"Haa...
Alone in his room, he let out a deep sigh.
He didn't know how to respond to Ms. Asou's feelings.
He'd had a vague sense that was how it was. But when she actually put it into words, he didn't know what to do.
What words should he use to answer? What words should he have used to turn her down?
And besides, there was Ms. Asou herself.
"Heheh, this is how you tell the person you like how you feel, Aoyama-kun."
Saying something like that, she quickly went back home. He didn't get it. If she really liked him, how could she support his love life?
Maybe it wasn't a confession after all, just her teasing him.
But it hadn't looked that way.
"...Even when you put it into words, I still don't get it."
He muttered to the ceiling as if complaining to the store manager.
Outside, it was already completely dark.
---
◇
The weekend had passed in a flash, but he woke up on Monday morning with a lingering sense of fatigue he couldn't shake.
He realized it as soon as he got up.
"...A fever."
He felt hot, yet also chilled. His vision was blurry too.
When was the last time he had a fever? He couldn't even remember having one in elementary school.
Because he'd always been on edge. He didn't want to burden his grandparents by getting sick, and he never wanted to miss baseball practice.
"...This is bad."
He thought about pushing through it, but when he tried to stand up, dizziness distorted his vision.
Even just getting out of bed to get water was tough. He'd have to take the day off today, for sure.
"I need to contact the school... come to think of it, I don't know the number."
Feeling a little uneasy about being absent without permission, but lacking the energy to do anything about it, he collapsed back onto the bed and closed his eyes.
---
◇
"...Hot."
When he next woke up, he was drenched in sweat. Checking the clock, it was just after four in the afternoon. Disgusted by the dampness, he sat up. He still felt a bit sluggish, but much better overall.
His fever seemed to have gone down considerably. Still, he'd probably get scolded by the teacher tomorrow.
"...Hm?"
He heard a noise from the hallway. A burglar, maybe? Come to think of it, he'd left the door unlocked yesterday, thinking Beniko might come by. Running into an intruder in this state...
As he sarcastically blamed his own bad karma with his hazy mind, the door slowly opened. He tensed up instinctively, then immediately relaxed.
"...Eh?"
"Oh. You were awake... Hey, what's with that pose?"
"Uh, no..."
It was Beniko who entered the room. In her school uniform, with her usual cool demeanor, she looked at him with exasperation.
"Did you think it was a thief? Sorry, the door was unlocked."
"Th-that's fine, but..."
"Here, I made some rice porridge. I took the liberty of using your kitchen."
"Eh, rice porridge?"
"You had a pretty high fever. And hey, go change your clothes."
"Oh, right."
How long had she been here? Before he could ask, Beniko headed back to the kitchen.
He changed into his gym clothes and was about to take the discarded ones to the washing machine.
Just as he stepped into the hallway, Beniko swiftly took his dirty clothes from his hand.
"Here, I'll put these in the wash, so you rest."
"I-is that okay?"
"No big deal. It's not like we're at a stage where sweat bothers us anymore."
"...Well, I guess so."
Watching Beniko take his sweat-soaked clothes to the washing machine without showing any sign of disgust, he felt his body heat up a little again.
Then, as soon as he returned to his room,
The rice porridge was placed on the table.
"Here you go. Eat this, then go back to sleep, okay?"
"Um..."
"What is it? You've been acting weird since earlier. I just came to check on you because you didn't come to school. The door was unlocked, so I came in, and there you were, groaning in your sleep."
"Still, you went and did all this for me..."
"Are friends with benefits not allowed to worry about each other?"
"Huh?"
"Nothing. Come on, eat up quickly."
She put down the spoon a bit roughly. Then she said, "There's nothing to drink, so I'll go buy something," and left the room.