Chapter 34
“…Could it be?”
“Looks like we're trapped…”
This wasn't something they'd expected.
Being locked in the gym storage room after school was.
“Um, uh…”
Vita was thoroughly flustered, and Carlisle was no different.
Clank- Clank-
So the two of them kept trying to open the door, but it wouldn't open at all.
“Do you have your phone?”
Ah, right. They could contact someone.
But after searching her pockets, Vita was at a loss for words.
“My, uh, phone. It's in my classroom bag…”
Carlisle was in the same situation.
The two of them searched together for some solution. Then Vita's eyes fell on the storage room's window.
“That window. Isn't it worth trying?”
The window was high up and closed, but if they could just open it, they could alert someone to their situation. However, it seemed far too high to reach.
‘What should I do about this…’
As Vita continued to worry over it, a voice suddenly reached her ears.
“Climb up. On my shoulders.”
“E, eek?!”
“Don't misunderstand. You're much lighter.”
With those words, Carlisle tapped his shoulders.
“Oh, that's what you meant…”
Vita felt a little embarrassed that she had misunderstood him for a moment.
But, well, definitely.
If she climbed onto those shoulders, it seemed like she might be able to reach it.
Though hesitant, Vita slowly climbed onto Carlisle's crouched shoulders.
“H-hold on tight!”
“Don't worry, okay?”
Something about that, just now…
……
Carlisle seemed to realize it as well, and silence hung between them.
The two of them hadn't exactly been on good terms lately.
“Ahem-”
After clearing his throat, Carlisle became impassive again.
“Anyway, get on.”
“O-okay.”
Vita had just… what was it?
Her mood improved a little.
For no reason at all.
One way or another, Vita was quite conscious of Carlisle. The awkwardness between them was bothering her.
Clunk- Clunk-
But shortly afterward.
Even the window, their only hope, showed no sign of opening.
The two of them were left speechless.
“…It's not opening, after all.”
“It can't be helped.”
Why was it closed in the first place? But now that they were trapped, the cause didn't matter.
After that, the two of them tried all sorts of things. They even tried breaking the window with a ball.
“Is anyone out there-?!”
They also pounded on the door from inside and shouted as loudly as they could.
But none of those methods made any difference, and the two of them gradually grew tired. Silence settled over them again.
How much time had passed?
By then, Vita was sitting exhausted on a mat, while Carlisle was leaning against the wall near the door.
It was a chilly autumn day.
The unheated storage room was surprisingly cold, and it had begun to grow dark as well.
A reddish sunset shone into the storage room, and Vita bit her lip.
‘At this rate, really…’
They couldn't contact anyone, and they were in an enclosed space.
Spending the night here with Carlisle, now that things between them had become awkward, would be extremely troublesome.
Fortunately, she didn't feel the need to use the bathroom or anything like that, but it was still simply troublesome. And she couldn't think of any other way out.
Tap- Tap-
The atmosphere was quite awkward.
Vita aimlessly nudged the floor with her toe, but soon even that began to bother her, and she couldn't continue.
It was Carlisle Schultz, of all people, who was on her mind.
To be honest, by this point Vita was beginning to feel wronged.
No, I mean.
Carlisle was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed and his eyes closed.
‘Fine, I made a mistake.’
She admitted that much herself. She had let a careless remark slip even though Emily had been beside them.
[Yeah, I hate it.]
Carlisle's expression had become so unexpectedly rigid that even Vita had been surprised.
To be completely honest, she hadn't meant it with her whole heart.
Had he taken it seriously?
But even so, wasn't it a little excessive to keep acting like this until now?
Vita thought so.
She had made a mistake, but it was too much for a guy to keep acting sulky over one slip of the tongue all this time.
However, Vita only thought that to herself. She didn't show it to the other person.
She had at least that much of a conscience, since she was the one who had made the mistake.
Now, she didn't even know why she had said it.
Of course, the reason she still hadn't apologized was nothing more than petty pride.
She was cold, hungry, and exhausted in both body and mind.
On top of that, she had remained tense because of Carlisle's presence, and suddenly Vita's head began to feel hot.
Her mood was sinking. She simply felt upset.
No, why?
‘Who cares what that Carlisle jerk does or doesn't do…’
She bit her lip hard.
Even if they drifted apart like this, it wouldn't matter. Really, it wouldn't.
She and that guy were originally nothing more than rivals, and it would be even stranger if rivals were close.
Even as she thought that, her chest felt strangely tight.
The fact that Carlisle kept treating her coldly was strangely irritating, and at the same time, somehow…
“Cover yourself if you're cold.”
And right then.
A hand suddenly extended in front of Vita. A jacket hung from it, an act of consideration just like always.
Vita suddenly thought.
‘Figures, you idiot.’
What had she done so wrong?
No, she had done wrong… but she hadn't truly meant it.
She hadn't been able to apologize because of her petty pride, but the other person had still approached her first.
‘You could have done this from the start…’
It was a terribly shameless thought. She knew that herself.
But after that thought.
In an instant, emotions swept uncontrollably through Vita, and something inside her burst with a tiny pop.
