Chapter 76: IF Story: Happy Birthday Miu! Part 2
"I-If you stare so much, I'll blush…you know?"
"Huh? You'll treat me? Thanks!"
"Yeah, I really like strawberries!"
"…"
On a usual day in class, Alum found himself spaced out while looking out the window. While Alum was usually dazed, his mind was mostly without thoughts. Thinking back…
"Alum!" Noel slammed the desk and stood up.
"Noel, I know it's your controller, but I don't think you should slam it against the desk."
"Ah, my bad, my bad… anyhow, Miu!" he playfully continued his cheerful voice
"Miu?" Alum echoed.
"Yeah, Miu is a nice girl, y'know!"
Alum tilted his head. "Uh…I suppose?"
"Mhmn! She barely has make-up on, but she honestly doesn't need it; not only that, she has a huge pair of twins!"
"Twins?"
"Massive Marshmallows!
"Marshmallows?"
"Oh, um…boobs?"
"Ah…I see. Noel…do you realise how you sound?"
"Nah, it's fine! As a childhood friend, I can guarantee she'll make a good partner!"
Alum sighed. "Well, if you say so. But why all of a sudden?"
"He-he-he!"
"Don't laugh like that."
"Nothing much; I just wanted to boast about my cute childhood friend," he replied with a cheerful grin.
"Is that so? But why?"
"Like…don't you wanna date her or anything? She's super popular and pretty—even with my unbiased childhood friend lens."
"Impartial, huh?" Alum remarked.
"Ahh, well, maybe a little, but if you ask or have eyes, you'd know I'm telling the truth."
"Cute…"
"Yup, yup! You agree, right?"
"…you died," Alum reminded Noel, that he was still in an intense game.
"Ugh! What! I didn't pause!?"
"Well, you abruptly slammed at the table without paying significant attention."
"Urgh…why didn't you save me—"
"I'm bad at the game."
"You liar! You just beat the boss while not even looking."
"It was in my peripheral vision."
"Ugh…you even have crippled stats…"
Alum let out a sigh. "Dammit, Noel, why are you now sick after saying all that?" Alum complained under his breath. Soon enough, the seminar had ended, and it was time to head back. He usually walked to the station with Noel and Miu. But Noel was their only glue, so to speak. Now that he was sick, he didn't have a reason to walk with Miu.
Since it was the end of the day, many people were trying to get home. Alum waited a little for it to quiet down and headed towards a less frequent hall so as not to bump into others. However, a voice called out to him suddenly—it was Miu.
…
…..
…
It was quiet most of the way, and Miu mostly stared at the ground. He could tell she'd occasionally observe him in the corner of his eyes, but most of all, he knew how awkward she felt. She was absent-minded, too, and when she almost walked into a lamppost, he instinctively grabbed her hand and pulled her to him.
(She's a little clumsy, but I don't see the perfect girl she's supposed to be.)
"You should watch where you're going," Alum told her, but she still seemed absent-minded. He found her somewhat strange. But not in a negative way.
They've interacted when alone before, but it was mostly when they waited for Noel. He treated her to a drink once—thinking it would be more efficient to do it in one go. Another time, they stumbled upon one another in the cafe Noel worked for; he ended up treating her since it was a discount he got from Noel anyhow.
(He said, "She obviously likes you…" I never thought about it that way, but Noel seems craftier than I thought. Is this how he intends to help her? He rather prefers me to have an image of her, however strange it was, thinking it better than none. I underestimated him… Should I tell her about it somehow? It's a small little payback for being sick all on his own, after all.)
*Chuckles*
"Why are you giggling!?" Miu spoke and broke through his elaborate thoughts.
Alum replied by stating that it was nothing, but Miu didn't believe him—he ended up telling her he found her rather amusing. Miu didn't seem happy about it at all and tried to make excuses. But Alum knew she liked him, not only because of her recent behaviours but also because Noel, a childhood friend of hers, told him directly.
(It's odd; I feel a little warm inside; she's cute…?)
But as he thought along those lines, Miu grabbed his shirt, looking innocently into his eyes. "Am I really that obvious," she asked.
Alum was a little taken aback by the inquiry, but it wasn't unpleasant. Despite the tingly, ticklish feeling in his chest, he suddenly felt the urge to comfort her.
(I think I do like her. But is it that sort of attraction? If I touched her, comforted her, would I know?)
…
…..
…
With Miu's small lie about walking in the wrong direction and her wanting to eat some ice cream, she found herself sitting across Alum with a bowl of strawberry ice cream. But for some reason, Alum treated her without even asking—it was also her favourite flavour.
(Did he remember I liked strawberries from that one time…? Ah, the butterflies, these strawberries are mine. Wait…do they even…?)
Meanwhile, as Miu's thoughts drifted, Alum sipped his sweet cacao while glancing at her. She looked happy, and her smile was bright and charming—she would also make a strange face when the cold got to her head on occasion.
(I'm glad she's calmed down. But I must say, it was rather…cute? She said things she didn't mean and was overly direct—)
"Oh! I didn't know you liked marshmallows," Miu suddenly commented.
*Cough, cough*
"…Did it suddenly enter the wrong pipe?" Miu asked teasingly while grinning.
Alum didn't respond; he just glared at her.
"Hmm~? Did it remind you of a certain something?" she continued.
(Really? She's now more…daring. Did she cast away all her embarrassment? I suppose her current actions pale in comparison to what she said and did previously.)
"That's cute. I didn't think you'd be conscious of things like that. I mean…you barely reacted at all before."
"I was caught off guard," Alum dismissed.
