The Gal Next to Me Is Trying Too Hard to Make Me Fall in Love With Her
“The fortune-telling at the Oka Research Club was great! It said we’re a perfect match!”
“…I think anyone would have to say it was a good result if Amagi-san pressed them with ‘How compatible are we?”
“Don’t sweat the small stuff. So, do you want to go out with me?”
“No, I don’t.”
“You’re so stingy!”
We took a short walk, watched the drama club’s improv play, and had our love fortunes told by the occult research club.
It was around 1:00 p.m.
We looked around for a place to have lunch, but everywhere was crowded and it didn’t look like we could get in.
“Everywhere is full.”
“Our school festival attracts a lot of visitors from outside, so it can’t be helped.”
Last year, I came to the cultural festival as part of a school tour, and even then, it was quite difficult to get lunch.
Some of my classmates were so focused on making money because, given the number of visitors, they could make a considerable amount if they worked hard.
“Hmm, this is troublesome… I’m hungry…”
“Then, would you like to eat my lunch?”
“What, you brought it again today!?”
“I thought it would be a problem if our shop was busy and I didn’t have time to go out to eat. It’s just a mix of leftovers from yesterday…”
“That’s fine! Eating something like that at a cultural festival feels special!”
So, we headed to the classroom to get the lunch box.
We could have eaten it there, but Amagi san took my hand and led me up the stairs to a door that led to the rooftop.
“Um… this is off-limits, right? There’s a lock on it…”
“It’s okay, it’s okay! Just hit it like this… there! See? The lock opened, right?”
“I have no idea what’s okay about this…”
When she hit the doorknob with the palm of her hand, it clicked and unlocked.
Breaking into a restricted area by breaking the lock… This is definitely bad. But I don’t want to ruin the mood by pointing it out too seriously. It’ll be fine as long as no one finds out.
“The field looks amazing from up here! There are so many people!”
“It’ll be a problem if someone sees us. Come over here and let’s eat quickly.”
“Okay!”
Amagi-san grabbed the fence and looked down at the field.
I sat down next to the ladder leading to the water tank and beckoned to her.
“Oh… there’s only one pair of chopsticks. Wait a minute. I’ll go get some disposable chopsticks somewhere.”
“Why? These are fine, aren’t they?”
“Itadakimasu!” She clasped her hands together and opened her mouth wide.
…Ah, I see. Well, I guess there’s no helping it…
“Don’t open your mouth like that… . It’s rude.”
“Nihihi♡ Ahigahoo♡”
“Please swallow what’s in your mouth before you speak.”
She nodded and swallowed.
She smiled broadly, her red eyes reflecting me.
“It’s delicious! It’s so delicious!”
She said, opening her mouth again.
I threw some side dishes into her mouth and stuffed some white rice into my own.
Lively voices came from the field. The sound of many footsteps faintly reached us through the ground. But there was no one else here but us.
I didn’t want to get scolded, but I thought it was a really nice place.
I was tired of the busy atmosphere, so this loneliness felt especially comfortable.
“Saeki, um…”
“Yes, yes.”
We were sharing one bento between the two of us, so we finished it in no time. We were far from full, but strangely enough, we felt satisfied.
As we were putting away the bento, Amagi lay down and rested her head on my lap.
She tugged at my sleeve. When I understood that she wanted me to stroke her, she smiled sweetly and said, “Ehehe♡.”
“Being alone together in a secret spot at school is kind of naughty, isn’t it? Want to do something naughty?”
“No.”
“I think it’d be really exciting.”
“I said no!”
“Then… do you want to watch me do it?”
Her eyes gleamed like a predator fixated on its prey, and her lips curved into a seductive arc.
The moment I looked away from her heart-stopping expression, a gust of wind blew and Amagi’s skirt flew up.
I quickly held it down with my hand, took off my jacket, and put it over her waist. That should be a little better. Besides, I don’t want her to catch a cold from the cold.
“Thank you♡”
“No, it’s nothing…”
“What color was it?”
“Pink. … Oh, no!! I didn’t see anything!!”
“Saeki, you’re too honest♡ I love you♡”
She said, poking my cheek.
During the cultural festival, the two of us were alone in a restricted area. This overly youthful situation might have made me a little tipsy.
Let’s calm down a little and take a deep breath.
We’re just having lunch and taking a break. There’s no reason to feel weird.
“So, you seemed really good at opening the lock earlier. Do you come here often?”
Let’s try to keep the conversation normal.
With that in mind, I blurt out the first thing that comes to mind.
