I Feel Like I’ve Become a Bothersome Person Getting in the Way Between My Childhood Friends. - Chapter 3

“After school, at Xeno’s place.”

That single line in an email—yet it made me so happy I could hardly believe it.

That day, when I grew anxious after getting no word from Xeno, I tried calling him, but the call wouldn’t go through. Then I thought about calling Stanley instead, and when I finally reached him, all he said was, “We’ll contact you later,” before hanging up. After hearing that, I couldn’t bring myself to reach out again. At school, Stanley and I had no real connection, no eye contact, no conversation. Weeks passed that way. Just when I started panicking that this might be the start of a drifting-apart route, that email arrived.

Holding back my excitement, I got on one of the school buses lined up at the gate. I sat alone in a seat slightly farther forward than usual, but someone soon sat beside me—Stanley Snyder.

“Wha—”

I tried to stand in surprise, but he crossed his legs, blocking the way out.

“Sit down.”

Who could possibly defy a beautiful girl radiating such an intimidating aura? Not me.

In a cramped bus like this, out of all the empty seats, Stanley chose to sit next to me. There was no way we wouldn’t attract attention. Luckily, none of the “cool kids” were on this bus.

Normally, Stanley is swamped after school, so I’m the one who gets to Xeno’s house first. Even if he didn’t have anything to do, he never once rode the same bus as me. So why now? Students nearby whispered while glancing at us, but Stanley didn’t seem to care and stayed silent all the way.

As we walked the familiar fifteen-minute path from the bus stop to Xeno’s house, the only difference from usual was that Stanley was beside me. The awkwardness was unbearable, so I spoke first.

“Um, I called Xeno so many times, but I couldn’t reach him…”

“His phone got confiscated. He’s grounded—no going out, no phone, no experiments. Today’s the first day he’s allowed to do anything again.”

“I see… and Xeno—”

“Aria.”

He cut me off and kept talking without looking back.

“I think it’s a good thing you didn’t see Xeno that day. But at the same time, I can’t forgive you for making him look like that.”

Stanley stopped walking and glared at me with those beautiful eyes framed by thick lashes.

“No matter what Xeno says, I’m not going to defend you.”

After saying that, he started walking again.

I knew it had been wrong to choose Tomonori over my long-time friend Xeno. But Tomonori had been taken to the hospital. Of course my priorities shifted. Besides, I thought Stanley would go get Xeno, so it would be fine. Apparently, it wasn’t.

After that intimidating warning, I braced myself and visited Xeno’s house. His reaction was surprisingly calm.

“Long time no see, Aria.”

“Y-Yeah… it’s been a while. You’ve seen Stanley too, right?”

“I’ve been in touch with Stan, yes.”

But his phone had been confiscated. How? I wondered, but he brushed it off. “There are ways to contact people besides phones,” he said. I wished they’d included me, too.

As always, I was shown into his room. Stanley took his usual spot on the sofa, so I carefully sat down beside him.

“Unfortunately, our railgun project was confiscated,” Xeno said. “So next time, I plan to build a rocket.”

He started lecturing about the wonders of space, but I couldn’t absorb a single word—not because of the rocket idea. Xeno would pull it off; after all, Senku from Dr. Stone built a rocket as a student, too. No, what really shocked me was that despite Stanley’s warning, Xeno was acting completely normal, like nothing had happened. He didn’t even give me a chance to apologize for not coming to see him. So what was Stanley talking about? Maybe he misunderstood. I couldn’t read anything from Stanley’s expression—he just looked bored, as usual.

As I was watching him from the corner of my eye, my phone buzzed. It was almost certainly Tomonori.

“I’ll take this call.”

But before I could stand up, Stanley’s hand on my shoulder pushed me back down.

“Take it here.”

“Why? I can step outside.”

“Don’t mind us. Go ahead.”

“That’s… kind of hard to ignore.”

“Is it something you don’t want us to hear?”

Their gazes pierced through me. They clearly wanted me to answer here and now. Having my conversation with my “boyfriend” overheard by these two was beyond awkward, but—

“If you don’t answer, the call’ll cut off,” Stanley warned.

Reluctantly, I pressed the button. A cheerful voice came through the speaker.

‘Aria, can you come over right now?’

“…What’s wrong?”

‘I can finally walk around freely again. I wanted to see you.’

Wait—both of them definitely heard that.

‘I’ve even got a free drink coupon for the café.’

