Sorry...it's definitely been too long since the last update. I guess that I just haven't really found the time or motivation to really write out anything more for this story, and I had some trouble with the pacing. But I think that I do have a clear direction for this story now, and hopefully, you guys will enjoy this!


Chapter 12

"Ami-chan, watch out behind you!"

"I've got you now!" I yelled raising the imaginary chair that would use in the real performance high above my head, ready to bring it down with an expert display of restrained force.

Of course, what I wasn't ready for was to have about ten of my male classmates suddenly come flying towards me and shoving me to the ground, before they dog-piled on top of me, threatening to squeeze the life out of me with their crushing weight.

"Hey, guys, isn't this going kinda far? We're only rehearsing right now." I complained, squirming to escape my position, but to no avail. I was trapped, and I couldn't do anything about it.

"You're the one who took it too far! We heard that you got to go to Ami-chan's villa, with Maya-chan and Nanako-chan. That's just unfair! We can't let a two timer like you escape without punishment!" Noto whispered in my ear, from his position directly on top of my back. I knew it was just a joke, but really, they were taking it too far now. I mean, it had to be a joke, right?

"Hey, you idiots, get off of Takasu. You're going to kill him with all that weight." Maya said sternly with her arms crossed over her chest, clearly not intent on messing around. I guess that had a little to do with the fact that she was one of the principal producers of our pro wrestling skit, and had been pushing everyone pretty hard to make sure that we would have a well-rehearsed product to show off at the cultural festival.

"R-right away!" Haruta stammered, the first to roll off of my back, followed quickly by the others, finally allowing me freedom once again. Taking a deep gulp of air, now that I wasn't being weighed down by half the class, I gave Maya an appreciative look for saving me. Weird, I never would have ever expected Maya to actually make an effort to help me out, but I guess that there's a first time for everything.

"Well, thanks to you guys, we're going to need to make sure Takasu's going to be fine for the performance. I'll take him to the nurse's office." Maya sighed, grabbing me roughly by the right arm and pulling me up to my feet without much effort. Why exactly was it that all the women I knew were stronger than me? Jeez, I really needed to think about becoming a member of a gym soon.

"Wait, I'll come along." Ami interjected, stepping forward to grab my other arm, her admittedly adorable pigtails bobbing as she did so.

Maya shook her head, "No, you need to stay here and rehearse, since you're the main character. I'll just take him myself. It shouldn't take us long."

Well, I guess she had a point there. Ami had been unanimously chosen to be the main character of the skit, and predictably, I was cast as the villain, or rather, the henchman of the villain, who was played by Taiga. I couldn't help but to feel there was some large conspiracy against me, or something. I mean, why couldn't I at least be the main villain?

But as we left the room, I suddenly realized the circumstances that I had allowed myself to be placed into. I was going to the nurse's office with Maya. Alone. I knew that there wasn't anything between us, but I still couldn't help but to feel nervous as we stepped into the empty nurse's office.

I silently cursed the absent school nurse as I plopped down on the small cot that sick students usually lay on while they were poked and prodded by the nurse.

"Takasu, did you get any cuts while you were on the ground? I think I found the bandages." Maya asked, holding up a glass jar filled with the individually wrapped bandages, prompting me to quickly inspect myself. The thought hadn't even crossed my mind.

Sure enough, I saw a small cut on my elbow, tiny enough so that I hadn't even noticed it the first time around. It wasn't anything life threatening, but it still would be prudent to cover it up and prevent an infection.

"Yeah, I've just got one on my right arm." I replied, to which Maya nodded and plucked out one bandage for the jar, which she set back down to its proper place before crossing the room and falling to her knees.

"Oh, Maya-san, I can put it on myself." I stuttered, very aware of her position, and how compromising it might seem to anyone who could possibly walk in before Maya was done applying the bandage.

"It's fine. I don't mind." Maya replied, peeling off the plastic and gently placing the bandage on my forearm, taking perfect care to cover up the entire cut, leaving no bright red to be seen.

As she did so, she accidently brushed a finger against my skin, causing me to shudder at the slight contact, and for the hairs on the back of my neck to stand up pert and at attention, although I tried my best to prevent it from happening. Darn teenage hormones.

"Say, Takasu, can I ask you something?" Maya asked, breaking the silence that we found ourselves in.

"Y-yeah, sure." I replied shakily, doing my best not to let her know how nervous I was in the moment, although I was failing spectacularly. I had a better chance coming across as the Loch Ness Monster than as anything less than a bundle of nerves.

"Did you really mean what you said at the festival?" Maya stared down, allowing her bangs to shield her eyes from me, "Because I hate liars. Even if it's just to make me feel better, I won't forgive you if you don't come clean now. I've been lied to enough in my life."

