Friday (02/12/XX) 3:30PM
Today was the day when girls gave their classmates and crush chocolates. Although Valentine's Day fell on the weekend, everyone had the same idea to give their chocolates earlier.
I watched as girls, individually and in groups, came up to Sen and gave him chocolates and sweets. It wasn't a surprise as Sen is one of our team's best players and the most popular out of all our teammates.
I let out an exasperated sigh. I did my best to suppress my jealous feelings every time I saw Sen smile when he received a new gift and added it to the overflowing pile of sweets.
An idea came to mind as I saw Sen place the last of his goodies into his backpack. I decided I would test my idea on Sen after school.
-
Since the day Sen and I spoke to one another last month, we've been able to walk home together without great awkward tension.
Sen was showing me all of the sweets he got as we were walking home.
“Most of these are obligatory chocolates, but they look so good!” He raised the neatly packaged chocolates. I did my best to seem interested. “I didn’t know any of the girls who gave me confession candies, so it was a bit uncomfortable for me to reject them.”
My eyes lit up. “That reminds me.” I opened my backpack. “I have something for you.”
Sen gasped in delight. “For me?”
I handed him a small pouch of chocolates. “Hope you like them.”
He grinned. “Thanks, Ryu!”
“Why don't you try them?”
He pulled the string and revealed several mini rose-shaped assorted chocolates. Sen eagerly grabbed one of the roses from the bag and stuffed it into his mouth.
I waited patiently to see what was to come.
Sen blinked and stopped walking.
I turned and anticipated a certain reaction. “Sen? You alright?”
Sen was quiet.
I swallowed hard. I hope that the love potion didn't have any adverse side effects.
He looked up and exclaimed. “These are super good!! I've never had anything like this!”
I furrowed my brows in confusion. Did the potion not work? I thought. The only possibility for love potions to not work is for people already in love. My jaw dropped as Sen put several chocolates in his mouth. Does he already have someone he likes?
“This green one,” he said with a mouthful of chocolate, “is this green tea flavored?”
I nodded. My eye twitched as he dumped the rest of the chocolates into his mouth. I closed my eyes and shook my head, trying to think positively. The potion also might not work on people who have the same intelligence as Sen.
I pushed up my glasses as he threw the last chocolate into his mouth. “How was it?”
He wiped his mouth. “It was good! They did have a strange aftertaste, but I didn't mind it.”
“Sorry about that. It was my first time making it.”
“So Ryu,” Sen said as we arrived at his house. “Did you get any gifts from anyone?”
“I did, but not as many as you. Makes me a little jealous.”
“Aw, that's alright! It's probably better so you're not obligated to give chocolates to people on White Day.”
A tired sigh escaped my mouth. I placed my head on Sen's shoulder and let myself lean on him. Hearing him misinterpret my words pained my heart. And my head.
Sen flinched a little but then he started to pat my head. “If it makes you feel better, I can help you make chocolates for White Day. Oh! Before I forget,” Sen rummaged through his bag and I leaned back.
He placed a white handkerchief in my hand. At one of the corners, there was a tiny dog embroidered onto the fabric.
“I tried to do embroidery, but the puppy turned out weird. I wasn’t sure if you liked sweets, so I got you a handkerchief for your glasses.”
I made an effort to suppress my laugh as I stared at the lopsided dog. While I tried to thank him, I broke into laughter.
Sen's face started to turn red from embarrassment. He sulky pursed his lips which made me laugh more.
I stopped laughing and caught my breath. “It's cute, I love it.”
There was a strange silence between the two of us. We both were now self-conscious and aware of the tension.
“W-well, I'll see you later!” Sen stuttered and opened the gate to his house. He yelled thank you one more time before he quickly entered his home.
I shut my eyes and took a deep breath, no longer feeling anxious. I looked down at the handkerchief and couldn't stop smiling. I grabbed my eyeglasses case and placed it gently inside before teleporting to my home.
-
The happiness I felt earlier today dissipated the moment I saw Nikolas surrounded by a crowd of boys and girls handing him Valentine's Day gifts. Despite Valentine's Day being a human holiday, the students of the undead like to follow some of their trends and traditions.
My left eye twitched as I watched the vampire struggle to hold all of the sweets and presents in his arms. What made me more pissed is the way he appeared unphased by everything. I can't imagine how Akio would react to this scene.
I leaned back in my chair with my arms crossed as a sense of deja vu overwhelmed me. This seemed all too familiar… I said to myself.
I glanced again at the hallway where Nikolas was standing with all the students.
The siren from his class, Aurora, stood in front of him timidly. I could tell she was giving a sincere confession as everyone had the same idea to back away and become silent. She handed him a neatly cherry red seashell-shaped box of candies. Her voice was timid yet silky despite how nervous she seemed. I couldn't hear everything she muttered until she roared, “Please accept my confession box!”
Everyone gasped at her heartfelt confession and looked at Nikolas expectantly.
“I truly appreciate your courage and effort,” He placed his hand on the box and pushed it away gently, “but my heart belongs to someone else.”
The crowd gasped again.
Aurora covered her mouth. “Nikolas, you have a crush on someone?”
“Who is it? Is it a vampire?” A student piped up.
“It must be the vampire girl in his class!”
“No, he probably likes the ghost girl!”
“It's a boy,” he replied. “I have a boyfriend.”
Their voices became louder as they continued to ask questions.
“Is he a vampire too?”
“It must be the werewolf he hangs out with!”
“Impossible! I bet it's the Strix in his homeroom!”
“Tell us who it is!”
Nikolas stepped back as the group pestered him. I began to chuckle in amusement. The heart-throb of Takuya High has it rough. I thought.
“Hey, hey, Ryu-chan,”
“Yes, Kazu?” I hummed.
Kazu's tail swayed slowly as he sat criss-crossed on his chair in front of my desk. He was munching on a bone someone got him for Valentine's Day.
“Did you get anything for Valentine's Day?”
“I did.”
“From who?” Kazu beamed. “Was it from your crush?”
I avoided his question and showed him the gift. “They gave me this.”
Kazu looked at the handkerchief. “Aww, that's adorable.” He leaned down and sniffed it.
I glared at him. “What are you doing?! You're getting drool all over my desk.” I quickly snatched the cloth away from Kazu as a large knowing grin was plastered on his face.
He giggled as I put the handkerchief away into my glasses case. Kazu’s tail was wagging eagerly. “I didn’t know Ryu-Chan had a crush on someone.”
I opened up my spellbook and continued to read. “I'm capable of feeling emotions.”
Kazu moved his head forward and took a whiff at my clothes. “Whoa, his smell is all over— HEY!”
I snapped my fingers and his seat levitated, taking him with it. “RYU-CHAN STOP!” He flew in the air among our unphased classmates who were eating their meals.
I grimaced to myself as I went back to learning my spell, attempting to ignore the sounds of screaming fangirls and boys and a yelping werewolf.6Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVNfabzZHK0
