My Childhood Friend Is Just Too Cute—I Can’t Have a Normal Relationship!!
On the way home that day, just as I’d decided to put some distance between myself and the two of them.
“Makoto~ Want to walk home together?”
“Alice, don’t cling to Makoto’s arm. Come on, let’s head home.”
“…okay.”
My plan was about to be ruined right off the bat, but it would be unnatural to turn them down at this point, and I didn’t want to see my two childhood friends get hurt.
So, I decided to walk home with them. We were all headed to the same place anyway.
“Man, this year is shaping up to be a fun one. Fumi-chan and Makoto are in the same class, after all.”
“Yeah. I agree with that.”
“Well, I think so too. Speaking of which, aren’t either of you planning on getting a boyfriend or girlfriend?”
“‘……’”
The moment I said that, for some reason, it felt like the air in the room froze. Did I say something wrong?
I don’t know, but it just feels off.
It’s early spring today and the weather’s nice, so it’s actually pretty warm out, but for some reason, it feels cold right here.
“Makoto… I’m gonna punch you.”
“Why!?”
“Hmm, Makoto~ It’s not really a good idea to say things like that to girls~”
“I-is that so? Sorry. I’m not really good with this kind of thing.”
I see. So asking a girl about her boyfriend is a no-no. I’ll be careful not to say that again.
Judging by the way Fumika had been glaring at me with a demonic expression this whole time, that much was obvious.
“I’m totally fine with it, but Fumi-chan doesn’t seem to be, so you’d better watch it, okay?”
Alice said that with a wink, her index finger pressed to her lips. Alice really is so kind~
It’s a world of difference from Fumika.
“……You idiot, Makoto.”
“I’m so sorry.”
When she says that with that glare, all I can do is apologize profusely.
But I had no idea asking about boyfriend was such a big no-no.
I’ll have to be careful not to bring it up next time.
“Speaking of which, Alice. Didn’t you have club activities today?”
“Yeah! We have the day off~ I’m so happy!”
“You seem so busy, Alice. I don’t do any club activities myself, so I don’t really understand what that’s like.”
“Fumi-chan and Makoto should join a club, too. It’s actually pretty fun, you know?”
Just like Alice said, Fumika and I aren’t in any clubs. There are various reasons for that, but the main one is that it’s just too much trouble.
I think Fumika probably feels the same way.
“I’m good. I’d rather just take it easy.”
“I’ll pass, too. Just relaxing at home is just right for me.”
“I see. That’s just like you two. I won’t force you, but if you ever feel like doing something, let me know. See you later.”
“Yeah. See you both tomorrow.”
Our apartments are all right next to each other.
We live on the fifth floor of an eight-story apartment building—Alice is on the right, I’m in the middle, and Fumika is on the left.
“See you later, you two.”
And just like that, my boring day came to an end.
“It’s been a while, Makoto.”
“…Why’d you come over?”
I was about to put my bag down and change when Fumika walked into my room.
She’d already used her spare key to come in without asking this morning, so maybe I should take some precautions from now on.
“Why? Because I’m bored?”
“Well, I’m bored too, so it’s fine, but don’t you think you should be a little more cautious, Fumika?”
“A sense of danger? Why?”
“Well, a girl your age is coming into a guy’s room. Something could go wrong, right?”
“It’s fine. I know you wouldn’t do anything like that, Makoto. And if you even tried, I’d cripple you for life.”
While she flashed me a cute, beaming smile, the words coming out of her mouth were utterly terrifying.
Her expression and her words were completely at odds with each other.
“Y-you’re joking, right?”
“I’m not joking. You have to train a dog properly, don’t you?”
“I’m not a dog! I mean, seriously, you really should be a little more cautious.”
“Don’t worry. I wouldn’t go into a guy’s house alone unless it was Makoto’s. I’m only here because I trust you in my own way.”
Once she put it that way, I couldn’t think of anything to say in response.
It’s not like I’m thinking of attacking Fumika or anything like that, mind you.
Besides, if I were actually thinking that, I feel like I’d have confessed my feelings to Fumika by now or something.
“O-okay. Well, if that’s the case, then fine. But more importantly, do you want to do anything?”
“Hmm… I don’t really have anything specific in mind, so I’ll just lounge around.”
“Then why not just go to your own room?”
“……Did you say something?”
“No, nothing at all.”
