'Beep! Beep!' I heard something make an annoying, yet familiar noise. It just wouldn't stop, so I started asking myself where it came from. 'Beep! Beep!' Oh, I realized it was my wake-up alarm. Shit, shit, shit- I have to hurry and get ready for school! Damn it, why can't I just sleep in peace?
I'm Inoue Toya, 16 years old and a second year in high school. My father is the owner of an insurance company, and since I'm an only child, I'll inherit that company someday. But I do hope that I'll get to live my life to the fullest until that day comes. I really hate being bound to things, plus I'll have less time for my hobbies, like drawing and acting. I'm currently part of the drama club, it puts some color in my life and fills my heart with joy. Of course, my dad wanted me to "man up" so he forced me to join a sports team. I ended up choosing volleyball, since my childhood friend Takahashi Tsukasa is part of the team. I've had a crush on him since forever, but he's straight. Well, I can't change who I fall for. Besides being straight, he also has a crush on Nakamura Hana. The three of us have been friends since kindergarten. I honestly don't know how we ended up together, but I guess kindergarteners don't discriminate. The differences between us couldn't be bigger; Hana is like the queen of popularity of our year, she has slept with half of the guys at school. Tsukasa is a sports fanatic who is the biggest Airhead there is. And then there's me, the depressing-looking guy in the back, who is always scribbling something in his sketchbook. There is no way Tsukasa would ever fall for me, since I'm not a girl. Sometimes I wonder if I should give up on him, but at the end of the day, I'm a lovesick idiot who doesn't know any better.
I managed to arrive at school on time; the bell just rang when I entered the classroom. 'Good morning, Toya!' said a familiar voice. I replied to him: 'Hey Tsukasa.' I went to my assigned seat and sat down. My desk mate, Hoshida Suga greeted me: 'You were almost tardy, Toya. You should've gone to bed earlier.' 'Yes, Mom, I'm aware of that.' I replied in a mocking tone. The teacher arrived in class a few moments later. The chatter of the students soon died away.
The bell rang, initiating the lunch break. Some students remained in the classroom, while others went to the schoolyard. I was about to leave the room when I heard some girls talking about Yoshida Ai. Ai is a close friend of mine, if not my best friend. She is the daughter of an actress. She and her Twin brother Haru are part of the drama club. The two of us get confessed to very often, but we reject every single one of them, each of us for our own reason (I reject them because I'm gay, of course). When I think about it, I am quite popular with some girls at our school, not that I could care. maybe if I came out, I'd be popular with the guys too... Nah, I doubt that. Besides, I already like Tsukasa, so I would also end up rejecting them.
Soon, I joined the guys on the rooftop, where we usually have lunch together. It was sunny and there was a light breeze, but you could hardly notice it. Suga had already started to eat his lunch, while Tsukasa and Kei were arm wrestling. 'Argh,' 'I won again!' Tsukasa had a big grin on his face, resembling a child whose parents had just praised. Kaminari Kei was frowning. He had recently bleached the tips of his hair and started styling it rather spiky on the tips. 'Hey Toya.' He said, still wearing a grim look on his face. I sat down next to Suga and unpacked my lunch: 'Hey Kei. You gave up on winning against Tsukasa?' 'Watch what your words, you dwarf!' It was fun teasing Kei. I replied: 'It's not like you're much taller, and I'm not interested in my own height and strength anyway.' 'Hmpf, I won't lose next time though.' 'Well, if you say so.' I decided to leave Kei in peace and started eating my lunch. Lunch break was always fun with the guys, even though we didn't have much in common.
The next day was just like any other day; we had our morning classes and then went to our usual break spot at the rooftop and ate our lunches while talking about the most random stuff. Somehow, we ended up on the topic of "dating". Suga said he was surprised that Kei was the only one of us who actually had a girlfriend. I mean, I do wonder how Kaminari-kun got a girlfriend; he has quite the short temper...' Of course, Tsukasa had to make a comment: 'Shorter than his height! Pfft-' 'Watch out, you idiot! Or I will come and get you while you're sleeping!' 'Oh no, I'm gonna pee my pants!' Suga, being the angel he is, tried to stop the conflict between those two, only to be stopped by Kei saying: 'You have no right to meddle in this, since you are the tallest one of us!' It was true that Suga is taller than us, but that doesn't mean that much since Kei and I have the average height of a couple of middle schoolers, and Tsukasa is average. So Suga changed the subject: 'Let's return to our actual conversation, shall we?' Tsukasa replied to Suga's prior question: 'I'm still single, because I like Hana and she is basically never single. That makes it a bit complicated to ask her out.' Just having him mention his feelings for Hana makes my stomach turn. He continued to talk: 'But she recently broke up with her boyfriend, so...' Kei reacted: 'Hah, I bet you're gonna chicken out like always. Besides, even if you'd go through with it, you wouldn't even stand a chance!' Suga was once again trying to stop a conflict between those two: 'Don't be so mean to him. We should be wishing nothing but the best of luck to Takahashi-kun.' I couldn't hold back any longer: 'I really think you shouldn't, Tsukasa. If you break up, you'll ruin years of friendship. She will probably reject you anyway, and if she doesn't, it won't make you happy. She doesn't date someone because she likes them; she dates boys to sleep with them. You will only end up with a broken heart.' Suga was now wearing a slightly shocked expression: 'Don't be like that, Inoue-kun!' I ran to the door that led back to the building and left.
Our second break started, and I still hadn't talked it out with the guys, so I decided to go eat somewhere else. I ended up eating under one of the cherry blossom trees in the schoolyard. I was drawing something on my sketchbook when a slender girl with bright orange hair and piercing green, cat-like eyes approached me. She sat down next to me and noticed the tears that had fallen on my drawing. She hugged me and asked what was wrong: 'Toya-chan, who made you cry? I swear to god, if it was one of those guys you eat lunch with-' 'It's okay, Ai!' I tried to explain myself: 'It wasn't anything like that. I was the one who screwed up this time.' 'What did ya do to make yourself cry?' She asked me. I wiped the tears off my face and answered: 'Tsukasa's gonna confess to Hana after school today.' 'Really?' The look on her face was priceless. 'Yes, really, I've known him for ages, so I know when he means something. I guess my friend group will die or I'll drown in depression.' Those were the only two options after all. Ai has always been there for me in these kinds of situations, but even she couldn't do anything this time, at least nothing I was aware of. Yet she managed to come up with something: 'Toya, how about we make a bet?' I was curious what she meant by that: 'What kind of bet?' 'It's gonna be very simple,' she said: 'We will bet if you can get that idio- I mean, Tsukasa to fall for you. If you win I'll admit that you can do anything and all those hours of mental support I gave you paid of, however if you fall in love with someone else in the mean time, I win and you will never mention Tsukasa ever again in my presence and you will address me as "Ai-sama".' Those were agreeable conditions. I don't have anything to lose, and I really wouldn't mind calling her "Ai-sama", whatsoever. 'You got yourself a deal! Although if I win, you will also bake me one of your famous apple pies!' 'Fine, I don't mind.' We shook our hands. And so a deal was made between the two of us, a bet that would stay with us for the rest of our lives.