Chapter 23: Bonds - Part 3
If a classmate came up to me and asked what I was up to right now, I doubt I'd be able to give them a real answer.
If walking through the city's main outdoor mall while completely self-conscious about how terribly I smell right now weren't bad enough, I have these two idiots trailing behind me like I'm on some kind of dog leash. This situation couldn't possibly get any worse.
No matter how much I increase my pace, they move equally as quickly in order to keep themselves hidden behind my frame.
"Hey, can you two give me some more room? You're breathing down my neck."
"We can't help it Scar-san! We'll be found out if we don't hide behind you!"
They have zero sense of personal space at all. These losers are just completely clueless about anything and everything social, aren't they?
"Oh be quiet, I'm sure a dirty thot like you is used to being this close to other men."
"W-w-what the hell is wrong with you?! That's disgusting! Why would you even say that?!"
"Shhh! He'll hear you!"
Sigmund urges me to be quiet after I end up yelling one more time.
I am actually just so over this. Just get me home right now.
"You too Nick, chill out. You're going way too overboard today. You agreed that she's important for trailing him right? So there's no need to be a dick about it."
"Fine man. Whatever. Sympathize with her for all I care. Fucking white knight. Let's just find out what Chase is up to."
"Chase, huh…"
I sigh.
I don't know, I feel weird about all of this.
I didn't have to go as far as to stalk him like this. I could have been napping at home right now if I'd just ignored all of this and took the bus with Momo. I mean, that option was always on the table, but…
For some reason, I felt like I had to do this.
Maybe Jen's words had more of an impact on me than I thought.
"Hey, I don't think they had anything bad planned, but it's also true that they may have hit it off in there. Especially since you and Chase haven't been on good terms for a while."
I don't know. Something about those words just… I don't know… Made me want to find out?
Because it'd ruin my status if they started dating or something?
Because I feel betrayed somehow?
Yeah, I really don't get this. Feelings are complicated.
"Seriously though, why'd Chase choose such a boring girl? All she's been doing so far is yelling and complaining about everything we've done so far. The worst part is that she's been making fun of us nonstop ever since she met up with us today. She must be a damn good with her mouth for him to put up with this shit every day."
"W-we haven't kissed, idiot! And you guys are the boring ones! All you losers do is talk about geek stuff all day!"
"Oh, WE'RE boring, huh? Why don't you say that after you've played through an entire Hideki Kamiya game? You sound like you have absolutely no understanding of how deep an art-form videogames can be and you're just going off of what everyone else says."
"Shut up! Don't just lump me with everyone else like I'm some sheep! I mean, even I… Even I like nerdy things sometimes, you know!"
As I say those words, I feel two strong gazes aimed directly at the back of my head.
"Ohhhh? Is that so?"
"Fufufu, interesting."
I... I think I've made a mistake.
"Okay. How about we test how cool you really are then?"
I gulp. The way they're smiling is kind of scary, but it can't be that bad, right?
"S-sure! Bring it on!"
The moment I give in to their challenge, the two of them suddenly begin mouthing off a bunch of things I don't really understand.
In my defense, I was kind of tired from all the travelling so I challenged them without thinking much about what would happen, but…
Just what exactly did I sign up for?
"Okay then, let's start off simple. Anime or Manga?"
"WRPGs or JRPGs?"
"Love live or Idolmaster?"
"Nintendo or Sony?"
"Madhouse or Kyoani?"
"Dark Souls or Monster Hunter?"
"Dragon Ball or One Piece?"
"Story or Gameplay?"
"Subbed or Dubbed?"
"Dude, don't start this shit. You'd have to be a pretty fucking big weeaboo to not pick dubbed."
"NICE, dude. You're REALLY gonna compare cringy gaijin voice actors to glorious Nippon? Are you actually just deaf?"
"You don't even speak Japanese! How do you know if the Japanese voices are cringe or not when you have nothing to go by?"
"You don't need to speak the language to feel the emotion in their voices. Quit looking for dumbass excuses!"
Ahh, no good. My head is spinning.
I'm hot and sweaty. This hoodie stinks. Nicholas and Sigmund are being confusing idiots.
This is quite possibly going to stand tall as one of the worst day of my high school career.
And yet still, despite that, I have absolutely no desire to quit and head home.
When on earth did I become this determined, anyway?
"H-hey, can you guys drop it? We're gonna lose sight of Chase."
"Relax, we're not gonna lose him. Look, he's right th-"
I look over in the direction that Nicholas is pointing at, and I barely catch a glimpse of him leaving my vision.
It seems like he just entered a clothing store.
"Shit! This is all your fault Sig! Hurry up or we'll lose him!"
Nicholas dashes past me and towards the store.
"Ah, hey! Wait up!"
Sigmund also runs past me to catch up to his friend.
I don't get it, wasn't the point of standing behind me so that they wouldn't get seen?
I sigh and take my time to follow behind them.
