“I like you! Please go out with me!”

At the back of the vacant school buildings, a tall boy with neat black hair and a handsome face bowed his head, his cheeks red, and his hands tightly curled into fists at his side.

In front of him, stood a girl of slightly above average height, but that was the only thing that was close to average about her. Everything else about this girl significantly blew past the barriers of the word 'average', and even further beyond that, as an impeccable heart-shaped face was revealed, blessed with skin that literally glowed with health. Luscious black hair flowed past her petite shoulders as though she was on a TV ad for shampoo, complimented by a pair of dreamy sable eyes that was deeper than the Pacific Ocean. Looking at her appearance, it was obvious why this girl was being confessed to at this very moment. 

You see, Aya Kuramoto, as this girl was called, was no ordinary girl. It wasn’t just her looks that were extraordinary, but she was also one of the top students in Japan, having received many academic awards and scholarships that others would die for. Not only that, she was the direct heiress of the prestigious Kuramoto family; an elite family that controlled and owned the biggest bank in Japan, the Kuramoto Bank.

That was why Aya sighed, holding her fingers to her forehead at the sight of the handsome young boy bowing his head before her. Aya had been in this situation countless times and the novelty had already far worn off to the point of annoyance.

Is this guy serious? Does he really think he stands a chance with me?! Aya glanced surreptitiously from between her slender fingers at the boy whom was dressed neatly in a maroon school uniform.

Although Aya was wearing the same maroon uniform (the female version), the manner in which the two dressed couldn't be remotely compared. Sure, the boy dressed neatly and could quite clearly tidy up after himself, but Aya dressed like she was born in those clothes. Every single piece of clothing, from her white collared shirt to her maroon-shaded skirt, fitted Aya's body like she was in a fashion magazine. Even subtle details like the angling of her clothes had been accounted for and all of that fused together to create the radiating aura of elegance that she emitted. 

Closing her eyes, Aya grimaced at the thought of dating the boy in front of him. This guy… if I’m not mistaken, his name is Eito and his family owns a famous car company… Still, I am way, way out of this guy's league. How the heck did he even muster the courage to ask me out?!

Despite her outer appearance of beauty and elegance, Aya was inside a rather prideful and stubborn girl, spoilt by the extraordinarily easy life she had been blessed with. However, she still had an image to uphold…

Lowering her hand from her face, Aya forced herself to smile at Eito. It was a beautiful and well-practiced smile that would make angels cry with envy. 

Eito's heart pounded rapidly at the sight of Aya's smile. S-She smiled at me...! Aya Kuramoto smiled at me! I can't believe it! D-does this mean I have a chance?! Ahhh, I'm so happy right now seeing her smile! Maybe I really do have a chance!

“Eito…” Aya called out softly, her voice sounded as beautiful as an expensive violin. “I’m very happy that you feel that way about me…”

Is she really going to say yes...?! Eito’s face perked up with anticipation. I can’t believe it! I might actually be able to date Aya, the Aya Kuramoto that everyone at the school admires! Everyone’s going to be so jealous, I—

“…but I can’t return your feelings.”

“A-aah…” Eito felt his voice leave his soul. Truth be told, he had already expected this response from Aya, but it still hurt to be faced with the truth. Well, it was common knowledge at school that every single person that had ever confessed to Aya had failed. “That’s okay, Aya…”

“I... I’m really sorry about this…” Aya’s face winced with pain as though she was sympathising with him. In reality, the pain on her face was from the thought of Eito thinking that he ever had a chance. “I-I can’t imagine how much courage it took for you to ask me out here to say those words…”

Idiotic courage! Next time, think about who you’re confessing to! Aya thought in her mind, but nothing about her beautiful face revealed her true inner thoughts.

“I-it’s okay. It’s nothing, really…” Eito laughed sheepishly with a shake of his head. He was feeling better after seeing how empathetic Aya was appearing to be. “Please, don't mind yourself about it, Aya. Honestly, I already knew you that you were going to say no, but I just wanted to let you know my feelings, that's all.”

“Really?” Aya stared at Eito with concerned eyes, but she was actually getting impatient. Aaah, when are you going to take the hint and leave me alone? “Are you sure it’s okay? I really feel bad for this…”

“Don’t worry yourself, Aya.” Eito mustered up a firm look for Aya, but staring at her face made him inadvertently blush. She was just too beautiful, especially when her face was filled with concern, staring at him like this. “You shouldn’t go out with someone you don’t like. I respect your decision, but I won’t give up.”

...What...? What the hell?! You won’t give up?! Aya smiled, doing her best to be polite. Clearly, I’m not interested in you!

“Thank you…" Aya bowed in a show of sincerity. Traditional mannerisms that were instilled by her privileged upbringing. "...for taking this so well…”

“N-no, I should be thanking you...!” Eito laughed, unable to hide the deepening blush on his face. “You’ve been so kind to me even though you couldn’t accept my selfish request. I am grateful to you, Aya.”

“Of course. I know how hard it is for you to do something like this.”

