Just Lucky

"Can I have a day to think about it?" I ask.

Celestia sighs loudly. "I'll see you first thing in the morning then. I'll expect your answer then," She decides, "see you, Hajime Hinata." She brushes past me, Kyoko following close behind.

I must have stood there for about five minutes before slinging my backpack over my shoulder and heading out to the car to meet Chiaki.

-

The twenty-fifth day of the Election. Five days until the Election comes to an end, four until the school dance.

I wake up to a text from Nagito, stating that he had a health appointment and wouldn't be at school but wished me a pleasant day. I sit up in my bed still holding tight to my cellular device. I attempt to smooth down my hair, wondering just what I'm going to do about Celestia's request.

On the one hand, this has been Nagito's dream for a long time and a win against her guarantees his presidency. However, Celestia plans to sabotage him and injure him. And if I don't do something, he'll-

Ugh. What am I going to do? In matters of betrayal and safety, the truth and pain, which is the best option?

I slide out of bed, slowly moving through my morning routine before heading downstairs to wait for Chiaki.

-

"Hajime Hinata."

I turn around sharply at the sound of a feminine voice, coming face to face with a stone-faced Kyoko Kirigiri.

"Kyoko!" I exclaim, sharply as she takes a step closer.

"No time for dilly-dally. Will you cooperate with the Student Council?" She demands.

I hesitate. I've got to decide now. What should I do?

Betrayal to ensure safety huh. . .But I don't know if I can lie to Nagito. . .

"Well?"

I look her straight in the eyes. "No. I can't do that to Nagito." I sigh. Kyoko's eyes narrow before she emits a low dark chuckle.

"Very well," She responds slowly, folding her arms over her chest, "I hope you don't regret this decision."

And with those haunting words she steps away from me and makes her way down the hall.

I sigh. Ugh, I fucking hate Election season.

-

The rest of the day was really uneventful. In the end I decide I need to warn Komaeda about the threats right away so when Chiaki starts to drive us home I ask her to drop me off at Nagito's instead.

"How are you going to get home?" She asks as she starts to drive a different direction.

I shrug. "I'll figure something out. Thanks Chia-bean." I reply causally, leaning back in my seat.

Chiaki gives me a suspicious glance. "Do you even plan on going home?"

My ears go red. "W-WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THAT?" I demand.

She giggles. "Nothing, nothing~" She hums in response, turning her attention back towards the road.

It doesn't take long to get to Nagito's house as his mansion is not that far from the school. Chiaki drops me off at the front door, offering to bring meds for an aching hips and back together. I immediately responded by lightly hitting her several times with a flushed face and scrambling out of the vehicle, watching her laugh as she drove away.

I walk up the front steps, trying to cool myself down, and knocking on the front door. Nagito answers a moment later, wearing a white T-shirt and dark jeans. His fluffy off-white hair is pulled back in a low ponytail. His eyes widen in surprise when he sees me standing on his porch.

"Hajime?" He asks, perplexed, "What are you doing here?"

I shuffle my feet awkwardly. "There's something important I need to talk to you about. Can I come in?"

He nods. "Definitely. Please come in." He replies, stepping inside so I can come in and shut the door behind us. We both head down to the basement and settle together on one of the couches. I take his hand in mine and begin to speak.

"So last night, Celestia and Kyoko approached me, and. . ."

I proceed to fill Nagito in on everything, the warnings, the threats, the deals, etc. Once I finish, he leans back in his seat, chuckling.

"Heh, is that so? How amusing." He comments. My jaw slackens slightly.

"What?! Aren't you worried?! They're threats, Nagito, against you!" I exclaim, clutching his arm tightly. He pats the top of my hand.

"They won't actually do anything," He assures me, "it's too much paperwork. Besides, it's not like they're going to kill me or anything, that's just pointless. They're just empty threats."

"But it's the Student Council, they have the power to get away with anything! You need to take this more seriously!" I insist.

Nagito smiles, wrapping his arms around me and pulling me close to his chest.

"Aw, sweetheart, I'm not worried. But if you're really so concerned I'll be careful. I won't let anything happen to me." He promises.

I angle my head to look up at his face. "You mean it?" I ask in a childish tone.

He chuckles, smooth like syrup. "You have my word." He affirms, bending down to kiss my lips swiftly.

"Alright," I agree, "I'll be on watch for you as well."

"Good. I'm grateful." He hums back, kissing me again. He leans forward, putting his weight on me, forcing my back against the couch. He then proceeds to climb on top of me, pinning my wrists on either side of me. "Heheh....This alright?" He murmurs.

I don't waste any time.

"Don't you dare stop now." I respond firmly, grabbing his shirt and pulling him down on top of me, "this is actually kind of fun."

