[1] Smile Magic (UtaPri - Ittoki Otoya Fanfic)

Chapter Seventeen: Confusing Heartbeat

C H A P T E R 17 :

☆ Cafe ☆ Lunch ☆

"Mae-chan~! It's so good too see you again!"

Akahana Mae was tackled into a tight hug before she could realize what was going on, her oxygen supply literally getting cut off by it. At the sight of his tousled blond hair, Mae cracked a small smile. "It's good to see you again too, Shinomiya-San."

"Oh, what about me? Didn't you miss me too~?" Mae looked up in surprise to see the whole gang follow up behind Natsuki, and Ren stepped towards her. Natsuki backed away from her, giving her oxygen, but Ren's questioning gaze made her uncomfortable.

"Uh..." Mae blushed, as she was at a loss for words, but Syo came to the rescue before she could respond.

"Ren, that's not how you properly greet someone you're asking a favour for."

Ren merely turned to face the sour looking blond, smiling. "What's this? Is the Munchkin jealous he never talked to her first?"

Syo fumed, pink dusting his cheeks. "Ren!?"

"Don't, Kurusu," Masato cut in, stepping in front of Syo. He had his arms folded, a glare fixated on his face. "He wouldn't fix his ways anyways."

Ren raised an eyebrow at Masato whose look only darkened. Before all hell could break loose and they engage in a relentless argument, Ichinose Tokiya snatched Mae's full attention.

He was still as poker-faced as before as he bobbed his head slightly. "We apologize for asking something like this from you, but thank you for accepting."

Mae flinched before bowing. "No, it's alright! I'm glad to be able to help you guys."

Mae got back up and Tokiya's intent stare caused her heart to jump. "Is something the matter...?" she tentatively asked.

Just as Tokiya opened his mouth to reply, Mae's eyes caught sight of his red hair behind him. Her heart rate sped up as he attention fell onto Ittoki Otoya, who had jumped up beside Tokiya, grinning from ear to ear.

"It's great to see you again, Akahana!"

Just seeing his smile melted her insides and Mae found herself smiling subconsciously. She didn't even know Otoya was supposed to come today, but in that moment, she was so glad he did. It had already been a few days since she returned back from the summer camp, but seeing him now made her feel as if the days that passed were nothing. All her worries and anxiety always disappeared whenever she was with him.

"You too, Ittoki-kun," Mae responded, and Otoya's smile widened at her smile.

"Is everything going alright?" he asked her.

Mae nodded her head, her eyes never leaving his ruby ones. "Yes, it's been going fine..."

"That's good..." Otoya stared right back into Mae's eyes, and the silence that enveloped them didn't feel much like a silence at all. Both of them had things they wanted to say and emotions bubbling up inside, but neither of them knew how to say nor express them.

The sound of someone coughing snapped the two back to reality and they turned to see the five males watching them with raised eyebrows.

"Well enough with the flirting, let's get this day started shall we?" Ren drawled with a wink.

Both Mae and Otoya flushed beet red, their mouths dropped.

"Th-that-" Otoya began before turning his head to look at Mae, who instantly met his gaze. They blushed even harder at that and glanced away from each other.