Chapter 57: The Wildcard Arrives (With Backup)

The mood is ruined.

We are actually studying now.

It is awkward.

He is explaining calculus.

I am pretending to listen, but I am just thinking about his fake smile and his penguin apron.

My life is so confusing.

KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK.

An aggressive knock on the peeling door.

I jump. Fuji sighs. He looks murderous.

"Who is that?" I whisper.

"I have no idea," he groans. "I live alone. No one ever visits. This is your fault. You bring chaos."

"My fault?!"

He gets up and stomps to the door.

He yanks it open.

"WHAT?" he snaps.

It is Hiroto Suzume.

He is wearing sunglasses indoors.

He is holding a giant pink teddy bear.

He looks at the run-down hallway. He looks at Fuji.

"Fuji-kun! My man!" Hiroto beams. "I heard you won the Aoi Bowl! But wow, this set dressing is terrible. So depressing! I brought a housewarming gift to brighten it up!"

He tries to stroll in.

Fuji blocks him with his arm.

"Hiroto," I hiss from the table. "How do you KNOW where he lives?!"

Hiroto gasps dramatically.

"ANGEL! You're here! Of course you are! It's the Domestic Bliss Episode! How cute! Did he woo you with his penguin apron?"

I am bright red. Fuji is bright red.

"How...?" Fuji stammers.

"My agency investigates all my rivals. I know everything!" Hiroto cackles. "And speaking of rivals... Daiki-kun is here, too!"

Hiroto grabs someone from the hallway.

He drags Daiki Hanata into the doorway.

Daiki looks mortified. He is holding a bag of convenience store chips.

"I am NOT with him!" Daiki yells, shaking Hiroto off. "He kidnapped me!"

"I found him moping at the arcade!" Hiroto corrects. "I told him Fuji was wooing you with omurice, and he muttered 'sabotage' and just followed me!"

Daiki is bright red.

"Twilight! He is wooing you?!" Daiki shouts, brandishing his chip bag. "Don't be wooed! He is a wooer! He is using food! It is a classic trap!"

Fuji closes his eyes.

He looks so tired.

"Get. Out," Fuji says. "Both of you."

"This is so much better!" Hiroto claps. "The Triangle is back, baby! But Fuji-kun is Home Base! The plot thickens! This is a great twist!"

"I am going to murder both of them," I mutter, standing up.

Fuji puts his hand on my shoulder.

He looks at Hiroto. He looks at Daiki.

He looks at me.

And he sighs.

The Ice Prince is defeated by idiots.

"My peaceful life," I whisper. "It is so gone."

Fuji looks at me.

And I look at him.

And we both start to laugh.

It is chaos. It is stupid.

Hiroto and Daiki are arguing in the run-down doorway over who gets the chips.

And we are laughing.

It is our life.

This is the worst.

And it's kind of perfect.

Until Hiroto throws the teddy bear inside.

"I call this Episode 1! See you next week!"

He runs. Daiki runs after him.

The door is open.

It is just me, Fuji, and a giant, pink, stupid bear in a tiny apartment.

The date is over.