The Helpers Club! Ryuji Confronts Lucy?

Shiori and Hikigaya come running back into the room. The others look at them with confused looks.

"Guys! We got a room." Shiori lifts the key as the others smile.

Later, the group walks down a hallway in the Club Hall. There are lots of other students putting up banners and decorations as well as setting up booths in front of their rooms and other things.

"Wow, these clubs really take the festival seriously." Haru says with a smile.

"Of course. This is the main time they can get new members and grow their clubs." Ryuji responds casually.

"Yeah, well, these guys won't know what hit them when they see our club!"

Chizuru says with a determined look. They look at the room numbers and find a room on the second floor under 108. They stop for a moment outside the door before opening it.

Inside, it looks like any other classroom. A few desks around. Some closets and a few things lying about as this room was used for storage occasionally. They go inside and look around with unimpressed looks on their faces.

"As far as club rooms go, I've seen better."

Kitaro says as Hisana elbows him a bit. 

"It definitely looks boring but we'll get it in shape."

Hikigaya says as he gives a smile to Shiori who gives him a look of agreement.

"So this is our very own club room?"

Sugawara asks with shiny eyes of amazement. 

"Yup. This will be our special place for the Helpers Club."

Lucy answers. He gets a big smile on his face.

"I never thought I'd join a club…"

Sugawara says softly as Haru looks at him with adoration and blushes while smiling.

"You're so cute."

He says. Sugawara looks at him and starts blushing before Haru grabs him by the face and gives him a big kiss. While they do that, the others look around as Shiori speaks.

"Alright guys. The Club Festival is coming up soon so we have to get started right away. Where should we begin?"

She looks at the others who stare at her blankly for a moment.

"Uh, sorry I can't help today. I gotta go shopping to make dinner for my family tonight." Haru says.

"I'm with him." Sugawara adds.

"Kitaro and I have stuff to do too."

Hisana says as Kitaro nods. Shiori and Hikigaya both droop for a moment before straightening up. She rubs her forehead in slight frustration.

"Okay, fine, I guess we'll start tomorrow but we have to take it seriously! We only have a few days and all the other clubs have a head start on us!"

Shiori says with a serious look. They all agree and begin making their way out of the room.

Out front of the school, they say their goodbyes like they normally do as they begin to walk home. Chizuru and Lucy follow behind Ryuji and talk until eventually Chizuru parts ways like normal. Lucy waves goodbye and turns back to face Ryuji. 

"Well, we better get going!"

She laughs awkwardly as she walks past him. He doesn't move from his position however. 

"Lucy."

He says. She stops and looks at him confused.

"We need to talk."

He says in a direct but soft tone. Lucy begins to nervously sweat a bit but turns to face him. He stares at her intently with no sign of nervousness or anxiety.

"W-what is it?"

She asks. He stares at her as she stares back. There is silence between them as a warm breeze passes through the air around them.

"Lucy. I'm in love with you."

Ryuji says, without any hesitation or doubt. Her eyes widen as she blushes. He continues to stare at her as she lowers her head with a nervous look. She doesn't respond and he doesn't say anything else. After a moment of silence, Lucy finally responds.

"Ryuji… I… We can't… We can't be together…"

He stares at her but his eyes are widened with surprise ever so subtly. His expression then falls a bit, filled with a sudden rush of sadness but just as quickly as it comes, he then smiles at her with shiny eyes.

"Okay."

He then continues to walk home after gently taking her hand and pulling her along, walking with her. She gets a look of surprise but then gets a look of sadness as if on the verge of tears. 

"It's okay. I still love you. Always."

He says as he gently pulls her along. Neither of them say another word on their way home.

The next day at school, Chizuru is walking down the hall towards the club room when Lucy approaches her, an anxious look on her face.

"Chizu, can I talk to you for a second?"

"Of course! What's up?" She asks with a smile.

"YOU DID WHAT?!"

Birds fly out of a tree in the courtyard from Chizuru's yelling. Lucy covers her ears with a distraught look before shushing her.

"Shhh! Keep it down, I really don't want anyone else to know!"

