Sae facepalmed in annoyance as Adam muttered to her how she had just jinxed herself.
To say that she was feeling awkward and bothered right now would be an understatement. She was feeling like she wanted to be anywhere else than here.
"Sae... How have you been?"
Sae cringed slightly when she heard Steven's words and the undisguised worry that was tinged in his tone.
She had been avoiding him during the weekends and answered none of his calls, only writing a message to say she was at home.
As such, this was the first time the two of them came face to face with each other since the argument they had on the day of Halloween.
Sae had been thinking about how this meeting would go. Agonized over what she would do. But she would have never imagined that the meeting would take place in their current situation-- while she was walking with Adam's semen packed in her womb.
She blushed slightly as the mere thought gave her quite an immoral feeling. But there was no point in thinking about it further.
"I am good. Great even, I would say."
Her lips formed into a grin before she glanced at the caramel-brown-skinned woman holding hands with Steven. She spoke to her in a bright tone...
"Hi, Marlen."
"Hi..."
Marlen answered with a beautiful voice leaking out of her lips before looking at Steven and letting go of his hand.
"I have classes soon. See you later."
She nodded to Adam and walked past Sae before leaving the premise quietly.
There was no gloating in her expression and it was easy to see that she simply wanted to give some space to Steven and Sae.
"Well, I guess I should also leave."
He was feeling pretty uncomfortable being here, in the current atmosphere, and he did not wish to stay here any longer and intensify the awkwardness that was literally saturated in the air...
At the same time, there was that small side of his in the corner of his heart. The side that made him realize that he did not really want to leave. He didn't want to leave Sae alone with Steven.
He didn't know if it was because of his desire to have her all for himself or simply because he wished to be there for her. But the fact of the matter was that he wanted to stay with Sae.
In the end, he theorized that he simply wanted to make sure if Steven was indeed a human before taking a step back.
"I think I should leave the two of you alone."
But, he decided that the only way for Sae to move forward from this obsession of hers was after discussing with Steven about it and make her amends.
Deciding this, Adam took a step back in order to leave but his movements were stopped by Sae. She gripped his arms so hard that it was hard for him to move.
"Where are you going?"
Sae gave him a quizzical look. To which Adam answered with bewilderment.
"I thought you might want to discuss things with him."
"Hah..."
Sae gave a nod as if finally understanding what was running through his mind.
"Stay here."
She patted him lightly on the shoulder before leaving him and taking a few steps toward Steven...
"I am sorry about ignoring you. You must have been worried. Everything is good now."
"Sae..."
"Heh, look at you. One would think I died or something. It's alright. They say first love never works out for anyone. My situation is pretty normal in that case."
Steven was just as surprised as Adam. In fact, he felt even weirder than him in some aspects.
After all, he knew how much affection Sae had for him and he had seen how upset she had been when he finally told her the truth about his views toward her.
Seeing her look so calm felt foreign to him. He stretched his hand towards her but Sae took a step back almost unconsciously.
"Oh..."
"Sorry. My movement must have been abrupt."
"Haha. I'm just a little sweaty right now."
Sae gave him an awkward laugh. Her body had been covered in semen not long ago. Even though she had used some wet towels to wipe out the stains, it was definitely far from enough to wipe out everything cleanly.
It would be pretty disrespectful towards anyone to let them touch her currently.
Of course, there was no way she would explain all of this to Steven. She had no reason to.
Once she was sure to maintain the appropriate distance between them, Sae continued,
"I have been following you around for years now. Even though you never complained, I must have been a pain, right? I am sorry for that. I understand my mistakes now."
Sae smiled as she said those words. It was a smile full of derision towards her past self who did not understand or refused to accept reality even though it was blatantly thrown at her face multiple times.
"I should have understood the truth back when I first confessed to you."
When she first told him about her feelings for him, Steven acted as if he had misunderstood what she meant and gave a totally different answer.
She had covered her face with a veil of lies, refusing to accept the naked reality that was there for all too see. She just thought that Steven was simply dense and that he had simply not heard her words well enough.
But life wasn't like an anime with a dense main protagonist.
There was no way Steven didn't understand what she really meant and his words had been a veiled form of rejection to her.
She simply had refused to accept it till now.
One could argue that Steven was at fault for not making things clearer. In a way, he had strung her along for years because of his indecisiveness.
But she was guilty of much the same due to her own delusions for not accepting reality.
The two of them were just kids. One dealing with her first love and the other not knowing how to keep his dear childhood friendship intact without losing her.
"Sae, I am sorry for being so stupid and indecisive..."
She laughed, "Well, you are indeed pretty stupid, right? But I guess I can't really have the high ground here now, can I?"
Tears gathered at the corner of her eyes but she refused to let them fall.
"I really loved you."
Steven noticed the past tense in her words. He gave her a look before looking at Adam who was standing not far away from them.
"I see."
He didn't exactly know what had happened between the two of them, but it seemed like they had gotten closer. A lot closer.
A part of Steven felt uncomfortable as he realized that Sae's eyes would never have the same shine they had when she used to look at him in the past.
But at the same time he felt happy since, while he wasn't best friends with Adam, he had known him long enough to know that Adam was a good man. Worthy of his childhood friend's affection and attention.
Steven understood pretty well that he could have been more decisive. But he didn't do so.
He had been scared of losing his best friend and because of his indecisiveness, he had hurt her all the more in the end.
"Well, anyway that's it. You should go now. I don't think your girlfriend will appreciate it if you stay here any longer."
Steven hesitated but looking at Adam, he nodded and began walking away.
When he reached Adam, he stopped a little before saying,
"Please take care of her and thanks for being there for her while I was acting like a douche."
He didn't wait for Adam to answer back and continued walking away.
Today he had learned a valuable lesson.
Hypocritical kindness was only hurtful to everyone involved.
If back then he had been more honest... At least, he wouldn't feel like he had just lost his best friend.
He didn't know if the both of them would be as close as they used to be in the future. But he sincerely hoped for her happiness from the bottom of his heart. Because no matter what... Sae Kirishima will always be his best friend.
Adam approached Sae from behind. He could see her shivering and looking at her small back, he wondered just how sad she must feel now.
"Hey Adam..."
"Yeah."
"Your cum was flowing down my thighs while I was talking with Steven, you know?"
"????"
"Isn't it kinda like NTR!? Hehe~ I knew you had the potential to be a hentai protagonist."
Adam closed his eyes in resignation.
"I was an idiot for worrying about you."
"Teehe~!"
"Stop trying to act cute."
"Oh my~! I do not act cute. I am cuteness incarnate, you know?"
The two of them walked away like this while bantering.
Sae continued to laugh before taking Adam's arm in hers.
"You know. Being rejected really fucking hurt."
"I don't know. I was never rejected, after all."
"Fuck you."
"Well, I fucked you. So there is that."
Sae had never laughed so loud in her life.
Indeed. This is what she wanted. Moments like this were what she wished for.
Once again, she felt that choosing Adam had been the best decision in her love life so far.
(AN: Well, I hope you liked this Sae arc. In my previous story, it took me hundreds of chapters before giving my mc someone he could banter with and show his true self to.
Adam doesn't have all the responsibilities Sol had from the start so he is a little more carefree. At least for now. Let's see what the future has in store for him. Also, what is your opinion on Steven?)