[Warning 15+]
Author's Note:
As usual, I’m still stressing out over whether I can come up with a better title or synopsis than this...
Part One~She Only Acts Like Her Old Self When She's with Me... Wait, Hold Up!~Chapter 2She's in a Funk
Looks like the way Hayato answered earlier was a total blunder.
Hayato could feel this heavy, annoyed vibe coming from the beauty in the seat next to him.
Maybe Hayato was just overthinking it—but when Nikaidou-san dodged his gaze every single time their eyes met, that possibility started looking pretty slim.
(Ugh, what am I supposed to do here...?)
Ignoring Hayato's inner crisis, class started up.
Obviously, the curriculum was different from Hayato's old school. Setting his questions aside for now, he focused all his energy on listening so he wouldn't fall behind. However, some things were just out of his hands.
"My bad, hate to bug you, but could you show me that handout from the other day?"
"…"
With all the class materials and stuff, Hayato had no choice but to rely on Nikaidō-san. Whether he liked it or not, he was constantly aware of her presence.
"Eh, hey, so..."
"…Here it is. It's probably hard to see from over there, right? Why don't you just pull your desk closer?"
"Oh, thanks a lot."
"Don't mention it."
Luckily, Nikaidō-san was actually pretty chill about sharing her notes, so it didn't seem like she totally hated Hayato's guts or anything.
Hayato just couldn't read Nikaidō-san at all.
(Man, if this were my little sis, Himeko, I’d just give her some sweets and she’d be back to normal in no time...)
Back in the sticks, the only girl his age Hayato ever hung out with was his own little sis.
But even a boy like Hayato had enough common sense to know he couldn't just lump this girl in the same category as his own little sis.
Hayato figured it'd be way faster to just ask Nikaidō-san straight up, so the second the bell rang for break, he tried to strike up a conversation.
"Uh, hey, Nikaido—"
"Yo, Kirishima! About that stuff we were asking earlier..."
"Wait, I’ve got something I’m dying to know too!"
"So, back in the countryside—"
But Hayato got cut off immediately by a barrage of questions from his classmates.
To these guys, who were already used to the school routine and starting to get bored with their daily lives, Hayato was like fresh meat.
"…Phew."
Watching Hayato getting mobbed by their classmates, Nikaidō-san just let out a heavy sigh like she couldn't even deal with it.
◇◇◇
The interrogation kept happening every single break, so by the time lunch rolled around, Hayato still hadn't caught a break to talk to Nikaidō-san.
Once lunch hit, though, it looked like everyone prioritized food over Hayato. You could see groups forming all over the place, popping open their lunchboxes. This was his big chance.
(I've gotta find a way to talk to Nikaidō-san.)
Maybe it wasn't that big of a deal, but something was seriously nagging at Hayato.
If Hayato could, he wanted to clear the air. Plus, Nikaidō-san was a total ten. As a healthy teenage boy, Hayato definitely wanted to get on Nikaidō-san's good side.
"Nikaidō-san, wa—"
"―Excuse me! Is Nikaidō-san here?!"
"Oh, yeah, I'm here."
Failed again. Strike two.
This time, Nikaidō-san was the one getting called away by some petite girl.
Hayato was left hanging, his hand out and words dying in his throat.
Seeing Hayato stand there like a total dork, a few boys walked over with smirks on their faces and slapped him on the back.
"Haha, making a move on Nikaidō-san already? You're a bold one, transfer student. But hey, we totally get it."
"For real. Nikaidō-san got the looks, the personality, and the brains. Plus, every sports club in the school is practically begging her to join."
"That girl just now? Probably hit Nikaidō-san up for some Student Council business, I bet."
"My intention's not even like that—but man, Nikaidō-san sounds incredible."
From what they were saying, Nikaidō-san was like the textbook definition of a perfect star student.
For sure, Nikaidō was a total babe.
On top of that, Nikaidō was the whole package — smart, athletic, and had that humble, chill personality to match her looks. There was no way she wasn't incredibly popular.
(Even with the same name, Nikaidō-san's worlds apart from that dude…… ...wait, I guess their genders are already dead giveaways.)
Thinking about that made Hayato let out a dry laugh.
"Hey, aiming high is fine and all, but she's way out of your league, man."
"Supposedly she was a total heartthrob back in middle school too, but there wasn't a single rumor about her dating anyone… …oh yeah, didn't you get shot down the second you started here?"
"Shut up! Anyway, Transfer Student—Kirishima, you'd better not get your hopes up."
"It's not even like that, man…"
Just as Hayato thought, Nikaidō was insanely popular.
Even though they were teasing him, Hayato didn't actually have feelings for Nikaidō or any desire to date her.
Hayato couldn't deny Nikaidō was cute, that's for sure. But since they'd only just met today, his honest take was that he just didn't know her well enough yet.
The same probably went for Nikaidō, too.
And that’s exactly why it made zero sense to Hayato.
Why would a girl like Nikaidō act so cold and give off such an annoyed vibe toward some boy like Hayato, especially when they were supposed to be total strangers?
"Man, I don’t get it."
No matter how much Hayato racked his brain, he couldn't find an answer.
Along with all the confusion, Hayato just felt this growing urge that he had to talk to her as soon as possible.
TL: Reeze27
ED: Reeze27
PR: Reeze27
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