Myle's POV
After Kyou's departure, I continued sightseeing at night, reading random novels, studying on free hours... and going home alone.
Perfectly normal.
But Lev, he was... also the same. When he heard about Kyou, he looked down and just replied,
"... Is that so?"
Then after that,
"It's the two of us again." He smiled.
I don't know what's going on in his mind anymore.
We continued to walk in the hallway, on our way to the canteen. Class ended and I was unusually focused. Kyou's existence was at fault again.
"Are you depressed? You should've let him erase your memory again."
"I know you're joking but please stop it," I answered.
"... Right. Sorry."
He looked down again. Oh... This tongue of mine!
"No, wait. Er... A... I... I apologize!"
"Raise your head." Gosh. He smirked.
The Lev in front of me was not Lev. I mean, he's Lev but...
"... Something's wrong." This thought escaped my lips.
"Hm?"
I clasped both of his shoulders and stared at him straight.
"Lev, don't you have something to tell me?"
"... Nothing. Why?"
"You just took a pause! You definitely did!"
He averted his eyes.
"So what?"
"Well... you should tell me now. Do you hate me or am I bothering you in some ways? I'm quite sharp-tongued so..."
"Hm... No, you don't." He shoved my hands off his shoulders.
"Really?
He nodded.
"In fact, I like you."
"Oh... Eh? Wait. I forgot to clean my ears again." I tapped my pocket, pretending to look for cotton buds.
We stopped walking. I stared at the staircase, thinking that it would be fun to slide on its railings. The others did it last time, as far as I could remember.
I'm not ignoring Lev. I'm just admiring the staircase, yes.
"No, you heard it right." Lev held my chin and pulled it near his face. "I like you... Myle."
The eyes of the students widened as they walked past us. Some females had to cover their red faces, more embarrassed than Lev who confessed in public.
Still...so out of nowhere!
I mean, I noticed his feelings before... but it's uncertain. His personality was usually unstable like: serious now, joker later... or vice versa.
Shall I ask what he really is?
... Never mind. Not with this mood.
He's still holding my chin. In movies, it's like the perfect timing for a kissing scene. I had to prepare my hand to cover my lips since I couldn't imagine doing it...
Yeah, I couldn't...
Argh..! Why did that man with an irritating smile who kept on targetting my forehead suddenly pop in my head?!
I feel hot. Is this what they call internal blush?
"... It's a joke, Myle. Forget it." He looked away.
Joke... Though, I wonder why was it still difficult to breathe?
Perhaps, I knew it all along...
"I'm sorry, Lev."
His quivering eyes widened.
"You're taking it seriously. I said it's a—"
"Nope," I cut him off. "You do like me..."
"What are you..."
Feigning ignorance is the worst thing to do. If I were Lev, my heart would ache with just the thought of my crush liking someone. Every time he hang out with Kyou and me, I couldn't imagine how he felt. Since my feelings were kind of... obvious...
In any case, confirming Lev's feelings is a must. If he stayed with me while holding his feelings, I'm afraid that it would break him...
I don't want to hurt him further than that.
"Fast rejection, huh..."
"..."
"I thought Kyou Zeyern's absence will be my chance."
"I doubt..."
"Such a straightforward person you are..."
"I know..."
"Do I really have no chance..?"
I looked down and slightly shook my head...
He let out a heavy sigh.
"I don't need to copy him then..."
"Yeah..."
A tear... has reached the floor. I slowly raised my head, seeing Lev cry for the first time.
"Ahahah... Don't look at me, Myle..." He covered his eyes with his hand.
After a few minutes, the roofs began to make noise. Students ran. Some shared their umbrellas.
"You're... on par with this rain," I mumbled.
He finally uncovered his eyes, wiping his tears.
"What nonsense are you spouting?"
"Your tears are like raindrops that bring problems to people like me."
"You never hold back." He glanced at the large window, enough to watch the dark sky.
"Yeah, I still feel bad for making someone cry."
"Oh..?"
"However, tearing up is a nice way to calm a person... I remember the time when Kyou forced me to cry in front of him. Cruel dude. But it's helpful..."
"If I comforted you that time, will your attention be on me?"
"... Ask my heart."
I stepped back as he abruptly leaned forward.
"Hello, Myle's heart, will you let me inside?"
"Pfft."
"Ah, never mind. It's occupied by that creature named Kyou Zeyern so I'll wait until it's vacant."
"Vacant?"
"You know, like in restrooms."
"Y-yeah, yeah... but if you can't hold it in, you have to look for another vacant stall, right? You'll suffer, Lev..."
