Chapter 62: Beautiful Girl, Goes to Cheer (Part 2)

"That match this morning was really close, huh."

As I said that, I picked up one of the potatoes from my lunchbox with my chopsticks and popped it into my mouth. I really wonder how you’re supposed to keep potatoes fluffy even in a lunchbox. They always get a little soggy—kind of disappointing.

"After you came all the way to watch, I went and made a fool of myself. So embarrassing."

"Seriously, Naoki, you’re such a mess."

"Shut up. Just because you won by chance…"

Please don’t start arguing with me sitting right between you two. And besides, I don’t think losing is anything to be ashamed of. …Though coming from someone terrible at sports, that probably sounds like an excuse. And… yeah, okay, it is an excuse.

"Saeki-kun, you won your match?"

"Yep! Too bad Sakura-san didn’t remember it at all!"

Can’t be helped. Aside from Aoi-kun, I didn’t know anyone’s name in the first place, so I can’t keep track of which match was whose. Taking advantage of the fact that I don’t remember, Saeki-kun immediately starts telling the story in some wildly exaggerated way.

"So then, when my opponent lowered his guard—bam! That’s when I shot out a laser beam!"

…What on earth is he talking about?

He waves his arms around dramatically, clearly having the time of his life. I can’t keep up, so I just smile faintly, unsure how I’m supposed to react.

"Hey, Takao. You’re making Sakura-san uncomfortable."

"Ahaha…"

"Ah, sorry. Got a little carried away."

Saeki-kun is friendly and easy to talk to, but since I’m naturally bad at communication, his kind of enthusiasm makes me nervous. I don’t mind listening, but sometimes he suddenly throws questions at me and I never know how to answer.

"Ah—looks like it’s almost time. We’ve gotta head back to school this afternoon for practice, right? Man, that’s tiring…"

Checking the time on his smartphone, Saeki-kun stretches his legs out like he’s exhausted. The two of them had already finished the soba they bought at the convenience store, leaving me as the only one still eating lunch.

"Sorry, I’m such a slow eater."

"Nah, it’s fine. Take your time."

Aoi-kun gives me a gentle smile. I think that gentleness is part of why I feel so comfortable around him. It’s like… he’s someone I could lean on. Even though I look like this now, I used to be the oldest brother in my family, so maybe I always wanted an older sibling. That’s probably why I feel jealous of Sakurako-chan’s older sister, Yoshino-san, and why I find myself wishing I had an older brother like Aoi-kun.

When I finish eating, I neatly wrap up the lunchbox and put it back in my bag. Yep. Today’s lunch turned out great again. I even let Aoi-kun have some because of the way the conversation went, and he said it was delicious, so I guess I did a pretty good job.

Before I realize it, I’m smiling to myself. No, no, bad! If I sit here grinning alone for no reason, they’ll think I’m weird.

"…Thanks for the meal."

I quickly straighten my expression. When I glance up, I notice both Aoi-kun and Saeki-kun have gone completely quiet. Even though I’d been distracted with my thoughts, neither of them talked to me—or to each other.

Wondering what’s going on, I look at the two of them.

The moment our eyes meet, both of them look away awkwardly. …Wait, were they just silently staring at me? There’s nothing interesting to look at, you know…

"Did something happen? Do I have something on my face?"

I touch my cheek and jaw just in case. I didn’t get rice stuck there, did I?

"Oh, no, nothing’s there. You were just smiling all happily, so… I kind of got lost staring."

Aoi-kun rubs his cheek, embarrassed.

Wow. So he saw my stupid grin completely.

"Yeah, I thought the atmosphere felt too peaceful to interrupt, so I just sat back and admired the view!"

Saeki-kun snaps a salute while still sitting. How is it you can’t read the room at all earlier, but this is when you decide to?

"Don’t stare at people’s faces like that! It’s embarrassing!"

"Okay, okay, sorry, Sakura-san."

