"How was the dance?"
Mahiru jumped as Chiaki seemed to suddenly appear in her vision after the class had ended.
"O-oh!" Mahiru said, feeling her face immediately burn as the previous night's events flashed through her mind. "It was…uh…it was fun, yeah." Chiaki stared at her for a bit, and Mahiru became worried Chiaki would somehow see through her not-very-well disguised panic, but Chiaki just smiled.
"That's good. I feel bad that I couldn't go with him, so don't tell him, but I'm gonna try to surprise him with something to make up for it." Chiaki said, and Mahiru breathed a sigh of relief, nodding. She tried not to focus on the intense guilt that was beginning to creep in the further along they went with the conversation.
"What were you planning?" Mahiru asked, but Chiaki shrugged.
"I have an idea but nothing is set in stone yet." Chiaki said.
"Hey, Mahiru?" A sudden voice startled Mahiru again, and she turned to see Chisa approaching. "Can I ask you for a favor?"
"Of course." Mahiru said as Chiaki walked back over to her seat and started gathering up her things.
"Can you stay behind to help clean up the gym? We did a basic cleaning, but there was a lot of little stuff so we wanted the students to help clean it up. You won't be alone, of course." Chisa asked, a hopeful look on her face.
"Yeah, of course! I would love to help." Mahiru said with enthusiasm. She always loved helping out whenever she could. Plus maybe it would help take her mind off of…last night. Ugh, even just the thought of it made her face light up.
"Are…you okay?" Chisa asked, and Mahiru quickly shook her head, giving her her best smile. Chisa narrowed her eyes. Mahiru may be able to fool Chiaki, but Chisa was good at spotting lies like that. "Alright…" she said, seemingly letting it go this time. "Come down to the gym whenever you're ready." Mahiru nodded, and Chisa finally left her alone. Mahiru let herself breathe another sigh of relief. Well, better not waste time thinking of…of him…
Mahiru quickly gathered up her stuff and shoved it into her backpack. A couple of her classmates were still milling around when she made her way out of the classroom, and towards the gym. As she walked, her mind kept drifting back to Hajime and that damned kiss. It had felt so good, but it was so wrong. Hajime was with Chiaki, and this whole thing was forcing her to lie directly to her friend's face! She hated doing stuff like that…
Mahiru slapped her cheeks as she stood in front of the door. No! She wouldn't let him invade her thoughts like this. The best thing to do was to forget it ever happened, right? Hopefully he would do the same. For now, she needed to get him out of her mind. So, she opened the door and stepped inside the gym.
Where she found Hajime standing in front of her.
"Hey Mahiru!" Chisa said as she stood up, having been bent over to pick up stuff from off the floor. "I had a feeling you'd rush right over."
"Y-yeah…" Mahiru said as she locked eyes with Hajime. Hajime gulped as he stared back, the two simply looking at each other for a few seconds before Hajime finally broke eye contact, to look down at the floor. Mahiru's face felt hot as the previous night's events once again shot through her brain. Chisa looked between the two of them with a suspicious look.
"Is…something wrong?" Chisa asked.
"N-nope!" Mahiru said.
"Yeah no we're good…" Hajime said as well.
"Yeah, right…" Chisa mumbled. "Just don't let whatever is between you two get in the way of cleaning okay?" Mahiru and Hajime nodded, and Chisa walked off. Hajime and Mahiru stood awkwardly in front of each other for a while.
"Um, so…" Hajime tried to start.
"No." Mahiru said, looking away. "I don't want to talk about it. Let's just forget it happened, okay?" A look of disappointment emerged on Hajime's face, but he nodded regardless, and finally turned around and started walking away to go clean up. Mahiru took a deep, shaky breath.
Now then, where to start?
Mahiru grabbed a trash bag from off one of the tables, put on some gloves, and started to clean up the small pieces of food, paper, and…tinfoil?
There was a lot of random stuff all over the place, like rubber bands, paper clips, hair ties, flower petals, and more. Did…did something big happen after she and Hajime left? If so, now Mahiru felt sad that she'd left so early. Then her face burned once more as she thought about why she'd left. She shook her head hoping to shake the thoughts away and continued.
As she was bending down to pick up stuff, she slowly walked backward until she suddenly felt her butt bump into something. She stood up immediately and turned around, and found herself in front of Hajime once again. When Mahiru realized what had likely happened, she felt the blush return once more. Without a word, Mahiru turned around and after a moment, Hajime did as well. Mahiru sighed and bent down again to grab the thing she'd dropped.
