, calmer now and able to meet my eyes. "I'm hungry too."
I felt relieved — finally, I'd get something in my stomach.
I parked in front of the burger place, but when I reached for my pocket, my blood ran cold.
I had forgotten my wallet!
Forget the food — how was I supposed to pay for gas without money? And the tank was almost empty!
I turned to Ren with a serious expression and said:
"Uh… we've got a problem… I left my wallet at the party."
"No problem!" Ren pulled out his wallet with a smile. "I brought money."
I was relieved… until I saw how much was inside.
4,000 yen.
I did the math quickly — 3,500 yen would go to gas, leaving only 500 yen for food.
A burger cost 300 yen… not enough for both of us.
"Unfortunately, we're not getting full with that money."
He tilted his head, surprised.
"Why not?"
"Because we need to buy gas too. That only leaves enough for one burger." I paused, then added, "Buy one for yourself, it's your money, you have that right."
"We can share it."
I couldn't help but laugh at that. We were both starving — one burger wouldn't be enough for us.
"One burger for the two of us? That's unrealistic, you know?"
Ren blushed and looked away at my response. He looked adorable when embarrassed, but also upset — and that bothered me for some reason.
"Alex! Look, they've got a special promotion."
"?"
Looking more closely, I realized he was right. A sign outside advertised a Valentine's Day deal: two burger-and-soda sets, but couples only paid for one.
Ren seemed oddly excited, but I had to rain on his parade.
"Ren… we're not a couple."
"Ah?!…"
A strange sound left his lips. I noticed his eyes glisten a little and his shoulders slump.
"That's true…" he whispered.
Seeing him like that bothered me.
A thought popped into my head — killing two birds with one stone.
"But that doesn't mean we can't pretend to be one."
I pulled one of the costumes from a dark plastic bag in the back seat and tossed it into his lap.
"What's this?!" Ren asked, shocked, staring at the black bag in his hands.
"Open it and you'll understand." I said, barely holding back a laugh.
He shot me a suspicious look and began to open the bag. His face turned completely red when he saw what was inside — a magical girl costume.
"A-Alex, you want me to wear this?!" he stammered.
"Exactly." There was a hint of excitement in my voice. I didn't even know why, but I was eager to see him wear it…
Ren's eyes widened, the bag trembling in his hands.
"You've got to be kidding…"
I crossed my arms with a mischievous grin.
"Do you want to eat for free or not? This is the perfect chance."
He fell silent for a few seconds, clearly in inner conflict, until he let out a defeated sigh.
"You're impossible, Alex…"
I tried to hold back my laughter as he unzipped his hoodie and pulled it off, revealing a tight black shirt underneath. Then he slipped off his jeans, left only in gray boxer briefs.
My heart skipped strangely in my chest. It wasn't the first time I'd seen my friend in his underwear — after all, we'd shared rooms on trips before — but maybe because of the situation, it seemed… sexy.
"Stop staring at me like that." he said, blushing, picking up the neatly folded costume from the bag.
"I'm not staring, I'm just… making sure you put it on right." I lied blatantly, looking away too quickly.
Ren sighed again and began to put on the light-blue skirt, adjusting the waistband at his hips. The sight was so surreal I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing out loud. Soon he pulled on the white blouse with pink accents, which fit his torso in a way that was… surprisingly convincing.
When he slipped on the gloves and shiny "magical girl" tiara, I couldn't hold back anymore and burst out laughing.
"You look… way too gorgeous!"
"Shut up!" he protested, his voice higher than usual, maybe from embarrassment. His face was red all the way to his ears.
I looked him up and down, and for a moment, I even forgot he was my best friend.
If someone passed by now, they'd swear he was a real girl.
Ren noticed my stare and crossed his arms, turning away.
"S-stop looking at me like that… it feels weird."
I smiled, leaning in closer.
"Relax, Ren. You look perfect. I guarantee no one will suspect a thing."
He averted his gaze, biting his lower lip as if torn between irritation and flattery.
And me — for some reason, I didn't know what I was feeling either.
Seeing him like this left me surprisingly… excited…
I shook my head to chase away those strange thoughts. He was my friend… right?
I opened the door for him, extending my hand with a laugh:
"Let's go, my girlfriend."
He shot me an annoyed look, but took my hand.
"Of course, my boyfriend~"
For a split second, I caught a shy smile on his lips. But it vanished so quickly I wondered if I had imagined it.
"Shall we?"
"Yeah." Ren answered firmly, intertwining his fingers with mine.
Ren… you're getting out of character…
That's what I wanted to say, but for some reason, I ignored it and walked with him toward the burger joint.
"…"
For some reason, my heart was racing.