Kiss Me if You Can

"Well, the reason's obvious. It's because it's Josh."

Miki scolded Ed, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, even rolling her eyes at him. As they sat across from each other on the school lawn, eating lunch, Ed couldn’t help but feel wronged.

"But you said the atmosphere among the girls wasn’t good."

"Yeah, I did. But didn’t you just see it yourself? It was all just pretense."

Miki burst out laughing, shaking her head as if it were impossible to explain further. Ed didn’t give up and asked again.

"Then what’s the deal? Are you saying they all lied?"

After taking a sip of her diet drink, Miki gave her explanation.

"Well, it’s obvious, right? They were all just trying to keep each other in check. I bet they were all happy thinking they had a great opportunity."

Ed, with a serious expression, thought over her words before Miki added more.

"Though I thought they'd be more cautious for a few days, guess they were in a rush. I suppose everyone’s thinking the same thing."

Ed, who had been chewing mechanically on his sandwich, lifted his head and asked seriously.

"So, does that mean it’s better that Josh’s an Omega?"

"No, you idiot. I’m saying no matter what, no one cares about Josh being an Omega. They’d accept him as whatever he became."

Miki winked as she finished laughing, then leaned in conspiratorially.

"Just wait and see. Even if Josh shows up looking like a bum, they’ll all treat him like a prince."

Ed, without a word, chugged down his soda, then started coughing violently. Miki, watching him, felt a strange mix of sympathy and disdain, before awkwardly laughing. Once Ed calmed down, Miki spoke again.

"But... do you think Josh will keep dating Rita?"

"Not sure... I don’t know."