Your Love For Mine

Once Chase leaves through the door, I let out a sigh.

"Why did you two have to make him cross-dress for this? He looked so embarrassed about it."

And the teasing didn't make it much better. You guys are really lucky that he's such a forgiving person.

"Yeah… we did go a bit too far, didn't we Sig?"

"H-hai… I guess so…"

"But Scarlet, please understand that this was something that we absolutely had to do. There's no two ways about this."

"A-absolutely. If we had not, then we would surely regret it for a long time desu."

"I'm not even going to ask so let's just drop it for now. Where should we meet up with Leyla, Nick?"

"Uhm, I think it's safe to say that she ran to the newspaper clubroom the moment classes ended. She might even be there right now."

"Hmmm… I guess we should hurry up and drag her out of there before Jen and Chase show up."

"Y-yeah. You and Sig handle that. Don't worry about me. I'll be watching over you. From afar."

"From afar… what are you talking about? Are you scared of her or something?"

"D-don't be ridiculous! As if the leader of the 'Fated Ones' could be scared off by some thot!"

"Leyla has a crush on Nick."

"Idiot! Don't just tell her that!"

"Hmm… Didn't Sig just say that you liked girls with glasses? Isn't this a good thing then?"

"Don't be fooled by her deceptive charms! She's wearing those glasses SPECIFICALLY to seduce me! I will not fall for it… I am the leader of the 'Fated Ones'… I will uphold my oath…"

Really? Don't get me wrong, Leyla's a bit weird, but…

You'd think that her being weird would make them like a match-made in heaven or something.

Instead he's going on about some delusions of her wearing glasses just for him.

"Oh whatever. Let's go Sigmund."

"H-hai… Then Nick-kun, we'll see you around."

"Yeah…"

The two of us exit through the door, leaving our great leader behind in the clubroom.

As strange as it was that he didn't want to come with us, we don't have the time nor the freedom to be debating stuff like that.

We have to get Leyla out of that room ASAP.

"So, where exactly is the newspaper clubroom? I've never been there before."

"Ah, here. I'll lead the way."

Sigmund takes the lead and I follow behind him.

Ahh, I remember having to wear that disgusting hoodie of his when we took the train downtown.

Did he ever end up washing it?

I hope he did… It smelled really bad.

To be honest, I'm kind of curious about it now.

I might have a bit of a bond with it now after wearing it for so long.

Maybe I should get a little closer…?

Just a little…

Just close enough to get a good idea of what it smells like…

"Hey Scar-chan."

"H-huh?! O-oh. Um… What is it?"

That was close. I almost did something really embarrassing back there.

"To be honest, I feel really bad right now."

"Um… Is it about making Chase cross-dress? Don't worry, if he really hated it that much he wouldn't have actually went along with it."

"No not that. I mean you and Momo."

"Oh, that…"

Yeah, he did have feelings for her, didn't he?

"Do you hate her now? Because of the thing with Chase?"

"…"

He's asking a question I really don't want to answer right now.

But is it really okay to just ignore him?

I mean, he's only asking because he cares about both of us.

"…"

"I don't, really."

"You don't?"

"Of course not. Why would I hate her for locking herself up with Chase behind my back? It's not like she betrayed trust or anything, right? It'd be unreasonable for me to hate her over something like that. In the first place, the two of us weren't really dating so there's no reason to be upset about it right?"

"Really?"

"… No."

Just thinking back on how it made me feel, the frustration and anxiety I felt that day…

"I still don't get why it doesn't bother you, Sigmund. If anything you should be more upset than I am."

"Should I?"

"Of course you should! Doesn't it bother you how similar those two are?! Even when they're with their friends, they still kinda stick out don't they? It's just… I dunno. They're there but they're not. It's like they're both looking at something far away that normal people like you and me can't see. So I guess… I was scared. That the thing the two of them were looking at just happened to be one and the same. I couldn't… I can't lose Momo. And as embarrassing as it is for me to admit, I can't lose Chase either. If something happened in that room, then…"

"Why are you pushing Momo-chan away if you need her so badly then?"

"I don't know… I guess it just feels like I should. Like, maybe if I show her how angry it's making me then she'll get the picture and let things play out like they should."

"…"

Why am I saying all of this? And to a guy, no less?

Something must be wrong with my head these days. I never thought I'd be venting to Sigmund of all people.

"Scar-chan is a Grade A tsundere, isn't she?"

