Rival Offline (Anya Forger x Damian Desmond)

Chapter Thirty Five: A Date?

Kokei: Want to eat lunch on the roof together? I need a break from all this chaos.

Anya's eyes widened at the message, her heart skipping a beat as she quickly glanced around the classroom, making sure no one had seen her sneakily hidden phone underneath her desk. This is fine, just lunch, she told herself, trying to stay calm.

Sakura: Sure.

She replied as casually as possible, though inside, her nerves were anything but calm. Act cool, act cool, she thought, though her mind was already racing, wondering what this could mean.

As the lunch bell rang, Anya could feel the anxiety bubbling up inside her, Becky approached Anya's desk with an apologetic look.

"I'm so sorry, Anya. I made plans with someone, so I can't spend lunch with you," she said, her tone regretful.

"It's fine, Becky, I made plans too," Anya smiled, trying to reassure her.

"With Damian? Tell me more later!" Becky whispered with a playful wink before giggling and walking away, waving as she headed off.

Anya lifted herself off the desk and headed for the roof, her heart racing a little as she anticipated meeting Kokei.

As soon as she stepped outside, she was greeted by an unexpected voice.

"Yo," Damian said casually, leaning against the wall.

Anya wanted to freeze right there, caught off guard by his sudden presence, but she quickly shook it off, trying to remain calm.

"Are you okay? You seemed pretty stressed out," she asked, her voice a bit more concerned than she'd intended.

"Huh? Yeah... I'm fine, it's just that I keep getting approached by people that are... you know," Damian said nervously, avoiding her gaze.

"Are you being threatened?" Anya asked, completely oblivious to the situation.

"No... No, it's not that," he replied, his face turning red with embarrassment. "They want to... walk around.. with me.. during the festival with me."

He blushed furiously, frustrated at how she always needed everything explained to her, he knew she was smart, maybe she just does it on purpose. Anya blinked, taking a moment to process it before realization hit her. "Ohhh... You mean that kind of thing."

"So? you decided yet?" she asked with a playful grin

"decided what?" he asked nervously

"Who your going to walk around with?" she said 

"Not.. any one who asked" he said burying his face in his arms

"Then.. what about me?" she asked 

Damian's head shot up from his arms, eyes wide as he stared at her in shock. "W-What about you?" he stammered, his heart suddenly racing.

Anya grinned, leaning in playfully. "I mean, you said no to everyone else, so why not walk around with me? We could check out all the booths together!"

Damian's face turned an even deeper shade of red. "Y-You? But... I—" he hesitated, unsure of how to respond.

"Unless you don't want to hang out with me," she teased, raising an eyebrow. 

Damian swallowed hard. "N-No, I didn't say that!" he blurted, trying to regain his composure. "I mean... sure. I guess... that could be fun."

Anya's grin widened, satisfied with his flustered reaction. "Great! It's a date, then."

Damian's face turned beet red as the word left Anya's mouth. "D-Date?!" he exclaimed, his voice cracking slightly. "You— You can't just call it that!"