"Hahahaha! The Founding Fathers! Oh my god, you're a riot!"
Jennifer can barely contain her laughter over what I had said during class. I can't tell if it's genuine or not, but I suppose this is good enough for Scarlet.
"Haa, haaa… Geez. You really know how to pick 'em, huh?"
She continues smiling as she begins digging into her lunch.
"Ahaha, thanks…"
As far as I can tell, Scarlet seems to be relieved that I've gotten the thumbs up.
So far, Jennifer has been acting hospitable to the both of us. She offers me and Scarlet idle small talk while we partake in our lunches. It's the complete opposite of how I'd expected it to go.
Momoka, on the other hand, is shooting me a glare of the likes I've never seen from her before.
"Uhm, do I have something on my face?"
She looks back down at her tray as if she weren't looking at me all this time.
No, I definitely saw that.
"…"
After a brief moment of silence, she finally decides to speak up.
"You."
The hairs on my arm stand up.
I-it's okay, Chase. She's just another person like you. Calm down.
I slowly place my fork down on the tray and look up at her.
"Yes? What is it?"
"Are you one of the boys who plays with Sigmund all the time?"
Plays?
"We hang out often, yes."
Momoka now also puts her fork down and turns towards Scarlet.
"This man is no good. Break up with him."
"W-what?"
Ehhh?! Already?!
"Momo, what's wrong? You've barely said a word to him yet."
At Jennifer's words, Momoka looks down as if seriously contemplating her next words. It takes a while for her to find the… courage, I suppose? Either way it doesn't look like she's very comfortable right now.
"I don't want someone who associates with that person near me."
"T-that person..?"
"Mmhm. That boy, Sigmund."
Ahh, she knows him personally then?
"What's wrong with him, Momo? Did he hurt you?"
"..."
Jennifer's prodding seems to be enough, as she finally looks up and begins speaking.
"The first time we spoke, he greeted me like this."
She takes a moment to prepare herself mentally to answer Jennifer's question.
"Momoka-chan! You're Japanese right? I love anime so I think we'll get along just fine, don't you? Konnichiwa Momo-chan! Daisuki desu! O-oh, gomenasai. I hope that didn't scare you, h-haha. Anyway I hope we'll get along from now on as tomodachi! Nee?"
"…"
"…"
"…"
He's an idiot.
He's an honest to god idiot.
"U-uhm, I sincerely apologize for my friend Sig. He's an idi- uh, he's a bit special so things like that can happen when he's speaking to strangers."
"And what's more, after I told him to leave me alone, he said this."
There's more?!
"あああ! Momo-chan is so tsundere! Kawaiii! That totally made my heart go doki doki!"
"…"
I look away.
I can't face her. I'm too embarrassed, both for her and Sig.
This is so humiliating dude! Why on earth would you say things like that?!
"L-like I said… I sincerely apologize. He's just ignorant, he doesn't mean you any harm."
"Of course I know that."
She picks her fork up and continues picking at her food.
"That doesn't mean I have to be fine with him, do I? And if you date Scarlet, then how much more of that senseless drivel am I going to have to suffer through in the future?"
She places the food in her mouth and begins chewing.
She makes a valid point.
Even I feel terrible about it and I didn't even see it happen first hand. I suppose that's a blessing above anything else though.
"Don't worry Momo. Chase's friends won't be around when I invite him to hang out with us! It'll just be the three of us and him!"
"I'll hold you to that, then. Because if not, then I'm going to have to avoid you from now on."
"Of course! I don't want to hang out with those guys either, you know! They're totally gross!"
Seriously? I thought we agreed to not talk about them like that anymore!
At Scarlet's words, I find myself glancing around for signs of my friends. If they'd overheard that then my head may as well be on a pike by now.
I scan the cafeteria for any signs of the two of them, but it doesn't look like they're here ye–
"…"
Ah.
Nick's sitting at the table behind Jennifer.
Oh man, he's seriously glaring at me right now. This sucks… I wanna go home…
Jennifer leans forward to face Scarlet, seemingly quite interested in something.
"I'm not very good at names so I can't seem to remember what your boyfriend is called. Care to remind me, Scarlet?"
"Name? A-ah, it's uh… Mace."
"Chase."
"*cough* Chase. Yeah."
I decide to continue with my meal, desperately trying to find an escape from this tense atmosphere.
"Hmm, Chase huh? Chase Chase Chase. Mhm, I like it. Chase is definitely a cute name. Isn't it Momo?"
"…"
Like me, Momo is staying clear of the conversation and as she continues eating her food.
Jennifer seems to accept her lack of answer rather easily and turns back toward me.
"So, how did you and Chase here meet?"
