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Mika froze, not expecting that.

"Sorry, what?" she asked.

"Did you want to go on a date sometime?" Bokuto asked, the look of 'I think I just messed everything up' was plastered over his face.

On one hand, Mika still wasn't fond of the idea of dating; on the other hand, she didn't want to reject his invite again.

Besides, going on a date didn't mean they were dating though; it could end with them being super good friends.

But Bokuto was also the one asking her... did that mean he was interested in her? Even if he wasn't that interested in her, it probably wasn't a friend date.

It could just be more like the two of them hanging out.

All of those thoughts ran through Mika's head within three seconds.

"Sure, I'd love to go," Mika smiled. "Where did you want to go?"

"There's a local band performing Friday night," he said, looking relieved. "I've listened to some of their music, it seems like your taste, based on some of your playlists...

"I looked because I wanted to put music that was similar but not exactly like yours on the playlist," he said quickly.

"Oh no, it's fine," Mika laughed. "I look through people's playlists all the time for inspiration. But here's my number, you won't have to communicate with me through Spotify playlists anymore."

She handed Bokuto a napkin, her number written on it. Bokuto laughed a bit, taking the napkin.

"Thanks, I'll text you the details- oh I gotta go," he said, scrambling to get his things together.

"I'll pay, Mika said, as he tried to get his card out quickly. "You can pay me back through the date."

Bokuto opened his mouth in protest, but a girl recognized him, causing all of the attention to be on him.

"Just go," Mika said, nodding towards the door, pulling her mask up.

"Thank you! Bye!" Bokuto said, sprinting out of the cafe, a group of girls following him.

Mika sighed, waving the waitress over to pay for their things.

"I'm so sorry about that," Mika said. "He's made himself quite the name."

"It's nothing," the waitress said with a laugh. "Most of the staff adore him."

Mika laughed.

"I don't blame them," she said, handing the waitress her card.

The waitress smiled, taking Mika's card back to pay.

"A date with Bokuto Kōtarō, huh?" Mika sighed, sitting back in her seat. "This'll be interesting."

♪─☆彡─♪

"A twenty-dollar tip?" Bokuto asked as they left the venue.

"Yeah, you caused a scene," Mika replied. "I felt bad, so I gave them a big tip- not that you caused a scene on purpose."

The show had ended, the two of them now going out for dinner, as they didn't have time before the show.

"Well, thanks for covering for me, Oyama-chan," he said with a smile.

"Of course," Mika smiled. "I wasn't going to let two dozen girls flood our table while you tried to pay."

Bokuto's face flushed from embarrassment.

"Really? Two dozen?" he asked, looking mortified. "There were that many girls there interested in me?"

Mika snorted in laughter, patting his back.

"You're an idol now, Bokuto-kun," she said. "You just need to join a jpop group now."

"I can't sing for my life," he laughed. "I love music, but only the listening part. I have about zero musical talent."

"You can stick with volleyball, don't worry," Mika said as they arrived at the restaurant. "Hotpot?"

"It's warming up, I know, but it sounded good," he shrugged. "Plus, we can both get what we want- unless you're vegetarian- then I'm so sorry-"

"I'm not," Mika said with a laugh. "I love hotpot, but I just haven't had it in a while."

Bokuto grinned, letting Mika walk ahead of him into the restaurant, where they were seated. Bokuto looked through the menu, Mika doing the same.

Though, Mika didn't have an appetite at that point.

She was having a good time with Bokuto, yet the guilt of Eita's death was on the back of her mind.

She felt empty, not hungry. Just empty.

Something was missing, but it was something Mika couldn't get back. She wanted to move on, but she couldn't. If she moved on would that mean she was dismissing what she had done?

"What did you want to get?" Bokuto asked, snapping Mika out of her thoughts. "You can order anything. I owe you from last time, plus it's a date, so treat yourself."

Mika nodded as the waiter came over, taking their orders. Mika felt less guilty about everything, convincing herself the two of them were just hanging out, causing some of her appetite to come back.

Still. Bokuto noticed when she picked only a few things.

"If you want more things, don't hesitate to order more, or steal some of my food," he said, a reassuring smile adorned on his face. "Or don't, that's fine too. Whatever you're most comfortable with."

"Thank you, Bokuto-kun," she replied, a small smile finding itself on her lips.

The two of them talked and joked around as they cooked and ate their food, enjoying the cozy environment of the restaurant.

"Yeah, my sisters are honestly two of my biggest supporters," Bokuto said, a warm smile on his face. "It was hard leaving them to go to college. I don't see them much anymore; Tokyo is six hours away from here. Though, I do call them every day, which helps with homesickness."

"I understand," Mika said, with a sad smile. "I don't get to see my parents very much, since it's about ten hours from here to Sendai."

"Maybe we'll have to make the trip back together so it isn't too lonely," the latter suggested.