***
Drip- Drip-
“B-Bianca?”
Carlisle Schultz was flustered because she had suddenly begun to cry.
Although things between them hadn't been going smoothly lately, he couldn't simply ignore her.
She had been trembling slightly, so the room must have really grown cold.
After agonizing over it for a long time, he had only just held out his jacket, and this was how she reacted.
“Huh? Ah…”
Vita was flustered herself. She hurriedly wiped her eyes and turned her head away.
“W-what…?”
In truth, Vita couldn't understand herself.
What was this all of a sudden? Why were tears coming out?
She didn't know either.
‘No, why…’
She couldn't figure out the reason.
It felt as though several complicated emotions, even emotions she herself didn't know, had suddenly brought this on.
If Vita had been a woman from the start, would she have understood the nature of these unknowable emotions?
‘I made a mistake.’
She knew that herself.
She felt sorry. At the same time, she felt a little wronged.
She wondered why a man had to be so petty and keep acting like that, yet she also felt self-conscious because she thought she ought to apologize.
In the end, she was grateful that he had approached her first, but she was also annoyed. Of course, the person she was annoyed with was herself.
She didn't know. She didn't know herself, either. It was simply an inexplicable feeling.
“Why are you crying, Bianca?”
When Carlisle asked in a low voice, Vita wiped away her tears and answered irritably.
“I don't know. Me neither.”
What a stupid bastard. This guy was just an idiot.
That was what she decided then and there.
She didn't exactly like him, but she didn't hate him either.
Once, she had simply disliked him and regarded him only as a rival.
They weren't close friends—or even anything to each other—but honestly, it had been a little difficult for things with Carlisle to become so awkward.
Vita Shamal's circle of relationships was rather small. She had walls she built around herself.
But Carlisle Schultz had somehow, without her realizing it, entered within those boundaries.
Without Vita even realizing it.
That was why Vita truly couldn't understand the reason.
Why was she crying over something as trivial as this, looking more foolish than Carlisle?
So Vita stubbornly tried to wipe away her tears, but they showed no sign of stopping easily.
Carlisle was initially flustered, but his expression soon settled as he reflected on his recent behavior.
He had been offended.
It was childish of him, but he certainly had pride. And he had never been rejected by girls before, either.
He had genuinely made an effort in his own way. He wanted to grow closer to ‘Bianca Shamal.’
He had even watched anime.
But Bianca Shamal had continued acting as though she wasn't aware of him. She brought someone else into their time and place together, and that someone had been none other than Emily Swan.
What's more, even in front of Emily Swan, his childhood friend, she had openly said it in a tone that meant she disliked him.
Of course, Carlisle didn't think that was truly what she meant.
He wasn't an idiot.
‘If Bianca really disliked me…’
It wasn't conceit or anything, but women were subtly sensitive and didn't engage in physical contact with someone they had no feelings for.
He didn't think that was the case.
Even so, a question had arisen in one corner of his heart.
Could she really have meant it?
He couldn't understand why she always seemed within reach, only to retreat another step away.
On top of that, Carlisle had plenty of personal matters to worry about lately, so his thoughts had become tangled in every possible way.
He didn't think it was wise to keep pressing forward at someone who said they disliked him.
That was the state he had been in.
But for the moment, the person he liked, Bianca Shamal, was crying. So Carlisle approached her and wiped away her tears.
“Don't cry, Bianca.”
He had been a little too harsh. With his own complicated feelings and childish attitude, he had acted too harshly.
“I'm sorry. I…”
With those words, Carlisle embraced Vita.
Somehow, despite the absurdity of the situation, a faint smile appeared at the corners of Carlisle Schultz's lips.
‘So Bianca also…’
He didn't know whether she liked him, but at least she was conscious of him. He liked that.
She was utterly flustered by her earlier tears and by herself now.
Even though she was being held, Vita couldn't react.
The moment she was held in Carlisle's arms, her tears stopped as if by magic. As she remained in his embrace, the atmosphere between them gradually became a little strange.
***
Something made her hesitate. It was a different kind of awkward feeling from before.
A ticklish feeling.
“I wasn't crying.”
Embarrassed for no reason, she ended up making a lame excuse.
“Yeah, I know.”
“It looks like some dust got in… Seriously, I mean it.”
“If you say so, I suppose that's what it was.”
Carlisle chuckled at that ridiculous excuse.
“No, really.”
“Yeah, I believe you.”
“You don't sound like you believe me…”
The distance that had been so awkward until just moments ago, and especially over the past few days, had narrowed in an instant.
Vita was in the other person's arms, biting her lip.
[I'm sorry, I…]
She had received an apology first.
Carlisle wasn't the one who should have apologized. She was the one who had made the mistake.
So, after hesitating, Vita spoke as well.
“…I'm sorry about then.”
She was certain that if she didn't say it now, she never would.
“I'm sorry. Me too.”
Abandoning her petty pride, she confessed honestly.
“…I said something wrong.”
“I know. Me too.”
“I got jealous like a child after losing the class president election to you. But I didn't mean it.”
