Chapter Text
M/n = Middle name
***
I have a guilty pleasure that started from an early point in my life, and that would be otome games.
You know, the cliche dating games targeted towards a female audience. The ones with attractive love interests and crazy plots.
While I know that they're obviously just fantasies that would never happen, I often looked forward to playing for whether it would be the love interests or the storyline.
Due to recent events (like boredom), I spent hours browsing the app store when I came across a weird title.
High School Romance ~Love and Confessions~
It was the name of a recent otome game that gotten pretty high reviews, despite the overly cheesy name - of course. So due to my slight addiction, I downloaded it only to find out that it was what the title implied: a high school romance. In addition, there was the classic heroine; an overly pretty and smart girl surrounded by the three love interests.
'Heh, well what you'd expect from a generic otome game?' was my first reaction, but upon diving deeper, the game was much more interesting than I thought.
On a Sunday night, my current task was completing one of the love interest's route; but turns out each route is really long - four hours each to be exact. That makes twelve hours worth of gameplay, but maybe, even more, considering there was talk online about the addition of a secret route.
Anyways, in the middle of trying to complete the game, I fell asleep for some reason. What was even stranger was that I was met with the shouts of my mom.
Huh? Wasn't yesterday Sunday? That would make today Monday, but we're in the middle of summer vacation - which means I should be sleeping in right now. Wait, unless-
"How far has the fire spread, mom?!" I shouted, frowning as my body scurried to move out of bed.
"Ah, this girl - did you already forget it's the first day of high school?" My mother replied with an unamused expression. What, the first day of high school? I'm becoming a freshman, but that's supposed to be next week!
"Mom, you've never pranked me before. .why now?" I groggily said, crawling back to my beloved pillow. "If that's all, I'm going back to sleep-"
"Y/n M/n L/n, if you don't get out of bed and into the restroom this instant, you can bet that your phone will be taken away." My mom threatened, and I frowned - getting up for the second time.
"But-" Just as I was about to start, a glare was sent towards my way and I quickly ran into the bathroom.
What's up with my mom, seriously?
My hands grabbed my toothbrush and I applied some toothpaste, brushing my teeth quickly as I feared the consequences. Bruh, I'm not dreaming - right? Ack, this is so weird!
After washing my face with a towel, I went to go change clothes. However, when I went out of the bathroom - I saw my mom neatly placing what seemed to be a school uniform down on the bed.
A white t-shirt with a black ribbon around the collar and a dark blue and white plaid skirt. The skirt was short, so it would definitely not reach my knees. In addition, next to the skirt was a pair of long white socks that had a blue line going horizontally at the top.
Since when did my high school require uniforms, and why do they look like they're made for a private school?
"Hurry, girl!" My mom's shout snapped me out of my thoughts, and she glared at me once more while handing me the outfit. I stared at it dumbstruck before finally putting it on. "Come downstairs for breakfast after you're done!"
I quickly put on the uniform - and it was just like I expected. A cliche outfit for a high school in a shoujo manga. Yikes, this is not right.
My feet led me downstairs, and I spotted my breakfast on the table. Instinctively, my hand reached out and I began to stuff all the food into my mouth. Once it was all down, I swallowed and glanced wearily.
"So we're going to. .my high school, right?" My question seemed to be so dumb that it annoyed her.
"Yes! Now let's get into the car." Obeying her command, I decided to sit in the backseat due to a habit of mine. I'm not sure why, but I like sitting in the back rather than the front. Maybe it's because it's harder for my parents to stare at what I'm doing; which is browsing the internet for otome games of course!
"I swear mom if you mistake today for being the first day of school when it turns out to really be next week."
"I didn't, Y/n - you know how memorized I am when it comes to events like these." My mom replies. Ugh, fine, let's see if she's right.
In the meanwhile, my fingers pulled up the keypad and I type in the title of the game I've been addicted to into the search bar:
High School Romance ~Love and Confessions~
Pfft, the name still gets me every time. But maybe the secret route is finally out?
I pressed enter, anticipating the results - but to my dismay and confusion, there was nothing.
"0 results," It said, and I stared at the screen, wondering if I'm just blind. That's impossible, I've searched the name so many times before, and it always showed a bunch of results normally. There's something wrong with the internet!
In the middle of my confusion, the car comes to a smooth stop and I look up. We've arrived at the school, and my brows furrow together.
Upon arriving, the first thing that I notice is the excessive amount of students walking in. Their loud chattering fills my ears. No way, my mom was right?
However, the second thing is that the high school looks nothing like what I remembered. It's supposed to only have one floor, looking similar to a middle school - but still much larger. Plus, the huge sign states 'Angelwood High School'.
Angelwood high school . . . I must be dreaming still. Who in their right mind would name a school like this?
