Greetings.

If my MC acts like a Mary Sue in any way or if there are any mistakes (grammar, story plot holes, etc.), TELL ME IMMEDIATELY! Thank you!

"" - speech

italics - thoughts

Disclaimer: I do not own Diamond no Ace.

"Rei-san said that we need to pick up the stuff on this list..." Ai stared at the piece of paper. "The store's name..." She muttered to herself in an attempt to distract herself from feeling more nervous.

"Ah, that store is close by." Ryousuke pointed out. He casually strode next to Ai as she fidgeted with the paper. Feeling her throat become dry, she decided to stop talking and to start focusing on stopping herself from trembling around him. She sincerely hoped that he never noticed the way she felt tense around him and how nervous she was to even talk to him or walk next to him. Taking small peeks at him once in a while to confirm that he never noticed, she sighed in relief when he seemed nonchalant about it all and yet she also felt bitter that he showed no signs of being nervous around her. That made her wonder if he even felt anything towards her - probably not. The thought of it put an end to her trembling as she became a little sad about it all. "There's the store." Ryousuke's voice snapped her out of her negative thoughts as he grabbed her hand and pulled her to walk faster towards the store. Her heart sped up and her face heated up.

"Warm..." She whispered to herself. When they entered the store, she noticed how he never let go of her hand. Small hope lit up inside of her, but she wondered if he just forgot that he grabbed her hand or if he just does not mind holding her hand because he thought of her as a sister. The thought of him thinking of her as a sister or friend made her sigh again.

"Welcome!" The store owner walked up to them. "Having a date at a sports store? How rare!"

"Yes. We are on a date right now at this store." Ryousuke smiled at the owner, who could not retort back with a joke or anything.

"I see... Well it's nice to be young!" He laughed out loud, patting Ryousuke on the shoulder.

"W-we're not on a date... It's just an errand for Rei-san..." Ai murmured to the owner. "Here's the order form. We're here to pick up the confirmation form and some of the items ordered on the list."

"Just to clarify, we are on a date." Ryousuke informed the owner who gave him a thumbs up and took the paper from Ai. The owner then walked to the back of the store to prepare the items for them.

"Ryousuke-senpai!" Frustrated and hurt by his probable jokes about it being a date, Ai glared at him. "Don't joke like that!"

"Who said that it was a joke?" His face became serious as he faced her.

"Eh...?" Stunned, she gaped at him with a blush before giving him a shy smile. "I... I didn't know it was a date..."

Ryousuke smiled once more. "So you do like me..."

Ai immediately turned pale at the realization that he tricked her into admitting this fact. "I..." Her skin burned red out of embarrassment and horror.

He leaned towards her. "Since you like me, stand only next to me from now on and no one else." Those words processed in her mind like a bullet train.

"Then... Then does that mean you also feel the same way as me?" She asked him in hopes of hearing a proper answer.

He just gives her the same smile as before, grabbing her hand into his while placing them inside of his jacket pocket. He faced her, asking, "What do you think...?"

She blushed and gathered her courage to speak once more to her long-time crush. "You know... I always stood next to you ever since I first met you. So you can count on me to do what you said earlier."

"I know." He paused before continuing. "So now it's my turn to do the same for you." His lips formed the most sincere smile that she saw. She also gave him the same smile with her heart pounding livelier than before.

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