"Here—this is for you."
In the Art Club room, once Mio had sat down, Eriri pulled the chocolate she'd prepared out of her school bag and placed it in Mio's palm.
Looking at the beautifully wrapped chocolate—price tag still stuck on it—Mio tilted her head. "And here I thought you'd give me handmade chocolate, Eriri."
Eriri pursed her lips at that, then muttered, "Don't be ridiculous. Why would I ever make you chocolate by hand? Be grateful you even got this."
She said that, but the truth was Eriri had spent the previous night trying to make it herself, over and over. Even with the simplest method, though, the results came out so poorly that in the end she'd settled for store-bought chocolate she hadn't made herself.
At least it still looked like a gift.
"Honestly, I'm already happy just getting chocolate like this from you, Eriri."
Faced with Mio's sweet smile, Eriri guiltily looked away and fixed her eyes on the canvas instead.
Just then, the Art Club President cleared her throat and announced, "Since today is Valentine's Day, today's theme will be the person you like. I know some of you will feel too shy for that, so you're welcome to draw something else instead—it's not mandatory."
The moment the President finished speaking, Eriri and Shiina Mashiro both, without a word, turned their eyes toward Mio.
Feeling the two stares, Mio blinked, then put on an innocent face. "What are you two looking at me for? Do I strike you as the type who'd draw the person she likes in a place like this?"
"D-don't get the wrong idea, I was just a little curious, that's all." After that one stubborn retort, Eriri pulled her gaze away.
Staring at the blank canvas, she couldn't help but picture Mio in her mind.
"Eriri, why are you suddenly covering your face?"
"N-nothing. It's just a habit of mine when I'm thinking. Don't mind me."
Feeling the heat in her cheeks, Eriri had no idea why her very first thought had been of that white-haired little bitch Mio. Could it be she actually had some kind of special feelings for Mio?
No way. Absolutely no way.
There was no chance she felt anything for Mio!
It was only because Mio happened to be sitting right next to her—that was the only reason she'd come to mind.
Eriri had barely managed to compose herself when she looked over at Mio again, only to find that Mio had already started drawing.
Even though Mio had only just begun, Eriri could already tell she was drawing a person—she just couldn't make out who it was.
Then she looked over at Mashiro. She'd only just started too, and yet Eriri could already tell exactly who Mashiro was drawing.
Who else could it be but the white-haired little bitch sitting right beside her?
Mashiro was drawing Mio. Didn't that mean the person Mashiro liked was Mio?
At that thought, for some reason, Eriri was suddenly gripped by a flustered, uneasy feeling.
She hurriedly looked away. She tried her best to calm herself, but it wasn't working very well.
It wasn't until club time was more than half over that Eriri finally settled down a little, then casually sketched an apple.
It felt a bit like a cop-out, but she really wasn't in any mood to draw right now.
With a soft sigh, Eriri glanced back at Mio's drawing—and discovered that Mio was, of all things, drawing a busty anime girl.
Setting aside not drawing the person you like—was it really okay to be drawing an anime-style beauty during club activities?
Come to think of it, this wasn't the first time Mio had done something like this. She never seemed the least bit worried about her otaku side showing.
If it were Eriri, there was no way she'd ever draw something like that during club.
Just then, Eriri suddenly noticed that the character Mio was drawing looked strangely familiar, as if she'd seen it somewhere before.
The confusion didn't last long. As Mio's drawing grew more and more complete, Eriri realized exactly who Mio was drawing.
Wasn't this one of the heroines from the doujinshi she'd drawn, using herself and Mio as references?
The blonde, busty beautiful girl—that was her character in that doujinshi.
Drawing this character at a time like this—what on earth was Mio thinking?!
Don't tell me she was hinting at something?
Whatever it was Eriri had started imagining, a faint blush gradually crept across her fair cheeks.
To keep Mio from seeing the color in her face, Eriri could only turn her head toward the window.
The heat in her face and her racing heart sent her recently calmed thoughts spinning all over again.
Right then, the President's voice suddenly sounded beside her. "Eriri, done already? Let me see."
The moment she saw the apple on the canvas, the President didn't look the least bit surprised. It'd be a miracle if Eriri had actually gone and drawn the person she liked.
Eriri's drawing might not be much to look at, but Eriri herself sure was.
The President leaned in beside Eriri with a grin and whispered, "Eriri, why's your face all red? Did something happen?"
At the President's words, Eriri instinctively turned to glance at Mio. Only after confirming she was still absorbed in her drawing did Eriri quietly let out a breath and tell the President, "I-it's just a little stuffy in here, that's all. Don't worry about me."
Eriri's little tell naturally didn't escape the President's eyes. She broke into an excited grin, then said, "Got it. Carry on—I won't disturb you."
With that, the President immediately put on an air of nonchalance and moved away from where Eriri sat.
Even so, her gaze kept flicking back and forth between Eriri and Mio, terrified of missing any juicy material.
Things carried on like that until the end of club activities. Just as the President had guessed, not many students went with the "person you like" theme—most of them had drawn something else.
When she came to Mio's piece, she asked with some curiosity, "Shirai-san, may I ask who the character you drew is? I don't think I've seen her before."
"A character from a doujinshi. It's perfectly natural you wouldn't know her, senpai. I'm rather fond of her, though."
Overhearing this while packing up her things, Eriri felt a flash of panic surface in her eyes.
What in the world was this white-haired little bitch saying?!
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