But the sight in front of me could easily rival the top colleges in my state! Holy crap, what's with the three floors and giant fountain in the center of the school?!
I desperately turn to my mom, who's just waiting for me to get out of her car - but hell no! This ain't my school. I should have noticed it from the start with the uniform, but after seeing the name and environment, this is definitely not my high school.
"Mom, you got the wrong school! Come on, we need to go to the right one or I'll be late." My desperate pleas seem to ignored by my mother, and she sighs and unlocks the doors.
"Come on, Y/n. Out you go." She says with a shooing hand motion. I frown and begrudgingly get out of the car, gripping my backpack tightly. My hand then moves to shut the back seat's door. Once it closes, my mom shouts "Have a good day at school, sweetie!" and the car suddenly jolts forward and out of my sight.
I stand there, staring off into the distance before sighing and making my way to the gate. What the hell was that? I'm at the wrong school and my mom knows that, so why did she book it once I got out of the car? Ugh, I'll have a good talk with her later.
As my frown deepens on my face, I notice that the female students around me are wearing the same outfit as I am - the uniform from earlier. The male students, on the other hand, wear the buttoned shirt with a black cardigan and dark blue pants. Seriously, the uniforms look like they're from an otome game!
As I approached the school, my eyes spotted a girl in front of the walls next to the gate. It seemed like she was waiting for someone, but was standing in an anime girl pose - with her back leaning against the wall and her hands clasped together.
She had pale brown hair, with pink ribbons holding together double ponytails. Her eyes were a light pink, reflecting the light of the sun onto them despite of her long black eyelashes. With a pointy but small nose on her small face, she also carried perfect lips with a shiny gloss over them. The girl wore the same uniform as me, but except with hazel boots and something peculiar. It was like a tan cardigan, but it only covered her shoulders and chest.
There was no doubt about it, she was insanely pretty. In fact, there were even students who were whispering and chatting about her amongst each other. This was definitely the start of her being apart of the popular clique.
However, she looked weirdly familiar as well. But I've never met someone as pretty as this girl in real life, there's no way I would even be able to talk to her.
But as I stared more at her appearance, my mind realized something. How come she looks exactly like the heroine of H.S.R ~Love and Confessions~, Hira Cyco?
. .What the hell, is this a crazy fan that tried to cosplay as the MC on the first day of school? The hair and outfit was spot on, including the contacts for the eyes. This must have taken hours to recreate everything. But is she even sane, wasting her time to wear this to high school?
The game had over a million downloads but that's nothing compared to other otome games.
Wow, I had no idea my first day of school already had people weirder than me! Heh, I'm looking forward to seeing what kind of situations she'll encounter while cosplaying as Hira Cyco. My lips curved up and my feet started moving again. Hopefully, that didn't take away too much of my time before school started.
I quickly passed the cosplayer girl, blending in with the crowd. I needed to find my classroom soon, so maybe the office is a good place to start-
"Y/n!"
An unfamiliar voice calls out my name, and I stop in my tracks. It sounds female and oddly . . . sweet. Wow, I'm using adjectives just like an otome game character would use. But er, maybe there's someone else with the same name as me.
"Y/n!"
Yeah, there's a lot of people around me right now, it would make sense if one of them had my name.
I continue walking, and just like before, the voice calls my name. However, it's much louder this time.
Hesitantly, I turn around and right in front of my eyes is . . .
. . the cosplayer girl from earlier? Wow, she's even prettier close-up.
"Y/n! I've been calling your name for some time now! Did you become deaf over the summer?" Hira - no, the girl says with a pout on her face. Um, why does she sound like she's talking with a friend of hers? I don't know anyone even remotely close to her.
". .Who are you?" I asked, taking a step back. The cosplayer's eyes widen, and she stares at me blankly before smiling.
"Pfft! You almost got me there, Y/n. You know, you could win an award for best actor one day~" She says, going to my right side.
"Thanks. But, honestly, I don't recognize you at all." I state, continuing to walk forward. However, I stop in my tracks after my arm gets pulled by her.
What the hell?
"Haha, okay, Miss Stranger. Shall we go to our classrooms first, or do you want to walk around campus?" She says once again in a sweet voice. Frowning, I slowly remove her grasp on my arm.
"Please, if you don't mind,ly need to get to my class." My statement makes the cosplayer freeze and stare at me in confusion again - but this time, she has a hint of sadness on her face. When my head turns around, I suddenly notice the huge crowd of students watching us.
What the-? Ack, it's because of her unusual appearance and loud voice. Please, don't follow me, I beg you.
Not looking back, my legs try their best to speed-walk out of the situation, and when I finally reach the school buildings, a sigh comes out of my mouth.
Now it's time to find the office, where could that
Oof!
My eyes close instinctively, and I stumble back a bit. My hand reaches for my forehead.
I bumped into someone. .?