Beeb Beeb Beeb
The morning has arrived, even though I couldn't sleep all night.
No matter how tired I was and how hard I tried, I just couldn't stop thinking about what happened yesterday.
Why did I accept her request? I couldn't find an answer.
I could say that it was just my curiosity to know her reason for requesting it that made me say yes at first. But still.....
I could've refused after finding out, or at least ask her for time to think it over.
However, I didn't do that for some reason... I just can't put my finger on what it is...
I dressed up in my school uniform and went downstairs for breakfast. There, I was greeted by Seika Fumiya, my older sister waiting for me at the table.
She had short black hair tied up in a ponytail, light brown eyes , a clear pale skin with slightly puffy cheeks, she's on the shorter side when it comes to height and even though she's older than me by a year she still looks youthful.
Unlike me, she has a superpower of her own. She calls it 'pure imagination' her power is not something particular, rather it's a set of rules that gives her near endless possibilities.
To put it simply, she can do anything kids believe she can do. However, it's biggest downside is that if even only one kid believes that she can't do something, she simply won't be able to do it.
"Good morning, bro." she greeted me with a smile.
"Good morning." I sat down in the chair opposite her.
"Why are your eyes so red? Did you stay up all night on your phone again?"
"I did stay up yes, but it wasn't because of my phone."
"Hmmm" she grinned at me "Come on, you can't fool me with such an obvious lie."
"I'm not lying."
"Oh, sure boss, tell me more! did you get a girlfriend or something?" she said in a teasing manner.
"Yeah, sort of."
Pffffff- "Bwahahahaha! I didn't know you say jokes like those! hahaha!..." her laughter faded as she saw my expression remain unchanged "... No way."
"It's complicated. Believe me, I'm as confused as you are."
"You have to tell me more! NOW!"
"Let's leave it for tonight, or we will be running late."
She checked the time "Crap, let's dig in, quick!"
We finished breakfast and made our way to school. Since we went to the same school, we always walked there together.
As we neared the gate, a silhouette of a girl waiting by it caught my eye... I had a bad feeling.
The moment the silhouette features were clearer, I knew exactly who it was....
It was Lilia.
Her clear amber eyes met mine, and she ran toward us. It didn't take her long to be in front of me.
With a gentle smile, she greeted me "Good morning, Rio-kun!"
So I wasn't imagining it. She really called me that...
Lilia's gaze shifted towards the girl beside me. "And you are... ?"
"Nice to meet you! I'm Seika Fumiya!" she said, extending her hand "you're Lilia Tsereteli, am I right?"
"Yes, that would be correct. It's nice to meet you too." Lilia reached out and shook Seika's hand.
"By the way, are you friends with my brother here?" she pointed at me.
"Not quite, I'm actually his girlfriend."
Seika's jaw hit the floor. I couldn't help but glare at Lilia, her saying this out of the blue made me extremely uncomfortable.
Then Lilia spoke again as she took my hand "Come on Rio-kun, we're running late for class!"
She practically dragged me toward the school grounds, while I looked back at Seika's baffled expression.
Once we entered school ground, I couldn't help it anymore and started frowning "WHAT WAS THAT FOR JUST NOW?!"
"It's good now, word will spread."
"What do you mean by that?! Explain!"
Tsk "Not now, during lunch break. I don't want to be late to class." she said with irritation.
I was still mad at what just unfolded, but I decided to calm down for now, until she provided her explanation.
We made our way to the classroom on the second floor after a bit of walking, thankfully the teacher hadn't arrived yet.
Our other classmates, who had already arrived, shifted their gazes the moment we set foot in class. not only was Lilia not the first to arrive today, but she was also holding my hand."
We sat down, and Naoto Usami, my friend who sits in front of me, turned around.
"Dude, you messed up big time. What did you even do to have our 'solitary star' dragging you around? She looked pissed as well."
"I-"
I barely managed to open my mouth, but before I could speak, the teacher arrived.
Needless to say, I couldn't focus at all during class.
Before the next class started, I tried to explain to Naoto that I was just as clueless as him.
He just put his hand on my shoulder as if comforting me and said "Falling in love is tough, but I'll support you! "
"...." it seems word had spread about me and Lilia.
Finally, after a few more classes, lunch break arrived.
"Let's go to the rooftop." Lilia said, dragging me by my hand once more.
As we made our way to the rooftop whispers along the lines of "So the rumor is true." and "He does really look like a peasant." followed us.
It seems like the story is getting treated like one of those 'princess and peasant forbidden love' stories.
The attention bothered me, it wasn't about me being called a peasant. I didn't mind those comments.
I can't handle being in the spotlight.
We reached the rooftop and sat on a bench.
No one beside us was there providing privacy.
She opened her lunchbox without a word. It was clear, she wasn't planing to start the conversation, so I decided to speak first.
"Tsereteli-san, why did you do that in front of the gate?"
Her expressions remained calm "Fumiya-san, I did it to get the rumor going." she took a bite of her food.
"Why? wouldn't that provoke your stalker?"
