I Ended Up Pretending to Be the Boyfriend of a Beautiful but Tough Classmate for Just a Month, but It Seems That She Has Awakened Her Yandere Tendencies Because of That.

Chapter 22

“Hmm, which one should we choose?”

“I don’t know much about trends, so I’ll leave it to you.”

“Hey, pick one properly!”

“Alright, alright.”

While we were debating over the list of movies displayed on the panel near the reception desk, a group of high school boys walked in behind us.

A few of them glanced in our direction, their faces turning incredibly sad, before heading to the ticket counter.

They were probably students from our school.

Judging by the way they noticed Takamiya first and then me, only to look utterly disappointed, it was obvious.

Ah, so the date strategy is paying off.

“Well, it was worth coming here.”

“What are you talking about? Hurry up and pick already.”

“The goal was to show other boys that we’re on a date, right? Then shouldn’t we pick the same movie as them?”

“Y-Yeah, that makes sense. So, did you see what they chose?”

“Uh, let me check.”

From a distance, I could see they had bought tickets for a horror movie.

“A horror movie, huh.”

“Wait, no way! I’m terrible with scary stuff.”

“Same here. Let’s pick something else.”

“No, we can’t. If we’re going to do this, we have to go all the way. We need to show them we’re enjoying a movie together.”

“Come on, there’s no need to go that far.”

“We do! Now, let’s go buy the tickets!”

“…Fine.”

In the end, she made me buy two tickets for the horror movie.

I can’t handle scary or gory stuff.

This is the worst.

“Haa…”

“What’s with the sigh? Don’t do that when you’re with me; it makes us look like a bored couple.”

“I told you, I can’t handle scary stuff.”

“Neither can I! But if I’m putting up with it, you can’t complain either.”

After handing our tickets to the staff, we headed to the assigned screen number four.

The commercials before the movie had already started, and in the dim light, we found our seats and sat down.

We were just a little ahead of the group of boys from earlier, and I could hear their whispered conversation.

“Wow, Takamiya’s actually here with a guy. This sucks.”

“Yeah, I’m kinda shocked. Who’s the guy sitting next to her?”

“But hey, maybe he’s not her boyfriend. I mean, would someone like Takamiya really date a guy that plain?”

That’s what they were saying.

You could feel their despair at the situation, mixed with a faint glimmer of hope that maybe things weren’t as they seemed.

Takamiya really is popular, huh.

“It’s starting.”

“…Yeah.”

The commercials ended, and the movie began.

The opening scene was already creepy, and faint screams could be heard from the sparse audience.

I was no exception—I had no composure at all.

I didn’t even know if this movie was about zombies or curses.

That uncertainty made it even scarier.

As I watched, holding my breath for what might leap out of the darkness on screen—

“Eek!”

Something appeared on the screen.

Takamiya let out a strangled scream beside me, and I jerked in surprise at her voice.

“Cut it out! You’re scaring me!”

“I-I can’t help it, it’s so scary… Hic!”

Once fear sets in, it doesn’t go away.

I knew this from the time I pretended to be brave and watched a horror movie as a kid.

Horror movies don’t have ghosts or monsters appearing constantly.

But the anxiety of not knowing when or where they’ll show up builds into a terrifying experience.

Ah, this is awful…

“Eek, no! Stop it!”

To make things worse, Takamiya kept letting out little screams and shaking, making it impossible to relax.

“Hey, keep quiet!”

“I-I can’t…”

“Let’s just leave. There’s no point in watching this.”

“No, we can’t. If someone sees us leave, they’ll think we had a fight.”

“No, they won’t…”

“There’s always a chance. Hic!”

“Hey, come on…”

With a clatter, Takamiya suddenly grabbed my hand tightly.

“W-What are you doing?”

“J-Just for now… Besides, this is a good chance to show off to those boys behind us…”

Her trembling as she tried to act tough was a bit ridiculous, but I didn’t have the energy to tease her.

Her hand, gripping mine tightly, was soft and warm, and I could feel her slightly quickened pulse through her palm.

My own heartbeat grew louder.