Did I really have any choice but to say yes?

"Of course I did." I breathed, trying to sound confident in my answer, but failing spectacularly. I could only hope that Maya wasn't listening too closely.

She chuckled softly while shaking her head in disbelief, and I knew that I had been caught, "Geez, Takasu, you're not a very good liar."

I gulped deeply, remembering her words. She hated liars. And now, I was one in her eyes. There were a lot of things in this world that I would never want to face, and Maya's wrath was one of them. I was done.

"But it's fine. I won't hate you for it. Not you."

And with that, Maya stood up and exited the room, leaving me feeling a strange mixture of confusion and relief.

"Ryuuji." Ami said as she opened the door to the infirmary, surprising me with her sudden presence. Wasn't she supposed to be rehearsing with the rest of the class right now?

"Ami? What happened to rehearsal?" I asked, immediately shoving any thoughts of Maya out of my mind. I guess I figured that the less I thought about it, the less it would seem like a problem to me, even though that meant that I wasn't doing anything more than ducking the issue. Out of sight, out of mind.

"Come on, Ryuuji, you know I don't need rehearsal." Ami said with a dismissive wave of her hand as she plopped down next to me, the cot creaking under the extra weight.

I guess she had a point. After all, if there was anyone in our class who could get away with not rehearsing, it, it would definitely be Ami, hands down.

"Besides, you know I've acted enough before." She added, any sort of humor gone from her tone. She was dead serious, and I could feel it.

Tentatively, I placed a hand on top of hers, "Ami, don't do this to yourself. You and I both know that you've done more than your fair share. You don't have to be strong all the time."

Ami nodded, leaning her head onto my shoulder, "I'm just so confused. Why do things have to be so complicated? Why can't I just know if I'm making the right decision or not?"

"Where is this coming from? I thought that you already made your choice?" I asked. Ami had seemed so sure of herself before, but now, she looked anything but certain. What had happened to her?

"I don't know. I guess I'm just overthinking it." Ami sighed.

"I don't think we're supposed to know all of the answers. Life wouldn't be worth living if we did." I answered, knowing that it was a cliché thing to say. But I never had much experience with this kind of thing, and it was the best that I could come with at the time.

"So, Ryuuji, when did you become a philosopher? I thought you were just a henchman." Ami asked with a stilted laugh. She was ducking the issue, and I think we both knew it. But I didn't question it, and I played along, hoping it would take her mind off of things.

"I still don't get why I have to be the henchman. Can't I be the villain, at least?" I grumbled offhandedly.

We both burst out in laughter.


I'm not stupid, contrary to what most people think. Obviously, people who actually knew me would never think such a thing, but that was besides the point.

I'm also not blind. If anything, I would say that I am a talented observer. I've been watching people all my life, and I've learned a lot in the process. The oddly placed breath, the unusual stammer, all of it means something. And so, I had no trouble noticing that Ryuuji was lying to me when he talked about Maya.

Why? I don't know, but I have my suspicions.

It can't be a coincidence that Maya "decided to change her hairstyle" after the festival, where she and Ryuuji had conveniently disappeared for a long while.

I can't say for sure that he's cheating on me, but something does seem to be wrong with him. Something definitely happened in the summer.

And the way that Maya volunteered to take him to the infirmary wasn't subtle in the slightest. She clearly wanted to be alone with him, and I was going to find out why, one way or another.

Excusing myself from rehearsal, I made a beeline towards the nurse's office, where I knew that Ryuuji and Maya still had to be.

However, almost as soon as I had made my way there, I felt the familiar buzzing of my cell phone.

I flipped it out, intending to end the call, when my eyes glanced the name of the caller, and instantly, my blood froze in my veins.

Realizing that this wasn't a call I could just hang up on, I reluctantly put my phone up to my ear. Ryuuji and Maya would have to wait.


"Ryuuji-san!" Nanako cried out to me as class ended and I stood up, collecting my things. The sudden outburst from her caused me to drop my pencil case in shock, sending my stationary flying in all directions and strewn out on the floor in a massive mess.

"Oh, sorry for scaring you." She apologized, falling to her knees in order to help me collect my pencils, which I quickly dumped back into their proper place. Slipping the case into my bag, I helped Nanako to her feet, remembering that she had something to ask me.

"So, what do you need?" I asked, as Nanako dusted off her skirt after kneeling down on the ground. This prompted me to do the same to my pants, sending little clouds of dust up into the air. Didn't they ever bother to wipe down the floors?

Ignoring my overwhelming desire to find a broom and a dustpan so that I could clean out the room, I turned my attention back to Nanako, who seemed to be reluctant to speak now, after her earlier outcry.

