My extroverted girlfriend has zero sense of boundaries — Is It really wrong to take her home right after we meet? - Episode 2

♥

“Isn’t Sasagawa-san amazing? I mean, do you get paid a lot too?”

In her dream, a classmate from middle school appeared. Back then, she had already been working, so she stood out a lot in class.

People looked at her strangely. Others gazed at her with admiration. They constantly asked about her income, looking at her with eyes that seemed to beg for something.

“Well, a little, I guess.”

When she gave that answer, the begging would begin with juice. Then snacks. Then accessories and makeup.

The amount of money her friends asked for kept increasing over time.

Spending nearly half the year working, she couldn’t share memories with her classmates. Leaving school early wasn’t unusual, and even when she joined a club, she couldn’t properly participate. She was treated specially by teachers, which caused some students to resent her.

The way she compensated for that was with money. Even though she knew it wasn’t right, even though she tried to hold back, when asked, she couldn’t bring herself to say no.

Because she knew, if she did, she’d end up completely isolated.

“……”

A sudden noise of rain pulled her consciousness back. It was second period—math. Between not understanding the subject and her exhaustion, she had dozed off without realizing it. Thanks to that, she saw that old dream again, and it left her feeling awful.

For now, she was living a decent high school life. But because of what happened in middle school, she couldn’t bring herself to get too close to anyone. Even when someone tried to be friendly with her, she ended up pulling away.

‘…Come to think of it, I wonder if Fujimura’s nose is okay.’

Her eyes drifted to the side. The boy who had helped her that morning was scribbling with his mechanical pencil, his face showing no sign of discomfort.

He was that weird guy who always pretended to sleep and never talked to anyone. She needed to thank him.

‘A thank-you, huh…’

She figured unless she spent money, he probably wouldn’t be satisfied. If people started spreading rumors that she couldn’t even repay someone who helped her, no one might talk to her again.

“Haa…”

Letting out a quiet sigh, she looked toward the window. The thick blanket covering the sky shut out all light and kept letting nothing but rain fall down.

♠

After the incident with the blond guy, Kyousuke walked to school on guard, thinking Ayano might talk to him but she only chatted with her usual group from the morning and didn’t even glance his way.

Thinking about it, that was only natural.

Sure, he ended up helping her out from that guy hitting on her, but that alone wouldn’t be enough for her to suddenly try getting close to him. For someone like her, one of the top-tier extroverts in class, she was probably used to this sort of thing.

Mocking himself for being so self-conscious, he felt a quiet relief that his peaceful days remained undisturbed.

This was for the best. After all, they lived in different worlds.

“Ah, Fujimura-kun!”

The moment the bell rang for the end of fourth period and the classroom started getting noisy with classmates preparing for lunch—

Ayano’s hands lightly landed with a ton on Kyousuke’s desk.

He instinctively looked up, and their eyes met—her clear eyes locking with his.

“Wanna go to the cafeteria? I’ll treat you, as thanks for this morning.”

“…Huh? Uh, what?”

Strange looks stabbed at him from all around. But Ayano didn’t care at all about being the center of attention. Cheerfully saying『Let’s gooo!』she grabbed Kyousuke by the scruff of the neck like she was catching a cat and pulled him right out of the classroom.

“W-wait a sec.”

Kyousuke slipped free from her hand and backed off a step or two.

What should he do? What should he say?

Turning around in complete silence would look unnatural and definitely leave a bad impression. Saying he had brought lunch wouldn’t work either, since he had actually planned on going to the cafeteria today and hadn’t brought anything at all.

He had to handle this carefully. If people started saying he was some rude guy, he might lose his hard-earned title of『that one quiet and calm kid every class has』.

“What’s wrong?”

“What’s wrong, you ask… w-well, I mean…”

“You don’t have to hold back. I’ve got money.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

She worked a job. Treating someone to a meal probably meant nothing to her. That wasn’t what he was worried about. He just didn’t want to get involved.

