Calm and chaos

Mio left the convenience store with his usual purchase. And, as if the universe had a script written for him, the plastic bag broke at the bottom. The cans of "Nexus" rolled onto the sidewalk.

Mio stood still, looking at the mess with deep resignation. She didn't even flinch. Instead of panicking, her brain simply filed the event under Things that happen on Tuesdays. "Of course," she thought, "it was only a matter of time. I should start weaving my own bags out of wire... or maybe just drag the cans with a rope." She let out a sigh that came straight from the abyss, mentally preparing herself for the cosmic squat that was picking up her mess.

"It seems like this always happens to you."

Mio looked up. It was Tomoki Minamoto, smiling kindly at her. Before she could say anything, he was already bending down to help her pick up the cans. "Thank you, Tomoki."

"You're welcome. Come on, we're running late."

They both started walking toward Happy Burger. Mio felt her nerves acting up again in her stomach, which was now a knot of butterflies and anxiety. Her mind, usually a chaos of panic, had been converted into a chaos of high-level social awkwardness.

"Come on, say something! Something clever or funny! Remember, you owe him a favor. He bought you that cake last week! What do normal people talk about? The weather? 'It's really hot, isn't it?' No, of course it's hot, you idiot! His hair? 'Your hair looks really... hairy today, Tomoki. GOD, NO, IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU WANT TO MAKE A WAX FIGURINE OUT OF HIS HAIR! Think, brain, don't abandon me now!"

" Hey, Tomoki-kun... " Mio began awkwardly, as if the words had thorns. " Do you... do you like working here? "

Tomoki looked at her for a second, and to her relief, instead of looking horrified, he let out a soft chuckle. "It's a job like any other. But it's more enjoyable because you're here with me."

" Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah. " Mio's brain panicked in a desperate attempt to process the information. "That's it! A response! And it was friendly! Great! Answer, answer!"  

" Ah! " That was all Mio said before falling silent. " Ah? What was that supposed to be? What was that conversation about, Mio? You're a social genius, they should give you a Nobel Prize for trivial conversation. 'Ah.' Unbelievable. The height of eloquence. "

Almost at work, Tomoki seemed to notice the smoke coming out of my ears from thinking so hard, and with an understanding smile, he just said, " Do your best today, okay? "

Mio nodded sharply, so grateful to have survived that conversation that she almost gave him a hug. But she stopped herself just in time. "A hug would be too much. It might melt me."

They entered through the staff entrance. Sara and Kenji were already there, and Kenji, with his perfect timing, had just finished mopping the floor. " Careful, the floor is— "

Unfortunately, it was too late. Mio stepped on the wet floor and her feet slipped. Tomoki, trying to catch her, lost his balance too. The two fell into a tangle of limbs, ending up with Tomoki on top of Mio.

Both of them stood still, completely paralyzed. Tomoki's eyes, usually so kind and gentle, were wide open in surprise. Mio could feel the heat of his body.

" Hey. " said Kenji, leaning on the mop like a reality show host. " Isn't it a little early for you guys to be doing that kind of thing? "

" It wasn't on purpose! " Tomoki hastily said, turning completely red as he jumped up and offered his hand to Mio.

But Mio, instead of feeling embarrassed, felt something strange and completely new: calmness. And with that calmness came laughter. It wasn't a nervous giggle, but a genuine, bubbly laugh that came from her chest. The situation was too comical and absurd for her. She didn't feel the uncomfortable electricity or panic she would have felt if... well, if she had been him. "We're fine. " Mio said, accepting Tomoki's hand and noticing that her smile was real. She felt... happy. It was a strange concept, but she liked it.

The shift ended normally, and Mio prepared to leave for college in a much lighter mood than usual. She hummed a catchy tune that she didn't immediately recognize as "Starlight Echo," ECLIPSE's latest hit. " Maybe " she thought, with an optimism that was foreign to her. " maybe Tomoki does... "

However, when she passed through a narrow alley, her usual route because it was the fastest and possibly the most stupid, a large, cold hand reached out and covered her mouth from behind, and a strong arm dragged her into the darkness.