"That would be great, Bokuto-kun."

The two talked more until Bokuto stopped her.

"Hey, I love that we're calling each other by our last names and using honorifics- all formal and stuff," he said. "But I feel like we know each other a little more personally than that..."

"You can call me Mika," Mika laughed, knowing it was going to happen. "I don't have any nicknames, so Mika is fine."

"You can call me Kōtarō," Bokuto said, beaming. "Or Kō, or 'Tarō, or anything like that. I have a lot of nicknames, so you have a lot of choices."

"I'll have to choose wisely," Mika teased. "Some girl might attack me if I choose the wrong one."

The two of them laughed.

"It doesn't matter what they think," he said with a wink. "They're all too afraid to talk to me anyway. Which, speaking on that matter, I don't think I'm that intimidating. I mean compared to other people."

"Mhm, and who would they be?" Mika said, a teasing smile on her face.

"I don't think I can say," Bokuto said, shaking his head. "I'd rather live another day than say."

"Oh, come on, I won't tell," Mika said, eating some more, trying to get rid of the emptiness that was starting to grow.

"You don't want to know, Oyama," Bokuto said, shaking his head. "You may not like it.

"Oh, is it me?" she asked, snorting in laughter when he nodded.

♪─☆彡─♪

"Well, this is my dorm," Mika said, as she and Kōtarō stopped outside of her dorm building.

"Hey, I know this is really out of the blue," he said. "But are you okay? You seemed a little off earlier, I just wanted to check on you. If it was anything I did, just tell me."

Mika shook her head, swearing at herself internally. She had tried to not make it obvious that she was not doing fine, but not well enough that Kōtarō noticed.

"I'm fine, I was just a little lost in my thoughts earlier, I guess," she said, laughing it off. "It happens sometimes."

Mika could tell from his nod that he didn't believe her, but knew he wasn't going to get anything from her.

"Well, I had a really good time with you tonight, Mika," he said, fiddling with his hands. "Thanks for coming to my game even after what happened at the cafe, I appreciate it. Also- if you ever need someone to talk to, don't hesitate to text me."

Mika smiled warmly.

"I had a good time too, Kōtarō. It was a nice change of scenery," she smiled. "And don't mention it, volleyball has always been my favorite sport, I usually try not to miss the games."

Kōtarō smiled, going to hug her, but she quickly put her hand out for a high five, which he did instead, without any hesitation.

"Not a touch person?" he said.

"Yeah," Mika said awkwardly, most people interrogated her about it. "It's not my favorite thing in the world."

"My old setter was that way," he laughed. "Don't sweat it. I don't want you to feel uncomfortable."

"I appreciate it, Kōtarō," Mika said earnestly, a small smile on her face.

"Well, bye Mika," Kōtarō said, waving as he turned to leave.

"Bye, Kōtarō," Mika said, "stay safe!"

As soon as he was out of sight, Mika walked into her dorm building, checking the playlist. As she looked through it, there were at least a dozen new songs than there were that morning.

She put the playlist on shuffle, scrolling through the picture she had taken that night to send to Kōtarō, knowing he would want them.

Or maybe he wouldn't.

But it would save Mika time to do it then, rather than not doing it.

When she walked back into her dorm, it was silent, except for the faint snoring coming from Ayame.

Mika smiled softly, quickly getting ready for bed.

While she lay in bed thinking about the night, "Notion" by The Rare Occasions started playing.

"'Cause I don't see what they see when death is staring at me."

Mika's stomach dropped. Eita had slipped back into her mind.

Memories and feelings of being with him were back. The familiar sinking feeling was back.

"I'm sure there won't always be sunshine."

She didn't deserve to be happy after a night with another guy, after what she had done to Eita.

She felt more guilty than she had felt since his death. She felt awful. She felt dirty.

Mika scrolled through selfies and pictures of her and Kōtarō on their date, debating whether or not she should delete them.

A video of Mika and Kōtarō singing along to a cover the band did was on there as well.

"You and me, we're not the same. I am a sinner, you are a saint."

"Problems" by Mother Mother had just started playing. It was a song Mika had added, but it had come back to bite her.

"When we get to the pearly gate; you'll get the green light, I'll get the old door in the face."

Tears started streaming down Mika's face. She felt like a horrible person, looking at the pictures of her and Kōtarō smiling.

"I'm a loser, a disgrace; you're a beauty, luminary, in my face."

She had done such a terrible thing, she didn't deserve to be smiling next to such a pure person like Kōtarō.

Mika didn't feel like she was good enough to be smiling in the same proximity as him. She was sure that if he ever found out, his perspective of her would change, leaving her more hurt.

The only thing she could do was stop talking to him before he got attached to her. Before he could start feeling romantically attracted to her, and vice versa.

She didn't want to hurt him like she had hurt Eita.