Yuuto Kurokawa preferred to keep a low profile.
At Seiryo High—that was a hotbed of cliques, crushes, and gossip galore—he was the kind to sit in the window spot, headphones on, eyes glued to notebook paper, and spirit far removed from the fray. He was not a loner through compulsion; it was a matter of preference.
Thus when the school's sweetheart Amamiya-san towered over the top of the desk in front of him sporting a self-satisfied smirk, the whole room was in suspense.
"Kurokawa-kun," she added softly, her tone gentle but inescapable.
Yuuto pulled down an earbud, furrowing her brows. "Amamiya-san
Her honey-blonde tresses glistened in the sunlight. Boys looked up to her; girls wished to be her. And yet, there she was—speaking to him.
Suddenly, she said it.
"I enjoy your company. Will you date me?"
A few desks creaked and someone let a pen fall. Yuuto blinked in the belief that he'd imagined.
She smiled sweetly. "You heard me."
He scanned the room. His class was on the verge of eruption. He faced her. "This isn't a prank, is it? A bet?"
She let out a dramatic gasp. "Why would you ever think that? I'm serious, Kurokawa-kun."
He narrowed his eyes. "Right. I'm the Emperor of Japan."
Amamiya-san laughed. "Fine. You got me. It was a dare."
Yuuto sighed. "Knew it."
"But now that you've solved it," she went on, pushing a lock of hair behind her ear, "let's make it useful."
He scowled. "What type of fun?"
We'll pretend to date. But it's a game—whomever falls for the other first loses.
He looked stunned. "No thank you."
"Oh? Scared you'd lose?"
He bristled. "Not a chance." "Then prove it." She inched closer to him slightly, her eyes glittering. "I'll even allow you to keep addressing me as Amamiya-san if it will keep you emotionally separate."
He parted his lips and closed them. Fine, she was infuriating—and skilled at pressing buttons.
"And besides," she breathed softly, "if you withdraw now, folks will think I spurned you."
His pride recoiled. "You're evil."
"Thank you," she said bubbly.
The bell sounded. Amamiya-san went back to her chair as before as though the incident never occurred, abandoning a dazed Kurokawa-kun and a charged classroom.
As the whispers spread through the room, Yuuto sank into his chair, dazed.
What just happened?
And most importantly—why should he have cared about losing this ridiculous game in the first place?
To be continued...