You should’ve started with that! I silently prayed they’d pretend not to hear, and gently declined. I wanted to see him too, but after finally reuniting with Xeno, I couldn’t just leave.

‘I see. I’ll invite you another time then.’

“Yeah… another time.”

My voice faded until I wasn’t sure he could hear me. Click. The call ended.

When I looked up, Stanley was beside me, Xeno directly across, both staring intently.

“So, Xeno, about your story—”

“Actually, let’s move on to your story,” Xeno interrupted, sliding closer until I was wedged between him and Stanley. The small sofa wasn’t built for three.

“The day I was released, Aria, you didn’t come.”

“That’s—”

“Oh, but I already know why,” Stanley cut in. “She said her friend got hurt, so she went to the hospital.”

“Right, that black-haired guy she’s always with at school,” Xeno added. “He was on crutches recently, wasn’t he?”

“And on the phone just now, he said something like, ‘I can finally walk again,’ right?”

“Lately, Aria’s been on her phone a lot—texting, calling, going out suddenly…”

“Oh, I see where this is going,” Xeno said.

Their deduction felt like an interrogation scene. I hadn’t done anything wrong, but somehow I felt accused.

“In other words,” Xeno continued, “the guy you hang around with at school, the guy who was hospitalized that day, and the guy who just called you—they’re all the same person.”

“And you’re close enough for him to say he wants to see you,” Stanley added.

“We don’t have the right to control your relationships,” Xeno said with a faint smile. “But you could’ve told us. Secrets can be sad, you know?”

I hadn’t meant to keep it secret. It had just… happened. Still, I hadn’t told them, and that was true.

Overwhelmed by the pressure from both sides, I confessed that my relationship with Tomonori was fake—a temporary thing that just happened.

Their reaction?

“Huh.”
“I see.”

No congratulations, no jealousy, no anger. After all that interrogation, that was it?

“I get it now,” Xeno said. “You prioritized him over me because of that. Makes sense. I feel better now.”

Good. No more drama, no breakup route, problem solved.

“But it’s a shame,” he added.

Ah, so life’s not that simple.

“I liked the time the three of us spent together best,” he said, looking like a lost puppy. “But for you, Aria, there’s something—or someone—better now.”

He leaned closer. I tried to move back, but Stanley was right behind me, blocking the way.

“Maybe I’m not even second anymore,” Xeno murmured. “You’ve found something more wonderful than what we had. Maybe the Aria who once said she enjoyed spending time with me isn’t here anymore.”

I didn’t remember ever saying that, but denying it would only hurt him more. I looked to Stanley for help, but he just looked away.

Ah. So that’s what he meant earlier when he said he wouldn’t defend me.

I understood now.

Sure, I could see why Xeno was upset. He thought we were best friends, but maybe I wasn’t his best friend after all. Still, he had Stanley, didn’t he? Wasn’t that enough?

“Spending time with you is fun, Xeno. That hasn’t changed,” I said.

“More fun than with him?”

“…Yeah, more than with Tomonori.”

I nodded for the sake of peace. They were different kinds of fun anyway—Xeno and Stanley’s world was full of experiments and curiosity, while Tomonori’s was relaxed and easy. But if that answer calmed Xeno, fine.

And just like that, his gloomy look vanished. The usual cheerful Xeno returned.

“Good. Then let’s call it a day.”

“Wait, what about the rocket talk?”

“I’ll tell you next time.”

…So all I did was expose my fake boyfriend for nothing.

“Mom’s giving you a ride home,” he said. “You can go with her.”

“What about you, Stanley?”

“I’ve got business with Xeno.”

The way they exchanged glances made me feel left out. Maybe that was how it was supposed to be in the original story—but it still hurt a little.

“Just to be sure,” Xeno added, “you really don’t have romantic feelings for him, right?”

“Like I said, Tomonori and I are just… going along with it. Friends, really. Why are you even asking?”

“No reason. Don’t worry about it.”

With that, he opened the door and sent me off—alone.

On the ride home with Xeno’s mother, she told me a few things. I thought she might scold me, say something like “You’re the one who encouraged him to do that experiment!” but instead she said, “You and Stanley are the only ones who can keep that boy in check.”

I don’t know how Xeno explained everything to his parents, but it seems he didn’t tell them I helped with the experiment. When she mentioned how depressed he’d been after returning from the police station, she said that’s why they forgave him this time.

I’m sorry, ma’am. Your son’s already talking about building a rocket next.

He showed absolutely no signs of remorse.