CLMO 06

Chapter 06

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 The long-awaited day had finally arrived.

It was Friday—the day of the cheerleader selection.

Although the tryouts wouldn’t be held until the afternoon, Sian had been jittery since morning and couldn’t concentrate in class.

Thinking she’d feel more confident if she saw her brother beforehand, she skipped lunch and wandered near the Pi Memorization Clubroom.

That’s when someone gently placed both hands on her shoulders.

No one at this school had ever come this close to her before.

Startled, she spun around—only to see none other than Blay Williams standing there.

And that dazzling smile that could steal souls? That was just a bonus.

“Hey. First time seeing you here.”

He quickly withdrew his hands, but her heart was still pounding wildly.

Clutching her chest in embarrassment, Sian greeted him awkwardly.

“H-Hi.”

It had only been two days since she last saw him.

She hadn’t figured out how to sneak into Rockefeller Hall yet, and with cheerleading practice keeping her busy, she hadn’t had a chance to look for him either.

“So, what brings you here?”

Blay asked before answering his own question—his eyes widening in realization.

“You came to see me, didn’t you? You must’ve found out I’m in this club.”

That explained it. The girl who used to loiter around Rockefeller Hall every morning had suddenly vanished—only to track down his club and follow him all the way here.

“What? No!”

Sian jumped up in protest.

She flailed her hands, desperate to deny the accusation.

“I came to see Aaron! I thought he might be here.”

‘Sorry for using your name, Aaron.’

Sian apologized inwardly.

Aaron would probably just sigh and move on, but still—she felt guilty.

“Aaron?”

Blay tilted his head, trying to figure out who she meant.

“Aaron Simmons. Brown hair, glasses, always carrying a book?”

Only after the “always carrying a book” part did it seem to click.

“Oh, Aaron. Of course I know who he is.”

Now that the misunderstanding had been cleared up, she hoped he’d step aside—or at least open the clubroom door.

But Blay did neither.

Meaning, he’d decided to continue their conversation.

“That guy you were practicing cheerleading with—he’s Aaron, right?”

“Yes.”

Sian nodded, recalling the moment they exchanged greetings across the field fence.

Sure, she hadn’t meant to greet Blay specifically, but still—it happened.

She just hadn’t realized he’d noticed Aaron too.

“You two seem pretty close.”

To that, Sian nodded without hesitation.

At Wharton School, Aaron was easily the person she was closest to.

Blay’s expression soured just a little.

“I see. So you don’t need my help, then.”

“Help with what?”

“Your back handspring. It didn’t seem to be going too well.”

Sian’s cheeks flushed bright red.

‘So he saw me fall on my back too, huh?’

It must’ve looked ridiculous. Hopefully her brother hadn’t seen it too?

She shook her head, trying to banish that dreadful thought.

“No, it’s okay. I’ve gotten the hang of it now.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Thanks to Aaron.”

If giving passive-aggressive feedback counted as help, anyway.

After failing repeatedly, she had managed to pull off something vaguely resembling a back handspring.

“Hey, um…”

She almost asked if her brother had seen her fall—but held back. No point in asking something with such an obvious answer.

“Hmm?”

“Never mind. It’s nothing.”

Watching her hesitate, Blay figured she was just shy around him.

‘Makes sense. She must get nervous every time we make eye contact.’

Girls usually did act this way around him. So it wasn’t surprising that Blay misread the situation.

Seeing a girl blush and look like she didn’t know what to do with herself over him put him in a great mood.

Feeling generous for once, he flashed her a flower-bright smile.

He didn’t realize just how biased his generosity was when it came to Sian.

“Glad to hear practice is going well. I’ll be seeing you in a cheerleading outfit soon, then.”

Even as he smiled, Sian’s attention was focused entirely on the clubroom behind him.

‘What excuse can I use to get inside?’

Unlike with Aaron, she didn’t feel comfortable telling Blay that she was Iann’s biological sister.

Especially after being harshly rejected by her brother the last time.

Blay would believe Iann’s claim that his sister had died long before he’d believe a stranger showing up out of the blue claiming otherwise.

She’d already triggered Iann’s defenses. If Blay started suspecting her too, it would make getting close to her brother even harder.

She needed to approach Blay very carefully.

‘But how?’