"You sure about this? It's not a bad time?"

"Positive."

-

I wake up with a hot boy right next to me. Huh? Did I spend the night at Nagito's? On a school night?

My cheeks go pink as I remember the events of last night. Things got a little hot and heated but we didn't go as far as to do the horizontal greasy weasel tango so that's a relief. Ah, but we better hurry and get ready and go to school.

I reach over and poke Nagito's. . .bare chest. (ASKJFVKJFNDGBJNGDBJNBGJGRN) "Hey, Nagito, get up, we've got to get to school." I say.

He rolls over, letting out a groan. "Nooo, let's just stay here for the day." He groans, grabbing blindly at my arm.

I sigh. "You already missed yesterday and education is important." I insist.

He rolls his eyes. "Isn't it safer for me to stay home anyway?" He points out, "Stay home with me, Haji-chan."

I press my lips together in a thin line. He does have a point there. And that new nickname is weakening my line of defense.

"Fine," I grumble, "I'll tell Chiaki I don't need a ride today. But you're making me breakfast."

He smiles in victory. "Yay, I love you, Hajime." He mumbles happily.

"Yeah, Yeah." I mutter, reaching for my phone. As I'm about to send a text to Chiaki I suddenly freeze. I whirl around to look back at a half-naked Nagito, propped up on his elbows with an unimpressed look on his face.

". . .Did you just say you love me?" I demand.

He shrugs. "Yeah, I did. I love you, Hajime. What of it?"

My cheeks turn bright pink. "D-Do you mean that?"

"Yep."

"YOU CAN'T JUST SAY THAT!"

"Oh? Why not?"

"I-JUST-" I stammer, "I DON'T KNOW!"

He smirks. "Aw, is the former Housepet flustered? My, my, this is a treat." He teases.

I bury my head in my hands. "Yeah yeah whatever." I huff, shuffling closer to him, burying my head in his chest.

We lay there in silence for a few moments before I finally mutter "I love you too."

-

The entirety of the next day, the twenty-seventh day I spent worrying over Nagito who was as carefree as ever; waiting for Celestia to decide she was ready for their match.

The day before the dance, the twenty-eighth and all six of us were sitting around our lunch table.

"I'm worried," I admit, "Celestia made that threat a few days ago and yet no one has made a move against Nagito. What if they're planning something big?"

Komaeda smiles. "Or like I said they're meaningless threats. I wish you weren't worrying so much, sweetheart."

"I can't help it, I'm sorry Nagito. The Student Council has a lot of power and resources. . .they can do anything!"

Chiaki rubs my back. "We're not going to let anything happen to Komaeda, I promise. He's going to be fine." She assures me.

"Yeah, he's going to destroy Ludenberg and take over the school!" Kokichi agrees eagerly.

"Don't phrase it like that." I mutter.

"Well, I plan on trying my best for you all," Komaeda declares, "I'm ready to finish what I started. Heh, this will be fun."

He has that scary expression on his face again. Ahh, but that's probably the attitude someone should have going into a match against Celestia Ludenberg. . .

Sonia smiles. "You are a good person, Nagito." She replies nicely. His cheeks go pink.

"Not necessarily, aha. . .but thanks Sonia."

". . .Is it really safe to assume that everything is going to turn out fine?" Shuichi speaks up. We all turn to look at him, making him flinch. "I just mean we're all assuming everything is going to be fine. . .what exactly is going to happen if it's not?"

Kokichi rolls his eyes. "The trick is to act like you've already won, Shumai. Gosh, you're such a worrywart!" He exclaims, hugging Shuichi's arm.

"We'll be fine. . .probably," Chiaki says, "but if not, I suppose we'll just have to endure. There won't be much left for us to do."

I sigh. "Yeah. . .after all, we're only kids. People forget that sometimes. Why does the Student Council rule over the entire school anyway?"

Sonia rests her head on Chiaki's shoulder. "Because this is Hyakkaou Academy and nothing here will ever be normal."

"I guess you're right."

The bell then rings and we begin to clean up our messes and stretch our legs. My eyebrows seem to currently be stuck downwards, frozen in worry. Nagito, noticing this across the table gives me a quick wink.

I smile back at him before stepping away to dump my tray in the trash and head to class.

-

"The day of the dance is supposed to be an off-day so that the students can have the day to get ready," Chiaki says, drumming her fingers on the steering wheel, "you know, since no one would probably show up to school anyway. Sonia thought it would be fun if we split our little group into two and got ready together, so, would it be alright if Shuichi and I got ready at your place tomorrow? Sonia would pick us all up in the evening."

I shrug. "Yeah, that's no problem. What time?"

"Four? The dance starts at six."

"Yep, that's good."