"Mahiru, I-" Hajime started, but stopped and suddenly gasped. Mahiru stood up and turned around again, a concerned look on her face. When she turned around, she saw Hajime's eyes suddenly shoot from a low angle to the side. Then Mahiru realized: she'd bent over, and he'd turned around to talk to her. Her face turned beet red as her anger flared. She was pretty sure her skirt was long enough that he probably didn't see anything, but still!
"You…!" She said, but Hajime raised his hands.
"Mahiru!" He exclaimed. "Can we please just talk?"
"No!" Mahiru answered. She turned around yet again, and instead of bending over, one instead knelt down to continue picking up the trash. She was hoping that would end the conversation, but it didn't.
"Please, I want to talk about it. I need to know if…" Hajime hesitated on the words, and it was enough to get Mahiru to stop, "…if it was as good for you as it was for me?" Mahiru gulped.
"…how good was it for you?" She asked after a few moments, still not looking at him.
"It…it was amazing. I…it felt like time slowed down, and it was just the two of us…and nothing else existed." He explained. Mahiru felt her heart beginning to race in panic. "I never wanted the moment to end, and when it did, it felt…like a piece of myself was being pulled away." Mahiru stood up, and turned to face him for the third time.
"You have a girlfriend. Chiaki." Mahiru said, her anger growing again.
"But what if I want to be with you instead?"
The question stunned Mahiru, and her face returned to its deep red shade. God, she was starting to get annoyed by how it felt. "Wh-what?"
"Maybe…I want to be with you…more than Chiaki…" Hajime said, rubbing his arm. Mahiru felt her heart racing a million miles a minute. I'm all honesty, she wanted to say yes, but something was telling her she shouldn't, that she should shove him away and forget everything.
"But…Chiaki…" she said meekly.
"I can break up with her…if you want me to…" Hajime said, and Mahiru felt her legs tremble.
"I…I, um…" Mahiru was speechless, unsure how to respond. Suddenly, a clap startled the two of them so hard they practically jumped in the air.
"Hey, if you're gonna talk, work while you do it." Chisa said, still looking at them with those piercing eyes of hers. Both Mahiru and Hajime gulped. Hajime opened his mouth to speak, but Mahiru scurried away before he could. He considered going after her, but he already could feel some of the other students' eyes on him after hearing Chisa reprimand them, so he decided against it.
Meanwhile, Mahiru was having a mental freak out. Her heart was racing. Her face was burning. She didn't know what to do. Part of her wanted to say yes, but the other part was screaming at her that it would be betraying Chiaki to steal Hajime away like that. But…Hajime was the one who wanted to be with Mahiru more, and he said he'd break up with her, so that's okay, isn't it? Right? Ughhh! Mahiru didn't know what to do!
"Excuse me?"
Mahiru jumped as a voice invaded her thoughts. Mahiru turned to find a student she didn't recognize, at least not at first. She had long blue hair, and gorgeous blue eyes. She looked…familiar, even outside the idea of a student.
Finally, it hit her. "Ah, you're uh…Sayaka…Sayaka Maizono, right? From the 78th class?" She asked, hoping she was right. She hated guessing wrong names.
"Yep!" She said, and Mahiru breathed a sigh of relief. "I saw that you seemed to be having…troubles with your…friend." The way she paused made Mahiru feel a bit uneasy, and the girl's smile was a bit…weird. Mahiru tried to ignore it though.
"Yeah…" she said, looking down at the ground.
"What's the problem?" Sayaka asked. Mahiru debated whether or not she should tell this girl who was basically a stranger her problems. Yet before she could decide against it, she ended up gushing about the previous night's events, and then about what they'd just been discussing. She didn't say anything about what she'd been thinking during their 'talk' though. "Ah, classic boy problems…" Sayaka said, and Mahiru got the impression she was speaking from experience. "So he wants to be with you, and you don't know if you should accept it or not because if you do, you'll feel like you'll be betraying your friend, right?"
"Y-yeah…how did you know?" Mahiru asked, shocked by her accuracy.
"I'm psychic!" Sayaka said.
"Um, excuse me?" Mahiru said. Sayaka giggled.
"Sorry! It's a joke I like to do! Truth is, I'm very intuitive." Sayaka explained.
"What do you think I should do?" Mahiru asked. Sayaka closed her eyes for a few moments.
