Heir & Heiress

Bittersweet

After being scolded by the Headmaster and Ishimaru, Togami and I let the dust settle; Nagito and I didn't interact with the heir since the incident in the dining hall. Fortunately, the feud ended before winter exams. "Karen," Makoto tapped my shoulder, accompanied by Hina, Sayaka, Leon, and Chihiro. "Do you wanna study together?"

I knew Nagito would be studying with his classmates, so I would've been alone tonight. "Yeah, sure," I smiled, swinging my bag over my shoulder.

Hina linked her arm with mine, "Sooooo, does that mean you can help us with English?"

"Uh...well," I stammered.

"She doesn't speak English well," Togami answered from the doorway, prepared to take his leave. "She's fluent in Japanese and French but can barely speak a line of coherent English". For once, his grin didn't feel competitive.

"If you were more personable, you'd be inclined to offer help then," I smiled mockingly.

Togami shrugged, "I have no reason not to". 'damn it', I bit my lip.

I tried helping Hina and Leon with history while Togami and Makoto attempted helping Sayaka and Chihiro with English. But it was hard to focus when my phone kept vibrating; Nagito continued to blow up my phone with texts of his distrust for Byakuya. "Will you silence your phone? The constant buzzing is giving me a migraine," Togami was glaring at me, his eyes just above the frame of his glasses.

"I have to make a call," I told Hina, giving her a list of important dates that I was going to quiz her on. "Pardon me," I emphasized a mocking tone towards Togami. I pressed the button to speed-dial Nagito and shut the library door behind me. "Why are you blowing up my phone?"
"Has he said or done anything?"

"Other than breathe and spout his arrogance, no. Togami is acting as civil as he's capable of," I sighed, leaning against the wall. Nagito sighed in what I believed to be of relief. "We're managing to work together and tutor each other." I could hear a few of his classmates asking what was wrong. "Nagito?"

"Yeah?" His meek voice cracked.

"Are you...jealous?" I hoped that wouldn't offend him, after all the crap we'd dealt with already, but it hurt to hear the sadness in Nagito's voice.

"Is it that obvious?" Nagito chuckled. "I guess...I've grown attached". Although I could hear the grin on his face, he coughed in an attempt to cover up his sniffling.

"I love you, Nagito," the words left my lips with a will of their own. The silence was suffocating; 'Did I really...?', 'Did I say it too soon?', 'Oh my god! Why did I-'

"I...love you too, Karen," the confidence in his response almost knocked me to my knees. He started laughing, "I have to go. Everyone's pestering me now".

I giggled, "Okay. I'll see you later". I silenced my phone and opened the library doors to find Hina and Sayaka huddled beside the entrance. "What are you two doing?" My face began to burn at the sight of their excitement.

"You confessed! Ohmygoodness, you love him?" I shushed the idol and swimmer, directing them back to the table where the others were waiting. The conversation came to a halt when Togami abruptly left the library.

"What the hell is his problem?" I watched him leave with a look of disbelief. All of us, except for Makoto, were confused; Makoto grimaced and excused himself to chase after Togami. "Since when are those two friends?" I gawked. 

"Togami, wait!" Naegi called after the flustered blond. When he finally caught up, Naegi hunched over and steadies his breath. "You...walk really fast," he huffed.

"What do you want?" Byakuya had slowly adjusted to Naegi's consistent presence; however, preferred to be left alone.

"What's going on between you and Billotte?" Makoto stood straight, finally able to converse without coughing.

"That's...none of your business," Byakuya crossed my arms, hoping Naegi would take the hint to leave. The heir had no interest in answering the shorter boy's questions; he had a sore habit of interrogating others as if he were acting as Kirigiri. "Go back to the others. I'll return in a few minutes," Byakuya tried to walk away but Naegi's hand quickly wrapped around his wrist.

"Is it because of her confession to Komaeda?" Byakuya wasn't sure how it was possible for someone to be observant yet oblivious at the same time.

He bit his tongue, forcing sharp words to stay down; Makoto refused to let matters lie apparently. For being such an average person, Naegi was highly intuitive; Byakuya's thoughts ran rampant, trying to decipher what Kirigiri or Ikusaba saw in Naegi. Realizing he had frozen in Makoto's grasp, Byakuya sighed, "Not exactly". Naegi finally released the tall student's now creased shirt sleeve. "Do you know who Billotte is the daughter of?" Byakuya watched his classmate ponder the unlimited options in his mind.

"I know she mentioned how your parents' know each other," Naegi recalled, explaining slowly.

Togami nodded, "That's a summarized version. Karen is the daughter of a well-known fashion designer". Telling Naegi this, Byakuya's mind wandered; memories of the meetings their families had and how Karen would silently sit across from him flashed past Byakuya's eyes. It was a rare occasion for the two to see each other; her parents would constantly move between their global homes. Byakuya wouldn't consider them to be 'childhood friends'; they were only in the same room if their parents had reason to visit. "Someone with such prestige shouldn't have stooped so low," The heir grimaced. With no response from Naegi, Byakuya assumed the conversation had ended and continued towards the dining hall.

"So, you're jealous," Naegi said; his brow raised with a playful smirk.

Togami prepared to shoot his assumption down, but the words wouldn't form. He shook his head, "I think the term you're looking for is 'envious'," he finally admitted. Witnessing the brief exposure of how the heir truly felt, Naegi watched Byakuya walk away in disbelief. 

When Naegi finally returned, he smiled and said Togami would be right back. I believed that he was covering for Togami having ditched us until the heir returned with a tray of coffee. Setting the tray down, Togami set his coffee aside and handed me a cup. Taking a sip, it was already sweetened to perfection, "How did you know?" I couldn't help but smile.

Byakuya only glanced up occasionally, "Lucky guess, I suppose". Even behind the white frames, I spotted a faint blush creeping over his cheeks.