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"Ahhh~ Tragically defeated, huh?" Haruhi slumped in her chair, her spoon half-halfheartedly raised to her mouth, and felt very, very sorry for herself. She dropped the spoon back into the ice cream and pushed the half-finished parfait away dejectedly. Across the table it joined the ranks of the almost finished strawberry shortcake, the nibbled eclair, and the chocolate mousse that was short one bite. None of them had been the salve her broken heart desired. "There goes this month's paycheck... And my diet..." She rested her head on the table. What did it really matter if she was broke and fat? The guy she loved had just gotten together with her best friend and she was destined to live the life of an old maid and die a lonely death.
"Nishimoto-senpai?"
Haruhi gave a yelp and sat up, face red, "A-amachi-kun! What are you doing here?"
Amachi's angelic face took on a rather devilish grin. "I saw you through the window, senpai. It would seem I caught you doing something unseemly."
Haruhi made a haughty sound and crossed her arms over her chest. She had become acquainted with her kouhai's other side last year when she had fought with him over whether cheesecake should be served rare or baked (the latter, obviously) and since then they had become fast friends, often going to cafes and cake shops together to try new sweets. "I don't care if it is unseemly, I've just had my heart broken, I can do what I want."
The look on Amachi's face softened and he sat down in the chair opposite from her without invitation, earning him a glare from Haruhi, "Harry-senpai rejected you?"
"Didn't have to... Akemi... She's his girlfriend now."
"O-oh..."
"Go ahead and say it," Haruhi said bitterly. "I know you're thinking it. I got what I deserved after chickening out on confessing to him so many times... But I really was going to this time. But before I could he asked me if I'd heard the good news that Akemi was his girlfriend yet and Akemi started blushing and giggling and what could I do? They both looked so happy and Akemi's my best friend... I know she didn't do this to hurt me, how was she supposed to know how I felt about Harry?" She raised a hand to her face as a tear fell on the table. "I just want them both to be happy."
Amachi was quiet for a moment. "I wasn't going to say that, senpai."
Haruhi turned her eyes to look at him, surprised at how serious he looked. It made him seem... Kinda cool... And mature...
"You shouldn't have to be second best. If you had confessed to Harry-senpai earlier and he had agreed to go out with you just because you got there first, I think that'd be the worst! You deserve a guy who is always thinking only of you..." As he said this his cheeks were flushed and Haruhi couldn't help but staring. Wait... Wasn't this a lot like that scene from Memory of You when Miyuki's childhood friend Hiroki, who had always supported her, told her that Taizou wasn't good enough for her if he made her cry like this and if it was him he'd never make her sad? No, there was no way Amachi liked her like that. It wasn't the same at all.
Haruhi giggled. Yeah, it was a silly idea, but somehow she felt a lot better. "Thanks Amachi-kun, you're a good kid. Hey, do you want something? It's my treat."
The devilish sparkle had reentered Amachi's eye. "You don't have to buy anything else, Nishimoto-senpai, there's plenty of food right here." And with that he took a bite of chocolate cake. Her chocolate cake!
"Hey! Who said you could do that! I was eating that!"
"Oh really," he said savoring another bite. "I didn't think someone your size could finish all of this."
"Those are fighting words, Angel-kun~ You picked the wrong woman to cross."
He just smiled and continued to eat as Haruhi attacked the slice of cake with a fork from the other side. Neither knew it then, but the two would always look back on that conversation as marking the day on which their relationship began to change.