Vendo machine in Tokyo ~ Copyright Marian Pinera 2017 “And that’s it?” Raven exclaimed under her breath the next day as they rushed down the stairs. “Nothing happened? As in nothing?”
The look of disbelief on her friend’s lovely face was comical, and Aya couldn’t help giggling despite her own frustrations. “To be honest,” she confided in a whisper, “I’m not even sure if I feel disappointed or relieved.” The one thing she was very sure, however, was that she had dreamt about Minato last night. She couldn’t remember what that dream was, but it had to be about him since had woken up embarrassingly wet.
“Aya? Are you alright?” Raven was slightly perplexed at the sudden flush covering her friend’s face.
“Umm, y-yup.” She had a hard time meeting Raven’s gaze. It was so hard for her to lie, but no way was she going to tell her friends about her wet dreams.
“I don’t believe you. You look worried, and I don’t blame you. The damn guy’s---”
Luc frowned. “Language.”
Raven made a face. “Sorry. It’s just that you-know-who seems so good at sending out mixed signals, and I’m not used to not being able to figure things out.”
“Maybe there’s nothing to figure out. Maybe---”
“I mean, it’s obvious he likes you---”
Aya forgot all about having nothing to figure out. “Really?”
“I’ve asked around – discreetly, of course – and there hasn’t been any other girl he’s spent as much time with as he has with you.”
Luc noticed the way Aya’s eyes started shining. Maybe he should caution Raven against getting their friend’s hopes up?
“Then again, they don’t know about the librarian, do they?”
Luc winced at the sight of Aya visibly drooping like a wilted flower.
“He’s known the librarian much longer. That much is obvious. And as you said, they live in the same building.” Raven, oblivious to the way her every word trampled Aya’s heart, continued airing her musings out loud. “So another possibility is that he’s only fond of you because Ms. Grant is fond of you. Maybe he even thinks of you as a baby sister---”
And that was the killing blow, Luc thought as Aya’s face lost all color. When he saw Raven about to say something else, he swiftly intervened before a cardiac murder could be committed before his eyes. “Raven?”
“Yeah?”
He nodded at their traumatized friend’s direction. “You’re killing her.”
Raven nearly let out a shriek when she saw the look on Aya’s face. Too late, she realized how tactless she had been, and she said in a rush, “Please don’t mind me. You know how I like to think things over and entertain a thousand what-ifs. That’s all it is. But after thinking things through, I don’t think that’s the case. I don’t think he sees you as his sister at all---”
“R-Really?”
“Really,” Raven said feelingly.
Luc mentally shook his head. Raven normally despised dishonesty in every form, but when it came to Aya, she could probably lie to the Pope’s face without even blinking.
“I think he’s secretly in love with you.”
Aya was slowly gaining her color back. “You t-think so?”
“I know so,” Raven averred with a straight face.
And there it was, Luc thought in amusement – and then he almost choked right after as Raven painfully nudged his side with her elbow.
“You think so, too, right?” She glared at Luc. “Don’t you, Luc?”
“Err…yes.”
Aya threw her arms around both her friends. “I’m so happy, you guys!”
Luc smirked at Raven over their friend’s head. If that guy ends up breaking her heart, you know it would be partly your fault, right?
Raven glared at him. Shut up. What else was I supposed to say?
The truth?
I can’t! It would kill her!
So you’ll let Minato kill her instead?
Raven was saved from making any lame excuse when Aya suddenly jumped away. “Oh my gosh, he’s here.”
The two friends looked at each other as Aya hurried away to do her usual stalking.
“Unbelievable, isn’t it?” Raven said with a sigh. “I don’t think I know anyone as emotionally resilient as she is.”
Luc shot her a dry look. “You mean naïve, right?”
Ignoring that because Raven couldn’t bear hearing a single word spoken against Aya, she said pointedly, “It’s what makes her irresistibly cute, and she’s only gotten a lot cuter ever since she started spending time with you-know-ho.” She gestured to a group of guys hanging out next to the stairs. “See that?”
Luc was startled to find all the other boys watching Aya with foolish looks of infatuation on all of their faces. His gaze turned to Aya, who was so busy stealing looks at Minato over her notebook she didn’t appear aware at all that she had also become the object of other people’s attention.
Minato, on the other hand, still seemed to be in the process of making his mind up on what drink to buy from the vendo. That’s new, Luc mused. The guy was normally decisive as hell –
AH!
Minato’s face appeared as a faint reflection on the vending machine’s glass window, and through it Luc realized that the other man was staring very coldly at…
“I think I’m in love,” one of the boys declared.
Minato’s face hardened, and Luc stilled in surprise. He turned to Raven and saw her face mirroring his own shock.
“So…” Raven’s voice was uncertain. “Does he like her then?”
“Who likes who?” This was from Aya, having caught the tail end of their conversation as she returned to their side with a still-dreamy smile lingering on her lips.
Luc left Raven to do all the explaining and lying while he continued to watch Minato with great interest. As Minato headed back up to his class, he stopped at the foot of the stairs drink the rest of his soda and then very casually glanced over his shoulder before throwing the bottle – straight at the face of the boy who had earlier declared his affections for Aya.
“What the hell?” the boy exclaimed.
“Apologies,” Minato said mildly. “I was aiming for the garbage bin.”
The boy’s jaw dropped. “But that’s in the other direction!”
“I’ve got really bad aim, I guess. Sorry about that.”
Luc coughed back a laugh as Minato walked away, leaving behind him a boy scratching his head in confusion. How could a guy who won last year’s MVP in the interschool basketball championship have such bad aim?
