My elite romantic comedy is wrong, as I expected.

VOL 1 Chapter 14 Friends

After the whole fiasco that happened, we arrange that the best ones in the classroom are open before the doubts appear, I leave the classroom with Sudo who has today off from the club and we head to the dorms.

I thought I was relieved of a weight, but now I have a bigger one, haaaaaaaaaaaaa, this doesn't make me happy at all compared to the muscle head next to me who is very talkative today.

Sudo Tsk, Tsk Hikigaya you really scared me back there, you know you are quite reliable compared to your appearance.

Hachiman: Please can you decide to praise me or insult me, you make me feel quite complicated.

Sudo: come on man today is a day to celebrate, you know the beginning of the strongest class, sounds pretty good in my book.

I guess it's a good thing I'm motivated, at least someone is, yahoooooo. We continue towards the dorms until we are called by the dynamic duo.

Horikita: wait.

Hachiman: oh

Sudo: Ahhh?!

We turn around at the same time and see Horikita and Ayanokouji who want to talk, Tsk, at least you can wait for me to get some energy back.

Hachiman: What's wrong?

Horikita: You know very well what's going on, what happened over there, since when do you hold me in such high esteem, you called me an idiot yourself.

Hachiman: Are you still angry about that? What a troublesome woman, I will keep praying for you Ayanokouji.

Ayanokouji: Please don't add fuel to the fire if you know you're going to burn me.

I guess it became a habit to tease Horikita between the two of them.

Horikita: Ayanokouji -kun, I would keep quiet if I were you, unless you want to meet your good friend the compass.

Seriously this woman is crazy, now I really feel sorry for Ayanokouji, who keeps quiet.

Hachiman: If you're going to shut him up, then why do you want him here, he's some kind of keychain.

Horikita: I don't know, he just followed me.

Hachiman: Ayanokouji and why the hell are you following her?

Ayanokouji:......... Curiosity.

I see, I don't want to probe the duo any further, so I'll end this quickly.

Hachiman:Horikita , I'm going to be honest with you, I think you are one of the best of our year, you are someone very hard to beat individually.

Horikita:If so because....

I interrupt her.

Hachiman: But you are not fighting alone, you need allies, those who will fight your battles by your side, I admire your intelligence I think you will be the strategist mind of our class, but if you have no one to tell your strategy will only be empty words, that's why I proposed you as leader I want you to exploit your full potential for the benefit of the class.

My words left her shocked, but I had to be direct to convey my message through that hard skull of hers. I place myself in front of her, now that I see her up close she is very pretty, I address her my last thoughts combined with my feelings.

Hachiman: Horikita..... I don't know what you are trying to achieve, but I want to believe in you....... I want one day to be able to call you my friend.

These feelings I don't know if they will come, but I've been completely honest, I've tried to run away from human relationships for a long time, so I just have to face them again, I may get hurt again, but I won't know if I try.

I want something genuine and one day to express it in words, but for the moment it's okay to admit it, so I want to get to know people and not judge them by the by my own standards.

Horikita has a pretty complicated face, she doesn't get it , other times she would be able to say "what a stupid thing to say" and walk away ,that makes me mentally pat myself for making this stubborn girl doubt.

Horikita: Excuse me.

Horikita turns around waving her long black hair and leaves, leaving the three of us shocked, even Ayanokouji opened his eyes a little.

Hachiman: And she left.

Ayanokouji: Yes

Sudo: Well, what do we do now?

Hachiman: I guess the original plan.

Sudo had planned to celebrate with some drinks and food in my room for my supposed appointment as leader, seeing him so excited makes it hard for me to decline. So we followed that plan and added Ayanokouji along for the ride.

Ayanokouji: Are you sure it's okay for me to be here?

Hachiman: I don't see why not, after all you're my friend too.

Sudo: I don't see the problem either, you also gave me advice that day, and you're friends with Hikigaya, so you're in my book of cool guys, I just find it hard to talk to you with that Horikita girl near you.

Ayanokouji:I see.

With that we enjoy some snacks and drinks, we do some idle chit-chat when Sudo starts talking.

Sudo: Hey, Hikigaya earlier when you told Horikita that, is it true?