"Ahh, there's no big story. We started chatting it up after class last week and ended up hitting off. I think it turned out well all things considered…"
I see she has her lies prepared. Well, I wouldn't expect anything else from someone who would go this far…
"Really? And what exactly do you like about him?"
"U-uhm… Well…"
Oh. She wasn't prepared for that one, huh?
"H-he's kinda cute… I guess…?"
You guess?!
"… But I only really started noticing my feelings when I realized how little he cared about what other people thought of him. He's all about himself, and I thought that was a bit cool…"
"Hmmm…"
Jennifer stirs her fork in her plate while pondering over Scarlet's words.
"And I guess you like her because she's popular and cute, right?"
"W-well, she is pretty cute, I guess…"
Ah crap, she's probably pissed about that one. I hope she doesn't parade it over me later.
I take a peek at her angry face to find that…
She isn't angry at all?
No, in fact she's a bright red right now.
S-seriously? You're surprisingly easy to flatter, aren't you?
"Haha, it's okay it's okay. She's a real cutie. Lots of guys have asked her out, but she's avoided almost all of them up until now. Which is why normally, I'd wonder why she'd date someone from that geek circle, but…"
She subtly sizes me up more time before turning to Scarlet.
"He's cool, polite, funny, and kinda hot too. I'd say you found a keeper. Good going Scarlet!"
Scarlet almost visibly looks relieved by the conclusion Jennifer has arrived at. To her, I suppose it seems as if her gamble paid off.
That's a huge relief. That means I can wash my hands of this whole business once lunch is over.
I need to think about how to apologize to Nick and Sig though… They had to suffer through a lot of humiliation thanks to this entire situation.
"Hey actually, doesn't dating him make you like, the queen of those geeks?"
"…"
I stop moving my hands.
That tone can't possibly mean anything good. I totally heard her stifle a giggle.
Carefully, I take a glance at Scarlet to check on her reaction. She also seems to have noticed it. Her hands are completely frozen.
"Ahahaha! That's cute Scarlet! You're like the idol of that group of nerds! If you got yourself a pair of glasses you'd fit right in!"
"H-haha, you're so right Jen."
I-I was told not to say anything, so that's what I'll do. This has nothing to do with me, after all.
I take a bite of my food nonchalantly, doing my best to ignore the situation.
"Gosh, you've gotten your own little clique now. That is sooooo adorable. Watch out Chase, your friends might try to steal her from you if you aren't careful."
There's like a zero percent chance of that happening even if we were going out.
"Hahahaha, I can't get the picture out of my head, Scarlet at the head of a bunch of absolute dweebs! Oh god, I'm dying."
"…"
"Scarlet Sterling, are you going to start coming to school in cosplay soon? Oh my god the nerds will love you!"
"Haha…"
Out of the corner of my eye, I take a glance at Scarlet who is clearly not enjoying this.
See? This is what happens when you befriend superficial people. Can you really call this your idea of a healthy relationship? Pick your friends more carefully, why don't you? Geez…
I sigh inaudibly.
That aside though, what the hell is up with this level of teasing?
Does she think that acting like this is normal? Treating strangers like garbage is a level of messed up I've come to expect from people like this, but this is supposed to be your friend.
I know, I know. I shouldn't care about this after all the rude things Scarlet said to me. As a matter of fact this is the exact same kind of poisonous attitude she had with me before so it might actually be justice.
But still…
Shouldn't there be a line drawn somewhere?
"I guess the real question is, has the geek couple shared their first kiss yet?"
"…"
"Come oooon, you can tell me~ Does the nerdy couple kiss in the library after school?"
"Or have you gone even further…?"
I forcefully stand up.
Everyone sitting at the table, as well as all of the nearby students, turn to face me.
Jennifer leans back, seeming completely unsurprised by my sudden action.
"What, do you not want to eat with us anymore?"
Scarlet looks between the two of us, appearing visibly shaken.
"I-it's fine, he'll stay. Right Chase? Don't worry about him. He's just…"
"No, he's totally leaving. Right, Chase?"
"Yeah."
My heart is already beating quickly from suddenly becoming the center of attention, but I just can't be here anymore.
"I've had enough of you badmouthing people you don't know about."
"Ohh wow. A man of honor? You really know how to pick them, don't you Scarlet?"
She smiles as if she's enjoying some kind of show. My frustration only seems to be amusing to her. This pisses me off.
"And don't be friendly with my girlfriend if all you're going to do is treat her like shit."
As I utter those words, I look down at Scarlet while picking up my tray.
"Let's sit outside somewhere."
Scarlet's face contorts into a mixture of confusion and worry.
"U-uhm, okay…"
At her affirmation we grab our trays and head outside.