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Sou had to keep reminding himself not to squeeze too hard. Desperate to keep it out of view, he cradled the small plastic pouch close to his chest. Maybe it would get lost in the fabric of his scarf if he waited long enough. Then he could stop hovering outside a classroom that wasn't his.
The door slid open, and he came face to face with his worst nightmare. On her own and completely approachable. There was no excuse to run away now. If only he'd drop dead in the next two seconds.
...Of course not. His luck was never that good.
"Miss Sara, what a surprise." A surprise, to run into you in the only place you can usually be found without fail most school days. He wanted to slam his head into the wall, but resisted the urge.
"That's my line," Sara Chidouin replied, clearly somewhat puzzled. "I don't think I've ever seen you here after hours, senpai. Did you join a club this year..?"
That almost sounded like an insult. Why would a senior do something like that? Desperation to put something worthwhile on their college applications? He'd love to say yes and move on, but that wasn't a good idea. Then he might actually need to join a club to keep up the lie until graduation.
"Ahaha, no. It's too late for me to be a model student like you." Clearing his throat, Sou barreled straight into the lines he'd rehearsed. "White Day was yesterday, right? I completely forgot, but since you gave me chocolate on Valentines Day, I..."
Okay, he skipped a word or two there. She was the only girl to give him chocolate on Valentines Day. He didn't forget White Day, he was scared shitless by the idea that anyone would see him repaying her and waited an extra day on purpose.
The silence dragged on, so he offered her the plastic pouch. Clear plastic with a cute pattern, tied up tight with a ribbon. Inside were several large marshmallows in various pastel colors. They were shaped like stars.
"They had these at my part-time job," he continued. "Since I'm a day late already, I wanted to give them to you before they went stale or something."
Sara took the treats from his outstretched hand, as though unsure what to make of them. It was agony, but he reminded himself that it could be worse. Trying this with her friends around might have killed him. It was almost over.
"Oh, that's really nice of you..."
It was possible, if not likely, that she didn't really mean that. But, he'd gotten his response and could now run and bury his head in the sand. Thank god.
"I never get anything on White Day," she continued, sheepishly brushing aside a length of her bangs. "Thank you, senpai."
At first, Sou wondered if he'd heard wrong.
"You never..?"
They were actually on even footing for once. He steeled himself, taking a deep breath. It didn't matter that he was graduating and she wasn't. He had to say it.
"Well, you do now. So give me chocolate again next year, okay?"