Don't Rent A Girlfriend: High School
Chapter SIX
Disclaimer: I do not own Rent A Girlfriend.
X
"Here's your coffee." Kazuya placed two cups of coffee on the table as he took a seat beside her on the bed.
Mami shifted her eyes briefly to his phone that was laid perfectly on the same position she had found it.
'He doesn't need to know.' She nodded to herself.
"By the way, it was Chizuru-chan on the phone, right?"
Mami widened her eyes, a soft gasp leaving her plum lips as she looked at him. He blew lightly on his coffee as he continued, not showing much of a shock as she had expected. In fact, he looked a little too calm.
"I am not going to ask what she asked. It doesn't matter." He looked at her. "Just, don't bother her. Okay?"
"Kazu-kun, I don't understand." She looked stressed despite keeping up her facade. "Why do you care for people like her?" She bit her lips in frustration. "Or people like me... After we just keep on taking advantage of you?" She let out a laugh, jokingly she added. "°Are you a SIMP?"
Kazuya gasped before blushing with embarrassment. "I am not..."
"Then why? Why do you care about a rental girlfriend?" She shifted closer to him, nearing her lips towards him, eyes gleaming in an attempt to charm him. "Why do you care about me, even though I dumped you?" She parted her lips ever so lightly as she neared him, inches away from him until he moved away from her.
"You must have a good reason for dumping me." He replied.
She let out a sigh. She was physically tired of his bullshit.
"Yeah sure-"
"I am sure there is a valid reason." He looked at her annoyed eyes. "You are a nice girl, after all."
This time it was her who was caught off-guard, watching him genuinely mean the words, saying it to her face without any worry. As if it was the easiest thing to express.
...
"I... Kazu-kun..." She looked down on her laps, blushing from his words while deeply conflicted at the same time because of her circumstances.
"As for Mizuhara." He sighed. "How do I put it... I am trying to stay away from her because..." He continued as Mami paid attention to his words. "I don't want to get hurt anymore."
At that moment, Mami really admired him and his words. She wanted to hug him and make him realize how much he meant to her. She wanted to...
'Ah... who am I kidding.'
"She was never interested in me, you see. I just kept on chasing a false hope that someday she would feel the same."
She didn't like how sad he looked. She wanted to do something. Anything.
"Kazu-kun, what if I said I love you? I would do anything for you. Would you believe me?" Mami asked as she watched his face change from shock to distressed and then he laughed at her.
"You don't have to try to cheer me up. I am not suffering from a terminal illness."
She smiled back. "Good, then let's stop with these depressing talks, say... are you free tomorrow after school?" She asked him with hopeful eyes.
He shook his head. "I have a part-time job. I might quit after tomorrow though."
She opened her mouth but closed it quickly so as to not say something insensitive for once.
"You know, if you need motivation to work... you can always spend your money on me. Rent me?" She grinned.
Kazuya laughed. She could just stare at him with a blush. 'I can't stop... how I wish I could switch roles with her.'
"This doesn't sound too bad."
She gasped.
"Rent a friend?" He asked.
She sweat dropped. "Yes... rent a friend."
Kazuya felt oddly drawn towards her contagious smile. He wasn't going to deny the fact that Mami was extremely beautiful. But it was slightly different. Her smile felt different.
"Mami-chan, it's getting late. Shall I walk you home?" He asked.
She giggled. "Kazu-kun, you know where I live?"
'Oh... that's right.' He gave a nervous laugh.
"We can't walk there. It's far." She stood up and gathered her purse before walking towards the door. "Don't worry too much. I have my driver waiting outside."
She turned around and flashed her cheerful smile one last time. "If you never meet me again, perhaps it's best for you."
He gasped before glaring at her.
"No. I don't want that."
She looked at him, surprised but somewhat expected that from him too.
Sigh...
'Such an idiot.' She turned around and left, a genuine smile plastered on her face.
As the door closed, Kazuya fell on his bed as he stared at the screen of his phone.
'She deleted the call log huh.' He noticed the last time he had called her was the night that Mizuhara...
