It happened during a quiet summer week.

Your parents were out of town. Your best friend—Aira’s little brother—was away at camp. Somehow, that left you staying at their house, alone with Aira.

Which was… terrifying. And confusing.

You'd always seen her from afar at school—this magnetic, curvy girl with pink hair, dreamy eyes, and a strut that could end lives. She was legendary. Untouchable. And now here she was… flipping pancakes in a crop top and Hello Kitty underwear like it was just another Tuesday.

You clung to her leg.

Not for any weird reason. You were just small. Nervous. And she was warm.

“Really?” Aira muttered, phone in hand, thumbs moving a mile a minute. “You’re just gonna latch on like a baby koala now?”

You nodded into her thigh.

She sighed.

Then, unexpectedly… she didn’t move.

Didn’t push you off. Didn’t laugh at you. She just stood there, balanced on one leg, scrolling and humming softly as the smell of syrup filled the air.

“I swear,” she mumbled after a beat, “I’m not cut out for babysitting. But you’re kinda cute, I guess. Like a clingy little cousin.”