Chapter 29: Side by Side

Since my mom forced me back to my room, I’ve been sitting on my bed, doing nothing.

“I didn’t expect that Asanagi would ever sleep in my room.”

While a pair of friends hanging out all night wasn’t a strange occurrence, that only applied if both of them were of the same gender.

In the case of different genders, even if they were lovers, people would still frown upon the thought of two high schoolers doing so.

My door was shut, so I couldn’t see what my mom and Asanagi were up to. I also wore my headphones and listened to music, so I wouldn’t be able to eavesdrop on their conversation. I did keep track of the time though, so they probably finished bathing by now.

I also wanted to take a bath, but mom told me not to. She said something about ‘Umi-chan’s bathwater’ or something, as if I cared about that. If she was concerned that I’ll get strange ideas from Asanagi’s bathwater, then why not just drain it? I don’t understand.

Anyway, the song I was listening to was from a rock band I had been listening to lately. They went viral because they sang the opening theme for a certain anime, but nowadays they were better known for singing the theme song of a popular TV Drama.

“Stars in the sky, the cold night streets, shoulder to shoulder with you… The starry sky I saw back then had already gone…”

I hummed a certain song that was currently trending. Probably because it was the theme song of a popular TV Drama, the song stood out even though the genre of the song itself was quite a cliche. Or maybe the meaning of the song was just that good? Who knows? I’m not exactly an expert on love songs or anything…

After all, something like love was a bizarre topic for a loner like me.

“…I wonder… Who exactly is Asanagi to me?…”

Even though I was currently listening to music and reading my favorite manga, I couldn’t help but think about Asanagi.

Both of us played games together often, shared meals together, and joked with each other… She was a peculiar person, doing those things with a loner like me.

Of course, I thought of her as a precious friend of mine, and if possible, I want us to be friends forever. I just hope that she felt the same way as me.

However, even if I sometimes forget about it, there was a fact that I couldn’t ignore.

She was a girl, a member of the opposite gender. Even if we often threw dirty jokes toward each other, this fact wouldn’t change.

Her grades were excellent, she was a model student, and she was so pretty that my classmate called her ‘the second cutest girl in class’.

That was the image she had at school.

And the same Asanagi was currently taking a bath in my house and was about to sleep in my room.

“…Huh?”

When that thought crossed my mind, I felt like my heart skipped a beat.

Why?… What the hell?

Even though I felt nothing when I took a look at her sleeping face a while ago.

‘Our white fingers, intertwined on this bed, this time I won’t let go of your hand.’

“Ugh! Seriously, this song is messing with me, sheesh!”

I quickly changed the song to an upbeat one, in hopes of erasing these weird thoughts from my mind.

‘I mean, it’s Asanagi that I’m thinking about. Yeah sure, she is pretty, but this is the same person who drools in her sleep with her mouth half-opened like an old man.’

I tried to convince myself like that, but when I remembered her face when she was sleeping, I felt like my heart skip again.

“…Boo!”

“Woah!”

The next thing I knew, a voice startled me to the point that I felt my heart would jump out of my chest.

“Hahaha! I was just trying to surprise you a little. As expected, your reactions are priceless.”

“A-Asanagi… Can’t you knock before entering?”

“I did, multiple times. It’s not my fault that you didn’t hear it.”

Said Asanagi with a dumbfounded expression on her face.

Well, normally I would be able to hear her knocking, but I guess I was too focused on repelling my evil thoughts.

“Oh, right, I’m borrowing your sweatshirt because your mom’s clothes didn’t fit me, sorry about that.”

“Well, it’s fine…”

“Thank you. Actually, I love this one. It feels really comfortable. Maybe I should buy one too.”

Asanagi was currently wearing a navy blue sweatshirt. It was large and comfortable to wear, and I wore it all the time.

But still, I thought that her and mom’s stature were similar, because of their height… Well, I shouldn’t pry.

She was currently wearing an oversized sweatshirt so you couldn’t see them, but her chest was quite big.

…Whoops, bad mind, bad.

“Well, I’m gonna go to the living room, so good ni–”

“Wait!”

“Ow!”

I was about to leave the room, but Asanagi grabbed me by the back of my collar.

“I was asleep until a little while ago, so now I’m not sleepy. Accompany me for a bit.”

“Are you sure? Mom told us to not be together for too long, right?”

“It won’t be long. Besides, if you ever try to assault me, I can just scream.”

“As if I would do that, dumbass.”

Mom is a woman of her word. If Asanagi ever did that, even as a joke, mom would definitely come and beat my ass.

“Come on, here, sit next to me ~”

“Just so you know, that’s actually my bed…”

“It’s mine now, so shut up and come here.”

Asanagi patted the side of the bed as she called me. What does she think I am? Her dog?

Seriously, I’m still a guy, why was she so defenseless? Well, I didn’t want her to jokingly shout, so I had no choice but to comply.

I’m worried that mom would notice, but it seems like she is currently taking a bath, so it should be fine for us to talk for the next ten to fifteen minutes.

“I never thought that I would be staying over at your place. Don’t you feel like a chad now? Having a cute girl like me staying over?”

“If you weren’t so sloppy and fell asleep, none of this would’ve happened, you know?”

“Well, true…”

Asanagi let out a chuckle. I could smell a soft citrus scent coming from her. Even though she used the same shampoo as me, for some reason she smelled better than I ever did. Is it the perk of being pretty?

“Hey, Maehara.”

“Hmm?”

“Are we delinquents now?”

“Guess so.”

If word got out that we actually did something like this, it would definitely damage Asanagi’s image at school.

Maybe, even Amami-san would be disappointed in us.

“Asanagi… You know, I’ve been thinking about this for a while…”

“…Are you going to tell Yuu about our relationship?”

“W-wha? What the hell, stop reading my mind.”

“Well, I had the same thought when I was bathing. Honestly, I also think it’s about time.”

Apparently, we were thinking about the same thing. After all, no matter how hard we tried to hide it, Amami-san would definitely find out about it at some point. Not to mention Amami-san had a good relationship with Asanagi’s family, so even if we tried to keep our mouths shut, she would eventually learn about it from them instead.

It would be better for us to come clean so that things wouldn’t get complicated later. I was the one who suggested that we keep our relationship a secret, so Amami-san shouldn’t blame Asanagi as much if things were to go badly, but it was still better if we confessed.

I didn’t mind playing the villain here anyway.

“…Well, I’ll tell her when the timing is right, okay? For now, let’s just continue as usual.”

“Alright then.”

I’ve promised to hang out with Amami-san next Wednesday, I’m ready to face her anytime.

Well, if she ended up telling the whole class about this, I would be just reaping what I sow.

“Alright, that’s that, so what else should we talk about? Ah right, the timing is just right. So, did you buy any con– ouch!”

“Oi.”

She’s doing this on purpose, isn’t she?

“Seriously… Go to sleep. My mom will be out of the bathroom soon.”

“Maehara, you’re so mean. Well, whatever, I’ll let you go for today.”

Asanagi was still Asanagi after all. She could still throw in a dirty joke in a situation like this, jeez.

She made me feel like an idiot for having any evil thoughts for her.

“Ah, right, one last thing…”

“What is it?”

“Good night, Maehara… Hehe, saying that out loud actually feels embarrassing.”

“Y-yeah… Good night.”

I quickly closed the door to my room, moved to the living room, jumped onto the couch, hid under the blanket, and closed my eyes.

‘Dammit, she actually looked cute when she did that.’

Her embarrassed expression came to my mind.

‘So, she’s able to make a face like that too, huh?…’

Because of her, I felt restless for the rest of the night until I eventually fell asleep.