ADMIRE ME |Brothers Conflict

22

Ema pulled a grimace when she saw me sitting in my chair.

"Give me a second," she said, typing something on her phone. Mystified, I watched her do something fishy on her phone.

"Sure?" I said hesitantly.

"There, done." Ema sat down on her chair with an expression that I supposed was meant to look neutral.

"What did you do, Ema?" I inquired.

A heavy hand landed on my shoulder, startling me. Disconcerted, I looked over my shoulder, peering straight into stormy brown eyes.

"[L/N] [Y/N]," Fuuto hissed, "I thought we had an agreement."

"I never promised anything," I reminded him.

"Why do you insist on harming yourself?" he snarled. "What do you gain by doing this?"

"I appreciate your thoughtfulness, Fuuto, but I don't want to be forced to do things," I explained in a clipped voice. "I know that you feel guilty, but locking me up in my bedroom won't change anything."

"I know that," Fuuto groused. "I know that."

With barely controlled movements, he grabbed a chair from a nearby table and sat down next to me.

"What's this supposed to be?" I asked him.

"Supervision," he said.

"Okay," I sighed, admitting to myself that I didn't dislike this course of events.

Fuuto took his phone from his pocket, presumably to check on his social media feeds. While the device kept him occupied, I leaned over the table carefully.

"Ema," I whispered forcefully, "what did you do?"

"He blackmailed me," Ema confessed in a cheerful voice. "I didn't have a choice."

"I'm not sensing any guilt from you," I complained. "You betrayed your best friend without a shred of remorse."

"He had convincing material," she offered me as explanation. I didn't doubt that.

"What information would be compromising enough to make you abide by his requests?" I asked her.

To my surprise, Ema's gaze flicked to Yuusuke for a moment. With a devious grin, I looked at the red-haired boy who was on class duty today. He was wiping the blackboard, covering himself and his surroundings in a thin layer of chalk.

"Oh," I snickered. "Well, I have some nice blackmail material too. Do you want to hear it?"

Ema gave me a deadpan glance before she turned to Fuuto.

"You have a bad influence on her," she declared.

"Well, the dog takes after the master," he remarked casually.

Suppressing the urge to kick him, I looked around in mortification. Hopefully, no one had heard Fuuto.

"Fuuto," I hissed, "please stop saying embarrassing things."

With a shrug, Fuuto turned back to his smartphone. My cheeks were burning when I eyeballed Ema cautiously. Her jaw had dropped, but her shock was swiftly morphing into pure entertainment.

"Serves you right," she laughed. "Finally, you get a taste of what Fuuto is usually like."

Owlishly, I was looked at her, wondering when she had got that wrong impression. Ema didn't elaborate, and I decided that I genuinely didn't want to know.

"Today is the last day before the culture fair kicks off, so we won't have any lessons," she remarked. "You're lucky that you're back."

"She doesn't have any regard for her health," Fuuto commented.
Ema and I exchanged a glance. Then, she winked and moved to give me a nudge.