"Lucy, you rejected him?? I know you said you didn't like him and stuff but we both know that's not true! Is this because of Shiori?" Chizuru asks with an upset look.

"No no! It's not that. I just… I'm scared… We've been friends for so long and he's so perfect, of course I like him but… what if it doesn't work out? I don't want to lose him…" Lucy says with a worried and confused look on her face.

"Lucy…"

Chizuru gives Lucy a sympathetic look while Lucy struggles with her thoughts about what happened when Haru approaches them.

"There you guys are! C'mon, we gotta get started." He hurries them along and they follow.

In the room, everyone else waits. Lucy and Chizuru take a seat but as they do, Lucy makes eye contact with Ryuji who smiles at her. She blushes and looks away with an upset look. Ryuji's smile goes away and he too gets a slightly sad look. 

"Okay everyone! As the founders of this club, Hikigaya and I are in charge. We will decide positions later but for now let's focus on what our club is going to look like. The festival is only two days away! So, any suggestions?" Shiori asks enthusiastically.

"So we're trying to, like, figure out our club theme?" Haru asks.

"Yeah, like if it should be colorful and energetic or office sharp. That kind of stuff." Chizuru answers.

"Ohhh I see, I see… We should make it superhero themed!"

Haru says excitedly. Hikigaya and Shiori get shivers up their spines when they hear this. They both look at each other with distraught looks before looking back at him.

"No, I don't think that'd be such a good idea…"

Haru pouts a bit in his chair.

"Oh, I know! Let's make it Gothic themed! All dark with old Victorian style designs."

Chizuru says happily. Everyone looks at her with surprised looks.

"What? I like the look."

She says smiling while sitting back in her chair. Shiori pulls out a piece of chalk and writes down 'Gothic' on the rollout board she has behind her.

"Okay, does everyone agree or do we have some disputes?"

"I think we need more butterflies and rainbows."

Hisana says while dazing off, hardly paying attention. Shiori sweats a little.

"Okay… More rainbows and butterflies, got it."

She writes that down next to the other idea.

"Oh, we should make it like an industrial factory. Like a crafting workshop." Sugawara says.

"Speaking of shops, I think a vendor shop would be cool. Like a place you buy items from in videogames." Kitaro adds.

"A shop sounds fun but I think one that specializes in food. I can help with supplying the food." Ryuji says.

"Yeah but we're not a cooking club, we're a helpers club."

Lucy points out. He looks at her surprised as she quickly looks down, away from his eyes, still nervous about turning him down. He smiles a bit before looking away.

"I guess she is right, but a bakery look might not hurt."

He says. They continue to talk amongst themselves, each throwing out new ideas without agreeing on a single one. As the chalkboard gets more and more full, the less and less the group agrees on one single theme.

Eventually, the day came to an end and despite the couple hours they spent in the club room brainstorming ideas for a theme for their club, they were not able to make a single decision.

The Next Day…

"Ugh… I can't believe we wasted the entire day yesterday and didn't even pick a theme…"

Shiori lays her head on the desk with her hand on top of her as she groans.

"Hey, it's okay Shiori. It's not a big deal, we'll just figure it out today."

Hikigaya says, trying to assure her. She lifts her head up sharply at his response.

"Not a big deal?! The festival is tomorrow! We have to start working on the club room design and we don't even know where to start!" She says, frustrated.

"Well I think they got that covered."

Hikigaya resounds. He looks behind him as Shiori does the same to see Hisana scribbling down on a piece of paper before lifting it in the air to reveal a poorly drawn picture of a superhero with a colorful cape. The others cheer, supporting her artistic vision. Sugawara then grabs a large sheet of board paper before cutting it and asking Haru to bring him some colored pencils. Even Ryuji begins doing the same next to him. Shiori has a look of surprise before Hikigaya looks back at her. 

"Let's just trust their creative process. Maybe it'll look better than anything we could've thought of."

Hikigaya says, giving her a soft smile before she smiles back. 

"Okay."

They work for many hours on different parts of the club room until they have everything ready to go for tomorrow. Now, onto the Club Festival.