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Today is Valentine's day. It’s not Josuke’s favorite holiday, but still a good contender. The decor is nice, the gifts are cute, and the sight of happy couples always makes him smile. Maybe he’ll be a part of one someday. The walk to school with Okuyasu is filled with holiday-related chitchat, both boys trying to predict if they’ll get any gifts.

“Wait and see Josuke, I’m gonna get gifts in the double digits!” Okuyasu said holding up both of his hands, palms out.

The other boy laughed brightly, raising an eyebrow at his friend.

“Dude, be realistic! I don’t even think I’m gonna get that much!” He teases, laughing again when a playful punch is landed on his shoulder.

The boys continue bickering up until they enter the school, splitting off to go to their lockers. Josuke pulls open the door and his eyes widen a little at the amount of gifts he found inside, 4 if he counted correctly. Truthfully, he wasn’t expecting this much, and it brought a little heat to his cheeks. Most of the sweets were housed in white boxes with little red bows or those see-through shiny gift bags, but there was one that stuck out to him. Technically ‘it’ was two gifts, but they were clearly from the same person. The little box was pink with black ribbon, and the envelope was black with a pink heart sticker sealing it. Josuke finds himself reaching for the unconventional packages first, taking a quick peek in the gift box. The chocolates were clearly handmade judging by the imperfect small details, so the gift was definitely given with romantic intentions. Blushing just a little more, his hand moves towards the envelope.

He opens it, being careful to not rip the sticker before taking out the letter inside. The stationary is pink with hearts, but the writer added their own personal touches in black pen. Unfolding the letter, Josuke’s eyes flit over its contents. The handwriting isn’t the best, but the actual content is articulate and surprisingly bittersweet.

To My Dearest, Josuke,

I write this letter to you with mixed feelings. My affection for you is great, too great to properly put into words. But, I cannot let you know who I am.

To be frank, I adore you. I love your kindness, your humor, your sunny smile, and of course your hair. I couldn’t help but fall for you, anyone would. You are… Incredible. You’re sweet, charming, and handsome to boot. I could list the qualities I love about you for days, but then I'd use up my entire notepad. 

I wish I was brave enough to give you my gifts in person, your smile would make my day even if you rejected me. Unfortunately, it is best that we never meet. I am happy admiring you from afar simply because of how incredible you are, so please don’t feel bad for me.

I just wanted you to know that someone out there loves you dearly, and probably always will. Never change, Josuke. You’re enchanting.

-Your Secret Admirer 

Despite the author’s request, he couldn't help but feel an awful sensation beginning to bloom beneath his ribs. It’s not like the letter wasn’t flattering, but Josuke couldn’t help but feel bad that the author felt like they couldn’t come up to him, or at least leave a name. Their feelings were clearly deep judging by the nature of the letter, they must have felt like this for a while. Honestly, it was incredibly touching to read this person’s thoughts of him. Curiosity began to overtake the awful feeling, and Josuke began to wonder. Who was the author? They may have preferred to remain anonymous, but what if he could like them back? The possibilities flit around in his mind as he grabs the other gifts in his locker, taking a look at the names left on them before stuffing them in his bag. He hears footsteps behind him and assumes it’s Okuyasu, but when he turns around he finds someone else. The exchange student, Rhys baker.

The girl looks tired today, her dark circles are worse than usual and she wears a sour expression. That may just be her face though, he never feels like he can get an accurate read on her. As her dark eyes dart over to him, a soft smile grows on her face and she waves.

“Morning.” She murmurs sleepily.

Josuke smiles back at her, pleased to see his friend.

“Morning! Say Rhys, can you do me a favor real quick?” He chirps.

She cocks her head at him with a raised brow before nodding, coming to stand next to him.

“Sure, what is it?”

He holds out the letter to her, watching her gingerly take it before explaining.

“So, I got this letter in my locker with a box of handmade chocolates. It’s super sweet, but whoever sent it didn’t put their name. Did you see anyone leave it there?”

Her brows furrow in thought as she reads the letter, pursing her lips for a moment before speaking.

“No, I'm sorry. I don’t recognize the handwriting either, so I’ve got nothing.” she says, handing the letter back to him with an apologetic smile.

Josuke frowns, huffing softly.