Wait, what's with this topic? I connected it to our situation but it's still weird.
"Are we still talking about my feelings?" Oh, he finally asked.
I turned to the window, trying to shake off this awkwardness. The rain won't stop. It's finally the season of abnormality. I mean, my body couldn't stand cold weather so...
"Let's go now before they close the canteen," Lev reminded.
"Ah, right—"
My eyes widened from deep shock. My heart rate was still normal but... it skipped a beat. Blood rushed to my face, probably not used to this kind of stuff.
The moment I turned my head to him, I got a kiss...
on the cheek.
I know, I overreacted! It feels like cheating— not that I'm dating someone.
Still, my loyal heart belongs to someone so—!
"I will wait, Myle."
"Argh... I said don't!"
"Only murderers can stop my heart."
"..."
I wonder why I didn't react this way when Kyou kissed me?
That's a nice question to myself. Praise me.
But my heart pounded to Kyou every time though..?
AHHH! I couldn't think straight!
Anyways, Kyou— I mean, Lev was left in a daze for a while so I went ahead and ran to the canteen.
Never mind umbrellas, it doesn't exist in my world.
"Argh... Closed already?" I panted, in front of the canteen's entrance.
I ran again. I guess I should join the track and field club? I returned to Lev who was still like a statue.
"There're no canteens anymore. I couldn't buy you a hotdog."
"Oh..." he replied but his body didn't move an inch.
"Don't do it if you're gonna be that shocked."
"You got over it so easily..."
Well... I was caught off guard and got embarrassed. But I swear, it was different. Rather than Lev who did that, Kyou kept on popping in my head.
I glanced at the stairs and spoke up.
"I can't return your feelings... I don't feel so well today. Let's just continue this talk tomorrow."
"... Fine."
I went home, dripping wet. The umbrella that I bought on my way home betrayed me. It got annihilated by the wind.
Wait, annihilated sounds cool. Like in movies.
Anyway, at least, my family wasn't home. I would've received a good time scolding.
La la la la la la~
That's my ringtone, by the way.
I pulled my phone out of my pocket then answered the call from an unknown number.
"Er... Hello?"
"Miss Arjera!"
Okay. We already know who this creature is. Although the voice was hazy, only that person would call me that.
"Kyou, you didn't use your phone?"
"There's still no signal. My phone is so weak huhu..."
"Ahahahah! You're using a telephone then."
"Yes! As expected, pretty sharp."
"So... how... are you?"
"I'm fine, thank you. Haha!"
My eyes twitched. This dude's messing with me. If only I could smack him through the phone—
Anyway, maybe I should tell him...
"Hello, Miss Arjera?"
"Er... Kyou, what if a friend confessed to me?"
"Then reject him." Woah. A straight answer. "Lev finally made a move, huh..."
"Eh? What, what, what? Can you mind-read through telephones?!"
"Pfft. Of course, not."
"You see... what if my heart skipped a beat for him?"
"... Reject him."
"But what if I also like someone at that moment?"
"Miss Arjera has the heart of a cheater!"
"O-oi! He ambushed me with a kiss on the cheek! I'm not used to it!"
"... Just kidding. You're not that type of person."
"Really?"
"Mm. But kiss on the cheek? Curse that Lev, getting so sneaky."
"A-ahahah... I rejected him so he could move on sooner. Still, it's probably not as easy as I thought..."
If I didn't reject him, it's like giving him some hopes up. I shouldn't be the one on his side.
Lev... deserves his happiness.
"Did your heart... skip a beat for me?" he suddenly asked. Well uhm...
... EVERY TIME!
Not that I could say that. My heart had always pounded whenever he was there. Just talking to him right now... does too.
Perhaps, I became used to it so compared to what happened earlier, I'm not that embarrassed when it comes to Kyou.
What Lev did was a surprise attack after all!
"Miss Arjera?"
"Oh, right. Sorry, what was it again?"
"Tell Lev that when I come back, I'll give him a smack— I mean, snack."
"Ahahah! Right, right."
"I miss you, Miss Arjera."
"... I—"
"Well then, bye-bye!"
"E-eh?"
"You hang up."
"A-ah, yes, yes."
I hung up. Without saying goodbye... Argh! My mind must be going crazy!
I'm not acting like my usual self... Overthinking is my thing but not overreacting...
Oh.
Oh no.
I promised Lev that I would give my answer properly tomorrow but... in every rainy season, my body couldn't keep up so... The next day, I lay on my bed to rest. Of course, I caught a cold.
The worst thing that happened:
I was absent from school for the whole week.