Chapter Text
"...Oh!" As we walked into the boba shop, Hari looked around and a smile soon was on her face. "This brings back so many memories of eighth grade, hehe." She glances at me and I quickly nod, pretending to agree.
Laughing a bit, I reply. "Aha, it certainly does!"
The shop consisted of white and some pastel colors as its color scheme. The chairs were assigned a small cushion seat on each one and the tables were see-through, made out of glass. There were a few people sitting at the tables, most looking like teenagers our age. But of course, that's nothing surprising - even if school just got out. In my actual world, boba shops were so popular that there were always people in them 24/7. If you had this place there, it would be swarmed with students in no time.
Hari and I both wait in line, looking at the menu with fairy lights around it. As my eyes skim the menu, my head gets kinda dizzy due to how many options there are. Even the menus in the boba shops from my real world wouldn't be able to compare to these ones.
"Hmm, I spot some new choices on the menu! Maybe we should try one of them, Y/n." The heroine chirps, taking a glance at me. I blink and scratch my cheek.
"Oh, haha, I guess. Um, which drink are you going to choose then?"
Hari blinks and goes back to look at the menu, her eyes seemingly squinting a bit - and it looks like she's trying her best to decide. Ah, she must be quite the boba fanatic.
"Hehe, well, the names of the new drinks do sound pretty good - but I think I'm going to go with my usual in the end." She replies sheepishly.
I nod in response, opening my mouth to reply - but I stop myself right in time.
Whoops, I almost did an oopsie. I can't just ask "What's your usual?" to Hari, it's her usual for a reason. She'll immediately think something is up with me.
After all, we've supposedly visited this boba shop way too much in middle school or something, meaning that the actual Y/n would know Hari's order by heart. I'll be blowing my cover, even if my actual situation is completely unbelievable - it's better to be safe.
"..Oh, okay." I give her a forced grin back. Hopefully, my tone didn't sound out of place!
After the people in front of us are done ordering, Hari and I step up to the counter and look at the person taking our orders.
"Hello! What can I get for you two?"
Wait a minute, I've been too busy overthinking and panicking and not deciding what I'm going to get. Uh oh, this is a problem.
Hari smiles and takes out her mini purse, which looks really fancy - like it belongs to Gucci or Chanel. I'm surprised and distracted for a moment before remembering that Angelwood High is for rich kids only, except for me.
...Oh my god Y/n, can you stop getting distracted for one second?
"I'll get a small strawberry milk tea, please!" Hari says, looking at me to go next.
My eyes dart up around and I choose the first thing it lands on. "A-and I'll have a small peach milk tea also!" The person smiles and nods, pressing some buttons on the screen before telling us our amount.
"That'll be $8.56! Would you like to pay with cash or credit?"
And all of a sudden, a feeling of dread washes over me.
Shit, I'm literally broke! I didn't bring any money because 1) I was thrown into an otome game world and 2) Didn't think I would buy anything. Ah no, no, no...
With my cheeks feeling hot, I scoot closer to Hari and whisper something - embarrassed.
"Um...Hari."
She smiles at me, waiting for me to go on.
"Uh, you see..." Hesitating, I take in a deep breath before confessing. "I, um, didn't bring any money."
It's silent for a bit as I spot Hari staring at me out of the corner of my eye. She's probably taking in what I just said. Suddenly, she moves and opens up her purse, pulling out a ten-dollar bill.
"Pfft, is that so?" I quickly look up with widened eyes. "Don't worry Y/n! I'm more than happy to pay for your drink also, just leave it to me!" And with that, she gives me an angelic smile and hands the money over.
I stare at her with almost teary eyes, a wave of emotions wash over me as a big smile spreads across my face. Ah, thank you so much, Hari! I'll make sure to pay you back no matter what! A feeling of happiness bubbles within me as we go sit down to wait for our boba drinks.
Ding!
There's a faint sound from my backpack and I immediately open it up and take out my phone. Turning it on, I see there's a new text from my mom.
Wait...mom! Hold on a second, wasn't I supposed to be picked up by her?! Immediately going into the texting app, I read the message from my mom.
"Are you hanging out with Hari again? Tell her she should come over this weekend to play with you!"
Um, how did she know that Hari and I are together right now?
My eyes move up and I spot Hari looking at me curiously. Oh yeah... we're "best friends" - the Y/n of this world must have brought her over a few times before.
"What happened?" The heroine says in an innocent tone, a small smile on her face.
I blink and smile back, showing her my phone. "It's nothing, just a text message from my mom. She says I should bring you to my house this weekend."
And as if on cue, her face lights up immediately.
