THE POUNDING IN HER HEAD GREW LOUDER BY THE MINUTE. It was as if someone had set a timpani right next to her ear, banging on it mercilessly. And the timpani was on fire, and she was on fire, and everything was on fire. A bit melodramatic, to be honest, but she could barely move at the moment, much less rationalize her own thoughts.

"Hamasaki?" She hummed in response, refusing to lift her head from the table. "Do you need an Ibuprofen or something?" Shinso's worried voice sounded tinny and distant. The drums drowned him out, and Akane really wanted to take the mallets from whatever god of pain was torturing her and shove them down his throat. The drummer, mind you, not her sleep-deprived friend sitting across from her.

She managed to raise a hand. "It'll ... pass ..." she mumbled, muffled by wood and tablecloth.

The tea house had become their "place", so to speak. As time moved forward and the weeks passed, she found herself bumping into Shinso more and more, until it became an irreversible habit to meet the boy in the calm little establishment. It was such a wonderful feeling, having a friend that she could confide in and bond with over the dislike of winter and their own Quirks. Shinso had this air to him, this sort of presence of safety, like she could tell him anything and everything without worry.

The staff knew them by name at this point. One of them, a boy around Akane's age with a name tag that read "Kawaguchi" and eyes like the ocean on a bright day, could recite her usual order from memory. He probably could have memorized Shinso's, too, if the guy ever actually stuck to one thing. The tired boy ordered something different every time. More brave than her, as she wasn't too willing to try new things.

By now, the corner table by the window was reserved for them. Well, not reserved, but the servers never placed any other customers there. Akane like the window seat. It let her see what was going on at all times, which she appreciated because sometimes it was hard to tell what was real.

Like now, with her pounding head and untouched tea and Shinso watching her with concern. Is this actually happening right now? Or is it going to happen? Visions always seemed real, seemed present, only to dispel in the blink of an eye.

The only thing that hinted at realness?

The sky.

Akane opened one eye, a narrow sliver of gold. She watched the clouds, the shadows of the streetlamps, the way the light filtered through the window. Shinso began to speak, only to shut up at her slurred shhhhhhhsh. He turned and stared intently at the outside, ignoring the strange looks of the people on the other side of the glass.

Finally, she made her decision. "Ibuprofen. I'll ask you in a minute." Her friend gave her a questioning glance. I'll explain it to him later. Akane closed her eye, surrounded in darkness once more, breathing deeply. The timpani drums faltered, fading rapidly until the only noise bothering her was her own heartbeat. Shinso's finger-tapping, the quiet bustle of the tea house, the date plans of the two girls the next table over, it all disappeared as the sound of her slow breathing took over.

Akane blinked.

Her coat dangled limply in her gloved hands. The tea house was relatively empty, save for her and the couple that had just walked in. She stood next to her usual chair, scarf still wound around her neck.

A buzz came from her back pocket. Shinso. That would be a text saying that he was almost there. I need to ask him for painkillers. Remember that. She tugged off her gloves and scarf, draping them over the back of the seat with her coat, and sat down just as the two girls sat at the next table over.

Kawaguchi stopped beside her. "Hong Shui Oolong, with a Mont Blanc?" he asked with a wink. She smiled and nodded, turning to watch the foot traffic outside. The clouds were moving at the right speed.

"You know," piped a tired voice, "that server is gonna ask for your number sooner or later." She didn't have to look to know it was Shinso. 'He's totally crushing on you.' "He's totally crushing on you." Akane let out a scoff and grinned at him as he plopped down. Teasing twice is twice as fun, honestly.

"Isn't everyone?" She winked and cupped her chin in her palms. "Aren't I, the light of your life, the most crush-worthy person you've ever known?" Akane batted her eyelashes for effect.

Shinso deadpanned. "I'm gay."

"I know that, you dork!" They shared a look, before breaking into laughter. When her breathing was even again and her eyes weren't clouded with happy tears, Akane tapped the table. "Dude, I need one of your Ibuprofen. Stat." Shinso blinked and raised an eyebrow, but gave her one anyway. "Thanks. I'm gonna get a killer headache ... or migraine ... whichever one it is, it'll happen in about twenty-ish minutes, just in time for this to kick in."

He tilted his head. He looks like a cat when he does that, aww. "Did you have another one of your ... visions?" She nodded, tapping her fingers as she waited for her tea. I could try to dry swallow it but that wouldn't end well ... "How far?"

"Like, an hour."

Akane had explained the basics of her annoying Quirk about a week after they first met. It took Shinso a while to understand what she meant, until he saw it in action three days later, when she got a sudden vision and dropped her Mont Blanc. He freaked out at her blank expression, thinking that he'd accidentally used his Quirk on her.

"Wait, so you already know all of the jokes so far? No fair!" Shinso ran a hand through his wild purple hair and shot her a look of exaggerated distrust. "Bet you only laughed to pity me. My poor, innocent soul has been reduced to a charity case."

Akane snickered. "Nah, I laughed 'cause it was funny! Like I told you, everything in a vision feels real, so jokes feel just as real and funny the second time as the first!" Kawaguchi appeared, a tray with her tea and dessert balanced in his hands, taking a moment to scribble down Shinso's order before disappearing again. "And yes, I know that he wrote his number on the napkin."

Her friend shook his head, watching as she silently folded the corner of the napkin to hide the writing. She didn't really want to think about it, but she knew that Shinso would bring it up anyway.

He did, of course. As soon as she finished sipping her tea, Shinso leaned forward on his elbows and pointed at her. "You never try to interact with anyone, besides your grandma and me. Literally, you could be friends with the guy, he seems nice enough, but you're not gonna. What's up with that?"

With a bittersweet smile, she gave him an answer for the second time that day.

"Because, Shinso, I'm a dead clock. Sometimes I get it right, but mostly I get it horribly wrong."