I refused the crown prince's proposal because I'm gay!

Chapter 24

"I sure run into you a lot," Miko sighed, placing her bag down as she sat in the chair across from Anri's table. "It's almost creepy," she said, resting her chin on her palm, her eyes fixed on Anri. Black and stormy, with hints of silver, unblinking. Anri felt like an exhibit at an art museum, pulled and analyzed.

"I... this is the most popular cafe near the campus," Anri stammered, her face contorting beautifully with a mix of shame and anger. Her mind raced as she averted her gaze from the person who had seated themselves uninvited at her empty table.

"Hmm," Miko merely hummed and flagged down a waiter. She ordered without hesitation as if she had the entire menu memorized. With her introverted and indecisive self, Anri made no attempts to speak up. Everything Miko orders will be delicious anyway.

Anri fidgeted with her current favorite pen, an unassuming black-inked pen from the nearest general store. Her other hand scrambled hurriedly over the spread of papers, post-it notes, and other writing materials as she tried to subtly—but not really—shuffle them into one pile. Anri also didn't miss the male waiter's just as 'subtle' interest in Miko. The realization made Anri shift uncomfortably in her seat, her eyes dropping back down to her now lukewarm, half-empty coffee.

When the waiter finally left to fulfill Miko's order, Anri finally mustered the courage she shift her gaze back up to the college student in front of her. Her heart nearly jumped out of her throat when they made eye contact, internally screaming 'How long had she been staring at me. Since the beginning?'

"There is a very good writing course on the other campus, on the other side of the city," Miko mentioned, taking notes of the messy papers and textbooks. "I heard an old professor recently returned for a couple of lectures."

"I've already enrolled in his online courses," Anri murmured, biting her lower lip. "I'm here mainly for the art classes." She may be an aspiring writer, but she still hadn't given up on her dreams of becoming an animator.

"You have a project coming up soon, right? And a deadline for your anatomy class," Miko asked, her fingers swiftly gliding across her phone's screen.

Anri nodded dejectedly, her gaze dropping to her sketch layered in scribbles and crossed out notes. She doodled aimless circles in an attempt to distract herself. She couldn't help but feel disappointed; she had hoped their conversation wouldn't be so... awkward, so unfamiliar and uncomfortable. This is their first conversation in over half a year; that's like seven menstrual cycles.

What stung the most was the realization that Miko probably wouldn't have initiated any conversation with her, even though they shared the same general studies course and ran into each other every other day.

Her wild thoughts were interrupted by a ping in her pocket. She frowned, quickly digging the device out. Her heart stopped as her thumb hovered over the notification. An intricate snowflake insignia alongside "Koko has sent a message". An inactive chat she's visited time and time again. "These are-"

Miko offered a light smile. "Come to my photoshoot; perhaps you'll find the inspiration you were looking for."

Anri clutched her phone to her chest, her heart swelling with joy.

"And stop taking the classes I'm in."

And her heart shot right back down to her feet like stones as she absorbed Miko's sharp words.

"You're wearing yourself thin," Miko commented with a sigh.

Anri was about to retort when she stood up as the waiter returned to their table with an assortment of juice and finger sandwiches. With no shame, Miko took the plates off his serving tray and placed them all in front of her. Anri sat there, utterly speechless, as her watered-down coffee and unused textbooks were replaced by the food. Miko pushed the unfinished coffee and excess plates back onto the tray, utterly crushing any hope the nameless waiter might have had of getting her number.