Aya had no idea how hard it was to do something like this. In fact, she had no idea what 'hard' even was. The only thing that she ever had to really work for, was her excellent grades, but that too was just a result of discipline and innate talent.

“Thank you, Aya. I appreciate it.” Eito said, then glanced around. He had called for Aya behind the school building at lunch where there was no one else around. Lunch was ending soon, so he had to get back to class. “I feel much better now that I've told you about my feelings.” Eito returned his glance back to Aya and smiled. “I’ll leave you alone now, I’ve already wasted too much of your time.” Eito laughed lightly at the end.

Finally. Now you leave… after wasting my lunch time. Aya laughed along with Eito courteously. “No, not at all!”

Aya’s laughter was even sweeter than her smile. At that moment, it was like Cupid had shot a thousand love arrows into Eito’s heart, freezing him in time. He stared lovestruck at the laughing Aya, his mind completely empty except for thoughts of her.

Noticing that Eito wasn’t speaking, Aya coughed into her hand. “Well, I’ll be going now. Thank you, once again for your feelings, Eito.”

But Eito didn’t say anything. He was still stuck in a daze from seeing Aya laugh.

What’s with this creep...? He’s staring at me and not saying a single word! Aya thought annoyedly. All she wanted to do was to go enjoy the rest of her lunchtime in peace.

With a polite ‘goodbye’, Aya quickly scuttled off, leaving Eito alone behind the school building.

Thank god that's over… Aya walked back in the direction of her classroom, ignoring the heads of other students turning to glance at her as she walked. She didn’t pay any mind to this, as this was normal and she had gotten accustomed to people glancing at her beauty.

Entering her classroom, more heads turned to glance at Aya and whisper about her beauty. Walking to her desk, Aya was greeted by the two girls waiting there for her.

"'Ello!" The girl with long purple hair tied fashionably in multiple strands waved at Aya with an energetic grin, sitting at the desk that had been propped up next to hers. "Finally, you're back, Aya!"

"How did it go...?" The girl with short brown hair and large round glasses smiled warmly up at Aya, sitting next to the purple-haired girl at a desk that was similarly propped up besides Aya's. They had joined their desks with Aya's for lunch before Aya had been dragged out for Eito's confession.

They were Aya's two best friends, Fumiko and Sana. Fumiko was the spirited purple-haired one, and Sana was the soft-spoken brown-haired one.

"Ah, Eito just needed help with planning something for the soccer club." Aya returned a polite smile to her two friends as she sat down at her desk, trying to not let her annoyance show. "It was nothing, really."  

Despite how different Fumiko and Sana were in both appearance and personality, it wasn't a coincidence that they both were still objectively speaking quite good looking. Aya chose her friends carefully and having friends that were good looking was important to cultivating her perfect image at school. 

“Eh…” Fumiko stared at Aya with a dubious face. She knew that Aya was just too polite to spill the beans on somebody else's confession. “Is that really all it was?”

"Still, you should be careful not to follow guys out like that..." Sana told Aya with a concerned expression for her friend. 

"Yeah, you should had told me to come along with you!" Fumiko said. "I would had clobbered that idiot if he tried to do anything to you, Aya."

"I-I'm not sure that's a good thing..." Sana laughed weakly at Fumiko's enthusiasm. 

“U-uhm, anyways,” Aya said, not wanting to think about Eito any more than she had to. Time for her to change the topic. “Did you guys see the new drama that was on television last night?”

“Oh, there's a new drama last night?” Sana said. “I was studying last night, what was it about?”

It was good that Sana was here to help Aya change the topic. That was one reason why she had chosen Sana to be one of her close friends. 

“You mean the one about—”

Fumiko started but was interrupted when the bell rang, signalling the end of lunch.

Argh!! Lunch is over already?! Aya grumbled in her mind. That stupid Eito wasted all my time!!

Students that were missing from the classroom began pouring into the room, sitting down obediently at their desks. Fumiko and Sana moved their desks and chairs away from Aya's desk and back to their original positions. Fumiko sat in front of Aya, while Sana sat behind. Their position in the classroom was in the middle right, next to the window and away from the classroom door.

As all the students were sat quietly in their desks, waiting, a tall middle-aged man wearing glasses strolled through the door and into the classroom.

“Sorry, I’m late guys, there’s been something at the office I had to do.” The man said, as he placed down some books and stacks of paper that he was carrying down at his desk in front of the room.

This was Abe-sensei, the homeroom teacher for Aya's class. Punctuality was normally a strong suit of Abe-sensei, especially considering he was the homeroom teacher for the smartest class in the school which had Aya in it, so it was rather odd that he was late today. 

Just as Aya was pondering on that, the answer came from Abe-sensei himself.

“Today, we have a new transfer student." Abe-sensei announced, glancing up from his desk at the faces of the classroom. "She just arrived in Tokyo today after having moved here from the country side, so everyone please be warm and welcoming to her.”

