The School’s Top Idol Is Acting Like She’s My Childhood Friend for Some Reason and Just Keeps Closing the Distance on Her Own…?! ~Stop Getting All Gloomy on Me Just Because I Turned You Down!~
On the morning I ended up walking to school with Hoshimiya, even though it was my usual route, it felt like a completely different place.
Narrow streets in a residential neighborhood. Morning dew lingering on the tops of fences. The sound of bicycle brakes in the distance. Scenes I would have simply passed by on my way to school in the past now seemed strangely distinct today.
The reason was that Hoshimiya Rino was walking beside me.
She was walking beside me as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Dressed in her school uniform, holding her bags in both hands, she would occasionally glance up at me. Every time she did, the morning sun touched her hair, and the fine tips glowed faintly.
It was killing me.
Until yesterday, I’d thought I was flustered because having Hoshimiya so close made me uncomfortable.
But this morning was different.
I was uncomfortable, yet happy.
That conflicting emotion kept making a noise deep inside my chest.
“Seita, you walk fast.”
“Do I?”
“Yeah. Does being with me make you that nervous?”
Hoshimiya smiled, teasing me just a little.
I reflexively tried to deny it, but my words caught in my throat. It would be a lie to say I wasn’t nervous. But admitting I was nervous felt like admitting defeat in its own way.
“…It’s morning.”
“So you get nervous in the morning?”
“That’s not what I meant.”
Hoshimiya chuckled softly.
In the past, seeing that smile might have made me think, “Here she goes again with her troublesome comments.” But now, that smile lingered in my eyes a little longer.
Considering why she’d come all the way to my house, it was actually pretty scary.
She hadn’t even asked for my address; she’d just figured it out from my route to school and the way I head home. Thinking about it calmly, it was actually pretty dangerous.
Yet, seeing Hoshimiya smiling happily right in front of me, my anger began to fade.
She’s invading my daily life.
Before I even ask for permission, she’s already right beside me.
I should be getting swept up in her pushy ways, but before I knew it, I’d started to accept mornings with her by my side.
“Seita.”
“What is it?”
“Are you still worried about yesterday?”
Yesterday.
We were playing cards in Hoshimiya’s room, and just as I was about to leave, she grabbed my wrist. We fell onto the bed, our bodies close together, and she said to me:
You don’t have to run away.
Not when you’re by my side.
Just remembering it makes my face flush.
“…It’d be a lie to say I’m not.”
“I see.”
Hoshimiya’s voice softened just a little.
She kept walking, facing forward. But I could see that her grip on her bag had tightened ever so slightly.
“I’m worried about it, too.”
“You are, too?”
“Yeah. Because you told me you wouldn’t run away.”
Her voice was soft.
But to me, it sounded strangely clear.
Hoshimiya didn’t look at my face. She kept walking down the morning street without looking at me. The tips of her ears were slightly red. I couldn’t tell if she was embarrassed or if saying those words had made her anxious.
Looking at her profile, I felt a restlessness stirring deep within my chest again.
Hoshimiya is a burden.
She’s a hassle.
She crosses my boundaries without a second thought.
But sometimes, she’s terribly vulnerable.
The moment I put a little distance between us, the light in her eyes dims. A single word from me makes her smile happily or fall silent with anxiety.
Every time I saw that change, I found I could no longer dismiss her as just another troublesome idol.
“…Within reason, though.”
I added that.
Hoshimiya looks at me.
“Yeah. That’s fine.”
Her smile, bathed in the morning sun, felt a little closer than it did yesterday.
As we get closer to school, the number of students on their way to class increases.
Naturally, Hoshimiya stands out.
At first, the students just turned to look, but seeing her walking beside me, they gradually start to murmur. Their stares pierced through me. I could hear hushed whispers.
Hoshimiya Rino.
Who’s that guy next to her?
Isn’t that Takahara?
The one rumored to be her childhood friend.
I unconsciously faltered in my stride.
Hoshimiya must have noticed, because she moved a little closer to me.
“It’s okay.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m better at standing next to people than you think, Seita.”
Those words seemed reassuring, but they were a little off.
Hoshimiya is used to the stares around her.
But that doesn’t mean she isn’t hurt by them.
She’s probably just too used to being watched.
So I let out a small sigh and returned to my normal stride.
I won’t run away.
As much as I can.
The school gate came into view.
There were already many students in front of the gate, and the moment they spotted us, the buzz grew louder.
Hoshimiya put on a smile.
The face of a school celebrity.
But, just enough for me—standing right beside her—to notice, her fingertips were gripping the handle of her bag tightly.
I said nothing and adjusted my stride to match hers just a little.
Hoshimiya looked over at me.
Our eyes met.
For just a moment, she looked surprised, then narrowed her eyes happily.
“Seita.”
“What is it?”
“Are we going to the vacation home for lunch today, too?”
“It’s my home.”
“Then, it’s also my vacation home.”
“Are you still saying that?”
“Yeah. Because that place is full of memories with you, Seita.”
I didn’t know how to respond.
Memories.
Hoshimiya said those words so casually.
But even in my own mind, I was slowly finding it harder to deny it.
Behind the warehouse.
The card shop.
Hoshimiya’s room.
And today’s walk to school.
The places I’d spent time with Hoshimiya were piling up inside me.
More than friends.
Less than lovers.
That phrase suddenly popped into my head, and I hurriedly dismissed it.
No.
It’s not like that yet.
It shouldn’t be like that.
But when I looked at Hoshimiya smiling beside me, I realized that denial was much weaker than it used to be.
“…I’ll go at lunchtime.”
When I said that, Hoshimiya smiled as brightly as a blooming flower.
“Okay.”
Seeing that smile, my heart skipped a beat again.
This is the worst.
I’m definitely starting to have feelings for Hoshimiya Rino.
And she’s probably noticed it, too.
Just before we passed through the school gate, Hoshimiya whispered softly.
“Seita, don’t run away from me today, okay?”
I answered without turning my head.
“……I’ll do my best.”
Hoshimiya smiled contentedly.
Watching her profile, I thought to myself.
My peaceful high school life was long gone.
But I found myself gradually growing to like these chaotic days that had taken its place.
Maigetsu