After school. We went to the convenience store to buy some snacks and drinks and ordered delivery for two at our usual restaurant. After that, we went straight to my home and sat side by side on the sofa.
"Maki."
"Hm?"
"Hug me."
"Mm."
Lately, we had been doing this while waiting for our food to come. We didn't play games, we didn't turn on the TV, we didn't even talk to each other, we just silently cuddled like this.
But as soon as we were done with dinner and started playing, we would start to curse at each other like usual.
"…Umi, I think I have something to report… No, consult with you."
"What is it? Did you make a new friend?"
"No… Actually, it isn't about me, it's about Amami-san."
"About Yuu?"
"Mhm. So, something happened earlier today…"
I gave a detailed report to Umi about the thing that happened earlier. This had nothing to do with me, but I felt that Umi needed to know about this.
We had been telling each other about our daily lives at school. Of course we didn't share everything, but we still tried to tell each other as much as we could. This was mainly because we both worried about each other a lot, so doing this would make us feel more at ease.
"Ah, that… Well, it's a common thing. It didn't happen every time we had a class change, but it did happen a lot. There are just a few girls who were offended by our presence for no reason… Wait, it was a girl who said that, right?"
"Maybe, I couldn't hear the voice clearly, so I don't know for sure."
Though it would be impossible for a boy to suddenly show that much hostility toward Amami-san. On second thought, it wasn't impossible. Maybe if that boy held a grudge against her after his confession got rejected…
"Well, just ignore it unless something big actually happens. I'll notify Yuu and Nina about this."
"Alright."
With Umi and Nitta-san by Amami-san's side, I felt like they could handle any trouble that appeared at their doorstep. I think that the main reason why something like this didn't happen last year was because the three of them supported each other so well.
Well, we didn't know who murmured that thing, but those three should be able to deal with them.
Umi especially, even though she was normally so cute, she would turn into a demon when she got angry.
"Let's stop talking about it and start talking about this 'disgusting guy' thing."
"Ah, right."
We were sidetracked for a bit there, but this was the main topic I planned to bring up.
Let's get it done before we start eating our dinner.
"Uh, the 'disgusting guy' thing is actually a bunch of pictures… Wait, let me send them all to you…"
"Pictures? …Are they yours?"
"Mm. Well, this is what I've been doing for the past week…"
"…Your face looks grim, what's wrong?"
"…You'll know when you see it."
I picked up my phone and sent all the pictures to Umi.
This was the thing I asked Amami-san to do, taking pictures of me when I texted Umi.
There were approximately a dozen of such pictures.
I told Amami-san to take a picture of me any time she wanted for a whole week.
Today was the first time I looked over the pictures myself, but seeing some of them made me want to kill myself.
I kind of regretted doing this, but I've told Umi that I'd give it to her, so I couldn't just back down after saying that.
"…Can I look at them now?"
"…Sure."
After receiving my permission, she opened her phone and skimmed through the pictures I've sent.
"Maki."
"Hm?"
"Dummy."
"…I know."
I didn't know why I decided to do this, it just seemed like a good idea when I first thought of it.
Umi was the one who observed me the most last year, she obviously knew that I would make those strange faces whenever we texted each other. Hell, she had been teasing me about it since before we started dating.
I knew that, but I asked Amami-san to take my pictures anyway and now we were in this situation.
"You see, I wanted you to know that even though our class changed, I won't change. I'm still the same old Maehara Maki, the no-good boyfriend of yours… Though I guess it doesn't work… I even troubled Amami-san for this…"
"Seriously, you're such a dummy."
"Give me a break…"
I probably should have just given her a normal gift instead, but I felt that a normal gift wouldn't be enough.
Choosing a perfect gift for her was difficult.
If the said gift was for an eventful day like Valentine's Day or White Day, it would be easier to choose, but choosing a gift out of the blue to cheer her up was too high a hurdle for me.
…I really am a no-good boyfriend
"Maki."
"Hm?"
"You know, there's something that I want to buy…"
"…Sure, I'll go with you tomorrow."
"Mhm. Alright~"
She was merciful enough to set up a shopping date for me tomorrow at least.
Will I ever stop being a no-good boyfriend? No one will ever know.
"Sorry, Umi… I don't mind if you delete those pictures… Rather, please delete them, I feel like dying remembering them…"
"No~"
"Eh? B-But–"
"No~ Way~"
"Eh?…"
She ignored my complaints as she looked through the pictures over and over again while giggling. Well, at least she was happy about it and maybe it would make an interesting story for her to tell.