Because I'm not popular, I think I'll go out with a girl!

A WataMote fanfic

Young highschooler Tomoko Kuroki tapped her finger against her desk as she tried to listen to her homeroom teacher's presentation on proper exercise. She struggled to stay awake as her teacher Ogino flipped through her slides on calorie-burning activities one could do with friends. Tomoko scowled as she looked at a slide depicting four happy high school girls in sailor fuku taking a walk through a local park filled with trees and meadows.

How unrealistic, she thought as she pulled out her cell phone. A real high school girl wouldn't bother with something so disgusting as a walk through the forest. And what was with those pictures? Couldn't her teacher find pictures of girls from their school, instead of some cosplayers posing for the camera?

Tomoko pulled out her smart phone from her pocket and carefully hid it behind a health pamphlet the teacher had passed out several minutes ago. She searched up pictures of her favorite anime, flipping from picture to picture as a wide grin grew on her face. After ten minutes of browsing that grin faded, becoming dulled by the teacher's speech about proper diet and hygiene.

Dammit . . . dammit, Tomoko thought as she stared at her cell phone. If only Yuu were here, I would have something to talk about. It had been months since she had seen her friend in person, and she desperately wished to have another opportunity to see her again. Perhaps they could go out to the mall again, to talk about their time together, or even to try on new outfits. Tomoko absentmindedly searched up lingerie on the internet, remembering the time they went shopping together at the lingerie store. Even though she ended up destroying the panties Yuu bought for her, Tomoko couldn't help but to appreciate all her friend had done to try and help her become popular. She began to salivate as she flipped through photos of women's undergarments, her nose twitching as she remembered the fresh scent of perfume wafting through the air with her beautiful naive friend at her side.

This collection of bras look nice, Tomoko thought as she flipped through the photos. Oh, those must be the kind you wear if you're one of those high school sluts. The black panties look daring but I still like the pink ones Yuu picked for me. Yuu . . . I wonder what kind you're wearing right now?

"Tomoko Kuroki! What the hell are you doing?"

The young girl looked up to find her teacher looming over her, eyes burning bright. Before Tomoko could even open her mouth, her teacher snatched her cellphone out of her hands, but not before the class got a good look at the bright pink panties displayed on Tomoko's smart phone. She stomped to the front of classroom as Tomoko slumped in her seat, her classmates giggling as she wished she could just die.

"See me in my office after class!" her teacher yelled as she threw her cellphone into her desk drawer. Tomoko shuddered as she slumped back into her desk, her classmates turning back around as her teacher quickly finished up her presentation.

"Tomoko Kuroki. This is the second time I've had to confiscate your cellphone." she said as her student trembled in her chair. Tomoko whimpered softly as she sat in her teacher's office, avoiding Ogino's stern gaze. "I warned you what would happen if I caught you looking up perverting things in class. I don't care what kind of pictures you like to look at after school, but while I am your teacher you will keep your attention focused on me instead of your phone," Ogino said as she stared down her student. Tomoko quivered in her seat, hoping that she could just sliver out of the room as quickly as possible.

"I've tried to help you Tomoko, but your situation won't change if you don't take my classroom seriously. Give me one good reason why I shouldn't confiscate this phone for the rest of the year," her teacher continued, crossing her arms as she leaned back in her seat.

"I'm sorry, I'm really sorry," Tomoko whispered as she kept her head down. "It won't happen again. I promise, I'll keep it tucked away in my pocket," she said as her teacher continued to glare at her.

"You know what? I think I'll give you your phone back, after all," her teacher said as she reached in her drawer. Tomoko held out her hand, but instead of handing over the phone, her teacher turned it on and began looking through her contact list. Tomoko began to sweat as she reached her home phone number.

"I'll give you your phone back after I call your parents. I warned you what would happen if I caught you again. Maybe next time you'll think twice about looking at dirty pictures in class."

"No, please, don't!" Tomoko shouted as she stood out of her chair. She knew her mother wouldn't take it well if she found out that her daughter was messing around with her cell phone in class. She shuddered as she heard her mother's voice in her head, yelling about how irresponsible she was and how mature her brother was in comparison. She might even take her cell phone away for good, the one thing that made life at school tolerable.

"Unless you give me a good reason for looking at these pictures, I'm going to call them about this," Ogino said as she began to dial her phone. "I'm trying to help you open up to your classmates, but I can't help you if you keep disrespecting my classroom. "

"I-I was just looking at those photos because . . . because," the young girl stammered.

"Because what?"

"Because they reminded me of a girl I like, and I couldn't help myself," Tomoko said as she covered her eyes. "I didn't mean to look at that stuff during class. I'm just really confused right now and I don't know what to do with myself."

