Chapter 69

Chapter 69 – Refusal

People usually fell for Amami-san for the same reason, and Seki-kun was no exception to that. It was love at first sight.

Even Umi fell in love with her at the first sight, kind of.

Anyway, Amami-san was simply that charming.

“Back in middle school, since I was more athletic and taller than the others, I was quite popular. But at that time, I was so focused on club activities that I didn’t bother to pay attention to something like this. I thought my life in high school would be the same, but then I met her… What can I say? …The first time I saw her, I felt a tingle in my chest…”

“…So, Amami-san is your first love?”

“…Please don’t tell anyone in class about this…”

“Sure.”

Seki-kun nodded shyly. His face was red from embarrassment.

Meeting his first love in high school, huh? …We were similar in that regard then.

“I’ve been acting tough, but the mere presence of her is enough to make me nervous… Her smile… Her smell… Everything about her made me nervous… Angels do exist in this world, huh? …You know, when there are people around, I could manage to keep my composure, but if I were to be alone with her… No, I can’t… Just thinking about it is making me anxious…”

From the look of it, he was serious about Amami-san. There was a possibility that this was all an act and he was only trying to make me sympathize and cooperate with him, but if that was his goal, he would have approached me a long time ago.

Also, the fact that he was gunning for Amami-san was well-known already. One of the sharper guys among his friends probably intentionally spread it out.

“So, anyway, the Christmas party. Most of the guys I hang out with have girlfriends and they are bringing them as their plus-one. I’m the only one who doesn’t have a girlfriend and of course they teased me about it. Normally, I would just brush it off, but I haven’t been doing well in my club and everything frustrated me, even their dumb comments, so…”

“Ah, I see, I understand.”

I knew where this was going.

In the heat of the moment, he probably said something like ‘I’ll bring Amami-san with me!’

And now he couldn’t back down anymore.

He wasn’t even that close to her. Hell, he didn’t even have her phone number yet.

…Seriously, Nitta-san, Seki-kun… Why are my classmates so troublesome to deal with?

Is it necessary to do things like this? Doing nonsensical things for the sake of your pride?

“Alright, so because of all that, you decided to consult with me, who’s close with Asanagi to help you out, correct?”

“…Yeah… By the way, back when I heard you were friends with Amami-san, I immediately marked you as my ‘enemy’, that’s why I called you out back then… Sorry about that…”

Contrary to his expectation, the girl I was trying to get was Umi. Since that was the case, I was no longer his ‘enemy’ and instead I became the perfect person for him to ask for love advice.

“Right, I’ve been wondering about this, but… Maehara, how the hell did you get close to Asanagi? She’s even harder to get than Amami-san, you know?”

“Eh, things happened and it turned out that way, I guess?”

I knew I was being vague, but that was the truth.

When I first met her, I thought that she was only a girl that shared the same hobbies as me. Since she was my first friend, I tried to cherish her as a friend. But as time passed, our relationship and my feelings developed into something else entirely and before I knew it, we ended up in our current situation.

I’m sure that no other girl in this world would be willing to be around me other than her.

I’m lucky to have met her by chance like that.

“I know it’s too much to ask… We’ve never really talked to each other after all… But this is a perfect chance for me. I mean, there’s no guarantee that Amami-san and I will be in the same class again next year… This could be my only chance…”

“…Right…”

Amami-san knew a lot of people from other classes, but she hung out with her classmates more. So, if they got assigned to different classes next year, chances were they wouldn’t be able to hang out often.

I knew that his love for Amami-san was genuine and I could relate to him since I felt the same way about Umi.

“That’s why, Maehara, please! You’re my only hope!”

“Hey, pipe down, someone might hear you!”

We were alone in a secluded place like this, someone might get the wrong idea if they were to find us.

Who knows maybe they would think that Seki-kun was confessing his feelings to me.

There’s no one nearby so we were all good, but if someone like Nitta-san were to overhear us, it would complicate things.

“S-Sorry… So, your answer?”

“Uh…”

He lowered his head. I quickly gave him my reply.

“Sorry… As expected, I can’t help you…”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah… Sorry…”

Just like him, I too, lowered my head.

Actually, from the moment he called me out, I already decided to refuse his request.

“…I see.. I guess I got ahead of myself huh? I mean, asking something like this to a mere classmate… We aren’t even friends…”

“…Well, you can put it that way.”

I gave him an affirmation, but there was actually another reason why I turned him down.

Of course the reason was related to the girl that I loved.