Huh?
Surprised by her words, I looked at Hana questioningly.
"Hey... You didn't tell me," I said, confused.
"Ah, sorry," she replied calmly. "I just didn't think it was a big deal. Besides, I turned him down right away. That was weeks ago."
"This guy has no shame at all!" Rika exclaimed. "And girls still fall for his tricks, I really can't believe it. My crush from the art club is totally different!" she added dreamily. "He's so kind... and sweet! Nothing like that womanizer... He only has eyes for me!"
"Are you going to confess to him?" Hana asked.
"Ugh… I'm not sure if he likes me yet."
"Are you serious?" Hana asked in surprise. "It's obvious that you two love each other! Besides, since you've been clinging to him so much, I'm sure he already knows that you like him, too."
"Are you sure? I'm just a little afraid he might reject me."
"Are you an idiot? I'm absolutely sure he likes you. You have to tell him how you feel before someone steals him away from you."
"Before someone steals him?!" Rika gasped, her eyes widening in shock, as if the thought had never crossed her mind before. "Wait! I didn't think of that!"
"Calm down..." Hana added immediately. "I exaggerated a bit. I really doubt he'd let anyone take him away from you anyway."
Hearing her words, Rika's face immediately brightened. "Really? You think so?!"
Her mood often changed quickly, and her face always expressed emotions vividly.
"Of course. But that's an even bigger reason why you don't need to delay your confession. He's already shown that he likes you. You can tell by how often he comes to our class or 'accidentally' passes by it, when I'm sure he just comes to see you..."
"Hahaha! You're right!" Rika quickly agreed. "He's so cute! He's so sweet to me that I melt just thinking about it! Maybe I really should confess to him sooner!"
As she said this, she pressed her hands to her cheeks, blushing.
Hana only laughed softly in response.
I, on the other hand, remained silent, a little lost in my own thoughts.
I was surprised, and even a little hurt, that Hana hadn't told me about him asking her out as soon as it happened. We were best friends who told each other everything. So why was she hiding it until now?
Maybe she just really didn't want to make a big deal out of it? At least I'd like to think so...
"I guess I wouldn't mind going to karaoke with him after all. Just to see what he's like," I said suddenly.
"What?" Hana asked, visibly surprised.
"Just saying..."
"Like I said, she has terrible taste in guys," Hana said calmly, turning to Rika.
She was always quick to pull herself together in situations like this.
"Do you actually like guys like him?" Rika asked. "You shouldn't go on a date with someone like him!"
"I don't know..." I said uncertainly. "Maybe there's something good about him, you know?"
"God... Really?" Hana said tiredly. "Right after you said you weren't interested in bad boys anymore... Are you really the kind of person who thinks you can fix him?"
Despite her words, she didn't really try to dissuade me.
"Why do you care? It's none of your business..." I said in an annoyed voice.
"Yeah, yeah, you're right... Keep chasing your bad boys."
"Are you sure you're not jealous?" I asked, laughing. "Tell me if you are, darling... then maybe I won't go."
"Stop playing around."
"You don't like it?"
"It's just... annoying... when you joke around like that."
"Oh, shut up," I said, irritated. "And anyway, do you have better taste in guys, huh?... You hardly talk about romance stuff. All you do is judge me all the time. So be kind enough to tell us, what kind of guys do you like? You're interested too, aren't you, Rika?" I turned to Rika, looking for support.
"Yeah! I actually agree with Emi! I'm curious too! What kind of boys do you like, Hana?" Rika said, backing me up.
"Yeah, tell us, please."
Hana gave us a thoughtful look and then sighed. "Well... As you know, I haven't dated anyone yet… But I guess I like kind and gentle guys?"
"Really?" I asked.
"Yeah," she replied. "What, are you disappointed that I have better taste than you?"
"Shut up."
"I'm not giving him to you, Hana! He belongs to me!" Rika exclaimed.
"Lol, I wasn't even thinking about him. Don't worry, I won't take anyone away from you hahaha, especially since like I said, I'm sure he's already head over heels in love with you," Hana said, laughing.
"Hahaha, you're right," Rika laughed in response.
While Rika was lost in her own world, I glanced at Hana, thinking about how annoying she could be sometimes. Why was she always so confident and calm? I just couldn't figure her out. Still, there was something that I was sure would definitely work on her... It was my hidden weapon that I rarely used. But it seemed I had no choice this time.
"By the way, you guys have clubs today, right?" I asked.
"Yeah..." Hana replied.
Hana was in the music club and Rika was in the art club.
"Hmmm... I see, I see..."
"Why?"
"Well... Then I guess I'll go home alone today," I said in a slightly hurt tone.
Immediately, I felt Hana's eyes on me. She must have noticed the change in my voice.
