I stopped at a store on my way to the coffee shop, humming as I browsed through the aisles. But as I pulled the last of the necessary items off the shelves into my basket, I ran into an unexpected couple.

"BLAIRE!" A young, beautiful girl ran forward, giving me a hug, almost knocking the store basket from my hands. Stabilizing myself, I patted her on the shoulder with my free hand, forcing a friendly grin.

"Hey, Rose."

Rose, the heroine.

She was beautiful, with perfectly styled brunette curls framing a heart shaped face, and large green eyes that seemed to pull you in. Her figure was petite, she gave off the air of something delicate that needed to be protected at all costs.

No wonder this poor side character lost. Even if she's attractive too, standing next to Rose any other girl would seem plain by comparison.

"What are you doing in a pet store?" Rose asked me, frowning.

"Just picking up a few necessary items."

The teenage boy who had been walking beside her reached over, pulling out a book from my basket with a large dog on the cover. "'How to Train Out Bad Habits in Good Dogs'? Are you trying to train a new puppy?"

Rose hugged the boy's arm. "That can't be right, Blaire doesn't have a dog!" She turned to me with a pouting expression. "Did you buy a puppy and not tell me? I thought we were friends!"

The young man hugged Rose tightly, patting her head. "Don't be sad! I'll buy you ten puppies to play with!" He then glared at me. "Why are you bullying Rose like this?"

I stared at the two love birds, my mouth open in shock. I know that the leads in reverse harems can be a little annoying but this is... impressive.

Of course the brain-deficient offended young man was Michael, or male lead #1, Rose's current boyfriend.

He had been a flirtatious, overly romantic type, who treated all girls well, but without committing to anything long term. He saved Rose from being mugged in an alleyway, and fell in love with her immediately. Reforming his play-boy ways, he had dedicated all his time and attention on the heroine, finally achieving his goal of being her boyfriend.

And if this had been a regular romance story, then that would be the end. But this was a reverse harem. So despite his initial success, he constantly had to guard against the advances of my brother and childhood friend, who competed for Rose's affection constantly.

Strangely enough, even though Rose seemed to encourage this behavior, Michael never blamed her for her actions, pinning all the guilt on the heads of his two competitors instead.

As I struggled with how to respond in a civilized way, Rose pushed Michael away, blushing prettily.

"I'm sure Blaire didn't mean to hurt my feelings! She's my best friend! She just made a mistake, and now that she's sorry, of course I'll forgive her!"

"..." When did I say I was sorry?

"I don't have a puppy."

"..."

"..."

The two stared at me in shock, confused as I didn't go along with their bizarre narrative. Finally Michael spoke up, holding up the book in his hands as if it were evidence of wrongdoing.

"Then why are you buying this training material?"

I snatched it back, stuffing it into my basket with a smile. "I'd tell you, but I'd have to kill you."

"..."

A loud sniffing noise caught my attention. To my shock and horror, Rose was crying, tears running down her face without disrupting her beautiful complexion.

"Why are you acting like this? Is it because of Jake's..." She trailed off as Michael's face became gloomy, his hand tightening around her waist in a possessive manner. "I know you love him, but I swear, I never encouraged him to like me!" Even as she cried she stared at me intently, as if looking for something. Her eyes held a light of anticipation, as if she were hoping for me to be hurt by her seemingly caring and friendly words.

Did she enjoy the fact that her friend's childhood crush had chosen her instead?

Ugh, this heroine IS the worst.

I smiled carelessly, shrugging. "Don't worry Rose, it doesn't bother me at all."

Her face blanched. "It... it doesn't?"

"Nope! That kind of worthless man, I'm better off without him!"

"... you don't have to lie to make me feel better. I know how much he's hurt you. After all, you always thought you two would get married someday." Rose continued to watch me intently as she twisted the knife, making me feel tired.

Just how much does this girl want to see me cry?On anther day I might have stuck around to mess with the two of them. But I didn't have time. I simply patted her on the back, heading towards the checkout counter.

"Don't worry. I'll never let any crap sack like Jake get between our beautiful..." Enmity. "Friendship."

"Where are you going?"

I didn't turned back at her concerned words, holding up the basket in my hands as an answer.

"Behavior adjustment training."

_____________________________

"Where's Rose?" My brother greeted me with a grumpy expression as I sat down across from him in the coffee shop.

"It's nice to see you too, brother dear." I sipped on my coffee calmly, ignoring his deathly glare. The caramel cappuccino was extremely sweet, offsetting the sour looks being sent my way from the other side of the table. I closed my eyes, enjoying the quiet jazz music being played in the shop, savoring the quick moment of peace and quiet that had eluded me since waking up in this world.

