Agreement

After I heard what she said, I barely remembered what happened next.

She already went back to Mikael and the others leaving me alone in the living room, she also gave her thanks before she went out of the door. I didn't know what I'd answered.

I supposed I agreed since she left me with a smile and thankful words.

But I was in the middle of contemplation, confused, why did my chest feel a sudden pain after I heard her confession, why do I feel so dejected, and why do I feel a heaviness inside my throat.

I want to say something, I need to say something. However, no words came out of my mouth instead of rasping breath and stuttered words.

“Where did I go wrong?..." I muttered to myself.

Whenever I remembered the end of the manga where she lives a miserable life, I couldn't help myself but contemplated things that I did to keep her away from that bad end.

I never did anything, I was just slacking off and enjoying my life. The thoughts that always crossed my mind.

Frustrated, I decided to go back lying on the sofa with the pillow cover on my face.

*

I woke up on the sofa as I felt a strange softness on my cheek and unknown things running through my hair. I slowly opened my eyes and instantly shook after I realized that the soft on my cheek was came from the pair of laps that acted as my pillow and fingers brushing my hair.

“Wa!"

I heard the voice roused from above. Judging by the voice of its owner, without looking at it, I knew it was a girl.

“D-don't look at this way..." she blocked her hand on my cheek as I tried to turn my face to her.

I gave up from looking at her.

“What are you doing?... you should've enjoyed yourself with the others, you don't have to watch me... Chloe"

I didn't know what her face looked like right now, but she flinched and retracted her hands from my hair. I took the opportunity to pull my head from her lap and sat up next to her.

I covered my mouth and yawned before I shifted my gaze to the girl sitting next to me. Our eyes met and in an instant, her face turned red, she tried to cover it with her palm but I could still see it through the gap between her fingers.

“What's wron—" I stopped after I saw her lap with marks from being my pillow. “Oh, sorry did I sleep on your lap that long?" I asked.

“N-no, not that long..." is she still bothered by the things that happened between us? I pondered.

She apologizes to me many times for the things that time, and of course, I'm not that cruel, I accepted her apology but I still wonder why does she always stutter whenever we talk to each other.

“Poke..."

I unconsciously voiced what I did on her lap and thanks to my curiosity, I received a slap on my face. I knew it...

“Ah! sorry, I didn't intentionally hit you"

Panicked, she bowed her head to me and apologize, she then looked at her laps and opened her mouth “My laps...I-it's okay... don't mind it, it's a small thing compared to what you've helped me.”

“You don't have to do anything to repay me, you know. I didn't do those things to gain something from you or anything.”

“...it's f-fine... j-just think that it's for my self-satisfaction."

Self-satisfaction, huh...

Thinking of it, I did these things to her just for my own self-satisfaction. I guess I'm not a good person after all.

“Just do what you want and don't let those things bother you... it's in the past, after all, just enjoy our vacation since that's why we are here, right?"

“...uom..." she nodded.

After a minute without talking to each other and feeling embarrassed that I let myself sleep on her lap, I stood up and decided to went ahead to Marco to see what he was up to...

“Here, let me help you.." I stretched my arms and reached my hands to Chloe who was looked like having trouble walking straight because of the numbness that happened on her lap.

She shook her head. “It's okay, I-i'm fine... it will be okay sooner."

“You should know that you'd ended up nowhere if you keep saying ‘it's okay, I'm fine.”

“But..."

I sighed. There's no end to this... I thought and took her hand without her consent. Gladly, she just reluctantly followed me and didn't complain about her hand, or else it would look like I was forcing her.

“Oh! a newlywed? what a nice view, I could say."

After we walk out of the house, I heard a familiar voice in a near distance.

The vacation house was mostly surrounded by tall trees, but you could already tell that there was a two-path because of the distance between them. In the front of the house, under the huge tarp, there's stood a long wooden table on the right side along with the long plank that acted as a chair. Marco was sitting on it.

On the other side, there was a small facility that appeared to be the cooking and grilling area where Ericka and Mikael prepared our food.

Isn't the food is too many for five people? I thought as I noticed the pile of plastic bags on the table and also underneath it.

“Here..." I said as I let Chloe sit on the plank and broke from our so-called holding hands, although I just helping her.

“How was the newlywed life, Mister groom? come here and let me kill you for a second.” Marco grabbed my neck and locked me between his arms. “Don't try to leave me in the single guy's realm," he whispered directly to my ear.

Hey, I'll never do that! and stop it's creepy!

“Shut up, you're making her feel awkward, you idiot," I said as I noticed Chloe's face flushed.

“You're still dense as ever... if you continue being like that, you will never have a girlfriend you know!"

“You just told me that don't leave you on your single guy's realm, right? what are you saying now?" I stood my arm on the table and rest my chin on my hand “Even if I couldn't get a girlfriend... I know my life will continue being fun since I'm with you guys..."

I tried my best to convey my feelings but instead, I received a disgusted look from Marco, while Chloe was looking away. Probably she'd felt embarrassed for me saying those things.

“Ah! creepy..."

“S-shut up, that's embarrassing for me you know!"

“Can you say that again? I'm with you guys with flustered faces... You look like a girl wearing braided black long hair and a pair of glasses, who's about to confess to her famous upperclassmen and got rejected in the end after that she met a girl and instead of lovey-dovey romance, it turns out into girl's love.”

“Why does it have too much detail? Anyway, stop sa—"

“...uom..."

I was interrupted after I heard a voice from my back, I thought it was Chloe but after shifting my gaze to it, I jolted, seeing the familiar face.

“Can I join?..."

What was Arisa doing here?