I waited at the bus stop, expecting the bus to be here soon. The cool wind flowed through my hair, touching it with it's soft breeze. The sun was rising, lightening the small town.

In short, it was really nice out.

I held my book bag over my shoulder. In it, was everything that I needed for school. Since I needed so much, it was fairly heavy.

The sound of an engine reached my ears, moving closer with every passing second. As I looked to the road ahead of me, I noticed the big, giant, yellow bus heading towards the stop.

"Ah. There it is." I muttered to myself. It was later than usual today.

The bus drove forward, stopping right in front of me. The bus doors opened, allowing me to walk up the steps into the vehicle.

"Morning." The Bus Driver greeted.

"Mornin'" I replied back, nodding my head to him.

I walked down the aisle, passing the other students who had already been picked up at earlier stops. Near the end one student was waving to me. Friend number one.

"Hey Jack!" He said.

"Hey John." I greeted him back, sitting down next to him. I placed my bag in between my legs, letting it sit there.

This was Johnathan Webb. My best friend. One of my two friends. I met him in middle school, and we've been friends for four years now. Wow, how time goes by.

If you're wondering who I was friends with before him, no one. Except this one kid who moved away, so I won't be seeing them in a while.

Johnathan had unruly caramel-brown with sharp blue eyes. I swear, he never does his hair. It kind of looks like bed hair, with how messy it is. It completely covered his forehead.

"Where's Anna?" I asked.

John gave me a strange look, like I was plotting something.

"Don't look at me like that. She's my only other friend." I replied.

John chuckled. I don't know what he found so funny. He pointed behind him.

"She's right there." He answered.

I looked over the seat behind us. Anna was sitting behind us, a small glare on her face.

Friend number two.

What was she upset about this early?

"Wake up on the wrong side of bed Anna?" I joked.

Annabeth Webb. Considering her last name, you can probably guess her affiliation to John.

Yep, they're siblings. To be more specific, twins.

She looked a lot like her brother. She had the same caramel-brown hair with the sharp blue eyes. Unlike John, it seems she actually did her hair in the morning. It was nice and curly. There was a lot of it, as it completely covered her forehead and went down to the top of her back.

"I woke up perfectly fine." Anna replied.

"What's with her?" I asked, turning to John.

John held his hand over his mouth, trying to hide his chuckles.

I lightly glared at him. "Really?"

I sat back down. I wonder what could be bothering her?

My route of thinking was quickly cut off when a translucent screen appeared in front of me.

[Mission] - Hold hands with Anna

[Reward] - 30 AP

[Punishment] - Yodel in the middle of school.

[Time] - 5 Days

[Y/N]

Seriously? You want me to hold hands with my best friend?

"Would you rather yodel in the middle of school Host?" Sally retorted.

I groaned. "Fine..." Clicking the [Y] button, I accepted the mission, the screen to disappearing from my view.

"Hm?" Johnathan asked.

"Oh, nothing! Just talking to myself!" I quickly said. I forgot they can't hear Sally...

I looked out the window, past John's face. I watched as buildings, people, and trees passed by. It really was a beautiful day out.

Welcome to Arcadia.

My hometown. A small place located somewhere in the middle of Pennsylvania.

You basically knew everybody here in Arcadia. It was a small community. The high school itself only had about 400 students, and that was for grades 9 through 12.

Yeah, not a lot.

But I like it here. Here in the normal town of Arcadia.

The bus started to slow down, and upon looking outside I noticed we were approaching the school. The bus stopped, next to the other buses which had parked by the school, letting the students off.

The doors at the front of the bus opened as every student simultaneously sat up. The students in the front left the buss, the others in the back following.

I put my backpack over my shoulder, following the line out of the bus. Stepping off, I turned to John.

"What time is it?" I asked him.

He pulled out his phone, checking the time.

"It's almost time for class. We have about ten minutes to get there." He stated.

All three of us had the same first period of Math.

"Alright." I said. "We should start heading there." I suggested.

We started walking on the sidewalk, approaching the school. Entering the school, we walked down the hallways, heading towards the class.

We pushed the door to Math class open, entering our first period. I sat down in the back. John sat next to me, by the window.