"Is that so? Anyhow, thank you for the ice cream. It was a tiring day of class. I really needed this," Miu voiced sincerely. "You know…it makes me happy to be treated by a boy I like."
"Don't you feel embarrassed from saying that?" Alum asked.
Miu shook her head. "No, in fact, I feel very happy saying it," she responded with a flush red face.
"You'll probably regret it once we split up," Alum bluntly remarked.
"I think so, too!"
"….."
"Yeah…I'll probably feel very awkward once we split up…"
"Why don't we just date then?" Alum asked. "I'm not certain I like you in that sense, but I do like you enough to try it out—"
(M-M-Miiiii-chan! You did it!) the angel happily cheered.
(Hm…it was more anti-climatic than I thought) the devil complained. (Oh well, good for you~)
"O-Okay!" Miu happily replied instantly. "So…Umm…you can now touch them…"
*Cough, cough*
"Njihih~ I was kidding; it's too soon. Al-ichi no baka!"
Miu giggled and said something Alum didn't understand; however, he knew she was calling him something.
"If you're going to call me something, at least do it in a language I understand…"
"Then, Al, you dummy?"
"Well, if you don't mind dating me like this, I suppose it's fine."
"*Ahem* and that's why I'll make you fall for me, Al-ichi," Miu sheepishly said.
"So "Al you dummy" is my nickname?"
"Nuh-uh! Dummy~"
(…It's Japanese, right? Fine, I'll learn it.)
…
…..
…
After leaving the small cafe, they headed towards Noel's apartment—Miu's as well, for that matter; they remained neighbours even after moving from home to study.
After having rung the doorbell, a slightly flushed Noel opened the door with half open eyes. He quickly glanced down and saw the two holding hands.
"You two dating already? That's a bit random…" he commented.
"Yup! Thanks to your crude comment about my chest… Al-ichi and I have started dating!"
"Ah…still a little childish, are we?" Noel questioned. He seemed to lack the proper energy to react the way he usually did, so he turned to Alum. "So she gave you a weird nickname, too?"
Alum nodded in agreement. "Yeah…she did."
"It's not weird!" Miu retorted. "It's cute~, Al-ichi and Noe-chi."
"Please stop calling me that…" Noel protested despite his lack of energy.
"Why?"
"You know why…"
"Hmm? Ah! Is it because it sounds like "no ecchi"?"
Noel pinched her cheeks. "Why, you little rascal…"
"What does "no ecchi" mean?" Alum asked curiously.
"Don't worry about it…the nickname "Noe-chi" she gave me just sounds like "no ecchi" which is actually just "no etchi" in Japanese, meaning no perversion…and it just makes me seem like some sort of sex offender whenever I hear it…" Noel sighed.
"That's not true, Noe-chi is a cute nickname. Don't you just have a dirty mind?" Miu pouted.
"C'mon…I'm sick. You should be kinder to me…" Noel sulked.
Alum couldn't help but softly laugh at their silly exchange. "Noel, I have coffee for you," he said, handing Noel a plastic bag.
"Alum…" he said, teary-eyed. "Yeah, we're besties!"
"You sound like a kid…" Miu instantly replied.
"You're the one to talk!" Noel rebuked. "Oh, by the way, just to get this out of the way now that you two are dating. I don't want you to find this out later when you get comfy, so… Alum." Noel addressed his friend with a serious expression. "Miu and I used to date, but I was only a fake boyfriend. I hope you understand, but… Miu has to be the one to explain. It's regarding her, after all."
"Mm, understood," Alum replied, not thinking too deeply about it.
Miu on the other hand seemed to almost panic as she glared at Noel—who smiled teasingly back at her. (Don't worry, I said it because I knew he'd understand.) Noel tried to convey with his gaze.
"A-Alum, I held no such feelings for him! Not even a little, s-so…please don't dump me on the first day…"
"…"
"Wow…that silence is pretty cruel, Alum," Noel said.
However, Miu didn't react the way Noel expected. He thought she'd have a sad look or be more distressed.
Alum wasn't sure what to say. Instead, he squeezed her hand more tightly and faced her with a gentle smile.
(Seriously…he's so clumsy.) Noel thought.
(Noel, you crafty little…) Miu glared back.
Despite all that, Alum couldn't help but to stare at the childhood friends. His heart stung, but he didn't know why. (Is it jealousy?) he pondered. He leaned towards Miu a little more and kissed her on the forehead.
*Chu*
"A-A-A-Al-ichi!?" Miu stuttered with a steamy, hot face.
Noel, who was at first dazed, started to burst out in laughter. "Pft…! Ah-hahah! Alum, you got jealous!? Wow really? That's…cute somehow!" Noel exclaimed as if forgetting he was sick in the first place.
Alum placed his hand on his chest, looking at his palm, he thought. (Hmm, it gave me a warm feeling. I don't dislike it.)
"Al-ichi!?"
"Seriously, Alum, where did you even learn that?" Noel teased.
"Hm? Oh, you have a manga about a female knight, right? It's from that one."
"You…read that…?" Noel was left flabbergasted at his friend's statement and gulped.
"Uwaaa…Noe-chi, you…it's—" Miu coldly stared at Noel.
"No, it's not! It's wholesome!"
"Right…" Miu said suspiciously as she glanced towards Alum.
"Hm? Oh, it was, don't worry."
(Thank you…Alum…)
"I only read the first couple of pages after all."
"..."
With that said, Miu's cold gaze returned.
A/N
I still don't know what I'm cooking, but hey, I laughed, so… Also, it's spring, and the snow is finally melting a little. Thus, I went out to take some photos and will share some of em with you guys :3
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