Let's forget about Christmas for the time being.
Umi and I decided to continue our relationship as friends on the assumption that we would become lovers eventually, but it didn't mean that we did anything different.
We spent more time together, but all we were talking about were trivial things like a new pizza menu, or trash talking about a certain soft drink company. We still did the same things as we previously did like playing games together and bantering about stupid things. Overall, we were just trying to take it slow and having a good time.
"Umi, good morning~!"
"Morning. How are you so energetic in this bloody cold weather?"
"Ehehe~ Do you want me to share some of my energy with you?"
"No, thanks. How do you even do that in the first place?"
"Kiss!"
"If you do that, instead of getting more energetic, people will just get aroused instead… Also, I'm not into that kind of stuff, okay?"
When I entered the classroom, I saw those two being chummy this early in the morning.
Amami Yuu and Asanagi Umi. The centers of our class and the two most beautiful girls.
They've known each other since grade school and they were best friends, but lately they've been really close with each other.
Of course that wasn't a bad thing. It was good that those two got along so well considering what happened to them in the past, but… Isn't Amami-san too touchy feely?
'Hehe, as expected, Amami x Asanagi is the correct pairing.'
'No, no, it's obvious that the pairing should be Asanagi x Amami.'
Ignoring the shipping talk that started somewhere within the class, I walked toward the two girls.
"Good morning, Amami-san…"
"Ah, good morning, Maki-kun! Today's weather is really cold, isn't it? My hand felt so numb that I couldn't even remove my coat earlier! Oh, right, are you okay with the cold, Maki-kun? Do you want me to warm up your hands?"
"Ah, no need, I brought a pocket warmer."
I immediately hid my hands before Amami-san could grab them.
As usual, her sense of distance toward the opposite gender was off. She did draw a clear line between people though. She divided everyone in four categories; stranger, acquaintance, friend and best friend and treated them accordingly. But thanks to this, a lot of boys misunderstood her, and thought that they had a chance with her and were inevitably crushed by the cold reality.
"Good morning, Maehara."
"Mm… Good morning, Asanagi."
The way Umi and I treated each other in class didn't really change.
Since the lover's hold incident, the whole class knew that we were close, but that didn't mean that we would go out our way to flirt in front of everyone.
That was why we kept our interactions at school moderate.
Of course things were different when we were alone.
That was the dynamic of our relationship.
"Hehehe~"
"Do you have something to say, Yuu?"
"Nothing~"
Amami-san, who knew how our relationship worked, grinned at us.
Because Umi had been keeping her guard up, we were able to silence the voices who tried to criticize us, but we still couldn't control Amami-san's behavior.
Rather, we tried to, but gave up soon after.
Anyway, as Umi and I hung out more with each other, the less I had to deal with Amami-san's antics, but recently she had been looking at us with an amused grin for some reason.
"Umi, you seem to be keeping your distance with Maki-kun lately, what's wrong? I mean, you stopped going to school with him since last Monday…"
"W-what are you on about? T-there's nothing wrong, stop making things up!"
She looked embarrassed.
Monday was the day when she suddenly gave me a kiss on the cheek.
Ever since that day, whenever I saw her face, I would remember that scene and stumble over my words. Our conversations became awkward lately because of that.
"Huh~? What's wrong, Umi? Your face is all red~"
"There's nothing wrong! It's because of the AC! The AC!"
"…Hehe, Umi you're so cute…"
"You!"
She seemed to be having fun teasing Umi over this.
…What a nice hobby she's got there.
Anyway, I went to my seat, leaving those two idiots and prepared for the morning class. At that moment, my phone vibrated. Someone sent me a text message.
[Asanagi: Don't get the wrong idea, okay?]
[Maehara: Umi, you're so cute]
[Asanagi: Do you have a death wish?]
[Maehara: Please forgive me.]
[Maehara: Anyway, I have something to talk about.]
[Asanagi: Hm? What is it?]
[Maehara: Ah, it's nothing too important.]
[Asanagi: Spit it out.]
[Maehara: It's about Christmas…]
I stopped sending anything for a few moments to gauge her reaction.
[Asanagi: Pervert.]
[Maehara: …]
[Maehara: Okay, what the fuck?]
[Asanagi: I mean, aren't you trying to invite me?]
[Asanagi: You're inviting me over, aren't you?]
[Maehara: I mean, kinda? Mom wouldn't be there so we could have some time alone.]
[Asanagi: See? I was right…]
[Maehara: You still shouldn't call me a pervert out of nowhere like that though…]
As expected, whenever you talk about Christmas, people will connect it to that kind of talk, huh?
Actually, I heard from somewhere that people did research on this matter and that was proven to be a fact.
But I didn't expect that Umi would also think so.
[Asanagi: Sorry, that was a joke. So, you're up to something?]
[Maehara: Well, if you're coming, I'm thinking of baking a cake for you.]
[Asanagi: Seriously? Maki, you can bake a cake?]
[Maehara: Well, as long as I have the correct ingredients and utensils, yes.]
[Asanagi: Maki, are you an alien? Be honest.]
[Maehara: God, I wish.]
Rather, she was more fitting to be an alien than me. I mean, turning chocolate into charcoal isn't a feat that a normal human is capable of. I wouldn't say it to her face though, she would definitely hit me if I did.
[Asanagi: Maki's handmade cake huh~ Too bad I got a prior appointment that day…]
[Maehara: Huh? You do?]
[Asanagi: Yep, you know, that thing…]
[Asanagi: Wait a second, Maki, don't you know about the Christmas Party?]
Party?
I was about to reply before I stopped myself.