The Humanity Club | ✓

43. What's the plan to capture the rabbit?

So sorry for the spam of updates!! From this point onward is the last bit of the story. Happy reading~!

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CHAPTER 43

          It wasn't long before we found Hiro. Unlike Yuji and I, he wasn't anywhere near the snack area and instead was standing with his parents, greeting guests and sharing formal conversation with adults.

          Yuji and I were awkwardly poking our heads out for a while, ignoring the odd look passing adults and younger kids gave us until Hiro finally caught eyes staring and turned around. Needless to say, he obtained an indifferent attitude when he saw us, as if he couldn't believe what we were up to.

          "You do realize you could've approached me like regular people," Hiro said after he'd excused himself from his parents and arrived in front of us.

          "There's no fun in that," Yuji reasoned flippantly. "Plus, your parents are intimidating."

          Hiro opened his mouth to protest but in the end, I guess he couldn't. His attention shifted onto me only to have his face immediately soften. The amount of nervousness that rippled through me succeeded in making me uncomfortable. I dodged his eyes, fixing them to the ceiling above and the pretty glass chandelier. I still couldn't fathom earlier's events with Yuji, but Hiro's also stabbed me like needles.

          "So why exactly are you here, Hoshino?" Hiro said.

          I slowly brought my gaze back to him. For somebody who I'd deemed would be as awkward as I was, he was perfectly nonchalant. Like he'd always been. My mind couldn't help but race with thoughts. Was he working some reverse psychology on me or something? He and Yuji both were so terrifying...

          I struggled to open my mouth and voice a coherent response but before I could, Yuji's arm snaked around my waist. He tugged me closer, his cheek brushing against my hair.

          "Miyuki's my date tonight."

          Hiro's eyebrows sprung up a bit, his shoulders tensing. Similarly, heat flooded my cheeks with colour. I nudged Yuji away from me.

          "Reluctant date," I added, dodging my eyes to the floor. I wasn't too sure why I felt the need to. "This is, uh..."

          "It's a date," Yuji finished for me.

          I met his eyes with my widened ones, insistently praying he'd catch onto my warning signals. "But this isn't a date, date. You just needed somebody to tag along, and I decided to fill the role... Like, very reluctantly." I awkwardly paused to try to again, "I didn't want to but I did because you..."

          The more I ran my mouth, the more I realized I wasn't helping my case. Yuji, totally ignoring to the charged vibes hanging in the air, had a silly smile smacked onto his face. As if he was purposely dragging out the conversation from his amusement. I clamped my lips, inching further away from him. Didn't he know about Hiro? Why was he doing this then?

          Yuji emitted a chuckle as he faced the guy. "It's fine if you're jealous."

          "I'm not jealous."

          Contrasting his words, Hiro's grumpy scowl was black as night.

          Yuji, calm as always, returned his focus back to me. "So, Hiro's jealousy aside—"

          "I said I'm not jealous!"

          Hiro's unintentional shout had darted a good amount of eyes in our direction. Suddenly sheepish, faint colour reached his face and he turned the other cheek. Yuji's grin expanded as a result while my mortification inclined. What was the right thing to say in this kind of situation?