“…You don’t need to thank me or anything. You gave me a tissue, right? It’s your own hard-earned money, Sasagawa-san. You should use it for yourself. I wouldn’t know what to do if you paid for me.”

That line, Kyousuke thought to himself, was pretty damn smooth. He smirked inwardly with a bit of pride. It didn’t sound unnatural. Even if he went back to class now, she probably wouldn’t think anything of it.

As for food, he’d just deal with being hungry until he got home.

‘…Hm?’

Ayano’s expression darkened slightly and Kyousuke furrowed his brows.

Her eyes darted about, uncertain and confused, like a lost child. She shifted uneasily on her feet.

“Um, but… I have to thank you.”

“Huh? No, I said it’s fine.”

“But, but… if I don’t spend money, you won’t be satisfied, right?”

“…”

“Everyone else was like that…”

“I seriously have no idea what you’re talking about. But thanking someone isn’t about the money. Also, who’s this『everyone』? Don’t lump me in with them.”

He let out a small sigh and muttered,『Well, whatever』then turned on his heel.

The moment he took a step forward, he was yanked back hard and nearly stumbled. Looking behind, he saw Ayano gripping the hem of his uniform.

“D-do you still need something?”

A cold sweat formed on his forehead—had he accidentally offended her?

“…I don’t know what to do.”

Her voice was small, lacking confidence, yet tinged with a hint of happiness on her cheeks.

“Don’t know what to do… about what?”

“About how to eat lunch with you, Fujimura.”

“…What?”

“I mean, if I don’t treat you, then… how do I get Fujimura to eat with me?”

“…Wouldn’t it be enough if I just went back to class to grab my wallet?”

“…Ah—yeah, I guess that works.”

Caught off guard by her offbeat question, he responded normally without thinking.

Ayano nodded,『Mm, mm』satisfied. Then, with her cheeks turning red, she scratched her head awkwardly and laced her fingers behind her back, which emphasized her shapely figure.

“Then… I’ll wait for you.”

Her voice was faint and unsure, completely different from the confident tone she used back in the classroom.

He didn’t really get it, but he was free now. Released.

Kyousuke turned and walked quickly back toward the classroom.

It was simple just leave her there.

Even if someone asked about it later, he could just say he had a stomachache and went to the nurse’s office.

If anyone saw him eating with Ayano, who knew what kinds of things would be said.

“…”

Suddenly, he remembered the expression on her face earlier.

Why did she look so uncertain? If Ayano invited someone, most guys would leap at the chance. Even the girls wouldn’t refuse.

She wasn’t like him, living in the shadows, so why?

‘Well, I mean… I’m hungry. If I don’t eat, I won’t make it through the afternoon.’

Trying to convince himself, he nodded over and over again.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the rain that had been falling since morning had completely stopped.

“Is that really enough for you…?”

Sitting cutely in front of her was a single bowl of mini kitsune udon.

Seeing such a meager meal—especially for a girl, even—Kyousuke couldn’t help but murmur.

“Normally I stick to veggies but today’s one of the days I allow myself some carbs.”

She said this while slurping her udon with a soft churu churu. Maintaining her figure must be part of her job too. Kyousuke was honestly impressed by her level of discipline.

He slowly began eating as well, but couldn’t quite bring himself to eat much. The reason: all the stares from around them.

Nearly everyone in the cafeteria glanced at her at least once and then, as an afterthought, at Kyousuke. As expected, being the center of attention was unbearable. It made him feel downright sick.

“Does it not taste good?”

Ayano tilted her head slightly as she asked. Probably because he had such a sour expression.

“No, not really…”

“You’re lying. It totally doesn’t taste good. You’ve got that face on.”

“I was born with this face.”

“Jeez, can’t be helped then.”

Saying that, she put down her chopsticks and extended a hand toward Kyousuke.

Looking closely, the bowl that once held her udon was already empty.