"No! Not again! The bullies have come back for revenge! Or are they their friends?! This time it's really the end! They're going to make me their slave, or worse, their concubine! And I didn't even get to drink my last Nexus! What an undignified future! Help! Someone call... me! My inner self!" Her thoughts were on full red alert, a festival of panic and drama.

"Shhh. Don't make any noise."

Mio recognized the voice. It was cold, flat, and absurdly familiar. They let her go. Mio turned around, her heart beating so fast it felt like it was going to escape through her throat. She realized it was Ren, in his disguise as a commoner, consisting of a hoodie and jeans, but which couldn't hide his aura of a lost ice prince.

" You almost gave me a heart attack! " whispered Mio, furious, rubbing her mouth but with red eyes.

" I said don't make any noise. " Ren replied flatly. " If you draw too much attention, they'll find out that Ren Shinomiya himself is in this alley. That wouldn't be good for me. "

Mio froze. "Really? That's your main concern right now? And my near cardiac arrest doesn't count? My soul just flew out of my body, don't you care?"

Ren's innocence and ignorance of social norms seemed incredible to Mio. They were very close in the narrow alleyway. Too close. Mio could see each of his absurdly perfect eyelashes. " W-what do you want now? " Mio asked, concerned more than anything about her next class but with a slight blush on her cheeks. "¿Did I drop my bunny pin again?"

" No. I've been spying on you for days." Ren declared with the same calmness with which one might say, I've been watching the rain.

Mio's mind exploded. "SPYING!?"

"...and I had never met such a clumsy person." Ren said with an expressionless face.

"Wait! Did he call me clumsy!? But he was spying on me! He admitted it without even flinching! The Ice Prince is a world-class stalker! And he insults me too!"

Basically, Mio ignored half of what Ren said to her, her brain fried by the word spy and scrambled by the word clumsy.

" So I brought you some gifts." he continued, completely oblivious to her mental breakdown. " I analyzed your everyday problems and decided to bring you some solutions... First, you constantly run out of your energy drink. So I brought you a truckload of your favorite brand, Nexus. It should arrive at your house tomorrow."

Mio suddenly turned pale. " A... a truck? How...? Did he really say a truck? One of those that carry tons of supplies?"

" A... a truck? " she said with great concern.

" A year's supply, according to my calculations. " he added, looking at his cell phone.

" No! I don't want a truckload of drinks! " she shouted, almost hysterically. " The neighbors might misunderstand the situation. Besides, where am I going to put it?, On the balcony?, Ask my neighbor to store it in his living room?, Cancel it! Cancel that! Cancel the truck, Ren! "

Ren tilted his head, his expressionless face showing a slight hint of confusion, as if a computer algorithm had produced an illogical result. "Reject a truck? Had my reasoning failed?"

" Okay... There's no truck." he said, as if canceling a freight shipment were as easy as returning a book to the library. " Then it's Plan B. " 

He pulled out a dark, heavy bag that looked like it contained tools for a crime, but from it he extracted a pair of shoes, possibly the ugliest and most sinister Mio had ever seen in her life. They were heavy, a deathly metallic gray, and full of exposed wires that flashed with an eerie red light, but most importantly, they had no laces, just clips on the heel.

" A prototype from Shinomiya Inc. " Ren explained, with a hint of pride in his monotone voice that you could detect if you listened closely. " I saw you bumping into poles and tripping over your shoelaces. These have proximity sensors and self-adjusting magnetic soles. Problem solved. "

Mio was trembling. Not from fear, but from a boiling mixture of disbelief and fury. " A truck. Deadly robot shoes that will probably take me to the moon if I get close to a magnet. Why? Why is this mysterious man giving me these... things with catastrophic potential? Is this his version of being nice? It's terrifying! "

Mio couldn't take it anymore. Her patience had been broken, but at the same time, a feeling began to stir in her chest.

" You're a fool! " she shouted, her voice breaking between anger and the urge to laugh. " You don't know anything about normal people!, Leave me alone!,  I never want to see you again! "

She ran out of the alley, leaving Ren deeply confused, alone in the darkness, holding the experimental shoes like a child who had been denied an ice cream.

But as she ran, her face red with indignation and her heart racing, a slight smile that even she didn't notice appeared on her lips. "An entire truck... what kind of world does that boy live in?".

And yet, for some reason, that thought didn't seem entirely bad to her.