Her face remained beaming with a smile, but her eyes—as cold as absolute zero—were fixed on me. I decided to keep my mouth shut; if I said anything else, not only would the atmosphere turn icy, but I might actually freeze to death.
“Still, I wonder why Fumika isn’t popular with guys.”
I think both the smile she showed me earlier and her usual cool expression are incredibly cute. Yamato told me that’s why I’ve become so picky, though.
Even so, I genuinely think Fumika is cute. That’s exactly why I can’t help but wonder: why can’t such a cute childhood friend find a boyfriend?
“It’s not like she has a bad personality or anything.”
True, she’s pretty harsh with me, but she isn’t like that with everyone else. If anything, she’s actually on the kind side.
She’s pretty good at her studies, too, and judging by what I saw today, her housekeeping skills have improved quite a bit.
Hmm, I just don’t get it.
The more I think about it, the less I have any idea why she can’t find a boyfriend.
I’d like to ask her myself, but I’d rather not go through that awkward moment again, so I’ll hold back.
“You’ve been standing there with your arms crossed, staring at me for a while now. What’s up? If you have something to say, just say it clearly.”
“No, it’s not like that. Don’t worry about it.”
“Saying that just makes me even more curious. Stop hiding it and just tell me already.”
“No, it’s not like I’m hiding anything. I was just thinking how cute you really are, Fumika.”
Since she told me to say it, I’ll just be honest. It’s not like I’m trying to hide anything, and it’s not a lie either.
I just told her exactly what I was thinking…
“W-wa…”
Fumika’s face turned bright red in an instant. She turned away from me and buried herself under the covers. That’s my bed, by the way.
“Hey, Fumika? What’s suddenly gotten into you?”
“S-shut up, you idiot!”
“Huh? Why am I suddenly getting yelled at? I don’t think I said anything that would offend you.”
“I said shut up! You idiot, idiot, idiot!”
Now that things had come to this, Fumika wasn’t listening to a word I said. Since that was obvious, I didn’t argue and just watched over her.
I couldn’t see Fumika’s expression as she was wrapped up in her futon on the bed, but when I looked at her ears poking out, they were bright red.
Is she really that angry? What on earth did I do?
“I’m sorry, I guess.”
“Seriously. You clueless idiot.”
“Clueless? What are you talking about?”
“If you don’t get it, never mind. Anyway, can I borrow one of your manga?”
“Sure, go ahead. You can read any of the books in the house if you want.”
After venting all her frustration and seeming to calm down a bit, Fumika got out of bed and started rummaging through my bookshelf.
Watching her, I sat down on my own bed. Fumika had always been a bit of a difficult person, but I feel like she’s become even more so since starting high school.
Did I do something to make her hate me that much? No, since she’s changed this much, I must have done something.
“I need to reflect on this.”
Watching Fumika rummage through the bookshelf, I muttered to myself. Perhaps she heard my mutterings, because she turned around and gave me a puzzled look.
“What are you reflecting on?”
“Well, I’ve been making Fumika mad all the time lately. I thought I’d reflect on that.”
“Y-you don’t have to worry about that.”
“I do worry. You’re my childhood friend, and you’re important to me.”
We’ve been together since we were born, and we’ve done all kinds of things together since we were kids.
To put it simply, Fumika is like my other half. I can’t help but feel guilty for constantly making someone like that angry.
“A, a dear childhood friend.”
“That’s right. So, if you have any worries or anything you want me to do, don’t hesitate to tell me.”
“W-well, then, I want you to let me rest my head on your lap.”
“Sure, why not? But why all of a sudden?”
“I just felt like it! Is that wrong!?”
“It’s not wrong. Well, go ahead.”
Since I was sitting on the bed anyway, I patted my lap a couple of times.
Then, looking a little shy, Fumika rested her head on my lap.
She lay back on her back, her beautiful blue eyes gazing up at my face.
Yeah, she really is cute.
“Hey, stroke my head.”
“It brings back memories. We used to do this all the time back in the day, didn’t we?”
As I stroked Fumika’s head, I suddenly found myself reminiscing about the past.
I feel like the Fumika of the past was a gentler, more composed girl than she is now.
It really brings back memories.
“Yeah. It really does bring back memories.”
“Once again, I look forward to spending time with you from now on, Fumika.”
“Same here, Makoto.”
As I stroked Fumika’s head, we laughed together.
Maigetsu