“Want me to eat it for you?”

She wiggled her fingers choi choi, clearly asking for him to hand over a spoon.

“…You just want to eat more, don’t you?”

“T-That’s not true! I mean, they say there are seven gods living in each grain of rice! It’d be a waste to leave any behind, you know!”

“Order your own. You don’t have to take mine.”

“Well… without some kind of noble excuse, I’d feel guilty, and, um…”

“So yeah, you just want to eat more.”

He had just praised her for being disciplined, but it turned out she was actually pretty lax.

Kyousuke opened his mouth wide and took a bite of curry rice. From the rice to the roux, curry was a pile of carbs. It must have looked incredibly tempting. Ayano was staring at him like a starving Chihuahua.

“…Ahh, I don’t think I can finish this. Kinda wish someone would take just one bite for me…”

“H-Here! I’ll eat it!”

At his clearly staged cry for help, Ayano shot her hand up, looking like she was about to pounce.

He felt guilty just leaving the plate unfinished and it was honestly hard to eat with her staring at him like that.

“Well then, go ahead.”

That was far too big to be called just『one bite』.

Nom nom, huff huff—Ayano chewed while letting the heat escape from her mouth and two grains of rice stuck to the corners of her lips. On anyone else, it would’ve just looked dumb, but on her, it naturally became a picturesque scene.

“Seriously…”

Kyousuke let out a sigh as he took back the plate, now missing about a third of its contents. He picked up the spoon, ready to resume his meal, then suddenly froze.

‘This is…’

Using the same spoon Ayano just used—it meant exactly what it sounded like. Without realizing it, his eyes were drawn to her lips. The tip of her vermilion tongue flicked out to lick up the leftover curry sauce.

Just watching that made his cheeks heat up. What the hell am I even thinking? he scolded himself inside, embarrassed.

‘As expected of a normie. She doesn’t even care.’

That spoon was originally his. Ayano must’ve known that, but she didn’t show a single hint of hesitation.

“…You can just eat the rest if you want.”

“Eh? Really?”

It wasn’t like he was a germophobe or anything. But eating casually with the thought of an indirect kiss hanging over him was just too much. In that case, it was easier to just give her the rest.

“Fujimura, you’re such a waste.”

“You can flatter me all you want but there’s no curry left.”

“I wasn’t trying to. You don’t talk to anyone, you know?”

“So what? Talking to me won’t benefit anyone.”

“Ehh? I’m having fun though?”

“…Save it. I don’t need fake compliments.”

He responded with a slightly sharp tone, and Ayano’s face dimmed ever so slightly as she lowered her gaze.

“You’ve got plenty of friends, Sasagawa-san. You don’t need to bother with someone like me.”

The moment the words flew out—tinged with frustration—Kyousuke realized he had raised his voice more than he intended. It hit him with the weight of a stone in his chest. When was the last time he’d lashed out at someone like this?

“Um… well, whatever then!”

He stood up and fled the scene.

This was fine. Just talking to her a little was enough to know—Ayano was a good person. Even if he pushed her away like this, she probably wouldn’t go spreading nasty rumors about him.

“……”

It felt like he was taking advantage of her kindness, and that made him feel sick.

He didn’t return to the classroom. Instead, he headed to the nurse’s office, dragging his heavy thoughts along with him.

When he lay down on the bed and let his mind go blank, before he knew it, school had ended.

The rain that had once stopped had started to fall again, breathing back to life.

He went back to the classroom just to grab his bag. Two girls were sitting there, chatting while munching on snacks. They were the ones Ayano often hung out with.

They glanced at Kyousuke for a second, then went right back to their mindless gossip with uninterested expressions.

“Don’t you think Sasagawa-san kinda looks down on us or something?”

“Ah, I get it. Like, she totally puts up walls, right?”

His hand, reaching for his bag, froze with a twitch.

Kyousuke turned his gaze toward them. The way one of them picked at her snacks and licked the crumbs off her fingers struck him as strangely repulsive.