“During the first semester, yeah. But this is my first time since the second semester started.”
“Huh. But why did you come up here?”
“Well… I just felt like dying.”
“………… Huh?”
Her unexpected response left me speechless.
She looked at the fence and quietly said, “It’s not a serious topic.”
“You know, there are days when you feel like that. Like, ‘I can’t do this today’?”
“Ah… I can understand that, but… Amagi-san, you feel that way sometimes too?”
“Of course I do.”
She laughed.
Her dry breath disappeared, carried away by the autumn breeze.
“Just because I moved out of my parents’ house doesn’t mean I’m getting tons of work, so I’m relying entirely on my teaching job for my livelihood, and my friends are kind of looking down on me for it. I think, ‘Don’t look down on me just because you’re worse at school than I am,’ but I don’t say it out loud.”
Seeing me fall silent, she furrowed her brow anxiously and asked, “Do you hate me now?”
She immediately shook her head.
There was no way I could dislike her. Rather, I thought it was only natural, and I was happy that she had been honest with me
“But it can’t be helped. We have a popular girl named Subaru in our class, so it’s only natural that I’m compared to her. During the first semester, there were many days when that was painful for me.”
Her eyes, which had been fixed on the fence, suddenly shifted to me.
“So… when Saeki says I’m ‘amazing,’ it really makes me happy. It makes me want to try even harder.”
Her red eyes flickered.
Fragile, strong, and vibrant.
She reached out her arm toward my neck.
She pulled me close, lifting her body, and my shadow fell on her face.
That face, shining so brightly it made my eyes blurry, was now tinged with my color.
Neither black nor white, an ambiguous, indecisive, unclear gray. It made me a little happy, but I felt guilty for feeling that way.
“Um…Amagi san…”
“Hmm?”
“No, you can’t… If you do anything strange, I’ll get angry.”
“Then what if you resist? Saeki is stronger, right?”
That’s right.
I know that. I know that very well.
But when I see Amagi san up close, she is even more beautiful and cute, and I’m just confused.
She has many friends, mixes with adults, and gives her all to everything she does, but the fact that she’s only looking at me right now is unbearably pleasant.
My heartbeat is loud.
The sound of the wind and the noise from the field are also loud.
I want to hear her breath, I want to listen to the sound of her blinking, but there’s too much noise.
—If I take one step forward, will it all disappear? A strange thought crosses my mind.
“Pfft… hehehe.”
She laughed softly and loosened her grip on my neck.
“It’s okay, don’t worry. Saying something sentimental to get sympathy and then kissing you would be boring. Even I have enough sense not to do that, right?”
The devilish curve of her lips made me feel a little disappointed deep down.
I forced a relieved smile, “Ahaha,” but at that moment,
she tightened her arms again and lifted my body.
――Kap.
A warm, soft sensation on my neck.
Then her teeth gently bit down, sending a sweet pain racing down my spine.
She sucked, bit again, and licked gently with the tip of her tongue.
When she finally let go, she was blushing more than I’d ever seen her before, but she was smiling as usual, her white teeth dazzling.
“You’re vulnerable, aren’t you? Now, Saeki, you’re a vampire’s servant, aren’t you?”
“What is this fantasy setting…?”
“Hehehehe.”
She stood up, saying childish things, and shook her golden hair.
She stepped from side to side, searching for her footing, her steps somehow unsteady.
“As my servant… Saeki, please always be on my side.”
She lowered her gaze for a moment, then looked at me again.
Her eyes were lifeless, as if they could be blown away by a breeze.
“Promise?”
Hearing her somewhat fragile voice, I nodded before I could even think.
Confirming my answer, Amagi gently relaxed her lips, checked her smartphone screen, and headed for the rooftop entrance.
“I have to work at the reception desk of the haunted house! Sorry, I have to go back first!”
“What? No, wait a minute…!”
The sound of footsteps rushing down the stairs.
I hurried after her, but she was already gone, and I sighed as I closed the door.
“How do I lock this again…?”
I tried knocking on the doorknob, imitating what I had seen.
…It hurts.
After knocking several times, the lock closed, and after wondering what to do next, I headed for the haunted house.
I wanted to see what kind of haunted house Amagi, who was afraid of ghosts, had created as the person in charge.
However, it was Amagi’s friend who was sitting at the reception desk.
When I asked her where Amagi had gone, I got a completely unexpected answer.
“Arisa-chan? She hasn’t come here, and we didn’t even assign her to the front desk.”
“…Huh?”
Maiban