Moriko's POV
I was sitting there eating my slice of pizza while listening to my friends. They were teasing Shiraishi about her choosing a guy like Sakamaki as her boyfriend because he was way too out of place for her.
I did agree with them about Saishi being absurd for Suzuha, but not because of the stereotypical reasoning. I knew him for a rather long time, so I could tell that Suzuha was the polar opposite of him.
"Yeah… what did you even like about him, Suzuha?" One of our friends asked while grinning as Suzuha seemed to reply after giving it a bit of thought, "I think his face… he is kinda cute."
Of course, she would like someone based on their looks only.
She was my friend and I shouldn't say this, but she was a very shallow person.
"For real? He looks like a loser…" One of my friends said and chuckled as Suzuha laughed with them while glancing towards her mobile. I sighed and commented in a casual tone, "You shouldn't say that about someone you don't know…"
"Ahh chill… we are just playing." She patted my back and brushed off what I said without giving it much thought.
I was a bit taken aback by the fact that Suzuha was sitting there laughing with them at making fun of her boyfriend rather than saying something to oppose them or express the fact that she didn't like it.
It was true that Saishi was a gloomy guy who wasn't the most approachable person you'd meet, but deep down he was a good person. He was an introverted guy, so I never imagined him going out with someone as obnoxious as Suzuha.
Them dating was like one of those tropes, like a popular girl falling for the loner out of a rom-com.
It could be that Suzuha's bright and cheerful personality was what attracted him towards her. She was quite a good-looking girl as well and there were already a few guys crushing on her.
Then again, opposites attract.
"What… wasn't he the dude who was second in the sprint?" One of my friends asked with much curiosity in her voice, as another one leaned over her shoulder and joined in, "Yeah! I remember someone giving tough competition to Haruka from class A…"
"Yeah, that's Sakamaki." I replied, glancing at Suzuha, who was sitting there with a wide smile on her face and nodding her head.
Of course, she'd feel pleasant about people discussing her boyfriend's feats.
"Ah yes… I know, he has been quite popular among girls after that."
Which he hated.
The kind of person he was, he hated attracting attention towards him and now that half of the school was aware of him; it was natural that he would be popular among girls since I can't deny that he had a nice face.
"Yeah… but I got him, though." Suzuha narrowed her eyes and her lips curved slowly into a smile as if she was looking down on others and that was some sort of achievement for her.
I didn't hate her, but times like this always made me reconsider my choice of being friends with a person like her. Albeit being our friendship, everything was rather shallow, since I always interacted with her from beyond a boundary.
I knew in the back of my mind that crossing that boundary and getting myself involved with a girl like that wouldn't do anything good for me.
"Bruh fuck off… is Haruka taken though?" One of the girls suddenly changed the topic. It caught me off guard as I turned towards her and everyone started laughing.
"I think… some girl from his own class is his girlfriend." Suzuha replied while glancing towards her nails, as someone commented, "Haruka looks like a perfect match for Shiraishi, no gonna lie."
"Yeah… but here we're and she is dating some dude who is only quick on foot." The girl next to me said and sighed as I replied, "Areh… Suzuha must've seen something in him… let's not bother her about it."
I didn't understand why they were so interested in her life choices. She can date anyone she wants, and they had no right to insult him like that, but then again they're teasing her and maybe I was a bit too uptight.
"He must be quick on bed too…" Someone again slipped that in and everyone cracked up as I gave them a disappointed look and refuted, "Ah you... guys are mean!"
"I'm kidding Adachi… Ooof!" she said, caressing my shoulder while laughing, as Suzuha suddenly said in a slow and hesitant voice, "We… we haven't got that far yet…"
The sound of laughter slowly faded away as it became dead silent and everyone was staring at her in disbelief. Even I was shocked since she usually got physical with her partners after a few days of the relationship only.
"You're kidding!"
"No way… for real?!"
"Look at her, she is blushing…" I glanced at her and noticed her cheeks slightly tinted red as her eyes shifted up and she complain, "I don't know… he had an entire chance to do it with me but he backed off at the last moment and gave me a lecture about something stupid."
"A lec… lecture?"
"Something about valuing myself more and blah… blah!" She nodded her head left to right as I chuckled, "Yeah… what a lovey-dovey couple they're."
"I know right!!? How cute…" One of my other friends raised her voice a bit as she couldn't contain her excitement and was rather embarrassed about it as she put her head on my shoulder and whined, "Damn… why can't I find a man like him?"
"So she already has plans with her boyfriend." One of the other girls said, changing the topic entirely as we all stared at her clueless face and I said, "Well… we're going though, and that's confirmed!"
"Yessir!" Everyone said in unison and my plans for Christmas Eve were confirmed there.