“For a bitchy girl, she’s seriously annoying.”

“Right? Like, who does she think she is?”

Grabbing his bag, he rushed out of the classroom. He wanted to get away from them—every second, every moment as fast as possible.

Their conversation played over and over in his head. Again and again, perfectly, word for word, not a syllable off. A level of memorization he could never achieve during class suddenly displayed itself with terrifying accuracy.

He made his way quickly to the entrance, put on his shoes and grabbed his umbrella.

He just wanted to go home. Right now. Eat something, play a game, watch some TV, and fall asleep whenever—if he did that, maybe he could forget.

Kyousuke stepped out the front entrance like he was fleeing, feeling cold sweat trace down his back.

“Ah, Fujimura-kun!”

Her voice cut through the pounding rain and hit his eardrums.

He instinctively looked toward it and there stood Ayano.

“I heard you weren’t feeling well? Are you okay?”

“…Yeah, I guess.”

He gave a half-hearted reply while opening his umbrella.

“Are you waiting for a friend or something?”

“Nope. Looks like someone took my umbrella. I think it was by accident, since it was just a plain clear one.”

She said it with a small laugh, her cheeks relaxed in amusement.

Kyousuke looked at his own umbrella. Their shoulders might get a little wet, but it would be fine sharing.

“Ah-choo!”

With a cute little sneeze, a string of snot dangled from Ayano’s nose. She gave an awkward little laugh, saying 『Guess I caught a cold』as she pulled out a tissue and wiped it off.

“I’m just gonna wait for the rain to stop. See you.”

She waved her hand slightly and gave her nose a strong blow. He had just told her at lunch to leave him alone. She must have respected that.

“…Yeah.”

He gripped the handle of his umbrella tightly and turned his back to her.

Even though no water had seeped into his shoes, every step felt uncomfortably wet. Even the sound of rain hitting the plastic above his head grated on his ears.

‘What the hell did she ever do…?’

The voices of the girls in the classroom were still echoing in his head.

If they had talked to her even just a little, they’d know Ayano wasn’t the kind of person who looked down on others. They’d know she was cheerful, straightforward, a bit of an idiot, and actually really fun to be around.

So why couldn’t they see what he had seen so easily?

If it was jealousy over her looks, that made no sense either.

Ayano said she watched her diet. Those girls just lazed around, snacking like it was nothing. They didn’t have the right to be jealous.

She worked hard. And even with that, she still came to school, still studied.

And yet he pushed her away on a whim, made her feel awful, and still—she worried about him.

What the hell am I even doing?

Kyousuke stopped walking and let out a deep, heavy breath.

♥

The rain showed no signs of letting up and seemed likely to keep falling until morning.

When would she be able to go home?

Living alone meant she couldn’t call her parents to pick her up. She did have enough money on hand to call a taxi but being seen doing that and having rumors spread would be troublesome.

Home wasn’t that far but the thought of running through this downpour made her hesitate.

“…?”

Maybe someone forgot something. A student in uniform came in through the school gate.

Slim build, short stature. The rain blurred her vision, but as the figure drew closer, the silhouette became clearer.

It was a boy she knew.

“This… it was in my bag. You can use it if you want.”

Probably from having run in the bad weather, Kyousuke was breathing hard as he said this, holding a folded umbrella in one hand.

“…The tag’s still on. You went and bought this just now, didn’t you?”

“N-no! I bought it a while ago and just hadn’t used it yet!”

“…Hmm…”

Blushing furiously, Kyousuke thrust the umbrella toward her with a quiet『Here』.

“…Well, I’m going now. See you tomorrow.”

Just as he turned on his heel to leave, Ayano reached out.

His sleeve was soaked with rain.

“I—”

Her lips moved before she could even think.

“Let’s go home together.”

Even if he preferred being alone. Ayano was certain—if she didn’t speak her mind now, she’d regret it someday.