"Listen, Ryuuji-san, I need some help." She managed, fidgeting around wildly with her fingers. Whatever it was that she needed, it was evident that it was a pressing matter, and that she was stressed out about it.

"Sure, what's wrong?" I asked, now extremely worried. It wasn't often that I saw Nanako with an expression that didn't express a general pleasantness, and thus, this deviation made me realize that she was seriously distressed.

"Well, I think that it would be easier to explain if I showed you." Nanako replied, suddenly grabbing my hand and pulling me along with her.

As I was pulled through the halls of school by Nanako, I felt a distinct sense of déjà vu at the looks that people were giving me, which ranged from muted displeasure to blatant jealousy. Whatever Nanako needed from me, it definitely wasn't helping my standing at school.

"So, can you start explaining where you're taking me?" I asked, just as Nanako led me out of the front of the school, as she stopped suddenly in her tracks, right in front of Maya and Ami, who seemed just as confused as I was.

"Yeah, what's going on?" Maya asked, while I quickly tore my eyes away from her, choosing to focus all of my attention on Ami for the time being.

"Oh, right. Ami-chan, I need to ask you a favor." Nanako said, bowing her head low, "I need for Ryuuji-san to be my boyfriend."

"What?" I exclaimed at the request, my cheeks burning scarlet red. Okay, not that I didn't appreciate the fact that Nanako wanted me to be her boyfriend, which definitely wasn't an unappealing prospect, aside from the fact that I already was with Ami, but where did this come from?

Evidently, Ami was just as caught off guard as I was by the request, because she instantly took a step away from Nanako, and shakily asked, "W-what did you just say?"

"I know that he's already your boyfriend, but I need to borrow him, just for this weekend." Nanako explained, as I realized that we had both misunderstood her request.

"Oh, I see." Ami breathed out a sigh of relief, "You need him to pretend to be your boyfriend."

Nanako nodded.

"Wait, why pick me? Isn't there someone else who can do that?" I asked, knowing that any other guy at school would have been happy to help Nanako out. Her popularity among the boys at our school was second only to Ami, and maybe Maya, although I had heard that second point debated many times before.

"Well, Ryuuji-san is really the only boy I can trust." Nanako said, giving me a trusting look.

"I guess that's probably true." Ami said with a nod.

Wait, was this another veiled insult at me? Hadn't we moved past this already? I eyed Maya, who was busy concealing her snickering at me, and I hung my head low. I just couldn't win with these people, could I?

"Well, I don't really see why not, then." Ami sighed, with a reluctant nod, "All right. I'll allow Ryuuji to be your fake boyfriend."

Um, excuse me, but didn't I have any say in this?

"And no, Ryuuji, you don't have any say in this." Ami added, while my eyes grew as wide as saucers. Did Ami have some sort of mind reading ability, or something?

"Thank you so much, Ami-chan!" Nanako exclaimed, grabbing me by my right arm, "And also…can I ask you guys to come along too?"

"Us?" Maya asked.

"Um…I sort of need everyone's help for this." Nanako said softly, fidgeting with her fingers.

Ami nodded, "Well, we're all friends, aren't we? Besides, I can keep an eye on you and Ryuuji this way."

"I would never think of doing anything with Ryuuji-san, don't worry!" Nanako replied immediately.

While I knew that she was trying to reassure Ami, I couldn't help but to feel a little bit disheartened by her comment. At least I knew that she didn't mean anything by it. Right?

Ami chuckled, "I know you wouldn't."

As I was dragged off by Nanako, with Maya and Ami offering me amused looks while they followed us, I couldn't help but to feel like I had been through all of this before.

However, just as we began walking, a black sedan pulled up in front of us, and a man with jet black sunglasses stepped out of the driver's seat.

"I've arrived." He said sternly to us.

I looked around, trying to see if he was talking to someone else, but quickly, I realized that he was addressing us alone. I had no idea who he was, but whoever this guy was, he seemed like bad news.

"Thank you." Nanako said, pulling me along as she walked towards the passenger side door, which the man held open for her.

What was I getting myself into?


Hopefully, that little interlude from Ami's perspective didn't seem too out of place. But I just wanted to point out the idea that she isn't oblivious to what Ryuuji has been doing recently.

Anyways, as for the rest of the story, as far as I know, we don't really know anything about Nanako in the anime, so I'll definitely be taking some liberties with her character, and developing her own set of motivations. While I will be delving into her family life a little more, the main focus will definitely still be on Ami's relationship with Ryuuji, Maya's own set of developing feelings, and that phone call that Ami received.

Please leave any and all thoughts and comments, either in a review or in a PM. Thanks for reading!