"Where is Rose, Blaire?"

I sighed. So much for peace and quiet."I ran into her. But she was with Michael." Ha, I'm even telling the truth."So it wasn't like I could invite her out to meet up with another guy." Not that I would have even if she wasn't, but still...

Adam frowned, his gaze studying me as if assessing whether or not I was lying to him. "Fine." He started pushing back his chair, as if getting ready to leave.

"Wait." I reached out and grabbed his wrist. "We need to talk."

"What do you want?" Despite his gruff tone, Adam's voice still carried some affection. At least he wasn't openly hostile to me like the other reverse harem members.

There might be some hope for this one!

"I think you need to move on." Seeing his worsening frown, I hurried to explain. "You are a wonderful guy, and any girl would be lucky to have you, but the one you like has a boyfriend right now."

"So?"

"So, it would be okay if you just liked her, but you spend all your time plotting and scheming on how to steal her away like she's a toy that another kid snatched from you." I frowned. "With mom and dad being gone on business all the time." Thanks, crappy teen drama setting."You're all the family I have. But now whenever we talk all you want to talk about is Rose. And even when you want to meet up, it's to see Rose, not me. It's like you only care about whether or not I can help you chase a girl."

I felt tears fill my eyes. The former character's emotions were still there. The sadness, the fear of abandonment. Her childhood friend and crush openly mocked her and avoided her. Her brother used her. And her best friend... well she just stood by, rubbing salt in the wound. No wonder this girl became twisted.

Adam's gaze softened, and he reached out to squeeze her hand. "Hey. No matter what, you're still my sister, and I've got your back. Okay?"

"You mean it?"

"I do. I promise, from here on out, I'll do my best to be a better brother."

Got him.

"Great!" I blinked away the tears and grinned. "So let the rehabilitation begin!"

"..." Adam looked confused. "Rehabilitation?"

"You've developed an obsession, and have deviated from the correct path. You used to be a very successful student and athlete, a good brother. You used to have lots of friends and interests, but now... you spend all your time and energy chasing a girl. But with my help, we'll drag you back into a normal healthy young man who doesn'tspend all his time plotting to steal another guy's girlfriend!"

"Wait, I'm not giving up on Rose!" He smiled, seeming to look right through me. "She's so wonderful, and beautiful and kind and perfect...."

Psst!

I took out a spray bottle and sprayed water on his face.

Caught by surprise, Adam flinched back, wiping the droplets with his hand.

"Why did you do that?"

I held up the bottle with a grin. "It's a spray bottle full of water! It's for behavior correction! All the books recommend it!"

"... What books?!"

"Well, they didn't have brother training books, so I had to go to the pet store." I shrugged. "But these came highly recommended from the animal trainers there."

"I'm not a dog!"

"But you do need help, and that's what I'm here to do!" I set the spray bottle down. "So what are your plans for tomorrow?"

Adam eyes me and the bottle warily. "Well, tomorrow I have basketball practice, then classes... I wrote a love letter which I'll have you put in Rose's desk..."

PSST! PSST!

I sprayed him again. "No! Bad!"

"It's just a letter!"

psst!

I stared sadly down at the bottle in my hand. "I should have bought a bigger spray bottle."

"Excuse me, miss?" A lovely coffee shop worker stopped by our table, an embarrassed look on her face. She glanced over at my brother, her eyes widening slightly at his handsome features, before focusing back on me with a professional smile. "You can't spray that in here."

I nodded. "I'm sorry. I'll clean up the mess immediately, and if my brother needs more correction, I'll do it outside instead."

"..." She stared at me in confusion for a moment, obviously wanting to ask but afraid to.

"He spends all his time plotting on how to steal another guy's girlfriend..."

"Blaire!" I ignored my brother's horrified shriek, and continued.

"... and only calls me or spends time with me as a means to get closer to another girl."

"..." Slowly she reached out and took the bottle from my hands, her professional smile still in place. "I'll help you refill this." She shot a cold look at my brother, who shrunk back in his chair. "It sounds like you'll need it."

"Thanks!" I turned back to face my brother's wary gaze. "Don't worry, by the time your training is complete, you'll no longer be a brain dead reverse harem secondary male lead, and once again be a bright young man with a good future." I took back my now filled spray bottle with a grateful smile at the coffee shop girl and shook it slightly. "Just leave it all to me!"