A good protagonist remembers to do his reconnaissance!

"I can't believe we're doing this…" Nakai reprimanded me with eyes full of disappointment.

In contrast Issei looked concerned and nervous, "Are you sure what we're doing is even legal?"

"Legal? Most definitely. Morally correct or proper? Up for debate, now scooch over, otherwise we're gonna get caught." I replied making a gesture to move along.

The two of them slowly waddled through the branches and leaves trying to make the least noise possible and I followed along until we were just in the right angle to have a clear nice sight of the field. 

"Let me get this straight," Nakai said as he looked at me with an eyebrow raised, "A girl confessed to you in the rooftop-"

"Well actually it was more like a marriage proposal." I briefly interrupted.

"Right, a 'marriage proposal', with none other than the prettiest girl in the entire school, and you like the absolute mad man that you are, ask her to declare her love for you and so she drop kick's you… and your first response after that is to STALK HER IN A BUSH?!"

"During physical education class no less," added Issei while averting his eyes.

Well I couldn't deny their words, it was pretty much exactly what I was doing in a way.

"Yeah, your phrasing is… not the best… but I swear I have my reasons! Besides I can only watch her during this class."

"Oh my god…" Nakai put his hands on his head, "my friend is a stalker and a pervert!" he exclaimed in a panicked voice.

"Now I see why you never had a girl friend in your previous school…" Issei said while giving me looks of pity.

I should've probably done this alone. I thought to myself.

The only reason I brought these two along is so they would watch my back but now I'm starting to regret this just a tiny bit.

"Don't do this Naoki!" Nakai exclaimed, suddenly grabbing me firmly on both my arms, "I know you're desperate but there are better way's to go on about this!"

"Ugh! It's not like that alright!!!" I replied in an annoyed voice, brushing off Nakai's hands.

"What other way could it be then?" Issei asked.

"Ha~" I let out a sigh. "Alright, I'll explain."

I turned to look at the two of them, and using a stick from a nearby branch I began to draw on the soft dirt below us.

"Let me ask you two, how do you expect people to behave after a public love confession?"

The two of them seemed caught off guard about my sudden question but then began to think about it for a moment before Issei replied first.

"Well I'm not too sure, but I guess with curiosity?"

"That's true, I suppose people usually snoop around to find out more," Nakai added.

"You're both right, that's the usual response, curiosity… at least when it comes to average looking people."

"Hey!" they both retorted.

"Now how do you think that changes when a person as popular as Tomiko is involved?" I said while drawing a small stick figure on top of a pyramid.

"Hmmm…" they both seemed to be thinking about it seriously.

"Well you would have your fair share of jealous people and that's about it."

"Maybe your occasional troublemaker going around gossiping?"

Tsk, Tsk, Tsk, I began to shake my head in disapproval.

"You both are still thinking about this too simply, we are talking of a level of curiosity taken to a far new height."

I then began to draw many stick figures at the base of the triangle, putting a circle around a couple of the stickmen, "With someone with as many admirers as Tomiko, there are bound to be what I like to call crazies. Student's whose response tends to be… extreme, to put it mildly."

They both looked at me with totally unconvinced gazes, clearly not believing my words.

"So are you saying that her own admirers would bully or harass her or something?" Issei asked confused.

"Don't you think this is a bit too far-fetched Naoki?" Nakai added

If only they knew the extent of a person's obsession.

"Is it really that far fetched considering people are willing to observe her from outside the classroom almost every day?"

With that simple comment they both realized that my line of thinking was not so outlandish after all.

"Alright, I can see where you're coming from," Nakai said, "But then, all things considered, wouldn't it make more sense if they directed this hatred towards you first?"

"That would normally be the case… if I had confessed first." I replied.

As if a bulb had lit up in the mind of Nakai's head, he slammed his fist into his other hand, "I see! So that's why we're here."

"What. I still don't get it"

Issei looked confused, clearly feeling that a big clue to a puzzle he didn't understand was being left out.

"Eh, I'll explain it to you later," Nakai replied.

He then turned to face me once again with a sympathetic look and began to pat me on my back, "So in reality you're just checking up on her well-being!"

"We can say that."

More like I'm checking to see if my plan of shame by association is working.

Nakai finally let out a breath of air in relief, "So you're not a stalker after all! Thank God. And here I thought we would have to take you to the counselor or something"

It was a bit heartwarming to see that if I was indeed crazy, they would still want to help me out. 

"Shh!" Issei suddenly urged us to stay quiet, pointing at the students who were coming out into the field in their track suit uniforms.

Of course, once again it was easy to find Tomiko standing out among her peers, even in something as simple as a track suit.

Almost all of the students casually chatted with each other, while others simply observed or sneaked glances at Tomiko, who was standing by herself.

Did my plan fail?

A sense of worry grew in the back of the mind, had the princess of our school become an outcast because of my actions?

