22 Bonds - Part 2

"Haaaa… haa…"

I made it.

I slump back into the seat behind me as the metro takes off. I just barely managed to get in before the doors closed.

That went beyond cutting it close. I'm completely out of breath.

I open up my mirror to take another look at my face.

Ew, I'm sweating. And my hair is a mess… This is the woooorst!

I have no choice but to let it slide right now, though. I'm too out of breath to do anything about it. Guess when it comes to staying on top of my image I'm just not on the same level as Jen, huh?

"God, what a mess…"

"Shh, quit panting like you're in heat or something."

"Oh, shut up… Wait, why are you guys here too?!"

To my left, Nicholas is hiding behind a silent Sigmund who has already pulled his hoodie over his head. The two of them are peeking over at the far end of the train.

"Lower your voice, will ya? He'll hear you."

Over in the direction they're staring off at, I can very clearly spy a fatigued Chase, who is already passed out in his seat.

So they were right about the metro after all, huh?

"Chase-kun never stops sleeping, does he?"

"Never dude, it's kinda worrying honestly. Wonder if he's sick or something?"

I'll admit, I do catch him napping a lot in the few classes we do take together, but I never thought it was that big of a deal. In any case, this entire situation is all so strange. Where on earth could he be headed off to every day in such a hurry? Is whatever it is what's making him so tired all the time?

Either way, we're going to have a problem playing this off as a coincidence if we continue trailing him like this. We'll just be plain stalkers at that point.

I rise from my seat.

"I'm gonna go talk to him."

At my words, Nicholas yanks me back into my seat and whispers.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?! You're not going anywhere!"

"Wha- that's my line! Let go of me you stupid cockroach!"

"Shhh!"

"Shhh!"

They both hush me in unison.

I turn around and find that the other passengers are shooting concerned glances at me from across the train. I avert my gaze and cover my face in embarrassment.

Dammit, this sucks so much…

Luckily Chase, seems to be resting as soundly as ever despite my outburst. I guess he hasn't noticed us yet.

"Listen, whatever Chase is doing is something he's keeping secret from both his best friends and his girlfriend. As defenders of all that is just, the 'Fated Ones' must make sure that its core members aren't up to any heinous deeds."

Just how many brain cells has this guy lost playing video games?

"…Nicholas. That's an invasion of privacy. Whatever he's doing is none of our business. You should talk to him now. You're not John McClane."

"Yeah? Well what if he's cheating on you with another girl? Then it'd be worth following him for a bit, right? It's not like he'd answer truthfully if you just went up to him."

"Hah, as if. There's no chance because…"

…

Because what, exactly?

Because we're not really dating so there's nothing to hide?

How can I be so sure, though?

He didn't even stop to talk to me about him and Momo skipping classes together today.

Hell, even Momo wanted Jen to keep it a secret from me.

It's upsetting.

Can I even trust a guy like him to tell me the truth if I ask it to his face?

"Look guys, he's waking up."

At Sigmund's words, I reflexively let my ponytail down by removing my scrunchie then turn away.

I can't draw any attention to myself. Anything that won't pull his eyes to me will help in the long run, so my signature ponytail will have to take a bow for now.

"Ohhhh? What's thisss? Look who's trying to hide now?"

"S-shutup, loser! Cockroach! Nerd!"

"What the hell is your problem? Are you menstruating?"

I smack him.

I didn't even think, my fist just suddenly found itself implanted in his skull.

"Shit! That hurt dude!"

But seriously… Why on earth did I let that little devil get to me with his words? Now it looks like I'm an accomplice.

"Hehehe, is Scarlet tsundere like Momo-chan?"

"Sun… huh?"

What the heck is this one saying now?

Sigmund clears his throat then turns averts his eyes, kind of like a timid child would.

"'D-don't misunderstand Chase. I-it's not like I'm following you on purpose or anything. I just HAPPENED to be taking the same metro to the city, okay?! Hmph!'"

I stare back at him silently.

"That sounds nothing like me."

