Rose-Red Loverboy

XIV

From the study session with Yuuka, they found out a lot about the girl. She did Judo, and in fact had a black belt in it, to which Riddle was visibly impressed. He paid so much attention to every word she spoke, they felt paranoid about it but the way he seemed to lose himself in every syllable she uttered felt like a sharp stab to the heart.

Really, they couldn't reasonably be mad at Yuuka. After all, she was just a beautiful and friendly girl– it wasn't like she was flirting with him or anything, but he still looked enamored, honestly they wouldn't have been surprised if he started kicking his feet like a middle school girl getting her first crush.

Imagining him putting his name in a love calculator app or writing unsent love letters all while giggling to himself as he imagined fake scenarios would have been immensely funny if it didn't intensify the burning feeling of envy within them– wishing that they could be the one that his heart was set on. But of course, their luck had been shitty since the start of the year.

{y/n} couldn't help but wonder what his type was– what was it specifically that he saw in her? Yes, she was pretty, but did he like her black hair, her dark eyes, maybe her more athletic build? He didn't seem like someone who was shallow enough to be this infatuated with someone purely based on appearance, so then why was she the object of his attractions? Was it because of what happened with the overblot? Or maybe because she was the only girl at the school?

The thought kept them up at night– they couldn't just ask him, because that would probably be 'improper' according to him. So, the day after, they did the next best thing.

They asked Ace.

It was meant to be simple– a hushed conversation with the freshman, but of course he decided that wasn't going to happen. It started well– asking him more about Yuuka's personality– he would know better than anyone since they were best friends.

But, once they asked what the housewarden might see in her– just to see if Ace knew of his preferences, which in hindsight was a horrible idea, he stormed off. Initially, {y/n} thought they had upset the hot-headed ginger, but no, instead they heard yelling not long after that.

Ace straight up asked him.

Ace had stormed over to Riddle, deciding to ask him why he liked Yuu. Of course it was something he would do, this was Ace after all– he seemed to completely lack any semblance of fear. And characteristic of Riddle, he immediately denied it. His face was bright red as he tried to rapidly explain himself about how Yuuka was only a friend and he definitely didn't see her like that. Of course he was lying, he was a horrible liar too, because it likely wouldn't have ended so well for him to simply admit that he had a blaringly obvious crush on Ace's best friend to his face. Not to mention, he was definitely scared that the younger student would tell Yuuka.

It was pretty funny to watch– Riddle desperately trying to deny Ace's claim– blush spread across his cheeks and a nervous sweat also clearly apparent. And yet, it didn't really help them at all. The only thing it really did was make them further realize they weren't getting that information. If he got this flustered from the simple question, trying to beat around the bush to get the answer probably wouldn't work out too well either.

In the end, they just decided to drop it for now. In the very least, Yuuka didn't seem to be interested in him– she was 2 years older, and didn't ever make a move on him. It made sense, usually teenage girls didn't really date younger. Not to mention, a lot of girls would rather have a stronger man, someone tall– kind of the opposite of Riddle. It wasn't like he didn't have his good qualities, but he wasn't exactly the most conventionally attractive,

Honestly, they wish they cared less. After all, it wasn't like there was anything they could even do about it. Flirting with their housewarden would not only be difficult, but it probably wouldn't end well. After all, he was dense, easily flustered, and there was a good chance they would be collared for even trying, along with some lecture about how it was 'unprofessional and inappropriate behavior', which in all honesty wasn't wrong but it wasn't like it was a huge deal. He might have been the boss of the dorm, but it didn't change the fact that he was also a fellow student.