I Feel Like I’ve Become a Bothersome Person Getting in the Way Between My Childhood Friends. - Chapter 6.1

The promenade—commonly called prom—is a formal dance party held at the end of senior year. For American students, it is one of the most important events in life. Attendance is in principle as a boy-girl pair, and you can invite anyone: a classmate, an underclassman, a graduate, even someone from another school. With the combination of the final year of high school, boy-girl pairs, and a big party, prom becomes a major event for students. For the past two months, this has been the only topic of conversation. Who invited whom? Who is that girl going with? Will I get invited by the person I like? Everyone is desperately searching for a partner.

“Stanley! Got a minute?”
During lunch in the cafeteria, a girl approached Stanley, who was sitting at the table next to hers.

“Have you already decided who you’re going to prom with?”

Who Stanley would take to prom was the hottest topic around. He was practically the perfect guy, and everyone was curious who would be chosen as his partner.

“Not yet,” he said.

Everyone nearby could be seen eavesdropping.

“In that case, how about—”
“Try someone else. There’s someone I want to ask.”
“Oh… I see. Sorry then…”

Prom invitations usually come from the boy’s side, so for a girl to ask takes a lot of courage. The girl, embarrassed after being turned down, left the cafeteria. Those who had been listening in all sighed in relief.

“So it’s that time already, huh.”

He spoke as though he had completely forgotten about prom. A guy like Stanley had no need to rush—he’d never have trouble finding a date. Even if his intended partner already had plans, most girls would probably ditch them in a heartbeat if Stanley asked.

“Aria.”

I knew exactly what was coming next. This wasn’t self-centeredness, just the natural conclusion drawn from past experience.

“Go to prom with me?”
“Sorry, ask someone else.”
“What?”

A shock ran through the cafeteria. Everyone had assumed that, while they might want to be Stanley’s partner, his date would obviously be that Asian girl he was always with. But that very girl had just turned him down! Stanley was now officially single!

He stared at me like a pigeon hit by a slingshot, clearly not expecting to be refused.

“Wait… what? You already have plans with someone?”
“There’s someone I want to ask.”
“What!?”

His loud voice made me flinch. He leaned in, frowning.

“Who is it?”

I couldn’t help but smile as I pictured the person in my mind, which only deepened the furrow between his brows.

“Don’t tell me it’s that guy.”
“That guy? You don’t have to glare. You know him.”
“That’s exactly the problem!”

As Stanley muttered under his breath—probably assuming the wrong person—I calmly finished my fried fish. His reaction was amusing, so I decided to let him stew.

“Man, this is such a pain.”

The rumor that Stanley didn’t have a prom date spread instantly. Just walking down the hall, girls would try to ask him out, and he looked completely fed up.

“You’re being ungrateful. Some people would kill for that chance.”
“Oh yeah? You’re not desperate then? Just tell me who the guy is, I’ll check him out.”
“You’re scary.”

Dodging Stanley’s interrogation, I headed for the bus. I was supposed to meet up with Xeno today; apparently his research had settled down for once.

“Stanley!!”

A loud voice called out. I turned to see a group of Cool girls walking toward him.

“Go to prom with us?”
“No.”
“What? You don’t even have a partner yet, right? I heard you dumped that girl.”

Oh, now it sounded like I had been rejected by Stanley. Well, that was better than everyone knowing I turned him down—it would probably save me some backlash.

“I mean, even if they hang out all the time, who’d want an Asian girl as a prom date?”
“She doesn’t even look like she can dance, haha.”
“Does she even have a dress that fits? She’d be the one being worn by the dress.”

Maybe these girls literally couldn’t talk without insulting someone. I was used to it, but I wished they wouldn’t say that kind of thing in front of Stanley—it made me feel guilty for putting him in that position. I could feel the air around him drop sharply.

“I’m not going with any of you ugly-on-the-inside types. And for the record, I was the one who got turned down.”

He pulled me slightly closer as he said that. Most guys wouldn’t admit something like that—it would hurt their pride. But he corrected the rumor just to protect my reputation. That little act of honesty made my heart skip, just a bit.