Right, this one's an idiot too. I'd almost forgotten about the embarrassing things he said to Momo the first time they spoke. Actually, why on earth am I here with these two? These are the same idiots who showed me a drawing of a girl then tried to convince me that it was a guy.

"Leave it Sig, she's clearly not educated in the patrician ways of tsundere. Seems like Chase has a long way to go with indoctrinating her."

"Yeah, yeah. Keep your nerd talk to yourself and just keep your eyes on him, will you? Has he noticed us yet?"

"Nah, he went back to sleep. Looks like he was just checking how far the metro's gone so far."

"I'm being serious, Scarlet-san! If you want Chase to like you more than he does now, then you'll have to act more tsundere. Guys like that kind of stuff. No one wants a girlfriend that they feel like any guy could have, not even normal guys. Guys might like easy sex, sure, but never an easy girlfriend. But the problem with that is, sometimes girls go overboard when they play hard to get. They're either too cold or too condescending and that just turns guys off completely."

No, I'm pretty sure those girls just hate you, Sigmund.

"Anyway, that's where tsundere truly shines. It's the simplistic allure of a cute girl who's too shy to be honest with what her heart's telling her, you know? It's like they're obviously in love with you, but they can't put it into words. If they do, their façade will crumble and they'll feel completely naked emotionally. But they're already so in love with you that they end up blushing and stumbling over their words no matter how hard they try to hide it. To be honest, I think tsundere is the ultimate form of moe. People will point to Kuudere or Dandere but there's nothing as cute as a girl who's struggling to accept her feelings for you."

"…"

I stare at him in what I could only imagine is utter disgust, because that's exactly what I feel for him right now.

"Uh, yeah… Sure."

How on earth are they delusional enough to force girls into these ridiculous archetypes all the time? Is this how you see Momo? It's no wonder she's so disgusted by you.

I sigh out of frustration and turn away.

I mean, it's not like I don't get them, I have a few nerdy hobbies myself. Just because I don't shamelessly talk about it all the time like they do doesn't mean I haven't done anything like that before. I mean, I've seen three seasons of Game of Thrones with my dad! That should count for something, right?

But liking that stuff doesn't give you the right to force it down other people's throats all the time. Like, what if they just don't care? Are you just going to treat them like inferior beings because of it?

I shake my head in disappointment.

Anyway, enough about that. On the topic of Momo, I may as well call and find out what happened directly from her. With the way things are going with these two, it doesn't look like I'll be able to talk to Chase for a while.

I turn away from them and pull out my phone.

I scroll through my contacts and select her name.

A new display pops up with the words "Calling Momo" taking up the majority of the screen.

"…"

"…"

"Hello. Scarlet? Where are you? The bus has already left without you."

"Momo, hi. I was just wondering, what…"

I peek over at the two nerds who are still spying on Chase, then turn away to whisper so that they won't notice me on the phone.

"Umm, what were you and Chase doing today?"

"…"

The other line goes completely quiet for a moment.

Almost intensely so.

In fact, it went on for so long that I almost thought that she didn't hear me at first.

"Um… Momo?"

"Ah. Right. Cough, cough. Oh no, it seems I've caught the influenza. I'm sorry, I can't talk anymore. I need to conserve my energy for tomorrow."

Did… did she just audibly say cough?! That's too suspicious!

"N-no, this is serious Momo. I mean…"

Before I can continue she giggles on the other side of the line.

"Mm, yeah. I understand. But I don't think I should be the one to explain it to you. Perhaps… Er… Maybe you should try calling Chase instead? Oh, but he doesn't have a phone for himself though, does he?"

He doesn't? So those two were right after all.

"Well, I suppose you'll just have to wait until tomorrow then. Haaa… Really, this is quite the predica… This is a strange turn of events. I figured he'd talk to you on his own before he left school."

"So did I, but he seemed to be in a hurry to leave. I wonder what that was about?"

"Hmm."

Momoka takes a moment to ponder my words.

"Say, where exactly are you right now?"

"Um, I'm on the metro to the city right now. Why?"