"I think…" Sayaka said, and opened her eyes again, "…do you like him?"
"I…" Mahiru hesitated. Again, she barely knew this girl, so why did she want to just tell her everything? "…yes."
"You should go for it." Sayaka said.
"Really?" Mahiru asked.
"Yes. Trust me, if you like him, and it's clear he likes you back, and is willing to break up with his girlfriend for you, then go for it. Before…before it's too late…" Sayaka's expression became one of sadness. Yeah, she was definitely speaking from experience. Mahiru stayed silent for a while.
"But…I'm not sure if I could really do that to her…" Mahiru said, though she could feel her resolve breaking.
"You can't let it get to you. If it's what you want, you have to take it. If this other girl is truly your friend, she'll understand." Sayaka said.
"…I'll think about it." Mahiru said, and Sayaka smiled.
"Either way, you should at least talk to him." She said. Mahiru nodded, and looked around the room until she spotted Hajime.
"Thanks." Mahiru said, and Sayaka nodded as Mahiru started walking towards Hajime. Just as she got close enough to speak to him, she opened her mouth to talk, but then…she slipped. Something on the floor caused her to lose her balance, and she yelled out as she fell. Hajime turned to face her just as Mahiru crashed into him, knocking both of them to the floor.
"Oh my god!" Chisa exclaimed as she ran over. Mahiru groaned as she looked up, and suddenly found her face only inches away from Hajime's. She became hyper aware of her chest pressed against Hajime's. His chest was hard, and it made her feel dizzy. "Are you too okay?" Chisa said.
"I…I…um…yeah!" Mahiru struggled to speak as she quickly got off of Hajime, her heart racing once more as her cheeks felt flushed. Her legs wobbled.
"Are you sure? You look kind of pale." Chisa said. "And…out of breath?"
"I'm fine, really." She said. Chisa frowned, and looked towards Hajime, who was starting to get up as well. Chisa extended a hand, which he accepted. "What about you, are you okay?"
"Yeah, just banged my head a bit." He said as he rubbed the back of said head. He glanced over at Mahiru, meeting her eyes for a second before looking away again.
"Okay, I don't know what's going on between you two, but it's obviously distracting you. Go out into the hallway and sort out whatever is happening, and then you can come back to help." Chisa said, and started pushing them towards the door.
"But-!" Mahiru started.
"No buts!" Chisa said. "Only resolving!" Chisa shoved them out into the hallway and closed the door behind them. Mahiru and Hajime looked at the door for a while before they finally turned to each other. Their eyes met once again for a second before both looked away in embarrassment.
"I-" both suddenly spoke at the same time.
"S-sorry, you go." Hajime said.
"No it's okay, you can go first." Mahiru responded.
"No, please." Hajime said back and Mahiru sighed.
"A-about what you said earlier?" Mahiru asked tentatively. "Would you…really break up with her?" Wait, was she really doing this?
"Yes." Hajime said without hesitation.
"Tonight?" Mahiru asked. Why wasn't she stopping?!
"Yeah, she actually asked me to come over tonight after this for something. I can tell her then." Hajime said. Mahiru remembered Chiaki saying something about "making it up to him", and she suddenly got nervous.
"You…promise me?" Mahiru asked. She couldn't stop the words from coming out!
"Mahiru…" Hajime said. "I don't know if I just didn't see it before but…I…I like you a lot. I enjoy every moment that I spend with you, and I'd like to see you more…outside school. I want to go on dates with you…I want to see you all the time, be near you all the time. I just want…you." Hajime said. Mahiru felt her heart begin to beat fast, and faster, and faster.
As Mahiru felt her resolve completely shared, without another moment of hesitation, she grabbed him and pulled him close, embracing him in a kiss. This was different from the one at the dance, though. This one was more full of passion and lust than Mahiru had ever experienced before. Her body felt hot, and she could feel his hard chest against her soft one. She didn't even care that he might be able to feel her breasts, she just wanted to be against him.
As he wrapped his arms around her, he put one hand against her back, pulling her closer, while the other went to her head, twirling through her hair. Usually, she would've slapped someone for something like that, but at the moment, she just wanted more. She wanted their bodies to touch as much as possible.
But even in her heightened state of ecstasy, she was aware of his hand beginning to creep down her back, and she finally broke the kiss. Thankfully, he took the silent sign to stop, and he pulled away as well. They both stood holding onto each other's arms, both of them breathing heavily. They looked each other in the eyes and smiled.
