At first, I thought that he was just a shy boy… Like me…

Maehara Maki-kun. We had been in the same class since we were in our first years. Now, we were best friends… Or at least, I thought so.

Just like Umi and Ninacchi, he was a dear friend to me.

However, back when I first entered school, he never even entered my sight. I was aware of his existence as my classmate because his name was on the attendance list, but he was never the kind of person who’d take initiatives to participate in class events. Not only that, he always went straight back home after school. I never had the chance to talk with him.

It was only in September, half a year after I enrolled in high school that the chance came to me.

And the person who gave me that chance was my best friend, Umi. I wasn’t the kind of person who could adapt easily to my surroundings, and I got depressed easily whenever I was alone. It was her who came up to me, became my friend and helped me regain the smile that I lost.

She was strong, smart, cute and a hard worker.

What happened back then was, a senpai confessed to her, and Maki-kun happened to be there.

I didn’t remember much about our first conversation, but my first impression of him was that he was a strange person. Since I went to all-girls schools from grade to middle school, I’ve never really had the chance to talk with boys my age. He was unlike others who tried to talk to me; It was as if he had no interest in me.

He didn’t talk much, but I could tell that he was quite considerate to both me and Nina, who still treated him rudely back then.

That was enough for me to know that he was a kind person at heart.

…And that was why, I figured that as long as he didn’t hate me, maybe I could get along with him. He never had any presence in class, so I thought that I could help him out in that regard.

Just like her back then. I wanted to do the same thing as she did.

Thinking back, my decision to immediately give him my phone number was probably a little bit too hasty; I mean, even Ninacchi reprimanded me back then. Though, in the end, he never contacted me even once.

That outcome was pretty much a given, though. As at that point, he had already befriended my best friend.

…As usual, she was always ahead of me.

I had no choice but to yield the chance to become his ‘first.’ Then came the Cultural Festival, and by the time it was over, he became one of my ‘friends.’ …Too bad the feelings weren’t mutual. Back then, he still treated me as a ‘friend of a friend.’

Yes, a friend of a friend.

To me, he was a ‘friend,’ but to him, I was only a little closer than an ‘acquaintance.’ At the time, I was a little annoyed, but since it was the first time I’ve ever been treated like that, I actually enjoyed it a little since it was a refreshing feeling.

Then, after a certain incident on Christmas. Finally, he treated me as a ‘precious friend,’ together with Ninacchi and Nozomu-kun.

And at the same time, his relationship with my best friend had changed into that of an ‘irreplaceable lover.’

My best friend had left me one step— No, two steps behind. If I weren’t careful, the gap between us would grow even wider.

That being said, it wasn’t like I hated seeing those two getting closer. On the contrary, seeing them like that also made me happy.

…But, at the same time, my heart ached.

At first, I thought that the pain came from my anxiety over the fact that they gradually started to leave me behind. My anxiety over the fact that after our graduation, we’d inevitably go our separate ways.

In reality, that wasn’t the thing that I was worried about. Yes, I would be sad and lonely if I were to get separated from them, but it wasn’t like our friendship would end just like that. They’d definitely come and hang out with me if I were to send a ‘I miss you’ to them.

Deep down, I probably knew the real reason all along. I had never experienced it, but I always longed for it. If I were to give it a real thought and not try to avert my eyes from the truth, I would probably come to the true answer sooner.

Yet, I didn’t. For months, I pretended to not now, running away from reality, all while bottling my feelings inside my chest.

I ran away from the fact that my eyes would always be drawn to his side.

While I might be inexperienced in romance, I knew that this was inappropriate. I liked both of them, they were my ‘precious friends,’ I wanted those two to be happy. But, when he was there, my eyes were always drawn to him.

Even though I knew that I wasn’t even in his line of sight. That spot was reserved for her, ‘my best friend.’

…But, still…

If possible, I wanted to be a little more selfish—

No. No way.

I had to bury this feeling deep inside my heart. No one must know about it.

What would happen if my best friend were to find out?

Nothing good could come out of it. It was thanks to those two’s efforts that our relationship was mended, returned to what it once was. I should never even think of doing anything that could ruin it.

Never.

…Still, I couldn’t help but complain. Why did I have to fall in love?

I used to be insensitive towards this kind of thing, but now… As dense as I was, I realized that I…

Amami Yuu…

Had fallen in love with my best friend’s lover. Maehara Maki-kun.