(Un)Fortunately the Yandere is Not After Me

Still Stuck

The next day, Arata was expecting his secret to be the talk of the school. However, when he entered, it was like any other day. He was feeling nervous last night, not able to sleep. Yet, she hadn't done it yet.

Was her blackmail a bluff? No, he though. She probably was waiting for the right time to get him. He couldn't just let his guard down, not that he could do anything about it.

"You and Erina had a fight, didn't you." Those were Yogi's first words to him, as he sat at his desk.

"What? How do you already know about that?" Yogi explained to him that after their fight. Erina went running straight for his place. It was quite a fright for him when he saw her crying while hanging onto his window.

"She wouldn't tell me why you were so mad. That it was a secret." He continued. "I don't know what it is that you're upset about, but you can forgive her for it, right?"

"I think it's on the unforgivable side." Arata replied. Knowing that if he knew the truth, then he'd agree. "And if you're wondering about lunch. I think I'll just eat on my own." He didn't want to be in the same room as her, let alone eat with her. Since she was the real friend with them, it made sense that he be the one to leave.

"Are you-"

"Yes, I'm sure." Normally, Yogi would've been more persistent in trying. However, he knew that whatever this was, it was pretty serious.

As he was eating his lunch, this was an odd feeling for Arata. For the first time in a while, he was felt that he was free. Not having to worry about helping that girl, it wasn't bad.

Except, something still felt wrong to him. Taking a bite, this food, it didn't taste that good. Except this was what he always ate everyday, same as always. Maybe it was because he was still pretty angry?

No, that couldn't be it. He was nowhere near how he felt yesterday. In fact, he was rather calm. Then, what was wrong? Was it that he wanted to eat lunch with them?

Arata shook his head. That was crazy, there was no way he could miss those quips Yuriko made, Misei's attempts to downplay her shortcomings, or even Erina's...

"No!" He yelled, gathering some attention from the other students in the classroom. "I mean... No, I can't believe this tastes so good." he laughed nervously, as the others stared.

Soon, everyone went back to minding their own business, leaving him to eat in isolation. Even though he was doing this because he wanted to avoid her. That wasn't going to be the case forever. Especially since he had obligations to take care of.

"All right everyone. We all know our parts now, so let's get some practice in." Ichiri commanded everyone on the stage to do. Arata was still stuck being an understudy, so he had to be present for these practices, even if it was inconvenient.

"Arata..." Erina was sitting beside him, which made sense because of their roles.

"I'm only here because I have to be." He responded coldly. "Let's just get this over with." He grabbed out his script and begun. This part, it was when Demetrius is looking for the woman he is promised to. Helena is attempting to stop him, Trying to show her love towards him.

Reading those words, it didn't feel like acting for him. Being able to say mean things in front of everyone, without them knowing the feelings behind them. It was a little cathartic to him.

Hearing her say her lines. It almost felt like she was a much better actress than what he saw yesterday. He was kind of impressed with how much improvement she made in such a short time.