Tanaka Yusuke.

"Hey, you finally came. How'd your night go?“

"It was super cool, I finally watched the whole series of that movie you lent me last time."

"Really, that series was a real hit."

"Hey, excuse me with a pen."

"Oh, here."

I walked into the class and straight to my seat like an invisible man. After hanging my bag, I took out my phone and earphones before connecting it to my phone.

*Might as well complete some levels before the teacher comes in.* I thought tapping a game icon.

"Hey..." Someone called.

*Almost there, three more to go.* I thought tapping the buttons violently.

"Hey, hey." The person called again. The voice was faint, and I didn't know who the person was calling for, so I totally ignored him.

"Hey." The person called again, this time tapping me.

I was startled when the person touched me and paused the game immediately.

"Hmm?“ I answered, putting down my phone. It was a guy. "You were calling, um..."

"Yusuke, Yusuke Tanaka." He said, grinning widely.

"Oh, Izumi Nakamura, nice to meet you." I said.

"Yeah, nice to meet you too. I figured you were into games, and I saw you playing this RPG, I really love playing RPGs." He said, smiling.

"Oh, same here. It's among my favourites." I said, still confused as to why he was speaking to me.

“One of them?“

“Yeah.“

*Dating sims are my best, but yeah. Can't tell a stranger that.* I thought.

“Cool.“

*By the way, who's this kid?*

"Whoa. Can you show me your other games?" He asked as the teacher walked into the classroom.

"Well, maybe another time." I said as he nodded.

"Catch you later, Izumi-kun." He said, smiling before walking back to his seat.

*I wonder what he wants with me. I'd better avoid him. Who knows, maybe he's looking for someone to bully.* I thought, taking out my textbook.

We had math for the first lesson, at least something I was really into. I just loved the formulas. Some of them were kind of confusing, but still, they were fun to figure out.

...♤♤♤...

"Hey, Nakamura-kun." The history teacher called when his class was over.

It was already lunchtime. I walked up to him as he pointed at some books that were stacked.

"Send these to the faculty room." He said with a smile before walking out as I nodded.

*Well, better than nothing.* I thought before grabbing them.

"Hey, do you need some help?" Someone asked as I turned to find out who that was.

*…*

"N-no, they aren't heavy at all." I answered without looking at him.

"No, I insist. I wanted to speak to you about your games, remember." He said smiling as he grabbed half of the books.

"Really, it's nothing." I said as we kept walking to the faculty room.

We dropped the books on the teachers desk, bowed, and left the room.

"Thanks." I said as we walked back to our classroom.

"Ha ha, like i said, it's nothing." He said as we walked in.

*I'm still surprised he's talking to me. He's really getting into it, huh?* I thought as I placed my bento box on my desk and opened it.

"Wow, your food looks delicious." Tanaka said as I shivered.

*Huh? What the hell's he doing here now?* I thought as he sat in front of my desk, placing his own box on my desk and smiling.

"Let's eat." He said as I picked up my sticks reluctantly.

*I really won't give him any cash and won't let him speak to Shiori.*

“Huh? Why's he with that lonely guy?“ Someone whispered.

“Who knows?“

*Ugh… they're really talking about this.*

...~~~...

"Yeah, it's a very famous FPS game. I'm sure you'd love it when you try it." I said as he nodded.

"Cool, it seems like I'd download this one. What's your player ID?" He asked.

"Wait, let me write it down." I said about to tear a piece of paper.

"We can just become friends on LINE and you send it for me." He said, smiling.

"Oh, yeah. That's right." I said as we exchanged numbers and added each other on LINE.

"Let's play games together later." He said as I nodded.

*And just like that, I was fooled. Can't believe I gave him my number.* I thought, slapping my hand over my face.

"Hey, why were you talking to that nerdy kid?" Someone asked Tanaka.

*Hmph! It's not like I'll be deceived by him. I'm not letting him meet Shiori.*

"Well, you know..." I didn't want to hear any other thing, so I put on my headphones.

*I don't know why he's speaking to me, but... I also don't want to find out.* I thought, placing my head on my desk.

...■■■...

"Hey, Yusuke, let's go to the arcade."

“Mmm… maybe next time. See you guys later.“ He said as they walked out.

It was school over, and I was getting ready to leave the classroom. I packed some books into my bag and put on my earphones.

"Hey bud." Yusuke said, smiling as he tapped my shoulders.

"Oh, h-hey, Tanaka-san.“ I said.

"You wanna hit the arcade? Let's play some games." He said, smiling.

*Agh, I really wanted to play some games at home.*

"Well, I'm not going for the job today." I said.

"Yay! Let's get going." He said, putting his hands around my shoulder.

*Why's he holding me like we're close friends?* I thought while we walked out of the classroom.

“So you work part-time?“

“Well, yeah.“

"Have you ever been to one before?"

“Hmm?“

“An arcade.“

"Yeah, back in middle school. I went there with my cousin back in middle school.“

"Well, that's a long time for someone who loves playing games.“

"We're still in the first year of high school."

"The third term."

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