"Keurk!"
The sound of Felix collapsing in his seat echoed faintly across the table, but Soren barely heard it.
His mind went blank.
Thump… thump…
The sound of his heartbeat hammered in his ears.
Warmth climbed up his neck, spreading across his cheeks.
"Essy…" he managed. "That's unfair."
"Hehe~ Sorry," she said, pulling her hand away. "But your reaction was just too cute."
Soren cleared his throat, trying to stop thinking about how close her face had been.
"Did Felix seriously do that, though?" he asked.
It was hard to imagine the guy currently trying to hide his face in his own arms walking up to Esper and pulling out lines like that.
Smooth or not, it didn't fit the pathetic picture in front of him.
"There's more!" Esper said cheerfully.
"There is…?" Soren asked, both dreading and anticipating it.
"Let's see…" she said, tapping her finger against her chin. "I think because we were in a cafe, he tried to make some themed pick-up lines. Like, 'You must be made of sugar, because you just made my day a whole lot sweeter,' or 'If you were a dessert, you'd be a parfait… because you're perfect.' It was hilarious."
At this point, Felix had long since passed away in spirit, but Soren couldn't help sending a pitiful look his way.
"Felix…" Soren said quietly. "Is that really how you pick up girls?"
Felix's shoulders rose and fell once.
He nodded slightly, still hiding his face.
"That really works?" Soren asked, exasperated.
Esper answered instead.
"Well, when you've got a good face, you can make anything work," she said.
Soren recalled the line she had just used on him and how easily it had knocked him off balance.
He couldn't argue with that.
"I guess so…" he admitted.
"You should give it a try, Cutie," Esper suggested.
"On you?" Soren asked.
"That's boring," she pouted. "I've already heard them all. Try them on the sleeping beauty next to you. Doubt anyone's ever had the guts to say one to her."
Soren glanced at Amelia, still resting against him with her eyes closed.
"...I feel like that's dangerous," he said.
"It'd be funny though, right?" Esper replied, eyes shining.
Felix suddenly raised his head, desperation in his eyes.
"Do it for me?" he said weakly.
Soren stared at him.
On one hand, he had just humiliated Felix.
On the other… this was entirely Felix's fault.
Even so, some small part of him decided he might as well go through with it.
'Although this is still his own fault…' Soren thought.
He turned to Amelia and lightly shook her shoulder.
Lunch break was almost over anyway; he would have to wake her up soon.
"Nnnn…" she mumbled.
"Amelia," Soren whispered directly into her ear. "Time to wake up."
Jolt.
Amelia's entire body shot upright.
Her ears flattened sharply, and she clapped her hands over both of them as she stared at Soren with wide, stunned eyes.
"Why… did you do that?" she asked slowly.
"...I didn't realise you'd react so strongly," Soren said honestly.
He had expected a twitch at most, not a full emergency wake-up.
Her reaction made him file away a quiet note in the back of his mind: Amelia's ears were clearly more sensitive than she let on.
He glanced sideways at Esper and Felix.
They were both watching expectantly.
'Ugh, this is so corny,' Soren thought.
He could feel the embarrassment already building in his stomach.
'Well, here goes nothing…'
He reached out and placed his hand gently beneath Amelia's chin, guiding her face up so her eyes were fixed on his own.
It was an action he had seen in countless romance manga and always rolled his eyes at.
Now he was the one doing it.
"If forever exists, I hope I get to spend it with you," he said softly, forcing the words out.
Blink… blink…
Amelia's eyes fluttered open and closed a few times, lashes trembling.
Her pupils focused and unfocused like her mind was lagging behind the words.
'That one was kind of iffy,' Soren thought, a little dissatisfied. 'Let me try again.'
He moved his hand from her chin and instead cupped her cheek, brushing a strand of hair back behind her ear.
"If I had a flower for every time you crossed my mind, I could walk through my garden forever."
Amelia's body completely froze.
For a few seconds, she didn't even blink.
Soren let go and pulled his hand back.
He brought his thumb to his lips and bit down lightly, cringing.
"Those weren't that good," he muttered. "And it's so cringy… Seriously, how do you do it, Felix?"
He turned his attention back to Felix, who looked like he hadn't recovered at all.
It was then that he felt something move against his side.
Amelia's face had turned red in an instant.
She quickly covered it with both hands and leaned against Soren's shoulder, practically hiding behind him.
"Oh!" Esper's voice went up an octave.
"Wow…" Felix breathed.
The two bystanders let out exclamations at the sight of Amelia becoming flustered, but Soren was more confused than anything.
"Eh? It worked?"
