ADMIRE ME |Brothers Conflict

24

My expedition had only resulted in an aching ankle, a grumbling stomach, and a parched throat. All in all, I hadn't benefitted from this chase at all, since I was still worried sick.

Now and then, I glanced at the clock, counting the minutes until they returned, and I could confirm whether everyone was still safe and sound.

Finally, a little over 4 PM, Fuuto returned, still wearing his vampire attire. In one hand, he held a bottle of water that I eyeballed for a moment. Then, I turned my attention to Fuuto again.

"What happened, Fuuto? Where's Ema? Where's Yuusuke? Did you end up fighting? Where did you go? Are you okay? Are the others okay? What did you discuss? Did you fight? What even happened?" I rambled.

Fuuto looked uncomfortable for a moment, handing me the bottle instead. Gratefully, I took the bottle.

"We fought," he admitted in a clipped voice.

"Oh," I said, figuring that he wouldn't want to talk about it. I unscrewed the cap of the bottle to take a sip. One sip turned into downing half the bottle.

"Thank you," I said as I wiped my mouth with my arm. "The first day is almost over. Do you have any plans for the weekend?"

"We have a date planned on Sunday," Fuuto reminded me.

"What happened with the date you had planned for today?" I asked him. "Did you manage to tour the culture fair with Ema?"

"No, I didn't," Fuuto said, affirming my suspicions that they had been in one of the classrooms the entire time.

"You have three dates left," I said, counting them on my fingers. "And one of these dates is on the day of the ball itself. Aren't you worried about your progress – or lack thereof?"

"If necessary, I can schedule a date on both Monday and Tuesday too," Fuuto said absentmindedly, "but I'll admit that today didn't turn out as expected."

"May I know what the fight was about?" I asked carefully, hoping that Fuuto wouldn't give me an angry reaction.

"The usual," Fuuto said, leaving the question unanswered. To my surprise, he raked a hand through his hair and pinned me with a thoughtful stare as if he considered elaborating. "I had a little chat with Ema in the haunted house. Yuusuke couldn't appreciate that, because he drew the wrong conclusion after rubbing his two lone brain cells together for the first time in weeks. A predictable result, if I say so myself."

Although this didn't clarify much, I had a better understanding of the situation – somewhat. In truth, I could have made a calculated guess and reached the same answer.

In fact, I could make a calculated guess where the 'little chat' was concerned too. Something had sparked Fuuto's competitive nature, making the seduce-Ema-game interesting again.

Unfortunately, that meant that the game he played with me had dropped from his list of priorities.

"Talking to Ema in the haunted house was today's date?" I mumbled.

Fuuto furrowed his brows as if he wasn't happy with the truth at all.

"Not really," he disagreed.

"What did you talk about then?" I asked him, and Fuuto paled. He had never shown such an instant reaction to anything I had said. In my mind, alarm bells rang.

"Why am I given the impression that the nature of your conversation with Ema will upset me?" I laughed humourlessly.

"Did you get a lunch break?" Fuuto asked me, abruptly changing the subject.