"Stop calling me that. I'll get angry."

"Hehe. I'm serious, though. Why don't you just tell her how you feel instead of getting angry at her? She really loves you. She said it herself."

"I-I know that, but…"

"And Chase does too."

"… That's a bad joke."

"Y-yes, sorry."

I sigh.

"I guess you're right… It's going to be hard to get over it, though."

"A lot of things are. But, I think it would be sad if you guys stopped being friends over a guy."

Huh…

Stopped being friends over someone of the opposite gender.

That's kind of like Nick's story, isn't it?

The two boys who got into a fight over a girl.

If we keep going on like this, then something similar might happen.

That kind of betrayal of trust between friends can't be fixed so easily.

But I think if I act reasonably about it then we should be able to fix this as friends

It's just that… it's kinda hard to be reasonable about something like this.

"We're here."

"A-ah, right."

We both stop in our tracks as we arrive.

The plate hanging above the door clearly has the words "Newspaper Club" carved into it.

I can't help but wonder if the reason they haven't rebranded is because it'd cost too much to replace that.

Surely our oh-so wealthy Student Government can afford such an expense, right?

Ah, probably not for a club with only one member though.

"Okay. Here goes."

Sigmund knocks on the door.

"Remember, don't get caught up in her pace. Just stay-"

Before he could finish his sentence, he was interrupted by the sound of footsteps practically hurling themselves at the door, coupled with the door itself violently swinging open.

The whole thing left us both in a state of shock.

"YES? JENNIFER, MY QUEEN? ARE YOU ALREADY HERE FOR YOUR INTERVIEW?"

"…"

"…"

"Ah, excuse me. Scarlet, right? Jennifer's friend? And…"

She seizes up Sigmund for a moment.

"Woaaaaah! What an odd combination! Well well well, hmm… This is very interesting! Yes… If I didn't know any better, I'd think that Scarlet was helping with her boyfriend's campaign instead of her best friend! Why, who'da thunk that Scarlet Sterling and Sigmund Jackson would be visiting me together like this? Well, with that confession you made at lunch on Wednesday I'm not the least bit surprised that you opted to help Chase over Jennifer. Ah young love! Must be nice…"

"You're barely a year older than us…"

I sigh.

"A-anyway, I came here because I actually wanted to talk about my stance in this upcoming election. You know, for an interview."

"Hmmm…. Yes, interesting! I'm sure the public would LOVE to know! What with him completely breaking your heart by doing things with Momoka behind your back. Very interesting indeed, yes yes yes!"

She's so energetic… She's saying these blunt things yet she's practically bouncing up and down with joy. Is she even sane?

"HOWEVER!!"

"H-however?"

"I already have an interview with Jennifer scheduled for right now. And I can't very well turn down an interview with the QUEEN of freshman year, can I? Besides, this is my one and only shot at some o-o-one on one time with her… Ehehe… Jennifer and I alone in a room… Getting all intimate and personal… Oh gods, Suga, please forgive me for being so unfaithful!"

Suga? Who's that?

"Ugh, I can't stand K-shitters. I can't believe you're allowed to breathe the same air as the rest of us civilized human beings."

"HUUUUUH?! Where the hell does a COMPLETE WEEABOO like you get off on criticizing K-pop stans? Are you alright in the head? At least I'm fangirling over a real person!"

"Heh. Yeah, he's real alright. After you get past the couple hundred metric-tons of plastic surgery anyway."

"Nnnnghhhhhhhh… Youuuuu litttlllleeee puuuuuunk!!!!"

"Heh, stay mad k-shitter. Your bias is no match for the power of a genuine waif-"

A violent blast of air suddenly brushes past me.

I can feel the force tugging at my hair as it heads off into the distance.

"… Huh?"

I turn around, and Sigmund is nowhere to be found.

"Well then. If you'll excuse me Miss Scarlet, I need to get back to preparing for the interview."

Wait, don't just 'Miss Scarlet' me. Where the heck did Sigmund go? What did you do with him?!

"…"

Actually, that can wait. I can't let her go back in there! We need to get her to do the interview before Jen and Chase get here!

"U-um, actually Jen said that something came up, so she sent me to give you content for your pages instead."

"Something… came up?"

"Y-yeah. Sorry. She was going to call you but it was really urgent."

"Reeeaaaallly?"

I nod my head erratically.

Does she see through me or something? Why is she pressing me so much?!

