I Became Friends with the Second Cutest Girl in My Class - Chapter 9
Chapter 9 – A Loner’s View on Relationships
After all that, I was fortunate enough to have another weekly gathering with Asanagi-san, so… I decided to apologize to her for eavesdropping on her confession the other day.
“Ah, that happened, huh? It’s fine, don’t worry about it. You just happened to be there and didn’t actually tail me, right? In that case, it was completely on me.”
I thought her mood would worsen if I brought that up, but instead, she just dismissed it lightly as she ate the pudding she bought at the convenience store.
“You sure?”
“Well, I don’t mind being asked out. The reason why I snuck out instead of announcing it to everyone was out of consideration for the other person… After all, someone might start unpleasant rumors between both of us, like Nitta from our class, she would do something like that.”
“Nitta would be… that girl you usually hang around with, right, Asanagi?”
“Right. Well, I don’t know if she would gossip about me, but she did gossip about other people, as you could expect.”
As I promised, I decided to hide the fact that I had run into Amami-san and Nitta-san there. It’s completely on them to decide what they would do.
Of course, I also hid the fact that I got Amami-san’s phone number.
Then again, it’s Asanagi-san we are talking about, she would notice Amami-san’s antics easily.
“I wonder if I should ask you this, but…”
“Mm?”
“Asanagi… aren’t you rather popular?”
“Mmm… Well, not really? I’m not as popular as Yuu.”
If getting confessed by five people in less than half a year was an average number (according to Nitta-san), then how many confessions did Amami-san get?
“What’s wrong? Are you jealous, Maehara?”
“Not really… Well, I just thought that being popular sounds troublesome…”
“Hmm… Why?”
“Maybe it’s because I’m a loner?”
Even if she asked me why I couldn’t really answer her.
In my case, I was bad enough at socializing that it was hard for me to ask my classmate to befriend me. I don’t think someone like me should shamelessly talk about matters concerning love and relationships.
“Try to explain it. Don’t worry, I’m not going to laugh at you.”
“There’s the ‘I’m not going to laugh at you’ line… If anything, you’re just raising the hurdle for me.”
“Haha, it’s fine, it’s fine. Just tell me what’s on your mind, Maehara.”
“Fine…”
Well, even if she’s going to laugh at me, Asanagi’s the only one here, so it should be fine, I guess…
“…Well, to me, I can’t understand it, being popular and stuff. I mean, people will look up to you when you’re popular, right? They would try to get to know you better and somehow form a special relationship with you?”
“Mhm, that’s true.”
Of course, being popular isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It proves that you have a special charm that attracts people, it’s better than attracting malice at the very least.
However, being popular isn’t all sunshine and rainbows.
Case and point, the boy who confessed to Asanagi-san the other day.
“There are all kinds of people around you, including those you have no interest in and those you secretly hate… Dealing with those people would be troublesome, no? They don’t even care about you, so why must you be mindful of them?”
Even Asanagi-san had to be careful back then when she replied to that boy’s confession. Sure, they might be people who would straight up say, ‘I don’t like you’ or ‘You’re gross’ and dismiss such confessions outright, but Asanagi-san wasn’t one of them. Besides, it would create an unnecessary grudge.
People’s emotions, their likes, and dislikes were tricky to deal with.
“When I think about it, I feel glad that I’m not popular. Sure, it’s hard to be a loner, but that means I don’t have to worry about such things.”
“…That’s quite a lonely thought.”
“I know. Well, I guess that’s why I’m a loner.”
Unless I change this way of thinking, I will probably keep on leading this boring lifestyle for a long time.
I’ve been trying to find the courage to take a step forward but I always fell short.
“…There, a loner’s perspective on relationships.”
“Mm. That sounds like what a virgin would say.”
“Oof.”
That actually hurts. But she’s not wrong, so I can’t refute.
“Well, I don’t hate the loner Maehara, on the contrary, I like him. Of course, only as a ‘friend’, don’t misunderstand that, okay?”
“Of course. Me too, I like Asanagi, but, only as a ‘friend’, you shouldn’t misunderstand that either.”
“Oh, really? You’re saying something like that now? Acting cocky even though you are a virgin.”
“What? You wanna go? Sure, I won’t hold back today, I’ll give you ten, no, a hundred rounds for you to beat me. I’ll make sure to turn you into swiss cheese.”
“I’m ready whenever. You’ll fall to my godly aim anyway.”
“So cocky even though you just barely know how to play.”
Asanagi and I put an end to our relationship talk as we turned our gaze toward the game screen once more.
I think this is more suitable for me than complicated things like other people’s likes and dislikes.
TL: Iyo
ED: MaltedBarley
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Reddragon
this is already amazing
dmnttt
Right?! I love these interactions! Feels more and more like a genuine friendship.
JapanIsKindaCreepySometimes
Everyone should learn how to socialize, like really, it’s a great skill to learn, it helps you find high quality people while cutting low quality people out if you life.
Step out of your comfort zone, it doesn’t need to be a big step, little by little is good enough.
Uncool Talisman
This story looks fascinating with different takes in the romance since I am tired with clinched romance where it begins with Pessimistic MC but still hungry for FL and leading to more cliche and cliche to the point their fluffiness and wholesome will start to look dull
durende
I just read the one where the guy confesses to his childhood friend 10k times… This is already massively better
dmnttt
I mean, that one is just downright poorly written. This is a masterpiece by comparison so far.
Shanrin
I don’t really like virgin jokes.. because for me, being a virgin is respectable. Y’know? Being virgin is being pure, right?
Roxysta
la verdad chistes o insultos como virgen
son bastante molestos
poopoostinky
Eh, I don’t really mind them. cause when you call someone a virgin it’s not really like you’re making fun of them for being a virgin, it’s more making fun of the fact that they’re so obviously a virgin that you can tell without asking them.
JapanIsKindaCreepySometimes
True, i found keeping your virginity or having low body counts to be something very respectable.
It shows how you value yourself and do not engage in any casual intercourses.
dmnttt
Uh, no, that purity crap is bullshit. Being comfortable in your sexuality is something to be proud of. There’s nothing wrong with having many sexual partners as long as everyone is treated with dignity and respect and you don’t hurt anybody. That said, you don’t have to have many partners, if you only want one person that’s totally fine too, and it’s also fine to not want sex at all. To each their own as long as you don’t hurt people in the process. Don’t take the virgin jokes seriously, it’s just friendly teenage banter. Asanagi is in all likelihood a virgin as well, she’s just teasing him for shits and giggles.
ahgeesai
EXACTLY purity culture is complete bs. Have as much and as little sex as you want! Virgin jokes are juvenile but guess what? These are kids!
Kiritsuna
Tomboy heroine… YAYYY! I wanted this
RKADE 14
He has a homie that’s a tomboy, not much more he needs in his life.
harray
Thanks