After the several hour-long clothes shopping session, Yuta returned home to his house and remembered the past events of the day as he laid in bed.

"Haaah..."

He had gone out with a friend from class and her mother to go shopping at the mall. Yuta had only met Marie Tanaka a few days prior, but he felt like he was getting closer to her a little bit too fast.

Within days of meeting her, Yuta had gone to her home, met her parents, and also went on a mall trip with her and her mom. This obviously was a nonstandard start to a relationship.

"I don't know what to feel... On one hand, I'm happy to be friends with such a cute girl. On the other hand, she shines a bit too bright for someone normal like me."

Yuta felt a bit conflicted about where their relationship was going. He was content with just being her classmate, but Yuta had a good feeling that wouldn't stay the case.

*Ring* *Ring*

As he was thinking about his relationship with Marie, Yuta's cell phone suddenly rang. Unexpectedly, it seemed that Marie was the one calling at this late hour.

Just what is my luck to have her call me as I'm thinking about her? Curse you, destiny!

"Hello?" Yuta cautiously asked.

In response, a gentle yet slightly timid feminine voice came through his phone. "H-Hey, Yuta."

"Yo, what's up? Are you here to tell me about how you're planning to run away from your arranged marriage?"

"Arranged marriage? Is that still a thing in this day and age?!"

"Who knows," Yuta laughed.

He thought it would be a bit awkward talking over the phone, but Yuta was feeling surprisingly calm and relaxed.

"...Er, did you enjoy today?" Marie anxiously asked. "I didn't mean to drag you in by begging so I'm sorry for being selfish."

Although Yuta was dragged into going to the mall, he didn't mind because he had nothing better to do.

"Yeah, I had lots of fun so don't apologize. Thank you for taking me out for a fun day."

Marie's tone seemed to have lightened up from his positive response. "Really? You're telling the truth?"

"Without a doubt. It was really fun."

"A-Ah, that's good."

Just like that, a silence came over the both of them as the call reached a standstill. Judging by Marie's spontaneous personality, she most likely had just called Yuta for that one singular purpose of apologizing and forgotten what to say after the fact.

"How did you enjoy it?" Yuta decided to break the silence. "Did you like treating me as a doll?"

"It was actually really fun!" Marie exclaimed. "And yes, I do like dressing you up in nice clothes."

"Can I do it to you next time?" Yuta teasingly asked. "It's only fair, right?"

"U-Um... I..."

"Joking! I'm only joking! You don't have to worry about it!"

Marie seemed to be seriously contemplating the idea of letting Yuta dress her, so he decided to put an end to his joke as fast as possible.

"If it's you... I don't mind."

"Oh... I see."

What am I supposed to say to that?! Have some understanding of what you're saying, woman?!

Yuta was seriously troubled about how Marie was treating him. The things she would say or do made his heart beat insanely fast.

Wanting to change the subject, Yuta started talking about school. "So, how has school been for you?"

"It's been fine, but there has been one thing that's been bothering me," Marie said with a dejected tone.

"What is it? I'm all ears."

"There's been a boy who's been intentionally avoiding me at school."

"Wow, what a jerk!"

"I'm talking about you!"

It was true that Yuta had been carefully putting space between him and Marie at school, but it wasn't because he disliked her or anything. He just didn't want any weird rumors to go around about the two of them.

"Uh, it's kinda awkward for someone normal like me to be around you. I wouldn't be able to fit in with all of those popular kids."

"Is that what you're really worried about?"

"Yeah, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make it seem like I was avoiding you," Yuta apologized. "I just wasn't sure how to handle the situation."

"Mmph, it's fine. You don't have to worry about school castes or anything though. I don't really care much about that stuff," Marie explained.

"Still though, there are a lot of judging eyes watching. I wouldn't want to ruin your reputation."

"You won't!" Marie denied. "There's no way you would ruin my reputation! I don't really care about my reputation either way, so it doesn't matter."

"Oh, okay..." Yuta trailed off since he was surprised to see Marie all fired up. This was the first time he had seen this fiery side of her, but it was quite entrancing to see her in this state.

"So please, look at me more. Stare at me more. Talk to me more. Joke with me more. Laugh with me more. Do more with me. Please," Marie weakly begged.

Hearing her voice in such a weak state made Yuta's heart cry out in pain. He felt bad for making Marie feel so anxious and lonely on the inside.

I was too selfish for my way of thinking and ended up hurting her as a result. What a loser, Yuta internally sighed.

"Okay, I'll talk and interact with you more at school. Sorry for being selfish and not thinking about your feelings," Yuta apologized.

"Ehehe, no worries~ I'm happy now that you promised to talk to me at school. Thank you."

Hearing her tone change from sad to happy made Yuta glad to make the decision to be open with her at school.

"It's getting late and there's school tomorrow, so I'm gonna head to bed. Good night."

Yuta was yawning already, so he realized the need for him to go to sleep.

"Good night, Yuta. Hehe, sweet dreams!" Marie giggled as she wished him good night.

Oh man, she's just too cute! I'm probably not going to be able to sleep tonight now...

—

They remind me of a certain couple~

Serious-san: Can we name our son, Serious-san Jr.?

Sugar-chan: Absolutely not.

Serious-san: ...