I definitely couldn't let a scenario like that repeat again. But for now all I could do was observe.

Soon the track teacher came out and everyone gathered up.

"Alright everyone! Today we are doing normal stretching drills so please find yourself a partner to stretch with!" He instructed.

While everyone seemed unbothered, Tomiko grew visibly pale and uncomfortable.

Everyone began looking for partners and Tomiko was no different. But what was different was how people reacted whenever she approached someone to be her partner.

Some backed off quickly before she even got the chance to ask, while others responded with a 90-degree bow to turn her down.

In a way it was almost as if they felt intimidated by her presence.

Eventually Tomiko was the only one left without a partner in the class. So as a result, she ended up having to be teamed up with the track teacher himself.

"Well… it doesn't seem like they are doing it out of malice… I think…" Nakai commented clearly unsure on what to make out of her situation.

He was right, at least it seemed that they weren't intentionally bullying her.

Are they leaving her so she doesn't feel embarrassed over what happened in the rooftop? I wondered to myself.

We ended up observing for a while more without anything remarkable happening until eventually everyone returned to their changing rooms.

"We should probably get out of here." I said while beginning to slowly sneak away.

"Although we didn't do much, it's still kind of a thrill to be skipping class like this don't you think?" Issei replied innocently. 

In response, Nakai looked at him with a sorrowful look, "Oh buddy… we gotta be more of a bad influence with you huh…"

….

After leaving the field discreetly, the bell had rung, signaling the beginning of lunch.

It seemed that the second part of my plan was working; making sure that Tomiko wasn't being negatively affected by the confession.

Well at least it seems that way, hopefully she hasn't become an outcast and her being by herself is just temporary.

"You are quite the lucky guy Naoki," Issei suddenly said as we walked in the hallways, "Having a girl confess to you on your first day of school? Many people only ever dream of that."

"I don't think many people consider getting kicked into the air as lucky."

"Depends on who you're asking," Nakai replied jokingly, "I know some guys who'd pay top money for that kind of treatment." 

"Why do you know people like that…" I said while squinting my eyes.

As we continued walking, I could overhear some students whispering around us, saying things like "Hey, haven't you heard?" or "You won't believe what happened."

It seemed Issei and Nakai noticed it as well.

"There are quite a few eyes on us," Issei said while subtly looking around us.

Many of the students in the hallways were sneaking glimpses at us… or more specifically at me.

That's right, the first and most important part of my plan was upon us. Public perception.

News always travels quickly, especially when it has to do with one of the most popular girls in school. But the news aren't what interest me, after all I was there myself.

Rather it was the rumors that are probably spreading and circulating by now. The nature of those very rumors decide what my next set of actions will be.

And simply based off the looks people are giving me, it seemed those rumors are working in my favor.

The way people stared at me wasn't the typical glare of envy and malice that one would expect after a sudden confession.

Rather it was more like they were observing an insane person roam free, like I had just escaped from a psychiatric ward.

Of course, there was also the occasional girl who looked at me with approving and supportive eyes, fanning the flames of their delusions.

How is being seen as an insane person, any better you ask? It's all in the details.

"So this is how Tomiko must have felt all this time huh…" commented Nakai looking at the other students from the corner of his eyes.

"Well now I feel sorry for her…" added Issei.

They were most definitely right; this is the world that Tomiko has been living in the entire time and remains unknown to almost everyone around her.

But even in this world there are different types of attention.

There's the gaze of admiration where people respect you and put you up in a pedestal.

Then there's the sight of envy where people envy you for standing out in any way, shape, or form and finally the look of disdain.

I've been fortunate… or unfortunate I should say, to have seen all three. Which is why my plan has come to this.

The creation of a new look! A mix and blend of all three!

The eyes… of secondhand embarrassment!

Especially in school where people value their reputation, standing out is the same as social suicide.

Most don't want to associate themselves with such people, but if one can learn to correctly manipulate this type of behavior, then you create the perfect scenario where people don't exactly hate you, but they don't want to associate themselves with you either.

Which is why I opted for a tactic that made me look like an absolute maniac. However it is a bit selfish of me to also involve these two.

As the three of us got closer to the stairs leading to the rooftop, I stopped in my tracks, "You two head to the rooftop without me, I got something else to do."

"You aren't going to stalk Tomiko are you…?"

Nakai looked at me with suspicion in his eyes as he said that which was a bit hurting if I'm being honest.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to go look at her in secret or anything" I replied dismissingly.

I am, however, going to her classroom.

Nakai seemed hesitant but in the end didn't stop me. Instead he opted to sigh once again.

"Ha~ still I have to admit I'm quite jealous of you." He said as he stood midway up the stairs.

"Don't be, I actually have a suspicion that she might change her mind about me soon" I simply replied.

"Huh?" He said perplexed, "What do you mean?"

"It's just a gut feeling you know." 

I turned around and walked towards Tomiko's classroom.