"Hmmm… well it is disappointing but I suppose it can't be helped! A one-on-one with the freshman year's red-headed beauty is fine too! Ehehehehe…"

It's good that she bought it, but I also don't like the way she just giggled…

"Now then, come in!"

Wait.

We got this far, but…

How am I supposed to get her to the SF clubroom without Sig?! Where did he go?!

"Heyyyy, what's the hold up? Getting cold feet? It's okay, it's okay! I'll be gentle, okay? Who knows a woman's body better than another woman, you know?"

"What does that have to do with anything?!"

Ahh, it's no good. I'm coming up blank.

There's logical way I can get her over there.

There's just…

"Hey, Leyla."

"…"

That voice…

"N-N-N-Nicholas?! A-ahh, I… I… It's good to see you!"

I turn around and I find him looking away timidly.

It's a side of Nick I've never seen before.

His usual confidence was nowhere to be found.

"W-what is it my king? Your word is my command! If you want me to strip naked right here in the hallways then I'll-"

"No, there's no need… Just… I want you to do this interview in the Scifi/Fantasy Clubroom instead."

"H-hmm? W-well, I don't mind, but… Why is that?"

"I uh… I want you to see… where I spend my time after school."

So…

So corny…

Gross… Is that the best you could come up with?!

Even if she does like you, a line that cheesy wouldn't…

"A-ahhh, so romantic… Nicholas, I underestimated you. Who knew you were so good at reading a woman's heart?"

"Y-yeah…"

Ahaha, nevermind. I forgot that these two are big weirdos.

They really are perfect for each other, huh?

I'm not sure if I should be embarrassed or just disappointed by this.

"S-sure… Let me just grab some things and I'll lock up."

Wait, lock up?

She slips into the clubroom just as quickly as she came out from it in order to grab her things.

"Uh, Nicholas… we need to stop her from locking up."

"…"

"Nicholas?"

"H-huh? Oh… Sorry. I'm just… maintaining my composure… As a member of the 'Fated Ones'… t-this thot is…"

"Ha… Look, if you like her then it's better to just come clean, okay? There's no point in being this dramatic about it. Or what, are you secretly a tsundeerie too?"

"I'm not, woman! Relax! It's just that…"

A single drop of sweat trickles down the side of his forehead.

"It's just awkward to be liked by someone else, dude…"

He moves away.

"Awkward? How so?"

"Like, what am I supposed to even say to her, you know? I feel like I'm just an asshole no matter what I do in that situation. If I reject her then I'm hurting her feelings, and if I go out with her I'm just straight up lying."

"How about telling her how you feel?"

"But… what if I hurt her feelings?"

Since when have you cared about hurting someone's feelings?!

"I dunno man. Ever since that thing in middle school, I kinda get how much love can damage a person. It can get really messed up."

"…"

Well, I can understand why he'd say that.

His friend circle was completely done in by love, after all.

"But Nicholas, just look at her. Does she really seem like the kind of person who'd get hung up on something like that?"

The two of us peer into the room.

"Hm, hm, hmhm~"

She's humming to herself like she's never had a bad thing's happen to her in her entire life.

It kinda feels like she'd just laugh off any rejection that came her way.

"Yeah, I guess not…"

I turn back to him and smile.

"So don't worry about it, trooper. Just make sure to reject her properly after this so she can move on!"

He nods his head while looking down.

"M-mm. Thank you."

"DONE!"

She skids on her heels as she exits the doorway.

"Ready?"

"Ah, hey Leyla."

"Y-yes? What is it, my king?"

"Isn't that Tho- uh, Jennifer over there?"

"HUH?! WHERE?"

The moment she turns away from the door, Nicholas slips into the newspaper clubroom as slyly as he could manage.

"…"

Well, I guess that's one way to get the door unlocked when she leaves.

Just get yourself locked in then unlock it from the inside.

That's one more roadblock out of the way.

"Huh? I don't see her anywhere. You must've mistaken someone… wait, where'd Nicholas go?!"

"Uhmm, he must've gotten a head start to the clubroom! Let's hurry up and follow after him!"

"Okaaaay! We won't fall behind you, darling!"

She shuts the door and locks it behind her.

"Leeeet's gooooooooooo!"

"Y-yaay…"

How energetic… How does anyone keep up with her during interviews?

Oh well, at least we managed to dodge that bullet.

I just hope things are going well for Chase.