The Gal Next to Me Is Trying Too Hard to Make Me Fall in Love With Her
“Eh, Saeki?”
“Why is he…?”
“Are you two dating!?”
The classroom was abuzz with excitement.
Amagi, completely oblivious to the tense atmosphere, ran up to me like a golden retriever who had found her owner.
“Hey, let’s go home together!”
“Wait… um…!”
“When we get home, can I go to Saeki’s room? Or do you want to come to place?”
“No, but…!”
I refused, right?!
I said I didn’t want her to try to make me like her, right?!
“I-I have committee work to do, so I can’t…”
“Okay! I’ll wait for you at the front door!”
I
lied on the spot, and Amagi left without saying another word.
The boys in my class still want to kill me, but… Well, I’ll just have to give up on that. There’s nothing I can do about it.
“…Okay, let’s go home.”
I feel bad for her, but I’ll sneak out the back gate.
If I don’t come after waiting for about 30 minutes, she’ll probably go home on her own.
If she becomes disillusioned with me and stops saying she likes me, that would be great.
I successfully escaped from school alone, and an hour has passed since I got home.
The sound of footsteps in the hallway, the sound of a key being inserted into the door knob, the sound of the door opening.
I wait and wait, but I don’t hear the sounds that I would hear if Amagi-san came home.
“Ah!”
I muttered, looking out the window.
It had started raining. It wasn’t in the forecast.
The light drizzle quickly turned into a downpour, obscuring the sunlight and casting everything in shadow.
Sounds that I normally wouldn’t notice were now unbearably annoying.
I couldn’t concentrate on the textbook.
As the raindrops hit the roof, I feel as if everything I’ve studied is slipping out of my brain.
Amagi’s face flashes through my mind.
Maybe she always carries a folding umbrella and will be able to get home without any problems.
Maybe she’s just taking a break and going out to have fun.
Maybe she’s meeting up with her friends and having a good time talking about me.
But
“She might still be waiting…”
I muttered to myself and put down my pen.
I scratched my head.
Why do I have to worry about this!
I helped her, and now she’s fallen in love with me and declared her love!
I turned her down, but Amagi hasn’t given up and is saying she wants to go home with me!
“Ugh, enough already!! How am I supposed to study like this?!”
I don’t know where I went wrong, but I couldn’t help but feel guilty, so I rushed out of the room.
The temperature was over 30 degrees, and the humidity was unbearable.
My body moved forward before the umbrella could block the rain, and raindrops hit my face.
It was lukewarm.
I stepped in a puddle, soaking the hem of my pants, and water seeped into my shoes.
With each step, I made a ridiculous squishing sound.
I came home from school, only to head back again. I really am an idiot.
If I was going to do something this stupid, I should have just refused from the start.
I should have said it clearly.
I just hope that Amagi isn’t there.
I desperately want her to be fed up with me, to hate me, and to be laughing happily somewhere else.
“Ha, ha, ha…!”
I pass through the school gate, stop, and catch my breath.
I see her shining like a star in the rain, and I gasp and am struck by a dull headache.
“W-Why…?”
There she was.
Amagi sab was leaning against the wall, crouching down and staring blankly at the rain clouds.
As I approached her quietly, she noticed me and stood up, tilting her head and saying, “Huh?”
“How’s the committee work? Is that your regular clothes? That’s funny~!”
She giggled when she saw my T-shirt with a joke on it.
I caught my breath and wiped the sweat from my eyes with the back of my hand.
I stared at her and clenched my teeth.
“…Why are you laughing like that? You can see why, can’t you? I left Amagi-san behind and went home alone!”
“But you came here. You were worried because it started raining, right?”
“W-Well, anyone would do that!”
“Running in the rain to worry about someone isn’t something anyone can do.”
She said, and stepped closer to me.
She wrapped her arms around my sweat-soaked back and pressed her nose against my collarbone.
“Hey, wait a minute…”
The violent softness I felt against my chest made it hard to breathe.
I tried to step back, but her arms wouldn’t let me, and the more I tried to pull away, the closer she pressed against me.
Sweat, rain, heartbeats.
They seeped into her.
“Hmph, so this is Saeki’s scent, huh?”
“Stop it! I’m sweating, and it smells bad!”
“The scent of someone who ran hard. I like it.”
She looked up and curved her lips into a smile.
“…I really like it♡”
Her large eyes blinked, reflecting only me, and she snorted contentedly.
My head began to spin.
I seemed to have forgotten to breathe, and I took a deep breath. At that moment, I also took in the fresh, sweet scent of Amagi, which made my whole body burn with heat.
“I want to date Saeki after all!”
She suddenly pulled away and smiled mischievously.
I came to my senses a moment later and scratched my head, saying, “But…”
“I’m not going to stick around for people I don’t like. I’ve got something to negotiate with!”
“Negotiate?”
“It was really hard. I spent the whole day, including class and break time, making this!”
“Made what…?”
She rummaged through her bag and took out a brand-new notebook.
I took it and checked the contents.
It was a math explanation.
Moreover, it was a section that hadn’t been covered in class yet.
After reading a little, I realized it was quite easy to understand.
I’ve bought a few of these kinds of textbooks, but this is the best one I’ve read so far.
“studies are hard, so you don’t have time to bother. So I’ll help you get good grades on your tests. I think my lessons are pretty easy to understand! I charge a fair amount, and I even get a part-time job as a private tutor!”
She seems to be a bit misunderstood, but the offer itself is quite appealing.
The content of this notebook, the skill to create it in just a few hours—this isn’t ordinary talent. If she could teach me, how much easier life would be.
“For now, I’m confiscating this.”
“Huh?”
“Saeki will learn from me! In exchange, I can do anything to make Saeki fall for me! Right? It’s not a bad deal, is it?”
She snorted and hugged the notebook she had taken.
—Anything is allowed.
The sweet, melting sound almost swept her away, but she bit her lip and held back at the last moment.
“…But I want to learn too…”
“So, deal?”
“It’s impossible! My parents made me move out on the condition that I study and work part-time! If I have an inappropriate relationship with someone, they’ll send me back home immediately…”
“Is it inappropriate for me to teach you?”
“…Huh?”
“It’s just that one friend who likes Saeki. Is it impure to study with her?”
I was about to say, “Of course it’s inappropriate,” but then I paused.
I wondered if that was really the case.
I was told that it was wrong to have impure relationships with the opposite sex, but I wasn’t told not to make friends with the opposite sex.
As long as it doesn’t become a sexual relationship, there shouldn’t be a problem.
…But can I resist? The temptation from Amagi.
Speaking of whether I can resist, the same goes for my body.
I work part-time job after part-time job and study so much that I don’t have time to sleep.
It’s only been half a year since I started high school, but my body is already screaming in pain. This year might be okay, but I don’t think I can make it until graduation.
However, with Amagi’s help, I will definitely have no trouble studying.
But, but…
“Please!”
I raised my voice and bowed deeply.
“In order to get good grades…”
She said, raising her face, tilting her eyes upward, slightly pursing her lips, and making a sorrowful expression.
“You can use me however you want!”
Words that could be misinterpreted.
Her chest exposed to the outside air.
Sweat trickled down her neck and fell into the darkness of her cleavage.
…No, this is bad.
She’s so cute. Too cute, it’s dizzying.
Even though I know it’s wrong, my mouth starts to form words on its own.
Even if I command myself to stop, it’s too late.
“Ah, yes. Then… please take care of me.”
Before I knew it, I was bowing my head.
Maiban