Thump.

At this point, the movie didn’t even matter anymore.

—

Chapter 23

“Ugh, I thought I was going to die. Why is something like that even popular?”

Before I knew it, the movie was over. As the theater lights came back on, pale-faced audience members began shuffling out in droves. The high school boys sitting behind us had seemingly forgotten all about Takamiya and me. Muttering “That was so scary,” they left hurriedly, but for some reason, I remained seated in the now brightly lit theater.

“Hey, is it okay if I let go now?”

When I spoke to Takamiya, who was still trembling and gripping my hand tightly, her face turned beet red.

“I’m fine now! You must be happy though, getting to hold my hand like that.”

“…Can you stand up?”

“Of course I can! Anyway, I was just acting scared to mess with those guys behind us… Oh, wait.”

As she tried to shake off my hand and stand up, she suddenly stopped.

“What are you doing? If we don’t leave, they’ll get mad.”

“My legs… gave out.”

“What?”

“They won’t move…”

Staring blankly ahead with a stunned expression, Takamiya seemed genuinely at a loss. It didn’t look like she was acting.

“Are you okay?”

“Ugh… Give me your hand.”

“Huh?”

“Come on, hurry. I mean, I’ve already held it once, so a second or third time won’t make a difference, right?”

I nearly laughed at her bossy tone despite her inability to stand. Holding back a smirk, I extended my hand, and she slowly stood up, muttering, “Heave-ho…” like an elderly person.

“Ugh, this is the worst. I’m never watching a horror movie again.”

“…Can you walk by yourself now?”

“Not yet. Just support me for a little longer.”

This time, she leaned against my arm.

Supporting her as we slowly walked out together, I noticed that some of the other moviegoers were still lingering in the hallway, chatting about the terrifying film they’d just seen. Among them were the high school boys who had been sitting behind us.

When they noticed us, they went pale again, looking almost as horrified as they had during the movie.

“Heh, looks like the plan worked. At least those guys won’t bother me at school anymore,” Takamiya said, smiling smugly.

For some reason, she then pulled my arm closer, almost like she was showing off.

“Hey!”

“What? Don’t like it? Are you unhappy that I’m relying on you this much? Or… do you have someone watching that you don’t want to see this?”

“No one’s watching. But isn’t this a bit much?”

“Not at all. If those guys spread rumors at school, it’ll only make things easier. I don’t care about guys anyway. They’re all trash who only care about a girl’s looks.”

Her tone suddenly darkened, and her expression clouded.

“…Did something happen?”

“No. It’s not like I had any big drama with a guy or anything.”

“Oh, okay.”

“What, you’re not going to ask?”

“If it’s something you don’t want to talk about, you don’t have to. But keeping it all bottled up isn’t good either. You helped me out before by listening, and it made me feel a bit better.”

Her grip on my arm tightened, and she clung to my sleeve as if trying to rip it off. Her hand trembled slightly.

“…What’s with you, acting all cool? Well, maybe I’ll tell you about it someday.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Anyway, I want to sit down. Did you pick a place?”

“When would I have had time to do that?”

Pulling out my phone with my free hand, I searched for a place to sit while supporting her. Together, we walked out of the building. Takamiya didn’t let go of me the entire time. Was that just part of her act too?

“So, the person we saw from the building earlier—do you think it was really them?”

“Hmm, maybe?”

“Geez, pay attention! Don’t tell me you fell asleep or something.”

We ended up at a café across the street from the theater. The moment we sat down, Takamiya excitedly started talking about the movie.

And to think she said she’d never watch a horror movie again. She was totally hooked.

“I couldn’t focus. I was too scared. And you were screaming so much, yet you still managed to watch it properly?”

“Well, since you were paying, I thought it would be rude not to watch.”

After saying that, she looked straight at me with her big eyes.

“So, how was today’s date?”

“How was it…? I’ve never been on a date before, so I don’t know what the standard is.”

“That’s not what I meant. Did you have fun?”

“Did I have fun…?”

“What? Are you saying you didn’t enjoy going on a date with me? Or do you prefer girls like Maria?”