Potions Lovers | Yandere!Male x Reader

Chapter 9 - Fighting Evil by Moonlighting

'Friends...'

Is that what Nao and Yumi were to you now?

You weren't sure. You had been eating lunch with Ren's group for over a week now and you personally felt like you fit in with them quite nicely. But aside from Kenji, you weren't sure how Nao and Yumi truly felt about you. Due to never approaching anyone first, making friends was still uncharted territory for you, and you worried there was a chance that you were misreading signals—that maybe the others didn't like you as much as Ren did.

But, then again...Why should you care? It didn't matter if they liked you or hated you because, at the end of the day, you were there for Ren and his love, not theirs. Speaking of which, you were starting to question the love potion's power because Ren didn't look at you in any way other than as a friend. In fact, he still stared at Yumi with that same lovestruck grin every time she wasn't looking at him. Matilda did say the effects wouldn't be immediate, but just how long was this potion going to make you wait? If you had to watch Ren blush every time his fingers brushed against hers (which was annoyingly often since they usually walked together) you were going to lose it soon. Of course, "losing it" meant binge eating spicy snacks and pouring your heart out to Kiko, but still, you felt like you might go crazy.

...Maybe you felt that way because you never realized just how slim your chances were before this. Seriously, just how badly did Ren love Yumi that a love potion wasn't even working on him yet?

On the other hand, it was also possible that the potion didn't work at all to begin with—a thought you didn't want to entertain because that would mean you wasted $500 and ate one of Ren's hairs for nothing. No...that isn't completely true either, you thought. If you hadn't sought out the love potion, you would never have found the courage to speak to Ren in the first place. Even if the potion wasn't legit, you at least made some new friends and while it wasn't the result you needed, it was better than nothing.

After forcing yourself to see the silver lining, you realized there was no point in denying that a part of you hoped Nao and Yumi liked you back. Not Kenji, though; you didn't want to be friends with him when you already had Kiko in your life. However, you supposed befriending him would make things easier, seeing how he was becoming an obstacle as your enemy. Kenji was Ren's closest friend, which is why it'd be perfect for him to be on your side. Hell, he could even become your wingman like Kiko used to be.

'Hey,' you thought, 'maybe if you let him cheat off your exams, he'll be nicer to you!'

"Something on your mind?" Ren asked after seeing the contemplative look on your face. You two were currently walking to the cafeteria to meet with the others for lunch.

"Just Kenj—err, I mean Kiko," you replied, wincing a little at your mistake before chuckling weakly. "Sorry, ever since you pointed it out, it's been getting harder to tell the difference between them."

Ren merely nodded despite thinking that was a strange slip-up. He wondered why you were thinking about Kenji. Then he stopped to question why it bothered him. Initially, Ren assumed you disliked Kenji, but now he wasn't so sure because, over the last week, there were moments where Ren noted you appeared embarrassed whenever you stared at Kenji too long...but why were you staring at him at all?

Being as straightforward as he was, Ren simply decided to ask about it. "Were you thinking of how much you hate Kenji?"

"Uhh..." You faltered slightly, giving him a sheepish look. He wasn't too off base. "It's that obvious, huh?"

Ren grinned at you, the constricting feeling around his heart melting away instantly. "Yep. It's alright, most girls either love or hate him and he's kind of difficult to befriend, but once you do, I swear he's pretty great! Or, well, he can be...on a good day, which honestly isn't often, but I mean...ugh," Ren groaned as he dragged his hand down his face. Convincing people that Kenji wasn't the devil shouldn't be this hard. "Look, I'm just trying to say he's not evil," he concluded.