She loves muscles.
This is what Nitori Aichiro tells himself when Gou ogles Haruka-senpai, Makoto-senpai, Ryugazaki-senpai, Sousuke-senpai, and Seijuurou-senpai as they take off their shirts. Haruka has admirable shoulders, Makoto's back is impressive, Ryugazaki's torso is impeccable, Sousuke-senpai and Seijuurou-senpai – well, Gou nearly passes out from the perfection. She even nods appreciatively at Momotarou, who grins, showing off his developing muscles. Nitori smothers a growl.
Matsuoka-senpai gives him an amused glance, and Nitori reddens. It's not like him to show any kind of hostility, and Matsuoka-senpai knows it very well.
"I sense lovesickness," Matsuoka-senpai teases, grinning.
And Nitori cannot deny it.
He turns a furious red whenever he hears Gou call him "Ai-chan". He feels giant bats swarm in his stomach whenever she comes within fifteen metres of him. His knees turn to jelly when she smiles. And his heart is running another marathon in his chest again, his heartbeat thumping hard in ears as she waves at him, her ponytail streaming behind her as she jogs toward him.
"Ai-chan?" Gou says, frowning. "You don't look well. Are you all right?"
No, he wants to say. No, I'm not. You're making me feel feverish. You're the reason.
He wants her to stop it – stop smiling, stop laughing, stop calling him "Ai-chan". Stop it. All of it.
Because he doesn't stand a chance. Not even the tiniest bit. He trains long and hard, but even Momotarou has more muscle in his little finger than Nitori does in his whole body. He tries to be friendly and casual, like Makoto-senpai, or helpfully intelligent, like Ryugazaki-senpai, or quietly observative, like Haruka-senpai. But he can't help but get flustered. He can't help but flush.
He wants her to stop doing it. To stop doing this to him. He wants her to stop making him fall in love with her, more and more every day. It's making his heart ache, because she'll never, ever think of him that way.
But at the same time, he wants her to keep doing it. Keep smiling, keep laughing, keep calling him "Ai-chan".
Because although he denies it, although he doesn't have even the slightest chance, he knows all too well –
He can't live without it. He can't live without her.