Huh!?

Opening my eyes, I saw a ceiling I was not used to staring at. While tempted to fall back asleep, I couldn’t under the realization that I’d felt my hand touching something. It felt oddly satisfying, in a way that both calmed me and had my heart racing. Inside me, I felt something I hadn’t ever felt, culminating when I turned my head toward my arm and now understood what those feelings were about.

I panicked and swiftly moved to the wall of my living room, nearly hitting the TV next to me. Those were the last of my concerns, though, as what I touched was Ayane’s…

Did we really pass out playing video games!?

Hell, those weren't even the last of my concerns, as Satou would clearly be here soon. He’d yell some stupid crap like, “What the hell!” He’s gonna get the wrong idea, especially since Ayane and I have only been on one date.

Among all of those thoughts, though, I finally got to take a breath once I heard Ayane yawn as she woke up, sitting as she stretched her arms above her head. Seeing this, I smiled.

Did I start to actually find her cute?

Nah, no way. All I knew was that her half-closed eyes were a joy to look at, especially since she tried so hard to get up. In fact, she focused so much on this that it wasn’t until she stood up that she even noticed me.

“Where am I?”

Despite looking half asleep, she still managed to scratch her head in confusion, albeit slowly.

I leaned back to the wall and looked away from her before I spoke to her.

“You’re at my house…”

“Do you know what time it is?” she said as she yawned.

“Interesting question.”

“How come?”

Looking at the clock, I let out the fakest smile of my life.

“Because the clock is saying we’ll be late.”

Changing her pose in an instant, her posture tall and as her eyes sharpened, looking straight at me.

“Get into the bath, I’ll wash our uniforms!”

“I don’t think we have enough time to bathe.”

Suddenly, the meak expression she always had got taken by the devil's red eyes.

“You think I care?”

I tried to lighten the tension, although I could only do so as I put my hands in front of my face.

“You clearly don’t if you’re asking that.”

She took to it well enough, crossing her arms and looking away at me all high and mighty.

“In that case, you understand. I don’t want us smelling bad on our way to school.”

***

Turning on the water for the bath, water I made hot in defiance of the fall season, I thought about the new side to Ayane I saw. Once again, my assumption that we shared a lack of ambition was completely and utterly crushed. The more controlling attitude she had, even though I should’ve disliked it, was weirdly cute, although you could argue that it was because she sucked at it.

Taking off my clothes, revealing my rather average figure, I realized how interesting I found her to be. Getting in, I sunk my mouth into the water, unable to clean away the thought that Ayane was further ahead of me in life than I would've cared to admit. The fact that I had friends when she didn’t left me screaming, although the water muffled the noise.

Draining the water shortly after, I did everything I could before I opened the door to the living room.

Finally, outside of the restroom, I smelled something familiar, closing my eyes to savor it. Little did I know, though, that I should’ve never closed them in the first place, as the sight of Ayane in my oversized shirt put a massive smile on my face. Granted, instead of seeing my positive reinforcement she quickly hid under the counter, clearly embarrassed to wear my shirt. Well, it was either that or seeing my body covered only by a towel.

Noticing this, I retreated to my room to find the most comfortable, yet least stylish brand I could find, with this finally getting Ayane to say something.

“You looked really happy back there.”

“I did?”

Even though her face was still red, she still managed to look me in the eyes.

“I guess you’re not used to smiling then.”

“Sorry. It’s embarrassing having you see this.”

Instead of looking away, she chuckled in an attempt to ease the tension. Despite this being a monumental achievement, though, it wasn’t enough to distract me from asking her something.

“By the way, how are you gonna finish cooking that, have the clothes dry, and shower without us getting late?”

Ayane stared blankly at me while she tilted her head to the right.

“I have no idea.”

I pinched between my eyebrows.

“And you were the one rushing me into the shower.”

“I’m not letting you eat instant noodles! You need to know what real food tastes like!” Ayane yelled with her hands pointed at me.

The level of passion she exuded in this made me sigh, as I looked at the floor ready to groan in disgust.

“I know I praised your food yesterday, but I don’t want us to be tardy to school.”

“In that case, maybe you’ll change your mind when…”

While saying this, she grabbed my hand and took me to the kitchen to have a bite of the food she made.

Having taken just a single bite, my whole world was taken from me once again. Savoring the taste, I stood still, with my eyes closed, only opening them after a swallow.

“It’s… incredible!”

Ayane reacted just as she had the last time, with her body stopping and her face exploding into red.

“So, are you fine with being tardy now?”

A surprisingly cheeky response given how nervous she clearly was. Sadly for me, that aura only radiated onto me.

“Yeah, I think I am.”

I couldn’t bear to look at her as I said this. The fact that she could break my cool in any way utterly dumbfounded me.

Why her?

***

Regardless, it didn’t matter much to me once we finished eating our food soon after.

“Yuuki-kun, I’m going to head toward the shower.”

“But the laundry’s not done yet.”

Ayane, not seeming to know this, widened her eyes. Her mouth, open and clearly disgusted, only amplified the red on her face. She needed to look away from me to respond.

“Just give me my uniform when it’s done!”

I obviously found this fit of embarrassment to be adorable, but I didn’t let it stop me. I had to get my snark back.

“You must trust me a lot then.”

“It’s… not like I want to…”

She couldn’t even look at me to give that retort, silently going to the restroom.

I couldn’t bring myself to do anything as I waited for her. I just couldn’t focus on anything with Ayane in the house, yet despite this, I didn’t feel a single beat in my heart or a shiver down my spine. In fact, I had an easy time breathing. I shouldn’t have felt so relaxed with her around, and I think that’s what put me on edge more than anything. Despite this, I wouldn’t have it any other way. It’s bizarre to say, but I couldn’t be any happier like this.

The noise of the shower died down once I thought of this. Looking at the clock, I realized how long that must have been. Realizing this, I walked to the dryer to grab Ayane’s uniform.

With it now in hand, I knocked on the bathroom door and asked her a question.

“Ayane-chan, should I open the door to give you it?”

“Absolutely not!”

I sighed.

“I’ll leave it by the door then.”

“C-could you move away from the door too?”

“Of course.”

Looking at the clock again, it somehow seemed like we’d make it in time.

Granted, the clock just continued to tick and tock as Ayane took her time to maximize her appearance. That was until I finally heard the creak of the door opening.

“Yuuki-kun, we have to go,” she quietly said.

Hearing this, I raised my head up before standing. Turning my head back, I got a good look at Ayane. Something about her looked cuter than normal, but I didn’t know what it was. Instead of saying something to her though, the squeak of the main door opening interrupted us.

It was Satou. It didn’t take long for our eyes to lock as usual, although his heart did sink a bit when he saw me awake. However, when he turned his attention to Ayane, his heart fell off to the equator as he gave a face of horror with his widened eyes and mouth.

“Why the hell is Ayane-chan with you?”