Huh, a new transfer student… Aya was sitting with a perfectly straightened back and posture in her seat as she always did. She had been taught well to not slouch or lean on her chair. That doesn’t really concern me…

“Alright, please come in now.” Abe-sensei gestured to someone standing outside the open classroom door.

The person outside didn’t respond though.

“Don’t be nervous,” Abe-sensei laughed, trying to make the person standing outside the classroom feel comfortable. "Please come in, no one in here is going to bite you." 

Then, after a few seconds of silence, a short girl with shoulder-lengthed black hair stepped slowly into the room, almost as though she was hesitating with each and every step. She held her body close to herself, keeping her head down and staring intently at the ground even as she walked. 

Abe-sensei laughed awkwardly trying to relieve the tension in the air. "Everyone, please welcome Hikaru." Then, he glanced at the girl, "Did you wanted to give the class a short introduction about yourself, Hikaru...?" He was hesitant with his suggestion, not wanting to force it upon her considering how nervous she already seemed from just standing in front of the class.

Silence hung over the classroom for a moment.

Hesitating, the girl slowly raised her head up at the class, revealing a rather plain face with slight freckles dotted across her cheeks that were blushing in a deep shade of pink. She had a short nose and large round eyes with dark lashes that fluttered each time she blinked, emphasising her timidness. 

“I... I-I'm Hikaru…” The girl stuttered in a soft-spoken voice that one had to strain to hear. “P... Please treat me well!”

The rest of the classroom stared dully at Hikaru, their eyes judging the second-hand uniform she wore and the worn out school bag she held in front of her. It was immediately obvious that Hikaru stuck out like a thumbnail amidst a classroom filled with the sons and daughters of affluent and esteemed backgrounds. However, there was one student staring at Hikaru in a different way to the other students in the classroom; Aya.

Aya had been in awe from the moment the girl raised her chin. The cute little freckles. The way her lashes fluttered anxiously. Her small pink lips that seemed to chew gently on itself. The rosy blush that appeared permanently fixed on her pale complexion. All these tiny details of the transfer student struck Aya as... incredibly adorable.

Is it just me or is this girl super cute...?! Aya couldn't help but to think that. It was a thought that didn't even occur to anyone else in the classroom besides her, but of course, Aya didn't know that.

Doki doki.

The more Aya stared at the transfer student, the more quicker Aya's heart beated. 

Hikaru was flicking nervous glances around the classroom, trying to find a friendly looking face when her eyes met Aya's and noticed how intently Aya was staring at her. Hikaru's glance lingered for a second, before she quickly averted her eyes down to the floor, feeling intimidated by Aya's stare and how beautiful Aya was. 

“Hm, let's see…” Abe-sensei said as he scanned the classroom. “Alright, let's have you seated over there, Hikaru.” Abe-sensei pointed a finger at the empty desk next to Aya. The desk had been empty for a few weeks ever since the previous student that had sat there moved overseas. “I think Aya will definitely be a good influence for you, Hikaru.”

Quiet groans and sounds of disappointment echoed around the classroom as the hope of taking up that empty desk next to Aya was dashed away by Abe-sensei's words. 

With a short nod, Hikaru quietly and quickly strolled over to her assigned desk, eager to escape from the front of the classroom and away from everyone's eyes. Introducing herself to the class had already been traumatic enough.  

"E-excuse me..." Hikaru muttered to those who sat near her desk as she slipped into her seat. 

Placing her bag underneath her desk and taking out her notebook and pens, Hikaru breathed a relieved sigh to herself. Glancing up from her desk, Hikaru suddenly became aware that the girl sitting next to her, Aya, was staring fixedly at her face. 

Eh! Why is that girl staring at me? Hikaru tried her best to pretend to be oblivious. Don't tell me I have something on my face...?! Hikaru raised a petite hand up to her face and wiped at it for reassurance. She snuck a glance back at Aya, then quickly looked away again in nervousness. S-she really is beautiful...!  I've never seen a girl as beautiful as her in my life...!

After mustering her courage for a few minutes whilst listening to the teacher's voice in the background, Hikaru slowly turned her head to face Aya and forced a weak smile.

“H...Hi… I’m Hikaru…” Hikaru whispered. "I-I hope we can get along..."

Aya stared back at Hikaru silently, then, much to Hikaru's surprise, Aya turned her head away without acknowledging her greeting at all. 

W-what...! Hikaru stared at the back of Aya's head, dumbstruck by what had just happened. S-she completely ignored me! ...Maybe she didn't hear me... Ah, there's no way she didn't hear me, she looked straight into my face when I was talking to her! I guess she just doesn't want to talk to me... That girl's so beautiful after all...

S-she's so cute...!! Aya freaked out inside her mind, blushing wildly. If she hadn't turned her head, Hikaru would had seen Aya's blushing cheeks, and there was no way Aya would let anyone see that. I don't know what's going on with me today! Why can't I control my expressions...?!

Hikaru sighed to herself, returning her gaze to the front of the classroom to continue listening to the teacher's lecture.