The look of disbelief on her friend’s lovely face was comical, and Aya couldn’t help giggling despite her own frustrations. “To be honest,” she confided in a whisper, “I’m not even sure if I feel disappointed or relieved.” The one thing she was very sure, however, was that she had dreamt about Minato last night. She couldn’t remember what that dream was, but it had to be about him since had woken up embarrassingly wet.
“Aya? Are you alright?” Raven was slightly perplexed at the sudden flush covering her friend’s face.
“Umm, y-yup.” She had a hard time meeting Raven’s gaze. It was so hard for her to lie, but no way was she going to tell her friends about her wet dreams.
“I don’t believe you. You look worried, and I don’t blame you. The damn guy’s---”
Luc frowned. “Language.”
Raven made a face. “Sorry. It’s just that you-know-who seems so good at sending out mixed signals, and I’m not used to not being able to figure things out.”
“Maybe there’s nothing to figure out. Maybe---”
“I mean, it’s obvious he likes you---”
Aya forgot all about having nothing to figure out. “Really?”
“I’ve asked around – discreetly, of course – and there hasn’t been any other girl he’s spent as much time with as he has with you.”
Luc noticed the way Aya’s eyes started shining. Maybe he should caution Raven against getting their friend’s hopes up?
“Then again, they don’t know about the librarian, do they?”
Luc winced at the sight of Aya visibly drooping like a wilted flower.
“He’s known the librarian much longer. That much is obvious. And as you said, they live in the same building.” Raven, oblivious to the way her every word trampled Aya’s heart, continued airing her musings out loud. “So another possibility is that he’s only fond of you because Ms. Grant is fond of you. Maybe he even thinks of you as a baby sister---”
And that was the killing blow, Luc thought as Aya’s face lost all color. When he saw Raven about to say something else, he swiftly intervened before a cardiac murder could be committed before his eyes. “Raven?”
“Yeah?”
He nodded at their traumatized friend’s direction. “You’re killing her.”
Raven nearly let out a shriek when she saw the look on Aya’s face. Too late, she realized how tactless she had been, and she said in a rush, “Please don’t mind me. You know how I like to think things over and entertain a thousand what-ifs. That’s all it is. But after thinking things through, I don’t think that’s the case. I don’t think he sees you as his sister at all---”
“R-Really?”
“Really,” Raven said feelingly.
Luc mentally shook his head. Raven normally despised dishonesty in every form, but when it came to Aya, she could probably lie to the Pope’s face without even blinking.
“I think he’s secretly in love with you.”
Aya was slowly gaining her color back. “You t-think so?”
“I know so,” Raven averred with a straight face.
And there it was, Luc thought in amusement – and then he almost choked right after as Raven painfully nudged his side with her elbow.
“You think so, too, right?” She glared at Luc. “Don’t you, Luc?”
“Err…yes.”
Aya threw her arms around both her friends. “I’m so happy, you guys!”
Luc smirked at Raven over their friend’s head. If that guy ends up breaking her heart, you know it would be partly your fault, right?
Raven glared at him. Shut up. What else was I supposed to say?
The truth?
I can’t! It would kill her!
So you’ll let Minato kill her instead?
Raven was saved from making any lame excuse when Aya suddenly jumped away. “Oh my gosh, he’s here.”
The two friends looked at each other as Aya hurried away to do her usual stalking.
“Unbelievable, isn’t it?” Raven said with a sigh. “I don’t think I know anyone as emotionally resilient as she is.”
Luc shot her a dry look. “You mean naïve, right?”
Ignoring that because Raven couldn’t bear hearing a single word spoken against Aya, she said pointedly, “It’s what makes her irresistibly cute, and she’s only gotten a lot cuter ever since she started spending time with you-know-ho.” She gestured to a group of guys hanging out next to the stairs. “See that?”
Luc was startled to find all the other boys watching Aya with foolish looks of infatuation on all of their faces. His gaze turned to Aya, who was so busy stealing looks at Minato over her notebook she didn’t appear aware at all that she had also become the object of other people’s attention.
Minato, on the other hand, still seemed to be in the process of making his mind up on what drink to buy from the vendo. That’s new, Luc mused. The guy was normally decisive as hell –
AH!
Minato’s face appeared as a faint reflection on the vending machine’s glass window, and through it Luc realized that the other man was staring very coldly at…
“I think I’m in love,” one of the boys declared.
Minato’s face hardened, and Luc stilled in surprise. He turned to Raven and saw her face mirroring his own shock.
“So…” Raven’s voice was uncertain. “Does he like her then?”
“Who likes who?” This was from Aya, having caught the tail end of their conversation as she returned to their side with a still-dreamy smile lingering on her lips.
Luc left Raven to do all the explaining and lying while he continued to watch Minato with great interest. As Minato headed back up to his class, he stopped at the foot of the stairs drink the rest of his soda and then very casually glanced over his shoulder before throwing the bottle – straight at the face of the boy who had earlier declared his affections for Aya.
“What the hell?” the boy exclaimed.
“Apologies,” Minato said mildly. “I was aiming for the garbage bin.”
The boy’s jaw dropped. “But that’s in the other direction!”
“I’ve got really bad aim, I guess. Sorry about that.”
Luc coughed back a laugh as Minato walked away, leaving behind him a boy scratching his head in confusion. How could a guy who won last year’s MVP in the interschool basketball championship have such bad aim?
Hope you're enjoying the story so far. And if you're feeling restless and frustrated that they haven't kissed yet...that's how shoujo manga usually are. It's rarely wham-bam, thank-you ma'am even with insta-love couples. But don't worry - anticipation just makes things more exciting! Just imagine how sparks would fly once these two finally...f*cks?
O/T: Is it so weird that I can have my characters say 'fuck' all the time, but I have a hard time saying it in my own voice? > . < I adore writing smutty rom-coms, but I am ridiculously conservative, shy, and old-fashioned in real life. #irony
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