“Don’t worry about it, thanks for trying anyway.” he says morosely

Rhys shoots him a little smile, somehow bright despite her clear lack of energy.

“I’m sorry I couldn't help more, I hope you find them! I gotta go, so see you later!” she says, walking off with a little wave. 

Even though she wasn’t able to help, Josuke was glad she even tried. He knows Rhys isn’t the biggest fan of anything to do with valentine’s day, especially sappy stuff like this. Placing the letter back into its envelope, he puts it in his uniform pocket before going over to Okuyasu. The boys walk to class together, chatting about and thinking up theories as to who the author of the letter was. No one comes to mind, even when Koichi joins in. Soon enough, class starts and the boys are forced to quiet down and focus.

Except Josuke isn’t able to, too focused on trying to figure out who could have left those anonymous gifts in his locker. His whole day is spent in speculation, leading to his notes being worse than normal and his responses to be delayed. He can’t help it though, the call of the unknown is too great to ignore. The content of the letter was somehow in depth and vague at the same time, making it hard to tell if a stranger or a friend had written it. Whoever had left it really didn’t want to be found.

--

Class dragged on for what felt like forever to Josuke, and the bell was a welcome reprieve when it finally rang. The boys all gathered their stuff to leave, chatting happily with each other. Yukako joined them after a few minutes as they walked to the school gates, as her and Koichi have a date planned once they leave. Sensing his opportunity to gain more insight from his friends is waning, Josuke pulled the conversation toward the letter. He takes it out of his pocket for the first time since this morning, not wanting to include too many strangers on this sensitive issue.

“Look, whoever left this must be really nice! I just wanna find out who it was, so at least take a look.”

He pleads with his friends, who had all previously been unable to come up with anything. Except for Yukako of course, she wasn’t in his class. Okuyasu reads over the letter first.

“Bro, how did you manage to get a secret admirer like this? I bet it’s a super hot girl, like a model or something!” he exclaimed, making Josuke smile and roll his eyes.

“Dude, I appreciate the enthusiasm, but I don't think that’ll be the case.” 

He snatches the letter back from Okuyasu, sticking his tongue out teasingly at him before turning to Koichi and Yukako.

“Can you guys take a look?” He pleads playfully, giving the pair puppy eyes.

Koichi sighs fondly, taking the letter from him to look over. Yukako doesn’t even bother, to Josuke’s chagrin. As the short boy’s eyes flit over the handwriting, they widen for just a moment before he fixes his expression. Narrowing his eyes, Josuke grows suspicious.

“What was that?”

Koichi looks up at him, and for a moment he looks panicked.

“Uh, nothing, it’s just-”

“You know who it is!” Josuke exclaims, pointing at the short boy for emphasis.

He flounders for a moment under his friend’s scrutiny, especially when Okuyasu gets equally excited.

“Dude, you totally know who it is! Is she super hot?”

Koichi waves his hands in front of him to try and diffuse the situation to no avail.

“Guys, please, I was sworn to secrecy!” he cries. Yukako sighs softly behind him, and her eye twitches.

“Koichi, please tell me! I need to know!” Josuke pleads, clasping his hands together.

His pleading doesn’t move his friend, who keeps denying to reveal who the author is. His girlfriend however quickly loses patience, turning to the boys with an exasperated glare.

“I’m so tired of you idiots!” she yells, causing Koichi to go rather pale at the implications of her words.

“You two are morons, that’s the only reason you haven't figured it out! She’s been so ridiculously obvious!” she continues, pointing a dainty finger at the two boys. Koichi just puts his head in his hands.

Josuke is confused, what did she mean about a girl being ‘ridiculously obvious?’ He doesn’t remember anyone around him acting like they had a crush on him. Yukako’s eye twitches again at the boy’s blank expression, and she groans.

“Rhys! It’s Rhys, she wrote that letter! She’s liked you for months, but you're too stupid to see it!” She yells again, crossing her arms over her chest and raising a brow at him.

