My Best Friend is so Popular it's a Problem (BL) - Chapter 17

“Yo, Yuto. Hayato—”

From down the hallway, Sora came walking toward us, waving his hand energetically.

“Sora!”

Finally! Sora’s here!

My mental anchor!

Ever since I started the fake relationship with Hayato, my emotions have been all over the place.

Hayato kept planning to show off our “affection” to everyone, like part of the act, and even though I knew it was all pretend, my heart still raced uncontrollably.

…This is really bad, I think…

Anyway!

I had to get myself under control before I lost it completely, so I waved at Sora to come faster.

…but for some reason, the pressure from Hayato’s arms, still wrapped around me, suddenly got stronger.

“Hayato?”

My voice muffled as my face buried into his chest.

“…You know…”

He whispered right next to my ear, and a shiver shot down my spine.

Twitch!

M-my ear!!

Something soft was brushing against it…

Noooo, Hayato!!!

D-don’t put your lips on my ear!!!

I couldn’t scream, so I froze and clawed at his arm, yelling silently in my head. But Hayato didn’t notice my thoughts. Instead, he scolded me in a breathy, teasing voice.

“…Who do you think you’re mine to, huh…? Don’t tell me you like Sora more than me…”

W-what!?

Of course not!

Even if Sora did the same thing, my heart wouldn’t be pounding like this!

I…!

…Wait?

Me…?

The thought I had been trying not to dwell on started creeping up from the deepest part of my heart. The person I cared about most… The friend I wanted to protect no matter what, even if they drove me crazy… I realized, almost by accident, that my feelings for him weren’t just friendship. I had been keeping it locked away in my heart, making sure it wouldn’t spill over. But the truth was, I had been in love with Hayato… all along.