Meanwhile, Chisa was staring through the small window, feeling her own heart race. "Ahhh…young love~" she said to herself. She'd always thought they were a better fit than Hajime and Chiaki anyways, not that she'd ever be one who could admit something like that.
Then, her thoughts drifted towards her own object of affection, and she grew annoyed, and pouted. She burst open the doors, scaring the two lovebirds so bad she swore they actually jumped into the air that time.
"Alright, if you've worked things out, then get back in here. We still have a lot to go." Chisa said, and the two hurried inside.
The rest of the day proceeded smoothly. Mahiru and Hajime kept stealing glances at each other that Chisa kept picking up on, though she obviously didn't say anything. She didn't want to ruin their fun after all. She simply watched and observed the two as she did her own part of the cleaning.
A few hours later, they had finished and the gym looked cleaner than it'd been in years. Chisa was actually impressed. She wasn't even sure if it had been this clean when she was enrolled here…
"Congrats everyone, and thank you for your help! You're free to go now!" Chisa said, and there was a quiet cheer from the tired students as they began to make their way out of the gym. Mahiru and Hajime also left, talking as they did so, and Chisa simply watched them, sighing.
Dammit, why can't they do that too?!
"That was way more tiring than expected, huh?" Mahiru asked, and Hajime nodded. Mahiru opened her mouth to speak again, but she cut herself off when Hajime suddenly grabbed her hand. Mahiru stopped in her tracks as her face turned a bright, beet red, and Hajime almost pulled her off her feet.
"Y-you okay?" Hajime asked, and Mahiru couldn't speak, she could only nod. She squeezed his hand in hers, enjoying its warmth in her own. Eventually, she found the ability to walk again. "I'm gonna walk you to your room, if that's okay." Hajime said, and Mahiru nodded. She could barely control the smile on her face, one that made Hajime laugh, but not in a bad way.
Eventually Mahiru found her voice again and the two made small talk as they walked hand-in-hand down the hallways, thankfully not encountering anyone they knew until they reached Mahiru's dorm room. There they stopped and looked at each other as they stood in front of the door.
"Don't forget, okay?" Mahiru reminded him.
"After that kiss, and this-" he said, gesturing to their conjoined hands. "-I don't think I could forget." Mahiru smiled, and Hajime moved forward to kiss her once more. Mahiru almost wanted to raise her foot up like she'd seen in cartoons and the like, but she resisted. This kiss only lasted a second or two before Hajime moved away, and let go. He waved her goodbye as she crept into her room, and shut the door behind her. She turned around, and felt herself slump against the door, and to the floor. She clutched her chest, as if that would calm her racing heart. Eventually, she felt herself start to giggle like a little girl as she thought over the day's events, and played out their kiss in her mind over and over again.
It was beautiful.
Hajime knocked on Chiaki's door, and she opened it immediately. Hajime opened his mouth to speak, but she pulled him into the room and shut the door behind her before he could. He was pulled over and thrown onto the bed, where rose petals were draped across it. The room was dimly lit with beautiful candles, and there was a nice scent to the air, one of lavender.
"Hey, Hajime~"
Hajime looked to see where Chiaki was speaking with her attempt at a seductive voice, and he felt himself gasp. She was wearing nothing but a pair of silky black underwear and stockings, the top barely containing her large breasts. He could literally see her nipples through them. He instantly felt himself get a boner from it, and he tried to open his mouth to speak, but Chiaki put a finger to his lips.
"This is to make up for the dance~" she said, and she began to undo his pants.
"Ch-Chiaki, a-actually I think we need to-MMM!" Hajime started, but as soon as she put a hand on his now throbbing dick, he found it hard to speak.
"I'm gonna make you feel really good tonight, okay~?" She said, and Hajime couldn't help but nod along. As she pulled down his pants and boxers, and raised her head down so her mouth could meet his dick, all other thoughts faded from his mind as they were quickly replaced with pure pleasure.
A few hours later, Hajime was staring up at the ceiling. Chiaki was fast asleep, curled up naked against him. His arm rested between her unbelievable soft breasts, her nipples poking into his side, and one of her legs wrapped around his as she had her entire body pressed against his.
After making him climax more times than he'd care to admit, she'd finally fallen asleep, leaving him awake and aware of how badly he'd just screwed up. So, as he stared up at the dark ceiling with a naked Chiaki at his side, he only said one word.
"Fuck."