Romantic Killer But I Made It Gay

Junta route part 4

The bell rings throughout the building and Emi and I get up and walk over to each other, stretching while the other students make their wasps to their respective lunch spots. She yawns, leaning on the nearest desk.

"That class was the longest we've had in a while. I never thought a teacher could be that boring; it's like a superpower!"

"Yeah," I agree tiredly. "And he assigned a super amount of homework, too."

"That sounds fun," Tsukasa's comments dryly from the doorway and he steps in awkwardly as whispers explode around us. "I...ah, do you have your lunch?"

"Lunch?" I check my bag but the wrapped box is missing. "Did we have lunches today?"

He sighs and beckons me into the hallway, Emi following. "I guess Junta forgot to pack them. We'll have to eat in the cafeteria today."

"Hey!" Junta yells, walking as quickly as he can down the hallway. "I'm so sorry," he gasps when he reaches us, "I forgot to pack the lunches. I was so worried Haru wouldn't get up on time that..." His cheeks turn red and I feel my own face heat. "That...well, we always walk to school together...so—"

"It's fine," I assure him quickly. "We can just eat in the cafeteria. Oh, unless you want to eat with your baseball friends."

He shakes his head, smiling. "I'd rather eat with you." I blink, my face growing a million degrees hotter and he amends, "All of you! M-My friends! All my friends!"

Emi laughs, walking over and ruffling his hair. "Sure, sure. C'mon, let's get there before the line gets too long."

We make our way to the cafeteria and get in line...right next to the same red haired girl I'd been hoping we wouldn't see again.

"Do you know her?" I whisper to Emi, who knows everyone. She nods, confused.

"Why? Is there something happening with her?"

"Ah..." I don't want to worry her with my stupid theories, so I shake my head. "Sorry. Nothing."

She frowns, giving the girl another look. "Haru—"

"It's a stupid thought. I don't want to waste your time."

"I always have time for your stupid thoughts," she chides, nudging me. "But if you don't want to tell me that's fine. Just...It's not anything bad, right?"

"No. I don't think so."

She doesn't look very reassured but by this point we've reached the front of the line and started down the side, looking at the choices.

"I'll get the A lunch," Tsukasa decides at the same time as the girl chooses,

"I'll take the A lunch."

They stare at each other before she turns her head to intensely look the other way. Tsukasa frowns but the line makes us move on and the rest of us order before we start toward an open table.

"That was awkward," Junta murmurs, making me jump.

"Y-Yeah." Once again I'm too conscious of his presence over my shoulder. "We seem to keep running into her."

"You seem stressed," he notices, worriedly settling into his seat. "Is there something wrong with her?"

I sigh, tired of my weird suspiciousness today. "No. I'm just...tired."

"You're probably hungry." He motions for me to eat and I realize I absentmindedly picked the cauliflower rice instead of their sushi. I groan, slumping down on the table and Junta nudges me. I look up and he gestures to his meal: the sushi choice they finally brought back.

"What?"

"You can have mine," he offers kindly. "I don't mind cauliflower rice."

How is he this nice? "I can't—"

"I really don't mind," he insists, grabbing my tray from over my head and swapping it with his before I can protest. "There. Now eat up."

"Thanks, dad." I feel like crying for some reason, but I've gotten better about keeping a hold on my emotions lately so I keep it together.

He grins and I can see Emi smiling like a mother watching her child graduate high school. I flush and stuff a roll in my mouth, avoiding her eyes.

"Maybe I should just get a watch," Tsukasa mumbles absentmindedly. "I don't like not knowing what time it is."

"You broke your phone?" Emi guesses perfectly, surprised. "How? You always keep it in great condition."

"I dropped it," he lies, but I get why. He probably doesn't want anyone else to blame that girl.

"Seriously, we can help pay for it," Junta reminds him and I nod, swallowing my sushi.

"You cook, you clean, and most importantly, you take care of those things. It's the least we can do."

He shakes his head, taking a calm bite. "It's too much to ask. I have enough to buy a new one already."

"Yeah, but you probably want to spend that money on other things," I argue.

"I'm not a charity service," he growls, taking a slightly less calm bite. "Let me pay for my own things."

We eat in awkward silence until Makoto walks into the cafeteria and cries, "Tsukasa! There you are!" Every head turns to him but he doesn't seem to notice, walking over and sitting down in our spare seat. "I was looking all over for you! I texted you like a billion times!"

"He broke his phone," Emi, Junta and I inform him while Tsukasa sighs.

As the buzz the cafeteria grows again I hear a grunt and I turn in my seat to see the girl watching us guiltily. Considering how much we've been talking about the phone she broke, she must feel awful. I give her a tentative smile and she turns back to her purple haired friend who reaches across the table to pat her on the shoulder.