Her hands were dripping with sweat, her face flushed. The anxiety of the situation was getting to her. Not knowing how to handle Furayu.
"You just gonna stand there and say nothing?" He snapped, his tone filled with impatience.
Unable to find a way out, Inoue crumbled under the pressure. Her fear overcame her pride. But her voice barely broke through.
"...Sorry." She mumbled almost inaudibly.
"What was that? I didn't quite catch that." He smugly said, leaning over her.
Inoue, still pushed up against the wall, searched for any space to escape his overbearing presence.
"SORRY! There, I said it!" She burst out, her voice trembling with embarrassment, shoving Furayu away, finally breaking away from him.
Furayu prepared to shove her back.
But then came a soft click from the door.
They both froze.
The sound triggered Inoue, immediately ducking behind Furayu. Almost instinctively. She clutched to the back of his shirt, peeking over his shoulder.
Tsk… Why's she hiding behind me like some helpless damsel in distress when she was so ready to swing at me a second ago?
Furayu gritted his teeth, irritated at the silence.
He already had a couple of ideas brewing on how to get even with her… Once they got out.
The door swung open.
Light from the corridor spilled in, enough to break through the bleakness of the closet.
There she stood.
A girl with glistening green eyes and long, light brown pigtails. Smirking as she took in the scene before her.
HIna.
"Is this how we take boxes to science now, huh?" She giggled, her pigtails bouncing along.
"What's so funny about this!?" Inoue snapped, her face a deep, furious red.
"Wellllll… you two have been missing since lunch," Hina replied casually, brushing a tail behind her.
"So how the hell did you find us?" Furayu asked, clearly annoyed and a little confused.
"The boxes, the ones you two were supposed to take to science." She replied flatly, "Is sitting outside in the corridor." Crossing her arms triumphantly.
Her tone filled with judgment, her expression unimpressed.
"Oh."
Furayu blinked stupidly, only remembering the original reason on how they had ended up near the closet in the first place, the science boxes.
"...Right."
"Oh well– AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH MY EYES!" Inoue cried out dramatically as she stepped into the hallway, covering her eyes from the light. The sudden exposure stabbed at her unadjusted eyes, making her stumble.
Meanwhile, Hina leaned in ever so close, a wry smile on her face.
"So," She began with a rhythmic tone, eyes filled with curiosity. "What was Inoue apologising for ~?"
Her body tilted forward, coming almost in contact with Furayu's. Clearly looking for a reaction.
"Shut up." Furayu shot back, "You look like a middle schooler." He added, his voice twisted with spite.
"Yeah,yeah. Creepy old men say that too." She brushed it off.
Her voice was cool and unfazed. Then with a sparkle in her eye, she pushed further into Furayu's personal space. Close enough to see the faint contours of his cheeks.
"But seriously… How did you make Inoue apologise so submissively?"
Why the hell is this girl so obsessed with how I made her apologise?
Furayu stared at Hina, confused that Inoue's own friend was this stunned by her saying sorry.
""Don't worry about it." He brushed off, gently nudging her aside. Not giving her the satisfaction of a real answer.
"Fiiiiineeee." Hina said, unfazed. "Now, Inoue, why are you so quiet?" She asked, pressing herself up against Inoue. Her eyes glimmered in mischief.
OOOOOOHHHH NOW THIS IS INTERESTING.
Furayu's adolescent brain short-circuited, steam was practically blowing out his ears as the scene in front of him unfolded.
Fuck I've read too much yuri.
He tried to clear his mind and focus on what was happening between the two.
Inoue remained still like a statue, her face still lightly coloured pink from earlier.
"Shut up." She muttered, irritated, shoving Hina off before sprinting down the corridor.
"I NEED TO PICK UP MY BROTHERS!" Inoue bellowed back at them.
Furayu watched the scene unfold, Inoue striding away, her heavy steps echoing in the corridor, the only noise in the otherwise silent space.
