Asobi Otonari

Do I Like Him?

“Yes, exams will start next week―”

While Miyu-sensei was talking at the homeroom, I looked at Charlotte-san.

She had a sad expression on her face on the way to school, but now she was sitting in her chair looking very pretty.

As soon as she arrived at school, she quickly fixed her hair with the hand mirror she was carrying.

I taught him how to catch his breath.

I don't know exactly how he did it, because I went to first class, but he breathed well when he got there, so I guess he did it right.

I think she's a very nice girl who listens to people's advice honestly.

That cute little girl just hugged my arm …

I rubbed my right arm as I recalled what happened on the way to school.

It was impossible, but it still felt like the warmth was there.

"What are you doing, Akito?"

"-Ah!?"

As I rubbed my arms, Akira, who was sitting behind me, called out to me.

As I turned around, he looked at my face with curiosity.

“Ah, no, it's okay.”.

“Fun~? Could it be that you like Charlotte-san?”

"-What!?"

The question was suddenly asked to me.

I didn't expect Akira to ask me this question.

"…What makes you think that?"

For a moment I was upset, but I immediately pretended to be calm.

If I were to be blatantly angry, it would imply affirmation.

I had to change my response depending on Akira's reaction, so I watched him closely.

“I just want to know that because you seem to pay a lot of attention to Charlotte-san. This is similar to the way you look when you pay attention to Aki-chan, but the fact that you are paying attention to Charlotte-san, who is not even close to you, means you are more than just a little worried about her, right? ”

It's not too far from the truth.

It is true that I care about Charlotte-san.

The main reason is because she is so popular that she attracts a lot of people and seems to be prone to getting into trouble.

But it was based on the premise that I was worried about him.

The reason why I was so worried about Aki was because she was close to Charlotte-san.

He himself was the type of person who attracted people to him.

If there was one difference between her and Charlotte, it was because she wasn't good at handling people.

Aki is always in trouble because she is shy around strangers and can't talk to them well.

So when I was nearby, I was the one who kept Aki away from the people.

After we became close in high school, Aki never left me, and I'm sure he comes to me every hour of rest because it's easier for him to deal with people when he's around me.

That's why people used to think we were dating.

Well, I guess I don't care about the past now.

What am I supposed to say?

Maybe it's because we've been together for a very short time, but Akira's intuition is very bad, and if it concerns me, he's very sensitive.

I think it's best to assume that a bad lie won't work.

However, I'm not sure if I can be honest about it.

He was not a lowly person to harass me just because I had the same love interest as him, but I thought it was inevitable that things would become awkward.

First of all, I hid the fact that I live next door to Charlotte-san and she comes to my room every day to visit.

It wouldn't be nice for Akira to know that my friend is hiding something from me, and I might lose her trust.

It would be better if I could fool him, but if I fail, the situation will be worse.

However, the risk is unavoidable …

If that's the case, it might be best to hide the fact that I live next door to Charlotte and tell her about my feelings for her…

"Actually-"

“Hoo~ you guys really never learned not to talk in my class, did you? This time, Aoyagi is also at the scene, so you can't get away with it.”

I was just about to tell Akira what I thought of Charlotte-san, when I heard Miyu-sensei's happy voice behind me.

I turned around in fright to see Miyu-sensei looking at me with a smile on her face.

I'm not sure if the angry blue line on his forehead is an optical illusion or not.

…That's possible, I woke up too late and my eyes were tired.

I was too afraid to see Miyu-sensei, who was smiling even though she was angry, so I decided to distract myself from reality.

"What are you talking about when you're having fun?"

I'm sure he didn't speak happily, but Miyu-sensei asked cynically.

"Yes! We just talked about how beautiful you are, Miyu-sensei!”

Akira cheerfully flattered the angry Miyu-sensei with a smile.

No, it's not flattery because she actually has a pretty face.

“Yes, yes, that's true. So, what are you guys really talking about?”

Maybe she's used to being told she's beautiful, but surprisingly, Miyu-sensei brushes off Akira's nonsense.

I expected him to be angry or at least a little happy, but he wasn't off the topic, which was embarrassing.

Well, what are we going to do now…?

Sensei would be amused if I told him that I was talking about Charlotte, and moreover, there was no way I could confide in him because he was in my class.

If that's the case, I can point them to a topic that Miyu-sensei doesn't like.

“Actually, Aki has asked me to go with her tomorrow, but I was wondering where I should take her, so I asked Akira for advice. Sensei, do you know a good place?”

As she heard my words, Miyu-sensei's brows twitched.

Then he became a little angry.

“'How can I know where young men and women go on a date? If you want to talk about it, do it at rest. And since you have a test next week, I won't let you out and ruin your grades, okay?”

That's all Miyu-sensei said, and immediately returned to his desk.

Whenever the topic of guys and girls is dating, he will pretend to be in a bad mood and run away.

The reason for that was that he had no experience in matters like hangouts, so he could not keep up with the topic.

And when Aki was angry with me, I became uncomfortable with the topic related to Aki for a while.

That's why he came back with a light warning.

Besides, it's no lie that Aki begged me to go with her tomorrow.

Well, if I fail the grades for this, I'll be very angry …

I promised myself that I would study hard for the exam so that I wouldn't get angry.

I didn't even notice the way her eyes looked at me.

......................