How pathetic, she thought. Admitting she couldn't even last a day without thinking about her old friend. Tomoko looked up, expecting her teacher to finish dialing the phone but instead found her setting the phone back down onto the desk.

"Oh . . . Tomoko . . ." her teacher whispered. "I didn't know."

"It's stupid. I'm sorry I said anything," Tomoko said as her eyes welled up.

Ogino shook her head as she slid the phone back to Tomoko, who stared at her in shock. It took a few moments before she reached her hand out to snatch her phone back.

"It's not stupid, Tomoko. You have someone close to you, and I . . . I didn't understand. I won't tell your parents, I promise."

"T-thank you?"

"I went through a similar phase myself. I didn't have anyone to turn to, and I felt all alone. It can be hard, feeling like you're different than everyone else. I know I never had it as hard as you. You're so timid, Tomoko, and I didn't see what you were going through until it was too late. I can't apologize enough for embarrassing you in class."

My teacher felt like me, too? Tomoko thought as she stared at the older woman. It seemed strange. She was so bold, so upfront about her feelings. She didn't seem to be the shy type at all. Maybe it was the track suit she liked to wear, but it always looked like she was the courageous type, never willing to settling for a quiet life without friends.

"How did you become so confident? You don't seem like you were ever a loner."

Ogino smiled as she looked out the window, watching the setting sun. "I talked to my family about who I was and who I liked. They didn't understand, at least at first. It took a long time, but because I opened up my family accepted me. Once I started talking to my classmates, the same thing happened. That's why I wanted you to open up, Tomoko. So you could get out and really live."

Tomoko nodded. So that's why she forced her to speak up.

"Just tell me this, when did you figure out you were gay?" the teacher asked with a soft smile.

What?

"I'm sorry," her teacher said before her student could respond. "I shouldn't pry. If you don't feel like talking to me about it, that's fine. Is this why you were looking at those pictures of men's . . . genitalia a few weeks ago? To figure out your preferences?"

"I think you're getting the wrong idea about me. I'm not-"

"Tomoko, it's okay. It's okay to be different. If you need help coping, all you need to do is tell me. I'll help you accept who you are."

The bleak girl took a deep breath as she looked into her teacher's eyes. "Teacher, the truth is. . ."

Before Tomoko could form the words to finish her sentence, a strange thought popped into her head. Girls who liked other girls were popular nowadays. Other women looked up to them, even if they were straight. Their instinctive fashion style, their sexual aura, and their forbidden love made lesbians a popular trend. Hell, most anime girls had at least one relationship with another girl. Haruhi Suzumiya, Konata Izumi, Kirino Kousaka, they had all had lesbian subtext in their respective anime. And boys loved girls who loved other girls. Two birds with one stone, Tomoko thought as she looked into her teacher's eyes. Yeah, if she could pretend to be lesbian, she could get a whole entourage of her classmates to fawn over her, asking her about love and romance. She could be popular in an instant.

". . . the truth is I didn't want to tell anyone about it. That's why I don't like talking to anyone, I don't want my classmates to find out," Tomoko said with a teary-eyed look.

"Well, it's nothing to be shy about. I'm certain that you'll find the confidence to come out eventually. But until then, I'll help keep it a secret."

"Thank you," Tomoko said as she wiped her face, pretending to brush the tears away as she hid a small smirk forming from her lips.

"You're a good kid, Kuroki. You'll find that the people around you are more supportive of you than you'd think. Even if you find yourself alone, I'm sure the lucky lady in your life will help you out. That's what girlfriends are for, after all."

"Girlfriend? Um . . . Uh . . ." Tomoko stammered as her teacher smiled at her. "Oh yeah . . .my girlfriend . . .! Yeah, she's kind of shy as well, but she's beautiful. I'm really lucky to be with her," she said as her teacher nodded sagely. Tomoko began to sweat again, hoping that her teacher wouldn't press her on her lies.

The clock started to sound in the teacher's office, forcing Ogino to stand up from her desk.

"I'm sorry, I'm going to have to cut this meeting short. It was good talking with you, Kuroki. And don't worry about what happened earlier, it's all in the past now. All that's important is that you keep your head out of the clouds and you focus on opening up to others. Remember, it's okay to accept who you are. Just let others in to help you, and they will. Just make sure you keep the lingerie shopping for your girlfriend out of my classroom."

After a quick wave goodbye, Tomoko walked out of the office into the empty hallway and slowly made her way to the school gates. She walked home quietly, plodding down the sidewalk as she let her head hang low. She entered her house somberly, giving her mother a quick nod in greeting as she ascended the stairs. As soon as the door clicked shut to her room, Tomoko grabbed the pillow on her bed and buried her face in it, muffling her scream as she frantically rolled around on the bed.