“I know that too.”
Vita's eyes widened.
“No, you knew?”
Carlisle chuckled and stroked the crown of her head.
“It all shows on your face.”
“Then why…”
Vita began to speak, then shook her head. She was the one at fault. Even if he knew it had been a mistake, that didn't make it okay.
In any case, the situation hadn't been resolved yet.
The two of them were still trapped in the gym storage room, but Vita felt as though her heart was gradually settling.
So Vita remained in that broad embrace for quite a while.
Of course, as time passed, she became inexplicably embarrassed and asked him to let go.
“Let me go now.”
Carlisle refused.
“No, I don't want to.”
“Uh, why…?”
“It's cold, so I want to hold you.”
It was definitely autumn.
The unheated storage room had a chill to it. Even after that, Vita tried telling him several times, but Carlisle had no intention of letting her go.
In the end, Vita gave up.
Still held in Carlisle's arms, she asked about something she was curious about.
“Tell me honestly.”
“What, all of a sudden?”
“That campaign promise you made during the class president election. Is it really possible?”
The promise Carlisle had made was nothing particularly special.
There was a festival around the end of the term.
There would be a masked ball where boys and girls paired off, as well as an event where each class planned something and competed against the others.
So the promise Carlisle had made during the election was this.
-If I become class president…
He had promised to hire a mobile cocktail bar for the festival at the end of the term. The students in the class had completely fallen for it, which was why Vita felt wronged.
“You know.”
Carlisle gave a small, hollow laugh.
“How do you see me?”
“As a shameless jerk?”
He was a shameless jerk, after all.
Carlisle agreed with her, but it hadn't been a false promise.
“The bar where I work is a fairly famous place.”
“You… work?”
“Of course, you wouldn't know.”
Instead of continuing, Carlisle lowered his head slightly.
He had been holding back for quite some time, after all.
***
Smack-
It was only a brief kiss, their lips brushing against each other.
“Still, it doesn't taste as good as your soft lips.”
Carlisle had returned again.
The same nonsense as always.
‘Tastier than a cocktail…?’
Vita understood immediately, and her face grew hot.
Could it be called a gesture of reconciliation?
Flustered by the act after so long, and embarrassed for some inexplicable reason, Vita tried to turn her head away, but Carlisle stopped her.
Then they kissed again.
Before they knew it, their bodies were leaning toward each other.
“You know, Bianca?”
When their lips briefly parted.
Carlisle suddenly spoke.
“Do you know why I ran in the class president election?”
It was such a bothersome thing. Normally he would have declined, but there was a reason he had volunteered to become class president.
“So I could be with you. Instead of some other guy.”
“W-what…?”
Are you insane? You did that for such a trivial reason?
“You have no idea what I did to get closer to you.”
His confession continued.
“I even watched that magical-girl-whatever anime.”
“What does that…?”
Vita was extremely flustered.
That Carlisle Schultz? That guy who was practically a social butterfly?
He had even watched anime to get closer to her.
“It was pretty fun, in its own way.”
Carlisle gave a quiet laugh, and by then Vita was almost at a loss for words.
The sincerity in his feelings was too clear to deny,
“Hhup-”
And then.
Carlisle pulled her closer after saying those words.
They were trapped in a storage room after school, with no one around.
But things like that no longer mattered. It was a good situation now.
Carlisle had just gained certainty about his feelings. He now knew that they weren't one-sided, and that the other person had some feelings for him as well.
His arms tightened around her feminine body, and the hand at the back of her head gradually tightened too.
“W-wait-”
Vita tried to stop him, but it wasn't as though she disliked it. Rather, she found herself responding to him as well.
Before she knew it, Vita's slender arms had wrapped around Carlisle's solid upper body.
The two of them were now almost impossible to stop.
Without realizing it, the buttons of Vita's white blouse began to come undone. Her body, too, was being laid down on the mat.
And then Carlisle lost his words for a moment at an unexpected sight.
“…What's this?”
White lace underwear with a somewhat innocent look. After always seeing her wear childish things, the feminine style seemed incredibly pretty to him.
“D-don't look-!”
Vita tried to sit up, but ended up in Carlisle's arms. More precisely, Carlisle had hugged her again.
“It's okay. It's pretty. You changed into it to show me, right?”
There he went with his nonsense again.
“As if I'd try to show you!”
Vita felt so mortified that she wanted to die.
Her face bright red, she tried to cover herself, but it was already useless.
In an instant, her bra was pushed up, and her breasts were taken into his mouth.
At the same time, she felt the sensation of a hand below.
‘Ah, this…’
The long-forgotten sensation made Vita's head spin. Carlisle was in no different a situation.
For a brief while, the two of them.
As they reconciled and grew heated, they became completely disheveled, beyond any hope of putting themselves back together.
Neither Vita nor Carlisle could have dreamed that three other students were on their way to the storage room.
“What a pain, just because they say the competition's next week.”
“You brought the key, right?”
“Of course.”
Clank- Clank-
Vita and Carlisle were flustered.
Oh, shit-!2024
2024