Amelia lifted her head just enough to bump his side with her forehead, hitting him a couple of light times before pulling back again.
Her ears were trembling, and her tail had wrapped around her own waist.
"I told you…" she whispered, so quietly it was almost inaudible. "I like your face…"
Only Soren, sitting right next to her, heard those words.
"Oh…" he said softly.
He quickly realised what had happened.
Esper had knocked him off balance earlier by using that line directly on him, in his type, in his face.
For Amelia, this was the same situation.
Someone whose face matched her tastes, who she already liked being around, suddenly pulled a smooth line on her out of nowhere.
'Of course she'd be flustered,' he thought.
"Sorry," Soren said awkwardly.
He scratched his cheek and looked away.
"Esper, do you see what I mean?" Felix complained. "It's so unfair."
"Yeah, yeah. Whatever. Cutie deserves it, unlike you," Esper replied, smirking.
Felix groaned.
"Ugh, screw this, I'm going to go find someone new."
"Our Cutie's nickname for you really is perfect, isn't it, Mr Trash?" Esper said sweetly.
"Whatever you say," Felix replied, standing. "If you ever want to spend some time together, let me know."
"Ugh."
Esper rolled her eyes.
"Go away already."
Felix lifted a hand in a half-hearted wave and left the cafeteria, muttering under his breath.
"Well, I guess I should go too," Esper said, standing and stretching her arms over her head. "Let's have lunch again sometime, 'kay~?"
"Feel free anytime," Soren replied. "Just come to class F at the start of lunch so you don't miss me next time."
"Sure! Bye-bye~!" she chimed.
"Later," he said.
With the two noisy people gone, the table suddenly felt quieter.
Only Soren and Amelia remained.
••✦ ♡ ✦•••
"About earlier…" Amelia spoke, voice low. "That was a joke?"
Soren rubbed the back of his neck, feeling the heat still lingering on his ears.
"Kind of?" he admitted. "Essy was telling me how Felix hit on her with cringy pick-up lines. She even tried one on me. Then they both told me I should try some on you, so I just… did it."
"I see," Amelia murmured.
She was staring at her half-finished food, fork resting against the edge of the tray.
The blush hadn't entirely left her cheeks yet.
Her ears had relaxed slightly but were still twitching every few seconds.
"Can I try?" she asked suddenly.
"Huh?"
Soren blinked.
"I mean, I don't mind, but are you sure?"
Amelia gave a small, firm nod.
"Give me a moment," she said.
She closed her eyes for a few seconds and took a deep breath.
"Hoo…"
Then she reached out, just as he had done earlier.
Unlike Soren, Amelia didn't take his chin.
Instead, she slipped one hand behind his head and pulled him closer, fingers threading lightly into his hair.
With her other hand, she reached up and brushed his fringe back, tucking the strands behind his ear with a careful, deliberate motion.
She leaned in close.
So close he could feel the warmth of her body, the faint brush of her hair against his cheek.
Her husky voice dropped to a quiet whisper directly at his ear.
"If my silence seems heavy, it is only because my heart is too full in your presence," she murmured, each word slow.
Badump. Badump.
Soren's head whipped back instinctively, eyes wide.
His face burned hot, and his ears felt like they might catch fire.
Because of how close she had leaned in, he could still feel the ghost of her breath against his skin.
The rough yet gentle strength in her hands, the calm look in her eyes just before she shut the distance.
"That's cheating…" he muttered, covering his ear with both hands.
He had known he liked her voice.
He just hadn't expected that line, in that tone, from that distance.
Even now, the feeling of her fingers in his hair was vivid in his mind.
It was only after several seconds that he finally noticed Amelia's condition.
Unlike the furious full-face blush she'd had earlier, the pink in her cheeks this time was more subtle, but still clearly there.
Her tail had wrapped around her body again, coiled tight like she was trying to hold herself together.
Her ears twitched constantly, betraying the embarrassment she tried to hide.
In the awkward atmosphere that followed, neither of them could speak.
Both of them looked away, then accidentally made eye contact, then looked away again.
Soren poked at the remains of his lunch with his fork.
Amelia focused very hard on her drink despite the fact that it was already empty.
Their earlier easy rhythm was gone, replaced by a strange tension.
Although neither held romantic feelings for the other, it was hard to deny that, at this moment, they were overwhelmingly conscious of each other.
Every small movement felt too loud.
Every brush of an elbow or shoulder felt too sharp.
Only when the bell signalling the end of lunch finally rang, cutting through the quiet like a rescue, were they able to escape the situation and stand up, each pretending everything was normal as they headed back to class.
————「❤︎」————