Aoi-kun apologizes immediately, sincere as always.

"Your angry face is cute too! Scold me more!"

…And Saeki-kun is hopeless. Completely hopeless.

"Sakura-san, where exactly did you and Naoki first meet?"

Even after I finished eating, the three of us stayed sitting on the bench. Moeka-chan and Sakurako-chan were still on the nearby bench, messing around with their phones. Must be nice being so carefree—things are pretty hectic on this bench, and my social stamina is already draining!

"You went to different high schools, and it’s not like you met through club activities. And Naoki doesn’t have a part-time job, so it wasn’t at his workplace either, right?"

So Aoi-kun doesn’t work a part-time job. My mind wanders to something irrelevant to the question. The inn his family runs must keep him busy… must be rough.

…Right, where we met.

"Um… at the inn, I guess."

That’s what I answer. Even though we actually met at the bookstore near the station, I thought that was just a one-time thing.

"Wait, does that mean you stayed at his family’s inn!?"

"W-Well, yeah…"

Saeki-kun leans in with ridiculous intensity. What’s supposed to be so shocking about staying at an inn?

"No way! So you two are already close enough for you to stay over at his place!?"

"Eh? Um?"

I never thought about it like that.

Staying over…? My face heats up instantly. That’s… one way to interpret it. Staying over at a boy’s house I barely know—

Wait, no! That interpretation is completely wrong! If that were true, then how many people of all ages has Aoi-kun supposedly had stay overnight at his house!? That makes absolutely no sense!

"Takao, go home."

"Haha, okay, my bad."

Scratching his head, Saeki-kun backs off. They really do get along well.

Being stuck between the two of them wears me out, though. It’s nice that they both pay attention to me, and Aoi-kun is always kind, but still… it’s draining.

Once today ends, I wonder if we won’t get many chances to see each other again. I start thinking about things like that.

Come to think of it, I’ve never once invited Aoi-kun to hang out. If I were still a boy, inviting him out would be no big deal—but a girl inviting a boy? That’s basically asking him on a date. And… I don’t know about that.

But if I let things fade without doing anything, maybe we’ll drift out of each other’s lives. And that thought feels… a little lonely.

Going out to hang out is fine, but calling it a date suddenly feels like a line I’m not ready to cross. Caught in this vague, confusing feeling, I have no idea what I’m supposed to do.

While I’m stuck panicking by myself, my smartphone vibrates—bzzz bzzz. Looks like I got a message.

"Sorry, I got a text."

I let the two of them know and start checking my phone.
The sender is Moeka-chan. Let’s see…

"Did you make plans for a date yet? ✨"

My shoulders slump.

"I did NOT!"

Send.

Ugh, those two are definitely enjoying my suffering. When I glance over at Moeka-chan, she looks disappointed after reading my reply. Honestly, what is she expecting?

Then another message arrives. Seriously!?

"How about this? Ayumi-chan, you like this stuff, right? (URL below)"

I tap the link, and the screen switches to the homepage of some shop.
It’s an adorable website, full of pastel colors. Looks like it’s an all-you-can-eat dessert buffet.

Apparently there’s a campaign going on: “All-you-can-eat Japanese and Western sweets!” says the big headline. They even have yokan—that’s not normal for buffets! And all the cakes look delicious too.

…So what is this supposed to be? If you ask whether I like it, well, I love mizuyokan, I like regular yokan, and I like cake. But why does she need to confirm that now?

Still, I scroll further down the page. And then I see it—the real point behind her suggestion.

“End-of-summer weekday dessert buffet! Entry limited to male-female pairs only.”

Ah. A couples event.
…And she expects me to go to this? Nope. Impossible.

"Sakura-san, do you want to go to that?"

Saeki-kun notices me frozen with my phone in my hand. Please don’t peek at other people’s screens!

"What’s wrong?"

Aoi-kun joins in.
Great, now it’s become a topic. How do I get out of this…? I fidget with my phone, panicking.

