It's the day after Ayoshi got the information of all the female students from Info-kun. He saw that eight female students have a crush on Taro. 'Any one of them could be my senpai.'
Ayoshi decided he would get close to Taro and become his friend. So if one of the female students who has a crush on Taro ends up being his senpai, he could try doing it the easy way. He would ask Taro not to go after his senpai while he tries to win her heart, but if that doesn't work… he'll just have to do it the hard way.
It's lunchtime. Ayoshi tried to find Taro and found Taro by the fountain reading a book. He walked over to him and stopped in front of him. "Excuse me, Yamada-kun."
Taro looked up from his book and saw Ayoshi. "Hello, Aishi-kun. Is there something you need?"
Ayoshi looked down at Taro and asked, "Can I sit next to you?"
Yesterday, Taro didn't get a good look at Ayoshi and now that he has… 'He's so beautiful.' He blushed and stuttered, "Su-sure!" Ayoshi sat down and said thank you. "You're welcome."
Ayoshi looked at the book Taro held in his hands. "What are you reading?"
At the question, Taro lit up. He started talking and talking nonstop about how amazing the book was, and Ayoshi just silently listened. Then he realized he was rambling. He blushed and rubbed the back of his neck. "Sorry! I rambled, that was probably annoying," he said, slightly embarrassed.
"No, it was not. You must really love that book."
"I do... No matter how many times I read it, I can never get tired of it," Taro said.
"Do you just like this book, or do you read others?"
"I like all books and love reading. It allows me a chance to immerse myself in another world. Sorry, I rambled a little again."
"It's ok. It is nice hearing you talk so passionately about books."
"Thank you for listening. Every time I want to talk about books with others, they just think it's boring. Osano-kun is always telling me I should put the books down and do other things, but I just want to read," Taro said, the last part slightly sad.
"I do not think it is boring. In fact, I like reading too."
"You do?" Taro asked excitedly.
"Yes, I have a whole bookshelf in my room filled with books. I have read them all, some multiple times."
"Wow! I wish I could have a bookshelf in my room, but my parents say if I want one I have to pay for it myself. So the only book I own is this one. The others I've read I had to borrow from the library, but they don't have all the books I want to read."
"What books do they not have in the library? I might have them."
Taro names some books, and Ayoshi has all of them. "Can I really borrow all those books?" He asked, full of excitement.
"Of course. I can bring one of them tomorrow."
"Thank you so much," Taro said with a big smile.
"You're welcome. Is it ok if I ask a question?"
"Anything!"
"Do you have any recommendations for books I should read?"
"Sure, I have so many!" Taro said a few names and what they were about. "We can go to the library now and go check them out if you want."
"Sure," Ayoshi said.
They got up and started walking to the library on the second floor. As they were walking up the stairs Taro said, "I'm at the library a lot so I know it like the back of my hand. I'll find the books real quick."
When they got to the library, they walked right in. "As you can see, it isn't that big, but it has some good books."
For the rest of the lunch, Taro and Ayoshi walked around looking at the books, picking out a few. They also talked about the books they've read and the books they want to read. As the bell chimed, they had just finished checking out the books they wanted.
"Guess we have to go to class now," Taro said, all sad.
"Yeah, but we can meet up tomorrow during lunch again."
"I had so much fun with you so I would love that," Taro said as he got all happy again.
"Well, I have to go now. Bye Yamada-kun," Ayoshi said as he started walking to class.
"You can call me Taro," Taro blurted out before Ayoshi left.
"Are you sure?"
"Ye-yes," Taro stuttered out with a bright red face.
"Ok. Then you can call me Ayoshi. Bye Taro-kun," Ayoshi said before walking off to class.
"Bye Ayoshi-kun… Ayoshi," Taro whispered. He felt so happy that he found someone who liked books just as much as him. As he thought of all the time he would spend with Ayoshi… alone talking about books, his heart started to race. He could feel butterflies fluttering in his stomach. 'Why do I feel this way?'