Second chapter of the day to make up for my absence! Just one of the many daily chapters to come!

Today was a Saturday, and I was called to the cafe to meet with Mayafumi-san. She was seated opposite of me and with the most serious expression, she stated her desire.

" I want to make Akihiko-kun my boyfriend." She says.

" U-Um....I see...." I responded, uncomfortably shifting in my seat.

Someone save me!

I do not want to be here. Why did I come here? Why didn't I say no?! Do I secretly have a pain fetish or something!

I awkwardly plastered a smile while my hands were nervously shaking the drink.

" B...But why did you....call me here?" I asked.

" Gotou-san, I'm going to ask you this again. And I want you to give me a serious answer." She takes a deep breath before looking deep into my eyes.

" Do you like Akihiko-kun?"

"...."

The events from yesterday immediately began flooding my mind. When I acted as his pillow, when he intertwined our hands, when he....

" I love you, Gotou-san."

Told me he loves me....

No, Hitori. You told yourself this at the time; that you won't believe the words he said yesterday, no matter what. To not hope so much for something unbelievable as that to be true.

But....in the off chance that he says it again....this time without being sick....

" Gotou-san?"

" Y-Yes!" I straightened my back, trying to not make my blush show at this crucial moment. I must be convincing enough; That I don't like him in that way one bit!

" I don't." I answered with another huge lie to add in my record.

" I don't....like Akihiko-kun in that way..." A repeated lie.

" We're just friends...." And that was the truth.

No matter how much I think about it now, it all ends at one single point. A point beyond whatever fantasies I may have of there being an ' us '. That point being the title of platonic friendship.

Since when did being friends with someone give me this much happiness and pain? Why can't I stop wanting ' more'. I should be grateful he even tolerates my existence.....

" I see...." Mayafumi sighs in relief and leans back on her seat. " I'm...a bit relieved."

" Why?" I asked.

" Because, well, Akihiko-kun seems to like you."

" Huh?" My eyes widened at her bizarre  words.  She looks at me, confused.

" Don't tell me....you didn't realize it?" She says in disbelief.

" I...don't know what you're...." I was beyond confused. Why in the world would she just go out and say that? How would she even know?

" Girl, everyone in the school arrived to the same conclusion!" She claims, " At some point, some even speculated that you were dating-- me included!" She pointed to herself.

" B-But we're not!" I retorted.

" And I believe you....but..." she smiles awkwardly. " You two are really good at making me think otherwise."

P-Preposterous!

" I mean, everyone knows you two eat lunch together often alone. Everyone knows that you two tend to go home together whether by walking or riding on his bike. Not to mention the not-so-secret glances you two share in class, even all our subject teachers noticed that!" She says.

DID IT REALLY LOOK THAT WAY?!

[ Bocchi was in the belief that nobody noticed their little moments in school.

As for Akihiko, the boy was already aware of their stares, but continued doing it seemingly undeterred by it all. ]

Oh god. Oh god. Oh god.

If the whole school thinks we're dating ( which we are not ) then that explains all the random stares I've been getting for the past few weeks-- not to mention the recent action of our teacher when she sent ME specifically to Akihiko-kun's apartment!

" So anyways, I wanted to ask you about advice on how to maybe increase my chances of-- "

" Hahsjdjsidihfhdsjisidhdhsisisjebe"

" Ah....she's glitching again."

.

.

.

.

" Y.....You were saying?" I said after calming myself down with a glass of water.

" I wanted to ask you for advice on how to increase my chances of getting him to like me." She repeated.

" Advice...?"

I slowly placed my glass back on the table.

" Is something wrong?" She asked.

" I can't help you." Asking me for advice about anything other than guitar is equivalent to asking Ryou-san if she could handle the bill--

Wait! Mayafumi-san will pay for her drink and snack, right?!

No wait! She's not a broke bassist. Phew, I'm saved.

" What?! Aren't you two close?!" She cried out but all I could was shake my head apologetically.

" I'm sorry but....I don't know how to make him fall in love with you..." I said.

" Noooo....!" She bangs a fist softly on the table. Her shoulders were slumped and her expression, depressed.

I've never seen such a depressed Mayafumi-san in all the two weeks I've known her....

" He doesn't...." her words trail off into a mumble.

" He doesn't...?" I wondered what she was mumbling. Her golden eyes look up to me, they were teary.

Such a pitiful sight....i-it's pulling my heart strings....

It's like watching a puppy abandoned in the rain! And with strangers sparing no effort to provide shelter nor food for it, instead they heartlessly continued walking by!

" He doesn't...like otaku girls." She says, a bit louder but still quiet in tone. She looked very dejected.

" He probably finds me boring.....that's why I wanted to change myself to suit his tastes." She chuckles.

I frowned. I didn't like what she said, it's unlike of the usual Mayafumi-san to say such things.

But I wonder....

" Mayafumi-san....may I ask you something?" I spoke.

She nods slowly, her gaze focused on her half finished cake slice.

" What made you....like him so much?" I asked slowly.

She turns red and coughs awkwardly. She stopped slouching and quickly straightened her back, her gaze tearing away from mine and facing the window.

" T-That....well..." she fiddled with her fingers.

She sighs.

" He's just.......such a perfect male lead."

" Huh?" Male lead?

She turns to me with a blushing face, palming both of her cheeks and shaking in excitement.

" I love reading romance manga....and I love it when the male lead is portrayed as this handsome, kind ,gentle, sporty type of person. The perfect all-rounder male lead!" She proclaims.

" It's like....the type of guy I'm into just manifested into reality!" She sighs gleefully. " Akihiko-kun....just places a checkmark on all the boxes, you know?"

All rounder....