I let out a tired sigh, snuggling further down into my heated seat.

-

Day twenty-nine. The last day before the Election ends. The day of the Dance.

I spent the morning sleeping in. With the stress of the Election combined with the stress of my school work and Nagito's safety must have left me feeling pretty exhausted.

Once I'm up I make sure I iron out the suit I bought and give my face a good scrubbing down. As previously agreed upon, Chiaki and Shuichi show up around four, clothes and materials in tow.

I take my time getting dressed, doing up my tie in front of the mirror. I brush my hair and smooth it back with Chiaki's combination of hairspray and gel. She insists on putting a little bit of concealer and foundation on my face and I finish off with a touch of Chapstick to make my lips nice and smooth. Chiaki pulls her hair back in some sort of braided up-do. She does her makeup perfectly and is wearing an off-the-shoulder, A-line, long, pearl pink, satin dress with sparkly three-inch heels. Shuichi wears a dark black suit with a black tie and shiny dark-brown shoes. Chiaki hairsprays his hair and brushes through it gently.

"You two look so handsome!" Chiaki exclaims happily once we're all done getting ourselves prepped.

"Says you!" I say back, admiring her stunning get-up.

She smiles and twirls for effect, giggling as she does so. "Do you think Sonia will like it?"

"She'll love it." I assure her.

And for the purposes of this story the doorbell rings then, making Shuichi jump. "That must be Sonia, Kokichi, and Nagito." He says.

"I'll get it." I offer, getting up from my position on the bed. I jog quickly down the stairs and go to the front door.

I open it and all three are standing on the porch. Sonia is standing in the center, wearing a simple red, satin, strapless, floor-length dress with black heels, hair piled neatly on top of her head. On the left is Kokichi wearing a clean white suit and a checkered tie, hair pinned back behind his head. And on the right is-. . .HOLY SHIT

Nagito is standing there casually, hands shoved in his pants pockets. He's wearing a cream-colored suit with a matching tie and light-brown shoes. His wavy hair is pulled back in a low ponytail and his eyelashes look like they've been curled. To some it all up, he looks hotter than hell.

Komaeda notices my gawking and turns away with rosy cheeks.

"Hey guys," I greet them, "one moment, I'll get Chiaki and Shuichi."

I then turn and jog back into the couch. I yell up the stairs that it's time to go and five minutes later we're all settled in this limo that Sonia apparently rented. The blonde produces a bottle of champagne and six glasses and we all settle in for the ride.

-

It's so loud in here.

The gymnasium is packed with people from all years in their fanciest clothing, just partying away to lame, modern-day music.

Sonia finds a table big enough for six and we make camp there. Of course it's not long before Kokichi grabs onto Shuichi and drags him onto the dancefloor. Some friends of Sonia wave her over and she brings Chiaki over to meet them, leaving Nagito and I alone at the table.

He drums his fingers idly on the table, letting out a soft exhale as he glances around the room.

"You look. . .so handsome." I say, giving him a shy smile.

His cheeks go pink. "Oh please. Compared to you I look like the trash I am on the inside," He then smiles mischievously, "shall I compare thee to a summer's day, Hajime? Thou art more lovely and more temperate. Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, and summer's lea-"

"Stop quoting Shakespeare, you big dork." I grumble, slapping him lightly.

"Fine. But you do look so wonderful, sweetheart," He chuckles, leaning in closer, "it's all I can do to keep myself from tearing you apart right here right now."

My entire face goes bright red. "You. . .YOU CAN'T JUST SAY THINGS LIKE THAT IN PUBLIC!" I protest.

He grins. "Why? It's the truth. You're so adorable." He says, kissing the knuckles of my hand.

"Stopppp." I whine.

A slower song comes on just then and we both watch as couples start to pair up to share in the dance. I turn to Nagito with a slight shrug.

"Wanna. . .Care to dance?" I offer.

He grins. "Yes, of course."

I take his hand and lead him out onto the dance floor. He puts his hand on the lower part of my back and I place one on his shoulder. He pulls me closer, taking my free hand in his as we begin to sway.

The music picks up a little and we both laugh and smile, twirling around the floor. A little ways away from us, Sonia and Chiaki are holding each other close and smiling like they're the only two people in the world. And then there are Kokichi and Shuichi, who aren't dancing in tune with the music at all but are enjoying themselves immensely.

It doesn't really get better than this, does it?

-

After a few songs, the six of us return to the table, a blissful feeling radiating throughout our little group. But that mood soon fizzles when we notice a small white envelope placed in front of the seat Nagito was sitting at.

He picks it up slowly and immediately opens it. Inside is a note. His eyes quickly scan it over before he looks up and meets the gaze of all of us one by one.

And then he says;

"Celestia is ready to gamble."