How am I going to keep this up? Tomoko thought as she continued rolling around. Her teacher wouldn't tell anyone that she was a lesbian, but she might get suspicious if she didn't start playing the part. Besides, she thought, I can't let an opportunity like this go to waste. This was her biggest chance to become popular, and there was no way she'd blow it now. She would need a girlfriend to pair up with, someone she could show off to her classmates who wouldn't reveal her charade.

"I can't ask Yuu to do this. She'd never forgive me. And I can't ask my classmates, they'd rat me out in a heartbeat just so they could kick the loser out of their school. The class president is a nice girl, I can't ask her. Nemoto sits next to me in class, but I don't know her well enough to trust her with this. Who could I trust?" Tomoko muttered as she paced the room. She rubbed her head with her hand, trying to think of someone to be her accomplice. After an hour of fruitless thinking, a person finally popped into her head. There was one girl who was her "friend" in junior high, someone she knew shortly after she met Yuu for the first time. The desperate girl winced as she thought about contacting her. They never could connect, especially since she was so focused on baseball and anime, whereas Tomoko was a pure anime aficionado. Still, that "friend" was the only option she had. Tomoko pulled out the phone she had from her pocket and began scraping her fingers across the screen frantically, stopping when she dialed a number on her contact list.

"Come on, come on, pick up. . ." Tomoko whispered as she sat up on her bed. Her heartbeat quickened as she waited for the call to go through, listening to the tone as she clutched her phone. She had only remembered the number because Yuu insisted she keep it, even though she wanted to delete it the moment Yuu entered it into her phone. She waited a few more seconds, hoping that the call came through in time.

"Hello, who is this? I don't recognize this number." a voice on the other line said. "This is a private line. If this is a telemarketer, I'm not interested in what you're selling." Tomoko smiled happily as she readjusted the phone in her hand.

"This is Komiyama, right? Remember me? It's Tomoko Kuroki, your friend in junior high? I'm just calling to catch up with you. It's been so long, and we haven't talked in over a year. I was just reminiscing on the past when I realized that I haven't ever called you. Do you have time to talk with me?"

"Oh, it's you again. I guess have a little bit of time. Is there something you want to talk about in particular?"

"Not really, I just want to reach out to my old friend, that's all. How's high school been?" Tomoko asked as she stretched out onto her bed.

"It's been okay. It would have been better if I ended up at the same school as Yuu, but I wasn't able to take the entrance exams for her school. That's why I ended up in a school with you. So, what's this about? I'm about to miss the next showing of Project K," Komiyama said as Tomoko strained to hear the faint sound of a cutesy anime narrator through the receiver. Tomoko laughed confidently as she could hear the television volume being lowered.

"You still watch anime? That's for little kids, you know. I can't believe you're in high school and you still watch that stuff. You never did keep up with trends in entertainment, have you? Otherwise you wouldn't be so obsessed with baseball and anime all the time."

". . . what do you want, asshole? If it's about that book I loaned to you, it's due this Friday," Komiyama muttered into the reciever, causing her "friend" to grin in response.

"To be honest, it's about Yuu. She wants us to meet up again, just like the good old days. We'll hang out, talk about nerd stuff and our high school lives. It's not like I wanted to invite you but Yuu insisted. She's a good friend of mine after all," she said, causing a loud growl to come over the receiver.

"Your friend? You could barely talk to her without some bullshit lie coming out of your mouth. Did you trick her into coming over?"

"No, no! She just likes hanging out with me, that's all. I always was the popular one in the group. Anyways, she's coming to my house tomorrow evening at 5:00 o'clock, so if you could stop by tomorrow night, that'd be great."

"She does know it's a school night, right? I have a little bit of homework I need to do. Couldn't we meet up on the weekend?"

Tomoko laughed again as she rolled over onto her back. "She always makes time to hang out with me, even on a Wednesday night. So, you coming or what? I'm sure a nerdy girl like you has plenty of time to-"

A loud sigh came out of the receiver. "Yeah, yeah, I'll go. Just try not to scare her away. If you're just messing with me, I'll smack you right in the face. Don't think I won't," Komiyama said before hanging up the phone. Tomoko let out a loud sigh of relief as she dropped her phone on the carpeted floor.

"It shouldn't be that hard to convince that bitch," Tomoko said to herself as she closed her eyes. "Komiyama always was a loser, always by herself when Yuu wasn't around. She'll be begging me to let her be my girlfriend if it meant talking to a real life person, instead of some gross love pillow she probably has in her bedroom," Tomoko said as she pulled on her headphones to listen to a track in the latest Yandere boy drama CD.