[[Ｊｉｎｐａｃｈｉ Ｔｏｕｄｏｕ ♥ Ｒｅａｄｅｒ]] －My unofficial boyfriend

Maybe

Who was this boy?

He had dark black hair which was a little curvy and landed to his neck. Those narrowed deep blue eyes looked to you always with such confidence. The person himself was always ready for everything, his casual way of talking was almost irritating, not to mention his laugh – it was pretentious, exaggerated and annoying but you couldn't stop liking it. His rather high voice was unique, it was part of his identity. It was adorable. Actually, the whole person was too adorable for you to admit.

He seemed like he was always chilling out. He was always grinning, that smile could deserve its own trademark. His smiles were effective to you even though you didn't know him well – actually, you didn't know him at all. One day he just suddenly started talking to you and started to tell you about his dear hobby – cycling. He is such a passionate guy although he always boasted to you about how popular he was especially among girls. He was so easy-going and always had that role on – even on rainy days.

However, you could see trough him. Such a cheerful guy like him should have a lot of people fawning over him, right? No. He didn't say it out but he was rather lonely. You had gotten know him pretty well in these last three years of high school. You never really did admit it, but you started to see him as a friend. He was one of those few people who greeted you every morning while waiting for the class to start. He asked you to eat with him and after school he would ask you to join him while he was practicing.

You never realized it but you had spent the most of your time in high school with him. You missed him when he was too busy to hang out with you and you were always there to cheer for him when he had an important race to attend. Either of you never thought about it, but you started to look like a couple. Others realized that too. There was nothing you couldn't tell him and the other way round.

You were so close to each other that you didn't even realize how strong your feelings for each other had grown. People joked you about it and you never took them seriously. When you were eating with your friends, someone would mention you about the boy who stared to you from the next table and you would give him a gentle smile. It took you much more time to realize the situation than the people surrounding your life had guessed. Soon you questioned it yourself and started to admit the facts that he looked charming and lovable in your eyes. You would never had imagined yourself surfing around the net and looking for answers about love. You did love tests, asked people about their boyfriends and started to keep your eye on him more.

You thought you did right but before you even realized it you started to feel very nervous around him. You couldn't just suddenly call him in the morning like you used to do or just casually say hi when you passed him and his group of friends in school hallway. You became a little bit distant with him and all this was because of your uncharacteristic acting around him.

You felt jealous for real. You had never felt your heart hurt so bad when you saw other girls talking to him. You felt bad for feeling so. You didn't own him and there was probably no chance for you to ever get to date him. He always boasted to you about his fans but he actually had them. They were a threat if you wanted to progress.

How does love work? The net gave you answers but they didn't tell how to fit them in your life. You were absolutely hopeless with things like these. There always was a chance that your friendship would be ruined and you had no idea how he felt about you.

On the top of that the time was ending.

----

''Wow, Toudou-san truly is quite popular. He got another fan letter today.'' One of your friends said as you were spending your lunch break eating out with your small group of friends. You sat quietly on a bench eating your packed lunch while your friends were relaxing on the ground at the level of your feet. They asked you to join and not just sit there alone but you had said that this was the easiest position for you to eat.

You weren't sure how this group had formed. Some of your friends were rather new and some you had known since you were little children. You were very helpful and maybe people liked that about you. You were easy to talk to even though you were a little quiet at first. On top of that you seemed to have a welcoming aura around you which drew people around you.

''(f/n), by the way, you are very familiar with him, aren't you?'' One of your newest friends suddenly said gazing up at you from the ground and the others turned to look at you as well. You looked very surprised and didn't respond right away. Why were they suddenly talking about him? Like, they seriously were interested in your relationship with him. This was the second time they had brought it up today.

''Sure she is! They used to spend more time with each other but they are still very good friends, or rather lovers!'' Other commented out and winked at you. They all started laughing but you could only give it an insincere chuckle. Nobody didn't seem to notice though and it made you relieved. You didn't usually act this awkwardly around them and it did even confuse yourself. But every time you talked about him made you feel differently and you became shy.

''It's nothing like that.'' You said with a calm voice. ''He's nice to talk with, good looking even, there's no denying that, but there's a high chance that he already has a girlfriend. I don't know since I'm not that close to him. But to be honest, I don't really even care.'' You continued and it made your friends silent. Did you really just say that you didn't care if he had a girlfriend? That didn't sound like you since they all knew how strong feelings you held towards him.

''But you two look just like a couple, (f/n). That can't be possible.'' They whined which made you let out a tired sigh. ''Maybe he's just an unofficial boyfriend?'' They continued, trying to think about a best explanation. ''What is that?''

''It's like they're dating but they haven't made it official yet.''

''Oh, right, maybe it is like that.''

''Ah, the class is starting soon – see you later!'' They suddenly stood up and one by one left with quick ''goodbyes'' and headed to their classes. You followed one of your friends since you both were in the same class. She was really nice but you didn't really know her like the most of your so-called friends.

The school bell rang and the classes began.

----

School had ended about five minutes ago. All people were hurrying home or to their club activities. You shared a quick chat with one of your classmates while walking to your locker and laughed softly to her story. You remembered when you used to do this with him. You weren't certain when exactly you stopped talking to him.

The day had been very tiring and you just barely had the energy to walk home after two hours of PE. You sighed, changed your shoes to your walking shoes, locked up your locker and left the building. It was a little bit cold outside but it just refreshing. Some female student would complain about the cool wind but you breathed it like you were surrounded by fresh nature.

You were caught up to the moment, not realizing that the familiar male was approaching you. He stood next to you for a while without saying anything and mentioned your name only after a while. It seemed like he didn't want to disturb you. When you heard your name spoken by a familiar voice, you turned to him, your mouth slightly agape.

''Hey there, (f/n)-chan.'' He greeted with that usual smile on his face. You couldn't help but give him a gentle smile. His hand was resting on your left shoulder and the contact made you blush a little. When did you become such a shy girl? Was it because him? Why did he make you feel so small and innocent?

''Care to join us to our club activities? It would be fun to have you cheering for me while practicing with others. What do you say, yes, no?'' He asked and let his typical laugh echo in your ears. It had been a while since you had seen his bicycle team and you missed them. They were nice people to be around, all of them.

''Uh, sure, why not.'' You answered after considering.

''Great. Now I can give it my best when I know a cute girl is watching!'' He said and winked at you.

Huh? A cute girl?

Maybe, just maybe, he had feelings for you.

Was there a chance that he was your unofficial boyfriend?