Not My Type

三

 "Who else would it be, glasses?"

 "G-Glasses?"

It wasn't as if this was the first time Akane had been given that kind of nickname. It was also partially his fault since he didn't introduce himself to her—wait, would she even listen if he did?

Aoi's averted her attention from [Name] to Akane. "You really do know each other!"

 "Uh, not so much." Akane replied, eyes narrowing. "She doesn't know who I am."

Folding her arms, [Name] shook her head. "Yeah, all I know is that you're Teru's underling."

Akane choked, making him cough into his fist; [Surname] seemed like a natural in irritating people. She could've just answered that he was a member of the student council. On the other hand, Aoi didn't seem to mind Akane's nickname at all. She seemed more invested in another part of her answer.

 "Are you close with Minamoto-senpai?" Her question made [Name] shiver.

 "I get that a lot. We're just neighbors, nothing special." [Name] folded her arms, and looked at Aoi straight in the eyes. "How about you? Are you and glasses close?"

Much to Akane's disappointment, Aoi had only giggled at [Name]'s question.

She glanced at him for a moment before returning her attention to [Name]. "We're neighbors as well. My name is Akane Aoi and his name is Aoi Akane."

 "Excuse me, what?" Confusion was evident in the girl's voice.

 "You can just call me Aoi, [Name]. Call him Akane."

Sometimes, Akane thought that everyone couldn't resist liking Aoi. Well, what was there not to like about her? But this was a different matter. [First Name] [Surname] was nowhere near likable, yet it seemed like the two girls were hitting it off. They began walking through the park, leaving Akane to stare at their backs.

Was [Surname] actually attempting to steal Ao-chan from him?

 "Hey, wait!"

The smell of coffee. The sweetness of the cake. And of course, Ao-chan. It had been everything Akane had ever dreamed of, yet there was one flaw that was too big to be overlooked. [Name] [Surname] was sitting across Ao-chan (he was supposed to be the one sitting there, goodness!), enjoying the [favorite flavor] cake that Ao-chan offered her.

Well, he couldn't really do anything about it if Aoi was happy.

 "Too bad Nene-chan isn't here," Aoi said, "she's a big fan of yours. Even before you transferred here, she couldn't stop talking about your paintings while gardening."

[Name] nodded her head. "Is that so?"

Akane watched as Aoi continued to converse with her. "Yes! She was the one who suggested we go to the museum to look at your paintings. If you don't mind, would you like to go out with us another time?"

The offer made the [hair color]-haired girl freeze. Both Aoi and Akane waited for her response, and it took her a few minutes to nod her head—much to Aoi's delight and Akane's jealousy. Did he need to practice art as well in order to earn a date from Ao-chan? As much as he hated to admit it, it would take years for him to reach [Name]'s level.

The two girls continued conversing—Akane, like he had expected, was left out—and voiced their interest to order another cake. That was when a familiar ringtone blared from Aoi's bag. The indigo-haired girl took out her phone as fast as she could, answering it sheepishly.

As always, Ao-chan was absolutely adorable.

 "Hmm? You want me to go home? What, already? Oh, okay. I'll see you soon."

It was time for them to separate. Finally, Akane would be able to walk home with Aoi. Even Yashiro wasn't here to disturb them. He didn't need to worry about [Name], she for sure preferred to go home by herself—

 "Akane-kun, shouldn't you walk her home? It's getting pretty late."

 "Of course, Ao-chan—wait, what?! Walk her home?! I'm supposed to walk you home!" His eyes widened. Aoi was already fixing her belongings, not bothering to spare Akane a glance. "Ao-chan, I thought we were going to go home together today—"

Aoi merely smiled. "—How about next time, Akane-kun? I'll be the one to ask, okay?"

How tempting. The bespectacled boy could only nod his head in response, even as the other part of his mind was screaming that he should be the one to take her home right now. If anything happened to Aoi, Akane wouldn't be able to forgive himself. He stood up from his seat and picked up his bag.

 "At least let me take you to the station, Ao-chan."

The girl stared at [Name], who was watching them while eating cake. "Is your home nearby, [Name]?"

[Name] set her empty plate on the table. "Not really. I have to go by train as well."

Akane's dreams drifted along with his childhood friend. A waving Aoi was a dazzling sight for eyes as wounded as his, but the fact that he could've been able to spend more time with her made him curse himself. Everything wasn't going the way it was supposed to be, and the reason was no other than—

 "Walk faster unless you want the train to leave us."

Great, just great. Why on earth did [Surname] even go with Ao-chan's suggestion if she didn't want him with her, anyway? Akane heaved a sigh of exasperation. He had no choice—for the nth time this day—but to deal with it.

Anything for Ao-chan.

 "You know, you don't have to force yourself to take me home." [Name]'s words made Akane stop in his tracks.

Now, he was positive. His blood was boiling and it took everything in his willpower not to snap. [First Name] [Surname] was a total nutjob! He couldn't help but wonder just what Aoi and Yashiro had seen in her.

 "If you were going to give me a choice, why didn't you do it when Ao-chan was still here?"

It was [Name]'s turn to stop walking. She turned to Akane and sighed.

 "I can't turn down a friend's offer. Now, are you going with me or not?"

Akane could only scratch the back of his head. Maybe [Name] wasn't as bad as he thought; she seemed genuine with her new friendship towards Aoi.

 "I'll walk you home. Just once."