The sunlight filtered in through the windows had slowly begun to fade, casting long shadows in the hallway. He and HIna began making their way back to the classroom, the corridors lacked life, a strange type of fog settled in. It felt eerily liminal, unnaturally quiet and unworldly.
Where is everyone?
A sense of unease ate away at him, until.
He checked the time.
4:30 p.m.
"HOLY– LOOK AT THE TIME!" Furayu shouted in a panic.
"Yeah, no shit. I was looking for you guys the entire day. You missed the entire school day!" HIna snapped back.
Hands on her hips, hair bouncing with any type of movement. Hina wagged her finger playfully at him.
"You and Inoue got up to something, didn't you?" She teased, a small smirk forming on her face
"Shut your fucking mouth." Furayu's voice was flat, his stare cold.
The room fell into an awkward silence. Hina blinked and stunned by his straight forward response.
"...oookay then," She muttered, turning away to pack her things up. Just as she was about to leave, she quickly turned back.
"Oh, by the way, you're in group 5 for the project." She said casually, halfway out the doorway.
"Wait. Who's in my group?" Furayu called after her, wishing someone like Ren or maybe Hina, if she was going to be nice, to make things a little tolerable.
"Ughhhh… Let me remember…" Hina muttered, scrunching her face up.
"Oh yeah, you're with Inoue, Shikiya, Yukino and Nei… Yeah, have fun." Her voice wavered, visible twitches on her facial expressions as she listed the names.
"For fuck's sake," Furayu groaned. Of all people, not a single one he properly liked.
"Ah well," Hina tiredly waved off, turning to leave, "Just don't get too cosy with your new girlfriend." Winking over her shoulder, smiling smugly as she left into the corridor.
Furayu let out a heavy sigh, slowly trudging out of school, resigning to whatever hell tomorrow might bring for him.
The walk home was oddly peaceful. The sun was dipping behind the skyline, casting warm streaks of orange along the dampened pavement. Distant horns of cars echoed in the air, sometimes broken by the bark of a dog. Each step Furayu took made a soft, wet tap on the concrete, matching the rhythm of his calm breaths and the evening breeze brushing past.
A buzz in his pocket broke his tranquility.
A message.
Ren.
Ren: Heard you're in Inoue's group for the project.
Furayu blinked.
What could she be possibly asking? I'm almost home anyways.
Furayu: Yeah. Why?
Seconds passed. Three dots appeared on his screen.
Ren: The other girls in your group.. They're not exactly Inoue's biggest fans.
He was taken back by that piece of information.
Wait, does she mean…?
Furayu: Wait, what? Explain.
Ren: Let's just say there's a small little cult-like group that really can't stand her. And now she's stuck with working with them.
Furayu stared at the screen stunned.
There were people who hated Inoue?
That doesn't make sense. Everyone at school either adores her, fears her or followed her like little dogs
He always assumed she had some cult-like following but a group who hated her? He felt like the only one who hated her.
She wasn't exactly a bad person but… Actually hate her? Why?
Furayu: Why do they hate her?
He stared, genuinely confused.
Ren: Because she's a model.
Furayu froze.
A model?
His heart skipped a beat.
His brain shut down.
A model was on top of me in a closet. Clinging to me… LIKE THAT?!
He tried to play it cool.
Furayu: Huh. Didn't know that.
Ren: Yeah, figured you didn't. Just watch out, those girls are weirdly obsessed with Inoue failing.
Furayu: Got it.
He put his phone away, his posture slumped and slowly curled himself into a ball like a dying shrimp.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.
His internal scream echoed louder than any sound. His face burned with embarrasment from his own actions.
A ping interrupted him.
Ren: When are you getting home?
Furayu: Gimme 10 mins.
He sighed and stuffed his phone back in his pocket. Dragging himself down the dimly lit alleyway. Only thinking about one thing.
Can't cringe now… What's done is done.
He repeated it to himself like a mantra. Ignoring the echo of absolute embarrassment he felt inside.