***
A week had passed since sports day ended. I was sitting in class with Luna and Yu, talking as we normally would. There were five minutes left until school ended, so the teacher didn't mind.
"Man, I'm so tired!" Luna groaned.
Even though we would have to pack up in a couple of minutes, Luna was currently using her arms as a makeshift pillow, her face pressed against them in a display of total exhaustion.
Yeah, she's going to complain again when she gets up.
Yu, however, was focused. He was staring at his phone with an uncharacteristically stern look until his face suddenly lit up. "Ah! I got it!"
Luna and I turned to him curiously.
"Got what?" I asked.
The seating arrangement in this class was Luna sat to my right, and Yu sat behind me. So, being the considerate guy that he was, he got up from his desk and stood between us, holding his phone out to share.
We leaned in.
On his screen was a fancy cafe, which wasn't very Yu-like. In fact, the last time we went to a cafe—which was because Luna forced us to—he and I complained the whole time about how boring it was.
"Uh, why are you looking up fancy cafes?" I asked as neutrally as I could.
Yu kept his gaze on the details of the cafe as he responded. "Well, I asked Kyara if she wanted to go out, and she said yes–"
Before he could finish, Luna slammed both her hands on the desk and shot up. "What?! When did this happen?! Why is it my first time hearing about it?!"
Luna snapped in my direction. "Hoshino, did you know about this?!"
I quickly shook my head. I didn't know why; it wasn't like I was guilty or anything, but seeing Luna this serious always scared me a bit…
"No, this is my first time hearing about it, too," I replied as I leaned in closer to Yu with a frown. "Why didn't you tell your childhood friend about any of this?"
Yu didn't get flustered. He didn't even look away from the screen.
I guess he's serious about this.
After he finished reading the details, he let out a satisfied nod, then turned off his phone.
"Oh, right," he said, as if he just remembered we were there. "It's not like I was keeping it a secret from you two; I was just too embarrassed to ask."
That was a fair point. Sometimes, it's harder to open up to people you're close to than someone you didn't know.
I leaned back, crossing my arms. "So, why did you settle on a cafe? I know you didn't pick that out for yourself."
"Oh, Remi suggested it to me."
My eyebrow twitched ever so slightly.
I can get why you avoided us, but out of all people, you went to her???
To be honest, I was a little offended. If he had gone to Sora, I could understand. He's the student council president and all, he probably knew how to handle these social situations. But—choosing Remi over me? The same person tripped and fell on the stairs? That was too much.
I opened my mouth, but before the words could come out, someone spoke in my stead.
"Why are you going to Remi instead of me?!" Luna screamed.
Her face was flushed red as an ugly, menacing crease formed between her brows.
Yikes, this isn't your best look—but you tell him!
"It–"
Yu tried to explain, but Luna spoke over him. "I'm a girl too, you know! I can give advice just as good as Remi's! So why are you going to her instead of me?! I thought we were best friends!"
I nodded along, giving her my silent support.
Yu sighed deeply as he shook his head. "Luna, it isn't like that," he said softly. "I just wanted to make you guys proud in a way."
Luna tilted her head, and my interest was piqued—just a little bit.
Yu took a deep breath. "Luna, you have guys coming up to you all the time. Hoshino—well, he just doesn't care. Either way, I think you guys are so cool! So I wanted to be able to do something like that too."
A small grin couldn't help but spread across my face. It was such a childish and simple reason, but so very him.
I averted my gaze, but slowly reached out and grabbed his shoulder. I saw him turn to me from my peripheral vision. I didn't—no—couldn't bring myself to look back.
"I think…" the words caught in my throat for a moment, but I pushed them out. "You're good just the way you are."
Luna stared at Yu with wide, watery eyes before a wide grin spread across her face, and she swung her arm around his shoulder.
"Aww, you're so cute, Yu! I can't get mad if you're this honest!"
Yu rubbed the back of his neck and looked away. Seeing that, Luna began to tease him nonstop. I simply watched as the two of them had their little moment together.
But still…
A date, huh?
A bitter taste settled in my mouth.
I really hope it works out for him. He deserves it.
Before I could dwell on those thoughts any further, I pushed them aside.
"Not to ruin the mood," I said, "butttt, when's the date?"
Yu glanced at the calendar on his phone for a few seconds. "Tomorrow."
A croak made its way out of me; meanwhile, Luna began to choke on air.
Tomorrow? Dude, have you even prepared? What are you even going to wear? Are you picking her up or meeting up there?
"Tomorrow? Dude, have you even prepared? What are you even going to wear? Are you picking her up or meeting up there? There are so many questions!" Luna exclaimed, voicing my thoughts for me.
I don't know whether that was impressive or scary...
Yu held four fingers up, each representing a question she had asked.
"For your first one, yes, tomorrow."
He put a finger down.
"For your second one, kind of. For your third one, Remi picked out my clothes. And for the fourth one, I'm picking her up."
I couldn't help but be a little impressed. I knew that there was a ninety-nine percent chance Remi planned the whole thing, but I was proud he went out of his way to do all this.
Whenever Luna and I tried to plan something, he was always radio silent, after all.
"Well, good luck," I said.
Luna gave him a wide thumbs-up. "You got this! If you need anything, Hoshino and I are a call away!"
Yu smiled. "Thank you, but I'm supposed to be meeting up with Remi today. She said she wanted to run me by the plan one last time before I went."
Luna and I both went still.
Oh, so there was a secret meeting, too? Alright, I see how it is.
Luna and I both turned to each other before facing Yu.
""I'm going too,"" we said, our voices a cold resonance.
Yu shrugged. "Sure, that's fine with me. We are going to be meeting at a Chinese restaurant if you guys are down."
"Sure," I said.
"Okay!" Luna hummed.
*ding* *dong* *ding* *dong*
The bell rang, signalling the end of the school day. Everyone in our class got up and did the usual dismissal routine. It had been so long since I actually participated in it that I stumbled halfway through.
It should be fine; no one should have seen me anyway, is what I thought.
Except—Mei had her head turned just enough to keep track of me in her peripheral vision.
I suppressed the urge to smack my head.
She definitely saw the whole thing...
Well, it's whatever, nothing you can do about it now.
"Hey, Hoshino, are you coming?"
I turned back. Yu and Luna both had their bags in hand and were already waiting for me by the door.
I quickly grabbed my bag. "Yeah, I'm coming."
They left the class. I followed shortly after, but before I left, I snuck a glance at Mei. She was busy talking to her friends, but she didn't fail to notice my gaze.
I gave her a small nod, and she returned it.
After that, I left the class and headed straight for the shoe lockers. After switching to my outdoor shoes, I met up with Yu and Luna at the school gate. Someone was already there, arms crossed, aggressively tapping her foot against the floor.
"You're late," she spat. She glanced between Luna and me before speaking again. "Also, what are they doing here?"
Geez. It's good to see you too.
Of course, the only person who'd treat Luna and me like this was none other than our beloved Remi.