Our Dating Story: The Experienced You and The Inexperienced Me - Volume 3 - Chapter 3.5

Chapter 3.5: A Long Phone Call Between Runa and Nicole

“...And so, like, when I ran into my old classmate from middle school, I remembered senpai again.”

“I see...”

“You gotta love it... Why can I run into some random classmate I don’t care about, but not senpai? I don’t think he moved away, and his place should be pretty close, so it wouldn’t be strange if I got to see him somewhere...”

“Yeah...”

“I could tell him, the way I am now... I could ask him to go out with me again. It would be fine if he rejected me. I feel like I’d be able to move on this time.”

“The reason he gave for dumping you three years ago was pretty weird.”

“Exactly. ‘I don’t want to hurt you, so let’s break up.’ What’s up with that? Like seriously, what the hell?”

“Yeah...”

“I didn’t want him to hate me, though, so I couldn’t stand my ground. If I threw a tantrum and insisted I didn’t want to break up, he’d probably think I was a pain in the ass.”

“Mm... I know what you mean.”

“It’s not like he said he hated me, so I couldn’t fully give up on him, but I didn’t have it in me to get in touch with him either... Then, at some point, my phone broke and I lost his contact info, so I couldn’t get in touch with him even if I wanted to. I’m so stupid for dragging this out so much.”

“That’s not true...”

“Is something up, Runa? You sound kinda down.”

“Huh? R-Really?”

“Did something happen?”

“Yeah... It did, actually...”

“Something at that get-together?”

“...On my way back, I brought croffles to Maria’s place, and I saw her coming home together with Ryuto.”

“What?! That guy still hasn’t learned?!”

“I-It’s not like that. Ryuto said that after the get-together, he went to a nearby library and ran into Maria there. And it got dark, so he walked her home...”

“Huh... Shouldn’t he be more careful after what happened before, though?”

“But we’re all in the pamphlet-making group... And I asked Ryuto to help me with my plan to become friends with Maria.”

“It still bothers you, though, right?”

“Mhm... But it’s not like I’m doubting Ryuto. It’s just...”

“Yeah?”

“I don’t know... I can’t put it into words yet. I’m just worried for some reason.”

“Hey, if there’s anything I can do, just let me know. I don’t care if it’s him or her—I’ll beat some sense into them.”

“Aha ha, there’s no need for that! You’re always the one helping me out... Thanks.”

“Don’t mention it. There’s nothing you can do to help a girl who’s clinging to a love that’s already over.”

“That’s not...”

Runa looked up at her pen holder with several photo booth stickers on it. She stared at the image of a boy with a bashful smile standing next to a black-haired Nicole, as if to sear his image into her eyes.