"Emi?"
"What?" I asked coldly.
"Uh..." I could hear the obvious hesitation in her voice. "Why are you saying it like that?"
I remained silent, as if I didn't want to look at her or speak.
"Um... you don't want to go home alone?" she added.
"Hmph, why do you care?" I said, crossing my arms and turning away. "Don't act like you care. I don't need you. Besides, I'm busy today too, you know? I have volleyball practice after class."
Rika, who had obviously noticed the change in my tone, said, "Wait... But that means you can wait for us, right? We can all go home together!"
"Yeah, Emi. Your practice usually ends earlier than our clubs, right? So you can wait for us if you don't want to go alone... " Hana added softly.
"Like I said, I don't need either of you."
I could feel Hana's hesitant gaze on me, as if she didn't understand why I was acting this way. Then I felt her move closer.
"Oh, don't be like that..." she said, trying to look me in the eye.
"Go away..." I turned away from her, trying to hide my face.
"What's the matter with you? You were always fine going home alone before..."
"Exactly, I still don't care, I'll go alone today too, it's perfectly fine..."
"It doesn't sound like you're okay with it though. Why are you acting like this all of a sudden?"
"I'm not acting like anything, you're imagining things."
"Did I do something wrong? Is that why you're acting like this? I'm sorry... I mean... You should definitely wait for us, we'll all go home together, okay?"
"No. I'm fine going home without you... It's not like you want me to go with you anyway..."
"Hey. What are you talking about all of a sudden? Of course we want to go home with you, why wouldn't we? We're friends, right? Besides, it's always more fun with you. Let's go home together today, okay?"
With each word, her voice became softer and gentler.
Still, I was stubborn. "I said I don't need you."
"But I… We need you..."
"I don't care. Besides, you might be done with your clubs before I finish practice anyway."
"In that case, we'll wait for you," Hana replied.
"No. You can go home without me," I insisted.
"No, we'll wait for you," she insisted as well. "Right, Rika?"
"Of course!" Rika quickly agreed. "We'll wait for you, Emi! It doesn't matter who finishes first, we can just meet up afterward!"
"Yeah. You won't be able to run away from us," Hana added.
"You don't need me anyway." I said in the same hurt voice.
"Hey. Of course we need you." Hana replied gently. "We can't live without you, okay? You're our precious friend..."
"Hmph! Like I'm going to believe you... You were rude to me, calling me annoying... As if your sweet words will work on me now..."
"I'm sorry... I didn't mean those words. It was just our usual banter, you know?"
"You hate me."
"Don't be silly. As if I would ever hate you."
"Then prove it."
"How? What do you want me to do?"
"Well... you can start by calling me sweetie."
"Call you sweetie?"
"You don't want to, huh? If you can't even do that, I won't talk to you anymore." I said.
"..."
"Come on, it's just a game, you know there's nothing serious about that word," I added.
"Okay..." she agreed.
There was a short pause.
"Sweetie... don't hate me, okay? My little sweet baby... I'm sorry..." she said softly.
I was silent... Then I heard a slight rustle beside me.
Did she move closer to me?
"... Darling..." she said even more softly, her breath almost touching my skin, sending goosebumps down my body.
How close was she to me? I know we were sitting close, but...
"T-That's enough. It won't work on me..." I said hesitantly.
I lied. In truth, her words immediately melted my heart. But I can't just admit it, can I?
"Don't be mad, okay?" Hana said softly again, her voice trailing off a bit. "I'm serious, okay? We love you so much. And we'll treat you to ice cream, too, right, Rika?"
"Of course! We'll all go out for ice cream after school!" she said excitedly.
"Hmmm... Well... I guess if you insist... I have no choice..." I said, turning around hesitantly. "Don't get me wrong though, it's just because of the ice cream," I added, still with my arms crossed, not looking directly at her.
"So easy..." Hana said with a grin.
"Shut up!" I immediately turned to her and yelled. "Or what? You want me to change my mind?"
"Sorry, sorry..." she laughed lightly. "No, of course not! I was just teasing you, hahaha, you always mess with me, and now it's my turn, you know?"
Ugh... That girl! She's so annoying!
...As we finished eating and stood up, I looked around the cafeteria again. Once again, my eyes fell on the girl I had noticed earlier.
"By the way, do you know this girl?" I asked.
"Hmmm?" Hana and Rika looked in the direction I was looking.
"Her? I don't know her," Rika said.
"Hmmm... I think she's from the drama club..." Hana said as we walked towards the exit.
"I see..."
"What about her?" she asked.
"Nah... nothing much... I'm just curious," I replied uncertainly.
With that, we left the cafeteria.
At that moment, I still didn't know what was waiting for me after class today...