“What!? Ugly!? Who do you think you’re talking to—”
“What?”
“Ugh!”

The pressure from Stanley’s glare silenced them instantly. Well, with a face like his, I couldn’t blame them for backing down. For some reason, though, their angry stares turned to me instead. Unfair.

“Just because you’re close to Stanley doesn’t mean you can act all high and mighty.”
“You can’t even do anything on your own.”

Why was I catching heat now? I hadn’t even said a single word. How much did they look down on “losers”?

“Are you picking a fight?”

Uh oh, Stanley was getting seriously angry. I didn’t want to cause a scene, so I prayed the Cool girls would just go away already. They seemed to realize the danger and hurried off, tossing petty remarks like “acting like a princess” and “so annoying” over their shoulders. Someone even muttered, “You’re the real ugly one,” but I ignored it.

“You could stand up for yourself a little, you know.”
“I just want a peaceful school life. Staying quiet is the best way to do that.”
“If it were me, I’d have already punched them.”
“No one would ever dare insult you, Stanley.”
“Maybe Xeno would.”
“Right. He would.”

＊＊＊

“Xeno, want to go to prom with me?”
“With me?”

Xeno blinked in surprise. Behind him, Stanley glared at me resentfully.

“So that’s why he’s been in a bad mood. He got rejected, huh!”
“Shut up!”

Stanley scowled at Xeno for teasing him, then let out a relieved sigh when he realized the “someone I wanted to ask” was Xeno. So he really had been misunderstanding.

“Why me?”
“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime prom. If you go with me, you can experience it too.”

Since Xeno had skipped grades, he never got to experience high school normally. It was selfish of me, but I wanted him to have that kind of ordinary memory too. The three of us had spent so much time together—I wanted the three of us to share one more special moment. If I invited Xeno, we could all go together. Stanley had plenty of girls who’d be happy to accompany him, so this plan made sense.

“Spending time with you two sounds like a wonderful offer,” Xeno said with a gentle smile. For a moment, I thought that was his acceptance, but then he continued.

“But prom is for students of your high school. I’d feel out of place. And even if I went, I wouldn’t know anyone. I can’t say I’m particularly interested.”

If he truly had no interest, he could’ve just said no. When he gave such a long explanation, I couldn’t help but feel there was more behind it.

“You should go with Stanley instead.”
“Are you being considerate?”
“Not at all. But you should be happy about it, shouldn’t you?”
“Not really. I’d be fine spending it with you too. What I didn’t want was you going with some other guy.”
“You’re surprisingly possessive,” Xeno said, smirking.

They were still talking, but I didn’t really hear them. I was too shocked at being turned down. Honestly, I had thought Xeno would agree right away. Maybe this was how Stanley had felt earlier.

“I guess I’ll have to find someone else then.”
“What are you talking about? I’m right here.”

Stanley looked smug as I glanced up and down at him. Handsome face, soft golden hair, tall, perfectly built body.

“…Stanley, huh.”
“Why do you sound so unenthusiastic?”
“I get it, Aria,” Xeno said. “It’s the feeling of not wanting to stand next to someone who looks that perfect.”

He was right. Only a true beauty could stand beside someone like Stanley. I wouldn’t even work as a background character. In everyday life, maybe it was fine, but prom was an event where the entire senior class would see us. Stanley would definitely stand out.

“I would’ve preferred Tomonori.”

I hadn’t meant to say that out loud, but it slipped. Both of them heard it.

“No way. Not him.”
“Please, just go with Stanley.”

They clearly disliked Tomonori, even though they barely interacted with him.

“Aria. Go to prom with me.”

Stanley asked for the second time, and from behind, I saw Xeno nodding furiously in approval.

“…Alright.”

I agreed, defeated by the intensity in Stanley’s eyes.

I hesitated, but honestly, there weren’t any other guys I was close enough with, and no one else was going to invite me anyway. I wondered if Stanley even understood the pressure that came with being his date. While the two of them celebrated with triumphant grins, I just sighed and thought about that.

For some reason, Xeno looked happy too.