章節 157: I Need to Make a Choice
"W-what?" At first, he couldn't believe what was happening in front of him. Was Matsu really confessing to him now of all times? "I'm sorry, but did you just-"
"Ask you out." She stood her ground. Even though Matsu felt her legs about to buckle underneath her and cause the girl to fall. This wasn't the time for her to back out now. "I… Really like you, Arata." For the first time in her life, she was seizing the opportunity to ask out her long time crush. A boy who she fell for when he stood in between her and some bullies and paid the price. Her face was burning red just from finally telling him the truth. "So… Do you like me back?"
"I…" Now how was he supposed to answer this question? It was already hard enough having to deal with his conflicted emotions about the girls who already confessed to him. She was someone that he was aware of, but now that it was out on the table, things were heating up.
"Is it… Someone else?" As someone paying a lot of attention on his life recently, she would have to be blind to not be aware of the other girls' feelings for him. Especially after she heard that very public confession by Ichiri earlier today. "A lot of people say I'm dense, but I knew you were on a date with the student council president that day. And I knew that she liked you before you found out."
"I should be apologizing to you right now." Finally, he was able to untie his tongue and speak with her normally. "I've known that you liked me for a while too."
"You did?" That only served to make her more flustered as she thought about all those things they did together. She was under the assumptions that he was none the wiser, when he was actually aware of her motivations the entire time. "Aww…"
"And to be honest, I really do owe you a date. But I can't…" He stopped and thought about what he was going to say. Was he really just going to make the same line over and over about not promising them anything? How could Arata ever truly make a decision when he continued to fall back onto that line of thought? "Actually, don't worry. Let's go on a date, tomorrow."
"Really?" She got all giddy as the girl was unable to contain her emotions. Just as she normally did, she jumped onto him in a hug. "I got plenty of free time tomorrow, so we can do anything you want."
"You're the one who wants to date me." He responded, feeling her body tight up against his. Matsu was a soft smaller girl with a lot of energy. Her arms were wrapped tightly around his back as he touched her soft skin. "So you should be the one leading the way."
And thus sent into motion for Arata to finally work his way out of this tangle. There was no confirmation that things would go smoothly. If anything, he expected there to be a lot of hardships on this road to finding his dream girl. But no matter what happened, he was going to fight for it every step of the way.
By the next morning, he awoke with the feeling that this couldn't possibly be reality. The boy already found it hard for him to believe the situation he was in, but the girls around him had confessed their feelings for him. The only thing left for him to do was to find a way to return those feelings, even if it ended up bitter for most. That was the most challenging part, which is why he was originally hesitant to push forth. If he hadn't been that way, perhaps much of this heartache could've been avoided.
Arata got out of bed and began to prepare for the second date of his life. This time, it was going to be with that happy-go-lucky girl known as Matsu. The same girl who he protected against bullies, even if it gave him a trip to the hospital.
His day started by taking a deep shower, where he was able to calm himself and collect his thoughts. Though the former was not achieved considering his hands were still shaking as he put on his nice clothing. The next was to skip out on breakfast as he expected the pair to stop for some lunch during this date.
However, doing these steps were certain to attract the attention of a specific woman, that being his own mother who was doing the housework as she normally would on a Sunday.
"You've been going out a lot more often lately." His mother commented on his outfit. "Actually, that's some really nice clothing you have on."
"Well, you see…" He was nervous about telling her the truth, but there was no way to hide it. "I have a date today." There was a loud scream of excitement from his mom that he was hoping to avoid, as even though no one was around to hear it, the act was still embarrassing for him.
"That's so great." She cheered out and grabbed him as if they were supposed to celebrate together. "Who is it with? I bet it's with Yuriko."
"No…" That was an oddly specific girl for her to set her sights on. It had only been a week since he learn of her conflicted feelings for him. "Actually, it's with Matsu."
"Ah, I see." His mom was also good with that pick. In all honesty, she would be good with pretty much any of the girls he was friends with. Not to be mean, but they were pretty much all at least a league above him.
"Anyway, I should get going." He noted the time, which revealed that his meeting time was coming up with her very soon. If he left at this moment, then he should be able to reach his destination on time.
So off he went… Or at least, that was his hope. However, right in this moment, he got a phone call on his cell. The boy checked and saw that it was Erina of all people calling him this morning.
"Hey, are you busy?" She said as he answered it. "Last week made me realize that it's been a while since the two of us just hung out. So I was wondering-"
"Sorry." He cut her off. "Actually I…" A part of him didn't want to admit the truth, but why should he be hiding what he does to them? That was what happened with Misei, and they all figured it out anyway. "I have a date with… Matsu."
"D-date!?" From her tone, it was obvious that she was taken aback by his response. "Oh, I see. Just like with Akiba, right?"
"No, this is a real date." He admitted to her. "She's someone who really likes me, but I guess you already knew that." Arata could assume that everyone knew after the festival kiss. "So I'm going into this with a romantic mindset."
"I see." He wasn't a fan of the tone she had with him now. It was one thing to be disappointed with not being able to hang out. In fact, were it not for this date, Arata would love to hang out alone with the girl. "Where are you going?"
"We're meeting at the station, then I guess wherever she wants to go." He was unsure of what was planned out by Matsu. He was even more unsure of why Erina would be so interested in this date, but he did hide the first one away from everyone. "Anyway, I'm running late. So I gotta go." With that, he hung up the phone.
Afterwards, he made the short trip to meet up with Matsu. After waiting all this time pretending to be unaware of her feelings, it was best if he didn't keep her waiting for him now. When he arrived, it seemed that she came well ahead of schedule as he found her standing all alone.
"Arata!" She got excited the moment her sights landed on him. Matsu certainly got herself ready for this day with her outfit. Her makeup was on point, and she wore on a beautiful blouse and skirt with long socks reaching up to her thighs.
"Hope I didn't make you wait long." Of course she gave the common response that everyone says regardless of the truth. Given her nervousness of making him happy, he wouldn't be surprised with how accommodating she would be for today.
"Of course not." She responded. "Anyway, let's get our day started." Matsu was over the moon in joy with how things were going. Obviously, it had only just begun, but this was something that she believed to only be a dream with him. Now was the start of her overcoming the advantage that Misei had in her mind as she took Arata's hand.
Already, since they were aware of this being a date, she was making moves. Maybe the act wasn't anything special as they walked towards her first destination. Though the fact that she was able to do something so openly with him now knowing, there was no way she'd be giving up the momentum now.
Arata himself was quite happy with this development now. When he had first heard of her feelings for him, the boy really did work in earnest to like her back. But he was being to analytical about it when they were alone together the first time. Perhaps she really was the girl for him. After all, she was the first one to have a crush on him, and Matsu was a truly kind soul who deserved to be happy.
However, there was one problem that he felt. It didn't have anything to do with her or this date. Just that Arata had the strangest feeling that they were being watched.
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