"It’s an all-you-can-eat dessert buffet! Says only male-female pairs can get in. What do you think, Naoki?"

"What do I think about what, exactly?"

"You idiot! Sakura-san wants to go but can’t because it has to be a male-female pair!"

No no no! Wait! Hold on! I am NOT bothered by that! Not bothered at all!

I scream internally, but nothing comes out. Ughhh, why am I like this? I want to speak up, but once a conversation starts rolling, my mind just freezes. …Well, if I were good at expressing myself, I wouldn’t have ended up with only Ryoji as my sole friend back in middle school.

"Is that true?"

"U-um…"

What am I supposed to say?
“S-sorry, I was just looking at it” feels… wrong.

Yeah, that definitely won’t work. I already feel guilty for looking at my phone while talking to them, and if I say I was checking a place I don’t even want to go to, it’ll sound like I’m bored. That’s not true at all, but they wouldn’t know that…

Maybe I should say Sakurako-chan sent it? But now that the “male-female pair” part is out in the open, I doubt that explanation will help. This is not improving.

"Naoki, you idiot! She wouldn’t open a page for a place she doesn’t want to go to. Looks like today’s practice-free, so why don’t you take her?"

Saeki-kun keeps charging ahead. At this point, he’s fully out of control.

At this rate…

"Uh, I don’t mind going with you or anything, but… only if Sakura-san is okay with that."

Both of them look straight at my face.

Ugh… There’s no way I can say “No, I’m not going.”

"Um… okay."

I don’t think going together is a good idea, but letting them notice that would be even worse, so I force myself to smile as brightly as I can.

It’s not that I hate the idea… but something inside me keeps wanting to hit the brakes. I don’t really know why. Is it because I used to be a boy and that’s still influencing me? Or is there something else—something I can’t quite name—tugging at me from the inside…?

Aoi-kun sees my expression and his lips soften into a faint smile. I can’t tell what he’s thinking, but… I’m worried this might start moving in a direction I never planned for.

"Naoki… I’m so jealous I could die. I hope you mix up your shampoo and body soap in the bath tonight!"

"What kind of curse is that…?"

Aoi-kun checks the time on his smartphone.

"Sakura-san, it’s about time."

With that, he stands up from the bench. Seeing him, Saeki-kun stands too.

"Yeah, see you."

I give a small wave. They both wave back before jogging off toward the gym.

Ahh… Saeki-kun really dragged me around today. One small slip turned into a complete disaster.

"Hey hey! So? What happened!?"

Moeka-chan comes trotting over.

Yes, well… it has indeed become a huge disaster.

"So in the end, are you going to the dessert buffet?"

Sakurako-chan looks just as curious. I reluctantly nod.

"Oh? You didn’t want to? Do you not like sweets?"

"It’s not that I don’t like them, and it’s not like I absolutely don’t want to go, but…"

My answer is vague and awkward. Seeing this, Moeka-chan explains for me:

"Sakurako-chan, Sakurako-chan! What’s bothering her is that it’s just the two of them."

"Ahh. You don’t need to think that deeply about it. Just treat it like ‘I want to hang out and eat sweets,’ nothing more. If you don’t give it any special meaning, it’ll be fine."

Ugh… Even though Sakurako-chan said she’s never dated anyone either, where does this confidence come from?
Ah—right. She has that gorgeous older sister… that explains it.

Don’t give it special meaning, huh… Yeah. Let’s go with that. Instead of “I wanted to go with him,” I’ll frame it as “I wanted to eat something sweet, so I was looking for someone to go with.” That way, it won’t imply anything deeper. Yes. That’s the story.

Sigh… girls really have it rough…

I never imagined that supporting the kendo match would be the easy part compared to everything that happened afterward.

"Ayumi-chan, good luck!"

"You can do it!"

And now, for some reason, my own friends are cheering me on.

…Anyway, I should head home. A shower sounds great right about now.