A Childhood Friend Told Me “I Can’t Get a Boyfriend Because of You,” So I Distanced Myself From Her and She Stopped Coming to School the Next Day
“It feels good to get things done early.”
Natsuki stretches a little.
Her soft hair swayed softly in time with her movements.
“I guess so.”
I nodded, my mouth relaxing.
Since the soccer team did not have after-school practice today, she did her homework at my house.
We finished just a few minutes ago and are now sitting side by side on the couch resting.
(…… now, right?)
Natsuki has been busy these days with soccer club practices and practice games on weekends.
But this Sunday is a rare day off.
“Hey, Natsuki.”
“What?”
I took a small breath.
“This Sunday, you’re off for the first time in a while, right? Wanna go out with me?”
“Ah…….”
Natsuki’s calm expression changed and she dropped her gaze.
“I’m sorry ……. I have a shopping appointment with my senior manager that day.”
“Oh, I see,…….”
I could hear my voice blurring, I could tell.
I was so excited about going out on a date for the first time in a while that it was hard to keep my composure.
–It seems my disappointment was conveyed to Natsuki.
She frowned and looked even more apologetic.
“I’m really sorry. That’s the only day I could fit it into my schedule. ……”
“Oh, no, Natsuki, there’s nothing wrong with that. I was just late in inviting you.”
I hastily added.
If only I had asked her sooner, the problem would have been solved. I didn’t want her to feel guilty.
“Don’t worry about it. We can have a date another time.”
When I smiled at her, Natsuki’s eyes were downcast as if she was thinking about it.
“Ymm….. next day off, I’ll make sure to leave it open.”
“Y-yeah …… thank you.”
Those words alone were enough to make me happy, but Natsuki continued.
“Also, I don’t mind meeting up tomorrow after shopping.”
“Eh ……?”
I couldn’t help but stare at Natsuki.
“No, well… it’s just if you’re free, you know? It’s not compulsory.”
Natsuki turned her face away while saying that.
But her profile is slightly reddish.
I couldn’t help but reach out my hand to her because I couldn’t stop loving her.
–Gently, I pulled Natsuki into my arms.
“Hey, hey⁉ What, what’s with the sudden ……!”
Her impatient voice trembled in my ear, but she didn’t run away.
Instead, she relaxed a little and leaned into me.
“I was happy… Thank you.”
I whispered, and Natsuki bit her lip,
“…… idiot.”
She muttered softly and gripped the hem of my shirt tightly.
I felt warmth from her shoulder as she touched me, and the depths of my chest began to feel warm.
I put my other hand behind her back and wrapped Natsuki’s body completely around me.
For a while, time passed without words.
–Then came Sunday.
I was free until the evening, but there was plenty to do.
I opened a notebook on my desk and searched “recommended places for high school students to go on dates” on my smartphone.
Natsuki said she would free up the next day off. In order to respond to her wishes, I had to make sure I was fully prepared.
As I was writing down and bookmarking the spots I was interested in, my mother’s voice came from downstairs.
“Rei, can I ask you to run an errand for me?”
“Roger”
I replied in a loud voice. I could feel myself bouncing.
I usually feel a little bit of a hurry, but I don’t feel it in the slightest.
I quickly prepared to go out and rode my bicycle to the local supermarket.
The sun was soft and it was a pleasant afternoon.
“……Yeah, that’s ok.”
After comparing the receipt with the shopping memo and confirming that nothing was overlooked, I left the store and got back on my bike.
Suddenly, a familiar back figure came into view.
(huh ……?)
Long hair. Her slender shoulders. There was no way I could have mistaken it for her.
It was Natsuki.
(Is there such a coincidence?)
“Natsu…… eh?”
I trailed off as I tried to speak.
I was having a hard time breathing.
“You’re lying, aren’t you ……?”
–Natsuki next to, there was a man.
Seen from the side at an angle was a tall, handsome man with long, slender legs and a sweet, well-proportioned face like an idol.
The man poked Natsuki’s cheek lightly with his finger while smiling ridiculously.
Natsuki’s cheeks flushed with a little embarrassment and she clapped her hands.
The two of them walked away, flirting with each other without seeming to notice my gaze.
During this time, Natsuki was unsparingly giving an honest, shy smile that she rarely shows to me.
“Nah, n-no, ……!”
I stood there for a while.
I couldn’t do anything about my shaking hands with the eco-bag dangling from them.
When I managed to reach home safely, I silently handed the bag to my mother and went directly into my room.
Then I crawled under the covers.
I didn’t want to think about anything, but I couldn’t get rid of Natsuki’s smile that was burned into my brain.
My heart throbbed in my chest.
(…… but maybe I deserve to be given up on. ……)
Thinking back on everything that has happened, I begin to feel that it is all my fault. I couldn’t even notice their anniversary, and I couldn’t even confess to them properly.
I was always in a temper tantrum – I was too unreliable as a man.
The man next to Natsuki had a slender body, but he was good-looking and clearly “used to it.”
It is a universal principle of life that females are attracted to confident and dependable males, no matter whether they are human or animal.
(After all, Natsuki was not suitable for me…..?)
Just as I was thinking about this, my cell phone announced a notification.
Reflexively looking at the screen, I threw the phone away. It was Natsuki.
After a while, the chime rang.
I could hear Mom and Natsuki talking. I can’t hear what they are saying.
Please send her away.
My wish was vain, and then I heard footsteps coming up the stairs.
Soon after, there is a knock at the door.
When I did not answer, I heard the door open discreetly with a click.
“Hey, Rei. You were supposed to meet me ……, are you sleeping? Are you sick?”
“No, …… nothing.”
I answered curtly with my back turned.
The voice of Natsuki lowered.
“…Did something happen?”
It seems like she’s genuinely worried.
(Why ……?)
My heart ached even more.
I was afraid to hear the answer. But I couldn’t help asking.
“……Who is that guy?”
“What?”
I got up and looked straight into Natsuki’s eyes.
“There’s no need to lie. Your date today is a guy. He has the face of an idol.”
“Huh?…Ah.”
Natsuki blinked, then relaxed her shoulders.
She looked both convinced and resigned.
(Will I be rejected in less than a month? ……)
Natsuki’s mouth slowly opens.
–And then, an unexpected truth was told.
“She’s just boyish, but she’s a woman.”
“…… hee?”
I think I had the dumbest expression on my face for the rest of my life at that moment.
Maiban