"That's precisely my plan."
"W-What?!" I couldn't believe it. Is she stupid? Or maybe crazy would be more fitting for her.
"You didn't hear me wrong." She glanced at the crowd forming in the distance "Also, some people are watching us. Hand me your chopsticks so I can feed you."
"No."
"What do you mean? Didn't you agree to help?" she pouted.
"You didn't fill me in on your plan yet, I can't help you like this."
"Is that so?" she said that with a sigh "Very well then, listen carefully. I don't like repeating myself."
She took a deep breath before continuing.
"I plan on luring the stalker out then catch him. All I needed was a bait. That's All there is to it. Are you satisfied?"
"And I'm the bait?"
"Not quite, the boyfriend thing is the bait."
"Meaning if I had refused-"
"I would've found someone else? No, there aren't a lot of people that can fill your shoes. I would just make another plan if you refused."
I wanted to ask what she meant by filling my shoes, but I already had a guess.
It's probably because I'm one of the few people she didn't give the cold shoulder to. A lot of people had antagonized her because of it.
I can't fully blame her about that since some of those people were jerks, however...
"I need more time to think about it."
"We can't back down now, we're already-"
"I promise to give you an answer tomorrow."
I decided to visit the nurse's office to excuse myself. that would be better than ignoring Lilia for the rest of the day, at least it won't ruin her work.
As I left the rooftop, someone pulled me aside.
"Dude, what happened? was her cooking that bad?"
It was Naoto. I couldn't be happier to see anyone else at this moment.
"Naoto!" I grabbed his shoulders. "Perfect timing I need your help, if rumors start spreading about me and Tsereteli-san breaking up, stop them."
"H-huh?.. Yeah, sure I'll do what I can."
"Thanks dude! you're a lifesaver."
It has been 5 hours since I went home, thanks to my lack of sleep the nurse didn't question me.
Naoto had updated me on the situation at school. As expected he managed to keep it in check.
Lilia, on the other hand, sent me an emoji of a mad cat with no context... Surely she's not mad about me leaving like that, right?
I had been waiting for Seika to come home. Unlike me, she didn't go home immediately after school. She would go to an orphanage or a hospital everyday to play with the children there.
Creak
The door creaked open. Seika rushed toward me and held me by the collar of my shirt. "You're gonna tell me everything this very moment!" She demanded.
I explained to her everything that unfolded up until now, making sure not to miss any details, I had been going at it for approximately 10 minutes.
"..." She stared at me with a blank expression.
"So, what do you think?"
"T-that's... Something.... Let me think for a second."
She stared at the table with her hand supporting her chin. Mumble Mumble, She started mumbling to herself for a bit before raising her head.
"Ok, I think I understand it now."
"So, do you think I should turn her down tomorrow?" I asked anticipating an answer.
"That's not for me to decide." She said nonchalantly.
"B-b-b-but...." That startled me. She used to always decide for me when I couldn't decide... why now all of a sudden?
"No buts. You stop relying on others to decide for you. However, I'll help you a bit."
"How?"
My sister stood up. "Tell me, why didn't you turn Tsereteli-san down after she told you about her situation?"
"I... I don't know." It's the truth. I don't know why. It's not like me to get involved in stuff like this.
She smirked. "Were you cheap enough to be bought with a mere 1,000 yen? Or maybe you secretly like Tsereteli-san? How cute!"
"..." Why was she teasing me now?
"Did you want a 'the perfect princess' to be your girlfriend that badly?" Hihihi~
"I'd rather die."
"In any case, you didn't need a reason."
"What?"
"You might not remember, but you used to always help others without a second thought."
"...."
"You know, I don't like how you've changed. You started neglecting your appearance and academics. And you've even stopped helping others. Maybe this can be a step back into the right path."
I frowned "I told you stop bringing this up."
"Rio, Mom was the only one at fault. You-"
Slam. I slammed my hand on the table.
"Enough."
Seika flinched "... Sorry, I strayed off topic."
I started breathing deeply to calm myself.
"Rio, I won't push you. However, you can't change what already happened. So ask yourself, will you regret turning her down now? Or will you be fine walking away?"
Seika sat back down with a sour expression. "Just... If you decide to help her, don't fall in love with her."
I nodded then stood up. I decided to go to bed early. I had made my decision already, so falling asleep wasn't hard.
Whatever happens after. I'm ready for it.
The new day has started. Nothing interesting happened and before long lunch break rolled around.
I grabbed Lilia's hand. "I'm ready."
She seemed to understand what I meant as she stood up, removing my hand from hers.
We made our way to the rooftop as male students looked at me with.... Admiration? It's a strange feeling, especially with the lack of mumbling... What did Naoto do?
"So, what is it?" she said bitterly.
"I've thought hard about it. I'll help you."
"Yeah whatev-"
She realized what I just said, her eyes widened, and joy filled her face. She was relieved.
Before I could react, I was squeezed tightly, and the pleasant scent of sweet vanilla stimulated my sense of smell as I felt comforting warmth.
She had embraced me in a hug.