Fortunately, Blay took the lead, as if reading her mind.

“You said you came to see Aaron, right?”

“Yes.”

“Come on in. You might as well wait inside. I’ll give you a tour of the club while we’re at it.”

Any other girl might have fainted on the spot at the thought of Blay personally showing them around his club.

But Sian was too preoccupied with nerves—nervous that she might run into her brother again.

What if he coldly kicked her out again?

Her palms began to sweat. She wiped them on her skirt as Blay swung open the door.

“…No one’s here.”

Despite Aaron saying Iann usually spent his lunch hour in the clubroom, it was completely empty.

Sian tried not to show her disappointment, but she couldn’t hide it completely.

“Guess Aaron’s somewhere else today.”

Blay’s voice was soft, almost like he was consoling a child.

Hearing it made her realize something else.

She was alone. In a closed space. With a guy.

Suddenly tense, she debated running out, but then Blay spoke.

“You don’t have to be scared. Whatever you’re worried about—it’s not going to happen.”

He held up both hands as if to show he was harmless.

Amazingly, he seemed to know exactly what she was thinking.

“I could leave the door open, but… honestly, it’s safer this way. Trust me.”

“Why?”

“You really want to know?”

Blay was still smiling gently, but something about the way he asked felt oddly chilling.

“It’s easier to understand if you experience it yourself. Want to?”

“I-I believe you.”

Sian quickly shook her head.

If he was being this serious, there must be a reason.

So she decided to trust him.

It was easier for her to trust people than to suspect them and build walls.

Blay seemed to think for a moment, then chuckled and resumed the club tour.

“Aaron told you what our club does, right?”

She half-listened, eyes scanning the room for any trace of her brother.

And she found it.

She hadn’t noticed it earlier, but now she saw a photo of Iann hanging on the wall.

“When was this taken? Looks like it was after a competition win.”

Blay stopped mid-boast about memorizing 100 digits of pi at the age of seven and stepped up beside her.

‘Isn’t this a little too close?’

She’d felt it before—when he touched her shoulder—Blay had no sense of personal space.

It always startled her, though she couldn’t say she disliked it.

She realized it was because his touches didn’t feel inappropriate.

It was like a stray cat rubbing its head against her with a “Hey, I like you.”

That’s how harmless and light his touch felt.

“Oh, that’s my friend Iann Morgan. That was taken after he won the school’s Pi Memorization Competition. He was a freshman then, I think.”

Winning awards even as a freshman… that was just like her brother.

Sian beamed with pride as if she’d won something herself.

“That’s amazing.”

“He really was. Iann memorized over 3,000 digits of pi and broke the school record.”

“…Three thousand?”

“He could’ve gone further, but the teacher judging him wanted to go home, so they stopped there.”

It was starting to make sense why Aaron and Iann got along—they were both cut from the same cloth.

Suddenly, her brother felt so far away.

‘He probably sees someone like me as just a fool.’

Would she ever be able to hold a proper conversation with him?

What if she couldn’t talk to him for more than ten minutes?

While Sian was spiraling over a future that hadn’t happened yet, Blay had his own thoughts.

‘Why is she asking about Iann while standing next to my photo?’

It made him briefly—very briefly—wonder if Iann’s warning had been true.

But he shook it off.

He’d met plenty of girls who pretended to get close to him just to reach Iann. Maybe not plenty, but enough to count on one hand.

So he concluded: this girl definitely liked him.

“Come to think of it, I don’t even know your name.”

Saying the thought aloud, he watched as the girl finally tore her eyes from the photo and looked up at him.

“My name’s Sian. But if that’s hard to say, you can call me Sienna.”

“Two names? That’s pretty cool.”

Blay had a way of making even the smallest thing sound grand.

Trying to play it cool, Sian simply shrugged.

“Most people have nicknames, right? It’s like that.”

“So which one’s the nickname?”

“Huh?”

“Sian or Sienna—which one’s the nickname?”

“Why do you ask—”

“Why else?”

Blay’s eyes curved beautifully into a smile.

Sian, who had been secretly wondering how to steal that photo of her brother, or whether she should ask Aaron to swipe it for her instead—found her thoughts derailed.

Blay’s smile was just that dazzling.

 

“I want to call you by your nickname, that’s why.”