Late at night, Amane, once again being used as a hugging pillow, slowly cracked her eyes open.
Since Horikita had wiped her savings completely clean, she had to seize every opportunity to replenish them quickly.
She turned off her phone's shutter sound and flash.
By the bright moonlight tonight, Amane snapped a picture of Horikita's adorable sleeping face.
'Nothing beats a sleeping face for cuteness, really.'
Amane carefully put her phone away and resumed her role as a human pillow. She even nuzzled gently against Horikita's chest.
It was only after she felt the human pillow in her arms drift into sleep that Horikita finally opened her eyes.
Seriously.
She never learns.
Taking sneaky pictures while sleeping—so sneaky.
Maybe I just won't tell her any more bedtime stories.
Horikita gazed at Amane, who was sleeping peacefully.
Almost as if possessed, she leaned in and gave a soft peck on Amane's cheek.
The moment she realized what she'd done, Horikita immediately wanted to reach up and touch her own face.
But her arms were wrapped around Amane. There was no way to do that.
Even without touching it, though, she knew all too well—her face was definitely burning bright red.
Why had she done something like that?
Amane's a girl!
Between girls…something like that should just count as a prank, right?
Yeah, probably just a spur-of-the-moment joke.
Having made that excuse to herself, Horikita closed her eyes again.
Too bad.
She was just a moment too late to notice the tiny, irrepressible smile tugging at the corner of Amane's lips.
--+--
The next day, after school.
The two freeloaders—I mean, Horikita and Amane—headed to the Palette Café together.
As soon as they entered, Amane spotted Wang Mei-Yu and Ichihashi Ruri chatting together.
As for why they were at a café without drinking their beverages…
Well…they were too hot.
Class had just ended, after all.
How had those two made it here so quickly?
They were so obviously plants arranged by Kushida. Sure enough. Wang Mei-Yu, the unprofessional shill, winked at Amane.
Then she picked up her drink and left with Ichihashi. Amane immediately dashed over to claim their seats.
"What do you want to drink?"
Horikita glanced at Amane, then bought a glass of milk.
"I wanted coffee, but I know you'd get me milk anyway. I keep saying I'm not a kid anymore. If anyone needs nutrients, it's you, Suzune…" Amane's voice trailed off abruptly.
The sharp look in Horikita's eyes sent a chill down her spine.
"Cut back on the coffee. Then maybe you won't keep me up at night begging for stories. Speaking of which, where's the one treating you to that parfait?"
Horikita looked out the window.
No sign of Kushida yet.
Since Amane had agreed that if Kushida brought her here, she'd buy Amane a parfait, she really shouldn't be standing her up.
All to make sure a certain dummy got something tasty.
Horikita was seriously going above and beyond.
"Should be soon… Ah, she's here." Amane spotted a familiar figure entering and quickly pretended to be deep in conversation with Horikita.
Horikita, in turn, put on her best 'keep away' expression.
Not wanting to seem too obvious after seeing the two, Kushida also bought a drink.
Acting as if she were looking for a seat, she made her way over to them.
"Oh, Amane-san, Horikita-san? What a coincidence! I didn't expect to see you two in a place like this."
Kushida's greeting was a bit cliché, but paired with her gentle smile, it didn't feel awkward or unpleasant.
"So coincidental, Kikyo-chan! Hmm, I don't see any other free seats. If you don't mind, why not sit with me?" Amane enthusiastically invited Kushida over.
"Eh? Would that be alright? It looks like you were talking—I don't want to interrupt." Even as she made polite remarks, Kushida watched Horikita's expression, checking whether Horikita would accept her presence.
"It makes no difference to me." Horikita's reply was icy.
Kushida didn't seem bothered by her attitude.
"Well, in that case, I'll join you." Kushida smoothly took a seat.
Seeing her mission accomplished, Amane felt she ought to drop a hint for Kushida.
"Suzune~ I want a mille-feuille parfait! Buy it for me, please, please?" Amane clung to Horikita's arm, shaking it back and forth.
Horikita immediately understood what Amane was up to.
She put on a stern face.
"What's so great about it? If you gain weight from all that sugar, don't come crying to me."
Noticing Amane's hint, Kushida quickly chimed in.
"Now, now, Horikita-san, no need to be upset. Having sweets once in a while is fine! Besides, having a sweet tooth is practically part of being a girl. Since I'm intruding on your conversation, please let me make it up to you." Kushida promptly ordered two mille-feuille parfaits.
"Aren't you having one, Kikyo-chan?" Amane looked at Kushida curiously.
"Actually, I can't handle things that are too cold. Please, go ahead and enjoy! Don't hold back on my account."
As if I'd hold back.
Amane's eyes sparkled as she stared excitedly at the towering parfait in front of her.
"Let's dig in!"
Click.
The sound of a camera shutter.
Amane turned to look.
A cute girl stood there, phone in hand, seemingly having just taken Amane's picture.
"...My apologies. I saw how delightfully you were enjoying your treat and couldn't resist taking a photo. If you mind, I'll delete it right away."
Seeing that the other party was a pretty girl who even used polite language—clearly a well-mannered young lady—Amane thought it over and decided not to make a fuss.
Ahem.
It totally wasn't mainly because the girl was cute.
"It's fine, it's not like you can't take pictures or anything. I just looked over out of curiosity, that's all. I'm Miyako Amane, from Class 1-D…"
"I'm Shiina Hiyori, from Class 1-C. It's nice to meet you."
Shiina Hiyori.
That's a lovely name.
"Since we've met here by chance, how about we exchange contact info?"
Amane smoothly pulled up her ID.
"...Eh? Sure…" Shiina seemed caught off guard that Amane would ask for her contact. After a brief pause, she picked up her phone and added Amane.
Once Amane accepted Shiina's friend request, she immediately picked up her parfait, moved her chair, and sat down at Shiina's table.
Watching this, both Horikita and Kushida's expressions tightened slightly.
"Amane-san seems to really enjoy making friends, doesn't she?"
"Mm."
Especially when those friends are cute girls.
Not referring to anyone in particular.
Don't read into it.
That's just what she says.
"That's quite different from Horikita-san, I've noticed. It seems Horikita-san rarely speaks with anyone besides Amane-san and Ayanokouji-san."
Kushida's observation was quite sharp.
Ever since Ayanokouji scored so highly in swimming, combined with his looks, he'd become a hot topic in Class D.
But since he always wore that deadpan expression, a rumor had started that he was hard to approach.
Now the three of them were almost seen as their own little clique. But with Kushida steering the conversation this way, her next move was probably…
"If it's alright, I'd love to become friends with you too, Horikita-san. What do you think?"
There it is. Now it's just a matter of keeping things going until Amane finishes her parfait.
Horikita glanced back at Amane.
Quit getting distracted flirting with cute girls!!!
Hurry up and eat!
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.