“S-Shut up… Just hear me out!”
He cleared his throat dramatically and continued:
“I’ll ask you three questions.”
“Alright, let’s see… In your case, Yuzuki, is there someone you genuinely want to share things you love with—like a cozy café, a movie, a drama, or an anime you found interesting?”
I thought about his question honestly.
……Yūki, obviously.
I always share those things with him.
Every café I liked, every interesting movie, drama, or anime—I always told Yūki about them.
Sure, I shared things with my other friends too, but Yūki was the only one who knew everything.
“So? Did someone come to mind?”
“…Well, yeah.”
It’s you, though.
“Alright… Next, imagine that person having fun going to cafés or watching movies with another girl. How does that feel?”
If Yūki were with another girl…
…
………
………………
“What?”
Something must have shown on my face because Yūki turned pale as if he’d made a mistake.
“O-Okay, that’s enough! Stop!”
Yūki hurriedly cut me off.
I’d never seen him so panicked before.
What kind of face was I making?
“Hey, why do you look like that? Did I do something weird?”
I asked, genuinely curious.
“No… Sorry. It’s just… You had a look on your face I’d never seen before.”
“Seriously? Was it that bad?”
“No, it wasn’t bad… just… well…”
He trailed off before taking a deep breath, trying to calm himself.
The atmosphere shifted.
I recognized this.
This was what happens before—
“I love you. I’ve loved you for a long time, Yuzuki. Please go out with me.”
Yūki looked straight into my eyes as he said those words.
……What?
“—Sure.”
…Wait.
I instinctively covered my mouth.
“So, if that person confessed to you, Yuzuki, what would you do?”
I couldn’t answer Yūki’s question.
Because… I realized something.
If Yūki were to confess to me… I probably wouldn’t be able to turn him down.
No, it’s not just that—I wouldn’t have a reason to refuse him.
Huh?
Does this mean…
“!?”
Oh no, my face is burning.
It feels like my whole body is boiling.
Before I knew it, I stood up abruptly.
“Huh? Y-Yuzuki…?”
“I-I’m going home! T-Thanks for the meal!”
I vaguely heard Yūki saying something, but my heartbeat drowned out his words entirely.
“...So that happened. What do you think?”
On my way home from school, I told my friend Ririka about what had happened during lunch while we sat at our favorite café.
“Do you think… I might like Yūki?”
“...Wait, you mean you didn’t already like him?”
“Huh? Well… um… maybe?”
“‘Maybe,’ huh… I figured something was off with you, Yuzuki, but… hmm.”
Ririka folded her arms, clearly deep in thought.
She’s so kind to worry about me like this.
Even though her blonde, gyaru appearance might give people the wrong impression, she’s such a caring and wonderful friend.
“Ah! I’ve got it! Look!”
Suddenly, she beamed with confidence and pulled out two tickets.
“Movie tickets! I won them in a lottery, but they expire this weekend. I can’t go because I’ve got plans, so why not go with Yūki? A movie date! It might help you figure things out!”
A… date, huh?
Well… if it’s with Yūki…
“Yuzuki-chan? Your face is red. What’s up?”
Ririka grinned knowingly, as if she had an idea what was going on.
“H-Huh? Is it? Anyway, it might help, so I’ll take them. I’ll try inviting him tomorrow.”
I accepted the two tickets from her.
…Wait, isn’t this the first time I’m the one inviting Yūki to something?
Usually, when there’s an interesting movie, I just tell Yūki about it, and he’s the one who asks if we should go together.
…Can I even do this?
No, no, it’s only Monday. There’s plenty of time and opportunities.
I’ll manage.
Probably.
Friday
This is bad.
Before I knew it, I kept putting it off, and now it’s Friday.
There’s no time left.
If I’m going to invite him, it has to be today!
During the second break, I noticed Yūki was finally alone, so I pulled out the tickets.
It’s fine. I’ve rehearsed this perfectly in my head.
“Yūki—hey, got a sec? Ririka gave me these movie tickets yesterday at the diner. There’s a romance movie I really want to see. So, how about we go? When are you free?”
Smooth explanation, flawless invitation.
It’s perfect.
Here I go—
“Ah, Yūki!!”
Oh no! I misjudged my volume! It sounded like I was shouting!
…W-What do I do now?
“Oh, uh, Y-Yuzuki? You scared me.”
Sure enough, Yūki’s eyes went wide with surprise.
“Ah, s-sorry… um, t-ticke—…tickets… wait, no, that’s not it…”
No, it is it!!
What am I even saying!?
I must sound so weird.
Why is my face so hot? Do I have a fever? I was fine until just now…
“So, um, Ririka gave me… tickets. Yesterday. Yeah, at the café… we went there. The new cake… was surprisingly good…”
What am I even talking about now!?
I’ve completely lost track of what I was trying to say.
This is a mess… It’s over.
There’s no way he understood what I meant… ugh…
I never realized inviting someone to a movie could be this hard.
“Ah, so there’s a movie you want to see, huh? Sure, when do you want to go? Tomorrow?”
“…Huh?”
“Oh, wait, was I wrong? I thought for sure you were inviting me to see a movie because Ririka gave you those tickets at the diner yesterday.”
“No… that’s right… but how did you know?”
“How? Well… we’re childhood friends. I’ve known you long enough to figure that much out. We’ve been together forever, after all. Not just for show, you know.”
Yūki gave me a crinkled smile that sent a flutter through my chest.
Seriously, how cheeky can he get?
“...?”
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