ADMIRE ME |Brothers Conflict

03

The combination of the staircase-incident and my confrontation with Fuuto made me avoid Sunshine Residence in general and Asahina Fuuto specifically. Although I felt that I had been stealthy, the opposite was proven to be true; after a week, Ema decided to solve this issue by refusing to hand over my lunch.

"You can't do that to people who can't walk," I protested, hoping that guilt tripping her would work. Instead of giving me my lunchbox back, Ema stuck her tongue out.

"Natsume gave me a new video game when he was home," she explained. "You're the only one who's good enough to slay the end boss."

"I'm not!" I wasn't sure how she had reached that conclusion, but I sucked at those games.

"I know," she confessed with a grin, "but I still need your help."

In other words; she needed someone to play with her, regardless of their skill level.

"At my house," I demanded, crossing my arms in front of my chest.

"My brothers promised that they wouldn't harm you anymore," Ema claimed, placing her hands on my shoulder. "They were serious, [Y/N]. I don't think any of them expected that this would happen."

Neither had I, though I should have known better. After all, this specific incident was the conclusion of many elbows to the stomach and trampled toes.

"Nope, not going to happen, Ema. Not even in a million years."

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Thus, I ended up in the hallway of Sunshine Residence, struggling with my shoes. Ema had already left, telling me to go up to her room once I was finished.

I wasn't sure whether she was warning her brothers to stay away or was preparing something to eat.

Once I had managed to slip out of my shoes with the help of one of my crutches, I headed to the elevator. Before, I had thought of the elevator of unnecessarily extravagant, but now I was glad for its existence. With an elbow, I pressed the button for the fourth floor, inwardly rejoicing that I didn't have to crawl up the stairs.

Hissing softly, the doors started to close behind me until fingers curled around the edge of one of the doors, forcing them open again.

Fuuto was sporting a Cheshire-cat grin, the smugness dripping from his triumphant expression.

"Good to see you again, [Y/N]. I had already started thinking that I had scared you away for good," he said, not sounding very sorry or happy to see me again. In fact, he obviously hadn't wanted me to return at all. Perhaps, he just didn't want any crazy fangirls hanging around him or his sister?

He stepped into the elevator, leaning over me to press the button for the third floor. Apparently, the fact that I was a crazy fangirl didn't stop him from stepping into an enclosed space with the aforementioned fangirl.

The hiss when the door closed again was far more ominous than the first time.

Nervously, I flattened the skirt of my school uniform, hoping that Fuuto would lose interest. For a moment, it looked like he had, as he took his smartphone from his pocket. However, he observed me over the black smartphone, his eyes filled with mischief.

"Would you care for a signature, [Y/N]?" he asked with laughter in his voice.

Only then did the real challenge start. Swallowing with difficulty, I forced my lips to form a polite negative response. However, I really wanted a signature so badly that it was difficult to remember why I should reject the offer.