Inside, I am immediately welcomed by the cool air conditioning you'd come to expect from such a big chain. It's the beginning of fall, but the fact that I'm wearing Sigmund's baggy hoody meant that the lingering summer heat was getting to me a bit more than normal. I'm glad to be able to take a moment to cool off inside of here.
The inside of this particular store is something I'm quite used to. I just so happen to go shopping here with my mom every few weeks, so I'm familiar with the layout like the back of my hand. It's a little spacious for a mall shop if I'm being honest, but I guess that's the plus of outdoor malls. It's easy to get lost among the almost endless rows of clothing. I guess it's a good thing that those two ran after him when they did. I just have to catch up with them without Chase seeing me and we're golden.
But before I can do that, my eyes immediately lock onto one of the racks in the corners of the store, and I come to a stunning realization.
I rush over in a state of what I would assume is pure adrenaline.
This top is on sale?!
Oh my god! I need it, I need it!
I might even be able to afford it right now! Ahh, how much money did I bring to school today? Oh whatever, I'll just try it out first.
"Scarlet, what the hell are you doing? Hurry up and get over here."
Nicholas stares at me from a few feet away, then looks over at the top I had already reached out and grabbed.
"Seriously? Couldn't have at least picked out something a little less slutty?"
"Oh drop it already. Why are you two even in the women's section anyway? Did you lose him already?"
"W-well, about that…"
Sigmund points through a gap in the clothing rack that the two of them are standing behind.
There, I see Chase rummaging through a pile of…
Women's clothes…
"A-ah…"
I freeze up.
"W-w-w-w-what the hell is this?!"
"Shhh!"
The two of them try to silence me.
"Seriously, we're trying to find out what his taste is, don't ruin it!"
"H-his… taste?"
What on earth are these two talking about? Is this kind of stuff normal for geeks?
And besides, aren't those u-u-underwear?!
Without a hint of reservation, Chase lifts up an adult-looking pair of black panties and begins inspecting it for a moment. From where I'm standing, I can't see it as anything but him imagining how they would look on someone. But considering who he had just spent the entire school day with…
Images of Momo in black underwear fill my head.
The roundness of her butt was barely contained by the small underwear he had selected. I could only describe the way her it spilled out of the small article as erotic. Her otherwise thin build was the very definition of picture-perfect. She stood tall and proud, much like the usual clothed Momo would, as if to say "This is every part of me. Got a problem?" The mature color did wonders to compliment the already confident and overpowering aura of Momo.
Wait, is that what Chase is thinking right now?! Dammit, you pervert! Loser! Virgin!
He puts the underwear down after pondering for a moment and picks up a different pair.
This time, they're pink.
Once again, thoughts of Momo flood my mind.
The lighter color acted as a glimpse into the true heart of the girl called Momoka Kudo. The pink completely contrasts with Momo's previously confident air—her arms were wrapped around her body as if to hide as much of it as she possibly could. The more modestly-sized underwear covered up a healthier amount of her lower body, but it was apparent enough that she was embarrassed about being seen like this. The sudden show of weakness made her almost too cute to be real.
Wait, no! Stop thinking about Momo like this, Chase! You're supposed to be pretending to be in a relationship! This is wrong! Idiot!
I shake my head and look back over at Chase, who to my surprise, picks up two more pairs of the same underwear then heads over to the cashier.
"…"
I'm at a loss for words. He's really buying them.
This is easily the most disgusting thing I've ever seen in my life.
"Heh, so that's his taste, huh?"
"Not bad Chase. You might actually be able to pull it off."
"Pull… what off exactly?"
The two of them freeze up at my words.
I hope they're not in on the whole Momo situation.
Well, I suppose they wouldn't be following him like this if they were.
"W-well, now that we've figured out why he's leaving every day, don't you think it's about time that we left early, Scarlet-san?"
Seeming satisfied, Sigmund attempts to walk back out the front door, but he is immediately held up as Nicholas grabs his collar.
"Dude, there's no reason he'd rush out early just to buy clothes like this. This store closes in more than a couple of hours."
He raises a good point. And plus, he only started talking to Momo today so there's no way he'd buy underwear any time before today.
Actually, why have I already decided that he's going to use them while thinking of Momo?! There might be another girl in his life that I don't know about! I mean, we haven't spoken for a week so it's entirely possible…
"Fine, fine. I dunno, I guess I just feel guilty about all of this. I mean, this is like total betrayal of trust, isn't it?"
Another good point.
"Oh be quiet. We're doing it for his own good. If it's not something evil then all we have to do is pretend we never saw anything and act like normal."
"But like…"
I interject.
"What even counts as evil for you?"
"Same thing as you, really. If he's been hanging out with another girl."
"…"
This is the second time he's said it.
But for some reason, my heart almost leapt out of my chest when I heard it this time.
"He's leaving now. Let's go you two."
Sigmund nods and follows behind Nicholas.
As for me…
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