"Ah, r-really?!" Hari says, in a very excited voice. She immediately reaches out her hand and intertwines my right hand with it. "Are you fine with me coming over again, Y/n? It's been a few months since I last visited!"
"..Mmhm, of course!" I reply, squeezing her hand back awkwardly. What...um, was being that excited to go over to your friend's house normal? I take another look at Hari. Her eyes seem to be sparkling, her cheeks seem pinker than before, and she has this big smile on her face - like the ones you see heroines give a love interest to make them fall in love with her.
Um, I think I underestimated how much Hari really cares for me. She said we became friends in middle school, but it seems more like we've been besties since kindergarten.
"Hehe, I'll make sure to bring some sweets with me when I visit~," She says, leaning to the right and then the left.
With desserts bringing brought up, I already feel myself craving for them. "Ah, thanks, Hari! What shop are you going to get them from?"
Grinning, she pulls out her phone and immediately starts typing something. Her light pink phone case has a ton of "aesthetic" mini cat and dog stickers on it, which are really cute! My eyes then move up slightly, where I immediately freeze in my spot.
What the fu- four cameras?! Why does her phone have four cameras on it?!
"Um, Hari! What model is your phone?" I quickly ask, staring at it in shock.
"Hmm?" She looks up and smiles at me. "Ah, this? Um, I'm pretty sure it was the "iPhone XX"? (Hari doesn't actually say XX, she says the number but the X's are in place of them) I think I told you about this before, but it must have been several months ago so I'll refresh your memory! My dad got this from one of his friends and then decided to suddenly give it to me as a gift." Hari laughs a bit at the end.
I nod after hearing her story but I'm not as nearly composed on the inside. I mean, an iPhone XX?! The year for this otome game is the same as my actual world's, right? If so, then why does an iPhone XX exist?!
I take another look at her and let out a small breath. Hari said she got that iPhone from her dad, who got it from his friend. It's obvious that the Cyco Family is wealthy, but now they also have ties to influential people that work for Apple? Hah...No wonder she's the heroine of High School Romance ~Love and Confessions~.
I resist facepalming myself as Hari finally looks up and shows me her phone.
"This is the shop that has really good sweets!" She taps on the screen and zooms in so I can see the building. For a bakery, the size is practically as big as a restaurant. It has both a modern but classy feeling, with sweets being displayed on the windows. I can't really see the inside but I know that it would be perfect Instagram selfie material.
"It looks nice!" I smile and I'm about to say something next until my eyes catch the name of the bakery.
Cornelia Pasteries
Hold on...Carnea, this is the shop that Carnea's parents own?! My eyes widen and I do a double-take and look at the photo again.
Haha, she did tell me that the bakery was very popular...but I didn't think it would end up like this. I have a slight headache and my fingers go to rub my temple. Hari notices my change in behavior and stares at me with a confused face.
"Is there something wrong, Y/n?" She asks, a small frown forming. I quickly shake my head and reassure her.
"N-no, it's just...um..." I rack my brain for anything to say. "...could I go with you to the bakery on that day?"
Hari blinks and sets her phone down. "Of course," She grins. "but won't it be a hassle to walk to the bakery with me and then go back? If you want, I can make it so that we're picked up and then drove to the shop and back!"
I smile and force out a laugh. "It'll be fine, I could always use the exercise. Plus, it's going to be fun picking out sweets together."
With that, the tan-haired girl in front of me smiles at my response. "You're right! Okay, Y/n - I'll come pick you up at say..." Hari puts her hand on her chin and thinks for a bit. "..1 o'clock? Or is that too early?"
"Nope, don't worry - it's good." As we plan out what we're doing on Saturday, our boba drinks are finally ready and we go to grab them.
Hari picks up her drink and so do I. Inspecting it, it looks just like your average milk tea, except this one is a pretty coral color with tapioca pearls at the bottom. I pop in a straw and slowly taste a sip.
Whoa! This is unexpectedly really good! I can't believe I got lucky by choosing the first drink my eyes landed on.
Quickly downing more of the drink, Hari drinks her own boba and grins at my reaction. "The peach flavor must taste really good, I think I might get it next time then!"
We exit the shop and because the sun is still high in the sky, Hari suggests that instead of going home now - we should walk around and talk. I agree with her idea and as I smile at her chattering, I think back to Cornelia's Pasteries, the popular bakery Carnea's parents own. I asked Hari to let me go with her to it in order to see one thing.
And that would be, Hari and Carnea, the heroine and love interest, interacting with one another. I really want to be there to see the start of their friendship, and maybe even romance, hehe. Plus Carnea did invite me over to the bakery. I could be the one to introduce the two which might lead to them hitting it off!
With that thought, I take another sip of my drink and continue to walk with Hari - excited for the upcoming days.