"Hmmm… The city, huh? Strange, that's nowhere near the bus route. What made you decide to head over there?"

"E-eh? W-w-well…"

What's with this?! Has she figured me out already?!

Why is she so perceptive?!

"In any case I'll leave you to it. I hope the resolution is something you both can find satisfaction in. Wait, darn it."

"Umm, Momo. You've been fumbling with your words a lot. Is everything okay?"

She pauses awkwardly once more.

Even I'm beginning to get nervous now.

"I-it doesn't matter. I'm hanging up now."

"Ah, okay. Byebye."

I hang up the phone.

For some reason, that call left me feeling just a bit lonely.

I'm not sure what it was though.

Is it that I wasn't going to have my one on one time in the bus with her this week?

No, I think it's because Chase told her about his phone before I even heard about it.

I guess there's a lot of things I don't know about him, huh? And yet we're supposed to be in a "relationship" right now. What a joke. We've barely spoken about one another.

Geez, what's with this? Why do I feel so uncomfortable all of a sudden..?

"…"

Just as I was losing myself to those invasive thoughts, I'm suddenly brought back to reality by the sensation of something disgusting tapping my shoulder.

"Woah! Ew!"

I instinctively lunge away with all my might.

"W-what?! What the hell is wrong with you?!"

"Oh, it was just you Nicholas. Don't scare me like that."

"Don't be such a drama queen. Look, he's awake again so we're probably close."

Oh, he's right.

Chase longingly stares at the scenery of the bustling city as the metro makes its way to the checkpoint.

We'd come into the city about a minute ago, so maybe the first stop is where we'll be getting off?

"We're gonna need you to take the lead in following him."

"Wha- why me?!"

"You've got more hair than me dude! You can just use it to cover the front of your face under Sig's hoodie."

"Sigmund's WHAT?! You have GOT to be joking!"

"Shhh!"

"Ah."

I reflexively turn away.

Chase definitely reacted to that screaming.

He might be a bit far off, and the sound of cars and people outside may have drowned out the words a little, but he definitely reacted to that screaming.

I just hope he didn't see my face.

"… You're good."

"Haaa, geez."

I turn back around.

"You know…"

This time, Sigmund is the one who speaks up.

"I'm only doing this because I care about Chase. This hoodie is very important to me so I'm not exactly thrilled to be handing it over to someone else, but it'd be way too obvious if I wore it myself."

"A-ah, is that so?"

I guess I shouldn't be too harsh on him. He might be really gross but he's not exactly as bad as this other one.

"I'd only willingly lend this hoodie to Momo-chan!! She's the only girl kawaii enough to pull it off!"

"Fuckin' weeaboo."

"Heh, like an rp-geek like yourself can talk. You've clearly looked at too much Dragon's Crown hentai to appreciate a real 3D waifu when you see it."

"S-shut up! I was joking about that, I promise!"

Nevermind, they're both pretty bad. Seriously, why am I stuck with these two idiots?

Ah the trains stopping.

"Hurry losers, pass me the hoodie."

"Who're you calling a loser? Ugh. Hurry up and give it to the thot already."

"Dude, you need to relax."

Sigmund sighs and takes his hoodie off then passes it to me.

A strange odor overwhelms me the moment I accept it into my arms.

"Ugh! When was the last time you washed this?"

"Huh? Why would I wash a hoodie? It's not like my sweats ever gonna get past my t-shirt right? Hurry up, he's standing now!"

Oh.

My.

God.

Gross, gross, gross, gross, gross!

Ugh! I can't do this!

I can't do this! I can't do this!

Why wouldn't you wash your own clothes?!

"God, girls are so fucking useless! Here, I'll wear it."

"Shut up, cockroach!"

I yank it away before Nick can grab it and slip it on over my head.

"…"

"…"

I'm gonna throw up.

It reeks of tuna and moldy cheese.

How does he not realize how badly this smells?!

"Okay, the doors are opened. We'll be right behind you, Scarlet-san."

God, this really does suck…

After today, I'm going to drop this off at a Laundromat. I swear it.