How To End a Crush - Chapter 3.3

Tears were welling up in my eyes once again. I tried to keep the tears from flowing by focusing on the strands of my blonde hair flowing in front of my eyes.

“Kate?”

I quickly rubbed my eyes to wipe the tears away before turning my head around and responding in a nasally voice.

“Uh… Hey, long time no see.”

Standing in front of me was Arkhan. He was the son of a military officer from the adjacent estate of Helis.

We’ve known each other since we were kids and I often worried about him because he never studied. I had no idea why he had been pestering me so often lately.

Nonetheless, I didn’t want him to see me crying, so I blinked my eyes a few times and pretended to look calm and composed.

“Hey Kate. Oh, I see that you’ve got your grades already too.” Arkhan slightly narrowed his red eyes.

I quickly tidied up my disheveled hair with my hands and put on a serious face.

“Yeah. Did you get a better score than you did on the mid-term ex-”

“You ranked 22nd? Whoa, not bad.”

How did he know that?

As a precaution, I held my report card closer to my chest and made sure it wasn’t showing.

Arkhan covered his mouth as he let out an innocent laugh.

“You did pretty well, but I don’t see that reflected on your pretty face. What’s up?”

“… Well, how did you rank?”

“I don’t know. It didn’t say anything and nobody told me.”

It seems like he doesn’t have the heart to tell me.

I patted him on the back with an expression of mixed emotions.

Yeah, he’ll have to come to his senses and figure things out on his own someday. At least he is quite skilled in swordsmanship if anything.

“It’s all good. As long as you do well from now on you’ll be fine.”

“Yeah, it’ll be fine.”

“Good to hear that. Well, seeing as how I didn’t do so hot, I should go and catch up on a few things. Let’s meet up later sometime and get something to eat. I’ll pay.”

Bye. See ya.

I felt a little sorry for Arkhan, so I gently ruffled his hair as I turned to leave. I was about to be on my way when, at that very moment, my feet suddenly froze to the floor and I gasped in surprise.

My eyes quickly darted to the long silvery hair fluttering back and forth right in front of me. I realized who it was in an instant and my heart skipped a beat and sank deep into my chest.

I gulped and urgently forced myself to say something.

“H-hello, Noah.”

Noah, passing by me as he walked down the hallway, opened his lips just enough to utter a reply.

“Hi.”

“What the… Ack!”

Arkhan cried out as my hand that had been ruffling his hair suddenly seized his scalp in a death grip as I forced myself to initiate a conversation with Noah.

“Ha, ha.”

Normally, I would stumble over my words trying to say anything, but when I just stood there laughing, Noah gave me a bit of an odd look.

An awkward silence ensued until Noah finally opened his mouth to speak.

“Did you do well on the exams?”

“Ah… Well… Uhm, no.”

I fell below the top ten.

I didn’t have the courage to tell him that, so I just gave him an awkward smile.

“Ah.”

Noah let out something of a sigh and tried to give me encouraging words. “You’ll do better next time.”

Those were easy words coming from someone already at the top of the class.

Pat.

Noah gave me an awkward smile as he placed one of his large hands on top of my head. He carefully and slowly rubbed my hair.

“???”

Did Noah really rub my hair just now?

“…?”

My body had involuntarily stiffened up.

Noah took his hand off of my head and said a few words before continuing on his way.

“See you at the club meeting next week.”

He left, but I was in such a state of shock over what had just happened that the thought of saying goodbye to him didn’t even cross my mind and I just stood there with my mouth agape.

From having been rubbed this way and that, my hair became a bit tangled up.

“Isn’t that person the son of Marquis Yurielle?”

I wasn’t paying Arkhan any mind. His words didn’t even register in my brain. I had completely zoned out. I rubbed my head and creased my brow.

I stood there like that for a while, staring at the spot where Noah had been standing.

Only after the beating of my heart had calmed down to a normal pace was I able to come back to my senses.

Yeah, now that I think about it, he’s always been such a warm-hearted person like that. I mean, that’s why I like him… Oh god.

It seems I’ve become a lot more conscious of Noah than usual after having read that novel.

It also feels a bit different seeing him now because of that book.

Faced with the cruel reality of it all, a bitter taste filled my mouth.