See? I'm normal! John is the one in the protagonist seat!

Anna then sat down to my left. She was pouting, her arms crossed. It was kind of cute.

No! That's your best friend! Don't go down that path. It only leads to heartbreak and friendzones.

After all, the childhood friend barely ever wins. I've watched enough harem anime to know that.

Once Math class started, the rest of the school day went by fairly quickly. Probably because of the fact that I wasn't paying attention much. Most of the time I was trying to figure out how to hold Anna's hand.

Look, I only have five days to do this. And I've never held any girl's hands before. This is completely new to me! I have no clue what to do!

How do I do it in a way that doesn't become awkward? I can't just go up to her and grab her hand. Could I?

Those were some of the thousands of thoughts that ran through my head. But I won't concede! I don't want to yodel in the middle of school.

That would be the death of my small social reputation!

I would go from "loner" to "weird loner"!

"This is why you need me Host." Sally stated.

Oh, shut up!

What if I invite Anna out? Then in a crowd I can hold her hand so we don't get lost from each other. That's what they do in anime!

Gah! But you can't trust anime like that! They have so many unrealistic cliches! And in order for that plan to work, I would have to invite Anna out on a date!

Gah! Why does this have to be so tough?!

"Virgin." Sally commented.

I so wish I could punch you right now Sally.

Ok, calm down. Panicking won't help. I'll just grab her hand and take her somewhere to tell her something.

A lot of variables, but this might work...

Wait, doesn't that seem like a confession?

"You're an idiot." Sally stated.

Hey! I get all Bs! I'm not an idiot!

The school bell rung. In my deep thought, I hadn't realized that the school day was almost over.

I walked over to Anna, who also happened to be in this class. John was in a different class though. Grabbing her hand, I led her out of the classroom.

I'm not sure what to do now...I didn't think this far ahead...

We walked through the school, weaving through the students as we went down the hallway, heading outside.

Upon making it out of the prison like walls of school, I looked over to Anna. She was frozen stiff like an ice sculpture. Still like a statue, blankly staring forward.

"Uh, you okay?" I asked her.

Suddenly her mouth widened into a wonderful smile. Wonderfully creepy. What's with you?

She suddenly wrapped her arms around me, hugging me with a surprising amount of strength.

Ow, my ribs. Since when had she been working out?

Releasing me from her dangerous hug, she grabbed my shoulders, looking me in the eyes. Her eyes were...desiring something...

"You. Me. Tomorrow. At Uncle Dave's. 10 in the morning. Don't tell John." She ordered, before quickly walking off.

What was with her today? First she was grumpy, now she was so...forceful? I don't know, she's just been so strange today...

Usually she's extremely lovely and nice, and doesn't often get grumpy. And she's never forceful like that.

And why does she want me to meet her at Uncle Dave's Ice Cream Parlor? Is this a date?

...Pft. There's no way.

I walked to the bus, following where Anna had left towards. We also took the same bus back, since we took the same bus to school. Climbing up the bus' stairs, I walked over to my seat by John...

...Who was currently asleep. Did school seriously tire you out that much?

John's a real lazy guy. Unlike his sister, who is much more excitable and active.

Hey Sally, can you open the System?

"Sure Host." Sally replied.

The menu screen appeared once more in front of me. Not that anyone else could see it, of course.

Clicking onto [Missions], it showed the one that I had just completed.

[Missions]

[Mission] - Hold hands with Anna. Completed.

(Claim?)

Clicking the claim button, I was rewarded with the 30 AP from the mission.

And that's when Anna's invitation to Uncle Dave's Ice Cream Parlor resurfaced my mind. Might as well check the Affections. It should be fairly high since we're best friends. I'm guessing an 80?

I clicked on [Affection]. Seriously, there is no way that Anna likes me.

[Affection]

Lilia Walker: 100

Annabeth Webb: 110

"Uhhh...Sally?" I whispered under my breath, confused.

"Yes Host?" She replied.

"You said that the Affection was rated out of 100, right?" I slowly asked.

"Yes?" She affirmed, confused.

Then why is Anna's Affection meter over 100?!