"Nope. Stop right there Kazuya." He slapped his cheeks as if to brush off any negative thoughts. "She has that dumb bitch... ugh." He pulled his hair, throwing a small tantrum as he dug his face against the pillow.
'I hope she is happy. That's enough... right.'
(Scene Change)
"Yohello! Chizuru-chan!"
Chizuru noticed her friends wave towards her as she entered the classroom. Her perfectly knotted twin pigtails, nerdy glasses, off-brand plain attire, her 'Ichinose' appearance was flawless as ever. No one would suspect her. 'Yush.' She tried to psyche herself as she plastered a fake smile on her face and approached the waiting crowd.
The first person she noticed waving at her when she neared them was none other than Kibe Yoshiaki, then it was Nanami Sakura, and finally Chinami Sayuri. She didn't mind the lack of Kazuya one bit. She was ready for it.
"Morning, Chizuru-san."
…
The one person she wanted to avoid at the time... the one fucking-
As she turned to face him, all her anger seemed to have dissolved. At that point she couldn't help but realize how much she had missed him. How much his presence was what she needed.
"Kazuya..." She breathed, his name flowing out of her mouth flawlessly. But then everything fell apart when he walked past her, his eyes not gleaming with the same warmth that he would usually greet her with. The 'Chizuru-san' that usually meant to be an alias that she had told him to never mistake with Mizuhara, seemed to be true. He actually meant it this time.
She felt tightness in her chest, unable to react properly as she stood there in daze.
"Oi~ Chizuru-chan~"
She came back to her senses once Sakura waved her hand in front of her. "Are you listening?"
She swallowed the dryness in her throat and flashed a smile, as believable as possible at that moment.
"Yes?"
"We were talking about the mid-term school's festival. How about we-"
"Sakura-san, please excuse me. I will be right back." She didn't spare her a chance to reply as she rushed out of the classroom.
"Eh, what is wrong with her?" She sweat dropped.
At the back, Kazuya, who was talking to Kibe, noticed her leaving the classroom.
'What's wrong with her?' He wondered before shaking his head to dismiss any thought pertaining to her.
"So Kuri is coming too?" He asked, continuing their previous conversation.
"Yes, about that... he also said." Kibe gritted his teeth in frustration. "He will introduce us to his girlfriend..."
Kazuya had a comical surprised face. "What?! Him? A Girlfriend?!"
While the two friends screamed at each other to show their frustration, the rest of the class, especially the girls, looked at them awkwardly.
"What a bunch of weirdos..." Sakura commented.
"Yes..." Sayuri agreed. "To think we associate with them."
"You tell me..."
(Scene Change)
Chizuru stood in front of the mirror as water drenched her face. It was scientifically proven that washing your face is a stress relief mechanism. Chizuru wanted to smack whoever had spread such lies. All it managed was to mess up her light makeup that she had used to hide her tear stained eyes.
'This sucks...' She tried to look for her makeup box that she always kept with her for emergencies like this, until a familiar voice made her hair stand.
"Ah, Chizuru-chan, how are you doing?"
She looked on her side, her eyes changed to a nasty glare without realizing how much she resented the person at that moment.
"Ah my, you don't look so well. Poor thing." She clasped her hand, sparing a make-belief worried face which Chizuru knew all too well.
"What do you want, Nanami-san?" She didn't bother hiding the distaste on her mouth. Nothing good has ever come out when she talked to Mami, so trying to be friendly was out of the question.
Mami kept smiling at her until her face changed to a cold sinister one as she stared at Chizuru.
Chizuru would be lying if she wasn't intimidated by her. Something about Mami just wasn't right aside from her calculative double faced acts, she seemed mysterious and deadly. The type of mysterious that only screamed bad news.
"You should stay away from Kazu-kun."
...
"Where is this coming from?" Chizuru didn't back down, matching similar intimidation as she proceeded. "You seem oddly worried for someone who you dumped."
Mami smiled. Then laughed, uncontrollably.
Chizuru just stood there, feeling extremely weirded out by her.
"You are a funny girl, Chizuru-chan." Her laugh instantly died, replaced by the same cold stare. "You are one to talk, rental slut."
To be continued...