Math class dragged on endlessly.
Mrs. Edwards stood at the board explaining trigonometry with graceful strokes of her marker—but Drake stared blankly at his notebook. He checked the answer on the board… then checked the one he had written.
Both were numbers.
But that was the only similarity.
"Huh… how did I get everything wrong?" he muttered, forehead falling onto the desk with a dull thud.
His 7 in Intelligence was doing all the talking.
'I guess that explains why math feels like reading ancient runes…'
His eyes drifted back to Mrs. Edwards.
White shirt. Black skirt. Tiny oval glasses. Long purple hair in a neat braid over one shoulder.
Beautiful.
…Too beautiful.
[Image Here]
Drake blinked. Normally he only appreciated anime girls, but lately that had been changing. It was as if, after meeting anime girls for real, he realized they were just… girls. And suddenly, real ones seemed a lot more intriguing.
He found himself staring at her chest instead of sine and cosine.
And stared.
And stared.
He learned absolutely nothing.
When class ended, he stretched and exhaled—only to notice Elle staring at him across the room.
He shot her a "what are you looking at?" glare.
She immediately looked away, cheeks faintly pink.
Before he could question it—
"Drake!" a cheerful voice called.
A girl with short red hair and matching red eyes jogged over.
[Image Here]
"Ava," Drake greeted, genuinely smiling.
Ava Porter. His childhood friend. The only person who defended him back when he was overweight and constantly bullied. She'd thrown hands for him more than once in kindergarden and elementary school.
But now… as he really looked at her…
she wasn't just cute.
She was beautiful.
And he hadn't noticed until recently.
Ava grabbed his arm without hesitation and linked it with hers, pulling him toward their next class. They shared most of the same schedule.
"So," Ava said casually while they walked, "I heard you had a little incident with your cousin today?"
Drake groaned. "Please don't remind me."
But suddenly—Ava tugged him sharply into the nearby storage room.
The door closed with a click.
Drake blinked.
"A-Ava? What are you doing?"
She stood in front of him, breathing a little faster, her cheeks red. She avoided eye contact for a moment, then stepped closer.
"Drake… I…" She swallowed, face burning. "I…"
Her voice trembled.
"I like you. I've liked you since we were kids. So—please go out with me!"
Drake froze.
"A-Ava…"
He rubbed the back of his neck, flustered. With now a wider view, he couldn't help but like her too—but…
He took a gamble.
"Ava… I'm sorry, but…"
Her fingers clenched. Her mind spiraled.
He doesn't like me? Why? After everything? I was there for him when nobody else was—when he was bullied, when he cried—don't tell me he thinks I only like him because he got thinner—
"Ava," Drake interrupted gently. "I'm… polygamous."
Ava blinked.
"...You're what?"
"Polygamous," Drake repeated awkwardly. "I don't think we should date unless you're okay with that."
Ava stared at him like he'd spoken in an alien language.
Then, slowly:
"Is there… another girl already?"
"Ah… yes," Drake admitted.
Ava's expression went blank.
That bitch. Whoever she is. I'll kill her. I'll kill her slowly. I'll tear her limb from limb. I'll—
"Ava? Hello? Are you still here?"
She snapped back to reality. "Y-Yes!"
Drake sighed, embarrassed.
"I feel stupid saying this, but… I want a harem."
Ava blinked.
Then burst out laughing.
"Pfft—HAHAHAHA! A harem?!"
"Shh!" Drake hissed, finger to his lips.
"Okay—okay—sorry…" Ava wiped a tear from laughing too hard. "A harem. Right."
Drake looked at her seriously.
"That's my dream. So don't laugh."
Ava's expression softened. And inside:
Whoever that girl is… she's lucky. If not… I'd have already buried her six feet under for daring to touch my Drake. But if Drake wants a harem… I'll tolerate her existence. For now.
"Ava?" Drake repeated.
She stepped forward, took his face gently in both hands. Drake flushed as her fingers touched his cheeks.
"If it's your dream…" she murmured.
And then—
Ava pressed her lips to his.
Drake's eyes widened.
Her heart screamed internally:
I kissed him! I kissed him! I finally kissed him! Mine, mine, mine—
He recovered and kissed her back, hands sliding to her waist. Ava melted into him, arms wrapping around his neck like she never wanted to let go.
He tasted so sweet.
They finally pulled apart, breathless.
"I… like you too, Ava," Drake said quietly.
Ava smiled.
And internally?
He likes me! He LIKES me! Ahhhhhh—!!
The two stepped out of the storage room together, Ava's arm slipping around Drake's just like before—only now she leaned into him more boldly, resting her head on his shoulder as though it belonged there.
That closeness made her notice things she usually only admired from a distance.
Weird… Drake's shoulder muscles are at least two centimeters bigger than yesterday…
Ava kept track of him the way other girls tracked their favorite idols—except far more intensely. She knew where he went, what he did, what he ate. If he breathed differently one day, she'd know. Obsession didn't even begin to cover it.
"Hey, Drake…" she said softly.
Her grip suddenly tightened around his arm—far too tight—crushing down on his muscle. She looked up at him with a pleasant, almost overly calm smile.
"When will I meet this other girl?"
I won't kill her… I just need to check. See if she's pretty enough for my Drake… if she cares about him properly… really… I won't hurt her… probably.
To be continued...
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