By Zephyria With a thwack, the puck flew far away. The goalie desperately dove, but his efforts were in vain, and the puck went straight into the net. Ashley lightly bumped hands with Bill, who had passed him the puck. Just then, the whistle blew, and a short break was given.
“Hoo-ah.”
Bill chugged the water in the plastic bottle, wiped his lips, and asked.
“But what’s really going on with you? Are you going to break up with Ariel?”
“What are you talking about?”
Ashley, who had also emptied more than half of his plastic bottle in one go, said. Bill continued, breathing somewhat faster.
“I heard you haven’t been contacting her or meeting up with her.”
“I told you, I’ve been busy.”
“That’s an excuse. Hey, don’t lie to us like that. We all know.”
Bill looked around as if to say, ‘Right?’ The other guys nodded here and there.
“For sure, when your heart cools down, you start contacting them less.”
“It’s weird that you haven’t been meeting up with her every day even though there was no training and it was vacation.”
“It’s a sign of a breakup.”
“Tell me honestly, did you really find someone else?”
Everyone’s attention was focused on Ashley. Ashley frowned, openly showing his disgust.
“No, and I’m not tired of Al.”
“You might not be tired of them, but you could still like someone else.”
Someone said, and Bill pointed out.
“Dude, people call that cheating.”
The others cheered and clapped, booing. But Ashley couldn’t laugh. He didn’t understand why they were saying such things. He hadn’t cheated, and he hadn’t found another girlfriend. His feelings for Ariel weren’t much different from before. She was still pretty, kind, and a good match for Ashley.
But what is this, this unsettling feeling?
“……Damn it.”
He spat out a rough curse and drank all the remaining water. Seeing Ashley throw the empty plastic bottle into the trash can, the other guys exchanged glances and sized him up.
“Um, did you buy the tickets?”
It was Bill who scratched his nose and spoke.
“No, not yet.”
At Ashley’s answer, Bill said as if he had been waiting.
“I heard they printed fewer tickets this year. If you go late, there might not be any left.”
“Yeah, why don’t you go to the school store right after this?”
Another guy quickly chimed in. The guy next to him lightly chided him.
“The school store’s already closed, you idiot.”
“No, it’s been open late these days? I went there after training yesterday, and it was closed then.”
Originally, the school store closed around the same time as classes ended. It only stayed open late for special events or during certain seasons. Anyway, it didn’t seem like a bad idea to stop by after training.
“Okay, thanks.”
As Ashley said his thanks, the coach blew the whistle again. It was a signal that the break was over. As he was about to go back to the rink, Bill grabbed him from behind.
“Ashley.”
Ashley frowned and turned to look at him, at the unusual formality of being called by his full name. Bill placed a hand on his shoulder and said.
“I’m not kidding, really. Ariel is very anxious.”
He spoke seriously, with none of his usual smile. Ashley stared at him for a moment, then just turned away. He went to his spot among the guys who had already gone out and taken their positions, and soon the practice game began.
Bill’s words were somewhat valid. That made Ashley even more uncomfortable.
I should just buy the tickets quickly.
Ashley thought as he chased after the puck. For now, there was nothing else he could do. If he went to the homecoming party, went on dates every weekend, and spent time with her like before, Ariel would feel better.
And it would be better to keep Koi at a distance for a while.
It was true that he had been neglecting Ariel lately, so it was right to focus on her. But if he did that, he would inevitably have less time to spend with Koi.
Like before.
Before he knew Koi, that was his normal routine. And now he was going back to that time.
……It’s not exactly keeping him at a distance.
Ashley belatedly corrected his thoughts. He was just treating him like he treated his other friends. Since he saw him in class every day anyway, there was no need to see him separately. Koi would be busy with his part-time job anyway.
Ashley hit the puck that came flying at him and quickly chased after the direction the puck had flown. Why am I thinking about Koi right now? That’s weird. He pushed back the oncoming opponent with his body and cursed.
I have to keep Koi at a distance to spend time with Ariel, why is my thinking flowing that way? It’s weird that I even thought of Koi in the first place.
I shouldn’t see that guy after all.
He chose to ignore the reason rather than find it. Everything would be fine. He had just been briefly excited to meet a new friend he got along with. It was time to stop now.
Ashley believed that.
Of course, that was only if things went as he thought they would.
*
“Oh.”
Ashley, who had gone to the school store as soon as training ended, stopped when he made eye contact with a classmate who was busily moving inside. The classmate, who had turned his head while putting away the items he had just brought in, also widened his eyes.
“Ash!”
At the voice calling out happily, Ashley reluctantly replied.
“……Koi.”
He put down the items he was organizing and hurried towards Ashley. Ashley just stood there, watching Koi approach. Koi finally stopped walking when he was right in front of him and looked up at Ashley.
“How did you get here? Why, is there something you need?”
“Oh, uh.”
Ashley stammered, caught off guard by the unexpected situation. Koi, unconcerned by his reaction, still said in a bright voice.
“Practice is over, right? What did you do for dinner? I have some bread I bought, do you want to eat it?”
Listening to him chatter excitedly made his heart complicated. To run into Koi like this just as he had decided not to see him for a while.
There was a way to just turn around and leave, but Ashley didn’t do that.
I just came to buy tickets.
He gave himself that excuse. He couldn’t figure out why he was feeling so uneasy in the first place. Weren’t Koi and he just close friends?
No, if Koi was a girl, everyone would be suspicious.
That’s how much Ashley hung out with Koi. He was relieved himself. If Koi was really a girl.
……If that were the case, I would.
“Here!”Suddenly, I snapped to attention because of the bread shoved in front of my face. Blinking, I looked down to see Koi holding out the bread to him.
“I tore open the bag a little to eat it, but I haven’t touched it yet.”
As he was talking, a not-so-pleasant sour smell reached the tip of his nose. It was obvious. It was bought through an event at a store that collects and sells expired items cheaply.
“…Isn’t this, like, spoiled?”
Ashley asked suspiciously.
“Huh?”
Koi, flustered, checked the bread, and his eyes quickly widened. His actions of hurriedly hiding the bread bag behind his back were unusual. Ashley narrowed his eyes and looked down at him. Under the suspicious gaze, Koi stammered, sweating profusely behind his back.
“Uh, well, this, I mean, like.”
“Give it here.”
Ashley reached out his arm. Koi hurriedly turned to avoid him, but it was impossible for Koi to avoid Ashley’s attack in the first place. He was the captain of the high school ice hockey championship team, after all. Koi did his best, but the bag was taken away far too easily.
“Ah!”
The moment he turned, Ashley reached out his other hand and easily snatched the bag, pushing Koi’s head away as he desperately flailed his arms. Ignoring Koi’s desperate struggles, Ashley lifted the bread in the plastic bag to his eye level and examined it, soon frowning.
“There’s mold on it, dude.”
“Huh? Really?”
Koi stopped struggling and widened his eyes. Ashley took his hand off his head and instead showed him the bread bag at eye level. As Ashley said, there were black spots of mold on one side of the salad bread with sauce.
“…It’s true.”
Koi admitted in a dejected voice.
“Sorry, I almost put you in danger.”
Ashley frowned at Koi, who apologized again, saying sorry.
“It’s more of a problem that you almost got sick. What if you had just eaten it? The smell was obvious, didn’t you notice?”
“Uh, uh…”
Koi was speechless, only blinking his eyes.
“I didn’t know it would be spoiled already.”
He barely managed to come up with an excuse, but Ashley immediately threw it in the trash.
“Pay more attention from now on.”