Chapter 103: 103 | A Tsundere in Thigh-Highs [CASTLE BONUS]

Jordan walked into Bluffs Hall 150 at 8:52 AM with his backpack slung over one shoulder. The lecture hall buzzed with early morning conversations, students claiming their usual seats while nursing various caffeinated beverages. He spotted Kumiko and Alexis immediately, center-left about seven rows from the front, the same location they’d occupied on Wednesday.

Alexis sat with perfect posture, her attention fixed on her phone.

Today she wore a white button-up with the top three buttons undone. The fabric strained slightly across her chest, creating a view of her white lace bra that seemed both accidental and extremely deliberate.

A black pleated mini skirt hugged her hips, riding high enough to show off her long legs. Black thigh-high stockings covered her legs with a thin strip of pale skin visible between the stockings and her skirt.

Red heels completed the outfit, the kind that clicked authoritatively against tile floors.

Holy fuck, Jordan’s brain stuttered for a second before recovering. She’s definitely doing this on purpose.

Kumiko wore her typical pastel aesthetic, a soft pink cardigan over a white top with her signature twin tails bouncing as she waved at him. The contrast between the two girls was stark enough to give anyone whiplash.

Jordan made his way down the aisle. Students tracked his movement with casual interest. That same guy from Wednesday sat two rows back, the one who’d commented about Jordan jumping from Eliza to Alexis. His friend elbowed him and muttered something Jordan couldn’t quite catch.

"Morning." Jordan dropped his bag beside the empty seat between Kumiko and Alexis.

"Good morning!" Kumiko’s smile was warm and genuine, her eyes crinkling at the corners.

Alexis glanced up from her phone for exactly half a second. "Oh. You’re here."

Her tone suggested she’d just noticed a mildly annoying fly buzzing near her coffee.

Jordan sat down and pulled out his notebook. "Nice to see you too, princess."

Alexis’s jaw tightened. "Don’t call me that."

"You’re wearing my shirt in your Instagram post but I can’t call you princess?"

"That’s different." Alexis set her phone face-down on the desk with more force than necessary. "And I’m keeping the shirt."

"You’re not keeping the shirt." Jordan opened his laptop with one hand. "Return it."

"No."

"Alexis."

"It’s at the dry cleaners." She examined her nails with exaggerated disinterest. "I can’t get it until next week."

Jordan turned to look at her fully. "The dry cleaners."

"Yes. Do you know what those are? Places where people take clothing to be professionally cleaned?" Her blue eyes stayed fixed on her manicured nails. "Though I suppose you wouldn’t be familiar with the concept."

"So you’re not using it to sleep in or anything?"

Alexis’s face flushed bright red. Her mouth opened and closed twice before words came out. "Ew! Who would sleep in something you wore? That’s disgusting! Don’t ever say something that stupid again!"

The reaction was too strong. Way too strong for someone who wasn’t absolutely sleeping in his shirt every night.

Jordan bit back his grin. "My bad. Just asking."

"Well don’t." Alexis grabbed her iced coffee and took a long drink, her face still pink. "Some questions are too ridiculous to deserve answers."

Kumiko’s eyes bounced between them like she was watching a tennis match. A small smile played at her lips.

"What?" Alexis snapped at her.

"Nothing." Kumiko’s smile widened. "You two are just really cute together."

"We’re not together!" Alexis’s voice rose half an octave. "We’re not anything! He’s dating Chloe!"

"I know." Kumiko patted Alexis’s arm. "That’s why it’s cute. You’re all flustered over someone else’s boyfriend."

Alexis looked ready to commit murder. Her hands clenched around her coffee cup hard enough that Jordan worried the plastic might crack. "I’m not flustered. I don’t get flustered. Especially not over him."

"Sure." Kumiko turned to Jordan. "Did you talk to Chloe about the PC?"

"Yeah. Last night." Jordan clicked open a blank document for notes. "She was... receptive."

"Receptive." Kumiko giggled. "That’s one way to describe it."

Before Jordan could respond, Kumiko stood up and wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug. Her soft chest pressed against his arm as she squeezed him from the side.

"Thanks again for yesterday, babe."

The word hung in the air like a grenade with the pin pulled.

Alexis’s head whipped around so fast Jordan heard her neck crack. "Babe?"

"Inside joke from Best Buy." Kumiko released Jordan and settled back into her seat, completely unbothered. "We had to pretend to be dating to scare off some creepy guys."

"You. Pretended. To be dating." Alexis’s words came out clipped and precise. "Him."

"Yep!" Kumiko pulled out her notebook covered in stickers. "He was very convincing. Put his arm around me and everything."

Jordan watched Alexis’s face cycle through about fifteen different emotions in three seconds. Confusion, anger, something that looked suspiciously like jealousy, then back to forced neutrality.

"How wonderful for you both." Alexis’s smile could have cut glass, each word delivered with surgical precision. "I’m sure it was very romantic, pretending to be a couple in a big-box electronics store."

At least that’s two out of three for the daily quest.

Jordan slid his phone out from under the desk, angling it so the screen stayed hidden beneath the table’s edge. He tapped open the System interface. Two objectives glowed green in the checklist. One more conversation to go before he could check that particular box.

"You know, you seem awfully interested in Jordan’s fake dating life." Kumiko’s tone stayed light, almost sing-song, but there was a needle hidden in it somewhere. "Any particular reason why?"

"I’m not interested." Alexis crossed her arms over her chest, which had the entirely predictable and probably intentional effect of pushing her breasts up higher in that partially unbuttoned white shirt. "I’m simply making polite conversation."

"By interrogating us about our trip to Best Buy?"

"I wasn’t interrogating anyone!" The volume of Alexis’s voice kicked up half an octave.

Jordan glanced between them. Kumiko looked genuinely amused. Alexis looked like she was three seconds away from either a tantrum or a murder. Neither outcome seemed productive.

"Hey." He kept his voice casual. "I’m going shopping after class. Need to upgrade my wardrobe situation. You two want to come?"

Kumiko practically bounced in her seat. "Yes! Oh my god, yes! Where are you going?"