My Best Friend is so Popular it's a Problem (BL) - Special Chapter 2

Lunch Break.

As always, the three of us sat together and opened our lunch boxes.

Ah… the bathroom!

Because I held it in during class, it suddenly hit me all at once now. I slammed my chopsticks down on the desk and stood up.

“Sorry, I need to go to the bathroom! You guys start eating!”

I’m gonna leak, I’m gonna leak—! I dashed off toward the bathroom.

Thanks to running, I made it just in time. Feeling relieved and relaxed, I washed my hands and stepped out into the hallway. Humming a little tune, I started walking back to the classroom when a voice called out from behind me.

“…Ichigoya?”
“Yes?”

Hearing my name, I reflexively turned around. But standing there was someone I didn’t recognize—he looked tall, like an upperclassman.

“Uh… and you are? ”
“Oh, me? I’m Kasugatani from second year. And this guy’s Hibino.”
“Uh… okay.”

Yup, I definitely don’t know them. What’s going on? Are these guys fans of Haruhi too?

“Hey, do you think he’s cute? I mean, I think he looks like any regular guy around here.”
“Hmm, Tanishige said he was cute, though… maybe that guy’s blind.”

They whispered to each other while staring me up and down like they were sizing me up.
…You know I can hear you, right!?

This feels seriously rude and kind of insulting. Well, they’re right—I’m not cute or anything.

Anyway, it didn’t seem like they had any real business with me, so I decided to head back to class.
Just then, I heard Haruhi’s voice call from behind.

“Yuhato!”
“Ah, Haru—huh?”

Haruhi came running toward me at full speed, looking furious, and pulled me close.

“What do you guys want with Yuto!?”

Like he was saying, “I’m not letting you have him,” Haruhi hugged me tightly and glared them down.
Kasugatani and the other guy blinked in surprise, then looked at my face and widened their eyes even more. Finally, they nodded to themselves like something clicked.

“Ah, now it makes sense.”
“Totally get it now.”

“Huh… what? ”

While Haruhi frowned suspiciously, Kasugatani reached out and ruffled my hair.

“You’re definitely cute, man.”
“Yeah. Total healing type.”

…Eh?
Eh!?

Wh-what are they even saying!? These guys—!!

While I panicked in Haruhi’s arms, the two upperclassmen just smiled even wider.

“Yuhato’s mine! Don’t you dare come near him!!”

Yelling that, Haruhi grabbed my arm and dragged me back to the classroom. We burst in, making a loud thud-thud noise, and Sora looked up, eyes wide.

“What happened? Something wrong? ”

“Everyone’s figured out how cute Yuhato is! ”
“Haru…”

Haruhi shouted angrily, and I was so flustered I didn’t know what to say. Watching us, Sora let out a laugh.

“See? Told you. You’re the one making Yuhato look cute. You should be aware of it by now.”

“……”
“……”

“…But even so, I’m not going to put any distance between us.”

Because of Haruhi’s attitude, even someone as plain and unnoticeable as me ended up getting called Haruhi’s cute boyfriend. But apparently, this “cute” version of me only appears when I’m with Haruhi.
Because when he’s not around, no one ever comes to bother me.

…But still—

“Ah, it’s Haruhi. He’s always so beautiful. Man, I wish I could be his boyfriend.”

That kind of stuff is annoying, but I’ve heard it so much I’ve built up a tolerance. After all, he’s my boyfriend now! So I can handle it.

“I like Yuhato better. Why’s he so cute? ”
“Yeah, Yuhato with Haruhi looks unreal. They’re a sight for sore eyes.”

That kind of comment, though, makes me super uneasy. I’m not used to it at all—it just feels weird.

“If any of you bastards lay a hand on my Yuhato, I won’t forgive you!! ”

Then Haruhi goes and yells for real, reacting way too much.

“Haruhi, stop it! They’re just teasing! ”
“Like hell they are! Those guys are serious! ”

I thought that now we were together, things would calm down… but for some reason, it’s gotten even noisier around us.

“They’re half-joking, half-serious. Just ignore them. It’ll die down soon.”

Sora’s calm advice made sense, so I nodded. But Haruhi still looked super unhappy about it.

And so, that ridiculous rumor about me being “cute” spread like wildfire, becoming another problem we had to deal with. After bothering us for a while, it finally faded away—just like that.

The End.