Thinking about it now, Akihiko-kun really is the perfect guy that a lot of girls would like.....but.....as someone who's close to him....

I recall our conversation from yesterday, when he vented to me his true feelings and extra details during his time in Oreha High. How his dislike for making people sad fuels his need to be kind, how he's clearly trying too hard in carrying his beloved mother's ideals. Even someone like him, can have a moment of weakness. Even a gentle person can express their anger when they can no longer hold it in.

" But....I know people aren't actually perfect like that." She adds.

I look to her curiously.

" I know, that at some point, he's felt angry, sad, or even depressed. That sometimes....he can't be the kind of guy that everyone can just rely on-- he needs someone to rely on too, right?"

" I want to be that person, Gotou-san."

" The kind of person he can lean on in his time of need, a person he can rely on when things are getting out of control, a person he can vent anything he has in mind to. "

" When the going gets tough, I want to be that type of girlfriend for him." She smiles. " His perfect ' female lead'."

Mayafumi-san....you....

YOU REALLY ARE BETTER THAN ME IN EVERY WAY!

She defined her love so sincerely and effortlessly. I stand no chance, even if I tried and gathered the courage to confess. My love for him...is just confusing. I don't know how to explain it-- it's just a bunch of jumbled nonsense that hurts my brain and gives me cardiac arrest whenever possible!

Mayafumi Akemi is the girlfriend he deserves....

But his words continue to haunt me, and that's the only thing stopping me from finally letting him go. I know I said I wouldn't believe a sick man's words-- but what if he told the truth that day? A part of me wants to hear him say it again. So I can be sure...

So that I wouldn't....lose him to her.

So that I could love him freely....

But....

I don't have the right....if I'm not even willing to try.

It's better if I give Mayafumi-san that chance instead. And a chance for Akihiko-kun as well, to be in love with a better girl........not like I'm assuming he's actually in love with me as his form confessed to....it's just.....

I decided to clear my hazy thoughts. I should give her the best advice I could. So I turned to her.

" You don't have to change yourself." I said.

She looks at me, suprised, but she stayed silent. She knows I have more to say.

I placed my glass down again.

" Akihiko-kun doesn't like it when people change themselves for him."

" He...doesn't?" She asked, a hopeful glint in her eyes.

I smiled a bit and nodded.

" Just be yourself, and win his heart your way."

She'll win his heart for sure.

".....Thank you, Gotou-san." She smiles with closed eyes, her words dripping with sincerity.

If you do end up becoming his girlfriend....

Please make him happy like you said you would, Mayafumi-san.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The weekend quickly passed by. Today is Monday, another start of a another week.

And....

" Hey, Akihiko-kun. Can we eat lunch together?" She asked.

I glanced at Akihiko-kun, looking for his reaction. Will he agree with her? If he doesn't, then I'm ready to shoot an excuse that I can't eat with him today--

" Lunch huh...." he seems to be in thought. His head turns to me, but I quickly focused my gaze on my notebook. Hopefully he didn't notice me glancing at him.

" Sure." I hear him say.

My eyes widened in suprise.

" Sorry, Gotou-san. I won't be able to eat with you today." I turn to him as he said that, I was met with an apologetic smile.

I nodded slowly.

" It's alright...." I assured him. Mayafumi winked at me and I managed to give her a small smile. Looks like my role wasn't needed...

The two of them returned to talking. While I stayed in my own bubble, silent, and zoned into my own head. Blocking out the noise and writing down random lyrics in my notebook to pass the time till class begins...

.

.

.

.

" Hitori-chan?"

I looked up from my lunch and noticed Kita-chan staring at me worringly.

" Kita-chan...." I greeted with a sluggish nod before resuming eating my rather....bland tasting lunch.

Did mama miss an ingredient?

Or was it jealousy again...

" Where's Akihiko-kun?" She asked, looking around.

" He's...uhm....eating with Mayafumi-san--"

" He's eating with your love rival?!" She gasps.

Before I could answer, I felt my shoulders being grabbed all of a sudden and I was met with a closer look of her piercing yellow-green eyes.

" How could you let that happen?!" She yells, shaking me.

" W-what's wrong with letting it happen?!" I asked her. I also tried stopping her from shaking me so I wouldn't get dizzy.

" She's going to snatch him away!" She reasoned.

" And....what's wrong with that?" I asked.

"...Huh?" She lets out a confused sound. It was silent between us for a moment, she slowly released her grip and just stared at me.

" Hitori-chan...." she calls my name cautiously. I tear my gaze away from her.

" .... Are you really going to let him go?"

" It's better that way..." I said.

"Mayafumi-san is a better person than me..... I'm sure he'll fall head over heels for her once he sees that." I explained

" But--"

" Kita-chan....I don't want to argue on this. Please." I gave her a small smile to reassure her that I'm okay. " Can we eat lunch together?"

She was silent for a moment....

Before she took her seat beside me.

" I already ate my lunch....but I'll keep you company." She said. I turned to her and I was met with her cheerful smile.

" Thanks.....my lunch tastes a bit better now."

And there it is.

Another lie.

~~~ End ~~~

The both of them are putting themselves at a distance. But their reasons greatly differ!

We are nearing the halloween event held by the school. Another major scene I've planned will happen there! So I'm excited to write about it.

I know this chapter was a bit more down in the dumps-- but that's 100% needed! ( I honestly don't find pleasure in writing these type of moments, but once I thought about the route this could lead to-- I couldn't help myself! It'll definitely be worth writing when I get there )

Ah, but maybe you'll find more joy once I release the next chapter tomorrow. It'll be a fun one and it's also a recent chapter I've been brainstorming during my week hiatus.

I hope you enjoyed today's chapter and look forward to the next one!

See ya~~~