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>The noise of her pen scratching against the papers sounded a bit off for her today. That repetitive sound rang in her ears, making Zeta grumble in annoyance before covering her face with her sleeve. She didn't feel like doing her schoolwork that afternoon. And why exactly is that? She doesn't know about the reason for that, either. Perhaps it was the amount of the papers she had to write on that started to wear her out. She doesn't even have any idea on why she still bothered to stay at school in this hour.
>"Catto-san!"
>Ah, right. Axel Syrios. Her childhood friend whom she had loved so dearly, whose smiles could brighten up her whole day.
>Regardless, she lightly flinched in an instant, turning around to face the other who stood a few feet away from her. Axel seemingly unaffected by the surprised, yet annoyed look on the other's face, was still smiling for the most part as he walked over to his beloved friend. In his hand was a red box of Pocky, the sound of the snack shaking inside the box accompanying his steps.
>"Hmm…Good afternoon, Dog-san…"
>"Huh, Zeta, you look a bit sad today. Is there something you want to tell me?"
>Tilting his head ever so slightly, he took an empty seat beside Zeta's one, a curious, yet worried expression on his features. As if concerned for Zeta's well-being, he quickly got up once again, just to cup her face and place a hand on her brow, almost like he was checking whether she's alright.
>"Yeah, of course I'm alright," she brushed it off, albeit seeming fake as always. "You don't have to worry about me."
>A startled look found itself on Axel's face, a jolt running down his spine as he glanced at that fabricated smile his childhood friend gave him. That untruthful, phony tone was what had terrified him to the core, a reflexive response he couldn't have mistaken as anything else.
>"S-she's doing that weird smile again!" Axel thought, trembling as he slowly let go of her cheeks. But of course, being the courageous, energetic, kind boy he was, he mustered all the remaining strength in his body and changed his face to one dusted with another reassuring smile of his own. "You look kinda... gloomy, though. Is everything all good? Go ahead, tell me. I-I promise I'll always be there for you no matter what!"
>Before Zeta chuckled and sighed lovingly at her crush's efforts to cheer her up.
>"It's nothing, really," the girl embraced the other, the faltering daylight coating them in a dream-like sense of serenity. "It's just that I feel a bit exhausted today. There's so many things to do, and... I'm tired."
>"Oh," Axel started to pat those fluffy strands of grey, running his fingers through the whitish tips of her hair. "So that's why you look so down earlier..."
>"Mm-hm."
>"Can I play a game with you, though? To cheer you up?"
>A nod before he took hold of the snack once again, the red box covering it bumping against the wrappings inside. The rattling noise of the sugary goodness from the container greeted his ears, soon replaced by the sound of the box getting opened. Gently tearing apart the top, he stared at the sticks covered in chocolate, tapping the end of it against his bottom lip. And of course, Zeta remained silent, still holding her crush in her embrace while gazing at him.
>"Ah, let me guess, Axel. You bought this for us to eat?"
>Axel snickered, his eyes beaming with joy as he ate a stick of the sugary goodness. "Yeah! Actually, Vespy told me about this thing called 'Pocky game', and I wanted to try it!"
>"Huh?"
>"Ollie-senpai told him about it, and he told me about it, too! He didn't tell me what it was, though," Axel frowned briefly, before returning his cheerful demeanor once again. "But... he said that you could show me what it is!"
>"Ollie-senpai told him about this, huh," she cooed faintly, her voice inaudible to the other's ears. "Whatever. I guess I'll play along. He's just trying to cheer me up, after all."
>"If you say so, then... I guess I don't mind too much…"