Hachiman: Yeah sure, I think it has great potential.

Sudo: Not that, I mean about being his friend.

Hachiman: Ahhhh, that, the truth is I don't know if I can become friends with her, but that girl is so hard-headed, she makes me want to reach out to her, but it's up to her if she will receive it, I think that's what being friends with someone is all about.

Ayanokouji looks at me, as usual I don't know what that look means, maybe he thinks I'm a fool for thinking about something as intangible as friendship.
And Sudo decides to speak.

Sudo: You know Hikigaya, it made me very happy that you will call me your friend, I have always been an outcast because of my hot temper, I used to get into fights with the neighborhood boys, most people would avoid me because I look like a delinquent,heck, even when I play basketball I feel like I am alone, I find it hard to believe in my teammates, so whenever we lost I thought it was because of my mistakes, leaving all the weight under my shoulders.

Sudo is talking with an unusually calm tone, it's the way he vents, this is the real Sudo Ken, not the hot-blooded idiot.

Sudo: But you know, Hikigaya, seeing you trying to unite the class, trying to improve our weaknesses, made me want to support you, having your effort lost by some troublemakers makes me angry, and I don't want to be one of them, as your friend that would hurt me.

It's the first time someone called me his friend. Honestly, most of the time the one who said it was because he lost a challenge, and he would be like the contagion that everyone would avoid.

Hachiman: Sudo, thank you, then I guess you'll improve that troublemaker attitude.

Sudo: I-I know, I'm not promising anything though.

Hachiman: You know I want to see you play basketball until we graduate, it would be a real shame that for a fight that is not worth losing what you love, promise me that the only thing you're going to hit is the backboard with a strong dunk.

I raise my fist to show my determination, Sudo is surprised but smiles and with a fierce tone answers me.

Sudo: Consider it done.

Sudo Ken is an airhead, the only solution he has for problems is with his fists, he's loud, arrogant, and sometimes I feel like punching him. But he is my first friend, in this life and in the previous one. We'll see what the future holds.

We finish our little celebration, Sudo decides to leave, Ayanokouji stays a little longer since he lives next door, I lay my head on the small table in the room and let out a tired sigh. Ayanokouji seeing me speaks.

Ayanokouji: It must be pretty hard, right?

Hachiman: You have no idea.

Ayanokouji: So what are you going to do?

Hachiman: It's not obvious, lead to the A class, the rest will depend on them.

Ayanokouji keeps looking at me, he is probably analyzing me, seeing the possible use I can have by calculating all the possibilities.

Ayanokouji: Are you okay with that?
Hachiman: Of course, I want to retire as soon as possible, so I'll do my best.

Ayanokouji: You sound like an old man.
Hachiman: maybe, but I'm too lazy to correct myself.

We spent some time in silence, it became a habit since we are both novices at making conversation, but I have to settle a matter.

Hachiman: I leave Horikita in your hands.

Ayanokouji: Huh? What do you mean?

Hachiman: Technically you are the closest to her, the closest thing to a friend, please don't tell her that, she is capable of stabbing me.

Ayanokouji: Got it.

Ha, keeping someone from wanting to know your pain gets you points in my book Ayanokouji.

Hachiman: I know you are more reliable than you look, if anything happens to me, I leave the class in your hands.

Ayanokouji looks at me surprised, maybe I caught him off guard, it may be because he thinks I know something about him, which is not wrong.

Ayanokouji: You overestimate me, I'm just someone normal who wants a quiet school life.

Hachiman: fufufu, Ayanokouji someone normal wouldn't say that.

Again he looks at me in surprise, it's really so easy to get reactions out of him, I don't know how anyone has managed to annoy him so much.

Ayanokouji: Is that so?

Hachiman: You are someone weird Ayanokouji, but it's not bad, if all people were the same life would be very boring, I have avoided meeting people for a long time, but I think it's time to move on.
Ayanokouji: I see, you still sound like an old man.

Hachiman: Ohh shut up.

Ayanokouji: It's late enough, I'll go to rest, goodbye Hikigaya.

Hachiman: Yes, goodbye.

With this he leaves my room and leaves me immersed in my thoughts.