The boy remains confused as Yukako glares at him, waiting for him to get it. Rhys likes him? No, no, that couldn’t be it. She just sees him as a friend, right? In the middle of his thoughts, he sees the girl herself in the distance. She’s speedwalking, obviously disgruntled by the valentines day shenanigans going on. Perhaps feeling watched, she turns her head in his direction with a frown. Once she spots him, Josuke notices that her expression softens considerably, and she gives him a quick smile before speeding off. Without the context Yukako had provided, he would never have noticed the affection in her dark eyes or the slight blush on her cheeks, nor the way she seemed happier afterwards.

“Oh.” he says flatly.

Rhys likes him. Has for months, apparently. He thinks back to times they hung out, remembering things differently with this new information. She always laughs at his jokes, even when they’re bad. She tends to gravitate to him in group settings, though keeping a measured distance. There’s been so many times he accidentally brushed against her in some way and she grew pink in the face, but he always believed her when she said she was just hot. 

“Oh.”

She was incredibly obvious, wasn’t she? How did he not notice before? Josuke’s thoughts delve deeper, landing on one specific day. 

--

They had been talking by the cliffside, specifically so he could apologize for something insensitive he said to her. Her back was to the setting sun, making it seem like she had a halo. At the time, he thought the pink on her cheeks was a trick of the light, but now not so much. 

He had apologized by this point, waiting for her response. Rhys was fiddling with her nails, gnawing at her lower lip anxiously before she finally spoke.

“I… look, I forgive you. I know you didn’t mean anything by it. I just…”

She sighs, looking down at her lap for a moment. Her gaze quickly returns to his, and Josuke now realizes her eyes were brimming with affection and hope.

“I really like you, so it just hurt to hear, y’know?”

--

At the time, the true meaning of her words had flown right over his head. He simply thought she had made a mistake with the way she said it. She was still learning Japanese and oftentimes asked for advice and corrections, so Josuke had thought nothing of it. But now he realized she said exactly what she meant to say. She liked him.

Coming back to the present, he crouches down and brings his hands to his face, staring blankly into the void.

“Oh my god.” he groans.

Yukako smiles softly.

“Finally, took you long enough”

Josuke looks up at his friends with a mortified expression, murmuring into his hands.

“No, you don’t understand. She told me months ago.”

All 3 of his friends look down at him in disbelief. 

“Like… was she not clear, or-” Okuyasu said sheepishly before getting interrupted by his friend.

“No, she… she literally said ‘I really like you’ to my face.” he murmured timidly.

Yukako groans into her hands, sputtering in disbelief for a moment before snatching Koichi’s wrist. She stalks off with him in tow, calling back behind her to the two remaining boys.

“I’m not spending valentines day explaining to you why you’re stupid, figure it out yourself!”

Josuke and Okuyasu are silent for a while, lingering near the school gates for what feels like an eternity. Eventually, a hand extends into Josuke’s vision, and he takes it. The other boy gives him a sheepish smile.

“So… what’re you gonna do?” Okuyasu asks.

Josuke groans, dragging his hands down his face.

“I- I don’t even know, man. I’ll have to think about it when I get home.” 

The other boy gives him an awkward smile, patting him on the shoulder before they walk off together. The walk home is quiet for the most part, each attempt to break it is… lackluster to say the least. Josuke shoots his friend a quick goodbye before heading into his home, greeting his mother before slipping into his room. 

He flops onto his bed with a grunt, staring blankly up at the ceiling for a while. The events of the day replay in his mind, bringing an embarrassed flush back to his cheeks. If there was one thing he could think positively about, it had to be Rhys’s poker face that morning. She was good, he had to admit, she didn’t let a single thing slip from behind her act. Even when she read her own love letter she didn’t crack, props to her.

Now that she was on his mind, what does Josuke feel for her? Don’t get him wrong, it’s not like Rhys is ugly or anything, not at all. She’s had her cute moments too, and she can be surprisingly charming when she actually interacts with people. But does he like her like that? Weirdly… Josuke isn’t sure. It could just be the events of today throwing him off and causing him to second guess his feelings, but he can’t seem to put a name to what he’s experiencing currently. Sure, he definitely has affection for her, but before today he was sure it was purely platonic. 

Josuke shakes off his thoughts. If he can’t decide what his feelings are, then he should probably think about letting her down gently. The last thing he wants to do is hurt her feelings, but that’s probably what’s best. Judging by her blunt and nervous nature, she’s probably itching for an answer despite her efforts to stay unknown.